Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
An orthopedic surgeon was sentenced today to 102 months in prison and ordered to pay over $13 million in restitution for his role in a $145 million scheme to defraud the Department of Labor through the submission of fraudulent claims for prescription compound creams.
“The Department is committed to protecting victims and combating fraud against the United States wherever it is found,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s sentence is the result of years of tireless efforts by our prosecutors and agency partners who investigated this complex fraud scheme and brought to justice the defendants responsible for stealing tens of millions of dollars from the American people. It serves as a reminder that medical professionals who violate the trust society places in them, their oath, the law, and harm Americans for personal enrichment will be investigated and prosecuted.”
“This sentence sends a strong message to those who would defraud our federal health care programs for personal gain,” said Inspector General Tammy Hull of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG). “The outstanding work by the legal and investigative teams stopped a multi-year health care fraud scheme responsible for tens of millions in fraudulent billing to government agencies. Along with the Department of Justice and our federal law enforcement partners, USPS OIG will remain committed to investigating those who would engage in this type of fraud and abuse.”
“Dr. Michael Taba accepted bribes and kickbacks for writing thousands of prescriptions for unnecessary compounded medications issued to injured federal workers covered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (DOL-OWCP), putting illegal profits above patients’ safety,” saidInspector General Anthony P. D’Esposito of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG). “We will continue to stand firm alongside our law enforcement partners to protect patients, safeguard the OWCP, and ensure the integrity of DOL’s benefits programs from wastefulness and greed.”
“We are committed to collaborating with our law enforcement partners to halt fraud, waste, and abuse,” said Inspector General Cheryl L. Mason of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General (VA-OIG). “This sentencing demonstrates that we will identify those who commit healthcare fraud and endanger VA employees and hold them accountable.”
“Complex criminal schemes like the one Michael Taba was involved in are fueled by greed that blinds and hardens criminals, and that’s where the forensic accounting expertise of our special agents come in to trace the money,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Rodrick Benton of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Houston Field Office. “Money always leaves a trail and our criminal investigators are committed to uncovering fraud and ensuring accountability. When people are willing to tear down trust in our nation’s medical system to pilfer money, federal law enforcement stepped in to force them to step out.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dr. Michael Taba, 61, of McKinney, Texas, accepted bribes paid by pharmacy owners to prescribe medically unnecessary compound creams to injured federal workers. Taba’s co-defendants owned and operated three pharmacies located in Fort Worth and Arlington, Texas. Over the course of the scheme, the pharmacy owners paid Taba and other doctors millions in illegal bribes and kickbacks. Evidence at trial showed these compounds were mixed in the back rooms of the pharmacies by untrained teenagers at a cost to Taba’s co-defendants of around $15 per prescription and then billed the DOL-OWCP for as much as $16,000 per prescription. Patients who received the creams testified at trial to the creams’ ineffectiveness and, in some instances, that using the creams resulted in painful, irritating skin rashes.
Between May 2014 and March 2017, the pharmacies billed the DOL-OWCP and Blue Cross Blue Shield more than $145 million and were paid more than $90 million for unnecessary prescriptions referred by Taba and other medical providers.
On Nov. 16, 2023, a federal jury in the Northern District of Texas convicted Taba on all counts of the superseding indictment, which included one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud.
USPS OIG, DOL-OIG, VA-OIG, and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Ethan Womble and Acting Assistant Chief Catherine Wagner of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted 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 eight 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. 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
Today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Oscar Flores-Mejia, also known as “Chamuco,” an associate of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, was sentenced to 45 years’ imprisonment for the murder of 17-year-old Andy Peralta. Co-defendants Juan Amaya-Ramirez, also known as “Cadaver,” and Leyla Carranza were previously sentenced to 45 years’ imprisonment and 22 years’ imprisonment, respectively, for their participation in the murder.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On February 23, 2026, United States District Court Judge Pedro A. Delgado sentenced Juan Carlos Cruz-Hernández to 24 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and restitution of $32,000 for his role in a bribery and wire fraud conspiracy and scheme to defraud the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTOP), announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. Three other defendants were previously charged alongside Cruz-Hernández; two are scheduled to be sentenced in March 2026, and one is awaiting trial.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On February 24, 2026, United States District Court Chief Judge Raúl Arias Marxuach sentenced Selena Crespo Dumeng to 10 months in prison and two years of supervised release, for her role in a conspiracy to provide contraband in prison, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Tampa, Florida – Joel Thomas Lust (51, New Port Richey) has been charged by federal indictment with possessing child sex abuse material. If convicted, Lust faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
In his first major address since becoming Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Ken Wilsbach highlighted readiness and how the service is responding to a complex and ambiguous strategic environment.
During his keynote at the 2026 Air and Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink laid out his vision for the Department of the Air Force’s acquisition transformation effort.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
The United States Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division filed a lawsuit today against the University of California alleging it engaged in a hostile work environment against Jewish and Israeli faculty and staff at its University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Jefry Stevent Padilla Sanchez, 21, a previously convicted felon whose last known address was in Silver Spring, Maryland, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 21 months in federal prison in connection with his illegal possession of a loaded handgun in a crowded public transit station, while unlawfully possessing fentanyl and while on active court supervision.
NAIROBI, Kenya – Exercise Justified Accord 2026 (JA26), U.S. Africa Command’s largest annual, multinational exercise in East Africa, officially began Feb. 24 across Djibouti, Kenya and Tanzania. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), JA26 integrates approximately 1,500 personnel from Djibouti, Kenya, Tanzania the United States and several other nations to build readiness, deepen partnerships and strengthen regional security.
The exercise strengthens cooperation and advances regional security by enabling partner-led security operations against shared threats.
The exercise, running through March 13, 2026, serves as a premier innovation hub in East Africa. JA26 is designed to validate new technologies in austere environments while enabling partner-led security operations against shared counter-terrorism threats.
1 / 2Show Caption +Hide Caption –U.S. Army Spc. Ryan Traynor, left, and Spc. Phoenix Brooks, both infantrymen with Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, provide security for an urban operations exercise during Justified Accord 2025 (JA25) at the Counter Insurgency Terrorism and Stability Operations center in Nanyuki, Kenya, Feb. 16, 2025. JA25 is the premier U.S. Africa Command exercise in East Africa, designed to enhance multinational combat readiness, strengthen crisis response capabilities and empower allies and partners in the region. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) and hosted in Kenya, Djibouti and Tanzania, JA25 integrates high-intensity training scenarios that sharpen warfighting skills, increase operational reach and enhance the ability to execute complex joint and multinational operations. The exercise runs from Feb. 10–21, 2025. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kylejian Francia)VIEW ORIGINAL2 / 2Show Caption +Hide Caption –U.S. Soldiers assigned to Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade; join 1st Battalion, 182nd Infantry Regiment, 51st Troop Command, 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Massachusetts National Guard; the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF); Somalia Danab; Tanzania People’s Defence Forces; and 3rd Rifles, 11th Infantry Brigade, 1st (United Kingdom) Division, pose for a group photo while a KDF F5, assigned to the 15th Fighter Wing flies over at the Counter Insurgency Terrorism and Stability Operations center during Justified Accord 2025 (JA25) in Nanyuki, Kenya, Feb. 20, 2025. JA25 is the premier U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) exercise in East Africa, designed to enhance multinational combat readiness, strengthen crisis response capabilities and empower allies and partners in the region. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) and hosted by Kenya, Djibouti and Tanzania, JA25 integrates high-intensity training scenarios that sharpen warfighting skills, increase operational reach and enhance the ability to execute complex joint and multinational operations. The exercise runs from Feb. 10–21, 2025. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kylejian Francia)VIEW ORIGINAL
The exercise features a comprehensive suite of training events designed to test the full spectrum of military operations.
“The true strength of Justified Accord lies in our partners taking the lead, said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jason Fernandez, the Justified Accord branch chief, SETAF-AF. “This exercise embodies the principle of burden sharing, creating a powerful, partner-led security network capable of shouldering the responsibility for a stable and prosperous East Africa.”
The two-week exercise features a training approach tailored to shared regional security needs.
In Kenya, activities focus on enhancing joint command and control, including a multinational live-fire exercise, a command post exercise integrating special operations and conventional forces, air-to-ground integration, and defensive cyber operations centered in Nairobi and Isiolo.
1 / 4Show Caption +Hide Caption –U.S. Army soldiers with the East Africa Response Force (EARF), assigned to Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), join U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) and the Tanzania People’s Defense Force (TPDF) for a group photo, culminating their field training exercise and concluding exercise Justified Accord (JA25), Feb. 15, 2025 at the Masata Military Training Base in Msata, Tanzania. The exercise JA25, is the premier U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) exercise in East Africa, designed to enhance multinational combat readiness, strengthen crisis response capabilities and empower allies and partners in the region. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) and hosted in Kenya, Djibouti and Tanzania, JA25 integrates high-intensity training scenarios that sharpen warfighting skills, increase operational reach and enhance the ability to execute complex joint and multinational operations. The exercise runs from Feb. 10–21, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael Knight) (Photo Credit: Sgt. Michael Knight)VIEW ORIGINAL2 / 4Show Caption +Hide Caption –U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Arthur McCauley, a combat medic with the 301st Medical Detachment, 912th Field Hospital, 8th Medical Brigade, and U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Alisa Foster, a patient administration specialist with the 912th Field Hospital, 818th Hospital Center, 8th Medical Brigade, check vitals on a Kenyan citizen during a medical civic action program at Justified Accord 2025 (JA25) in Archers Post, Kenya, Feb. 13, 2025. This two-day MEDCAP typically serves between 750-900 patients, while enhancing joint readiness between civilian and military medical providers. JA25 is the premier U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) exercise in East Africa, designed to enhance multinational combat readiness, strengthen crisis response capabilities and empower allies and partners in the region. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) and hosted by Kenya, Djibouti, and Tanzania, JA 25 integrates high-intensity training scenarios that sharpen warfighting skills, increase operational reach and enhance the ability to execute complex joint and multinational operations. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Josiah Jenkins)VIEW ORIGINAL3 / 4Show Caption +Hide Caption –U.S. Army Reserve Lt. Col. Richard Smith, an assistant chief nurse with 912th Field Hospital, 818th Hospital Center, 8th Medical Brigade, provides medical assistance to Kenyan citizens during a joint medical civic action program (MEDCAP) with the Kenya Defence Forces as part of exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25) at Archers Post, Kenya, Feb. 13, 2025. This two-day MEDCAP typically serves between 750-900 patients, while enhancing joint readiness between civilian and military medical providers. JA25 is the premier U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) exercise in East Africa, designed to enhance multinational combat readiness, strengthen crisis response capabilities and empower allies and partners in the region. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) and hosted by Kenya, Djibouti, and Tanzania, JA 25 integrates high-intensity training scenarios that sharpen warfighting skills, increase operational reach and enhance the ability to execute complex joint and multinational operations. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Josiah Jenkins)VIEW ORIGINAL4 / 4Show Caption +Hide Caption –U.S. Army Brig. Gen. John LeBlanc, deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) assists with administering medicine to a goat during a veterinary civic action program (VETCAP) as part of Justified Accord 2025 (JA25) in Archers Post, Kenya, Feb. 18, 2025. JA25 is the premier U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) exercise in East Africa, designed to enhance multinational combat readiness, strengthen crisis response capabilities and empower allies and partners in the region. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) and hosted by Kenya, Djibouti and Tanzania, JA25 integrates high-intensity training scenarios that sharpen warfighting skills, increase operational reach and enhance the ability to execute complex joint and multinational operations. The exercise runs from Feb. 10–21, 2025. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Josiah Jenkins)VIEW ORIGINAL
In Tanzania, the focus is readiness, global force projection, and joint readiness for crisis response. The exercise features a bilateral field training exercise on jungle warfare and counter-improvised explosive devices, alongside a medical readiness exercise to support local communities and increase U.S. medical readiness.
1 / 2Show Caption +Hide Caption –A U.S. Marine Corps V-22 Osprey, assigned to Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) departs, concluding the field training exercise of exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), at the Msata Military Training Base in Msata, Tanzania, Feb. 15, 2025. JA25 is the premier U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) exercise in East Africa, designed to enhance multinational combat readiness, strengthen crisis response capabilities and empower allies and partners in the region. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) and hosted by Kenya, Djibouti and Tanzania, JA25 integrates high-intensity training scenarios that sharpen warfighting skills, increase operational reach and enhance the ability to execute complex joint and multinational operations. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael Knight) (Photo Credit: Sgt. Michael Knight)VIEW ORIGINAL2 / 2Show Caption +Hide Caption –U.S. Army soldiers with the East Africa Response Force (EARF), assigned to Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) and Tanzania People’s Defense Force (TPDF) service members advance to their position to neutralizing enemy opposition during the culminating field training exercise of exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), at the Msata Military Training Base in Msata, Tanzania, Feb. 15, 2025. JA25 is the premier U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) exercise in East Africa, designed to enhance multinational combat readiness, strengthen crisis response capabilities and empower allies and partners in the region. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) and hosted by Kenya, Djibouti and Tanzania, JA25 integrates high-intensity training scenarios that sharpen warfighting skills, increase operational reach and enhance the ability to execute complex joint and multinational operations. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael Knight)VIEW ORIGINAL
JA26 heavily leverages the National Guard Bureau’s state partnership program to deepen long-term military relationships.
The Massachusetts National Guard continues its decade-long partnership with Kenya, leading complex kinetic training, while the Nebraska National Guard builds upon its newly developed partnership with Tanzania, focusing on expeditionary medical and ground force readiness.
The training concludes with distinguished visitor days, showcasing the tangible return on investment of this multinational partnership and shared security cooperation.
During the JA26 distinguished visitor days, in coordination with the U.S. military and the U.S. Department of Commerce (U.S. Embassy Nairobi), selected U.S. and African vendors will set up technology expositions.
The industry day will directly connect commercial technological solutions with military and interagency end-users, fostering collaboration and aligning innovation with operational requirements focused on counter-terrorism, unmanned aerial systems, and counter-UAS capabilities.
“A truly resilient joint force is powered by a thriving defense ecosystem,” added Fernandez. “What you will see is that ecosystem in action, a strategic partnership between our warfighters and commercial innovators from both the U.S. and our partners.”
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About Justified Accord
Justified Accord increases multinational interoperability in support of humanitarian assistance and crisis response, prepares regional partners for United Nations and African Union missions and builds readiness for the U.S. joint force. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), and hosted in Kenya and Tanzania, JA is U.S. Africa Command’s largest exercise in East Africa, with approximately 1,500 participants.
U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) prepares Army forces, executes crisis response, enables strategic competition and strengthens partners to achieve U.S. Army Europe and Africa and U.S. Africa Command campaign objectives.