Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Baltimore, Maryland – A Maryland man learned his fate in federal court, stemming from charges for his role as a drug supplier. U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Alcedo Hodge, Jr., 30, of Parkville, to seven years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Family Workshop Counseling Center, LLC, and its owner, Jeffrey Burrows, have agreed to pay $350,000 to the United States to resolve allegations that they improperly billed Medicare for clinical social worker services provided by individuals who were not authorized to receive Medicare reimbursement.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, and Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), James C. Barnacle, Jr., announced today an Indictment charging ARMANDO SOLIS BARRON, a/k/a “Solomon,” and DOMINIC AHIGA, a/k/a “Michael Grinnell,” a/k/a “Josh Weinstein,” with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their scheme to defraud clients of their mortgage modification business of millions of dollars in fees.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, together with major federal law enforcement and interagency partners, announced actions taken by the Department of Justice’s Scam Center Strike Force to secure America against Southeast Asian cryptocurrency-related fraud and scams. The Strike Force and the Department of the Treasury took coordinated actions against Xinbi Guarantee (“Xinbi”), an illicit marketplace for scam services, and the Strike Force deployed to Madagascar to assist in the taking down of 13 Chinese-run scam compounds.
Source: United States Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Jacob D. Ortiz, 34, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of assaulting a federal employee resulting in bodily injury, was sentenced to time served and three years’ supervised release by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Source: United States Department of Justice
LAS VEGAS – Two men and one woman have been indicted in connection with illegal acquisition of firearms and unlawful entry with a concealed weapon into the secure U.S. Department of Energy Nevada National Security Sites North Las Vegas Facility.
Source: United States Department of Justice
A former Oregon-based AT&T Store employee was sentenced today to 16 months in federal prison for selling his access to his employer’s network to a hacker by “SIM swapping” customers – fraudulently reassigning customers’ cell phone numbers – so the hacker could take control of the victims’ bank accounts and steal their money, causing nearly $600,000 in intended losses.
Source: United States Department of Justice
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Adonijah Josiah Ortega, 23, of Phoenix, was sentenced on Sept. 3, by United States District Judge Douglas L. Rayes to 171 months in prison for a 2022 carjacking during which Ortega shot and assaulted a man with a firearm. Ortega previously pleaded guilty to Carjacking and Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
The Department of Justice — through its Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the District of Rhode Island — will be observing polling locations today in Pawtucket, Rhode Island as part of its mission to secure ballot integrity, maintain transparency into the voting process, and enforce compliance with federal law.
“This is our last stop on what has been a successful midterm primary monitoring effort,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “I am proud to say we have visited eleven states and hundreds of polling locations. We will continue this work through the midterm general elections to assure the American public of the fairness and security of the voting process.”
“The Rhode Island United States Attorney’s Office is proud to continue its partnership with the Civil Rights Division and coordination between the federal and local levels to ensure that elections are held in compliance with all laws,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles C. Calenda for the District of Rhode Island.
The Department will be sending four members from the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section and the Rhode Island USAO to various polling sites throughout the city.
On July 30, 2024, the Department secured a Consent Decree ensuring that the City of Pawtucket would meet its obligations under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act and Section 302 of the Help America Vote Act. United States v. City of Pawtucket et al., Case No. 24-cv-209 (D.R.I. 2024). Pursuant to this Consent Decree, the Department is authorized to observe election procedures.
The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces various federal statutes that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Civil Rights Acts.
From now and up to Election Day on Nov. 3, Civil Rights Division personnel will be available to receive questions and complaints from the public related to possible violations of federal voting rights laws through the Civil Rights Division’s website at civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931. If you would like to request election monitoring in a particular jurisdiction, please contact the Voting Section at VEM@usdoj.gov, and the Civil Rights Division will determine whether monitoring is warranted.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney Ronald A. Parsons, Jr. announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a man from Las Vegas, Nevada, convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on August 31, 2026.