MIL Security Engine-1

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Martial H. Amilcar, also known as “Drippy,” a member of Hyena Crips, was sentenced by United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly to 30 years’ imprisonment for racketeering, predicated on the murder of 15-year-old Samuel Joseph and the attempted gunpoint robbery of a Brooklyn pharmacy.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI) announced the sentence.

“In seeking to exact retribution and promote gang violence, Amilcar ended the life of an innocent child,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “A lengthy prison sentence cannot undo the loss this family and this community has suffered but it delivers a powerful message that senseless violence carries serious consequences.”

“Martial Amilcar’s sentencing is a testament to HSI New York’s relentless commitment to protecting innocent New Yorkers from violent gangs that have brutalized our neighborhoods and exploited fraud schemes to fund their reign of terror,” stated HSI Special Agent in Charge Patel.  “The defendant’s cold-blooded murder of 15-year-old Samuel Joseph and the violent attempted robbery that endangered families and a child highlight the deadly grip gang violence holds on our communities.  Today serves as a powerful reminder that HSI New York, together with our partners, will relentlessly pursue those who devastate our neighborhoods and shatter innocent lives with their savagery.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to HSI’s Violent Gang Task Force, the New York City Police Department, and the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General for their outstanding work in this investigation.

As detailed in court filings, the Hyena Crips set of the Crips street gang follows many of the rules and the hierarchical structure of other Crips sets, earning money through fraud and robberies, and protecting their reputation through violent crimes.

February 22, 2019 Murder of Samuel Joseph

As detailed in court documents, including the government’s sentencing memorandum, Amilcar shot and killed 15-year-old Samuel Joseph on February 22, 2019 in retaliation for an altercation earlier the same day between Amilcar’s brother, also a Hyena Crips gang member, and Joseph’s older brother, a rival gang member.  Amilcar’s brother attacked the rival gang member outside a convenience store located on the 1300-block of Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, and the rival gang member stabbed Amilcar’s brother in the leg.

Shortly after the altercation, Amilcar changed his clothing and contacted various alleged members of the Hyena Crips, including a co-defendant who then met Amilcar.  Amilcar and the co-defendant drove to Samuel Joseph’s apartment building and waited outside.  As Joseph walked down a staircase towards the building’s exit, Amilcar walked into the building, pulled out a gun and shot Joseph three times at close range, killing him. The shooting and events leading up to it were captured on security camera footage taken nearby.

June 9, 2020 Attempted Robbery of a Brooklyn Pharmacy

On June 9, 2020, the defendant and two other alleged members of the Hyena Crips attempted to rob a pharmacy on the 3400-block of Avenue H in Brooklyn.  Amilcar and the others entered the pharmacy and ordered the customers, employees and a small child to the back of the store.  Amilcar placed his hands around a victim’s throat, displayed a firearm and ordered her to the back of the store.  He jumped over the cashier’s counter in an attempt to rob the store but ultimately fled the pharmacy.  Video surveillance from inside the pharmacy captured the incident.

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Eight defendants were charged in the superseding indictment with racketeering in connection with their membership in the Hyena Crips.  Two defendants have pleaded guilty, including Amilcar’s brother Martial C. Amilcar.  Yesterday, November 12, 2025, Martial C. Amilcar was sentenced by United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly to 96 months’ imprisonment for racketeering in connection with conspiring to commit fraud using means of identification to defraud the Small Business Administration and conspiring to murder rival gang members.

Trial is scheduled to begin for the five remaining defendants on January 26, 2026.  The racketeering charges at trial include the previously unsolved murders of Leandre Mallinckrodt at the West Indian Day Parade on Labor Day 2012 and Roodson Polynice in September 2020.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Devon Lash, Jessica Weigel and Joshua Dugan are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of paralegal specialists Elizabeth Reed and Erin Payne.

The Defendant:

MARTIAL H. AMILCAR, also known as “Drippy”
Age: 28
Brooklyn, New York

Previously Convicted Defendants:

MARTIAL C. AMILCAR, also known as “Hype”
Age:  27
Brooklyn, New York

MATTHEW HARRIS, also known as “Kappy”
Age: 26
Brooklyn, New York

Defendants Awaiting Trial:

BRADLEY AUGUSTIN, also known as “Cradley”
Age:  26
Brooklyn, New York

DAVE AUGUSTIN, also known as “Juice”
Age: 39
Brooklyn, New York

RICK JASMIN, also known as “Jab”
Age: 32
Brooklyn, New York

WISNY JOSEPH, also known as “Weezy”
Age: 34
Brooklyn, New York

RICHLER MORETTE, also known as “Breezy”
Age: 30
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-18 (S1)(AMD)

BOSTON – A Lowell man was sentenced on Oct. 8, 2025 for distributing thousands of counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine, including to a member of the Asian Boyz gang.

Scott Fournier, a/k/a “S.G.,” 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley to 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In June 2025, Fournier pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine; two counts of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine; two counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine; and three counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine.

According to court documents, a long-term investigation identified that Asian Boyz gang members and associates had access to a plentiful supply of dangerous, homemade pills pressed with varying doses of methamphetamine and caffeine designed to resemble pharmaceutical-grade Adderall.

Between March 2, 2023 and May 12, 2023, Fournier supplied an Asian Boyz gang member with more than 2,000 methamphetamine pills to be used in street deals. Fournier’s fingerprints were identified on one of the bags containing the pills.

The investigation subsequently traced Fournier’s supply operation to a storage unit in Tyngsborough. Security video recordings from the facility showed Fournier routinely accessing the storage unit, including at the times in which he delivered methamphetamine pills to the Asian Boyz gang member. During a search of the storage unit in October 2023, 13,464 counterfeit “Adderall” pills containing methamphetamine were found – with a combined weight of over four kilograms – as well as other types of pills. Upon being approached by law enforcement, following the search of his storage unit, Fournier was found in possession of a bag that contained an additional 1,684 counterfeit “Adderall” pills made with methamphetamine.      

Additionally, over the course of five separate occasions between April 2024 and October 2024, Fournier sold approximately 8,000 counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine – with a combined weight of over two kilograms – in recorded deals to a cooperating witness.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Superintendent Gregory C. Hudon of the Lowell Police Department made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Billerica, Haverhill, North Andover and Salem Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred M. Wyshak, III of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.justice.gov/PSN.

This case is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle has sentenced Darius Lavon Williams (40, Hudson) to 25 years in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

According to court documents, deputies with the Pasco Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle being driven by Williams. During a search of the vehicle, deputies located two firearms, two ounces of cocaine, an ounce of fentanyl, over two ounces of cocaine base, marijuana, THC wax, psylocibin gummies, and a digital scale. Williams has an extensive criminal history, including aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, felon in possession of a firearm, and eight prior convictions for sale of cocaine.

This case was investigated by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David P. Sullivan.

BOSTON – A Brazilian national illegally residing in Worcester, Mass., pleaded guilty on Oct. 22, 20025 to his involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle aliens into the United States, money laundering conspiracy and illegal reentry. Case is part of significant international law enforcement operation targeting alien smugglers in United States and Brazil.

Flavio Alexandre Alves, a/k/a “Ronaldo,” 41, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to bring aliens to and transport aliens within the United States, one count of conspiracy to launder money and one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for Dec. 12, 2025. The defendant was previously arrested and charged by criminal complaint with human smuggling in March 2025 and remains in federal custody.

According to the charging documents, Alves was previously convicted of human smuggling offenses in the Central District of California in 2004 and subsequently deported to Brazil in February 2005. Sometime after his removal, Alves illegally re-entered the United States and has been residing in the United States without immigration status.

In April 2022, an investigation began into a human smuggling organization (HSO) operating in the United States, Brazil and Mexico, that smuggles Brazilian nationals through Mexico, across the U.S.-Mexico border and into the United States for financial gain and laundering the proceeds. The investigation identified Alves as domestic-based smuggler for the HSO who joined the organization in 2021. Alves coordinated with co-conspirators in Brazil and Mexico to facilitate the transportation of aliens from Brazil into the United States, launder funds to Mexico to support the HSO and collect smuggling fees paid by or on behalf of the Brazilian nationals being smuggled.  

Specifically, Alves was responsible for purchasing airline tickets for aliens – including families and groups – to various places within the United States. This included purchasing airline tickets for Brazilian nationals to travel from border cities to other locations across the United States shortly after the aliens were encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and released from detention. Between May 2021 and August 2022, Alves purchased more than 100 individual airline tickets from Tucson or Phoenix shortly after CBP encounters, to destination cities throughout the United States.

Alves sent money to aliens and smugglers located in Mexico to pay for expenses associated with transit into the United States. Bank and financial records obtained during the investigation revealed that Alves sent hundreds of thousands of dollars in money transfers to facilitate the travel of aliens who were later encountered by immigration authorities illegally crossing into the United States, and paid smugglers in Mexico for their role in the HSO. Additionally, Alves utilized different methods to conceal the nature and frequency of the transfers, including using in-person money transfer services at various locations throughout Massachusetts; providing different variations of his name and home address; and having other close associates conduct the transactions on his behalf.

Alves also collected payments from aliens as the fee for being smuggled into the United States – taking a percentage of the fee as his “cut” and transferring the remainder of the money to other members of the HSO based in Mexico.

The investigation and arrest of Alves was coordinated under Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) Program. JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security , has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Colombia that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA is comprised of detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Office of Enforcement Operations and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, DEA and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 355 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 315 U.S. convictions; more than 260 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

The ECT program is a partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI and focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources. ECT also coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The charge of conspiracy to bring aliens to, or transport an alien within, the United States in violation of law provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of conspiracy to launder money provides for sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and up to $250,000 fine. The defendant is subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Brasília, Brazil Attaché Troy Clausen for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations made the announcement today. Substantial assistance was provided by HSI Offices in Brasilia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia; HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C; U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force; and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Noto of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion and Acting Deputy Chief Frank Rangoussis of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights & Special Prosecutions Section.