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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Louisville, KY – A federal criminal complaint and arrest warrant were issued on October 9, 2025, charging a Jefferson County high school teacher with distributing and possessing child pornography.

U.S. Attorney Kyle G. Bumgarner of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Olivia Olson of the FBI Louisville Field Office, and Chief Paul Humphrey of the Louisville Metro Police Department made the announcement.

According to the criminal complaint, in August 2025, Brian Hinds, 51, distributed child sexual abuse material depicting prepubescent boys to a law enforcement officer working online undercover. During an interview conducted on October 9, 2025, Hinds admitted to both sending and receiving child sexual abuse material through online messaging applications. Hinds is employed as a theater teacher at duPont Manual High School’s Youth Performing Arts School.

While the investigation is ongoing, authorities have not presently identified any victim that is a current or former student of duPont Manual High School. If local victims are later identified, authorities will directly and immediately make contact with victims or the parents/guardians of minor victims.

Hinds is scheduled to make his initial appearance today, October 10, 2025, before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. If convicted on the charges in the complaint, Hinds faces a minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and LMPD.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys A. Spencer McKiness and Stephanie Zimdahl are prosecuting the case.

If you have any information about Hinds that may contribute to this investigation, please contact the FBI Louisville Field Office at brianhindstips@fbi.gov.

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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

OXFORD, MS – A Tupelo, Mississippi man was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for using an online application to coerce minor females to send him sexually explicit images and videos.

According to court documents, Sean Carson, 24 years old, was getting girls as young as 12 years old to send him sexually explicit images. When the girls would try to cut off contact, Carson would threaten to send out the images and sexual texts to family members if they refused to continue talking to him, sharing personally identifying information, and keep sending sexually explicit images and videos. The FBI has identified 46 of the approximately 100 victims.

Senior Judge Michael P. Mills sentenced Carson to 240 months and a lifetime of supervised release. After his release from prison, Carson will have to register as a sex offender wherever he lives, works, or goes to school. During his supervised release, Carson’s access to electronic devices will be limited.

“Significant sentences like the one handed down to Sean Carson help to ensure that our children are protected from sexual predators who lure children and then attempt to keep them silent,” stated U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner.  “AUSA Parker King and our partners at the FBI did some exceptional work in order to prove a difficult case, and this sentence should act as a deterrent to other would be predators as well.”

“This sentence underscores the FBI’s commitment to protect our children from sexual exploitation,” said Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jackson Field Office Robert Eikhoff. “The message is clear, vile predators like Sean Carson will be held to the highest extent of the law. The FBI maintains a commitment to support the USAO and the Tupelo Police Department in aggressively investigating and protecting the innocence of our minors, assuring offenders are brought to justice.”

The FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker S. King prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

OXFORD, MS – An Amory, Mississippi man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for sex trafficking of minors.

According to court documents, Steven Gaston Colburn, 70 years old, was convicted of recruiting, enticing, maintaining, providing, and soliciting minors under the age of 14 years old to engage in sexual acts for money or drugs. Colburn is accused of picking minor females who had difficult or unstable upbringings and paying them to commit sexual acts. Colburn paid the girls to attend church with him as well as engaging in sex acts.

Eight victims came forward during the investigation to bravely tell their stories. The victims sent in impact statements which were considered by the Court. Senior Judge Michael P. Mills sentenced Colburn to 180 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release. Judge Mills noted the bravery and courage of each of the victims.

“By incarcerating this defendant for what is functionally a life sentence, Judge Mills has ensured that no other minor will have to endure victimization at his hands,” stated U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner.  “I would like to personally commend the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office and our partners with District Attorney Jason Herring’s Office for an investigation that looks like it will result in Colburn never breathing free air again.”

“This individual has victimized children in our county for generations,” said Monroe County Sheriff Kevin Crook. “He manipulated and abused young women until they reached their twenties and then went after their children. He has left in his wake a number of victims who now struggle with substance abuse disorder resulting from his abuse.  From the time we made the arrest, our District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District worked with us to ensure Colburn was not able to get out of jail and hurt anyone else. I am grateful for the countless hours that our Investigators put into this case and to know this man’s reign of victimization is over in Monroe County.”

“This case demonstrates the power of creating a statewide network of law enforcement trained in cyber forensics and dedicated to the safety of our children online,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “We are proud to partner with law enforcement agencies across Mississippi, including the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, through our Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. I am grateful for the work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to secure this federal sentence. The collaboration with our ICAC Task Force is precisely the kind of partnership that is necessary to protect children from abuse.”

“Safeguarding our society’s future begins with protecting underage youth in our communities from vile individuals like, Steven Colburn,” stated Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jackson Field Office Robert Eikhoff. “Those who commit these heinous crimes against our youth, deteriorating the safety of our society, will be sought after and brought to justice. The FBI has great resolve to pursue justice for the predators who seek to exploit the youth of our communities and stands firm with the USAO and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department in protecting our most vulnerable population – our children.”

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker S. King prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s 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.projectsafechildhood.gov. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A Wasilla man pleaded guilty today to distributing carfentanil to two people, resulting in the near fatal overdose of an adult victim and the fatal overdose of a minor victim. The defendant also pleaded guilty today to a felon in possession of firearms charge filed through a separate federal indictment in July.

According to court documents, on Nov. 14, 2024, Sean Mobley, 45, agreed to supply an individual with .25 grams of fentanyl powder to distribute to another person. Mobley gave the individual a powdered substance that he believed was fentanyl but was, in fact, carfentanil. Carfentanil is an opioid used by veterinarians and is 100 times more potent than fentanyl.

Mobley and the individual drove to a residence in Wasilla. The individual entered the residence and sold the substance to an adult victim for $100. The individual returned to the vehicle and gave Mobley the money from the sale. Shortly after the sale, the adult victim used the substance and overdosed, causing serious bodily injury.

After distributing the substance to the adult victim, Mobley drove to a local gas station and dropped the individual off and picked up a 16-year-old victim. Mobley took the minor victim to an isolated location intending to use drugs together. Mobley gave some of the substance he believed was fentanyl powder to the minor victim. The minor victim used the substance and immediately overdosed and lost consciousness. Believing the minor victim was dead, Mobley dumped her body in a remote area and fled.

On Jan. 28, 2025, Mobley possessed a shotgun inside a vehicle he was operating. Mobley has three prior felony convictions from 2002 and 2003, making him a felon in possession of a firearm.

On June 10, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Mobley with distribution resulting in death and serious bodily injury. On July 17, a federal grand jury returned a separate indictment charging Mobley with being a felon in possession of a firearm and being an unlawful drug user and addict in possession of a firearm.

Mobley is scheduled to be sentenced on January 22, 2026 and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in prison but up to life in prison for the distribution resulting in death and serious bodily injury charge, and up to 15 years in prison for the felon in possession of a firearm charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman of the District of Alaska, Special Agent in Charge David F. Reames of the DEA Seattle Field Division and Alaska State Trooper Colonel Maurice Hughes made the announcement.

The DEA Anchorage District Office and the Alaska State Troopers investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tom Bradley and Alana Weber are prosecuting the case, with assistance and collaboration from the State of Alaska Department of Law, Office of Special Prosecutions.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced today that a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging New York State Attorney General Letitia James with Bank Fraud under 18 U.S.C. Section 1344 and False Statements to a Financial Institution under 18 U.S.C. Section 1014.

“No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,” said U.S. Attorney Halligan. “The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”

If convicted, Letitia James faces penalties including up to 30 years in prison per count, up to a $1 million fine on each count, and forfeiture. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

EUGENE, Ore.— A Turner, Oregon, man was sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison today for drug trafficking following a multi-agency investigation led by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO).

Ryan Gossett, 39, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.

According to court documents, on April 26, 2024, Gossett was apprehended in Bend, Oregon after fleeing prosecution in Marion County, Oregon for armed robbery. When apprehended, Gossett was in possession of a handgun and small amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl. Two days later, investigators with the DCSO Criminal Detectives Division executed a search warrant on Gossett’s vehicle, locating over 900 grams of methamphetamine, 330 grams of fentanyl, and firearm magazines.

Gossett has multiple prior convictions for delivery of a controlled substance.

Gossett was indicted on June 20, 2024, and pled guilty on July 9, 2025, to a single count of Possession with Intent to Distribute more than 500 grams of Methamphetamine.

The case was investigated by the DCSO with assistance from the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team, and the United States Marshals Service. It was prosecuted by Andrew R. Doyle, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PORTLAND, Ore. – A Portland, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison today after robbing a KeyBank branch with a loaded gun.

James Michael Wallace, 55, is a career offender and was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $6,437 for losses associated with this and other robberies.

According to court documents, on February 28, 2025, Wallace entered the KeyBank branch located on Woodstock Avenue in Portland. Wallace approached a teller and pressed a loaded gun to the teller’s torso demanding the teller open the cash drawer. Wallace left the bank with $856 in cash, leaving behind his gun. At the time of the robbery, Wallace was on federal supervision for a prior federal bank robbery conviction.

On August 27, 2025, Wallace pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with Armed Bank Robbery.

This case was investigated by the Portland Police Bureau and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine A. Rykken.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – A Venezuelan national and suspected member of a transnational criminal organization has pleaded guilty to illegally possessing firearms and conspiring to destroy evidence after posting photos and videos of himself with weapons on social media.

According to court documents, Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, 23, a Venezuelan national, illegally entered the United States on December 15, 2023, and was released pending removal proceedings. In January 2025, Homeland Security Investigations received an anonymous tip that Ortega-Lopez, a suspected member of the Tren de Aragua transnational criminal organization and U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, was living in Las Cruces and in possession of firearms.

Ortega-Lopez posted numerous photos and videos to his Facebook and TikTok accounts showing him handling, displaying, and shooting various firearms at a Las Cruces shooting range and other locations. On December 24, 2024, Ortega-Lopez posted photos and videos of himself at the residence of April Cano, a social media influencer and gun enthusiast, holding a rifle with tactical equipment while wearing a ballistic helmet with night vision goggles. In the videos, Ortega-Lopez referred to April Cano’s parents, Nancy and Jose Cano, as “Patron” and “Patrona,” and told an informant he had received a firearm as a Christmas gift from the Cano family.

Ortega-Lopez worked for the Cano family and received housing in return.  Additionally, the Cano family took Ortega-Lopez to the shooting range to fire weapons and allowed him access to firearms.

On February 28, 2025, agents executed search warrants and seized four firearms from April Cano’s residence. During a post-Miranda interview, Ortega-Lopez admitted he recognized all four firearms and knew it was illegal for him to possess them. On April 20, 2025, Ortega-Lopez conspired with another person to destroy his Facebook account to avoid the contents being used against him at trial.

Nancy and Jose Cano were indicted this week on charges related to tampering with evidence. Nancy Cano faces charges of conspiracy to tamper with evidence, while Jose Cano is charged with both conspiracy to tamper with evidence and tampering with evidence. Both remain on conditions of release pending trial, which has not been scheduled.

Ortega-Lopez pleaded guilty to alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition and conspiracy to tamper with evidence. At sentencing, Ortega-Lopez faces up to 20 years in prison.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Jason T. Stevens, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso, made the announcement today.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated this case with assistance from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Senior Litigation Counsel Maria Y. Armijo, Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Castellano and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Tonkin are prosecuting the case 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 (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. [use if applicable] Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

LOS ANGELES – A former Pacific Palisades resident now living in Florida has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with maliciously starting what eventually became the Palisades Fire of January 2025, one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history, the Justice Department announced today.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, a.k.a. “Jonathan Rinder,” and “Jon Rinder,” of Melbourne, Florida, is charged with destruction of property by means of fire. He was arrested Tuesday and is expected to make his initial appearance today in United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

“The complaint alleges that a single person’s recklessness caused one of the worst fires Los Angeles has ever seen, resulting in death and widespread destruction in Pacific Palisades,” said Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “While we cannot bring back what victims lost, we hope this criminal case brings some measure of justice to those affected by this horrific tragedy.”

“At the request of state and local authorities, ATF took the lead in this complex investigation utilizing techniques unique to our agency’s capabilities,” said Special Agent in Charge Kenny Cooper of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Los Angeles Field Division. “The horrific loss of life and property was significantly felt by ATF members, and we are honored to utilize our expertise to provide answers to this community. We remain committed to serving with integrity and distinction.”

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, law enforcement determined that the Palisades Fire was a “holdover” fire – a continuation of the Lachman Fire that began early in the morning on New Year’s Day 2025. Although firefighters quickly suppressed the Lachman Fire, unbeknownst to anyone the fire continued to smolder and burn underground within the root structure of dense vegetation.

On January 7, heavy winds caused the underground fire to surface and spread above ground in what became known as the Palisades Fire, which caused widespread damage in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Law enforcement determined – using witness statements, video surveillance, cellphone data, and analysis of fire dynamics and patterns at the scene, among other things – that Rinderknecht maliciously set the Lachman Fire just after midnight on January 1 on land owned by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), an organization that received federal funding. A week later, the same fire – then known as the Palisades Fire – burned federal property.

On the evening of December 31, 2024, Rinderknecht was working as an Uber driver. Two passengers that he drove on separate trips between 10:15 p.m. and 11:15 p.m. that night later told law enforcement they remembered that Rinderknecht appeared agitated and angry.

After dropping off a passenger in Pacific Palisades, Rinderknecht – who once lived in that neighborhood – drove towards Skull Rock Trailhead, parked his car, attempted to contact a former friend, and walked up the trail. He then used his iPhone to take videos at a nearby hilltop area and listened to a rap song – to which he had listened repeatedly in previous days – whose music video included things being lit on fire.

At 12:12 a.m. on January 1, 2025, environmental sensing platforms indicated the Lachman Fire had begun. During the next five minutes, Rinderknecht called 911 several times, but didn’t get through because his iPhone was out of cellphone range. When he finally connected with 911, he was at the bottom of the hiking trail and reported the fire. By that point, a nearby resident already had reported the fire to authorities.

Rinderknecht then fled in his car, passing fire engines driving in the opposite direction. He then turned around and followed the fire engines to the scene, driving at a high rate of speed. Rinderknecht walked up the same trail from earlier that night to watch the fire and the firefighters. At approximately 1:02 a.m., he used his iPhone to take more videos of the scene. 

During an interview with law enforcement on January 24, 2025, Rinderknecht lied about where he was when he first saw the Lachman Fire. He claimed he was near the bottom of a hiking trail when he first saw the fire and called 911, but geolocation data from his iPhone carrier showed that he was standing in a clearing 30 feet from the fire as it rapidly grew.

A complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

If convicted, Rinderknecht would face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

ATF is investigating this matter, with substantial assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department and the United States Forest Service.

Assistant United States Attorneys Mark A. Williams, Matthew W. O’Brien, and Danbee C. Kim of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section, and Assistant United States Attorney Laura A. Alexander of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting this case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

VICTORIA, Texas – A 41-year-old illegal alien from Cambodia has been charged with unlawfully possessing a weapon following the shooting death of a woman in Victoria, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.  

Savin Seng aka “Two-Face” had illegally resided in Victoria and is now in federal custody pending a detention hearing set for Oct. 10 at 10 a.m. At his initial appearance, the court heard that he is an admitted gang member.

According to the criminal complaint, a shooting incident occurred at a residence in the Telferner community outside Victoria Oct. 3. Authorities had allegedly found a female victim deceased from a gunshot wound to the head. The charges allege the shooter had left his cell phone and fled the scene. 

An image on the phone showed a man holding a Glock pistol with an extended magazine, according to the charges. The criminal complaint alleges the man was Seng, whom a witness had identified as the murder suspect.

Court documents allege Seng also had an active arrest warrant from 2022 for another homicide in Los Angeles, California. 

Law enforcement allegedly located Seng less than a mile from the scene of the shooting and took him into custody. At the time of his arrest, he had a loaded Glock 17, 9mm pistol in his shorts along with a loaded 31-round extended magazine, according to the allegations. 

The charges allege Seng had illegally entered the United States as a child and never held lawful immigration status in the country. Court documents allege he had been ordered removed as an aggravated felon in April 2016 but had not been physically removed. He has been in custody in California, Georgia and Louisiana, according to court records.  

The criminal complaint further alleges Seng has had possession of many guns while remaining in the United States illegally. 

“The presence of armed, illegal-alien gang members in our midst is a threat to public safety,” Ganjei said. “The Southern District of Texas is determined to remove each and every one of them from our streets.”

If convicted, Seng faces up to 10 years in federal prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Victoria County Sheriff’s Office and Los Angeles, California, Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patti Hubert Booth is prosecuting the case. 

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 and Project Safe Neighborhood.