MIL Security Engine-1

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

On Jan. 21, 2026, the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) convened the 20th Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation on the lands of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. provided opening remarks in which he reaffirmed the Department of Justice’s commitment to Indian Country and its dedication to protecting Tribal communities — particularly women and children — from violent crime, exploitation, and drug trafficking.

The Justice Department announced today that it awarded over $75 million through six grant programs that support American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes and communities in combatting domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, sex trafficking, and stalking. The Tribal Affairs Division (TAD) of the OVW administers these funds. 

The OVW fiscal year 2025 awards announced today are:

• The Tribal Governments Program
  • Nearly $47.5 million through 64 awards in support of efforts to combat domestic and sexual violence, trafficking, and stalking in Tribal communities.
• The Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Initiative
  • More than$3.3 million through three awards to cross-designate Tribal prosecutors as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys, to prevent violent offenders from causing more harm.
• The Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program
  • More than $8 million through 17 awards to establish, maintain, and expand assistance programs for sexual assault victims.
• The Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction (STCJ) Program
  • More than $7 million through eight awards to protect victims of assault or abuse by non-Indian offenders and to bring criminals to justice.
• The Tribal Coalitions Program
  • More than $8 million awarded to 21 Tribal nonprofit coalitions to support organizations that serve victims in Tribal communities.
• The National Tribal Clearinghouse on Sexual Assault
  • One award of $980,100 to provide resources on effective responses to sexual assault of American Indian and Alaska Native women.

OVW administers grant programs designed to combat sexual assault, domestic and dating violence, and stalking. Tribal organizations and governments interested in applying for these and other grants can visit the OVW website for more details and application guidelines.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Pushpesh Kumar Baid, also known as “PK Jain,” was sentenced by United States Second Circuit Judge Denny Chin, sitting by designation, to 20 years’ imprisonment for his role in schemes to defraud investors in Tradepay Capital LLC (“Tradepay”), a purported factoring company, and in Luxestreet, Inc. (Luxestreet), a purported luxury goods pawn shop.  Baid pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in April 2025, approximately one week before trial was scheduled to commence.  As part of the sentence, Baid was preliminarily ordered to pay $35,056,852.83 in restitution to the victims of both the Tradepay and Luxestreet schemes.  Additionally, the Court ordered Baid to forfeit $2,607,689.00 in ill-gotten gains. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A former Commissioner of the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks, and Recreation (SP&R), Calvert White, was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison for soliciting and accepting a bribe from a government contractor in exchange for assistance in attempting to obtain a $1.43 million dollar government contract. His co-conspirator, Benjamin Hendricks, was also sentenced yesterday to 68 months in prison for his role in the same scheme.

“Calvert White rigged a public bid process in exchange for a bribe,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “He abused the trust of those who live in the community he was supposed to serve. The Criminal Division will continue to prosecute government corruption. Such conduct undermines the integrity of our institutions at every level of government.”

“The defendants’ convictions send a message: public corruption is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by our community,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Sleeper for the District of the Virgin Islands.

Public officials take an oath based on trust and assume a responsibility of service to the people,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Claudia Dubravetz of the FBI San Juan Field Office. “When that trust is violated through acts of corruption, it undermines confidence in government and harms the communities it is meant to serve. This is unacceptable, and the FBI will continue to work with our partners to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who abuse their positions for personal gain.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, White solicited and accepted a bribe from a government contractor, David Whitaker, through Hendricks, who acted as an intermediary to facilitate payment of the bribe. The scheme lasted about seven months, beginning in at least December 2023 and continuing until the FBI approached the defendants in June 2024. As part of the scheme, in December 2023, White demanded the bribe from Whitaker to be later paid through Hendricks. In exchange for the bribe, White agreed to assist Whitaker in obtaining a valuable contract for the installation of security cameras at SP&R properties in the Virgin Islands. As part of the scheme, White provided confidential bid information to Whitaker and took official action to encourage the awarding of the contract to Whitaker. During the bid selection process, Whitaker sent the bribe payment to a bank account controlled by Hendricks, who later delivered the funds to White.

The jury convicted both White and Hendricks of one count of honest services wire fraud, and one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.

The FBI San Juan Field Office, St. Thomas Resident Agency investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Alexandre Dempsey of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section prosecuted the case. Former PIN Trial Attorney Lina Peng also provided significant assistance in the investigation and prosecution.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Dovico Raynard Miles, a/k/a “Vico,” 47, of Gainesville, Florida, was sentenced to a total of 270 months in prison after pleading guilty to narcotics and firearm offenses as well as violating the terms of his federal supervised release.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Tampa, FL – Lizbet Sanchez-Alvear (29, Dade City) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernadez Covington to 16 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. Judge Covington also sentenced Cecelia Yalitza Ruiz (29, Dade City) to 27 months in federal prison for destroying evidence relating to Sanchez’s investigation. Sanchez pleaded guilty on October 27, 2025, and Ruiz pleaded guilty on August 12, 2025. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – On January 7, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of Phillip Timothy Howard, 64, of Tallahassee, Florida. Howard is serving a 14-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to racketeering (RICO) in 2023. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBANY, Ga. – A Lee County man, a major methamphetamine distributor connected to two federal drug investigations in Southwest Georgia and a Georgia prison, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.Luis Jose Vanga, 49, of Leesburg, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 300 months in prison to be followed by six years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner on Aug. 5, 2025. There is no parole in the federal system.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Today, a federal grand jury indicted a Laurel, Maryland man on five counts of unlawfully transmitting and one count of unlawfully retaining classified national defense information, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 793(e).

“Illegally disclosing classified defense information is a grave crime against America that puts both our national security and the lives of our military heroes at risk,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This Department of Justice will remain ever-vigilant in protecting the integrity of America’s classified intelligence.”

“Perez-Lugones allegedly printed and removed classified documents from his workplace on multiple occasions, took them home, and later passed them to a reporter who used the information in news articles,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Protecting our country’s secrets is essential to the safety of our most sensitive intelligence, military, and law enforcement operations. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate everyone who seeks to undermine our national security and hold them accountable.”

“The indictment charges that Perez-Lugones willfully transmitted national defense information to a news reporter, placing our national security at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “Protecting sensitive national security information is a core responsibility of the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will pursue accountability when that trust is violated. Putting it simply, risking our national security cannot and will not be tolerated.”

“Today’s indictment sends a clear message to all clearance holders that the FBI and our partners will spare no resource to immediately identify and hold accountable those who violate the law by disclosing classified information without authorization,” said Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “This alleged brazen betrayal posed the threat of exceptionally grave damage to national security, including endangering our warfighters and ongoing military operations.”

Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, 61, a long-time holder of a Top-Secret security clearance who has worked as a government contractor for the past two decades, is charged with the unauthorized transmission and retention of national defense information. Since at least 2002, Perez-Lugones has worked as a system engineer and information technology specialist for a government contractor. In that role, Perez-Lugones worked on contracts for the U.S. Intelligence Community. Perez-Lugones was previously charged by criminal complaint on January 9, 2026, with the unlawful retention of national defense information.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg, U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland, and Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s Washington Field Office announced the indictment.

According to the indictment, between October 2025 and January 2026, Perez-Lugones repeatedly accessed classified reports, printed or copied the information in these classified reports, and then removed this classified information from the sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) where he worked. Thereafter, Perez-Lugones transmitted the classified national defense information to a reporter (referred to as “Reporter 1” in the indictment), who was not authorized to receive it.  In turn, Reporter 1 co-authored and contributed to at least five articles that contained classified information Perez-Lugones provided, resulting in the dissemination of the information to the public.

Perez-Lugones was arrested on Jan. 8, 2026.  During the execution of a court-authorized search warrant for his mobile phone, investigators reviewed messages between Perez-Lugones and Reporter 1 discussing the classified information that Perez-Lugones had provided. These messages also showed Perez-Lugones transmitting to Reporter 1 two documents that contained classified national defense information. After sending one such document, Perez-Lugones sent a message stating, “I’m going quiet for a bit . . . just to see if anyone starts asking questions.” Additionally, during the execution of a court-authorized search warrant for Perez-Lugones’s vehicle, investigators recovered a hard-copy document classified at the SECRET level.

If convicted, Perez-Lugones faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each count of retention and transmission of national defense information.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia McLane and Thomas Sullivan of the District of Maryland and Trial Attorneys Menno Goedman and Brendan Geary of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.  The FBI’s Washington Field Office is investigating.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. Individuals charged by indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.