Source: United States Department of Justice
MOBILE, AL – Timothy Chandler, 23, a United States Postal Service contract mail carrier, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock to a time served sentence, after spending over 30 days in jail, for delay and destruction of mail.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A federal judge in Memphis, Tennessee, today sentenced Courtney Trenell, 34, of Memphis, to 15 years in prison for aiding and abetting two bank robberies and joining a conspiracy to rob six banks. Eight men were indicted in this case, with Trenell and three co-defendants being convicted in jury trials and the others pleading guilty.
“This defendant took part in two separate bank robberies as part of a violent robbery crew,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The series of bank robberies committed by these eight defendants threatened the lives of hardworking Americans and terrorized bank employees and customers. Those who commit these dangerous robberies will be prosecuted, regardless of their role.”
“This is precisely the type of violent offender that threatens lives and public safety in Memphis,” said U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant for the Western District of Tennessee. “Armed bank robberies are brazen and disturbing acts of violence that terrorize our community and must be met with significant sentences such as this one. Trenell is a dangerous offender who has sown violence and greed and will now reap the full measure of consequences for his criminal conduct.”
“This sentence demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to working with our partners to bring to justice those who resort to bank robbery for criminal profit,” said Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly of the FBI Nashville Field Office. “We will continue to dedicate the necessary resources to pursue those who terrorize our communities and will not rest until offenders are held accountable for their actions.”
Evidence at trial proved that between April 2023 and December 2023, Trenell joined a conspiracy to rob banks throughout Memphis. Trenell drove a getaway car to aid co-defendants in orchestrating and escaping the robberies of Bank of Bartlett and First Horizon Bank branches, which are located across the street from one another, on Oct. 20, 2023. The defendants robbed each bank at the same time to confuse and evade law enforcement.
A jury convicted Trenell of two counts of aiding and abetting a bank robbery and one count of joining a conspiracy to rob banks after an eight-day trial in July 2025. Trenell’s trial co-defendants, Devins Hinds, 36, and Joshua Cribbs, 33, both of Memphis, were also found guilty of joining a conspiracy to rob banks in Memphis and robbing specific banks. Hinds was found guilty of additional firearm offenses as well. In a January 2026 trial, a separate jury found defendant Mario Patterson, 45, of Memphis, guilty of robbing three banks in the same conspiracy as Trenell and other defendants.
Last year, Hinds and Cribbs were sentenced to 194 months and 144 months in prison, respectively. Another co-defendant, Robert Haley, 45, pleaded guilty before trial and was sentenced to 204 months in prison in December 2025. Three additional defendants, Monterrio Trenell, Travis Drain, and Mario Patterson, await sentencing later this year.
The FBI and the Memphis Police Department investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Ashleigh Atasoy of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory A. Wagner and Tony Arvin for the Western District of Tennessee prosecuted the case.
This case is part of the Safe Streets Task Force’s efforts to prosecute violent crimes in Memphis, Tennessee, and surrounding areas. This case is also part of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative to prosecute violent crimes in Memphis, Tennessee, and surrounding areas. The Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee have partnered, along with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, to confront violent crimes committed by gang members and associates through the enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources to prosecute the violent offenders and prevent further violence.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
The Justice Department announced today that Honeywell Aerospace Inc. has agreed to pay $2,042,518 to resolve allegations that it is liable under the False Claims Act for failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements in a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense. Honeywell Aerospace, a corporation headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, provides aerospace products and solutions to government and commercial customers. Prior to June 29, when Honeywell Aerospace became a standalone public company, it was a business segment of Honeywell International Inc., of Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Government contractors that obtain defense information in administering their contracts must follow required cybersecurity standards,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to investigate potential violations of these cybersecurity requirements to protect this critical information.”
“Cybersecurity requirements and standards for federal contractors are in place for a reason: to protect government systems and prevent unauthorized access to government data,” said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson for the Western District of North Carolina. “Companies that seek and profit off of government contracts have an obligation to ensure sensitive data is protected.”
The settlement resolves allegations that from April 2020 through December 2023, a business unit of Honeywell International Inc. submitted false claims for payment by failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements specified in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171, with respect to one of Honeywell’s networks, as required by the contract and regulation.
The allegations resolved by this settlement arose from a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act under which private citizens can sue on behalf of the government and share in any recovery. The settlement in this case provides for the whistleblower, Rachel Tenney, a former employee of Honeywell, to receive $375,823 as her share of the settlement.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Department of Justice Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
The matter was handled by Senior Trial Counsel Greg Pearson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Holly Snow for the Western District of North Carolina.
The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Rachel Tenney v. Honeywell International Inc., Civil Action No. 3:22-cv-129 (W.D.N.C.).
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould announced that a Dallas man has been charged with kidnapping a 14‑year‑old minor. According to the federal criminal complaint filed on Aug. 27, David Michael Klepak, 63, allegedly kidnapped a minor in Dallas and held her captive from approximately July 30 to Aug. 2.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
MOBILE, AL – On August 26, the Department of Justice announced the launch of the National Fraud Enforcement Division, the “Fraud Division.” The mission of the Fraud Division will be to prosecute fraud in the United States, no matter its size or complexity. Prosecution of fraud is critical to restoring public confidence in the federal government’s ability to responsibly steward taxpayer dollars.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has reached a settlement agreement with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to resolve allegations that KDHE violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) when it stopped funding Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Stacy Gonzales’s civilian job due to her upcoming military deployment. This settlement agreement resolves the suit filed by the United States against KDHE on behalf of SSG Gonzales in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas on June 27, 2022.
“No servicemember should lose her civilian job because of her service in the National Guard,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department is proud to vindicate servicemembers’ rights under USERRA and will continue to ensure that they can serve our country without fear of losing their civilian jobs because of their service.”
“National Guard members are called citizen-soldiers because they must strike a balance between fulfilling obligations to civilian careers with those of military service. As a reservist myself, I know this is no easy task” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser for the District of Kansas. “When guard members deploy, they shouldn’t have to worry that their livelihoods will be stripped away while they are off serving our country. Our government put laws in place to protect the employment rights of servicemembers. The Department of Justice will continue to be a defender and champion of those rights.”
The settlement agreement resolves SSG Gonzales’s claim that KDHE violated USERRA when it eliminated grant funding for her position as a Disease Intervention Specialist (DIS) with the Finney County, Kansas, Department of Health, a position under the direct control and supervision of KDHE, when SSG Gonzales told them she would be deploying. As part of the settlement agreement, KDHE will pay SSG Gonzales $35,000. The settlement agreement also requires KDHE to update its USERRA policies and procedures and to train all KDHE employees, including those through grant funding, on those updated policies and procedures.
USERRA protects the right of uniformed servicemembers to reemployment in their civilian jobs following absences due to military service obligations and provides that servicemembers shall not be discriminated against because of their military obligations. The Justice Department prioritizes the enforcement of servicemembers’ rights under USERRA. Additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice Department’s website at www.justice.gov/servicemembers as well as on the Department of Labor’s website at www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
ROANOKE, Va. – A Franklin County man, who possessed thousands of images of child sex abuse material (“CSAM”) after previous court-martial convictions for similar behavior, pled guilty today in federal court and faces up to 20 years in prison. Kevin Michael Robinson, 28, of Wirtz, Virginia, pled guilty today to one count of knowingly possessing CSAM, including images of prepubescent minors and minors under 12 years old.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Today, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, joined by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas, filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS) to stop the district from facilitating secret “gender transitions” for children at school without their parents’ knowledge or consent.
KCKPS’s conduct violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) — laws designed to safeguard parental rights, including the rights to access and oversee information collected and maintained about their children in public schools. The lawsuit follows extensive efforts by the Department of Education to secure KCKPS’s compliance with federal law.
“Parental rights are paramount in the operation of America’s public schools, and Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools does not know children better than their own parents,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department will not tolerate school districts playing fast and loose with federal law in the service of radical gender ideology.”
“For decades, schools operated with little accountability as federal parental rights laws like FERPA and PPRA went unenforced, allowing some districts to cut parents out of deeply personal matters involving their own children,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “That era is over. The Trump Administration is enforcing these laws at an unprecedented scale and making clear that schools cannot hide sensitive information from parents and expect to operate with impunity. We are grateful to the Department of Justice for taking this next step and for its continued partnership with the Department of Education to enforce federal law and protect the fundamental rights of parents.”
“This lawsuit should not come as a surprise,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser for the District of Kansas. “Public education functions effectively only when schools and parents engage in a genuine partnership. When schools withhold information from parents, they undermine trust and disrupt the essential balance between families and public educators.”
As detailed in the Department’s complaint, KCKPS’s Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Students Internal Guidance Document (Transgender Guideline) directs staff to develop and implement “transitioning” plans for children’s so-called “gender identity” without informing or obtaining consent from their parents. KCKPS implements its Transgender Guideline without the knowledge of many in the KCKPS community, including parents.
FERPA prohibits a school district from maintaining any policy that denies or effectively prevents a parent from exercising the right to inspect and review his or her child’s education records. PPRA separately requires prior written parental consent before a school may require children to submit to any survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals sensitive information about the student or the student’s family. Because KCKPS’s policies and practices violate core parental rights secured by FERPA and PPRA, the lawsuit seeks an injunction to halt the Transgender Guideline’s enforcement, among other relief.
Note: Read the Department’s Complaint here.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Pensacola, Florida – Adrian Dion Pettaway Jr., 25, of Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison for distribution of fentanyl, and Gindy Nicole Lacey, 49, of Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for distribution of methamphetamine, tramadol, and fentanyl.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Pensacola, Florida – Adrian Dion Pettaway Jr., 25, of Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison for distribution of fentanyl, and Gindy Nicole Lacey, 49, of Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for distribution of methamphetamine, tramadol, and fentanyl.