MIL Security Engine-1

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Kenneth Phillips was leader of the group and Brandon Stevens used his job as a mail carrier to further drug trafficking

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Joseph Troy Ortega, 58, of West Valley City, Utah, pleaded guilty in court today to credit union robbery after he threatened a teller and fled with $3,690 in cash.

According to court documents and admissions made at Sanchez-Carrillo’s change of plea hearing on August 28, 2025, Ortega entered a credit union in West Valley City, approached the teller and demanded money. The teller complied with Ortega’s demands and handed over $3,690. Ortega then took the money and fled the credit union in his black Toyota Rav 4. A short time later, Ortega was located by law enforcement and taken into custody. In an envelope inside the vehicle, officers found a portion of the stolen money. See prior press release: West Valley City Man Indicted Following Alleged Credit Union Robbery.

Ortega is scheduled to be sentenced February 24, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. in courtroom 3.4 before a U.S. District Court Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

United States Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office.

Assistant United States Attorney, Carlos A. Esqueda, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah 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 (TCOs), 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 (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Burlington, Vermont – The First Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that on November 24, 2025, Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss sentenced Serhat Gumrukcu, 43, of Los Angeles, California, to life imprisonment for his role in the January 6, 2018, murder of Gregory Davis in Barnet, Vermont. Gumrukcu was convicted by a jury on April 18, 2025, of murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. Gumrukcu was also convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
  
Gumrukcu’s co-conspirators were sentenced in September 2025. Chief Judge Reiss imposed the following sentences:

•    Berk Eratay: 110 months of imprisonment to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
•    Jerry Banks: 200 months of imprisonment to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.
•    Aron Ethridge: 140 months of imprisonment to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Gumrukcu solicited the murder of Gregory Davis due to Davis’s threats of legal action related to Gumrukcu’s role in a failed oil commodities transaction. Gumrukcu’s conviction for wire fraud stemmed from his fraudulent activities in relation to this failed oil deal. Gumrukcu was particularly motivated to silence Davis due to his negotiations of a multi-million-dollar biotech merger involving Gumrukcu’s alleged discovery of a cure for HIV. Gumrukcu relied on his close friend, Berk Eratay, to arrange through a second intermediary, Aron Ethridge, the hiring of a hitman to kill Davis. Ethridge recruited Jerry Banks for the hitman role, who on January 6, 2018, posed as a Deputy U.S. Marshal, and abducted Davis from his Danville, Vermont home. On January 7, 2018, Davis’s deceased body was located in a snowbank in Barnet, Vermont, a short distance from Davis’s home. Investigators quickly discovered emails and messaging indicating the tension between Gumrukcu and Davis over the failed oil deal, resulting in Gumrukcu being interviewed twice by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Gumrukcu made false statements during each interview. Cellphone location information, purchase records, banking documentation, emails, and messaging discovered during the investigation led to the identification of Gumrukcu, Ethridge, Eratay, and Banks who caused the kidnapping and death of Davis.

During today’s sentencing hearing, Melissa Davis, Gregg Davis’s widow, addressed the Court. She expressed appreciation: to the Vermont State Police, “for every call, every update, every reassurance that you were working tirelessly to find who murdered Gregg”; to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for its “coordination across state lines,” “professionalism,” and its “relentless pursuit of truth [that] made all the difference”; and to the prosecution team, stating the prosecution’s “strength, commitment, and unwavering pursuit of justice over these many years will stay with me for the rest of my life. I watched the way you prosecuted this case during those five weeks with excellence, clarity, and conviction. There were moments I sat in that courtroom simply proud—knowing God had appointed each of you to pursue justice for Gregg.” Melissa Davis also expressed appreciation to her victim advocate, the United States Marshals Service, and to Chief Judge Reiss.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Vermont State Police for their collaborative investigation of Gumrukcu, Eratay, Banks, and Ethridge, and the crimes associated with Davis’s murder. Drescher also thanked the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Homeland Security Investigations, as well as the numerous law enforcement entities across the country who worked to identify Banks as the hired hitman, Ethridge and Eratay as middlemen, and Gumrukcu as the financier and benefactor of the murder scheme.

At trial, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul J. Van de Graaf and Zachary Stendig represented the government, with support from Karen Arena-Leene and Erin Thompson-Moran. Serhat Gumrukcu was represented by Susan Marcus, Esq. and Ethan Balogh, Esq. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis area home health care company has agreed to pay more than half a million dollars to settle false claims allegations, U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus announced Monday.

As part of the agreement, Deer Valley Home Health Services LLC (DVHH) has agreed to repay $534,475 that the United States and the state of Missouri allege was falsely billed to Medicaid from Oct. 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023. DVHH submitted the claims on behalf of a person who began as a contractor and later became an employee. DVHH should have known that the person was falsely inflating his educational credentials and was claiming that more than 24 hours of service was provided in a single day, the government alleges. The employee/contractor claimed to have provided applied behavior analysis therapy including assessments and treatment plans for individuals with behavioral or developmental conditions. The government alleges he was not qualified to perform those services.

The employee left the company around May of 2023. DVHH disclosed issues related to his conduct in July of 2023 and cooperated with the investigation. DVHH denies knowing that the employee was submitting false claims.

“Today’s settlement underscores a commitment to holding providers accountable for submitting false information and fraudulent claims to the Medicaid program,” said Linda T. Hanley, Special Agent in Charge with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).  “HHS-OIG, alongside our law enforcement partners, will continue to protect taxpayer funds and ensure patients receive legitimate services from properly licensed individuals.”

HHS-OIG and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Moore handled the case. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

MADISON, WIS. – Chadwick M. Elgersma, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Terrance Moore III, 28, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced on November 21, 2025, by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to six years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The prison term will be followed by three years of supervised release. Moore pled guilty to this charge on September 3, 2025.

On July 8, 2024, Madison police officers were monitoring an impromptu street party just off the Capitol Square in downtown Madison. Officers looked inside Moore’s parked car and saw an AR-style rifle sticking out from under the front passenger seat. Moore was arrested and during a search of the vehicle, officers also found a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun, marijuana, and oxycodone pills in a backpack on the driver’s seat. Moore’s DNA was later identified on the handgun. At the time, Moore was on state probation for three prior illegal firearms possession cases. Moore is prohibited from legally possessing a firearm because of these, and other prior felony convictions.

At Moore’s sentencing, Judge Conley expressed serious concern that this was Moore’s fourth time in front of a court for possessing a firearm as a felon. Judge Conley found that a significant sentence was necessary given Moore’s prior criminal history.

The charge against Moore was the result of an investigation conducted by the Madison Police Department. The ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force also assisted with the case. The ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force consists of federal agents from ATF and Task Force Officers from state and local agencies throughout the Western District of Wisconsin. Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. Levins prosecuted the case.

Federal criminal cases involving firearms are 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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A former resident of the Bronx, New York, entered a guilty plea in federal court to cocaine trafficking, First Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

Jose Baez Cabrera, 34, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon to possessing with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on August 16, 2023.

Judge Bissoon scheduled sentencing for March 19, 2026. The law provides for a maximum sentence of up to life in prison, a fine of up to $10 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.

The Pennsylvania State Police and Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of the defendant.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

            WASHINGTON – On November 21, 2025, a Superior Court jury returned guilty verdicts for Julius Worthy, 42, on charges of second-degree murder, assault with intent to kill, and related offenses stemming from the homicide of Orlando Galloway and the attack of Shaquia Lewis on April 2, 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

            The Honorable Jason Park scheduled sentencing for January 30, 2026. Worthy faces a maximum sentence of 95 years in prison for the crimes.

            In April of 2023, Worthy lived with Galloway in a one-bedroom apartment in the Capitol Hill area. The evening of the homicide, Worthy returned home and began arguing with Galloway over $20. As Galloway pleaded with Worthy that he would pay him the money, Worthy pulled out a firearm and shot eight times into the apartment, six of which struck Galloway.  Worthy then grabbed a kitchen knife from the dishrack and stabbed Galloway five times in the neck.  Worthy beat Galloway in the face repeatedly with the firearm, causing a piece of the frame to break off.  Worthy then turned to Lewis and stabbed her multiple times while strangling her, causing her to lose consciousness. 

            Worthy remained in the apartment for over an hour with Galloway’s body and Lewis, calling multiple people on his phone to ask for help “cleaning up this mess,” adding that he was “killing two people.”  When Lewis tried to escape through the front door, Worthy attacked her again, stabbing her with a pair of scissors.  A neighbor across the street heard Lewis screaming, saw Worthy attacking Lewis, and called 911.  Officers arrived shortly thereafter, and Worthy fled out the back door. During the investigation, law enforcement discovered that Worthy texted multiple individuals in the hours after the homicide, including stating, “I killed two people.”  

            Law enforcement arrested Worthy the following day, April 3, 2023, and he remained in custody since.

            Joining in the announcement was Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            The Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch investigated the case.

            Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Lawrence and Molly Smith prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

NEW BERN, N.C. – A U.S. Federal Judge sentenced a Scotland Neck man, Achontay Malik Cotten, 22, to 11 years in federal prison for multiple armed robberies.

“Armed robbers terrorize employees and patrons alike, endangering the community,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “Thanks to the quick and coordinated response, our local and federal law enforcement partners caught this criminal, so he faced the music. Our office remains committed to removing violent offenders from our communities and neighborhoods and keeping North Carolina families safe.”

“This 11-year federal prison sentence sends a clear message to anyone who thinks they can get away with committing a violent crime in North Carolina. You will be caught and held accountable. Thanks to the quick response of our partners at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, this armed robbery spree ended without anyone being hurt. The FBI is committed to crushing violent crime and these powerful partnerships are achieving real results to protect our communities,” said James C. Barnacle Jr., the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina.

“We are grateful and thankful for our continued partnership with our U.S. Attorney’s Office to remove violent offenders from our communities,” said Edgecombe County Sheriff Clee Atkinson. “We will continue working with our citizens and our local, state, and community partners to make this area a safe place to live and play.”

“We value our partnership with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in addressing violent crime in Franklin County. Our goal is focused on removing violent criminals from our communities and keeping our citizens safe,” said Franklin County Sheriff Kevin White.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, prior to October 11, 2023, Cotten and his gang robbed several Dollar General stores in Franklin County. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office guarded different Dollar General locations throughout the evening. Around 9:50 p.m., deputies at the Dollar General on NC 561 Highway in Louisburg spotted three suspects robbing the store.

As deputies moved in, the suspects sped off in a nearby getaway car, leading deputies on a high-speed chase through multiple counties. During the pursuit, one of the vehicle’s passengers fired several shots at pursuing deputies. The car eventually stopped, and four suspects ran off into nearby woods. Law enforcement quickly located and apprehended Cotten, who later admitted to driving the getaway car.

Investigators also linked Cotten to other armed robberies of Dollar General stores in Franklin County, including on October 8 and October 10, 2023, when armed criminals held employees at gunpoint before fleeing with stolen proceeds.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jaren Kelly and Leonard Champaign prosecuted the case. The FBI Raleigh Durham Safe Streets Task Force, the Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:24-CR-213-M-BM-1.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BOSTON – An associate of the Asian Boyz gang was convicted on Friday following a five-day jury trial for his role in a distribution network of homemade methamphetamine pills, branded as “Adderall.”

Richard Nguyen, a/k/a “Cheese,” a/k/a “Cheeseburger,” 30, of Lowell, was convicted by a federal jury of two counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy scheduled sentencing for Feb. 26, 2026. Nguyen was arrested and charged in January 2025.

In 2021, an investigation began into the Asian Boyz gang to disrupt the manufacturing and distribution of substantial quantities of methamphetamine pills impacting the City of Lowell. Nguyen was part of the large drug distribution network that profited from the sale of thousands of these counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine. Between March 2022 and January 2025, Nguyen and other defendants sold counterfeit Adderall pills to undercover officers and cooperating witnesses working with law enforcement on 47 different occasions.

Evidence presented at trial established that Nguyen sold counterfeit Adderall pills to a cooperating witness at least three times between January 2024 and April 2024. Each time, Nguyen directed the cooperating witness to meet him at his home to conduct the deal, on a back porch covered with a tarp and accessible only from a narrow alleyway. Nguyen negotiated the deals with the cooperating witness using an Instagram account, “Cheese.” He gave the cooperating witness a price of $0.80 per pill, explaining that he could only get the pills for $0.70 per pill, and that he had to “make [his] dollar.” During the first deal on his back porch, Nguyen sold the cooperating witness approximately 1,000 pills. During the next two deals, Nguyen sold the cooperating witness twice as much – approximately 2,000 pills each time.

The charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. 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; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Superintendent Greg C. Hudon of the Lowell Police Department made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Billerica, Haverhill, Methuen, North Andover and Salem Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fred M. Wyshak, III and Brendan D. O’Shea of the Criminal Division are prosecuting 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 violent crime and gun violence, 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.

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

MADISON, WIS. – Chadwick M. Elgersma, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Corey Kromray, 40, Minocqua, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty on November 7, 2025, in federal district court in Madison to wire fraud and money laundering in connection to his long-term investment fraud scheme.

At the plea hearing, Kromray admitted that between September 2018 and March 2025, he used social media and other online communications to falsely portray himself as a successful trader in stocks, mutual funds, cryptocurrency, and the foreign currency exchange market (forex). Kromray also used social media to display wealth he allegedly acquired from trading, including images or references to expensive watches, a large home, tropical vacations, and exotic sports cars. During meetings with investors, Kromray told them that they could expect a monthly rate of return of approximately 4% to 8%, with the potential of earning up to 30% a month.

Instead of investing money as promised, Kromray often used investor money to pay his personal expenses. He also provided some investors with false information about the success of their investments, including sending fictitious account statements with inflated portfolio balances. Investors lost more than $800,000 as a result of Kromray’s conduct.

At the plea hearing, Kromray admitted that he laundered proceeds from his wire fraud scheme, including using $50,000 in investor funds to make a payment on a 2022 Lamborghini Urus.

The maximum penalty for wire fraud is 20 years in prison and the maximum penalty for money laundering is 10 years in prison. Kromray will also be ordered to pay restitution. Sentencing before the Honorable William M. Conley is scheduled for February 5, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.

The charges against Kromray were a result of an investigation led by IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner is handling the prosecution.