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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

CHICAGO — A federal jury in Chicago has convicted a Texas man of fraud for orchestrating a cryptocurrency scheme that bilked nearly 1,000 investors out of at least $14 million.

ROBERT DUNLAP, 54, of Houston, Texas, was convicted of two counts of mail fraud on Monday after a week-long trial in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.  The conviction carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge LaShonda A. Hunt set sentencing for Feb. 17, 2026.

From 2018 to 2023, Dunlap worked with others to market and sell a purported digital asset called “Meta-1 Coin” through a “Meta-1 Coin Trust.”  Dunlap made numerous false and misleading statements to potential and actual investors, including claims that the Meta-1 Coin was backed by as much as $1 billion in art and $44 billion in gold.  Dunlap falsely claimed that an accounting firm had audited the gold and certified its value.  The purported art collection was alleged to have included works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Vincent Van Gogh, and other acclaimed artists. Dunlap used automated trading bots to cause the market price and trading volume of the Meta-1 Coin to be inflated on the “Meta Exchange,” which was a website created by Dunlap.

Dunlap created numerous legal, insurance, and other documents to conceal the fact that he did not possess the gold or art.  His fraud scheme caused nearly 1,000 investors to lose at least $14 million.

The conviction was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI, and Adam Jobes, Special Agent-in-Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago.  Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paige Nutini and Jared Hasten.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Des Moines man was sentenced on November 20, 2025, to 21 and a half years in federal prison for conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, interference with commerce by robbery, brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and felon in possession of a firearm.

According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Jeremiah Kenneth McGregor, 23, robbed four Des Moines area Git-N-Go convenience store locations while armed with a firearm on October 5, 2024, October 7, 2024, October 10, 2024, and October 12, 2024, and attempted to rob a fifth Git-N-Go on October 6, 2024. In each robbery, McGregor entered the Git-N-Go, brandished and threatened a Git-N-Go employee with a firearm, and demanded cash.  On October 13, 2024, McGregor, who was in possession of a loaded firearm, ran from the officers during a traffic stop and was subsequently arrested. 

After completing his term of imprisonment, McGregor will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. McGregor was also ordered to pay $1,346 in restitution. The district court also ordered this federal sentence to run consecutive to a December 2024 state sentence imposed after a parole revocation.

McGregor’s co-defendant, Donault Seandrea Logan, 23, of Des Moines, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 6, 2026.

United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Des Moines Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

NEW ORLEANS – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that ALTON TUMBLIN (“TUMBLIN”), age 44, of New Orleans, was sentenced on November 19, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Jane Milazzo to 175 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, along with a $400 mandatory special assessment fee, after previously pleading guilty to three counts of distributing fifty (50) grams or more of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A), and one count of distributing a quantity of fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C).

According to court documents, TUMBLIN distributed over 50 grams of methamphetamine during controlled purchases to undercover agents on three separate occasions, including August 7, 2023, August 9, 2023, and August 16, 2023. Also, on August 7, 2023, TUMBLIN distributed a quantity of fentanyl to an undercover agent.

This case was part of Operation Big Easy.  Operation Big Easy was a National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) enforcement initiative of collected firearm casings for the time period of August 1, 2023 to January 31, 2023 that produced data points of high-density shootings and homicides in seven areas of New Orleans related to individuals engaged in criminal activity.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Louisiana State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Rachal Cassagne of the Narcotics Unit.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Micheal Jason Brooks (37, Citra) has pleaded guilty plea to one count of receipt of a bribe by a public official and one count of providing contraband to a federal prisoner. Brooks faces up to 15 years in federal prison for the bribery offense and up to 6 months’ imprisonment for the contraband offense. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court records, on June 12, 2024, Brooks was employed by the United States Department of Justice, United States Bureau of Prisons, as a correctional officer at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Sumter County. He knowingly and corruptly sought, and agreed to receive and accept, a bribe of $3,000 in return for smuggling 177.1 grams of loose tobacco into the federal prison for an inmate. Federal inmates are prohibited from obtaining and possessing tobacco in prison as it is contraband. Brooks provided the tobacco to the inmate on June 12, 2024. 

This case was investigated by the United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk Watson.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Defendant was a member of a drug trafficking organization known as “La Culebra”

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Trendell Walker Sentenced for Killing a 15-Year-Old Victim During a Gang-Related Drive-by Shooting in 2007

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey today announced that Samuel Alexander Kuhl, 33, of Kalamazoo was sentenced to 420 months in prison for the sexual exploitation and coercion and enticement of a minor. During sentencing, U.S. District Judge Beckering noted that Kuhl’s conduct reflects a “pattern of angry, defiant, vindictive behavior” and an overall “disregard for the rule of law.” 

Kuhl first contacted the victim in this case, a fourteen-year-old girl, via Facebook. He engaged in an illegal sexual relationship with her for approximately 18 months. During this time, Kuhl abused the victim physically, emotionally, and psychologically. During his time with the girl, Kuhl repeatedly tried to engage the victim in group sexual activity; when she refused, he threatened her and her family with a gun. Kuhl also convinced the victim to provide him with child pornography. In June, a jury convicted Kuhl of two federal offenses charged as a result of this activity.

U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey said, “Sam Kuhl devoted his adult life to crime, and part of his criminal lifestyle included tracking down adolescent girls to sexually exploit.  My office will never tolerate child exploitation and when it happens, we will bring the people involved to justice. Kuhl earned the sentence he received yesterday.” 

“Heinous and predatory acts against any child deserve severe punishment and serious consequences,” said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “The actions of this predator included physical, emotional, and psychological abuse and manipulation of a teenager, and I am sincerely grateful for the work of my team at the FBI Kalamazoo Resident Agency, alongside the Wyoming Police Department, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, and the Michigan State Police for bringing this violator to justice. Their tireless work throughout this investigation and trial, along with that of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan, clearly demonstrates our joint commitment to doing everything possible to keep our children safe in Michigan.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Wyoming Police Department investigated this case. Also supporting the investigation were Indiana State Police, Michigan State Police, and Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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 justice.gov/PSC.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ST. LOUIS – A Texas businessman on Thursday admitted fraudulently obtaining $1.9 million from Medicare for COVID-19 test kits.

Companies owned by Rashid Naqvi, 52, of the Houston area, obtained $1,974,479 through the scheme, which lasted from roughly March 2023 to at least October of 2023. As part of his guilty plea in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of wire fraud, Naqvi admitted fraudulently submitting thousands of claims to Medicare for the kits.

Naqvi operated two laboratories that he used to submit claims to Medicare: Elite Diagnostics Inc. in the Eastern District of Missouri and Astro Diagnostics Inc. in Texas. Naqvi obtained patients’ Medicare numbers and identifiers without their knowledge or consent by paying $488,435 in kickbacks to co-conspirators. He used that information to submit claims to Medicare for test kits that were then sent to patients who had not requested them. Naqvi’s labs billed Medicare a total of 22,898 times for the kits during the scheme. Neither Naqvi nor his labs had any direct contact or relationship with the Medicare patients who were the subject of the claims. Some of the reimbursement claims were for patients who had died before receiving the kits.

Naqvi continued his scheme even after patients called to say that they had not requested the test kits. During subsequent audits by Medicare investigators, Naqvi tried to conceal his scheme by producing false records to investigators, including documents which falsely represented that the Medicare patients authorized the kits. He also hid the kickbacks from investigators.

Naqvi is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7, 2026. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both prison and a fine.

The FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

CINCINNATI – A Middletown man was sentenced in federal court here today 312 months in prison for coercing minor victims online into creating nude images and videos that involved sexual conduct. 

William Scott Elam, 53, pleaded guilty in July to 10 counts of coercion and enticement and one count of sexual exploitation of children.

“There are real-life consequences to actions taken online,” said U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II. “Predators like Elam hide behind a computer screen while preying on vulnerable children. But the harm they cause is real, and so is the significant amount of time they will spend in federal prison to account for those actions.”

According to court documents, for approximately four years, Elam began online relationships with numerous minor females in at least seven states, particularly with vulnerable minors who had previously engaged in self-harm, had body issues or other social issues. He connected with girls between the ages of 10 and 16 on various online chatting apps and pretended to be a 14-year-old male.

Elam coerced victims into masturbating on live video calls with him. For example, he manipulated at least one victim into complying by threatening to harm himself if she did not do as he asked. He instructed another victim to self-harm via cutting on live video after learning the victim had a history of self-harm. Elam also coerced victims into sending him live sexual material by threatening to leak naked images he obtained of them. Law enforcement officers have identified at least 10 victims.

The defendant was arrested in October 2023.

Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Adam Lawson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey is representing the United States in this case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Israel Chaires-Villa, 23, a Mexican national, was sentenced today to three years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute a quantity of methamphetamine. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has an administrative detainer on Chaires-Villa so deportation proceedings can occur once Chaires-Villa serves the sentence imposed in this case.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 6, 2024, Chaires-Villa drove to Cross Lanes, West Virginia, from Houston, Texas, with approximately 22 lbs. of methamphetamine in his possession that he intended to deliver to another person in Cross Lanes. Chaires-Villa was arrested as part of a joint investigation by federal and local law enforcement into a conspiracy that was responsible for delivering large quantities of methamphetamine to West Virginia and elsewhere from Houston. 

The joint investigation also resulted in the indictment of three additional Mexican nationals, on charges alleging they conspired to distribute quantities of methamphetamine in the Charleston area from in or about March 2024 to in or about October 2024. Defendants Braulio Villa-Chairez, also known as “Raul,” 32, and Silvester Barcenas, 23, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a quantity of methamphetamine and are scheduled to be sentenced on January 21, 2026. The indictment remains pending against German Francisco Diaz, also known as “Trulio,” 41. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), which is composed of the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Nitro Police Department, the St. Albans Police Department, and the South Charleston Police Department.

Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-175.

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