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Source: US FBI

LAS VEGAS — A Las Vegas man was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro to 45 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his role in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain money from accounts held by members of the Pension Fund of the Christian Church and the Lutheran Church Extension Fund.

Oluremi Akinleye (42) pleaded guilty in June 2022 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, possession of 15 or more counterfeit and unauthorized access devices, and aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, from November 2017 to July 2018, Akinleye and his co-conspirators conspired to fraudulently obtain money from pension accounts held by members of the Pension Fund of the Christian Church and the Lutheran Church Extension Fund by impersonating those members. The funds provide pension and retirement systems for members of the religious community, including ministers. As part of the scheme, Akinleye and his co-conspirators obtained the names and personal identifying information of account holders, and then used that information to make withdrawals and transfers from the victim accounts to accounts the conspirators controlled. As a result of the scheme, Akinleye and his co-conspirators attempted to fraudulently obtain over $400,000 from the two funds.

U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI made the announcement.

The FBI investigated the case; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Fang prosecuted the case.

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Source: US FBI

MOBILE, AL – Michael Jerome Elder, age 50, was sentenced today to 180 months in prison after entering a guilty plea to a count of Distribution of Child Pornography.  Elder entered his guilty plea on January 16, 2025.

According to court documents, a Mobile County Sheriff’s Office deputy was conducting an investigation to identify individuals in the Southern District of Alabama who demonstrate a sexual interest in children. To do so, he utilized law enforcement software to investigate users sharing files of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) via a file-sharing network. The investigator located an IP address that was involved in the sharing of numerous files of CSAM.  He was able to identify Elder as a resident at the residential address associated with the IP address.  The investigator obtained a search warrant and located Elder in the home, and a search team was able to discover a cell phone that Elder had hidden in a vent.  The cell phone was examined and found to contain CSAM.

Elder had previously been convicted of five counts of Being in Possession of Obscene Material of Minors, violations of Alabama Code 13-A-012-0192(B), in the Circuit Court of Mobile County.  He had been released from custody on that offense on November 15, 2022, less than a year before the MCSO investigator discovered him distributing child pornography.

At sentencing, Judge DuBose imposed the 180-month sentence of incarceration and a 15-year term of supervised release upon his future release. During his term of imprisonment, Elder will be subject to sex offender treatment, substance abuse testing and treatment, and mental health treatment.  Elder will be required to register as a sex offender and is to have no contact with minors.  Elder was ordered to pay $5,100 in special assessments.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations and Mobile County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kacey Chappelear and Tandice Blackwood prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

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 https://www.justice.gov/psc/publications-resources

Source: US FBI

          MARQUETTE – Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Andrew Byerly Birge announced that a federal jury convicted Eugene Walter-George Rantanen, (37, L’Anse, Michigan) of murder and first-degree child abuse. Rantanen is scheduled to be sentenced this fall.

          On February 19, 2024, a nineteen-month-old toddler became unresponsive while in the sole custody of Rantanen, while the two were inside the L’Anse Reservation of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.  After extensive medical intervention, the child succumbed to the injuries and died on February 24, 2024.  Based on the medical examiner’s testimony at trial, the toddler had suffered blunt force trauma to the head, which caused significant injuries to the brain.  Based on government-witness testimony at trial, the only plausible explanation for the toddler’s injuries was that Rantanen caused the severe brain injuries.

          “Any time a child dies, it is a tragedy.  But it is particularly tragic when a caretaker causes the death,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Birge. “My office will hold individuals like Rantanen accountable for their violent crimes whenever it can.”

          “This conviction confirms that Eugene Rantanen will no longer pose a threat to anyone, especially our children,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “This outcome results from a thorough and cooperative investigation with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Tribal Police, the Village of L’Anse Police, the Baraga County Sheriff’s Office, the Michigan State Police, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan. I extend my deepest condolences to those who truly loved the young victim—no one should ever have to endure such a heartbreaking loss.”

          The FBI, Michigan State Police, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Tribal Police, Baraga County Sheriff’s Office, and Village of L’Anse Police investigated this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexis Sanford and Jeanne Long are prosecuting it.

          This case was part of the Department of Justice’s work to combat the missing and murder indigenous person’s (MMIP) crisis.  Per the Bureau of Indian Affairs, “For decades, Native American and Alaska Native communities have struggled with high rates of assault, abduction, and murder of tribal members. Community advocates describe the crisis as a legacy of generations of government policies of forced removal, land seizures and violence inflicted on Native peoples.”  The BIA website has more information about the MMIP crisis at https://www.bia.gov/service/mmu/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-people-crisis.

Source: US FBI

SAN ANTONIO – Acting United States Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas announced today, that federal prosecutors in the district filed 316 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from May 2 through May 8.

Among the new cases, Cirilo Delgado-Alderete, Dilan Karim Valenzuela-Baca, and Antelmo Eligio Ramirez-Bernardo were arrested at an alleged stash house in Anthony, New Mexico. According to an affidavit, U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations agents observed three vehicles that had been identified as being used to smuggle illegal aliens to Albuquerque, New Mexico, parked at the residence. When agents questioned Ramirez-Bernardo, a Guatemalan national, they allegedly discovered he possessed a key to the residence on his keychain. Agents then located 25 individuals inside the residence who admitted to being citizens of Mexico, Peru, Honduras, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, and Pakistan without documentation to be in the U.S. Two of the individuals, Delgado-Alderete and Valenzuela-Baca, were identified as alleged stash house caretakes and drivers to harbor and transport the illegal aliens. Delgado-Alderete, Valenzuela-Baca, and Ramirez-Bernardo are charged with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and one count of conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens.  The drivers allegedly picked up aliens in El Paso before transporting them to New Mexico.

Mexican national Erasmo Soto-Aguilar and Cesar Jared Garcia-Raucho, a U.S. citizen, were charged with statutes related to harboring illegal aliens after agents arrested them outside an alleged stash house in El Paso. A criminal complaint alleges that Soto-Aguilar had been involved in multiple smuggling schemes in which he coordinated pick-up drivers to meet and exchange illegal aliens. The complaint also alleges that Garcia-Raucho admitted to working as an illegal alien caretaker.

Leonel Sotelo-Santillan, a Mexican national, was arrested after allegedly entering a National Defense Area near El Paso illegally on May 2. Sotelo-Santillan is a convicted felon with two 2015 convictions for domestic abuse battery and theft in Louisiana, as well as a felony conviction in June 2024 for illegal re-entry. He has two prior removals, the last one being Dec. 28, 2024.

In San Antonio, Mexican national Joandel De Jesus Tierrablanca-Tellez aka Joandel Tierras Blanca was arrested after law enforcement officers allegedly observed him sell four firearms to a buyer in New Braunfels. Homeland Security Investigations had previously learned the firearms were to be sold and trafficked to Mexico for a predetermined amount of U.S. currency. A search of Tierrablanca-Tellez’s vehicle allegedly revealed his Mexican passport and an additional firearm along with .223 caliber and .308 caliber ammunition. Tierrablanca-Tellez is charged with one count of illegal alien in possession of a firearm and, if convicted, faces up to 15 years in federal prison.

Alejandro Mata-Zavala, also a Mexican national, was arrested during a traffic stop in Guadalupe County on May 6. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)/Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) immigration history inquiry determined Mata-Zavala had been convicted in April 2021 for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, and was removed from the U.S. to Mexico on or about June 2, 2022. He’s currently charged with one count of illegal re-entry and faces up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted.

USBP agents arrested Mexican national Tomas Medina-Martinez near Brackettville on May 1. Medina-Martinez is a two-time convicted felon with three prior removals from the U.S., the most recent being Feb. 12. Mexican national Mauro Morales-Lopez was also arrested by USBP on May 1 near Eagle Pass. Morales-Lopez was deported Nov. 12, 2024 through Atlanta, Georgia following multiple violent misdemeanor convictions for family violence.

On May 5, Mexican national Sergio De La Cruz-Ruiz was arrested near Brackettville for being illegally present in the U.S. His criminal record includes nine deportations and multiple felony convictions. De La Cruz-Ruiz was also convicted in January 2024 for assault on a family member. His latest removal was April 18 through Harlingen.

Jorge Luis Benavides-Alvarado, a Mexican national, was encountered by federal law enforcement at the Williamson County Jail and charged with illegal re-entry. He was convicted for possession of a dangerous drug in Georgetown on May 7. In 2017, Benavides-Alvarado was convicted for aggravated robbery in Dallas. He was removed from the U.S. July 26, 2019. Also encountered at the Williamson County Jail, Mexican national Agustin Ruiz-Vazquez was convicted May 7 for assault causing bodily injury. Federally charged with illegal re-entry, Ruiz-Vazquez was previously removed from the U.S. July 10, 2014, two years after being convicted of injury to a child in Austin.

And in Midland, Salvadoran national Edenilzon Hernandez was encountered at the Ector County Detention Center in Odessa, where he was being held for indecency with child sexual contact. Now facing a federal illegal re-entry charge, Hernandez has three prior removals and a criminal history that includes convictions for burglary of a habitation, assault on a public servant and an additional assault charge.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

These cases 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).

Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Source: US FBI

HOUSTON – A total of 300 cases have been filed charging 302 people from May 2-8 in continuing efforts to secure the southern border, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. 

As part of the cases, 93 face allegations of illegally reentering the country. The majority have prior felony convictions for narcotics, prior immigration crimes and more. A total of 193 people face charges of illegally entering the country, while 11 cases allege various instances of human smuggling with the remainder involving other immigration-related crimes.  

Those charged by criminal complaint include two convicted felons authorities had allegedly discovered illegally in the country near Roma. Milton Elias Lara-Lara and Alejandro Tamayo-Velazquez have convictions related to fentanyl and marijuana, respectively, and had previously been removed from the United States, according to their charges.  

Two more charged this week for unlawfully returning to the United States are Marco Antonio Rangel-Hernandez and Jose Guadalupe Valero-Lavanzate. The charges against them allege both are Mexican nationals who had previously served sentences for illegal reentry.

As part of the ongoing efforts, others have also admitted they failed to register and be fingerprinted. One of those was Elver Emmanual Ollervidez-Tapia. He admitted he had previously waded across the Rio Grande River and illegally entered the country. Upon arrival, he failed to register and be fingerprinted as required by law. He was charged with that crime and for illegally entering the country and has pleaded guilty.

In addition to the new cases, a five-time DUI illegal alien offender was ordered to federal prison for 70 months. In imposing the term of imprisonment, the court considered the dangerousness of Isidor Lagunas-Estrada’s crimes, his lack of respect for the law and need for deterrence. Lagunas-Estrada was removed from the United States in 2020 following his fourth DUI conviction. The investigation revealed he illegally reentered again and was found in the United States in October 2022 when he was arrested and later convicted for his fifth DUI.   

Also announced was an illegal alien who had allegedly attempted to export stolen vehicles for the cartel. Authorities found Angel David Salas-Herrera in a stolen jeep Gladiator, according to the charges. A search allegedly resulted in the discovery of multiple key fobs and a device utilized to program them. The charges allege the Gladiator was intended to be exported to Mexico for the Gulf Cartel. Law enforcement was also able to recover two additional stolen vehicles that were allegedly intended for the same purpose. If convicted, Salas-Herrera faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

In Brownsville, an armed repeat illegal alien admitted to human smuggling and firearms charges. The investigation revealed Alejandro Ramirez-Carranza was a river guide and had conspired with Issac Azuara-Vasquez to transport and smuggle illegal aliens in the bed of a truck after they illegally arrived from Mexico via boat on the Rio Grande River. Ramirez-Carranza, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, admitted to transporting and bringing an alien into the United States as well as illegal reentry and being an alien in possession of a firearm. Mexican citizen Azuara-Vasquez entered his plea April 10 to the same smuggling-related charges as well as selling a firearm to Ramirez-Carranza, an illegal alien.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – Homeland Security Investigations, ICE – Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The cases 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 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.

Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for the Southern District of Texas (SDTX). Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal history, including human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children. 

The SDTX remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes. 

An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

Source: US FBI

Memphis, TN – Three Memphis men have been sentenced to a total of over 30 years in federal prison after being convicted of a business robbery that occurred in the fall of 2021. Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., Interim United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentences today.

According to the information presented in court, Anthony Lewis, 36, Kyle Walker, 22, and Aramis Smith, 34, participated in an armed robbery in the early morning of November 10, 2021.  Walker and Lewis entered a gas station on Summer Avenue in Memphis, while Smith waited outside in the getaway car.  Walker and Lewis approached the lone clerk as she was stocking the shelves. Walker grabbed her and brandished a firearm as he made threats and pushed her to the registers.  Lewis moved to the doorway and stood as a lookout as Walker forced the clerk to empty the register.  The trio fled with approximately $100.  

Unbeknownst to the robbers, a good Samaritan saw the robbery in progress, called 911 and provided a description of the getaway vehicle.  Dispatchers relayed the robbery in progress call to Memphis Police Department officers; and undercover officers with the Violent Crime Unit (VCU) observed the suspect vehicle fleeing the scene.  VCU officers followed the suspect vehicle on I-240 as they coordinated additional units to arrive and make a traffic stop. When marked units were in place, officers attempted to stop the suspect vehicle with lights and sirens; but the vehicle fled.  Ultimately, the suspect vehicle wrecked on the off-ramp immediately before the Hernando DeSoto Bridge; and officers engaged in a brief foot pursuit with two of the suspects before they were all taken into custody.

All three men pled guilty to one count of business robbery. Walker and Lewis also pled guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence.   

Senior United States District Court Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr. sentenced Walker to 125 months of imprisonment on August 31, 2023, and Smith to 120 months of imprisonment on February 21, 2024.  Lewis was sentenced to 147 months on May 1, 2025 by United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Judge Andre B. Mathis.  Additionally, on May 8, 2025, Judge Fowlkes sentenced Lewis to an additional 24 months in federal prison as a result of his Supervised Release Violation based on this case and a prior federal conviction.   There is no parole in the federal system.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force and the Memphis Police Department investigated this case.

Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Wagner and Lynn Crum prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.  Former Assistant United States Attorney Courtney Lewis also assisted in prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.

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For more information, please contact the media relations team at USATNW.Media@usdoj.gov. Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on X at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.

Source: US FBI

Southern District of Indiana—Last week, three illegal aliens were arrested and charged federally with unlawfully reentering the United States after previously being deported following immigration proceedings. The charges follow an immigration and enforcement removal operation that took place in Evansville and Bloomington, Indiana between April 29 and May 1.

According to court documents, each of the three men are Mexican nationals who illegally returned to the United States and were found by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Southern District of Indiana. As outlined below, court documents allege that each man had previously been convicted of crimes they committed in the United States, or had charges pending against them, or both.

• Martin Cortez-Lopez, 36, was arrested on April 29 in Bloomington. Cortez-Lopez had previously been convicted in Florida on charges of resisting an officer with violence, possession of a controlled substance, and disorderly intoxication in a public place causing a disturbance. He currently faces charges in Monroe County, Indiana, following two incidents, one resulting in charges of possession of cocaine and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and the other resulting in charges of possession of cocaine and operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person. He has previously been removed from the United States on at least one occasion.
• Jaime Ortiz-Guzman, 46, was arrested on May 1 in Bloomington. Ortiz-Guzman had previously been convicted in Indiana on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. He currently faces charges in Monroe County, Indiana, for operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury. He has previously been removed from the United States on at least one occasion.
• Amin Reynosa-Diaz, 28, was arrested on April 29 in Evansville. Reynosa-Diaz had previously been convicted in Indiana of domestic battery. He currently faces charges in Hampton County, Virginia, for driving while intoxicated, and is wanted on multiple warrants for failing to appear in court. He has previously been removed from the United States on at least one occasion.

If convicted, each man faces up to between two and ten years in prison.

These charges and arrests are the latest prosecutions of illegal aliens who were found in the Southern District of Indiana after unlawfully re-entering the United States after having been previously deported. Specifically, these prosecutions involve illegal aliens who were previously convicted of crimes they committed in the United States, or who are facing pending charges, or both, for offenses including rape, domestic violence resulting in serious bodily injury, child molestation, burglary, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

The following investigative agencies collaborated to make this investigation and recent warrant execution possible:

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Drug Enforcement Administration
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
• Homeland Security Investigations
• U.S. Marshals Service

Acting U.S. Attorney Childress thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carolyn Haney, Meredith Wood, Todd S. Shellenbarger, and Matthew B. Miller, who are prosecuting these cases. 

These changes and arrests 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 (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

An indictment or criminal complaint are merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Source: US FBI

FORT WAYNE–Yesterday, Jakwan D. Braster, 30 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady after his guilty plea to maintaining a drug-involved premises, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced Acting United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay.

Braster was sentenced to a total of 100 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, Braster maintained a drug house in Fort Wayne from February through August 2020 for the purpose of distributing and manufacturing controlled substances.  In August 2020, he illegally possessed firearms despite his prior felony conviction for resisting law enforcement, and he possessed those firearms in order to facilitate and protect his drug trafficking at his drug house.   

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Fort Wayne Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which includes the FBI, the Indiana State Police, the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, and the Fort Wayne Police Department.  Also assisting in this investigation were the Drug Enforcement Administration’s North Central Laboratory, the Indiana State Police Laboratory, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony W. Geller and Teresa L Ashcraft.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

This case was also 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.

Source: US FBI

CHICAGO — A man has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for conspiring to abduct several victims at gunpoint in the Chicago suburbs.

SEDGWICK WILLIAMS participated in kidnappings in Naperville, Ill., and Westchester, Ill., in the fall of 2019.  Williams and a co-conspirator also attempted a third kidnapping in South Holland, Ill., but they were unsuccessful and were arrested fleeing from the intended victim’s residence.

A federal jury last year convicted Williams, 48, of Chicago, and co-defendant TAI HON LA, 35, of Beach Park, Ill., of participating in the kidnapping conspiracy and other related charges.  On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jorge L. Alonso sentenced Williams to 50 years in federal prison.  La is scheduled to be sentenced on June 3, 2025.

Two other defendants pleaded guilty in the case.  IVAN AYERS, 37, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to participating in the kidnapping conspiracy and is set to be sentenced on June 10, 2025.  JONATHAN VARGAS, 38, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to kidnapping the first victim in Naperville and is set to be sentenced on June 5, 2025.

Williams’s sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The case was investigated with assistance from the Naperville Police Department, Westchester Police Department, South Holland Police Department, Chicago Police Department, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office.

According to evidence presented at trial, the first kidnapping occurred in Naperville on Oct. 17, 2019.  The conspirators posed as law enforcement officers to handcuff and abduct a man at gunpoint outside of his electronics store, which they then burglarized.  The conspirators forced the victim into a car and transported him to Chicago, where they assaulted him and extorted his family.

The conspirators carried out the kidnapping in Westchester on Nov. 16, 2019.  Posing as federal agents, the conspirators handcuffed and abducted a man at gunpoint outside of his residence.  The conspirators forced the victim into his home, where they seized another victim and forced them both into the basement.  Two other victims later arrived at the residence and were also forced into the basement at gunpoint.  The conspirators stole cash and jewelry before fleeing.

The conspirators attempted the third kidnapping in South Holland on Dec. 11, 2019, but the intended victim was able to call 911 and the South Holland Police arrived before the conspirators could gain access to the house.

“Williams orchestrated a series of incredibly violent abductions and armed robberies throughout Chicago and the neighboring suburbs,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Jodrey and Kate McClelland argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Williams and his co-conspirators ruthlessly threatened, restrained, beat, robbed, kidnapped, terrorized, and tortured people for their own personal gain.”

Source: US FBI

Charging papers show the farmers were able to pull off such scams with help from employees at Clay’s Tobacco Warehouse, including Debra Muse, who worked at the warehouse. She also happened to be a crop insurance agent.

Muse helped the farmers get fake paperwork to show they had purchased their quality tobacco from Clay’s. “More importantly,” said Whittington, “when the farmers would take their tobacco to the warehouse to have it graded, they would need a NoG rating or a not salable rating. Muse would provide that documentation.” Whittington said the warehouse would reuse the same bad bales of tobacco when the crop graders would come by, rotating out the tickets used to label them.

Whittington said Muse’s case was the first related to this investigation to reach the courts. She admitted to urging and assisting farmers to file false tobacco insurance claims and was sentenced in September 2018 to five years in prison.

It was another three years before Roger Wilson, the owner of Clay’s Tobacco Warehouse, was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for his part. The longest sentence in the case went to Michael McNew, who was sentenced to 86 months. By misusing his role as a crop insurance adjuster, and at a different period as a crop insurance agent, McNew admitted to causing losses in excess of $23 million.

The Aftermath

“The individuals who participated in this scheme caused the United States government and insurance carriers to sustain over $40 million in losses,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason Williams of the USDA-OIG. “The outstanding work of the USDA-OIG agents, USDA staff, and our FBI partners who investigated this case along with the prosecutors of the U.S. attorney’s office made it possible to bring these fraudsters to justice. Farmers in this industry deserve an honest marketplace that is free from fraud due to false claims.”

In addition, the RMA, which is part of the USDA, changed its nationwide policy on NoG-graded tobacco based on this case. If the tobacco is graded “unsalable,” the farmer is required to destroy the crop with an insurance adjuster as a witness. This shift is designed to prevent farmers from reusing damaged crops in future insurance claims. The USDA is also assessing related program vulnerabilities in an effort to curb future fraud attempts.