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Federal jury convicts Russian woman of the international kidnapping of her daughter

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Russian citizen today for the offense of international parental kidnapping following her absconding with her daughter to Kazakhstan and arranging for her to cross the border into Russia, all without the father’s knowledge or consent.

“Elena Pendergrass’ crime is an act of extraordinary cruelty and endangerment,” said Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Pendergrass vengefully separated a parent from a child, abandoned the child in extreme isolation at just one month old, and took steps intended to move the child beyond recovery. Today’s verdict marks an important step toward achieving justice and reconciliation for the victims in this case.”

“When Pendergrass took her one-month-old baby to Kazakhstan without the child’s father’s knowledge or consent, she deprived a father of his parental rights and her daughter of a relationship with her dad,” said Reid Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division. “The FBI will spare no effort to bring the child safely home to the United States.”

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Pendergrass, aka Elena Stukalkina, 35, resided in Alexandria prior to her daughter’s birth on May 21. Though a DNA test prior to birth confirmed the child’s paternity, Pendergrass ordered the father to cease and desist all communications. After the child was born, she listed “unknown” for the father on their daughter’s birth certificate, despite the father wanting to be an involved parent.

On June 5, the father petitioned a domestic relations court for paternity, visitation, and custody. In response, Pendergrass threatened that she and their daughter were dual citizens, implying she would take the baby to Russia. On June 26, 2025, Pendergrass filed an emergency passport application for the daughter in Washington on which she wrote “unknown” as to the father and submitted the birth certificate identifying only herself as a parent. On June 27 she received the U.S. passport and on June 28 she flew with the daughter from New York to Istanbul, Turkey, and then to Kazakhstan without the father’s knowledge or consent. In Pendergrass’ absence, the father was awarded sole physical and legal custody.

On July 13, Pendergrass returned to New York to obtain a Russian visa for the daughter, which was necessary to cross into Russia. Pendergrass then shipped the visa and the daughter’s passport to a trusted intermediary in Kazakhstan, enabling the child’s grandmother to transport her into Russia, where she is believed to remain today.

Pendergrass faces a mandatory sentence of three years in prison when sentenced on March 19, 2026. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith J. Edwards and Nicholas A. Durham are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:25-cr-252.

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Florida Man Convicted of Leading $300 Million Money Laundering Operation for Transnational Criminal Organizations

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Defendant Laundered Approximately $300 Million, Including for Cartels and Drug Traffickers

Alain Bibliowicz Mitrani, a resident of Miami, Florida and a citizen of France and Colombia, was convicted today by a federal jury in Brooklyn on all five counts of a superseding  indictment charging him with money laundering conspiracy, bank fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, and operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business related to his laundering of drug proceeds through financial institutions in the United States. The verdict was returned after a two-week trial before United States District Judge Carol Bagley Amon.  When sentenced, the defendant faces up to 70 years’ imprisonment.  The defendant was the leader of a scheme to launder more than $300 million, including for persons affiliated with cartels and other transnational criminal organizations engaged in drug trafficking, including the Sinaloa Cartel.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI), announced the verdict.

“With today’s verdict, the defendant’s prolific money laundering of drug proceeds is all washed up,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “The defendant and his co-conspirators converted illicit proceeds in the form of cryptocurrency from drug cartels in Colombia and Mexico into dirty cash using a series of bank accounts and complex financial transactions, here and abroad.  Then he sent this dirty money back to the drug traffickers, fueling their criminal enterprises while enriching himself with hefty fees he charged for his laundering.  But thanks to the excellent work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners, the defendant’s operation has been shut down, and the only laundering he will be handling in the future will be in a federal prison laundromat.”

Mr. Nocella thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, for their assistance.

“The defendant’s $300 million money laundering empire fueled untold violence and chaos on behalf of the world’s most dangerous criminal organizations. Our message to money launderers is clear: if you think you can bankroll drug cartels and criminal enterprises from the shadows, we will find you, expose you, and shut you down,” stated HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Patel.  “We’re working relentlessly every day with our partners to trace illicit funds and dismantle transnational criminal networks.”

“Bibliowicz Mitrani is complicit in moving more than a quarter billion dollars in drug money through shell companies to locations around the world.  In serving his criminal clientele with his dirty money-washing business, he lived a rich lifestyle with a multi-million-dollar mansion and lavish purchases.  IRS-CI follows all money, even when it is dirty, and there is no hiding it from our expert investigators.  Today’s conviction is a good reminder of that,” stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent in Charge Chavis.

As proved at trial, from approximately 2020 to 2024, the defendant led a scheme to launder more than $300 million, much of which represented drug proceeds belonging to drug cartels such as the Sinaloa Cartel and other transnational criminal organizations.  The defendant was an owner and leader of a company called Treebu, which purported to be a legitimate technology business.  In reality, Treebu’s public-facing operations were a cover for an elaborate multi-million-dollar money laundering enterprise based in Florida and Colombia.

Cartels and other transnational criminal organizations that engage in drug trafficking operate vast criminal enterprises that generate significant revenue globally by trafficking illicit narcotics.  Because these organizations generate billions of dollars in illicit revenue annually from trafficked narcotics, they must find ways to repatriate these proceeds back to their home countries to fund their ongoing enterprises.  In many cases, drug trafficking organizations rely on separate money laundering operations, such as Treebu, to repatriate their funds.  In exchange, money laundering organizations and their associates, like the defendant, earn a significant commission for taking on the risk of laundering illicit proceeds for these criminal organizations.

The defendant established shell companies that were used to open bank accounts used to transmit the illegal proceeds in an effort to obscure the source of the funds. To protect the scheme from detection, the defendant lied to U.S. financial institutions about the purpose and activities of these companies, and he failed to register as a money transmitting business as required under state and federal law.  In total, financial records show that the defendant and his organization laundered more than $300 million.

The defendant used his profits from this scheme for personal expenses and to fund his lavish lifestyle, including to purchase expensive jewelry from Van Cleef & Arpels, make payments towards his approximately $4 million Miami mansion, and fund luxury travel, including more than $16,000 on luxury hotel stays abroad in April 2023.

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, 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.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Adam Amir, Lorena Michelen, and David Berman are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Zoubida Bicane and Tareva Torres.

The Defendant:

ALAIN BIBLIOWICZ MITRANI
Age:  51
Miami, Florida

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-39 (CBA)

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Ohio Man Sentenced for Fentanyl, Methamphetamine Offenses

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Terrance Bradley, 27, of Willoughby Hills, Ohio, was sentenced to 92 months in prison for fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.

Bradley, also known as “Blade,” was selling counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine in Ohio County, WV. Bradley has a criminal history that includes felonious assault and drug possession.

Bradley will serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Nogay prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

The Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated.

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided. 

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Miami Man Indicted on Federal Wire-Fraud Conspiracy Charges

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Rodney “Bitcoin Rodney,” Burton, 56, of Miami, Florida, and Prince George’s County, Maryland, for his role as an alleged promoter of a $1.8 billion fraud scheme. Burton is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, seven counts of money laundering, and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. 

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the indictment with Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington D.C. Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – New York.

According to court documents, from June 2020 to May 2024, Burton and his co-conspirators conspired to enrich themselves by promoting HyperFund — a purportedly legitimate investment platform — and successor platforms.  HyperFund’s promotional materials allegedly made various false claims. These falsehoods included claims that investors who purchased HyperFund “memberships” would receive between 0.5 and 1 percent daily in passive rewards until the company either doubled or tripled the investor’s initial investment.  Victims of the conspiracy included investors from Maryland.

HyperFund allegedly attempted to convince investors that the cryptocurrency platform could make such payments by claiming that it would disburse payments, in part, from its revenues from large-scale crypto-mining operations. But the truth was, HyperFund did not have such operations.  Beginning in 2021, HyperFund allegedly started blocking investor withdrawals.  The superseding indictment further alleges that Burton spent HyperFund investor proceeds on, among other things, luxury condominiums, sports cars, and a yacht.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  Individuals charged by indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty at a later criminal proceeding. 

If convicted, Burton faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and for each count of wire fraud. Additionally, Burton is facing 10 years in prison for each count of money laundering and five years in prison for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. 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.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the IRS-CI and HSI-New York for their work in the investigation.  Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Spencer L. Todd and Christina A. Hoffman who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Michigan Man Admits to Fentanyl Charge

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Filmel Williams, 64, of Harper Woods, Michigan, has admitted to illegally distributing fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.

According to court documents, Williams distributed fentanyl in Lumberport, West Virginia.

Williams faces up to 20 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Cogar is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

The Greater Harrison Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.

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District of Arizona Charges 173 Individuals for Immigration-Related Criminal Conduct this Week

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PHOENIX, Ariz. – During the week of enforcement operations from December 6, 2025, through December 12, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 173 individuals. Specifically, the United States filed 93 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 73 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States filed 7 cases against individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), 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).

Recent matters of interest include:

United States v. Mario Alberto Herrera Jr:  On December 11, 2025, Mario Alberto Herrera Jr. was charged by complaint with Transportation of an Illegal Alien. An AZ DPS trooper observed Herrera driving on I-10 Westbound. The trooper conducted a vehicle registration check, which confirmed that the car’s registration was suspended, and the trooper initiated a traffic stop. The trooper observed Herrera in the driver’s seat and two passengers in the backseat of the car.  Agents determined Herrera was paid to transport his two passengers to Phoenix, and that he was on probation for a prior, separate conviction for Transportation of an Illegal Alien in the United States District Court, District of Arizona. Immigration checks confirmed that the two passengers in the car are citizens of Guatemala, unlawfully present in the United States. Case number: 25-3484MJ

United States v. Miguel Hernandez-Cortez: On December 8, 2025, Miguel Hernandez-Cortez was charged by complaint with Re-entry of Removed Alien. Hernandez-Cortez was previously removed from the United States in March 2015 after being convicted of Aggravated Sexual Assault, a felony, in the 287th Judicial District Court, Bailey County, Texas. In that case, Hernandez-Cortez was sentenced to five months of imprisonment.  Case number 25-3466MJ

A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-176_December 12 Immigration Enforcement

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

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Kansas Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child Pornography

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

      LITTLE ROCK—Marcus Abeyta will spend 15 years in federal prison for production of child pornography after victimizing a minor he met while playing an online video game. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down today by Chief United States District Judge Kristine G. Baker.

      On June 4, 2024, Abeyta, 32, of Emporia, Kansas, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of production of child pornography. On February 26, 2025, Abeyta pleaded guilty to the count in the Indictment. Chief Judge Baker sentenced Abeyta to 180 months in federal prison and 10 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

      An investigation revealed that on December 4, 2023, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations in Arkansas was notified by a parent, who is an active member of the Air Force, that they found sexually explicit and inappropriate conversations on their minor child’s iPad. The subsequent investigation revealed that on December 5, 2023, while the minor was interacting with others on an online game, Abeyta sent the minor an internet link inviting the minor to leave the current game and join him on another platform, Discord. The minor accepted the invitation and began communicating with Abeyta who made comments to the minor such as how “sexy” the minor was. During the interaction with the minor, Abeyta asked them to send him pictures of their private body parts, which the minor did. Abeyta offered money and game currency to the minor if they would send naked pictures. Abeyta knew the victim was a minor when he was communicating with the victim.

      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 and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov. Parents are encouraged to always monitor your children’s online activity.

      The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the U.S. Air Force, Office of Special Investigations and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Bryant.

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Additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

X (formerly known as Twitter):

@USAO_EDAR 

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Tsaile Man Sentenced to 13 Years For Voluntary Manslaughter

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Kevin Darren Blackhorse, 37, of Tsaile, Arizona, was sentenced on December 8, 2025, by United States District Judge Michael T. Liburdi to 13 years of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. Blackhorse previously pleaded guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter.

On January 8, 2024, while engaged in a physical fight with the victim, Blackhorse stabbed the victim in the chest and back multiple times resulting in his death. Blackhorse and the victim are enrolled members of the Navajo Nation.

Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations and the FBI Phoenix division’s Gallup office conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kiyoko Patterson, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-24-01247-MTL
RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-175_Blackhorse

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

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Philadelphia Man Charged With Robbing Area Store, Gas Station, and Bank

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Donte Samuel Brown, 45, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged by superseding indictment with two counts of robbery interfering with interstate commerce (Hobbs Act robbery), one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of bank robbery.

The indictment alleges that Brown robbed a Family Dollar store in Delaware County on August 15, 2024; robbed at gunpoint a Sunoco gas station in Montgomery County on January 28, 2025; and robbed a TD Bank branch in Delaware County on February 19, 2025, stealing a total of over $8,000 cash in these robberies. The defendant was initially indicted in July of this year for the bank and gas station robberies.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment.

The case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Newtown Square Resident Agency, the East Norriton Township Police Department, Ridley Township Police Department, and Upper Darby Township Police Department and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorneys Sandra Urban and Brian Doherty.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

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316 New Immigration Cases Filed in Western District of Texas This Week

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SAN ANTONIO – United States Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas announced today that federal prosecutors in the district filed 316 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from Dec. 5 to Dec. 11. Charges were brought against illegal aliens with past convictions for violent crimes and DWIs, as well as alleged human smugglers and aliens with prior removals.

Francisco Javier Navarro-Ramirez, a Legal Permanent Resident born in Mexico, was arrested near Tornillo and charged with human smuggling. A criminal complaint alleges Navarro-Ramirez was the driver of a vehicle travelling at high speeds with multiple individuals inside. Navarro-Ramirez allegedly did not yield to U.S. Border Patrol emergency lights and was eventually stopped by a tire deflation device deployed by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper. The complaint alleges that Navarro-Ramirez was quickly apprehended after he attempted to flee on foot, and five illegal aliens were found inside the vehicle.

A Salvadoran national was arrested by USBP agents near Maverick for being illegally present in the U.S. Douglas Alexis Bautista-Arevalo was removed to El Salvador for the second time on Sept. 4 and has been previously convicted for two DWIs. In March, he was convicted for assault causing bodily injury to a family member.

In Austin, Mexican nationals Juan David Barajas-Armas and Noe Mendez-Salazar were each charged with illegal re-entry. Barajas-Armas has two prior removals and has been convicted of three DWIs and obstructing a highway/passageway. Mendez-Salazar has also been removed twice before and has three DWI convictions.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the 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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