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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PORTLAND, Maine: Two New Bedford, Massachusetts men pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to a three-count superseding indictment that included charges for conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, perpetrating a drive-by shooting, and using a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. 

Joshua Estrada (aka “Mac”), 20, and Yancarlos Abrante (aka “Glizzy”), 22, pleaded guilty to the superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury on March 19, 2025.

According to court records, on February 9, 2024, Estrada and Abrante fired at least five rounds from a 9mm handgun into another vehicle in a drug trade dispute. Shortly after they fired on their drug rivals and fled the scene, they drove their vehicle against traffic and through a red light, crashing into another passenger vehicle and a school bus. Video footage captured by another driver who witnessed the accident showed them exiting their vehicle and fleeing the scene on foot. Court records reflect that Estrada, Abrante and others had been trafficking cocaine in and around Saco and Biddeford since at least January 2024.

A third defendant, Jason Johnson-Rivera (aka “Ouda”), 20, is expected to go to trial later this year.

“Today’s guilty pleas by Joshua Estrada and Yancarlos Abrante are the result of a tireless and cooperative investigation by local, state and federal law enforcement,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Craig M. Wolff. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and its partners are united in bringing to justice those who distribute drugs and commit acts of violence in this state.”

“These two violent, dangerous men committed a brazen, drive-by shooting in Saco in broad daylight following a dispute over the cocaine they were trafficking,” said Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “Their unabashed criminal behavior put innocent lives at risk, all so they could maintain their hold on their drug territory and keep the cash rolling in. This case underscores how the FBI’s Southern Maine Gang Task Force and our law enforcement partners are working together to target and dismantle the violent drug gangs wreaking so much havoc in our communities, just to make money and a name for themselves on the street.”

Estrada and Abrante face a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 20 years with a maximum of life, a fine of up to $10 million, and not less than five years of supervised release. Both defendants will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Saco Police Department, FBI’s Southern Maine Gang Task Force, U.S. Border Patrol, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case with assistance from the New Bedford (Mass.) Police Department.

Project Safe Neighborhoods: 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 Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psn.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

            WASHINGTON – Dawayne Joseph Spriggs, 35, of Washington, D.C. and Prince George’s County, Maryland, was sentenced today to nine years in prison for obstruction of justice and subornation of perjury, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

            Spriggs pleaded guilty on June 23, 2025, to obstruction of justice in Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Judge Jason Park also ordered that Spriggs serve a five-year term of supervised release after released from prison.

            On September 13, 2023, a District of Columbia Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Spriggs in a 2014 cold case sexual assault. On October 11, 2023, the Grand Jury returned a superseding indictment, adding the charge of obstructing justice.

            “Neither time nor pressure nor obstruction will prevent this office from identifying and convicting the guilty,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. “This defendant pressured many witnesses to give false testimony and lie to cover up his violent crimes, which corrupts the principles of truth-seeking upon which our system of justice is based—it didn’t work.”

            On May 18, 2023, the defendant was arrested for sexually assaulting a stranger on July 6, 2014. In 2016, a database reported a match between the DNA profile obtained from the victim’s rape kit and another sexual assault offense that had been reported in Anne Arundel County, Maryland in 2013, but the assailant’s remained unknown. In 2023, detectives with MPD’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit obtained a lead as to the assailant’s identity that led them to lawfully collect DNA samples from defendant Spriggs. These DNA samples were tested by both law enforcement entities and resulted in a match to both rape kits. The defendant was arrested on the D.C. sexual assault charges in May 2023 and indicted in September of 2023.

            While awaiting trial in the District of Columbia, the defendant engaged in a months-long scheme to obstruct justice and evade responsibility for the underlying assault. Over hundreds of recorded phone calls and texts from the D.C. Jail, he pressured his then-girlfriend to tamper with evidence and urged associates to lie for him. The defendant bullied his girlfriend into obtaining photographs of the victim from her Instagram and other social media and provided them to his associates so they could falsely identify her. Over numerous months, the defendant solicited others to provide invented witness statements to his investigator, the grand jury, and the Court regarding events they did not witness. The defendant’s plan was for his investigator to bring these false statements to the government, causing the government to dismiss the case. The defendant attempted to cover up his corrupt actions and instructed his associates to clear their phones of his incriminating texts and emails. He pressured a close family member to commit perjury in the grand jury to undermine the government’s case. For her role in the scheme, the defendant’s then-girlfriend also pleaded guilty to attempted obstruction of justice and has been sentenced.

            This case was brought as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative and investigated by MPD’s Sexual Assault Unit. In February 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia created the Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative. The goal of the Initiative is to collaborate with law enforcement partners to reinvestigate, solve and bring charges in previously unsolved cases of sexual assault against adults and juveniles. The Cold Case Initiative works with the MPD, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, and state and local law enforcement agencies in the DMV area.

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

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Chief Smith commended the efforts of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Zubrensky, who prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Trevor Christopher Fountain, 38, formerly of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to transport stolen property, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, Fountain worked with co-conspirators Stephan James Evanovich, 46, of Sacramento; Jonathan Matthew Curl, 36, of Sacramento; and Andrea Carter, 35, formerly of Sacramento, to illegally enter communications towers and steal rectifiers and other communications equipment. Rectifiers are a power source necessary to maintain power at communications towers. Fountain was responsible for stealing equipment and transferring it to Evanovich, who then paid him for the stolen equipment. Evanovich sold the stolen property to legitimate third-party vendors in California, Illinois, Colorado, and Texas. The conspirators stole, sold, and shipped more than 485 stolen rectifiers across state lines. The total value of the stolen rectifiers is no less than $260,000.

As part of the scheme, Fountain created false invoices in the name of a false business. These invoices were used to make it appear as though Evanovich had obtained the stolen rectifiers from legitimate businesses.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from Weld County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Delaney is prosecuting the case.

Carter pleaded guilty and was sentenced on June 5, 2025, to 29 months in prison. Evanovich and Curl are awaiting trial, which is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2026. The charges are only allegations; they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Fountain is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta on Feb. 19, 2026. Fountain faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BUFFALO, N.Y. –U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that two Mexican nationals pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to re-entry of a removed alien. Ariel Benjamin Gregorio Santiago, 36, pleaded guilty and was then sentenced to serve four months in prison. Zeferino Marceliano Leon, 35, pleaded guilty, was sentenced to time served, and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Smith, who is handling the case, stated that on July 24, 2025, Border Patrol agents encountered Ariel Benjamin Gregorio Santiago and Zeferino Marceliano Leon. When questioned by agents, the two men confirmed that that they are citizens of Mexico, and not a national of the United States. Further investigation determined that Gregorio Santiago was previously removed from the United States in 2011 and twice in 2019, and Marceliano Leon was previously removed in 2011.

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.

The pleas and sentencings are the result of an investigation by U.S. Border Patrol, under the direction of Patrol Agent-in-Charge David Banks.    

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Thursday sentenced two siblings to prison for aggravated identity theft and fraud.

Judge Clark sentenced Alexandria Collins, 34, of Shiloh, Ill., to 146 months in prison and Wayne M. Collins, 31, to 141 months in prison. Alexandria Collins also has to pay restitution of $449,984. Wayne Collins was ordered to pay $134,519.

In 2023, Wayne Collins was on supervised release for a 2018 case after having been sentenced to 42 months in prison for aiding and abetting the stealing of a firearm from a licensed gun dealer. The U.S. Probation Office conducted a search of his residence and discovered a phone that had been owned by his sister. The phone contained evidence of identity theft and wire fraud, including a counterfeit driver’s license with Wayne Collins’ picture and the name, Social Security number and birthdate of someone else. That victim’s identity had been used to open a $6,300 credit account on June 21, 2023. The phone also contained evidence of Wayne Collins’ possession and use of bank checks that had been stolen from the mail.

It also showed that Alexandria Collins had produced counterfeit ID and paystubs for multiple people, executed a wire fraud scheme to fraudulently obtain vehicle loans, used stolen identities to open credit accounts with retailers and cellphone companies, attempted to sell fraudulently-obtained vehicles through an auction company, facilitated the shipment of LSD through the U.S. Postal Service and produced counterfeit financial documents for someone to use in court proceedings.

After Alexandria Collins’ release from federal prison in a 2018 fraud case and placement on house arrest on Sept. 13, 2021, she began living in a house in St. Charles County that had been rented by her boyfriend, a convicted felon, using a stolen identity and fake wage verification records. Alexandria Collins told her probation officer that the house had been rented by her sister. The couple and their children would later be evicted, owing the landlord $36,699 for rent, utilities and damage to the home. Collins then moved into a home in Shiloh, Ill. that she rented by using the stolen identity of Oneasha Stevenson and bogus tax records and bank statements. Collins again lied to her probation officer and said the home had been rented by her sister. She paid more than $9,000 in rent by funneling money through her boyfriend’s son’s student checking account.

On April 8, 2022, Collins opened an account at a credit union, falsely claiming that she was employed at a day care center. Over the next five months, Collins deposited or transferred a total of $40,065 – proceeds of a fraudulent loan scheme involving a stolen 2014 Porsche Panamera. Collins was then involved with the sale of a 2011 Rolls Royce that netted $80,000. She did not tell her probation officer about her receipt of money via her involvement with auto sales. Instead, she falsely claimed to be working for a trucking company.

After Collins’ boyfriend was arrested on Oct. 26, 2022, the mother of one of his children tried to regain custody with the help of the Shiloh Police Department. Collins concealed his arrest from police and thwarted the mother by contacting her boyfriend’s brother on Facetime and having him impersonate her boyfriend.

Collins then struck a deal with Stevenson in which Stevenson used a stolen identity to purchase and attempt to purchase a vehicle, electronics and other merchandise with the help of both Collins siblings.

Wayne Collins pleaded guilty in May to aggravated identity theft in a case filed in 2024 and access device fraud in the 2022 case he shares with his sister and Stevenson. His sentence includes 129 months in prison for the current cases, and 12 months for violating his supervised release in the prior case.

Alexandria Collins pleaded guilty in May in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of access device fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of make a false statement to the U.S. Probation Office. Her sentence includes 132 months in prison for her current case plus 14 months for violating her supervised release from the 2018 case.

Oneasha Stevenson, 35, of Berkeley, Missouri, was sentenced in July of 2024 to five years of probation and ordered to repay $3,584 to victims. Ultimately, she was ordered to serve a 15 months sentence in prison after repeatedly violating the terms of her probation, including the condition that she pay restitution.

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is charged with defending the nation’s mail system from illegal use.  With the collaborative efforts of our federal and local law enforcement partners, Postal Inspectors investigate fraudsters who utilize the U.S. Mail to perpetuate financial schemes to defraud others in order to enrich themselves.  Postal Inspectors seek justice for victims, including those most vulnerable,” said Inspector in Charge, Ruth Mendonça, who leads the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which includes the St. Louis Field Office.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Missouri Department of Revenue’s Compliance and Investigation Bureau and the U.S. Probation Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Mexico pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of illegal reentry of a removed alien and was sentenced to 10 months of imprisonment on his conviction, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

United States District Judge William S. Stickman IV imposed the sentence on Daniel Alejandro Benzor-Mora, 31.

According to information presented to the Court, on March 19, 2025, Benzor-Mora was arrested by the Shenango Township Police Department for failing to stop at a stop sign, driving without a license and evading arrest on foot. Following this encounter, immigration officials determined that Benzor-Mora was illegally present in the United States and arrested him, on March 29, 2025, related to this charge. Benzor-Mora was previously removed from the United States on January 3, 2024, after incurring a lengthy criminal history, including 14 prior arrests and 6 prior convictions in Florida, and had not received permission to be in the United States, as required. As a part of his sentence, Benzor-Mora agreed to his removal from the United States. Benzor-Mora has been in custody since his March arrest and will be returned to immigration authorities for his removal following the conclusion of his federal sentence.

In imposing sentence, Judge Stickman expressed his intent that the sentence imposed would “impose respect for the law, impose a deterrent consideration and also to demonstrate that these crimes associated with being [in the United States] illegally are taken seriously.” After all, “the exercise of sovereignty requires that a nation guard its borders and that there be consequences for those who, in violation of the country’s law, violate its sovereignty.” Moreover, “this is not a defendant whose only offense against the United States and the people of the several states has been his illegal entry and reentry into the United States.” Rather, the defendant, “while not a legal resident of this nation, has a history of engaging in criminal acts in violation of the laws of the United States, the laws of the State of Florida and the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.

Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Benzor-Mora.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, combat illegal immigration, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Department of Justice has announced the creation of a new office within the Civil Division — the Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch — dedicated to safeguarding public health and safety through proactive enforcement and high-impact affirmative litigation.

“By consolidating the Civil Division’s affirmative litigation work into a highly specialized branch, the Department will strengthen its ability to hold powerful actors accountable, protect public health and safety, and enforce critical national policies,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This restructuring reflects the Department’s commitment to aggressively protecting consumers and advancing the interests of the United States.”

The new Branch will consist of two sections. The Enforcement Section will draw on the Department’s extensive experience bringing landmark cases under statutes such as the Controlled Substances Act, Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, Consumer Product Safety Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, to protect consumers — whether it be from unfair and deceptive trade practices of the largest technology companies in the world, defective consumer goods imported from China, or false and misleading claims about drugs and dietary supplements manufactured by pharmaceutical companies. The Affirmative Litigation Section will represent the United States by filing lawsuits against states, municipalities, and private entities that interfere with or obstruct federal policies, ensuring nationwide compliance with the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

The new Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch will strengthen the Civil Division’s ability to advance the Department’s enforcement priorities, including protecting women and children from pharmaceutical companies, health care providers, and medical associations profiting off of false and misleading claims related to so-called gender transition, and ending sanctuary jurisdiction laws, policies, and practices that impede federal immigration enforcement and make Americans less safe in their communities.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

           WASHINGTON – Richard Holmes, 35, of Washington, D.C., was arrested and charged with a homicide that occurred in the early morning hours of August 26, 2025, in Southeast D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. 

           Holmes made his initial appearance on September 24, 2025, before Superior Court Magistrate Judge Heide Herrmann who found probable cause that Holmes committed the offense of first-degree murder while armed (felony murder) and ordered that he be held without bond pending a detention hearing scheduled for October 8, 2025.

           According to court documents, Holmes, shot and killed the victim, 31-year-old Franck Foute Mohdjiom, during an attempted robbery before fleeing the scene. Members of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Fugitive Unit assumed custody of Holmes while he was held at the D.C. Jail on an unrelated matter on September 23, 2025. 

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

           This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Carson.

            These charges are merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

NEW ORLEANS – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that ASHLEY HYMEL (“HYMEL”) age 42, a resident of Ama, Louisiana, was charged on September 18, 2025, by bill of information, with wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343.

According to the bill of information, HYMEL used a company credit card to embezzle funds from her employer, Company 1, where she was an executive assistant. In total, HYMEL embezzled at least $130,663.92.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

TOLEDO, Ohio – A Wood County man has been sentenced to prison for defrauding a computer technology support company of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Blake Underwood, 45, of Perrysburg, Ohio, was sentenced to 24 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary after pleading guilty in May to wire fraud. Underwood was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment. 

According to court documents and evidence presented in court, Underwood was employed by Nemsys, LLC, a Toledo-based information technology company. After the Nemsys business owners relocated to Florida to focus their efforts on a second company, Underwood became the CEO and ran the business on behalf of the owners. Court documents show that Underwood devised a scheme to defraud the company from December 2019 until April 2023. Even though he was not permitted to do so, Underwood used Nemsys funds intended for the revitalization of a historic Toledo property to purchase building supplies for his personal home. In 2023, the owners examined why Nemsys was underperforming financially and discovered that Underwood was using company funds to pay his personal credit cards, purchase personal vehicles, golf club memberships, jewelry, and more.

This investigation was conducted by the FBI Toledo Field Office prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert N. Melching for the Northern District of Ohio.