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Source: United States Department of Justice

A Pakistani man made his initial appearance in court in Tucson, Arizona, today after being extradited from Mexico to face charges relating to his role in leading an international alien smuggling organization.

In May 2024, a federal grand jury in Tucson returned an indictment against Abbas Ali Haider, 48, of Sialkot, Pakistan, for conspiring to smuggle Pakistani nationals into the United States.

Haider allegedly operated two sham film production companies, Diamond TV World Productions and Multimedia Advertising Ltd., which were fronts for his alien smuggling organization. According to court documents, Haider used those Pakistan-based companies to contract with film companies in Ecuador, Cuba, and Colombia. He then had those companies sponsor visas for Pakistani nationals purporting to work for Haider’s companies under the guise that they were working on a joint filming project in Latin America. Haider provided the Pakistani nationals with phony paperwork indicating that they worked for his companies, which they used at ports of entry in Panama, Brazil, and Colombia. Haider coached the aliens to say they worked in the film industry to deceive and thwart customs and border officials. Haider’s network of smugglers then assisted the Pakistani nationals in traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border, where they illegally crossed into California, Texas, and Arizona. Haider charged the aliens up to $40,000 for the trip.  

Haider travelled from Pakistan to Mexico in late 2024 and was arrested in Mexico in January 2025 at the request of the U.S. government. Extensive coordination and cooperation between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities resulted in Haider’s timely extradition.

Haider is charged with one count of conspiracy to bring illegal aliens to the United States and four counts of bringing in illegal aliens for profit. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine for the District of Arizona, and Special Agent in Charge Shawn Gibson of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Diego, made the announcement.

HSI Calexico led U.S. investigative efforts, working in concert with HSI’s Brasilia, Quito, Tijuana, and Caribbean attaché offices and the HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force, U.S. Border Patrol; the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Miami, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Detroit provided substantial assistance. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Haider. 

Trial Attorney Chelsea Schinnour of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Kreamer Hope and Evan Wesley for the District of Arizona are prosecuting the case.

The indictment and extradition are the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) Program. JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been elevated and expanded with a mandate to target cartels and transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the border. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by HRSP and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Office of Enforcement Operations, and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 390 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 350 U.S. convictions; more than 300 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

The ECT program is a partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI and focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence, and prosecutorial resources. ECT also coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

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 (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice

A Pakistani man made his initial appearance in court in Tucson, Arizona, today after being extradited from Mexico to face charges relating to his role in leading an international alien smuggling organization.

In May 2024, a federal grand jury in Tucson returned an indictment against Abbas Ali Haider, 48, of Sialkot, Pakistan, for conspiring to smuggle Pakistani nationals into the United States.

Haider allegedly operated two sham film production companies, Diamond TV World Productions and Multimedia Advertising Ltd., which were fronts for his alien smuggling organization. According to court documents, Haider used those Pakistan-based companies to contract with film companies in Ecuador, Cuba, and Colombia. He then had those companies sponsor visas for Pakistani nationals purporting to work for Haider’s companies under the guise that they were working on a joint filming project in Latin America. Haider provided the Pakistani nationals with phony paperwork indicating that they worked for his companies, which they used at ports of entry in Panama, Brazil, and Colombia. Haider coached the aliens to say they worked in the film industry to deceive and thwart customs and border officials. Haider’s network of smugglers then assisted the Pakistani nationals in traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border, where they illegally crossed into California, Texas, and Arizona. Haider charged the aliens up to $40,000 for the trip.  

Haider travelled from Pakistan to Mexico in late 2024 and was arrested in Mexico in January 2025 at the request of the U.S. government. Extensive coordination and cooperation between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities resulted in Haider’s timely extradition.

Haider is charged with one count of conspiracy to bring illegal aliens to the United States and four counts of bringing in illegal aliens for profit. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine for the District of Arizona, and Special Agent in Charge Shawn Gibson of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Diego, made the announcement.

HSI Calexico led U.S. investigative efforts, working in concert with HSI’s Brasilia, Quito, Tijuana, and Caribbean attaché offices and the HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force, U.S. Border Patrol; the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Miami, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Detroit provided substantial assistance. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Haider. 

Trial Attorney Chelsea Schinnour of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Kreamer Hope and Evan Wesley for the District of Arizona are prosecuting the case.

The indictment and extradition are the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) Program. JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been elevated and expanded with a mandate to target cartels and transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the border. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by HRSP and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Office of Enforcement Operations, and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 390 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 350 U.S. convictions; more than 300 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

The ECT program is a partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI and focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence, and prosecutorial resources. ECT also coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

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 (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

An indictment is merely an allegation. 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

A Texas couple who failed to disclose assets in Dubai and Pakistan waived their bankruptcy discharge of more than $14.6 million in unsecured debt after an investigation by the Department of Justice’s U.S. Trustee Program (USTP).

On May 30, the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas approved a waiver of discharge by chapter 7 debtors Hasan Farid Hashmi and Umme Salma Hashmi. As a result, the Hashmis remain personally liable for their debts, and creditors are free to pursue payment from them after the case is closed.

“The bankruptcy system depends on transparency,” said Lisa Lambert, U.S. Trustee for Region 6, which includes the Northern District of Texas. “Debtors who intentionally undermine that system should not receive the benefit of a fresh start.”

The Hashmis filed for bankruptcy in September 2023 after the closure of several Texas hospitals owned by Hasan Hashmi, a physician. Among their assets, the couple listed a $2 million Dallas home as their only real estate and two American bank accounts with small balances. They also disclosed that they had established a trust for their descendants — which Dr. Hashmi managed as trustee — but claimed no interest in the trust’s assets as owners or beneficiaries. An investigation by the USTP’s Dallas office, however, revealed that the Hashmis owned several other properties and bank accounts in Dubai and Pakistan and that they used funds from the trust to pay personal expenses.

In February 2024, the USTP filed a complaint seeking to bar the Hashmis’ bankruptcy discharge for making false oaths; concealing assets; failing to maintain financial records; failing to cooperate with the chapter 7 trustee’s document requests; and refusing to obey a court order requiring the Hashmis to comply with the U.S. Trustee’s document requests. One day before trial, the Hashmis agreed to waive their discharge.

The USTP’s mission is to promote the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system for the benefit of all stakeholders — debtors, creditors and the public. The USTP consists of 21 regions with 88 field offices nationwide and an Executive Office in Washington, D.C. Learn more about the USTP at www.justice.gov/ust. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Delta Air Lines Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, has agreed to pay $8,100,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by awarding compensation to certain corporate officers and employees that exceeded the compensation limits Delta agreed to as part of its participation in the Department of the Treasury’s Payroll Support Program (PSP).

The PSP was established by Congress in March 2020 under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act to provide payroll support to passenger and cargo air carriers and certain contractors for the continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries, and benefits. The program was administered by the Department of Treasury (Treasury), and participating air carriers were required to enter into written agreements with Treasury that imposed certain conditions in exchange for the receipt of PSP funds. Among other program requirements, PSP agreements included limitations on the amount of compensation that PSP participants could pay to certain corporate officers and employees earning annual compensation in excess of $425,000. 

Delta entered into PSP agreements with Treasury in 2020 and 2021, under which Delta agreed to the PSP compensation limits. The settlement resolves allegations that, between March 2020 and April 2023, Delta awarded compensation to some corporate officers and employees that exceeded the limits set by the PSP agreements. Delta allegedly violated the False Claims Act by inaccurately certifying compliance with PSP requirements in quarterly reports submitted to Treasury, as well as by not notifying Treasury of the breach once it was discovered by Delta, which would have given the government the right to demand the return of funds.

“The PSP was intended to provide critical assistance to the airline industry during the pandemic,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to holding accountable those who failed to abide by the terms and conditions governing their receipt and use of federal funds.” 

“When companies accept federal assistance, especially generous pandemic-relief funds like those at issue here, they owe a duty to the American people to respect the conditions placed on those funds,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg for the Northern District of Georgia. “We will continue to enforce all available laws to punish the misuse of taxpayers’ money.”

“Our criminal investigators have been at the center of this investigation as a core part of our responsibility to safeguard the integrity and efficiency of Treasury programs and operations, and we remain steadfast in our determination to hold recipients of public funds to the highest standards,” said Treasury Deputy Inspector General Loren Sciurba.

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by H. Remidez LLC. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. H Remidez LLC  v. Delta Air Lines Inc., No. 1-23-cv-01116 (N.D. Ga.). The whistleblower will receive $850,500 in connection with the settlement.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, with assistance from the United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General.

The matter was handled by Trial Attorney James Nealon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony DeCinque for the Northern District of Georgia.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Delta Air Lines Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, has agreed to pay $8,100,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by awarding compensation to certain corporate officers and employees that exceeded the compensation limits Delta agreed to as part of its participation in the Department of the Treasury’s Payroll Support Program (PSP).

The PSP was established by Congress in March 2020 under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act to provide payroll support to passenger and cargo air carriers and certain contractors for the continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries, and benefits. The program was administered by the Department of Treasury (Treasury), and participating air carriers were required to enter into written agreements with Treasury that imposed certain conditions in exchange for the receipt of PSP funds. Among other program requirements, PSP agreements included limitations on the amount of compensation that PSP participants could pay to certain corporate officers and employees earning annual compensation in excess of $425,000. 

Delta entered into PSP agreements with Treasury in 2020 and 2021, under which Delta agreed to the PSP compensation limits. The settlement resolves allegations that, between March 2020 and April 2023, Delta awarded compensation to some corporate officers and employees that exceeded the limits set by the PSP agreements. Delta allegedly violated the False Claims Act by inaccurately certifying compliance with PSP requirements in quarterly reports submitted to Treasury, as well as by not notifying Treasury of the breach once it was discovered by Delta, which would have given the government the right to demand the return of funds.

“The PSP was intended to provide critical assistance to the airline industry during the pandemic,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to holding accountable those who failed to abide by the terms and conditions governing their receipt and use of federal funds.” 

“When companies accept federal assistance, especially generous pandemic-relief funds like those at issue here, they owe a duty to the American people to respect the conditions placed on those funds,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg for the Northern District of Georgia. “We will continue to enforce all available laws to punish the misuse of taxpayers’ money.”

“Our criminal investigators have been at the center of this investigation as a core part of our responsibility to safeguard the integrity and efficiency of Treasury programs and operations, and we remain steadfast in our determination to hold recipients of public funds to the highest standards,” said Treasury Deputy Inspector General Loren Sciurba.

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by H. Remidez LLC. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. H Remidez LLC  v. Delta Air Lines Inc., No. 1-23-cv-01116 (N.D. Ga.). The whistleblower will receive $850,500 in connection with the settlement.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, with assistance from the United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General.

The matter was handled by Trial Attorney James Nealon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony DeCinque for the Northern District of Georgia.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A former correctional officer from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, was sentenced today for his role in an assault that resulted in the death of an inmate, identified by the initials Q.B., on March 1, 2022. Andrew Fleshman, 22, was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison.

According to his plea agreement, Fleshman responded to a call for officer assistance after Q.B. tried to push past another correctional officer and leave his assigned pod. When Correctional Officer Fleshman arrived at the pod, Q.B. was on the floor as force was being used against him. The officers restrained and handcuffed Q.B. Officer Fleshman and other members of the conspiracy then escorted Q.B. to an interview room, where, aided and abetted by each other, they struck and injured Q.B. while he was restrained, handcuffed and posed no threat to anyone. Fleshman admitted that he and the members of the conspiracy struck and injured Q.B. to punish him for attempting to leave his assigned pod.

Fleshman pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Frank W. Volk on Nov. 2, 2023. That same day, former correctional officer Steven Nicholas Wimmer also pleaded guilty to conspiring to use unreasonable force against Q.B. On May 8, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Frank W. Volk sentenced Wimmer to nine years in prison.

On Nov. 29, 2023, a federal grand jury indicted six other defendants in connection with the death of Q.B. In November 2024, Mark Holdren, Corey Snyder, and Johnathan Walters each pleaded guilty in connection with the use of unreasonable force against Q.B., resulting in his death. On July 9, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph R. Goodwin sentenced Holdren to 20 years in prison and Walters was sentenced to 21 years in prison. On July 10, Judge Goodwin sentenced Snyder to 19 years and seven months in prison.

In August 2024, Ashley Toney and Jacob Boothe each pleaded guilty to failing to intervene to protect Q.B. from the officers’ assault. On June 9, Judge Goodwin sentenced Toney to six and a half years in prison. On July 10, Judge Goodwin sentenced Boothe to three years in prison.

On Jan. 27, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict at trial for the sixth indicted defendant, Chad Lester, a former Lieutenant at the Southern Regional Jail, finding him guilty on three obstruction of justice charges for his role in conspiring to cover up the death of Q.B. On May 15, Judge Goodwin sentenced Lester to 17 and a half years in prison.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston for the Southern District of West Virginia made the announcement.

The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office, Charleston Resident Agency, investigated the case.

Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.

Source: United States Department of Justice

A former correctional officer from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, was sentenced today for his role in an assault that resulted in the death of an inmate, identified by the initials Q.B., on March 1, 2022. Andrew Fleshman, 22, was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison.

According to his plea agreement, Fleshman responded to a call for officer assistance after Q.B. tried to push past another correctional officer and leave his assigned pod. When Correctional Officer Fleshman arrived at the pod, Q.B. was on the floor as force was being used against him. The officers restrained and handcuffed Q.B. Officer Fleshman and other members of the conspiracy then escorted Q.B. to an interview room, where, aided and abetted by each other, they struck and injured Q.B. while he was restrained, handcuffed and posed no threat to anyone. Fleshman admitted that he and the members of the conspiracy struck and injured Q.B. to punish him for attempting to leave his assigned pod.

Fleshman pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Frank W. Volk on Nov. 2, 2023. That same day, former correctional officer Steven Nicholas Wimmer also pleaded guilty to conspiring to use unreasonable force against Q.B. On May 8, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Frank W. Volk sentenced Wimmer to nine years in prison.

On Nov. 29, 2023, a federal grand jury indicted six other defendants in connection with the death of Q.B. In November 2024, Mark Holdren, Corey Snyder, and Johnathan Walters each pleaded guilty in connection with the use of unreasonable force against Q.B., resulting in his death. On July 9, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph R. Goodwin sentenced Holdren to 20 years in prison and Walters was sentenced to 21 years in prison. On July 10, Judge Goodwin sentenced Snyder to 19 years and seven months in prison.

In August 2024, Ashley Toney and Jacob Boothe each pleaded guilty to failing to intervene to protect Q.B. from the officers’ assault. On June 9, Judge Goodwin sentenced Toney to six and a half years in prison. On July 10, Judge Goodwin sentenced Boothe to three years in prison.

On Jan. 27, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict at trial for the sixth indicted defendant, Chad Lester, a former Lieutenant at the Southern Regional Jail, finding him guilty on three obstruction of justice charges for his role in conspiring to cover up the death of Q.B. On May 15, Judge Goodwin sentenced Lester to 17 and a half years in prison.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston for the Southern District of West Virginia made the announcement.

The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office, Charleston Resident Agency, investigated the case.

Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.