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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

WASHINGTON – An indictment was unsealed on Wednesday in Houston charging a Texas man with offenses related to the alleged operation of illegal and unsafe trucking companies.

According to court documents, Shaquan Jelks, 48, of Houston, managed and controlled multiple commercial trucking companies after being ordered not to do so by a federal court and by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”), the regulatory agency responsible for ensuring that commercial trucks and their drivers are equipped to operate safely on public roads and highways. The indictment against Jelks alleges that he repeatedly lied to and obstructed the FMCSA, including after a driver for his companies was killed in a single-vehicle crash in February 2022. The indictment also alleges that Jelks relied on fraud to finance his illegal trucking companies, including by diverting to his trucking companies money fraudulently obtained from the Paycheck Protection Program.

“Individuals who impair, impede, or obstruct the lawful functions of the FMCSA make our roads and highways less safe,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will continue to work closely with the Department of Transportation and our law enforcement partners to protect drivers on our roads and highways.”

“Motorists have a right to expect that the commercial trucks on their roadways—which weigh tens of thousands of pounds or more—are safely maintained and operated,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas. “By prosecuting those that undermine this expectation of safety, DOJ and DOT are simultaneously keeping our roadways safe and maintaining public confidence.”

“Keeping our highways safe is essential to protecting our families, our economy, and our way of life,” said Joseph Harris, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General’s Southern Region. “People have every right to expect that trucking companies follow the highest safety standards when using our public roads. Today’s announcement shows our continued commitment to holding commercial operators accountable—especially those who put profits ahead of public safety by disregarding key DOT regulations.”

The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Ethan Carroll and Lindsey Marcus of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Day of the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is 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

On June 13, 2025, the Justice Department secured the denaturalization of a convicted collector and distributor of child sexual abuse material.

While still a citizen of the United Kingdom, Elliott Duke enlisted in the U.S. Army. In 2012, while serving in Germany, Duke began receiving and distributing child sexual abuse material via email and the internet.

In November 13, 2012, Duke applied for citizenship under a provision that permits U.S. servicemembers to obtain U.S. citizenship. When asked on his naturalization application if he had “ever committed a crime or offense for which you were not arrested,” Duke listed only a speeding ticket. On January 18, 2013, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer interviewed Duke, and Duke, once more, orally testified that he had never committed a crime or offense for which he had not been arrested. On January 18, 2013, Duke took the Oath of Allegiance and was granted U.S. citizenship.

On May 14, 2013, police officers in Louisiana arrested Duke and charged him with receipt and distribution of child pornography. During a police interview and in his plea agreement, Duke confessed to downloading, possessing, and distributing child pornography via his email account and the internet on dates both before and after his naturalization. Law enforcement officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) later found 168 videos and 187 still images on Duke’s computer depicting minor boys and girls engaged in the lascivious display of sexual activity and bestiality. On January 23, 2014, Duke was convicted of receipt and possession of child pornography.

On February 19, 2025, the Justice Department filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana seeking Duke’s denaturalization based on his crimes and his failure to disclose them during his naturalization process. On June 13, 2025, the Honorable James D. Cain, Jr, United States District Judge, entered an order revoking Duke’s U.S. citizenship.

“The laws intended to facilitate citizenship for brave men and women who join our nation’s armed forces will not shield individuals who have fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship by concealing their crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate. “If you commit serious crimes before you become a U.S. citizen and then lie about them during your naturalization process, the Justice Department will discover the truth and come after you.”

The case was investigated as part of Operation Prison Lookout, an ongoing national initiative involving the Justice Department and ICE to identify and prosecute sex offenders who have fraudulently obtained United States citizenship. This case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Hans H. Chen of the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, General Litigation and Appeals Section, Affirmative Litigation Unit, with assistance from HSI, ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Smitherman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana.