Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a man from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. The sentencing took place on January 20, 2026.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Absolute Physical & Aquatic Therapy, LLC; Chipley Physical Therapy, LLC; Ruben Laurel; and Lorrie Laurel have agreed to pay $754,722.88 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”) by knowingly causing the submission of false claims for physical therapy services allegedly performed by Lorrie Laurel, a physical therapist, while she was outside the United States, announced U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Edward G. Winn, 47, an inmate at Okaloosa Correctional Institution, was indicted by a federal grand jury charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
ALBANY, Ga. – A Southwest Georgia resident with prior criminal convictions, including for domestic violence, was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm.Devon Marquell Rambo, 28, was sentenced to serve 180 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner on Jan. 21. Rambo was found guilty at trial on May 28, 2025, of one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. There is no parole in the federal system.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A man from St. Helens, Oregon, was sentenced to federal prison yesterday for ordering live-streamed child sexual abuse and traveling to the Philippines to engage in illicit sexual activity while working as a firefighter for the Lake Oswego Fire Department.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that retired Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Joseph Bongiovanni, 61, of Tonawanda, NY, who was convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, four counts of obstruction of justice, and one count of false statement to law enforcement, was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that John L. Hutchins, 72, of Lewiston, NY, and Roberto Soliman, 45, of Niagara Falls, NY, who were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, were sentenced by Judge Meredith A. Vacca. Hutchins was sentenced to serve 14 months in prison, while Soliman was sentenced to serve 20 months. Both defendants were also ordered to pay full restitution to the Small Business Administration and the victim banks.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Following a two-week trial, a federal jury in Minneapolis convicted William Johnson today for his involvement in a violent Minneapolis street gang and a gang-related murder in August 2021.
“This is the Criminal Division’s fifth successful trial against members of this violent Minneapolis gang,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Department’s firm resolve to stop violent crime in Minneapolis and around the country remains a top priority of this Administration. We will continue to obtain justice for crime victims in Minneapolis and around the country to halt senseless gang killings wherever they occur.”
“This conviction reflects sustained effort by investigators and prosecutors,” said Special Agent in Charge Travis Riddle of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) St. Paul Field Division. “These cases do not end with a single verdict. ATF and our partners will continue holding every individual involved in this RICO conspiracy accountable for their actions.”
“Criminal gangs who threaten and terrorize our communities will be tracked down and held accountable by the FBI and our partners,” said Acting Assistant Director Mark Remily of the FBI’s Criminal Division. “The danger the Highs have brought onto our streets will not be tolerated. Today’s conviction is another step in dismantling these criminal enterprises and stopping their acts of violence.”
“William Johnson and the Lows criminal street gang did not simply commit isolated acts of violence — they imposed control through killings, robberies, and assaults, leaving the entire community to live under threat,” said Special Agent in Charge Adam Jobes of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Chicago Field Office. “This conviction holds Johnson accountable for a murder carried out to advance a violent criminal enterprise that treated fear as a tool and human life as disposable. IRS-CI will continue working alongside our federal, state and local partners to dismantle these organizations at every level. We will follow the money, expose the structure behind the violence, and help ensure that gangs that terrorize communities in Minnesota are brought to justice.”
“Today’s conviction should put violent gang members on notice. The U. S. Postal Inspection Service will target anyone who uses the U. S. Mail to conduct and fund illegal criminal enterprises,” said Inspector in Charge Bryan Musgrove of the U. S. Postal Inspection Service Denver Division. “Residents deserve to feel safe in their communities. We remain dedicated to tracking criminals down and bringing them to justice, no matter their affiliation.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, William Johnson, 35, of Minneapolis, was a member of the Highs — a criminal gang that controlled territory north of West Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis. Highs members committed murders, firearms crimes, burglaries, assaults, and robberies on behalf of the gang. As part of his membership, the gang expected Johnson to retaliate against their rivals, namely, the Lows gang, which operated south of West Broadway Avenue.
As proven at trial, the gang war between the Highs and Lows escalated when on Aug. 7, 2021, a prominent Highs member was shot and killed by a Lows member at a gas station — a notorious High’s hangout. The next day, Highs members organized a memorial for the deceased member at the gas station. During the memorial, they distributed firearms and told one another to retaliate against Lows members for the murder. Defendant Johnson and other Highs conspirators all attended.
Later that day, Johnson and two other Highs members went looking for Lows members to shoot and kill. Johnson drove himself and others to Skyline Market, a well-known favorite Lows’ hangout. Seeing the victim and mistakenly believing him to be a Lows member, they shot at him inside of the store. The victim ran from the store and into the street where another Highs member was driving two juveniles in a stolen Porsche. The juveniles exited the vehicle and chased the victim into a nearby alley where they fired additional shots at him. He died at the scene. Johnson drove the two Highs members away and back to the memorial site.
The defendant faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. His sentencing date has yet to be set by the court. Two other defendants in prior trials in this case, Dantrell Johnson and Gregory Hamilton, have already been sentenced to life in prison. A third co-defendant, Keon Pruitt, was sentenced to over 37 years in prison. Numerous other Highs members have been sentenced to penalties in excess of ten years.
To date, 42 Highs members or associates have been convicted of federal charges.
The ATF, FBI, Minneapolis Police Department, IRS Criminal Investigation, U. S. Postal Inspection Service, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Minnesota Department of Corrections are investigating the case, with assistance from the U. S. Marshals Service, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, Dakota County Sheriff’s Office, St. Paul Police Department, and numerous other law enforcement agencies contributed to the investigation.
Trial Attorneys Brian Lynch and Alyssa Levey-Weinstein of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime & Racketeering Section and Assistant U. S. Attorneys Albania Concepcion, Carla J. Baumel, and Rebecca E. Kline of the District of Minnesota are prosecuting the case.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Carlos Alberto Guerrero Mercado and Guillermo Isaias Perez Parra, who are Mexican citizens, were arraigned on a superseding indictment charging them with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, conspiracy to manufacture and distribute listed chemicals, and money laundering conspiracy. Both defendants were ordered detained pending trial. The proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge James R. Cho. The defendants were transferred to the United States from Mexico on January 20, 2026.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A New Jersey man was sentenced today to 12 years in prison following his conviction for drug trafficking conspiracy and international promotional money laundering conspiracy.
According to court documents and statements made in court, William Panzera, 53, of North Haledon, was a member of a drug trafficking organization responsible for the importation and distribution of hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl analogues. Panzera and other members of the conspiracy agreed to import and distribute controlled substances and analogues, including fentanyl analogues, MDMA, methylone and ketamine. The co-conspirators placed orders with a source in China and agreed to distribute, and did distribute, the controlled substances and analogues in New Jersey, both in bulk and in the form of counterfeit pharmaceutical pills that actually contained fentanyl analogues. In total, they imported over a metric ton of fentanyl-related substances and other drugs into the United States. They also sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to China using wire transfers and Bitcoin to pay for the drugs.
Panzera was convicted at trial in January 2025. Eight other defendants have previously pleaded guilty in related cases.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey made the announcement.
The Newark Field Division of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led the investigation, with assistance from HSI in Philadelphia, the FBI Newark Field Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Newark Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection in New Jersey, New York and Kentucky, the Newark Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Stephen Sola of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sammi Malek and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Hasapidis-Sferra for the District of New Jersey. Financial Investigator Kathryn Montemorra of MNF supported the investigation.