Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Pensacola, Florida – Charles Carson-Dowdy, 31, of Mobile, Alabama, was sentenced in federal court to life imprisonment for cyberstalking, interstate domestic violence, murder through use of a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in relation to the death of Starmichael L. Tucker in Pensacola in early 2025.
Source: United States Department of Justice
A Great Falls man who shot up his house near Lincoln Elementary School was found to be in unlawful possession of a firearm and was sentenced Monday to three years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Source: United States Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Gerald Harper, 31, of Buffalo, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250.000 fine.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – On August 20, 2026, LARRY CASTON (“CASTON”), age 54, was found guilty at a jury trial for possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B) (Count One), possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i) (Count Two), and felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8) (Count Three), announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – MOHAMED H.M. ZEIDAN, a/k/a “Sebastian Marcello, a/k/a “Sebastian York” (“ZEIDAN”), age 33, a native of Palestine, pled guilty on August 25, 2026, to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(5)(A), announced the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana. Sentencing is set for November 24, 2026.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JOSE ANTONIO LARIO SALMERON (“SALMERON”), age 33, a native of El Salvador, was sentenced today for reentry of removed alien, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a), announced United States Attorney David I. Courcelle.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Today, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced another False Claims Act resolution secured under the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which was launched by the Department in May 2025. Deloitte LLP, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, and Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP, (collectively, Deloitte) have agreed to pay the United States $21.5 million to resolve allegations that Deloitte violated the False Claims Act by failing to comply with anti-discrimination requirements in its federal contracts and discriminating against employees and applicants on the basis of their race or sex.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Action targets manufactured products containing potent opioids chemically related to mitragynine or 7-hydroxymitragynine
The Department of Justice today announced the emergency scheduling of three highly potent opioid compounds that pose an imminent hazard to public safety: mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, commonly known as MGPI, and two synthetic compounds known as MGM-15 and MGM-16.
“The Justice Department is acting before these dangerous compounds become a broader threat,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “These are potent opioids being manufactured and sold in consumer products, often under labels that obscure their true risks. This action will protect our nation’s children and communities from the dangers of drug addiction and abuse.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration is temporarily placing the three 7-hydroxymitragynine-related substances in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Preclinical evidence indicates that all three are potent mu-opioid receptor agonists and may present risks associated with other mu-opioid agonists, including dependence and respiratory depression. MGPI and MGM-15 are manufactured and marketed in products sold for their opioid effects. MGM-16 has not been confirmed in the consumer market but is a highly potent compound that could emerge as a substitute for related substances.
The emergency scheduling action subjects the manufacture, distribution and possession of these substances to the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances. It allows the federal government to respond to a rapidly developing market for products containing these manufactured opioid compounds.
This action is directed at deliberately manufactured and concentrated opioid products, not traditional botanical kratom. The published scientific literature has not established MGPI as a naturally occurring kratom alkaloid. However, scientific and analytical questions remain about whether MGP1 may be reported at incidental trace levels in some botanical products as a result of processing, storage or analytical conditions.
In light of these unresolved questions, the Department of Justice will exercise enforcement discretion when only incidental trace amounts of MGPI are confirmed in a product otherwise consistent with botanical kratom. This policy does not create a legal exemption and does not change MGPI’s status as a schedule I controlled substance.
This enforcement policy does not apply to MGM-15 or MGM-16, or products containing manufactured, concentrated, fortified or intentionally added MGPI.
The policy does not change the scheduling status of any other substance or limit the authority of the Food and Drug Administration under federal law.
The temporary scheduling order and the Department’s enforcement policy are available here.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Freddy Alberto Gomez Urena (aka Chun Chun), Ligia Zulay Gonzalez Sanchez, Josue Reinaldo Cordoba Somasa, Narkys Doralddy Gomez Urena, Miguel Eduardo Cardenas Perez, and Wualter Alexander Castellanos Bermeo, have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to provide and obtain forced labor, multiple counts of forced labor, and multiple counts of alien smuggling. A seventh defendant, Franklin Alexis Contreras Carrillo, is charged with one count of forced labor and one count of alien smuggling.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Jacksonville – Reberiano Santana-Ayala (35, Mexico) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger to the statutory maximum of two years in federal prison for illegally reentering the United States after previously being deported. Santana-Ayala pleaded guilty in May 2026. After serving this federal prison sentence, Santana-Ayala will be deported and removed back to Mexico. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.