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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Total of Seven Defendants Convicted of Price-Fixing Charges Affecting Publicly Funded Infrastructure Projects in Oklahoma

Source: United States Department of Justice

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, Colin M. McDonald, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Pete Gizas, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”), Naomi D. Gruchacz, Inspector in Charge of the New York Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), Ketty Larco-Ward, and Comptroller for the Office of the New York State Comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, announced today the unsealing of a nine-count Indictment charging LOUIS TREJO, a/k/a “Machete,” KENNETH GARNER, a/k/a “KG,” HAROLD STEVENSON, a/k/a “Bazz,” and ERIHK BELIS, a/k/a “Eddie,” with racketeering, violence in aid of racketeering, firearms, fraud, narcotics, and money laundering offenses for their roles in a wide ranging racketeering conspiracy involving the fabrication of transportation data used to support over at least $12 million of fraudulent Medicaid claims.  

Source: United States Department of Justice

AMONDA MENDEZ, also known as “M-Dot” and “Dot,” 35, of Stamford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to 150 months of imprisonment and eight years of supervised release for selling narcotics and a firearm while on federal supervised release.

Source: United States Department of Justice

MACON, Ga. – A former Georgia correctional officer cadet who attempted to bring more than a half kilogram of unadulterated methamphetamine into Dooly State Prison for an inmate was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for his crime. Julius Deshawn Williams Jr., 29, of Bonaire, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 120 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal on Aug. 19, after he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Dec.1, 2025. There is no parole in the federal system.

Source: United States Department of Justice

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal judge sentenced a Baltimore man to prison, today, in connection with a drug trafficking conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher sentenced Jeremy Bethea, 47, to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal jury convicted a Colorado man yesterday for conspiring with his wife to film themselves sexually abusing a prepubescent child in Mexico and for advertising the videos for sale online.

“Alekzander Bywater left the United States for Mexico and preyed upon the most vulnerable among us, a young child,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Child exploitative hands-on violations are among the most depraved. This defendant and his wife, Anika, perpetrated this heinous crime together, and even tried to profit off their conduct. This case is core to the Criminal Division’s mission of hunting down child predators and removing them from society.”

“This guilty verdict holds this defendant accountable for the horrific abuse of a child and for his role in distributing videos that documented that abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “Mr. Bywater’s depraved actions cost him his freedom, so now he’ll be separated from society where he can’t harm other children. Our office will continue to work tirelessly with our community and law enforcement partners to ensure that justice is served as we relentlessly pursue and prosecute predators who prey on the most vulnerable members of our community, whether that abuse occurs here or abroad.”

“The FBI and our partners are working every day to hold criminals accountable for their participation in child sexual exploitation and abuse,” said Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI’s Criminal Division. “Bywater will now face the consequences for his disturbing and illegal actions, and we are proud to have played our part in making that happen.”

The jury found Alekzander Quinn Bywater, 32, formerly of Colorado Springs, CO, guilty of conspiracy to sexually exploit a minor outside the United States, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor outside the United States, and two counts of advertisement of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents and information provided during the trial, while living in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, Bywater, and his wife Anika, 29, formerly of Gonzalez, Texas, created two separate videos of themselves sexually abusing a young child. In January 2024, on two separate occasions, the Bywaters agreed to create two videos, Video-1 and Video-2, that depicted them jointly engaging in sexually abusing the minor victim in Mexico. Law enforcement officers learned about the conduct when they discovered videos of the abuse circulating on the internet.

Alekzander Bywater uploaded Video-1 and Video-2 to Website A, a publicly available website, where he advertised them for sale. Then, on Feb. 6, and 7, 2024, an undercover FBI agent in the District of Maryland purchased and downloaded the videos.

Additionally, FBI agents recovered Video-1 and Video-2 from a desktop and laptop that were used to commit the offense. The devices also housed a different video of Alekzander Bywater sexually abusing the minor victim and thousands of CSAM images and videos depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of children other than the minor victim.

Bywater will be sentenced on a date to be set in the future. Alekzander Bywater is facing a maximum penalty of 150 years in prison for the charges. A federal district judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Anika Bywater was sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release in March for conspiracy to engage in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places. She pled guilty to the charges in December 2025.   

The FBI’s Child Exploitation Operational Unit investigated the case, with the assistance of the FBI law enforcement attaché office in Mexico City and FBI Washington Field Office.

Acting Deputy Chief Kyle P. Reynolds of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Reema Sood for the District of Maryland prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

St. George, Utah – An illegal alien from French Guiana, France, is in federal custody after a federal grand jury in St. George returned an indictment charging him with federal crimes after he allegedly made multiple discriminatory and threatening phone calls to a bulk store employee and a car dealership employee. 

Source: United States Department of Justice

Note: See the complaint here.

Jessica Bowie, 35, of Albany, New York, made her initial appearance today in federal court on charges of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, ISIS. 

“As alleged, Bowie plotted to deploy an explosive device at the New York State Capitol, intending to kill public officials and to destroy ‘as much of the building as possible’ before fleeing to ISIS‑controlled territory in Syria,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The National Security Division and our law-enforcement partners are committed to the painstaking work of preventing plots like this from succeeding and securing convictions against those who attempt such plots.”

“The American people represent an undying spirit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — values fundamentally opposed by foreign terrorist organizations such as the one this defendant allegedly pledged her support to,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III for the Northern District of New York. “I am incredibly proud to work side by side with the men and women of the FBI and our law enforcement partners who identified, investigated, and ultimately stopped this defendant before she was able to act on her plot to bring terror to the Capital Region and the United States. My office looks forward to aggressively prosecuting this case and delivering justice for the American people.”

“The FBI detected and stopped an alleged plot to attack the New York State Capitol and kill elected officials,” said Operations Director Matt Fodor of the FBI National Security Branch. “According to the criminal complaint, the defendant in this case swore allegiance to ISIS and wanted to follow up with additional horrific acts of terrorism. This case is yet another example of how this FBI is built to not only identify threats of terrorism quickly, but to stop their alleged plots before they are able to harm the American people. I want to commend the FBI Albany Field Office, the Justice Department, and our law enforcement partners for their outstanding work in this case. Cooperation and partnership are essential to protecting the U.S. homeland.”

On Aug.19, Bowie was apprehended by law enforcement as she gained possession of what she believed to be an explosive device, with the intent of targeting the New York State Capitol and New York State Senators.

Bowie buying items necessary to build an explosive device

Through the course of the investigation and as alleged in the government’s complaint, investigators learned that Bowie had intended to conduct the attack before fleeing to Syria to join others in ISIS-controlled territories. She was observed making several visits to the New York State Capitol grounds and taking several photographs of the building. In describing the New York State Capitol building as her target, Bowie stated: “I want to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting. I want them to lose a lot of important documents as well” and “I want it to have a affect on the American system. And destroy some of the taghut.” 

Bowie doing reconnaissance on New York Capitol

According to the complaint, Jessica Bowie has expressed anti-American messages online. On one account identified as belonging to Bowie, she said, “Praise be to Allah for September 11^th” and “When I can migrate, I will poison these infidels.” Further, Bowie recorded and disseminated to others online her “Bayah,” or formal oath of allegiance to ISIS. 

The case is being investigated by the FBI with assistance from the U. S. Secret Service, New York State Police, and Albany Police Department. 

Trial Attorney Ryan D. White of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Belliss and Joseph Hartunian for the Northern District of New York are prosecuting the case. 

Source: United States Department of Justice

Greenbelt, Maryland – A Nigerian national pled guilty in federal court to charges stemming from his involvement with a cross-country unemployment insurance (UI) fraud scheme. Akinpelumi Olawale Oyewusi, 60, of Hyattsville, Maryland, is charged with wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft in connection with the white-collar crime. This prosecution is part of the Trump Administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BOSTON – The former owner of Expansion Media (Expansion) and Hybrid Management Group (Hybrid) was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for a $110 million telemedicine fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME), including orthotics such as back and knee braces.