A man who robbed and murdered another man was sentenced today to life in federal prison.

Matthew Barrett Robbins, age 49, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a May 3, 2021 jury verdict finding him guilty of robbery affecting interstate commerce, conspiracy to commit robbery affecting interstate commerce, and using a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in a death that constitutes murder.

Evidence at trial showed that Robbins was a methamphetamine user who became unhappy with the quality of methamphetamine distributed by his source of supply.  Robbins, along with Danielle Busch and William Leo Yancey, concocted a plan to lure his drug dealer to a rural farmhouse outside of Ely.  Once at the farmhouse, Robbins used a sawed-off shotgun to rob the victim of a quarter-ounce of methamphetamine and approximately $150.  During the robbery, Robbins’ firearm discharged, killing the victim.  Robbins then took steps to dismember and conceal the body by burning it in a burn pit in his back yard.  Robbins then discarded the ashes in the Cedar River.

Robbins was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Robbins was sentenced to life in prison.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release if ever released from prison.  There is no parole in the federal system.  While announcing sentence, Chief Judge Strand said Robbins was “the poster child for a life sentence given the facts of this case and what the jury has found in this case.  Mr. Robbins absolutely deserves a life sentence.”

Busch and Yancey were previously sentenced on September 15, 2021.  Busch was sentenced to 120 months’ and one day imprisonment.  She must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  Yancey was sentenced to 400 months’ imprisonment.  Yancey is currently serving a 188-month prison term for conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine and will begin serving this sentence once he finishes serving that term of imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. 

“Matthew Robbins’ criminal conduct resulted in a tragic death.  The hard work and team effort by the law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation ensured he would be held accountable for his crimes.  Robbins earned every day of the life sentence the court imposed today,” said Acting United States Attorney Sean R. Berry.  “The United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to vigorously prosecuting those who mix drugs, guns, and violence.”

Robbins is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lisa C. Williams and Emily K. Nydle and was investigated by the Marion Police Department, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Iowa City Police Department, the United States Marshals Service, the Davenport Police Department, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, and the Daytona Beach Shores Florida Police Department.  Assistance was also provided by the Waypoint Services Survivor's Program in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 19-cr-53.

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Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Mikel Wayne Nunnally (44, Longwood) to 60 years in federal prison for using a minor child to produce sexual abuse images and videos. The court also sentenced Nunnally to a lifetime of supervised release and ordered him to register as a sex offender.

Nunnally had pleaded guilty on April 29, 2021.

According to court documents, between 2018 and 2020, Nunnally produced several videos that depicted a minor child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In some of these videos, Nunnally can be seen as he sexually abused the child victim. Nunnally then distributed images and videos depicting this sexual abuse to others over the internet, including to an undercover law enforcement officer. Images from one of these videos showed Nunnally touching and digitally penetrating the child. Nunnally told the undercover officer that he had previously filmed the child victim in the bathroom and that he touched the child in a sexual manner whenever he could. Nunnally also stated that he sometimes gave the child victim pain pills mixed with sleeping pills to help facilitate his molestation of the child.

In December 2020, Nunnally was identified by law enforcement and interviewed by FBI agents. Nunnally admitted that he had used the child victim to produce the child sex abuse images and videos and had distributed these materials online. He also estimated that he had been filming his sexual abuse of the child victim for four or five years. 

FBI agents conducted a forensic review of two of Nunnally’s electronic devices and located 79 videos and 12 images depicting the sexual abuse of children on these devices. These videos and images depicted children who ranged from infants to teenagers. Some of this material depicted the sadistic abuse, bondage, and torture of the child victims.

This is another case brought as 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 United States Attorneys’ 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Antoinette Thomas (32, Tampa) to three years in federal prison for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. As part of her sentence, the court also ordered Thomas to pay $27,885.58 in restitution.

Thomas had pleaded guilty on June 21, 2021.

According to court documents, between February 1, 2016, and May 8, 2019, Thomas produced and used counterfeit access devices, such as component parts of multiple victims’ retail store credit accounts, with the specific intent to defraud the stores, credit card companies, and individuals. In doing so, Thomas knowingly used, transferred, and possessed the means of identifications of other real people without lawful authority. During this period, Thomas was captured several times on store surveillance video making fraudulent retail purchases using someone else’s store credit account.

Later, in July and October 2018, Thomas used the identity of another person to lease two apartments in Tampa. At the time, Thomas knew the person was a real person and that she did not have permission or authorization to use that person’s personally identifying information to lease the apartments.

In October 2019, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Thomas’s residence and recovered: a) multiple notebooks of handwritten personal identification information, including more than 100 sets of names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers; b) information on multiple credit accounts held in the names of others, including several credit card numbers; and c) multiple fraudulent or fictitious documents including altered copies of Social Security cards, Florida identification cards, and pay stubs. Thomas’s fingerprints were on several of the pages of the notebooks containing victims’ information.

This case was investigated by the Tampa Police Department and the United States Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Craig Gestring.

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on October 15, 2021, Ahmyr Younger, age 19, of Kingston, Pennsylvania, was charged by felony information with illegally possessing a firearm. 

According to Acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, the information alleges that on June 30, 2021, in Luzerne County, Younger possessed a Jimenez Arms 9mm handgun, but was prohibited by law to possess firearms.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Newark, New Jersey Police Department, and the Kingston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean A. Camoni is prosecuting the case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.”

Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

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A woman who distributed fentanyl to a man who overdosed pled guilty on October 14, 2021, in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Emily Ann Nelson, age 29, from Dubuque, Iowa, was convicted of one count of distribution of fentanyl.

Evidence at a prior hearing showed that Nelson distributed a substance that was supposedly heroin to another person in July 2020.  That person used the substance, which turned out to be fentanyl, and overdosed, nearly dying.  First responders were able to revive the other individual using the opioid antidote, Narcan.  At the plea hearing, Nelson admitted she distributed the fentanyl to the person who overdosed.  The day after the overdose incident, a confidential informant working with the Dubuque Drug Task Force contacted Nelson to purchase heroin.  Nelson stole the money she was supposed to use to get the drugs.  About two weeks later, the confidential informant again contacted Nelson to obtain heroin.  This time, Nelson obtained the drugs as agreed, but used a portion of the drugs before she could be arrested by officers. 

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Nelson remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Nelson faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 21‑CR‑01009‑CJW‑MAR.

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Miami, Florida – Alex Nain Saab Moran (Saab), 49, a Colombian citizen, will make his initial appearance in federal court in Miami, Florida, today after being extradited from the Republic of Cabo Verde. Saab is charged in an indictment with laundering the proceeds of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with a scheme to pay bribes to take advantage of Venezuela’s government-controlled exchange rate. He is expected to make his initial court appearance today at 1:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge John J. O’Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Specifically, on July 25, 2019, Saab was charged along with Alvaro Pulido Vargas, aka German Enrique Rubio Salas, 55, also a Colombian citizen, in an eight-count indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and seven counts of money laundering. The indictment alleges that beginning in or around November 2011 and continuing until at least September 2015, Saab and Pulido conspired with others to launder the proceeds of an illegal bribery scheme from bank accounts located in Venezuela to and through bank accounts located in the United States. According to the indictment, Saab and Pulido obtained a contract with the Venezuelan government in November 2011 to build low-income housing units. The defendants and their co-conspirators then took advantage of Venezuela’s government-controlled exchange rate, under which U.S. dollars could be obtained at a favorable rate, by submitting false and fraudulent import documents for goods and materials that were never imported into Venezuela and bribing Venezuelan government officials to approve those documents. The indictment alleges that the unlawful activity was a bribery scheme that violated the FCPA and involved bribery offenses against Venezuela. It also alleges that meetings in furtherance of the bribe payments occurred in Miami and that Saab and Pulido wired money related to the scheme to bank accounts in the Southern District of Florida. As a result of the scheme, Saab and Pulido transferred approximately $350 million out of Venezuela, through the United States, to overseas accounts they owned or controlled. 

On June 12, 2020, Saab was detained in the Republic of Cabo Verde, an archipelago nation west of continental Africa, at the request of the United States. The United States thereafter submitted a formal extradition request, which Saab opposed. On March 16, the Cabo Verdean Supreme Court approved the extradition of Saab. After further litigation concerning Saab’s detention and extradition between Saab’s lawyers and the Cabo Verdean Attorney General’s Office, on Aug. 30, the Constitutional Court of Cabo Verde dismissed his appeal; and on Oct. 13, it denied the last reconsideration request by Saab and certified the completion of the proceedings concerning the extradition of Saab to the United States. The Minister of Justice of Cabo Verde then ordered his surrender, consistent with the court orders, resulting in Saab’s arrival in the United States on Oct. 16. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge La Verne J. Hibbert of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of FBI Miami made the announcement. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez and Assistant Attorney General Polite commended and thanked the Government of the Republic of Cabo Verde for their assistance in the extradition of Saab to the United States. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing Saab’s arrest and extradition, as did INTERPOL Washington.

This case was investigated by DEA Miami with assistance from the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Homeland Security Investigation’s Miami Field Office. FBI’s International Operations Division transported Saab from Cabo Verde to the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt K. Lunkenheimer of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section 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.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

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PROVIDENCE – A Providence man who attempted to sell two kilograms of fentanyl and nearly 400 grams of heroin while under surveillance by members of the DEA Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force in March 2019 today pleaded guilty in federal court to fentanyl and heroin trafficking charges, announced Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus.

Josimar Delacruz-Reyes, 31, appeared before U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., and pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver 400 grams or more of fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.

According to information presented to the court, during a DEA investigation into Delacruz-Reyes’ drug trafficking activities, arrangements were made to purchase two kilograms of fentanyl and approximately 400 grams of heroin from Delacruz Reyes for an agreed upon price of $115,000. The buyer arranged to meet with Delacruz-Reyes near the defendant’s Providence residence to carry out the transaction. On March 18, 2019, DEA Task Force members electronically monitored Delacruz-Reyes as he delivered the fentanyl and heroin. The drugs were seized by law enforcement and Delacruz-Reyes was arrested shortly after the delivery when Delacruz-Reyes traveled to a nearby coffee shop where he was expecting to receive a cash payment for the drugs.

A court-authorized search of Delacruz-Reyes’ residence which followed his arrest resulted in the seizure of an additional 151 grams of fentanyl.

Delacruz-Reyes, who has been detained in federal custody since his arrest, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 20, 2022.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul F. Daly, Jr.

The matter was investigated by the Boston-based DEA Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, with substantial assistance from law enforcement agents and officers assigned to the Rhode Island Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force and the Providence Police Department Narcotics and Organized Crime Bureau.

The Rhode Island DEA Drug Task Force is comprised of law enforcement personnel from DEA, United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, AMTRAK Police, Rhode Island Department of Attorney General – Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigations, Rhode Island State Police, and the East Providence, Central Falls, Coventry, Cranston, Newport, North Kingstown, Pawtucket, Providence, South Kingstown, Warwick, West Warwick and Woonsocket Police Departments.

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A company that previously operated skilled nursing facilities agreed to pay compensatory damages and a civil penalty to settle allegations involving violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

LTC Holdings, Inc., which previously operated 38 skilled nursing facilities under the name Medical Facilities of America, Inc. (MFA), including Culpeper Health & Rehabilitation Center (CHRC), located in Culpeper, agreed to pay $225,000 to a Deaf individual, who previously resided at CHRC for 67 days, and a $75,000 civil penalty to the United States to settle allegations that MFA failed to furnish necessary sign language services to the former resident. The ADA prohibits covered entities from failing to furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services, including sign language services to individuals with communication disabilities. Prior to selling its nursing facilities, LTC Holdings, Inc. also voluntarily made changes to its policies and procedures and provided ADA training to thousands of its personnel.

The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Gordon, who is the Civil Rights Enforcement Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. 

The civil claims settled by this settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.

The Department of Justice has a number of publications available to assist entities in complying with the ADA including effective Communication, and a Business Brief on Communicating with People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Hospital Settings. For more information on the ADA and to access these publications, visit http://www.ada.gov or call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD). Civil Rights complaints may be filed at the following website: https://civilrights.justice.gov/

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

BILLINGS – Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson will join the Drug Enforcement Administration in support of the 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 23. The biannual event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at sites across Montana. The event is an effort to rid homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in homes are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses from these drugs.

According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers, 4.9 million people misused prescription stimulants, and 5.9 million people misused prescription tranquilizers or sedatives in 2019. The survey also showed that a majority of misused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.

“The DEA’s Take Back Day is a great opportunity to clear out unneeded and expired prescriptions. Prescription drugs can end up in the wrong hands, fueling an epidemic of opioid deaths and overdoses. I encourage Montanans to help protect their families, friends and community by participating in the DEA Take Back event to safely dispose of unused prescription medications,” Acting U.S. Attorney Johnson said.

“We now face a national epidemic reaching every corner of America.  Prescription medications often end up in the wrong hands, fueling an epidemic that kills more Americans than car accidents,” said DEA Montana Resident Agent in Charge Stacy Zinn-Brittain. “The power to make a difference starts at home, beginning with returning the unused, unwanted or expired medications that each American keeps in their homes.”

More than 40 sheriff’s offices, police departments and federal agencies across Montana are participating in Take Back Day. Information about collection sites and more information about event is available here: https://takebackday.dea.gov/

During the last Take Back Day held on April 24, 2021, 4,425 law enforcement participants at 5,060 collection sites brought in a total weight of 839,543 pounds, or 420 tons, of drugs. This brings the total weight collected to 14.52 million pounds, or more than 7,262 tons, of prescription drugs collected in the history of the program. Collection results may include materials other than prescription drugs.

During the April 24, 2021 event, Montanans turned in 1,380 pounds of prescription drugs at 20 collection sites.

In addition to DEA’s National Drug Take Back Day on Oct. 23, prescription drugs can be disposed of any day throughout the year at any of the 11,000 authorized collectors. For more information on collection sites, visit: https://apps2.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/spring/main?execution=e1s1

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the Oct. 23 Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATakeBack.com.

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Memphis, TN – Acting United States Attorney Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., joins the Drug Enforcement Administration in announcing that on October 23rd, DEA will hold its 20th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The biannual event will be held at thousands of collection sites around the country. The event is an effort to rid homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. The service is free and anonymous.

With robust public participation, the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Initiative continues to remove ever-higher amounts of opioids and other medicines from the nation’s homes, where they are vulnerable to misuse, theft or abuse by family members and visitors, including children and teens.

Last October, DEA’s Take Back Day brought in a record-high amount of expired, unused prescription medications, with the public turning in close to 500 tons of unwanted drugs. Over the 19-year span of Take Back Day, DEA has brought in more than 6,800 tons of prescription drugs. With studies indicating most abused prescription drugs come from family and friends, including from home medicine cabinets, clearing out unused medicine is essential.

"With more Americans dying from drug overdoses than ever before, DEA’s Drug Take-Back Day is one way that folks can help make their communities safer, simply by disposing of their unneeded or expired medications," said Special Agent in Charge Todd Scott, who heads the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Louisville Division. "We’re providing a safe and convenient way to help keep potentially harmful medications out of the wrong hands."

Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States continue to be alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Most prescription drug abusers say they get their drugs free from friends and family, including from the home medicine cabinet. Take Back Day is a unique opportunity for Americans to protect their homes and medicine cabinets from theft and abuse.

Helping people dispose of potentially harmful prescription drugs is just one-way DEA is working to reduce addiction and stem overdose deaths.

Learn more about the event at www.deatakeback.com or by calling 800-882-9539.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Andrew B. Collins, 32, of the 200 block of Main Street, in Hillsboro, Illinois, pleaded guilty to the charge of enticement of a minor on Friday, October 15, 2021.  Sentencing has been scheduled for February 14, 2022, in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois in Springfield.

At the change-of-plea hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tom Schanzle-Haskins, Collins admitted that he enticed a 16-year-old boy to engage in sexually explicit conduct.

During the hearing, the government stated that online chats between Collins and the minor showed that Collins persuaded the minor to engage in intercourse by offering him toy gifts, promises of weekends together, nude massages, and the option to permanently live together in the future. 

For the offense of enticement of a minor, the statutory penalty is not less than ten years and up to life in prison; a fine of up to $250,000; and a term of supervised release of not less than five years and up to life.  

Agencies participating in the investigation include the United States Secret Service, and the Southern Illinois University Police Department, which is a member of the Central and Southern Illinois Attorney General’s Financial and Cyber Crimes Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris is representing the government in the prosecution.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), to marshal federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

URBANA, Ill. –David W. Morlan, 66, most recently of Danville, Illinois, was sentenced today to two years in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for failure to register as a sex offender.

In imposing sentence, Senior U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm noted as an aggravating factor Morlan’s two prior failure-to-register convictions.

Morlan was arrested on January 8, 2021, and charged by criminal complaint. According to the affidavit filed in support of the complaint, Danville Police responded to an emergency call at the 900 block of Kimber St, in Danville and arrested Morlan on outstanding state warrants. According to court documents, Morlan had been living in the Danville area since October 2019 and had not registered as a sex offender during that time. Morlan’s 2006 conviction for aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim under thirteen years from Vermilion County, Illinois, requires that he register as a sex offender for his lifetime.  

Following his arrest, U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric I. Long held a detention hearing on January 13, 2021, and ordered that Morlan be detained. Morlan has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest.

The statutory penalties for Morlan’s failure-to-register offense are a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly M. Peirson, The charge is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Danville Police Department.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Burnsville man pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk.

According to court documents, in the summer of 2020, law enforcement determined that Eric Michael Dungy, 50, was selling methamphetamine out of hotel rooms in the Twin Cities metro area. On September 30, 2020, law enforcement encountered Dungy in the Element Hotel parking lot in Bloomington. Agents arrested Dungy and found heroin and $16,621 in cash on his person. Agents conducted a search of Dungy’s vehicle and recovered 364 grams of methamphetamine, three methamphetamine pipes, needles, gallon Ziploc bags with methamphetamine residue on them, an electronic money counter, and a Kel-Tec 9mm handgun. On October 3, 2020, law enforcement searched Dungy’s unoccupied hotel room and found 5.5 pounds of methamphetamine and other personal effects belonging to Dungy.

After obtaining release on bail from the Hennepin County Jail in November 2020, Dungy was again investigated for methamphetamine distribution and by December 14, 2020, he agreed to sell three pounds of methamphetamine to an undercover officer for $15,000. On the same day, law enforcement searched two adjacent rooms he rented at the Country Inn & Suites in Bloomington, and recovered approximately 6.5 pounds of methamphetamine, 13.5 grams of heroin, three digital scales, multiple small Ziplock bags, eleven phones, and $12,286 in cash.

Dungy pleaded guilty today to two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine before U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright. A sentencing date has not been set.

This case is the result of investigations conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Cannon River Drug and Violent Offender Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, and the St. Paul Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen A. Slaughter Jr. is prosecuting the case.

ASHLAND, Ky. — A Columbus, Ga., man, Eric Duane Elmore, 48, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison on Monday, by U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning, after pleading guilty to attempted online enticement.            

According to Elmore’s guilty plea agreement, he admitted to corresponding with a 15-year-old victim, beginning in late 2018. When the conversations became sexual in nature, the victim told a school counselor about the messages, who then contacted law enforcement.  Law enforcement then gained authorized control of the online account and continued the conversations with Elmore, which ultimately led to Elmore discussing travel to Kentucky to meet with the victim for sexual purposes.

Elmore pleaded guilty in June 2021. 

Under federal law, Elmore must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence.  Upon his release from prison will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 15 years.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office; and Colonel Phillip Burnett, Commissioner, Kentucky State Police, announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and KSP.  The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Roth.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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Seattle – A dozen cities in Western Washington will receive funding from the U.S. Department of Justice for specific community safety needs identified by their local police departments, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Brown.  The grants from DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, are aimed at preventing crime and assisting criminal justice programs based on local needs identified by the jurisdiction.

“From innovative communication APPs, to de-escalation and implicit bias training and less lethal equipment, our cities have identified ways these grant funds will make our communities safer,” said U.S. Attorney Brown.  “I congratulate them on successfully competing for this federal funding.”

Both Seattle and Tacoma are receiving large grants aimed at reducing violence.  Seattle will receive $771,127 under the Byrne Grant program.  Tacoma will receive $303,790 to enhance their community violence intervention program.  Other grantees include:

Vancouver - $107,942 to fund a crime prevention, domestic violence task force.

Puyallup - $12,968 to purchase officer safety/less lethal equipment

Kitsap County - $42,903 for training and equipment

Olympia -$25,269 for de-escalation training

Marysville -$15,768 for “stop sticks” in police vehicles

Lynnwood- $11,868 for a community engagement APP

Lakewood -$42,903 for a crime scene mapping scanner

Everett -$41,370 for equipment

Bremerton -$18,035 for the community resource unit

Bellingham -$38,736 for training in implicit bias and community policing

Additionally, Washington State received $3,644,335 in Byrne grant funding. The monies will be funneled to state and local organizations supporting a variety of initiatives including anti-gang and drug task forces, crime prevention, and officer safety.

The Byrne Grants are named in honor of New York City Police Officer Edward R. Byrne, who was killed in the line of duty on February 26, 1988. Officer Byrne was just 22 years old.

NEWARK, N.J. – A former executive at a New Jersey publication company was sentenced today to 75 months in prison for embezzling tens of millions of dollars for his own benefit, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced. 

Nestor Charriez, 60, of Scotch Plains, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to an information charging him with one count of devising and carrying out a scheme to commit wire fraud. Judge Kevin McNulty imposed the sentence in Newark federal court.    

According to the charging document and statements made in court:

Charriez was a longtime senior employee of Victim-Company 1, a publication company based in New Jersey. Charriez’s financial responsibilities at Victim-Company 1 included overseeing and managing employee payroll. Charriez would submit Victim-Company 1’s payroll information to an outside payroll company, which would process Victim-Company 1’s payroll requests.   

Beginning as early as 2002 through June 2019, Charriez defrauded Victim-Company 1 by embezzling millions of dollars through unauthorized “bonus” payments to himself. He submitted false payroll instructions to Victim-Company 1’s outside payroll provider, indicating that Charriez was entitled to massive bonuses – hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time – which Victim-Company-1 had not approved. 

Charriez carried out this scheme on numerous occasions over nearly two decades. In total, Charriez stole more than $48 million from Victim-Company 1. Charriez spent the money he stole on personal expenses.

In addition to the prison term, Judge McNulty also sentenced Charriez to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $43.4 million. The court previously entered a forfeiture order of $48 million.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather Suchorsky, Carolyn Silane, and Jonathan Fayer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit.

Dilshod Khusanov pleaded guilty today to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and Al-Nusra Front (ANF).  The proceeding was held before United States District Court Judge William F. Kuntz, II.  When sentenced, Khusanov faces 11 years’ imprisonment pursuant to the terms of his plea agreement with the government.  As part of his plea agreement, the defendant agrees to the entry of an order of removal so he will be removed from the country after completing his sentence.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Mark J. Lesko, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Dermot F. Shea, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the guilty plea.

“With today’s plea, Khusanov admits to providing financial support to individuals seeking to travel to Syria to join a violent foreign terrorist organization that seeks to wage war on the United States and other countries,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “This Office will continue to work tirelessly with its local, national and international law enforcement partners to eliminate the threat of terrorist violence posed by ISIS and ANF.”

"Khusanov’s guilty plea is the final step toward wrapping up this years-long case in which the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force worked tirelessly—as they always do—to keep the citizens of our city and our country safe from potential terrorist acts,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.  “Khusanov now awaits his fate for his willingness to provide support to ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front. This is not the end, however, of the FBI’s continued efforts—along with those of our partners—to diminish the threats posed by terrorists and would-be terrorists worldwide.”

“Money is the oxygen that feeds the flame of any organized terrorist activity. This case makes it clear that whether you are a terrorist bomber, a planner, or simply the facilitator who raises the money to pay for their travel, you will be a target of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force.  They are the most experienced detectives and agents in the country in these cases,” stated NYPD Commissioner Shea.

As set forth in court filings, Khusanov encouraged individuals to travel to Syria to wage violent jihad, or holy war in 2014 and 2015. For example, on September 28, 2014, Khusanov urged co-conspirator Akmal Zakirov to engage in jihad: “I hope that the only [reason] that is preventing you from jihad is some mistakes and flaws that are occurring among” the other fighters. Khusanov explained that it would be better to help those fighters, rather than criticize them.

Later in 2014, two Brooklyn residents, Abdurasul Juraboev and Akhror Saidakhmetov, began planning to travel to Syria to fight for ISIS.  A group of individuals in a domestic network based in New York and elsewhere, including Khusanov, worked together to raise and contribute money to help fund that trip to Syria.  In February 2015, Abror Habibov, Zakirov, Azizjon Rakhmatov, and Dilkhayot Kasimov discussed providing money to support Saidakhmetov’s travel and expenses in Syria.  Rakhmatov and Zakirov also agreed to solicit money from others to fund Saidakhmetov’s travel.  Zakirov contacted Khusanov, then-based in Illinois, and asked him to contribute money for Saidakhmetov’s travel and to ask another individual to contribute money as well.  Khusanov agreed and arranged for money to be deposited in Zakirov’s bank account before Saidakhmetov’s scheduled departure.  Saidakhmetov was arrested in February 2015 at John F. Kennedy International Airport, as he boarded a plane bound for Istanbul, Turkey, a transit point for foreign fighters bound for Syria.

Khusanov is the last charged defendant in this plot to be convicted.  Juraboev, Saidakhmetov, Habibov, Zakirov and Rakhmatov previously pleaded guilty, and Kasimov was convicted at trial.  Juraboev and Saidakhmetov each were sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment, and Rakhmatov was sentenced to 12 ½ year’s imprisonment.  Habibov, Kasimov and Zakirov are awaiting sentencing.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security & Cybercrime Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys David K. Kessler, J. Matthew Haggans, and Jonathan E. Algor are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Steven Ward of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

The Defendant:

DILSHOD KHUSANOV
Age:  36
Chicago, Illinois

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 17-CR-475 (WFK)

MOBILE, AL – A Moss Point, Mississippi man was sentenced last week to ten years in prison for possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine on December 11, 2019 in Grand Bay, Alabama.

According to court documents, Seabron Mack Millender, 38, arranged to sell five ounces of methamphetamine to a confidential informant at a gas station in Grand Bay. Police set up a perimeter around the gas station and, when Millender arrived, moved in to arrest him. Millender reversed his car in an attempt to flee but police vehicles boxed him in. Officers arrested Millender and seized $1,061 in cash from him. Inside Millender’s car, officers found a clear plastic bag containing 134.8 grams of 97% pure methamphetamine hydrochloride. During a post-Miranda interview with police, Millender admitted that he had obtained the meth two days earlier and had driven the drugs into Alabama from Mississippi with the intent to distribute them. At the time of his offense, Millender was on federal supervised release for a 2008 drug-conspiracy conviction in the Southern District of Mississippi.

United States District Judge Terry F. Moorer ordered Millender to serve a five-year term of supervised release upon his release from prison, during which time he will undergo testing and treatment for substance abuse. The court did not impose a fine, but Judge Moorer ordered Millender to pay $100 in special assessments.

U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Mobile Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MARCOS MENDEZ, 31, of Kissimmee, Florida, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to 72 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking cocaine from Puerto Rico to Connecticut through the U.S. Mail.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service developed evidence regarding a drug trafficking organization that was sending USPS parcels containing kilograms of cocaine from Puerto Rico to Connecticut and Massachusetts.  Between July and December 2018, law enforcement intercepted and seized five suspect parcels that were being mailed to addresses in Bristol, Meriden and Burlington, Connecticut, and in Worcester, Massachusetts. All five of the suspect parcels contained multiple kilogram-sized bricks of cocaine.  On several occasions, investigators conducted surveillance of the delivery of suspect parcels and the scheduled delivery of seized parcels.  During surveillance, investigators observed Mendez, who formerly resided in Bristol, and other individuals picking up or attempting to pick up parcels that had been seized.

On January 9, 2019, investigators arrested Mendez and other members of this drug trafficking organization.  A search of Mendez’s Bristol residence at the time of his arrest revealed more than a kilogram of cocaine, numerous bags of marijuana packaged for distribution, and $146,712 in cash.

On January 23, 2019, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Mendez and five others with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and related offenses.

On May 18. 2021, Mendez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

Mendez, who is released on a $500,000 bond, is required to report to prion on January 3, 2022.

This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  The DEA’s Hartford Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, Windsor Locks and Willimantic Police Departments.  The DEA Puerto Rico Caribbean Corridor Strike Force and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Newark Division, San Juan (P.R.) Office, have assisted the investigation.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

MOBILE, AL – A Fairhope, Alabama, man was sentenced on October 15, 2021, to 10 years in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine ice.
 
According to court documents, Christopher Quentin Green, 43, distributed methamphetamine ice he obtained to others in Baldwin County, Alabama.   Green was implicated by several co-conspirators in a drug distribution organization operating in central Baldwin County.  During the investigation, Green was in possession of methamphetamine when a search warrant was executed at his residence in Fairhope.   Green arrived in a vehicle after deputies arrived and attempted to discard a bag of methamphetamine as deputies approached the vehicle.  Green admitted after being advised of his rights that he had received methamphetamine ice in the past from a co-conspirator, Grady Sikes, and that the methamphetamine ice in the vehicle came from a supplier in Pensacola.
 
United States District Court Judge Kristi K. Dubose imposed the 10-year sentence, which will be followed by five years on supervised release following his imprisonment.  As conditions of his supervision, Green will undergo testing and treatment for drug abuse, and he will be subject to a search of his person and premises upon reasonable suspicion.  No fine was imposed but the judge ordered that Green pay $100 in special assessments. 

The case was investigated by the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, the Baldwin County Drug Task Force, and the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gloria Bedwell prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.