Source: US FBI
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced today the sentencing of SHPENDIM HAXHAJ, a/k/a “White Mike,” the last of seven defendants to be sentenced in a case involving members of a street gang known as the Young Bronx Money Getters, or “YBMG,” that operated in the Bronx, Long Island, Upstate New York, and Connecticut. HAXHAJ was sentenced to 35 years in prison for crimes relating to his membership in YBMG, including a conspiracy to commit murder for hire that resulted in the August 16, 2019, murder of Isael Lagares in the Bronx. HAXHAJ previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder for hire, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and participating in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances on August 7, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, who imposed today’s sentence. HAXHAJ was the last of the seven defendants in the YBMG case before Judge Failla to have been convicted and sentenced.
“For more than a decade, the YBMG gang terrorized communities in the Bronx, Long Island, Upstate New York, and Connecticut with drugs, guns, and senseless violence,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Among YBMG’s many victims was Isael Lagares, who was gunned down after Haxhaj and other gang members paid a hitman to end his life. The seven members of this incredibly violent gang have now been convicted and sentenced for their crimes. The women and men of the Southern District will continue to vigorously pursue those who bring illegal drugs and violence into our communities.”
According to the Superseding Indictment, public court filings, evidence introduced at the trial of Yeltsin Beltran, a/k/a “Yells,” and statements made in court:
From at least in or about 2006 to in or about 2021, YBMG was a criminal enterprise centered in the Bronx. In order to make money for the gang, protect the gang’s territory, and promote the gang’s standing, members of YBMG engaged in, among other things, narcotics trafficking and violence, including murder. To that end, YBMG members sold heroin, cocaine, and marijuana, promoted their gang affiliation on social media, possessed firearms, and engaged in shootings as part of their gang membership and narcotics trafficking.
On or about August 16, 2019, HAXHAJ and BORIS BELTRAN hired a man to murder a rival gang member. That same day, the hired hitman then shot and killed Lagares, who was socializing with a group of people on a residential street in the Bronx.
YBMG members also participated in a conspiracy to distribute narcotics in New York and elsewhere. HAXHAJ, YELTSIN BELTRAN, BORIS BELTRAN, JEREMY CEDENO, FRANCISCO ORTEGA, and IVIS PERDOMO participated in a conspiracy with other individuals to distribute heroin, cocaine, and marijuana from at least in or about 2006 up to and including 2021 and carried, brandished, and discharged firearms that were possessed in furtherance of their narcotics trafficking.
On or about December 23, 2019, PERDOMO shot two people non-fatally in a nightclub in the Bronx.
On or about June 7, 2019, CEDENO shot at a member of an opposing gang in New York, New York.
* * *
A chart containing the names of the defendants, the charges they were convicted of, and the sentences they received is set forth below.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the New York City Police Department.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit and White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Brumwell, Benjamin Gianforti, Brandon D. Harper, Frank Balsamello, and Mathew Andrews are in charge of the prosecution.
|
Defendant
|
Age |
Conviction |
Sentence |
| SHPENDIM HAXHAJ, a/k/a “White Mike” | 33 | Murder for Hire Conspiracy; Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Narcotics Conspiracy | 35 years |
| YELTSIN BELTRAN, a/k/a “Yells” | 33 | Racketeering Conspiracy; Narcotics Conspiracy; Use, Brandishing, and Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Narcotics Conspiracy; | 380 months |
| BORIS BELTRAN, a/k/a “Bebe” | 27 | Murder for Hire Conspiracy and Narcotics Conspiracy | 20 years |
| JEREMY CEDENO, a/k/a “Jerm” | 39 | Narcotics Conspiracy | 135 Months |
| IVIS PERDOMO, a/k/a “Lite” | 43 | Narcotics Conspiracy | 188 Months |
| FRANCISCO ORTEGA, a/k/a “Fresh” | 36 | Narcotics Conspiracy | 140 Months |
| DRILON HAXHAJ | 29 | Narcotics Conspiracy | 32 Months |