Category: Office of United States Attorneys

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

            WASHINGTON – Joly Germine, 31, of Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, the self-described “King” of a notoriously violent Haitian gang known as 400 Mawozo, pleaded guilty today to his role in a gunrunning conspiracy that smuggled firearms to Haiti in violation of U.S. export laws, and the laundering of ransoms paid for U.S. hostages to the gang in 2021. The conspiracy resulted in the purchase in the United States of at least twenty-four firearms, including AK-47s, AR-15s, an M4 Carbine rifle, an M1A rifle, and a .50 caliber rifle, described by the ATF as a military weapon, which were smuggled from the United States to the gang in Haiti for their criminal activities. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office. Co-defendant Eliande Tunis, 45, of Pompano Beach, Florida, pled guilty on January 17, 2024, to the same offenses.

            The plea came at the end of the government’s case during trial, after the twenty-four witnesses and two weeks of evidence. Germine, a Haitian national, pled guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before Judge John D. Bates to the 48-count second superseding indictment. The indictment charged Germine with conspiring to violate U.S. export control laws and to defraud the United States, violating export control laws, smuggling, and laundering the proceeds of ransoms paid to free U.S. hostages taken by the gang and laundering money to promote his crimes. He faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced on May 15, 2024.]

            Germine’s co-defendant and former girlfriend Tunis, who style herself as his “wife” and was described at trial as the “Queen”, pled guilty on the eve of trial on January 16, 2024, to the same 48-count indictment. She also faces up to life in prison when she is sentenced on May 8, 2024. Another co-defendant, Jocelyn Dor, age 31, who acted as a straw gun purchaser for Germine and Tunis, previously pled guilty on October 30, 2023, and will be sentenced on February 28, 2024.

            “Violent gangs have ravaged Haiti, and, all too often, Americans in Haiti have been targets of their violence,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “These two defendants not only helped lead a prominent violent gang in Haiti, but they were also intimately involved in arming the gang and laundering ransom proceeds the gang obtained from kidnapping Americans.  Preventing them from illegally shipping anymore firearms or laundering the proceeds of kidnappings strikes a critical blow against the gang they once led.”

            “Violent, well-armed gangs pose an ongoing threat to U.S. Citizens who live in or travel to Haiti,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, of the Miami Field Office. “As Joly Germine and Eliande Tunis have just learned, the FBI is dedicated to disrupting and dismantling gangs who undertake hostage-taking of U.S. Citizens anywhere. This includes taking away their ability to wreak violence on the innocent using smuggled firearms.”

            According to the evidence the government presented at trial, from at least March through November 2021, Germine, Tunis, and two co-defendants conspired with each other and with other gang members in Haiti to acquire and supply firearms to the 400 Mawozo gang in Haiti. Germine directed the gang’s operations from a Haitian prison using unmonitored cell phones, including directing gang members in Haiti to transfer money to Tunis and others in the United States for the purpose of obtaining firearms for the gang. Germine then provided Tunis and the two other U.S.-based co-defendants, all Florida residents, specifications for firearms and ammunition that Germine and other gang leaders wanted sent to Haiti. Tunis and the two co-defendants then purchased at least 24 rifles, handguns, and a shotgun at Florida gun shops while falsely stating that they were the “actual buyers” of the firearms, when they were in fact acting as straw purchasers for Germine. In approximately May 2021, Tunis smuggled firearms and ammunition to Haiti in containers disguised as food and household goods. In October 2021, Tunis shipped additional firearms and ammunition to Haiti, again by smuggling the firearms, but those firearms were seized by the FBI before they left the United States.  

            400 Mawozo is a violent Haitian gang that operated in the Croix-des-Bouquets area to the east of the capital, Port-au-Prince. From at least January 12, 2020, 400 Mawozo was engaged in armed hostage takings of U.S. citizens in Haiti for ransom. The victims have generally been forced from their vehicles at gunpoint and kept in various locations by armed gang members while their relatives and colleagues negotiate payment for their release.  At trial, the government presented evidence that the gang received ransom payments from the hostage taking of three U.S. citizens in the summer of 2021, who testified at trial, and the cash ransom proceeds were commingled with the gangs’ funds and transferred via MoneyGram and Western Union from the United States to Haiti to buy more firearms. In the fall of 2021, the 400 Mawozo gang claimed responsibility for taking 16 U.S. citizens hostage, including five children, and one Canadian citizen who were part of a missionary organization visiting an orphanage in Port-au-Prince. The gang demanded a ransom of $l million for each hostage. The hostages escaped on or about December 16, 2021. This case does not address those hostage taking charges, for which Germine has been separately indicted in Case No. 22-cr-161 (DDC).

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Miami Field Office, with assistance the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Haitian National Police, the government of Haiti, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the Diplomatic Security Service of the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida’s Special Prosecutions Section.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert and Kimberly Paschall and Paralegal Specialist Jorge Casillas of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Beau Barnes of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the National Security Division.

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Eric Chandler Watson plead guilty to one count each of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country. Watson, 22, of Tohatchi, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, will remain on conditions of release pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

According to court records, on the morning of December. 9, 2022, Watson confronted a family member outside of a shared residence in Tohatchi, New Mexico. The confrontation escalated to a physical altercation, at which time Watson’s uncle, John Doe, stepped in to stop the fight. Watson and John Doe began to fight instead, and John Doe’s parents stepped in to stop that fight. John Doe then went inside of the residence to Watson’s bedroom with the intent of destroying Watson’s PlayStation Video Game Console. Watson came up behind John Doe and repeatedly stabbed him in the back.

John Doe experienced a collapsed lung sustained from the stab wounds. John Doe also sustained other stab wounds to the upper back and neck area, with one stab wound inches away from his spinal cord.

At sentencing, Watson faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Navajo Police Department and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigation investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Mark Probasco is prosecuting the case.

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Source: Office of United States Attorneys

PORTLAND, Ore.—An eastern Oregon drug dealer identified by law enforcement as part of an investigation into a fatal overdose on the Umatilla Indian Reservation was sentenced to federal prison today, announced the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

Ulises Echevarria-Molina, 40, of Pendleton, Oregon, was sentenced to 75 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, on May 15, 2021, officers from the Umatilla Tribal Police Department responded to a suspected fatal drug overdose at the Wildhorse Casino in Pendleton and located several counterfeit Oxycodone pills believed to contain fentanyl near the deceased victim. Toxicology reports later confirmed the victim had consumed fentanyl and cocaine prior to their death. 

Further investigation revealed that the overdose victim likely obtained the fentanyl pills from a family member’s supply and the family member had recently purchased fentanyl from a local dealer. Investigators soon identified Echevarria-Molina as a third-level drug distributor to the deceased victim’s family member and, on May 18, 2021, arrested him without incident.

At the time of his arrest Echevarria-Molina possessed approximately 1,500 fentanyl pills and $9,000 in cash on his person. A search of Echevarria-Molina’s Pendleton home returned approximately 24 pounds of methamphetamine, two pounds of cocaine, and 1,500 additional fentanyl pills. Investigators also located and seized $18,000 in cash, digital scales, and various drug packaging materials from Echevarria-Molina’s residence.

On May 21, 2021, Echevarria-Molina was charged by criminal complaint with distribution or possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Later, on May 19, 2022, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Echevarria-Molina with possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Because of the combination of controlled substances in the toxicology results, Echevarria-Molina was not charged with the overdose death.

On September 5, 2023, Echevarria-Molina pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.

This case was investigated by the Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team (BENT), FBI and the Umatilla Tribal Police Department. It was prosecuted Cassady Adams, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

BENT is a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force that includes detectives from the Pendleton Police Department, Hermiston Police Department, Boardman Police Department, Oregon State Police, Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, Milton-Freewater Police Department, and Umatilla Tribal Police Department.

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

MINNEAPOLIS – Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today announced the recipients of the 70th and 71st Attorney General’s Awards, honoring Justice Department employees and others for extraordinary contributions to the enforcement of our nation’s laws. Recipients from both 2022 and 2023 were selected from a group of more than 800 nominees. Two prosecution teams from the District of Minnesota were awarded the Attorney General’s David Margolis Award for Exceptional Service.

“Each of today’s recipients has served with distinction, and in so doing, they have enabled the Justice Department to advance its work on behalf of the American people,” said Attorney General Garland. “Their exceptional leadership, heroism, and dedication have benefited people and communities across the country.”

“The Attorney General’s David Margolis Award is the Justice Department’s highest award for employee performance,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger. “The prosecutors, agents, paralegals, victim/witness and litigation support specialists on these teams showed exceptional skill and professionalism in their work on two monumental civil rights cases, cases that will have a lasting impact for years to come. I am so proud of these individuals and their outstanding work and commitment in service of justice.”

The 2022 Attorney General’s David Margolis Award for Exceptional Service is presented to the investigation and prosecution team in United States v. Chauvin, et al., a prosecution involving four former police officers who violated George Floyd’s civil rights, resulting in his death.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allen Slaughter, Evan Gilead, LeeAnn Bell, Manda Sertich, and Samantha Bates for the District of Minnesota; Paralegal Stefnie Braun for the District of Minnesota; Victim/Witness Specialists Selina Kolsrud and Christina Busse for the District of Minnesota; Litigation Support Specialist Daniel Czapko for the District of Minnesota, FBI Special Agent Blake Hostetter; Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel of the Civil Rights Division; Trial Attorney Tara Allison of the Civil Rights Division; and Paralegal Henry Fronk for the Civil Rights Division.

The 2023 Attorney General’s David Margolis Award for Exceptional Service is presented to the investigation and prosecution team in United States v. Sumalee Intarathong, et al. and United States v. Michael Morris, et al., a prosecution involving an international sex trafficking organization that was responsible for coercing hundreds of Thai women to engage in commercial sex acts across the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melinda Williams, Laura Provinzino, Craig Baune, and David Genrich for the District of Minnesota; Paralegal Stefnie Braun for the District of Minnesota; Victim/Witness Specialist Selina Kolsrud for the District of Minnesota; Litigation Support Specialist Daniel Czapko for the District of Minnesota; Supervisory Litigation Support Specialist Mark Zeitz for the District of Minnesota; HSI Supervisory Special Agent Tonya Price; IRS Special Agent John Tschida; Special Agent Kevin Sullivan of the Minnesota Department of Commerce; Director Hilary Axam of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit; and Deputy Director William Nolan of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

For details on all of today’s award recipients, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-honors-justice-department-employees-and-partners-70th-and

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

NORFOLK, Va. – A Goldsboro, North Carolina man was sentenced today to 27 years in prison after he used social media accounts to target underage girls in the Hampton Roads area and caused at least 29 victims to produce sexually explicit videos and images.

According to court documents, Brandon Tyler Lindsey, 27, an active-duty servicemember attached to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina, routinely traveled to his hometown of Chesapeake, Virginia and met minor females to engage in sexual acts with them. His youngest victim was 12 years old. Lindsey used multiple social media accounts to target minor females in the Hampton Roads area. For example, using Instagram, he direct messaged multiple minor girls with the same boilerplate message and “liked” their photos. After gaining their trust, he would then request child pornography from the minors and attempt to meet in person for sexual acts. Lindsey sometimes met with the same minors on multiple occasions over a period of years. Lindsey caused at least 29 victims to produce child pornography for his sexual gratification.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Douglas Edens, Special Agent in Charge, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Victoria Liu prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-95.

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

Greenville, MS – A Greenville man was sentenced today to 2 1/2 years in prison for illegal possession of a machinegun. 

According to court documents, Johnny Watkins a/k/a Lil Munk, 19, committed a string of violent crimes in the Greenville-area leading to the execution of a search warrant at his residence. Watkin’s social media account showed that Watkins bragged about gang activity, posed with numerous firearms and illicit narcotics, and threatened rival gang members. Based on the pictures posted on social media and the recent string of crimes committed by Watkins, law enforcement officials obtained authorization to search Watkin’s residence. During the search of his residence, law enforcement recovered a Glock 10mm pistol with a 23-round magazine. Attached to the Glock pistol was a machinegun conversion device (“MCD”) commonly referred to as a “switch.” In addition to possession of a machinegun, the district court considered Watkins use of firearms in other related crimes including the shooting of a Greenville Police Department officer’s residence.  

Following a sentencing hearing, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Debra M. Brown sentenced Watkins to 30 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.  

“The proliferation of these devices presents a clear and present danger to Mississippians,” said U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “We hope that this sentence sends a clear message that those who engage in criminal activity will be held accountable for their illegal acts and for their use and possession of automatic weapons.”

“The illegal possession of machinegun conversion devices, that readily convert firearms into machineguns, are a significant threat to our communities and remain a top priority for ATF,” said ATF New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson. “The sentence imposed today sends a message to the community that the law enforcement community will hold offenders accountable, and ATF will remain focused on reducing violent gun crime while disrupting access to these illegal machineguns by the criminal element.”

“The Greenville Police Department is committed to ensuring the safety of the community,” said Greenville Police Chief Marcus Turner. “We will continue our efforts to rid out countless acts of violence, specifically done by altered weapons. We are actively out daily fighting to reduce crime and gun violence.” 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives as well as the Greenville Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Stringfellow prosecuted the case.

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 32-year-old Corpus Christi woman has been sentenced for trafficking narcotics, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Melissa Rendon pleaded guilty Aug. 4, 2023.

U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton has now ordered Rendon to serve 120 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard evidence regarding Rendon’s aggravated role in the offense, her efforts to obstruct the investigation and her use of her minor daughter to hide evidence from authorities. 

After conducting surveillance for a month, on July 7, 2022, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a residence in Corpus Christi where they found several people, but not Rendon. Authorities also found meth, cocaine, heroin, cocaine base (crack) and fentanyl – some packaged for sale – throughout the residence. 

The investigation revealed Rendon distributed narcotics from the residence and had recruited a woman to live at the residence and to distribute drugs for her. Law enforcement additionally found a digital scale, baggies and latex gloves within the residence.

On March 2, 2023, authorities witnessed Rendon leaving the residence with four children and drop them off at school. They then conducted a second search. At that time, they recovered cocaine, cocaine base (crack), Ziploc baggies, a digital scale, latex gloves and several pieces of mail addressed to Rendon. 

The investigation also revealed Rendon made calls from the jail asking her juvenile daughter to go to her residence, find a white cell phone, change the password and delete everything including all of the pictures, Facebook, texts and Snapchat from the phone.

Rendon will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Nueces County District Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigation Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda L. Gould prosecuted the case.

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

PROVIDENCE, RI – A Honduran national who repeatedly entered the United States illegally and was removed in 2007, 2018, and October 2019, admitted to a federal judge today in Providence that he had entered the United States illegally for a fourth time prior to his most recent arrest in Providence in January 2023, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

At the time of his arrest in Providence, Belfran Joel Najera-Chirinos, 42, was employed by a local shipbuilder, working under the name of and using the Social Security of another individual. When arrested, Najera-Chirinos provided law enforcement with yet a different name, and produced a Puerto Rican driver’s license in the name of that person.

Najera-Chirinos today pleaded guilty to charges of illegal reentry after deportation and Social Security fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16, 2024. The defendant’s sentences will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ronald R. Gendron.

The matter was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations and the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General/Office of Investigations.

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Source: Office of United States Attorneys

WILLIAMSPORT – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Dalon Sass-Maxwell, age 26, of Port Trevorton, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by the Honorable Matthew W. Brann to serve two years of incarceration based upon his previously entered guilty plea to straw purchasing thirteen firearms for individuals who were prohibited from possessing firearms.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, on six separate occasions in 2020 and 2021, Sass-Maxwell purchased firearms from federally licensed firearms dealers and falsely stated at the time of the purchases that he was the actual purchaser.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).  Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur prosecuted the case.   

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Source: Office of United States Attorneys

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court on January 30, 2024, to a charge of conspiring to violate federal export laws, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

Derby Clerfe, 44, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge William S. Stickman.

In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that Clerfe had purchased nine handguns and provided them to another individual who would arrange for their export to Haiti without filing the export information required by federal law.

Judge Stickman scheduled sentencing for May 30, 2024. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey R. Bengel is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Clerfe.