Stories by DOJ Newswire on Federal Newswire


Ruston Man Sentenced to Prison for Making Threats to Member of United States Congress

News Release: MONROE, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Chase Levi Thibodeaux, 39, of Ruston, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Terry A. Doughty to 36 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for transmitting threats in interstate commerce.


Huntington Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Crime

News Release: HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Eddie Guy Jewell, 49, of Huntington, pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.


News Release: UOP LLC, doing business as Honeywell UOP, a U.S.-based subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., has agreed to pay more than $160 million to resolve parallel bribery investigations by criminal and civil authorities in the United States and Brazil stemming from bribe payments offered to a high-ranking official at Brazil’s state-owned oil company.


Former Florida Atlantic University Student Sentenced to Prison for Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material

News Release: MIAMI - Shawn Anthony Jackson Outler, a 23-year-old former Florida Atlantic University student, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon to 24 years in prison for producing child sexual abuse material of a 14-year-old girl.


Chicago Woman Sentenced to Prison for Fraud and Tax Crimes

News Release: A Chicago tax preparer was sentenced to seven years in prison today after her trial conviction for embezzling her deceased grandmother’s pension checks and preparing false tax returns for clients.


News Release: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced that Darrell Desiderio was sentenced on Dec. 16 to 25 years in prison. Desiderio, 45, of Gallup, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty on July 26, 2021, to second degree murder in Indian Country.


National Institute of Justice Study Measures the Reliability of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis

News Release: The Office of Justice Programs’ National Institute of Justice has published an article summarizing an NIJ-funded study that measures the ability of bloodstain pattern analysts to provide valid and consistent conclusions. Bloodstain patterns can be pivotal evidence, with the power to exculpate or exonerate defendants in high profile cases. Although admissible in court for more than 150 years, the validity of bloodstain pattern analysis has recently been questioned.


Eastern District of Virginia Forfeits More Than 164 Illegal Firearms and Prosecutes 250 Illegal Firearms Offenders in 2022

News Release: ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Today Jessica D. Aber, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced that over the course of the past year, EDVA’s litigative efforts have resulted in the forfeiture of at least 164 illegally owned, possessed, used, or obtained firearms. Firearms that are criminally...


Greenwich Psychologist Admits Defrauding Medicaid, Medicare, and Private Insurers

News Release: Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and David Sundberg, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation...


Eastern District of Virginia Takes Action Against COVID-19 Fraud in 2022

News Release: ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Today, Jessica D. Aber, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), announced an update on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s criminal and civil enforcement efforts to combat COVID-19 related fraud, including schemes targeting the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, and Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs.


Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime

News Release: ATLANTA - Larry Edward Foxworth has pleaded guilty in federal court to shooting into multiple Clayton County convenience stores to kill those inside based upon their race and ethnicity.


News Release: ATLANTA - Gerald D. Harris, a former supervisor in DeKalb County’s Tax Commissioner’s Office, has been charged with wire fraud for falsely claiming that he could register a stolen vehicle by bribing an employee in the tax office.


Sextortion Crimes on the Increase: Talk to Your Kids Now

News Release: PITTSBURGH - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations - Philadelphia (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Pittsburgh (FBI), and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), is issuing a public safety alert regarding an alarming increase in the online exploitation of children and teens.


Georgia Man Sentenced to 244 Months in Prison for His Role in Ponzi and COVID-19 Fraud Schemes

News Release: Christopher A. Parris, 42, formerly of Rochester, New York, and currently of Lawrenceville, Georgia, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud related to a Ponzi scheme, as well as to wire fraud involving the fraudulent sale of purported N95 masks during the pandemic, was sentenced to serve 244 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr.


Grand Jury Indicts Two in ‘Swatting’ Scheme That Took Over Ring Doorbells Across U.S. to Livestream Police Response to Fake Calls

News Release: LOS ANGELES - Two men - one from Wisconsin, the other from North Carolina - have been charged with participating in a “swatting" spree that, over a one-week span, gained access to a dozen Ring home security door cameras nationwide, placed bogus emergency phone calls designed to elicit an armed police response, then livestreamed the events on social media, sometimes while taunting responding police officers, the Justice Department announced today.


Tech Company CEO Pleads Guilty to Defrauding His Former Employer

News Release: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that SUNI MUNSHANI, the former Chief Executive Officer of a Connecticut-based technology company (the “Victim Company"), pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court in connection with a scheme to defraud...


Sextortion Crimes on the Increase: Talk to Your Kids Now

News Release: PITTSBURGH - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations - Philadelphia (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Pittsburgh (FBI), and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), is issuing a public safety alert regarding an alarming increase in the online exploitation of children and teens.


FBI Media Alert: FBI in New Mexico Warns of Significant Increase in Sextortion

News Release: FBI Media Alert: FBI in New Mexico Warns of Significant Increase in Sextortion.


Justice Department Secures Agreement with Massachusetts Department of Correction Investigation Involving Individuals in Mental Health Crisis

News Release: The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Correction (MDOC) to resolve the department’s investigation into MDOC’s treatment of incarcerated individuals in mental health crisis.


News Release: A New York man was sentenced today to 12 years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for attempting to provide material support or resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS), a foreign terrorist organization.