News and reports from the Department of Justice.

Four California agricultural companies and their owner have agreed to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act (FCA) and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) by knowingly submitting false information in support of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications.

The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement agreement with Youth UpRising, a community organization in Oakland, California, that provides youth services.

News Release: PROVIDENCE - A third member of an Atlanta-based conspiracy that bilked unsuspecting seniors in Rhode Island and several other states out of more than $3.2 million was convicted today in federal court in Rhode Island after pleading guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

News Release: Statement from FBI Jackson. The FBI Jackson Field Office, the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi have opened a federal civil rights investigation into a color of law incident involving the Rankin County Sheriff's...

News Release: SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Dennis Cotto-Alvarado, 45 years old, of Ponce, was sentenced to 151 months (12 years and seven months) in prison and 15 years of supervised release for transporting a female minor with the intent to engage criminal sexual conduct in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2423(a). The FBI investigated the complaint with the collaboration of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau and the Puerto Rico Department of Justice.

News Release: TEXARKANA - An Ashdown man was sentenced today to 360 months in prison without the possibility of parole, followed by 20 years supervised release, on one count of Production of Child Pornography. The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Texarkana.

News Release: CINCINNATI - A federal grand jury indicted three women today on charges related to the attempted arson of a nail salon in Monroe, Ohio.

News Release: An Ohio woman was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the IRS relating to her ownership and operation of illegal gambling businesses in Canton, Ohio.

News Release: SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The former mayor of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, Javier García-Pérez, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy for his involvement in a bribery scheme in which he received cash payments in exchange for the awarding of municipal contracts and the payment of invoices related on those contracts.

News Release: Baltimore, Maryland - A federal jury convicted Jacky Lynn McComber (formerly Jacky Lynn Kimmel), age 50, of Elkridge, Maryland, on federal charges of submitting false claims and making false statements, in connection with the hours she claimed to have worked on a federal contract with the National Security Agency (NSA). McComber was the CEO and owner of InfoTeK, an information technology (IT) services corporation, which had an ongoing contract with the NSA.

News Release: FRESNO, Calif. - Alphonso Jimenez, 31, of Stockton, pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl and using a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris announced.

News Release: A federal grand jury in Boston returned an indictment today charging a Massachusetts man with a federal hate crime.

News Release: WASHINGTON - Brahm Persaud, 69, a Maryland resident, pleaded guilty today to assault with a dangerous weapon for an incident in which he confronted Mr. Kevin Pinkett and other civilians with a firearm while attending a birthday party in Southeast Washington, DC, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves...

News Release: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that AMOS MUNDENDI, a/k/a “Mos," a/k/a “El Ashile Mundi," was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court by United States District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer to 42 months in prison for his participation in a scheme...

News Release: ORLANDO, Fla. - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Curtis Tyrone Johnson (35, Melbourne) guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and possession with the intent to distribute various controlled substances. Johnson faces a minimum mandatory term of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 10, 2023.