News and reports from the Department of Justice.

A Texas man was sentenced today to 37 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $529,551 in restitution to the United States for evading taxes on income earned from his business.

A federal grand jury in Maryland has indicted Amin Timovich Stigal, a 22-year-old Russian citizen, on charges of conspiring to hack into and destroy computer systems and data. The indictment accuses Stigal of targeting Ukrainian government systems and data prior to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Subsequent targets included computer systems in countries supporting Ukraine, including the United States. Stigal remains at large.

On June 25, Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer and members of her team visited Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Coleman, the largest federal complex in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) located in Sumterville, Florida. The Pardon Attorney and her team provided a series of educational sessions about the federal clemency process and answered questions from FBOP staff and incarcerated individuals at the low-security, medium-security, and minimum-security camp. During their visit, the Pardon Attorney and her team met with approximately 1,200 incarcerated individuals and FBOP...

A Virginia couple was sentenced today for compelling the labor of the man’s younger cousin at their gas station and convenience store for over three years. The couple has since divorced.

A federal grand jury has charged a New York man for allegedly acting as a courier in a Dominican Republic-based “grandparent scam” that targeted elderly Americans. Victor Anthony Valdez, 39, of the Bronx, faces one count of wire fraud conspiracy. The indictment, unsealed today in Newark, New Jersey, alleges that the scam operated from call centers in the Dominican Republic. These call centers made phone calls to elderly American victims pretending to be their grandchildren or associated legal personnel.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the opening of the Northeast Ohio Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) in Cleveland on June 25, 2024. The CGIC aims to enhance law enforcement's ability to investigate and prevent gun violence through collaboration and advanced technology.

A federal jury in Greensboro, North Carolina, convicted a Florida man today for his role in an international conspiracy involving violent home invasions aimed at stealing cryptocurrency from U.S. citizens.

Two men were sentenced for manipulating the price of a security and scheming to defraud investors in connection with the purchase of Hydrogen Technology’s cryptocurrency, HYDRO.

A Tennessee man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, alongside state and local law enforcement partners in Cleveland, announced the opening of a new Northeast Ohio Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) in Cleveland. The announcement was made with Director Steven Dettelbach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio.

Deputy Attorney General (Deputy AG) Lisa Monaco traveled to Brussels last week to lead the U.S. delegation at the U.S.-EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial and reaffirm the Justice Department’s commitment to a critical alliance that combats shared risks to global security.

A Kentucky man pleaded guilty and was sentenced last week to one year and one day in prison, along with one year of supervised release, for committing a federal hate crime. The sentencing took place in the District of Eastern Louisiana.

Two pharmacy owners have been sentenced for using New York-area pharmacies to submit millions of dollars in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and laundering the proceeds, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Elmore County, Alabama, Sheriff’s Deputy Blake Hicks, 33, was sentenced today to 29 months in prison and three years of supervised release for depriving an arrestee of his civil rights under color of law.

The Justice Department announced today a settlement agreement with Fulton County Schools in Georgia to resolve the department’s investigation into the district’s response to an escalating series of student-on-student sexual assaults on a school bus serving students with special needs. The department conducted its investigation under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974.