News and reports from the Department of Justice.

News Release: LOS ANGELES - A rapper who boasted in a YouTube music video about getting rich quickly by scamming a COVID relief program was sentenced today to 77 months in federal prison.

News Release: PROVIDENCE - Mario F. Martinez, 27, of Providence, found in August 2020 by members of the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force to be in possession of thousands of images and hundreds of videos depicting child sexual abuse, was sentenced today to three years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

News Release: Seattle - Two of three defendants charged in a failed attempt to smuggle more than 400 pounds of methamphetamine and two pounds of fentanyl powder into Canada appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle today, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Erika A. Bocelle, 32, of Providence, Rhode Island and John...

News Release: HOT SPRINGS - A Hot Springs woman was sentenced today to 84 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Hot Springs.

News Release: MIDLAND, Texas - An Odessa woman pleaded guilty today to two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of a false tax return.

News Release: Jackson, TN - Charles Anthony Anderson, 56, has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for production of child pornography and committing that offense as a registered sex offender. United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the sentence today.

News Release: Jacksonville, Florida - U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis today sentenced Oscar Molina-Avila to four years and four months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States for the purpose of impeding the lawful functions of the Internal Revenue Service.

News Release: LOS ANGELES - The Justice Department today announced the court-authorized seizure of 48 internet domains associated with some of the world’s leading DDoS-for-hire services, as well as criminal charges against six defendants who allegedly oversaw computer attack platforms commonly called “booter" services.

News Release: PITTSBURGH, PA - A former Elizabeth Borough Police Chief pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of theft of government property, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

News Release: LOS ANGELES - A neurosurgeon was sentenced today to 60 months in federal prison for accepting approximately $3.3 million in bribes for performing spinal surgeries at a now-defunct Long Beach hospital whose owner later was imprisoned for committing a massive workers’ compensation system scam.

News Release: Tampa, Florida - U.S. District Judge William F. Jung has sentenced Davion Rivers (27, Bradenton) to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Rivers to forfeit the firearm, which was traceable to the offense. A federal jury had found Rivers guilty on July 11, 2022.

News Release: Tampa, Florida - U.S. District Judge William F. Jung has sentenced Deron Lamar Foster (35, Tampa) to 10 years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The court also ordered Foster to forfeit the firearm and ammunition used in the commission of the offense. Foster had pleaded guilty on Aug. 31, 2022.

News Release: PROVIDENCE - A Providence man, Richard Koboi, aka Sunnyboy Taylor, 27, who organized and led a conspiracy to create and deposit approximately $330,000 worth of counterfeit checks, and who illegally possessed and then sold a firearm to a drug dealer, all while serving a state term of probation, was sentenced today to three years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

News Release: KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Kansas City, Mo., man has been convicted by a trial jury of the armed robbery of a Family Dollar store with the assistance of the store’s assistant manager.

News Release: Winston Alexander Thatch, of Bayou La Batre, was sentenced today to eighty-four months imprisonment for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentence was handed down by United States District Court Judge Kristi K. DuBose. Thatch previously pled guilty to violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1), Felon in Possession of a Firearm.