Mohammed Zeidan, also known as “Mo,” of East Greenville, Pennsylvania, was convicted on September 5, 2024, for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery, attempted Hobbs Act Robbery, and firearms conspiracy. The verdict followed a four-day trial before Senior United States District Judge Robert D. Mariani.
Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus stated that Zeidan was associated with members of the Schuylkill County chapter of the Infamous Ryders Motorcycle Club. Steven Wong, president of the club and a co-defendant in the case, recruited club members and associates for a series of armed home-invasion robberies in Schuylkill and Berks County during the summer and fall of 2020.
Zeidan participated in an attempted robbery on August 29, 2020. Along with three other co-conspirators, he entered the home of a street-level drug dealer while masked and armed with firearms and knives. The group intended to steal drugs and proceeds from drug sales. One firearm used was described as a fully automatic homemade AR-15 style assault rifle. Although Zeidan did not carry a firearm himself during this incident, he tried to force entry through the backdoor and impersonated a police officer to lure victims downstairs. The victims escaped by jumping from a second-floor window and sustained injuries; Zeidan and his co-conspirators left without taking anything.
Following this failed attempt, Zeidan was blamed by others involved in the crime. Members of the same conspiracy later carried out additional armed robberies in Mahanoy City and Shillington, Pennsylvania. All other co-conspirators—including Wong—have been convicted and are awaiting sentencing.
The investigation involved several agencies: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Pennsylvania State Police, Mahanoy City Police Department, Schuylkill Haven Police Department, Pottsville Police Department, Shillington Police Department, Reading Police Department, and Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys James Buchanan and Sarah Lloyd prosecuted the case.
“This case is also 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,” according to officials from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. “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.”
If convicted on all counts at sentencing under federal guidelines statutes or Federal Sentencing Guidelines provisions considered by Judge Mariani after finding guilt at trial or plea agreement stage prior to imposition of sentence following consideration period provided under federal law statutes governing maximum penalties applicable per charge filed against defendant named above including potential terms up twenty years’ imprisonment.
