Tag: Ohio
David Mitsnefes, Sexual Exploitation, Ohio 2025
A Blue Ash man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to sexual exploitation of children for hiding spy cameras in the home of minor victims. David Mitsnefes, 32, faces a term of imprisonment of 15 to 30 years. Mitsnefes admitted to surreptitiously capturing videos of a minor in their bedroom in various states of…
Mason Hart, Bank Robbery, Ohio 2026
⏱ 2 min read A 66-year-old man from Euclid, Ohio, Mason Hart, has pleaded guilty to a brazen bank robbery that took place on February 17. Hart walked into the Fifth Third Bank on Lakeshore Boulevard, Euclid, around 1 p.m., and handed a demand note to a teller, claiming he had a bomb in a…
Michael Strimbu, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography, Ohio 2026
⏱ 2 min read A 35-year-old Cleveland man has admitted to sending and receiving child sex abuse materials and coercing a 14-year-old girl to meet him for sex. Michael Strimbu pleaded guilty to the charges in federal court on June 25. He communicated with the girl through social media in January, expressing interest in meeting…
Charles Vaccaro, Securities Fraud, Ohio 2023
Florida Man Admits to Role in Multi-State Securities Scheme CLEVELAND – Charles Vaccaro, 68, of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme to manipulate the stock prices of publicly traded "penny stock" companies based in Florida, Colorado, and Wyoming. The scheme, which lasted from approximately January 2014 to July 2019,…
Cesar Cervantes, Cocaine Trafficking, Ohio 2026
⏱ 2 min read Cesar Cervantes, a 52-year-old Arizona man, was found guilty of leading a massive narcotics and money laundering operation that funneled cocaine from Mexico into Cincinnati. The conspiracy, which lasted from at least July 2018 to August 2023, involved Cervantes supplying 25-50 kilograms of cocaine every two weeks to coconspirators in Cincinnati…
Daniel Dobies, Child Sexual Abuse, Ohio 2026
⏱ 2 min read Daniel Dobies, a 57-year-old previously convicted sex offender from Canton, Ohio, has been sentenced to 32.5 years in prison for child sexual abuse offenses. In February, Dobies pleaded guilty to receipt and distribution of visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and possession of child pornography, or Child…
Frank Morris, Identity Theft and Fraud, Ohio 2021
CINCINNATI – Frank Morris, 73, of Cincinnati, has admitted to a brazen, decades-long scheme to steal the identity of a childhood friend, even after the man died. Morris pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to theft of public money and false representation of a Social Security number, crimes that could land him behind bars for…
Alex Garnett, Fentanyl Trafficking, Ohio 2024
Alex Garnett, 49, of Mason, Ohio, pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine, as well as wire fraud, in a case involving drug trafficking, money laundering, and COVID-19 relief fraud conspiracies. According to court documents, between September 2022 and…
Heath Turner, Firearms Trafficking, Ohio 2024
CLEVELAND, OH – In a shocking turn of events, a 46-year-old Cleveland man has been sentenced to 102 months (8.5 years) in prison for paying others to buy firearms for him while he was out on parole for a separate offense. Heath Turner, 46, of Cleveland, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent…
Dominick S. Gerace II, Fraud, Ohio 2023
⏱ 2 min read Scammers are impersonating federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials, targeting American citizens across the country, including in Ohio, in a sophisticated scheme to defraud people of money. The perpetrators, potentially based outside the US, contact victims via text, email, or phone, claiming they are suspects in a fraud investigation or have…
