Tag: Q4 2016
Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Fraud Scheme
Buffalo, N.Y. — Terrance Williams, 45, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty today to obtaining controlled substances through fraud, a central role in a sprawling opioid pipeline that flooded Western New York with fentanyl, oxycodone, and oxymorphone. The plea, entered before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara, carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison…
Kenmore Woman Copped to Gun Charge in Murder-for-Hire Plot
A Kenmore woman implicated in a chilling murder-for-hire scheme was sentenced to time served — 19 months behind bars — after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Lauren Frey, 57, of Kenmore, NY, admitted to holding weapons while conspiring with co-defendant Deborah Arno to carry out contract killings targeting Arno’s…
Cardinal Health Pays $34M for Ignoring Suspicious Pill Orders
Cardinal Health Inc. and its subsidiary Kinray, LLC are paying $34 million to settle federal civil charges for systematically ignoring red flags in the distribution of powerful opioid painkillers across Florida, Maryland, and Washington. The Lakeland-based drug distributor failed for years to report suspicious orders of Class II controlled substances—including oxycodone and hydrocodone—from pharmacies feeding…
Portland Couple Fakes Marriages for Green Cards
Marat Muslimov, 30, and Dziyana (Diana) Biruk, 29, both formerly of Portland, Maine, and now residing in Bronx, New York, have pleaded guilty to federal charges tied to a scheme involving sham marriages designed to secure lawful permanent resident status. The pair admitted to deceiving U.S. immigration authorities through lies, forged documents, and fabricated domestic…
Waterville Swindler Jailed for Counterfeit Coin Dealings
Bangor, Maine – In a brazen fraud scheme that stretched across the Pine Tree State, Mwashuma M. Sithole, 32, of Waterville, Maine, has been sentenced to 10 months in federal prison for selling counterfeit Morgan dollars. Sithole pleaded guilty on May 9, 2016, to the crime after authorities discovered he had been ordering and selling…
Canadian Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal U.S. Entry After Deportation
John D. Fraser, a/k/a ‘John Knight,’ 54, of Nova Scotia, Canada, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Bangor, Maine, to attempting to enter the United States after having been ordered removed—a crime exposing the cracks in border enforcement and the audacity of repeat offenders. On November 20, 2016, Fraser rolled up to the…
Troy Man Joshua C. Lozo Charged with Child Pornography Offenses
Joshua C. Lozo, 35, of Troy, New York, is behind bars and charged with receiving and possessing child pornography after a years-long digital trail led federal agents to his doorstep. Arrested on December 15, 2016, Lozo was ordered held without bail by a federal magistrate judge following a court appearance in Albany. U.S. Attorney Richard…
Long Beach Sex Offender Indicted in Child Trafficking Sting
Victor James Sporman, 46, a convicted sex offender from Long Beach, is facing federal indictment on charges of attempted sex trafficking of a child and using the Internet to entice a minor into criminal sexual activity, according to a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. The charges stem from an…
James Mitchell Arrested for Smuggling Heroin at LAX
James Mitchell, 25, of Pico-Union, Los Angeles, was arrested Tuesday on federal charges for attempting to smuggle approximately 6.5 kilograms — more than 14 pounds — of heroin through Los Angeles International Airport, including at least one confirmed kilogram wrapped in Christmas-themed paper. The seizure, one of the largest recent narcotics interdictions at LAX, occurred…
New Haven’s Fonz Gets More Time for Supervised Release Violation
New Haven’s criminal underworld has yet another addition to its grim record as Alphonzo Dixon, also known by the moniker ‘Fonz,’ 29, faces a sentence of 12 months and one day for violating the terms of his supervised release. This sentence comes hot on the heels of his 2014 conviction for drug and firearm offenses.…
