News

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Wayne County woman who engaged in a scheme to defraud more than $100k in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”) benefits administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) and managed by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services (“DSS”), pled guilty to theft of government property. Shermeca McCrary, age 46, faces a maximum term of ten years in prison, and a $250,000 fine when sentenced later this year. She will also be ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $102,000.00.

NEW BERN, N.C. – A federal judge sentenced a Raleigh man, Joseph Matthew Dobbs, age 45, to 135 months in federal prison for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), after a federal jury convicted him earlier this year.

NEW BERN, N.C. – A federal judge sentenced a Virginia man to 174 months in federal prison after he met a minor on Snapchat and manipulated her into sexual activity. On May 7, 2025, David Anthony Howard, II, age 27, pleaded guilty to transporting a minor across state lines to engage in criminal sexual activity.

RALEIGH, N.C. – An illegal alien was arrested and charged with forcibly assaulting and impeding agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by allegedly ramming his vehicle into agents’ vehicles and narrowly missing an ICE agent.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The FBI arrested a Halifax County man yesterday on criminal charges related to his alleged involvement with child sexual abuse material (CSAM). At the time of his arrest, Isaac Nielsen, age 31, was employed by the Roanoke Rapids Police Department.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal judge sentenced Edward Sheldon Whitaker to 120 months in prison and, his wife, Schunda Coleman, to 84 months in prison for their roles in organizing a nationwide COVID-19 fraud scheme. The Court ordered both defendants to pay more than $10 million in restitution after they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering for their role in facilitating dozens of North Carolina residents to obtain fraudulent Paycheck Protection Act (“PPP”) COVID-19 loans. Additionally, the Court ordered forfeiture money judgments against Whitaker and Coleman in the amount of $3

NEW BERN, N.C. – On September 30, a federal judge sentenced a Raleigh man to one year and a day for importing and selling thousands of counterfeit car airbags into the Raleigh area over the past two years. The defendant, Mateen Mohammad Alinaghian, 31, sold the counterfeit airbags locally and to online buyers through Facebook Marketplace.  The court also ordered Alignaghian to pay restitution in the amount of $83,405.95 to the victims who unknowingly purchased a counterfeit airbag, and to the car manufacturers, and forfeit $154,693.16.

RALEIGH, N.C. – On November 18, a federal grand jury indicted Jeffry Jose De Pena, 39, an illegal alien Dominican national who was unlawfully present in the United States, on charges of perjury and immigration fraud.  The indictment alleges that De Pena lied about his prior criminal history when he applied for temporary protection to stay in America.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A federal jury convicted Saheed Sunday Owolabi, 34, from Nigeria on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in several cyber fraud schemes.