News

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, James Wellesley was arraigned following his extradition from the United Kingdom (UK), where he was arrested in 2022.  In 2022, Wellesley, along with his co-defendant Stephen Burton, was charged with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy in connection with a scheme perpetrated through Bordeaux Cellars, a company he and Burton operated.  Wellesley was arraigned today before United States Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy. Burton was extradited from Morocco in 2023 and is currently pending trial.  Wellesley was ordered

A federal jury today in Brooklyn convicted Lesly Valentin, Aasim Boone, and Jarrett Bruce (also known as “Inf,” “Infinite,” and “Infamous”), of kidnapping conspiracy, transmission of interstate threats with intent to extort, and attempted obstruction of justice.  The verdict followed a three-week trial before United States District Judge Rachel P. Kovner.  When sentenced, the defendants face up to life in prison.

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Hugo Hernandez-Velazquez was sentenced by United States District Judge William F. Kuntz to 188 months’ imprisonment for sex trafficking multiple victims by force, fraud, and coercion.  The defendant was extradited from Mexico to the United States in February 2021.  He pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking in April 2023.  Hernandez-Velazquez will be deported to Mexico after completing his sentence. 

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Anthony Villani, a captain in the Luchese organized crime family, was sentenced by United States District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto to 21 months in prison following his conviction for racketeering with predicate acts of money laundering and illegal gambling related to his running of a large-scale, illegal online gambling business  that operated under the protection of the Luchese organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra.  The gambling business, known as “Rhino Sports,” operated since the early 2000s and brought in at least $35 million in illicit

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Alexi Saenz, also known as “Blasty” and “Plaky,” the leader of the Brentwood/Central Islip chapter of the Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside (Sailors) clique of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, a transnational criminal organization, was sentenced by United States District Judge Gary R. Brown to 68 years’ imprisonment.  On July 10, 2024, Saenz pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in connection with his participation in eight murders, namely, the January 28, 2016 murder of Michael Johnson; the April 29, 2016 murder of Oscar Acosta

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Calvin Tabron was sentenced by United States District Judge William F. Kuntz II to 63 months in prison for conspiring to traffic firearms. Tabron acted as a straw purchaser for a gun trafficking ring that operated around the Breukelen Houses, a New York City Housing Authority development in Canarsie, Brooklyn.  

Two indictments have been unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn charging a total of six defendants variously with firearms trafficking, unlicensed firearms dealing, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Yesterday and this morning, Karsem Allen, also known as “Short,” Carolyn Hicks-Torres, Henry McCummings, Rohnique Posey, also known as “Pioneer,” and Dominic Smith were arrested on an 11-count indictment.  They will be arraigned today before United States Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon. Yesterday, James Strong was arrested on a separate indictment and was ordered detained this

BROOKLYN, NY – Fifteen individuals, including two pharmacists, have been charged for their participation in schemes in which the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and other health care benefit programs, were fraudulently billed more than $10.6 billion. In one case, dubbed “Operation Gold Rush” by law enforcement, 11 defendants, members of a transnational criminal organization (the Organization) based in Russia and elsewhere, allegedly orchestrated a multi-billion-dollar health care fraud and money laundering scheme to steal from the Medicare program and private health insurance companies. The

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, a complaint was filed charging Dalip Singh and Gurnirmal Singh, the owners of TEMCO Construction NY, Inc., with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a scheme to submit falsified payroll records to the New York City Department of Education (DOE) about the wages and benefits paid by TEMCO to employees performing repairs on New York City public schools.  Dalip Singh and Gurnirmal Singh were arrested this morning and will make their initial appearance this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak. 

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Richard Dale Sterritt, Jr., also known as “Richard Richman,” was sentenced to 18 years in prison by United States District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto for conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, multiple counts of securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  The charges relate to a scheme to defraud investors in Zona Energy, an oil and gas exploration company in Texas, and a scheme to manipulate stock in OrgHarvest, Inc., a publicly traded company that Sterritt controlled.  In total, Sterritt raised approximately $17

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Dwayne Golden was sentenced by United States District Judge William F. Kuntz, II to 97 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.  The charges relate to a conspiracy to offer fraudulent investments in digital assets. Golden and his co-conspirators raised more than $40 million from investors based on false promises of guaranteed returns from trading in digital assets.  In fact, the defendants’ businesses operated as Ponzi schemes and used the money to repay existing investors or to benefit themselves.  After the

BROOKLYN, NY – A federal grand jury in Brooklyn yesterday returned a second superseding indictment that added charges against Linda Sun and her husband and co-defendant Chris Hu related to a fraudulent scheme involving procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) by the New York State (NYS) government at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.  As part of the scheme, Sun steered contracts to vendors with whom she had undisclosed personal connections, and she and Hu received millions of dollars from the vendors, including some in the form of kickbacks, which Sun did not disclose to the NYS