News

A federal jury yesterday in Central Islip convicted Gary Johnson, a Bloods gang leader, on 22 counts of a second superseding indictment charging him with narcotics distribution, including distribution that resulted in three non-fatal overdoses, as well as a firearms-related crime.  

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, United States District Judge Brian M. Cogan sentenced Michael Kuilan to 19 years’ imprisonment for selling fentanyl and heroin that caused the fatal overdose of LGBTQ activist Cecilia Gentili.  As part of the sentence, Kuilan was ordered to pay $24,482 in restitution and forfeit $30,000 and a seized firearm.  The defendant was also sentenced to serve 15 years concurrently for unlawfully possessing a firearm as a felon.  Kuilan has three prior state felony convictions for drug offenses relating to the sale of heroin. He pleaded guilty to the federal

BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, a complaint was unsealed charging Joseph Neumeyer, a dual U.S. and German citizen, with attempting to destroy, by means of fire or explosive, the Branch Office of the United States Embassy located in Tel Aviv, Israel.  Neumeyer was deported by Israel to the Eastern District of New York on May 24, 2025 and made his initial court appearance this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo.  Neumeyer was ordered detained pending trial.

BROOKLYN, NY – Georgian national Michail Chkhikvishvili, also known as “Mishka,” “Michael,” “Commander Butcher,” and “Butcher,” was extradited to the United States from Moldova on May 22, 2025 and will be arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn this morning before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo.  Chkhikvishvili was arrested in Chișinău, Moldova in July 2024 in connection with a four-count indictment returned in the Eastern District of New York charging him with soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence in New York City. 

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Bryan Abraham was sentenced by United States District Judge William F. Kuntz, II to 60 months in prison for aggravated identity theft and conspiring to commit access device fraud. Judge Kuntz also ordered Abraham to forfeit $579,862 and to pay restitution in that same amount.  Abraham pleaded guilty in January 2023.

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, a superseding indictment was unsealed charging Gary DSilva, also known as Pankaj DSilva, Jonathan Velazquez, Luis A. Camarena, and Pradeep Nigam with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bribery, as well as substantive counts of wire fraud and federal-program bribery; DSilva and Velazquez are also charged with money laundering conspiracies.  The new charges arise from a scheme in which DSilva and Velazquez, employees of a Brooklyn-based non-profit organization (the Organization), received kickbacks from Nigam in exchange for steering business to a

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, a federal jury convicted Braden John Karony on all counts of a three-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.  The charges arose from the defendant’s and his co-conspirators’ roles in defrauding investors in a decentralized finance digital asset called “SafeMoon,” issued by their company SafeMoon LLC.  As alleged, the defendant agreed with his co-conspirators to lie to SafeMoon investors about whether SafeMoon executives could access the liquidity pool and whether they were

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Edward Gallashaw, Acting Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) announced today that the United States has obtained a temporary restraining order barring two logistics companies, one based in Queens, New York, and the other in Los Angeles, California, and their owner from using the United States Postal Service (USPS) to ship packages containing counterfeit postage. 

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, Carmine Simpson was sentenced by United States District Judge Gary R. Brown to 23 years in prison for sexually exploiting minors online.  On March 24, 2023, the defendant pleaded guilty to one count of sexually exploiting a minor.  The charges stem from Simpson’s extensive online conduct in 2020, while he was a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer, which includes engaging numerous children in sexual conversations, enticing and manipulating them into sending him nude images and videos, routinely requesting them to engage in

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Marcus Ricketts was sentenced by United States District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall to 25 years in prison for causing death through use of a firearm.  Ricketts pleaded guilty to the charge on April 4, 2024.

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, a federal jury convicted Michael Rutledge on all counts of a superseding indictment charging him with Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy, Hobbs Act robbery, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.  The charges arose from a robbery committed at gunpoint by Rutledge and two co-conspirators on February 10, 2023.  The verdict followed a five-day trial before United States District Judge Frederic Block.  When sentenced, Rutledge faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison.

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, David Gentile, the founder and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GPB Capital, and Jeffry Schneider, the former CEO of Ascendant Capital, were sentenced by United States District Judge Rachel P. Kovner to seven years in prison and six years in prison, respectively, for their roles in a multi-year scheme to defraud more than 10,000 investors by misrepresenting the performance of three GPB Capital private equity funds and the source of funds used to make monthly distribution payments to investors.