News

MACON, Ga. – The manager of a Macon check cashing company pleaded guilty to filing false reports resulting from a larger investigation into a bank fraud conspiracy targeting a Morris Bank branch in Gray, Georgia. James Kevin Meyers, 57, of Gray, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of causing the filing of false currency transaction reports before U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell on Feb. 18. Meyers faces a maximum of ten years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine. 
 

COLUMBUS, Ga. – Ten defendants have now been sentenced for their roles in a large-scale armed drug trafficking organization resulting from Operation Sweet Silence, a multi-agency investigation resulting in the removal of firearms, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana from the streets of Columbus.

COLUMBUS, Ga. – The last remaining defendant in a pandemic-related tax fraud investigation costing U.S. taxpayers millions has pleaded guilty.

Christopher Upshaw, aka “Troub,” 26, of Columbus, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud on Feb. 4, and faces a maximum of 30 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $1 million fine.

MACON, Ga. – A Central Georgia resident guilty of a fraudulent loan scheme at a local bank branch was sentenced to serve seven years in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Ronnie Atkinson, 57, of Macon, Georgia, was sentenced to serve a total of 84 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release on Feb. 5, after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft on May 12, 2025.  Atkinson was also ordered to pay a total of $3,357,073.21 in restitution. 

MACON, Ga. – A North Carolina man was sentenced to the statutory maximum of five years in prison for sending antisemitic threats to Georgia's only Jewish State House Representative and the Rabbi of Temple Beth Israel in Macon after both women publicly backed the passage of Georgia House Bill 30, the state's first legislation defining antisemitism.

VALDOSTA, Ga. – A South Georgia man with prior assault and drug convictions was sentenced to prison after police found him with a stolen gun following a traffic stop and car crash.

Ricky Hill, 39, of Lakeland, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 130 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by Senior U.S. District Judge Louis Sands on Jan. 29. Hill pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on Oct. 1, 2025. There is no parole in the federal system.

VALDOSTA, Ga. – A Clinch County, Georgia, man involved in a methamphetamine trafficking network linked to a Mexican source of supply in Atlanta was sentenced to serve more than 24 years in prison, after he and his former spouse admitted to their roles in the crime.

Crage Bernard Harris, 47, of Homerville, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 295 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release on Jan. 28, after he previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on July 1, 2025.

VALDOSTA, Ga. – A Berrien County, Georgia, man is facing up to 30 years in prison for attempting to sextort a teenager he met over Snapchat.

Cenobio Olguin, Jr., 24, of Lenox, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted production of child pornography before Senior U.S. District Judge Louis Sands on Jan. 27. Olguin, Jr. is facing a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison up to a maximum of 30 years in prison to be followed by a maximum lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date will be determined by the Court. There is no parole in the federal system.

MACON, Ga. – Federal authorities are warning citizens of a scammer or group of scammers—potentially outside of the United States—contacting American citizens around the country, posing as prosecutors or federal law enforcement and attempting to defraud people of money by claiming they are possible victims or suspects of a fraud investigation.

ALBANY, Ga. – A Southwest Georgia man with a lengthy criminal history who was arrested after firing a round between customers standing inside a Valdosta, Georgia, convenience store is facing up to life in prison for illegally possessing a firearm.

ALBANY, Ga. – A Lee County man, a major methamphetamine distributor connected to two federal drug investigations in Southwest Georgia and a Georgia prison, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.

Luis Jose Vanga, 49, of Leesburg, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 300 months in prison to be followed by six years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner on Aug. 5, 2025. There is no parole in the federal system.

ALBANY, Ga. – A Southwest Georgia resident with prior criminal convictions, including for domestic violence, was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm.

Devon Marquell Rambo, 28, was sentenced to serve 180 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner on Jan. 21. Rambo was found guilty at trial on May 28, 2025, of one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. There is no parole in the federal system.