Search

U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Kareem Highsmith, 51, of Charlotte, NC, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer to making false, fictitious, or fraudulent claims against a government agency, which carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. This case is part of the Trump Administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

A New Jersey man who obtained more than $2.1 million in fraudulent COVID-19 relief funds was sentenced on October 28, 2026 to 78 months in prison, three years’ supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,131,747 in restitution.

A federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment against a North Texas resident for allegedly defrauding pandemic relief programs of more than $680,000. April Watson, 50, also known as “April Watson Horton” and “April Shawnette Watson,” is charged with four counts of wire fraud, two counts of bank fraud and four counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity (money laundering).

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – AMANDA CLAYBORNE-WILLIAMS (“CLAYBORNE-WILLIAMS”), age 45, was sentenced on October 20, 2026 by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey, after previously pleading guilty to wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, and tax evasion, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 7201, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.

U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Timothy Wadsworth, 35, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, was sentenced to serve 51 months in prison and pay $810,965.19 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. In addition, Wadsworth was ordered to forfeit $810,956.19, which represents the wire fraud proceeds he received. This case is part of the Trump Administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

MOBILE, AL – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama today announced sentencings as part of a nationwide enforcement actions led by the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, Internal Revenue Service, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) targeting tax fraud and related offenses. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama was key participant in this surge effort. Several defendants were sentenced for defrauding the United States of millions of dollars intended for businesses impacted by the...

PHOENIX, Ariz. –Mohammed Maio, 44, of Phoenix, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Michael T. Liburdi to 10 years in prison. Maio previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire and Bank Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, Bank Fraud, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Materially False Statement During the Acquisition of a Firearm.

KENNETH DENNING, 69, of Holland, Massachusetts, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 16 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for offenses stemming from his operation of the Electric Blue, a strip club in Tolland, Connecticut, where he and his employees promoted and facilitated prostitution.