Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Atahualpa Rodriguez pleaded guilty to committing arson of an apartment building in Flushing, Queens.  

“Zeidman and his partners baited unsuspecting victims with false claims of an edge in sports betting only to feed them lies and pocket millions of dollars from their savings and retirement accounts,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “Today’s guilty plea sends a message to all those who would prey upon the public by falsely advertising gambling as an ‘investment opportunity’: the only sure bet here is that this Office will work tirelessly to root out sources of disinformation and fraud and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”

“The defendant, a serial bank robber, chose to terrorize hard-working bank tellers and customers, for his own selfish purposes.  The victims, including an elderly woman the defendant locked in a chokehold, will never forget that day,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “It is a vital part of our mission to protect our community, and my Office will continue to tirelessly prosecute repeat offenders who show no respect for the law.”

 “This settlement reflects this Office’s commitment to robust enforcement of the ADA and ensuring that patients with HIV have access to medical care,” stated United States Attorney Peace. 

Christopher Terranova, a former New York City Police Department officer, was found guilty today by a federal jury in Brooklyn on all six counts of a superseding indictment charging him with sexually exploiting, attempting to sexually exploit and enticing and coercing three 15-year-old boys and a 12-year-old boy.  

“The defendant defrauded taxpayer-funded mortgage loan holders out of millions of dollars and took advantage of programs designed to help distressed property owners in need,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “Short sale mortgage fraud not only harms lending intuitions, it also depresses real estate values throughout our neighborhoods and prevents community members from gaining fair access to housing.  Today’s guilty verdict should serve as a reminder that my Office, together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to vigorously prosecute those who corruptly line their pockets at the expense of mortgage lenders and borrowers.”

“The defendant extracted millions of dollars from drug traffickers at the point of a gun, funding the FARC’s acts of terrorism and facilitating the global cocaine trade,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Today’s sentence handed down in a U.S. courtroom is fitting justice for Perez Castro, who granted drug traffickers his permission and protection to produce massive quantities of cocaine that was distributed in our country and elsewhere, causing incalculable harm.  The dismantling of international drug trafficking organizations and narcoterrorism groups will always be a priority of the Department of Justice.” 

“These defendants misappropriated public funds through a brazen kickback scheme,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “When corrupt employees siphon public funds to line their own pockets, the neediest New Yorkers bear the brunt.  My Office will relentlessly pursue those who try to compromise the integrity of our community organizations.”

“With today’s guilty plea, the defendant has accepted responsibility for taking advantage of close friends and family members and defrauding them out of millions of dollars,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “The defendant deceived retail investors into investing with his company based on false promises that he would invest their money in accordance with clear guardrails and that he had left the NYPD because of his success as a trader.  In reality, there were no guardrails, he resigned from the NYPD in disgrace, and he lost most of the money, inflicting substantial harm on his victims.”

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Tito Aldemar Ruano Yandun, also known as “Don T,” “Don Ti,” “Don Tito,” “Pedro Linares,” “Pedro AK2,” “Santos,” “Don Tuma,” “Viejo” and “Viejo Loco,” was sentenced by United States District Court Judge William F. Kuntz, II to 20 years in prison for leading an international cocaine distribution conspiracy.

A five-count criminal indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain, executives of an Indian renewable-energy company, with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from U.S. investors and global financial institutions on the basis of false and misleading statements.  

“As alleged, the defendants operated a bootleg online streaming service that distributed copyrighted television programs that they stole for their personal enrichment,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “My Office and the Department of Justice are committed to protecting the rights of intellectual property holders from digital pirates like these defendants.”

“The trial evidence provided a behind-the-scenes view of the horrific machinations of a sex trafficking organization in all its inhumanity and violence motivated by greed,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This verdict is a victory for justice and for the victims who were subjected to brutal beatings and degrading treatment at the hands of the defendants.  My Office will stand by the brave victims who assisted prosecutors and law enforcement in holding the perpetrators accountable.”

“With today’s guilty plea, the defendant has added directing the prostitution of a minor and being a felon in possession of a firearm to his criminal history, and he will face the consequences for his lack of respect for the law,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “The Penn Track is a blight on our district, and predators like the defendant who operate there are going to be held accountable by my Office and our law enforcement partners for their ruthless exploitation of women and minors.”

“As alleged, the defendant and his co-conspirators killed the victim for the twisted purpose of maintaining and increasing their positions in the MS-13 gang,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This prosecution reflects the resolve by my Office and our law enforcement partners to bring gang members to justice for their violent crimes and that we will not be deterred by the passage of time.”

“Flowers is charged with shamelessly lying to investors to get their money and capitalizing on disruptions in the cryptocurrency market to hide the fact that he had pilfered investor funds for his own benefit,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “Be it through crypto or traditional banking, my Office is committed to rooting out fraud and protecting our investing public.”

“For more than a year, Azika and Blackwell terrorized and traumatized innocent members of our community through a pattern of violent, armed carjackings,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “My Office, together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to work diligently to protect our communities from such violence.”

A federal jury in Central Islip today convicted Michail McKen of two counts of sex trafficking by force and two counts of interstate prostitution in connection with a sex trafficking business he operated in Suffolk and Nassau Counties, New York, Virginia, Arizona, Massachusetts and elsewhere.  

“The defendant knowingly carried a fully automatic weapon, a pistol with a switch device whose only purpose is to make a dangerous weapon all the more deadly – and then carelessly left that gun in the back of a rideshare,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “Today’s sentence serves as a warning that those who possess illegal guns, particularly with switches that convert those guns into machineguns, will be held accountable for their actions and for the danger they pose to our community.”