Latest news with #USAO
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
25-year-old sentenced to 18 years for series of armed robberies near Anacostia Park
WASHINGTON () — A 25-year-old man will spend over a decade behind bars for a series of robberies near Anacostia Park two years ago. The United States Attorney's Office (USAO) for the District of Columbia announced Wednesday that David Crocker, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 18 years in prison for robbing people at gunpoint. His sentence comes after he pleaded guilty to several counts of armed robbery in December 2023. He also pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing a pistol. Tenants say church took down Pride decorations at DC apartment building According to the attorney's office, Crocker robbed two people at gunpoint on Dec. 18, 2024, near Anacostia Park. During the first robbery, he targeted a person in the 2200 block of Fairlawn Avenue, SE. There, Crocker pulled out a black and silver pistol and took the victim's phone, keys and wallet. After, he demanded the victim give him their PINs for their CashApp account and credit cards. Later that same day, Crocker robbed another person who was on the Anacostia Railroad Bridge. He again took out the pistol and took the victim's bike, cell phone, keys and wallet. He was also able to get the victims' PINs to their bank accounts. Moments after the robbery, United States Park police officers arrested Crocker and recovered the stolen items. As part of his sentencing, Crocker was ordered to serve five years of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a gun offender. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ex-Maryland officers plead guilty after staging car thefts to get insurance payouts
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. () — Two former Maryland officers recently pleaded guilty to federal charges relating to a years-long insurance fraud scheme. The U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) said former Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD) officer 36-year-old Michael Anthony Owen, Jr. and former Anne Arundel County Police Department (AACPD) officer 31-year-old Jaron Earl Taylor admitted to being involved in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Between August 2018 and February 2020, Owen and Taylor worked with fellow police officers, Candace Tyler, Conrad D'Haiti and Davion Percy, among others, the USAO detailed. Man seen tearing down Dupont Circle Pride decorations; DC police investigating Members would report losses to auto insurers to obtain money or avoid paying off vehicles that were less than the amount owed to them, using their status as police officers to bolster each other's claims by writing fake police reports. Then, they submitted the police reports to insurers to validate the claim. In August 2018, the USAO said Owen and Taylor staged the theft of Taylor's Chevrolet Tahoe. After Taylor filed a fraudulent police report, reporting it as stolen, the two stripped the vehicle and drove it deep into the woods of a Maryland State Highway property near Largo. Once he filed a claim, the U.S. Automobile Association (USAA) paid Taylor more than $38,000 for the loss. Then, in January 2020, Owen reportedly helped D'Haiti avoid paying his loan balance on a Jaguar XKR. Working with him and Percy, Owen schemed to fake the car's theft. On Jan. 4 of that year, D'Haiti parked his car behind the Marlow Heights Shopping Center, where Percy worked as police chief. He paid Percy $350 to arrange for someone to tow the vehicle and 'extensively vandalize it for the purpose of creating a total insurance loss,' the USAO detailed. Tyler then filed a fake police report and D'Haiti filed a claim with Liberty Mutual Insurance. D'Haiti was paid $17,585 on the false claim. Trio accused of stealing over $30K in candles from Fairfax County retailers Also that month, Owen and Taylor helped a co-conspirator dispose of an Infiniti sedan so that they didn't have to make further payments on the vehicle while on duty overseas. The conspirator gave Taylor $1,000 to stage the theft. Taylor then forwarded the money to Owen, who filed another fake police report with PGPD, claiming the vehicle was stolen. In reality, the car had been moved to the top floor of an apartment complex's parking garage, replacing the car's license plates with ones from another vehicle. The stolen car claim the conspirators filed with GEICO was denied, however, on the grounds of fraud. Owen and Taylor pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, for which Owen faces up to 20 years in prison and Taylor faces up to three years. Their sentences are both scheduled for Sept. 23. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Man to spend decade in prison after fighting for ISIS
WASHINGTON () — A man was sentenced in Washington, D.C. for receiving military training from and fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) announced Monday. Lirim Sylejmani, 49, pleaded guilty in December 2024 to receiving military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organization, for which he was sentenced on June 2 to 10 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. The USAO detailed that from November 2015 through February 2019, Sylejmani received military training from ISIS while in Syria. He was eventually captured in 2019 by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). FBI says 8 injured in Colorado attack by man with makeshift flamethrower who yelled 'Free Palestine' Born in Eastern Europe, but a naturalized U.S. citizen, he traveled with his family to Syria in 2015 to join ISIS. Once there, he completed his 'ISIS intake process' and adopted the name Abu Sulayman al-Kosovi. Sylejmani's military training included instruction on how to assemble and fire an AK-47 rifle, how to use a PK Machine gun, as well as an M-16 rifle and grenades. After the 21-day training, ISIS assigned him to a battalion in Iraq, issuing him an AK-47, four AK-47 magazines, a belt and two grenades. In May 2016, Sylejmani reported for guard duty on the front line of the Manbij offenses, bringing his gear to the assignment. Virginia high school teacher arrested, accused of receiving inappropriate photos, grooming minors During a battle with Coalition Forces, he was hurt when shrapnel hit his legs. He was then reassigned to a new battalion in the fall of 2017. The USAO noted he received payments from ISIS for his service. From then until February 2019, Sylejmani moved his family to Baghouz, Syria, as the territorial Caliphate of ISIS collapsed. On Feb. 27, he and his family were captured and he was jailed by the SDF in Syria. The following year, he was transferred to the United States, where he faced criminal charges in Washington, D.C. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
USAO: Maryland woman arraigned for defrauding DC's Medicaid program
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — A woman from Maryland was arraigned in D.C. on Friday for defrauding the District's Medicaid program, officials said. The U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) for the District of Columbia said that 37-year-old Anna W. Makoye is facing 10 counts of first-degree fraud and 10 counts of first-degree theft. Makoye was working for a District Mental Health Rehabilitation Service provider as a community support worker. According to the charges, from August 2023 to February 2024, she allegedly submitted notes for services she did not provide and overbilled for services she claimed to have provided. Four men plead guilty to daytime shootings in DC Prosecutors believe that she caused D.C.'s government and its Medicaid program to pay more than $62,000 for services she did not provide and overpayment for services she claimed to have provided. She was indicted on May 21. If convicted, she would face a maximum term of 10 years' imprisonment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Virginia man sentenced to over 9 years for smuggling fentanyl from California to DMV
WASHINGTON () — An Alexandria man will spend 110 months in federal prison for smuggling fentanyl pills from California to the DMV, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (USAO). On Friday, 28-year-old Lamin Sesay was sentenced for participating in a widespread drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills from Southern California to destinations throughout the United States. In 2023, Sesay was one of 24 people arrested in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, San Diego and Los Angeles and charged with conspiracy. On Feb. 7, 2025, he pleaded guilty to several drug-related charges. Trump administration targets DMV 'sanctuary cities,' threatens federal action Court documents revealed that Sesay had entered the conspiracy after he was introduced to a Los Angeles-based drug trafficker, Hector David Valdez. Officials noted that Sesay's role was to have fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills shipped by Valdez to D.C. He then plotted with other co-conspirators in the D.C. area to redistribute the pills. According to the attorney's office, the investigation into the conspiracy was sparked after a young D.C. mother, Diamond Lynch, died from an overdose. While investigating her death, law enforcement uncovered a large network of traffickers who transported fentanyl from Mexico to Los Angeles and then to the nation's capital. Since then, authorities have seized over 450,000 fentanyl pills, 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl powder and 30 guns, according to the USAO. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
