U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts

“Since January, they have saved millions of lives taking drugs and illegal weapons off the streets of Boston.” - Attorney General Pam Bondi #ICYMI Last week, Attorney General Bondi recognized the critical work being done by USAO D-MA, DEA, HSI, MSP and FBI as part of our collaborative Strike Force operations to combat the fentanyl crisis. From large-scale drug seizures and takedowns, to federal charges and prosecution, our work is making a real impact by dismantling drug trafficking organizations and keeping our communities safe.

“Since January, they have saved millions of lives taking drugs and illegal weapons off the streets of Boston.” - Attorney General Pam Bondi #ICYMI Last week, Attorney General Bondi recognized the critical work being done by USAO D-MA, DEA, HSI, MSP and FBI as part of our collaborative Strike Force operations to combat the fentanyl crisis. From large-scale drug seizures and takedowns, to federal charges and prosecution, our work is making a real impact by dismantling drug trafficking organizations and keeping our communities safe.

“One of the most effective drug seizing teams in the entire country.” - Attorney General Pam Bondi Last week, our office was proudly recognized at the highest levels of government for our tireless efforts towards fighting fentanyl. Our prosecutors, alongside the DEA, HSI, MSP and FBI, are leading the charge — dismantling supply chains, removing millions of lethal fentanyl doses from our streets, and putting drug traffickers behind bars. We will continue use every tool at our disposal to keep Massachusetts residents safe from fentanyl trafficking operations that exploit our communities for profit.?

A Tewksbury man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for sex trafficking seven separate victims throughout New England, New York and New Jersey over the course of four years. The defendant recruited women struggling with homelessness and drug addiction directly from detox and drug rehabilitation facilities – using physical violence, threats and the giving and withholding of heroin and cocaine to force victims to prostitute on his behalf. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eXDkYQJh

John Doe, a/k/a “Truong Nguyen,” 40, a Vietnamese man who has been residing in Braintree, Mass., has pleaded guilty to passport fraud and aggravated identity theft. In March 2023, the defendant submitted a passport application in-person at the U.S. post office in Weymouth, presenting himself to be an individual identified as HH (the victim). In support of the application, Doe provided the victim’s date of birth and Social Security number, a copy of the victim’s U.S. birth certificate, as well a Massachusetts driver’s license with the victim’s information. In June 2023, the Boston Passport Agency forwarded the defendant’s passport application and supporting documents to federal law enforcement, after verifying a death record for HH (the victim) when reviewing the application. The Social Security number, date of birth and parental information provided by Doe in his passport application matched the records for the deceased victim. It was ultimately confirmed that the victim died in Boston in 2002 at the age of 13. The passport was not issued to the defendant. A subsequent investigation determined that the defendant used the victim’s identity to obtain and use multiple government-issued identification documents in the victim’s name, including Massachusetts driver’s licenses in June 2018, January 2019 and April 2023, as well as a Social Security card in the victim’s name in 2018. Doe also used the deceased victim’s identity to obtain EMT Certifications in 2021 and 2023, before going on to apply for employment as a paramedic, again using the stolen identity. From November 2023 to January 2024, Doe used the deceased victim’s identity to attend the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy. After graduating, the defendant began employment with the Melrose Fire Department in the name of the victim, where he worked until his arrest in May 2024. However, the investigation found that Doe matched the identity of Truong Nguyen and the individual’s corresponding records which span from 1997 to 2018. Specifically, Nguyen entered the United States from Vietnam in 1979 as a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR). In 1995, Nguyen’s LPR status was revoked and he was ordered deported after being convicted of second-degree burglary in 1991. Although ordered deported, the investigation revealed that Nguyen was not physically deported to Vietnam. Nguyen was later arrested in 2010 for embezzlement and larceny after allegedly stealing over $46,000 from the Norwell Firefighters Union while working as an officer of the union. At the plea hearing, John Doe stated under oath that is true identity his Truong Nguyen. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eUCM9Tkf

Four undocumented Brazilian nationals currently residing in Framingham have been arrested for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to import pharmaceutical-grade controlled substances and other misbranded drugs from Brazil and distribute them throughout the greater Framingham area. According to the charging documents, Douglas Reis de Souza held himself out to be a legitimate pharmacist to the Portuguese-speaking community in the greater Framingham area, doing business as “Droga Reis” (Portuguese for “Drug King”) and operating out of a black-market doctor’s office. Reis de Souza and three other co-conspirators allegedly imported pharmaceutical-grade drugs, including controlled substances from various locations in Brazil and then re-sold them to customers – collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits. Multiple kilograms of controlled substances and non-controlled drugs seized during investigation. “For years, these defendants allegedly exploited a community’s trust to peddle black-market prescription drugs under the guide of legitimacy. They entered our country illegally and put countless individuals’ health and safety in danger, all for profit,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “If you or someone you know was impacted by this scheme, we urge you to come forward and report it to law enforcement. Our office and our law enforcement partners will not allow reckless, exploitative criminals to operate in the shadows.” If you were a customer of Reis De Souza, or his d/b/a “Droga Reis,” and you suffered any adverse events, please contact [email protected]. Read more about the case here: https://lnkd.in/eEqrDZze

Three former executives for Magellan Diagnostics, Inc., a medical device company headquartered in Billerica, Mass., have pleaded guilty in connection with concealing a device malfunction that produced inaccurately low lead test results for thousands of children and other patients. The defendants misled Magellan customers and the FDA about a serious malfunction that affected Magellan’s LeadCare devices when they were used to test venous blood samples for lead levels and lead poisoning in children and adults. One of the devices accounted for more than half of all blood lead tests conducted in the United States from 2013 through 2017. By hiding the malfunction and later misleading customers and the FDA about when they discovered the malfunction, the nature, extent and frequency of the malfunction, as well as the risks associated with the malfunction, the defendants caused an estimated thousands of children and other patients to receive inaccurately low lead test results. Read the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/eDdfMX5B If you or a family member believe you received an inaccurate blood lead test result from a LeadCare device between 2013-2017, please complete the questionnaire located on the FBI’s website at https://lnkd.in/e7wnPu_i.?

#ICYMI Earlier today, U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley announced charges against nearly two dozen leaders, members, and associates of the violent transnational criminal organization, the Trinitarios. It is alleged that the Massachusetts Trinitarios have committed at least 10 homicides in Essex County over the past decade and are believed to be responsible for numerous attempted murders, shootings, kidnappings and robberies. Sixteen members of the Trinitarios criminal enterprise in Massachusetts have been charged with six of these murders – two of which took place in Lawrence in 2017 and two double murders in Lynn in 2023. The remaining four homicides are being prosecuted by the Essex District Attorney’s Office. Read the official press release here: https://lnkd.in/ecrYf4YG

??“Today, the Trinitarios reign of terror in Massachusetts has come to an end.” ? #BREAKING Federal charges were unsealed today against nearly two dozen leaders, members and associates of the Trinitarios gang – a violent transnational criminal organization. Twenty-two individuals have been charged with federal offenses, including racketeering conspiracy in connection with six murders and 11 attempted murders. Two individuals, who were juveniles at the time of the alleged criminal offenses, have been charged by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office with murder. The charges are the result of a multijurisdictional investigation that began in the aftermath of four murders as well as a series of attempted murders and shootings that took place in Lynn, Mass. in 2023, allegedly committed by the Trinitarios criminal enterprise. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e6x4bYAK

Former Massachusetts State Senator Dean A. Tran has been sentenced to a year-and-a-half in federal prison for COVID and tax fraud schemes that raked in tens of thousands of dollars. Tran, 48, of Fitchburg, was sentenced today in federal court in Boston to 18 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release for scheming to defraud the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and collecting income that he failed to report to the IRS. Tran was also ordered to pay $25,100 in restitution to the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and $23,327 to the Internal Revenue Service, as well as a $7,500 fine and a mandatory assessment of $2,300. In September 2024, Tran was convicted of 20 counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing false tax returns. The defendant was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2023 Tran served as an elected member of the Massachusetts State Senate, representing Worcester and Middlesex Counties from 2017 to January 2021. After Tran’s State Senate term ended in 2021, Tran fraudulently received pandemic unemployment benefits while simultaneously employed as a paid consultant for a New Hampshire-based retailer of automotive parts (the Automotive Parts Company). While working as a paid consultant for the Automotive Parts Company, Tran fraudulently collected $30,120 in pandemic unemployment benefits.?? In addition, Tran concealed $54,700 in consulting income that he received from the Automotive Parts Company from his 2021 federal income tax return. This was in addition to thousands of dollars in income that Tran concealed from the IRS while collecting rent from tenants who rented his Fitchburg property from 2020 to 2022. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eTch9AiW