Baltimore County man pleads guilty to murder-for-hire, extortion charges

UPDATE: Clement Robert Mercaldo’s co-conspirator, Stepfen Gerard Gaither, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. Original story below… —— BALTIMORE, MD—A Baltimore County man has pleaded guilty to federal charges of murder-for-hire conspiracy and interstate communications with intent to extort. Clement Robert Mercaldo, Jr., 62, of Timonium, pleaded guilty on Friday in connection to the extortion and planned murder […]

Drug trafficker sentenced to nearly five years in prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, other drugs to Maryland

GREENBELT, MD—A judge has sentenced a California woman to nearly five years in prison for trafficking illegal drugs to Maryland and other east coast states. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has sentenced Ana Christina Avalos, A.K.A. “Christina Cazares-Quintero.” 35, of California, to 57 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possession […]

Maryland man facing federal charges for allegedly sending threatening emails to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Francis Collins at NIH

GREENBELT, MD—A federal criminal complaint has been filed charging Thomas Patrick Connally, Jr., 56, for the federal charges of threats against a federal official and interstate communication containing a threat to harm, specifically for sending emails threatening harm to Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Francis Collins, the current Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The criminal complaint was […]

Baltimore man pleads guilty to robbing Parkville restaurant, two other robberies

UPDATE: Javaughn Berry has been sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison. Original story below… —— BALTIMORE, MD—A Baltimore man has pleaded guilty to robbing a Parkville restaurant and two other robberies. Javaughn Berry, 26, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act Robbery). The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney […]

Maryland authorities seize two domains attempting to mimic Walmart website, purporting to sell experimental COVID-19 treatment

BALTIMORE, MD—The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland has seized “http://pharmacywalmart.com” and “https://stromectol-ivermectin.com” which on June 16, 2021 resolved to “https://en.pharmacywalmart.com/buy-stromectol-usa.html.”  The websites contained numerous uses of the legitimate Walmart trademarked logo and appears to attempt to mimic a legitimate Walmart website. The fraudulent websites allegedly offers for sale a number of drugs for the experimental and unapproved treatment […]

Baltimore County man sentenced to four years in prison for impersonating Secret Service agent, identity theft

BALTIMORE, MD—A judge has sentenced a Baltimore County man to over four years in prison in connection with an identity theft scheme. U.S. District Court Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Igor Cooper Rosensteel, 30, of Middle River, to 50 months in federal prison for device fraud and aggravated identity theft, related to a scheme in which he held himself out […]

Baltimore man sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for sex trafficking four minors in Baltimore County hotel room

BALTIMORE, MD—A Baltimore man has been sentenced to federal prison for sex trafficking four minors in a Baltimore County hotel room. U.S. District Court Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Sean Dean, 29, to 10 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor. Judge Hazel also ordered that, […]

St. Jude Medical agrees to pay $27 million for allegedly selling defective heart devices

BALTIMORE, MD—St. Jude Medical, Inc. has agreed to pay $27 million to settle allegations under the False Claims Act that, between November 2014 and October 2016, it knowingly sold defective heart devices to health care facilities that, in turn, implanted the devices into patients insured by federal healthcare programs. St. Jude was acquired by Abbott Laboratories in January 2017. The […]