DOJ
South Georgia Man Sentenced to 27 Years in Prison for Enticement of a Minor
ALBANY, Ga. –A Valdosta, Georgia, resident was sentenced to serve 27 years in federal prison for coercing and enticing a 13-year-old child to a hotel room, where he gave her alcohol and sexually abused her. Dewayne Howell, 50, was sentenced to serve 324 months in prison to be followed by 12 years of supervised release…
Read MoreFormer Southern Pine Credit Union President Sentenced to Prison and Ordered to Pay Nearly $4.5 Million Restitution
VALDOSTA, Ga. – The former President of Southern Pine Credit Union in Valdosta was sentenced to serve four years in prison and pay back nearly $4.5 million in restitution after she admitted to a long-running multimillion-dollar bank loan and aggravated identity theft scheme. Leah Lehman, 63, of Valdosta, was sentenced to serve a total of…
Read MoreLee County Probationer Sentenced for Distributing Meth, Fentanyl
ALBANY, Ga. – A Southwest Georgia resident serving federal supervised release and state probation for prior drug distribution convictions was sentenced to serve more than 23 years in federal prison for supplying methamphetamine and fentanyl in the community, including to a woman who had recently given birth to his child. Brian Chadwick Jeffcoat, 40, of…
Read MoreSouthwest Georgia Man Convicted of Illegally Possessing a Firearm
VALDOSTA, Ga. – A Moultrie, Georgia, resident previously convicted of armed robbery was found guilty by a federal jury this week of illegally possessing a firearm. Maurice A. Ridley, 47, was found guilty of one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on May 14. The trial began on May 13…
Read MoreRetired South Georgia Teacher Admits to Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material
Police Found Hidden Cameras Capturing Nude Children at Defendant’s Rental Property ALBANY, Ga. – A retired South Georgia school teacher pleaded guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) after authorities located hidden cameras inside his rental property’s bathroom filming young children bathing and undressing. David Swanson, 61, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing…
Read MoreU.S. Navy Service Member Pleads Guilty to Transmitting Sensitive U.S. Military Information to Chinese Intelligence Officer
A U.S. Navy service member pleaded guilty today to federal felony offenses and admitted he transmitted sensitive U.S. military information to an intelligence officer from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in exchange for bribery payments. Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, aka Thomas Zhao, of Monterey Park, California, pleaded guilty to conspiring with the…
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