Conspiracy Archives

General

Foreign Nationals Charged – Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISIS

The men were allegedly members of a group of ISIS supporters that carried out terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka on Easter Day in 2019, killing 268 people (STL.News) The Justice Department announced today that three Sri Lankan citizens have been charged with terrorism offenses, including conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (ISIS). The men were part of a group of ISIS supporters which called itself “ISIS in Sri Lanka.” That group is responsible for the 2019 Easter attacks in the South Asian nation of Sri Lanka, which killed 268 people, including five U.S. citizens, and injured over 500 others, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed today. The complaint outlines the defendants’ roles in the conspiracy and the events that led to ...

General

Florida: Dr. Yvelice Villaman Bencosme Pleads Guilty

Florida Medical Doctor, Dr. Yvelice Villaman Bencosme Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Falsify Clinical Trial Data (STL.News) A Florida medical doctor pleaded guilty to conspiring to falsify clinical trial data regarding an asthma medication, the Department of Justice announced Friday. Dr. Yvelice Villaman Bencosme, 64, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida today to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Bencosme was a licensed medical doctor who served as the primary investigator for clinical trials purportedly conducted at a medical clinic called Unlimited Medical Research (UM Research) in Miami. In pleading guilty, Bencosme admitted that from approximately 2013 to 2016, she participated in a scheme to defraud an unnamed ...

Politics

Nepal PM accuses India of trying to ‘topple’ his government

(STL.News) At a then when both the countries are fighting the same battle of coronavirus amid a rift over border dispute, Nepal Prime minister KP Sharma Oli on Sunday claimed that India is hatching a conspiracy to topple his government. YouTube video courtesy of WION News

General

Former Postal Employee, Chris Crookshands, Pleads Guilty to Role in Federal Marijuana Conspiracy

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (STL.News) – A former postal employee who helped deliver marijuana which was mailed from California to Huntington over a period of several years pled guilty Monday to a federal drug charge, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Chris Crookshanks, 43, entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute marijuana in federal court in Huntington. Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the West Virginia State Police – Violent Crime and Drug Task Force West. “Crookshanks was a letter carrier turned drug dealer,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “He used his position with the U.S. Postal Service to participate in and further a scheme to distribu...

Missouri, Missouri General News

Kansas City Men, Viktor Chernetskiy, Bryan C. Kirkendoll II, Indicted for $1 Million Conspiracy to Steal Cell Phones in Dozens of Burglaries

KANSAS CITY, MO (STL.News) - Two Kansas City, Missouri, men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a $1 million conspiracy to steal more than 1,400 cell phones in dozens of commercial burglaries across five states. Viktor Chernetskiy, 29, a naturalized citizen from Ukraine, and Bryan C. Kirkendoll II, 29, were charged in a five-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday, June 26. The indictment replaces a criminal complaint that was filed on June 14. Chernetskiy remains in federal custody without bond; Kirkendoll was released on bond. The federal indictment alleges that Chernetskiy and Kirkendoll participated in a conspiracy to steal electronic devices – primarily cell phones – from stores in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, I...

Missouri, Missouri General News

Former Healthcare Executive, Robin Raveendran, Pleads Guilty to Bribing Arkansas State Senator

SPRINGFIELD, MO (STL.News) - A former executive of Preferred Family Healthcare, Inc., pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to his role in a conspiracy to bribe an Arkansas state senator to influence public policy for the benefit of the charity and its executives. Robin Raveendran, 63, of Little Rock, Arkansas, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to a federal information that charges him with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. Raveendran worked for Preferred Family Healthcare (formerly known as Alternative Opportunities, Inc.) from 2014 to 2017 as a director of operations, executive vice president, and analyst. Prior to his employment with the charity, Raveendran was employed by the state of Arkansas as direct...

Missouri, Missouri General News

St Louis News: Fifteen Charged in Multi-State Cocaine, Heroin, Fentanyl Conspiracy

St. Louis, MO (STL.News) – Fifteen individuals were indicted for conspiracy to distribute over 5 kilograms of cocaine, 1 kilogram of heroin and 400 grams of fentanyl from 2018 to the present. Beginning prior to 2018, the conspiracy began transporting multi-pound loads of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl from Houston, Texas and Fort Lauderdale, Florida for distribution in the St. Louis area. The drugs were transported utilizing tractor-trailers and vehicles containing specially built concealed compartments. Upon arrival, the drugs were off-loaded at a residence in Spanish Lake, Missouri and then sold throughout the St. Louis area. The proceeds from the sales were compiled by the top St. Louis area distributors at various locations in St. Louis County and St. Louis City, loaded into the tran...

Missouri, Missouri General News

Columbia Man, Eapen George Thampy, Among Those Indicted in 1,000-Kilo Marijuana Conspiracy

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (STL.News) - A Columbia, Missouri man and two others have been indicted for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute at least 1,000 kilograms of marijuana in Boone County, Missouri. Eapen George Thampy, 35, of Columbia, Mo.; Craig Dewitt Smith, Jr., also known as “Carson,” 37, of Central Point, Ore.; and Michael John Ricketts, 57, of Union, Wash., and Kerrville, Texas; have been charged in a 13-count second superseding indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City, Mo., on Thursday, May 30. That indictment was unsealed and made public following the arrests and initial court appearances of Thampy and Smith. Thampy remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Wednesday, June 5. Smith was originally charged in an April 24, 2019, ...

Missouri, Missouri General News

Kansas City Woman, Iesha T. Boles, Pleads Guilty to Firearms Conspiracy

KANSAS CITY, MO (STL.News) - A Kansas City, Missouri woman pleaded guilty in federal court to her role in conspiracy to illegally transfer ownership of firearms. Iesha T. Boles, 43, waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to a federal information that charges her with conspiracy to make false statements during the purchase of firearms. By pleading guilty Tuesday, Boles admitted that she made false statements regarding the purchase or transfer of six firearms between Nov. 22, 2013, and June 11, 2017. Boles admitted that she was not the actual transferee/buyer for each of the firearms, but was acquiring the firearms on behalf of another person. According to today’s plea agreement, a co-conspirator purchased a Jimenez 9mm pistol on N...

Missouri, Missouri General News

Kathleen Marie Hydar Pleads Guilty to Methamphetamine Conspiracy that Resulted in Shooting Death of Co-Conspirator

St. Louis, MO (STL.News) – Kathleen Marie Hydar, 31, of Jefferson County, pled guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute over 500 grams of methamphetamine and sentencing has been set for July 9, 2019. According to court documents, in the evening hours of October 10, 2017 and into the early morning hours of October 11, 2017, Hydar invited co-defendant Courtney Brown to come from the City of Saint Louis to Jefferson County, Missouri. Hydar had informed Brown that she knew of a way for them to “make some money” that evening. Brown picked up Hydar in a vehicle being driven by Ramone Thomas. Also in the car were co-defendants Paris Devine, Raymond Seay, and an unindicted subject. When Hydar got into the vehicle, she informed Devine and other members o...

General

Three Texas Men, John Cuellar, Arturo Cuellar Jr., Daniel Garcia, Arrested, Charged with Bribery Conspiracy

Former Weslaco City Commissioner, John Cuellar, Former Hidalgo County Commissioner, Arturo Cuellar Jr. and Daniel Garcia, a Rio Grande City attorney arrested on charges of conspiracy McALLEN, TX (STL.News) - Three Texas men, including a former Weslaco City Commissioner and a former Hidalgo County Commissioner, were arrested today on charges of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick made the announcement along with Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs of the FBI San Antonio Office and Acting Special Agent in Charge Sarah Kull of the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Houston Field office. Criminal complaints wer...