U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina

📢 📰 PRESS RELEASE: Repeat Federal Offender Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison after Passing Kilogram of Cocaine to Car with Three Children Harold Vernard Greene, Jr., age 45, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for drug trafficking with three children in a vehicle. This conviction marks Greene’s third federal conviction in the Eastern District of North Carolina. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Wilmington Police Department investigated the case. Read our full release here: 🔗https://lnkd.in/efxE_3B8

📢 📰 PRESS RELEASE: U.S. Attorney Easley Announces “Illicit Finance Task Force” to Combat Transnational Money Laundering - Man Faces Prison After Lying to Banks About $40 Million in South American Crypto Running through Raleigh Shell Company This prosecution results from an investigation by the Eastern District of North Carolina’s Illicit Finance Task Force (IFTF). Created in 2024 in partnership with the Treasury Executive Office of Asset Forfeiture (TEOAF), the IFTF is an interagency anti-money laundering task force comprised of prosecutors and agents. The IFTF is dedicated to combatting money laundering activities affecting North Carolina through strategic use of criminal and civil laws. Read our full release here: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gvPtw-VS

📣A Fayetteville man was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for impersonating an elderly man to steal his federal benefits and commit fraud. 🔗 Read our full release at the link below: https://lnkd.in/eEiQ5kDF

We honor the generations of women and men who have served and sacrificed. #ThankYou for your service. #VeteransDay https://lnkd.in/eygMtZvq

Justice has been served in Wilmington, NC. Career offender Desmond Hines has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison, convicted of gun and drug charges and linked to a deadly shootout. This case highlights the impact of the Violent Crime Action Plan (VCAP), a collaborative initiative uniting local, state, and federal law enforcement to reduce violent crime. “Neighbors called 911 when they saw Hines ditch his loaded Glock .40 in a patch of the azaleas as he tried to dodge police. Ballistics traced the gun to a recent shootout that left a popular area rapper dead,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “A celebration of life for the rapper was shot up weeks later, leaving two men, a teen, and a 6-year-old boy shot. Hines was just a small part of the escalating patterns of crime and violence claiming far too many lives. But neighbors have had enough. And when neighbors start talking, the shooting starts stopping.”

📅 On October 30, 2004, the Crime Victims’ Rights Act was passed, providing crime victims participatory rights in the federal criminal justice system. Join us in taking a moment to reflect on the passage of this landmark legislation. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/d-QEf8rU

📢 📰 PRESS RELEASE: Defendants with ties to white supremacy sentenced to a total of 324 months in connection with plot to destroy energy facilities. 🚔 The case was investigated by Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations, and ATF. Read our full release here: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/edacMTAn

“One of the things that’s unique about both RICO and the Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering statutes is that it doesn’t just focus on individual violence that somebody perpetrated. You can go investigate and charge what may look like a simple assault or a road rage incident or a parking dispute, but you may be able to pull back the curtain and realize that it is in fact part of a pattern of violence on behalf of an enterprise or organization. I’m speaking generally about these statutory tools that we’re using, and in using these tools, our hope is that we get the word out and make it very clear that if you have a criminal enterprise that engages in violence and you come through the state of North Carolina, you better keep on riding, because we’re going to be riding you in pursuing cases and exposing what these organizations are doing to encourage violence," said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. Read our full release here: https://lnkd.in/eM7Es9kn The clip below is from our partners WRAL. Read their full story here: https://lnkd.in/ekjnHPJV

Domestic violence is a recurring pattern of abuse in relationships. Understand more and stand against it: https://lnkd.in/djeU9rN #DVAM2024

💊“Drug traffickers are increasingly pushing deadly fake pills through social media. They’ve learned they don’t need to stand on street corners when they can reach kids on their smart phones,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Counterfeit Oxycontin, Percocet, and Xanax sold on social media are driving addiction and overdose death. It’s time to get the word out and warn kids of the risks.” 🔗Read our full release about Mr. Rodriguez here: https://lnkd.in/g6hWkDhv