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

Earlier today, federal charges were announced against two men accused of using small retail stores in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood to engage in large-scale SNAP fraud that stole nearly $7 million in benefits. According to court documents, the stores – together occupying less than 700 square feet – allegedly redeemed $100,000 to $500,000 in SNAP benefits per month, far exceeding what their size and inventory could support and even outpacing supermarkets. The defendants are also accused of trafficking SNAP benefits for cash and selling donated food intended for food-insecure children overseas.

Read more here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/two-massachusetts-men-charged-large-scale-snap-benefits-trafficking

Thirteen individuals have been charged in connection with a transnational “grandparent scam” that allegedly defrauded more than 400 elderly victims – including at least 50 in Massachusetts – out of over $5 million. Victims averaged 84 years old.

According to charging documents, the defendants operated sophisticated, brick-and-mortar call centers in the Dominican Republic that targeted elderly victims in the United States with what are commonly known as “grandparent scams.” Callers allegedly pretended to be a grandchild in distress – often claiming to have been in a car accident – and then had a second caller pose as an attorney demanding payment. Victims were allegedly instructed to hand over cash to “runners” in the U.S., ship money to specified addresses, or give it to unwitting rideshare drivers who were sent to their homes. Many victims were targeted repeatedly with new, urgent requests for additional funds.

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Members of the public who believe they are victims of elder fraud scams should contact [email protected] or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).

A former American Airlines flight attendant was sentenced yesterday for surreptitiously recording minor female passengers as they used aircraft lavatories.

Estes Carter Thompson III, 38, of Charlotte, N.C., was sentenced to 18.5 years in prison and five years of supervised release. In March 2025, Thompson pleaded guilty to one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child po*******hy depicting a prepubescent minor.

On Sept. 2, 2023, while working as a flight attendant onboard an American Airlines flight from Charlotte, N.C. to Boston, Mass., Thompson video-recorded or attempted to surreptitiously video-record a 14-year-old female passenger as she used the lavatory. Specifically, before the minor victim entered the lavatory, Thompson surreptitiously attached his iPhone to the underside of the toilet seat lid using red “INOPERATIVE EQUIPMENT” stickers and set the phone’s camera to record with the flashlight illuminated.

Upon the flight’s arrival at Boston’s Logan Airport, Thompson’s suitcase was found to contain 11 “INOPERATIVE EQUIPMENT” stickers, like those observed by the minor victim on the back of the toilet seat.

A search of Thompson’s iCloud account revealed four additional instances in which Thompson recorded minor females using the aircraft lavatory on flights he had worked between January and August 2023. The four minor victims depicted in the surreptitious recordings were six, nine, 11 and 14 years old at the time. Also found on Thompson’s iCloud were over 50 images of a nine-year-old child who had travelled as an unaccompanied minor on a flight he worked. Additionally, hundreds of AI-generated images depicting child sexual abuse were also found stored on Thompson’s iCloud account.

All minor victims involved in this matter have been identified and their families have been contacted by law enforcement.

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James Florence Jr., 37, of Plymouth, Mass., has been sentenced to nine years in prison and 10 years of supervised release for cyberstalking more than a dozen women over a 16-year period, beginning as early as 2008. The defendant targeted and tormented women he knew personally – including two who were minors when the conduct began.

Among other things, the defendant hacked into victims’ personal accounts and created more than 60 accounts across nearly 30 online platforms to relentlessly impersonate, intimidate and abuse them.

Florence disseminated thousands of fake, AI-generated, or photoshopped pornographic images of victims with their personal information and often urged strangers to contact the victims directly, shame and sextort them.

For one victim, Florence programmed at least three AI-driven chatbots to interact with strangers across multiple platforms in sexually explicit conversations and disclose how to contact or find the victim.

Many of Florence’s victims continue to receive harassing and threatening messages from unknown individuals who encountered the content he created and distributed online.

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If you or someone you know is a victim of cyberstalking, please visit: www.stalkingawareness.org

Jacob Guerrero, 27, of Woodland, Calif., was sentenced to 16 years in prison for filming an 11-year-old as she changed in her bedroom. For two weeks, the defendant staked out victim's home - taking notes on when she and her siblings showered, changed, and went to bed. The case arose following an investigation into allegations that Guerrero, while dressed in a wig and women’s clothing, attempted to surreptitiously record minor females in bathrooms and changing rooms at the Wrentham Outlets using pen cameras affixed to his shoes.

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Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins has been indicted on two counts of Extortion Under Color of Official Right for the alleged extortion involving the purchase of equity interest in a Boston-based cannabis company.

Specifically, it is alleged that the defendant used his position as Sheriff to pressure a cannabis company executive for pre-IPO stock in exchange for his help with a dispensary license application, then demanded a refund when the stock dropped in value.

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“The privilege of serving in this position has been the highlight of my career.”

U.S. Attorney Levy spoke candidly with members of the media at a pen & pad session today, discussing accomplishments and key takeaways from his tenure – from giving a voice to the voiceless and keeping communities safe, to fighting human trafficking, fraud, and public corruption.

If You Connect It, Protect It! Learn how and stay safe online during National Cybersecurity Awareness Month by visiting cisa.gov/ncsam and staysafeonline.org

Three alleged members of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, have been charged with their alleged roles in two separate murders in Massachusetts in December 2010 and July 2020.

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James Florence Jr., 36, of Plymouth, Mass., was arrested today for allegedly cyberstalking a Massachusetts victim through social media, email and various online platforms. Among other things, the defendant allegedly programmed multiple artificial intelligence-driven chatbots to mimic human conversation through text or voice interactions with unknown users of social media platforms.

According to the charging documents, beginning in late 2017, Florence created multiple social media accounts and email addresses which he used to harass and threaten the victim anonymously. Florence had previously met the victim through a mutual friend and attended parties at the victim’s former residence between 2015 and 2017.

Florence allegedly posted digitally altered images depicting the victim as n**e or semi-n**e. He allegedly posted the victim’s personally identifiable information on these accounts and on numerous websites – including her personal email addresses, home address, professional contact information, account passwords and even a list of colors she had previously dyed her hair, in order to “dox” her.

Florence allegedly also programmed multiple artificial intelligence-driven chatbots with this information to mimic human conversation through text or voice interactions with unknown users of those platforms.

The victim’s name, image and other personal information were posted on at least 13 websites. At least 27 unique accounts were used to harass, impersonate, or otherwise cause the victim substantial emotional distress.

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