Web Staff

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Justice Department announced today the results of its efforts over the past year to protect older adults from fraud and exploitation.  During the past year, the Department and its law enforcement partners tackled matters that ranged from mass-marketing scams that impacted thousands of victims to bad actors scamming their neighbors.…

COVINGTON, Ky. —An Independence, Ky., woman, Hachelle Alsip, 42, was sentenced on Wednesday to 28 months in federal prison, by U.S. District Judge David Bunning, for wire fraud. According to Alsip’s plea agreement, in 2016, Victory Mortgage hired her as a loan funding representative to assist, in part, with distribution of funds with loans…

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Phoenix man, Rosario Diaz Barraza, 32, was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison, on Tuesday, by U.S. District Court Judge Karen Caldwell, after previously being convicted of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and interstate transportation of stolen automobiles. According to evidence presented at trial, the charges stemmed from the kidnappings…

FRANKFORT, Ky. – The former County Attorney for Lawrence County, Michael T. Hogan, and his wife and legal secretary, Joy M. Hogan, 41, were sentenced to 42 months and 12 months and one day, respectively, on Tuesday, by U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove, for wire fraud. Michael Hogan was also sentenced for federal…

ASHLAND, Ky. – A Catlettsburg, Ky., man, Jonathan Lee Smithers, 41, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, before U.S. District Judge David Bunning, to a federal kidnapping charge.            According to Smithers’ plea agreement, on May 1, 2022, Smithers physically assaulted a victim with whom he was in a romantic relationship.  Then, under threat of force and…

FRANFORT, Ky. — A Richmond, Ky., man, Scotty Dale Johnson, 51, was sentenced on Thursday, to 240 months in federal prison, by U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove, for production of child pornography. According to Johnson’s plea agreement, he created a Snapchat account, where he purported to be a teenage female.  Using that account,…

LEXINGTON, Ky. —Christopher Wayne Livingood, 50, of Lexington, Ky., was sentenced on Friday to 360 months in federal prison, by Chief U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves, for production of child pornography. According to Livingood’s plea agreement, he used the Kik social media application to communicate with another individual about sexual acts that he wanted…

FRANFORT, Ky. — A man residing in Frankfort, Kentucky, Marcus Tate, 39, was sentenced on Friday to 162 months in federal prison, by U.S. District Judge Gregory VanTatenhove, for the receipt of child pornography. According to Tate’s plea agreement, on May 13, 2017, he knowingly received sexually explicit videos and/or images of minors, using…

COVINGTON, Ky. – The former administrative manager for the City of Covington Public Works Department, Allison Donaldson, 49, of Covington, was indicted by a federal grand jury, on four counts of wire fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft. The indictment alleges that Donaldson was employed as an administrative manager for the Public…

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Lexington man, Titus Mayhorn, 34, was sentenced on Wednesday to 250 months in prison, by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell, for possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. According to Mayhorn’s plea agreement, on July 11, 2021,…