News

PROVIDENCE, RI – A Mexican national who, at the direction of an individual incarcerated in a Maine prison, participated in the delivery of four pounds of methamphetamine to a courier who drove to Rhode Island from Maine to take possession of the drugs, has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

PROVIDENCE, RI – A convicted sex offender deported to his native Guatemala from the United States in April 2019 following his conviction and incarceration on a Rhode Island state charge of indecent solicitation of a minor was sentenced today to twelve months and one day in federal prison for illegally reentering the United States, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

PROVIDENCE – A Warwick man who admitted that he attempted to entice a minor boy he communicated with online to engage in illicit sexual activity was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

PROVIDENCE, RI - Seven individuals, all former or current employees of the U.S. Postal Service, have been charged in federal court with conspiracy and theft of mail for their alleged participation in a mail theft ring spanning from early 2023 through the beginning of 2024, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

PROVIDENCE, RI – A Honduran national who reentered the United States illegally after having been removed from the country on three occasions, and who used the Social Security number of another individual to gain employment has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

PROVIDENCE, RI – A Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility correctional officer has pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of attempting to provide contraband in prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

PROVIDENCE – United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha announced today that Evoqua Water Technologies Corp. (EVOQUA), a Pennsylvania company with a division in Rhode Island, has entered a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the U.S. Attorney’s Office relating to EVOQUA’s securities fraud arising from improper revenue recognition and false statements to its external auditors between late 2016 and 2018. Under the NPA, EVOQUA will pay an $8.5 million criminal penalty. This amount adds to an $8.5 million civil penalty EVOQUA paid to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and $16.65

 PROVIDENCE - In honor of National Police Week, U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha joins Attorney General Merrick Garland and his fellow U.S. Attorneys across the nation this week recognizing the service and sacrifice of federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A federal judge on Monday sentenced a Providence man in connection with the robbery and assault of a U.S, Postal Service carrier and the trafficking of more than 500 grams of cocaine, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

PROVIDENCE, RI - An investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (HHS OCR) has found that the State of Rhode Island has violated federal civil rights laws by routinely and unnecessarily segregating children with mental health and/or developmental disabilities at Bradley Hospital, an acute-care psychiatric hospital, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha and HHS OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A registered sex offender residing in North Smithfield admitted to a federal judge on Wednesday that he posed as a 17-year-old boy and engaged in a series of explicit online communications with two young teenage boys living in Florida; that he attempted to obtain sexual explicit videos and images of the boys; that he sent them obscene videos of himself engaged in sexual activity; and that he attempted to arrange a meeting with a person whom he believed to be one of the boys to engage in illicit sexual activity, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.