Ramel Drew, 45, of Cleveland, was sentenced recently to 327 months (more than 27 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge John R. Adams.

A Parma man was indicted recently for child pornography crimes. Brandon N. Crites, 32, of Parma, was indicted on one count each of receipt and distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

In a black double-breasted suit and paisley tie, Taras Mahlay looks a bit out of place driving a forklift through a Cleveland warehouse. He got dressed up because the Ukrainian ambassador was in town Friday with former U.S. Senator Rob Portman for an event at the City Club of Cleveland. Mahlay needed to get a few pallets of medical supplies loaded into a shipping container before heading downtown, though, so they can start making their way to Ukraine.

United States Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko announced recently that Arthur Fayne, 61, who managed the development of the New East Side Market, was found guilty of all nine counts of wire fraud for embezzling more than $880,000 in funds intended to help the residents of Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood, but which Fayne used for an extravagant lifestyle with extensive casino gambling.

At the City Club of Cleveland last week, proponents and opponents debated Issue 1, which goes before Ohio voters this November. The proposal establishes a constitutional right for Ohioans to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions, including abortion. Both sides of the debate brought along an outside expert to bolster their arguments on stage.

A federal grand jury in Cleveland returned a superseding indictment Wednesday charging Steven Saris of Canton, Ohio, with operating illegal gambling businesses (IGBs), tax evasion, conspiracy to defraud the United States, willful failure to collect and pay over employment taxes, money laundering and an obstruction-related offense. Saris was previously indicted and charged with one count of owning and operating an IGB.

United States Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko announced recently the conclusion of a case involving five Cleveland-area men that were charged in a 47-count indictment for illegally obtaining more than $800,000 in pandemic unemployment insurance benefits using other people’s personal identifying information. The defendants were sentenced to a combined total of 284 months of imprisonment.

Rebecca C. Lutzko, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Cleveland returned a 16-count indictment charging seven men with mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud.

Federal, county and local law enforcement officials last week announced that 59 individuals were charged and arrested in connection with firearms-trafficking, narcotics, conspiracy or other firearms offenses after a three month, violent-crime-reduction initiative in Cleveland this summer.

Former Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Carr was found guilty and sentenced for falsification following an investigation by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Wednesday.

Branea Bryant, 30, of Cleveland, was sentenced last week to 290 months (24 years and two months) in prison by U.S. District Judge John R. Adams.

The Justice Department announced last week an agreement with Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, Ohio, to resolve a federal investigation under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 into the university’s response to complaints of student-on-student and employee-on-student sexual harassment.

Timothy Ray Jenkins, 67, of Woodmere, Ohio, was sentenced Aug. 3 to 30 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Pamela A. Barker.

A financial planner from the Cleveland area pleaded guilty recently to conspiracy to defraud the United States and assisting in the filing of a false tax return.

United States Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko announced Thursday that Eric King, 35, a former employee of Eye For Change Youth and Family Services, Inc., a nonprofit corporation in Cleveland, was found guilty of 13 counts of health care fraud, one count of false statement relating to health care matters and five counts of aggravated identity theft.