Former youth hockey coach sentenced to 75 years in prison for documenting sexual abuse of minors

St. Louis, Missouri – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk sentenced 42-year-old James R. Lambert, a former youth hockey coach from Lake St. Louis, to 75 years in prison for sexually abusing two boys and recording the abuse.

Lambert abused a victim over 50 times between 2007 and 2018, beginning when the victim was 6 years old. The abuse occurred in St. Charles County, Missouri, as well as in other states and abroad. Lambert documented the abuse on multiple occasions. In addition, he admitted to abusing a second victim in St. Charles and St. Louis counties when the victim was between 6 and 9 years old.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson described Lambert’s actions as a sign of manipulation “of a psychopathic nature” and an attempt to prevent victims from disclosing the abuse. He also showed “true sadism” toward the children.

The investigation, which began after the first victim came forward, uncovered hundreds of files on Lambert’s electronic devices that documented the abuse of the second victim. Authorities also found at least 1,185 files containing child sexual abuse material that Lambert had obtained online.

Lambert pleaded guilty in February to two counts of production of child pornography, one count of transporting a minor across state lines for the purpose of committing a criminal sexual act, one count of receiving child pornography and one count of aggravated sexual abuse.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Lake St. Louis Police Department, the St. Charles County Cybercrime Task Force, and the Maryland Heights Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuted the case.

Lake St. Louis Police Chief Chris DiGiuseppi praised the efforts of his officers and federal partners, particularly recognizing Detective Sergeant Rick Frauenfelder and Detective Rebecca Hurwitz. “Protecting children from those who commit such heinous acts is one of the cornerstones of our service in law enforcement,” he said.

Mark Zito, assistant special agent in charge of HSI Kansas City, emphasized the seriousness of the crime and the importance of continued efforts to eradicate child exploitation. “HSI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to keep our children safe from harm,” he said.

BUFFALO, NY – United States Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Neil McCarthy, 25, of Oregon, was arrested following an incident on an American Airlines flight and charged with public nuisance. The charge carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a $5,000 fine.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles M. Kruly, on July 3, 2024, Niagara Frontier Transit Authority (NFTA) police were called to Gate 2 of Buffalo Niagara International Airport in response to a report of an American Airlines flight. The flight, originally scheduled to fly to Manchester, New Hampshire, was diverted to Buffalo after McCarthy allegedly exposed himself and urinated in the aisle of the aircraft. After landing, an officer entered the aircraft and confirmed the incident with a flight attendant. McCarthy was subsequently taken into custody and escorted off the aircraft.

McCarthy first appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and was released on bail.

The complaint was the result of an investigation by the Niagara Frontier Transit Authority Police, led by Police Chief Brian Patterson, and the FBI, led by Special Agent in Charge Matthew Miraglia.

KANSAS CITY, MO – Kevin Brandes, 60, and William Graham, 56, both of Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring with bankers to willfully fail to implement adequate anti-money laundering (AML) controls at a Missouri bank, in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

Brandes and Graham owned and operated several sweepstakes companies and maintained accounts for those companies at Missouri Bank. Court documents showed that from 2013 to 2019, they colluded with bank officials to neglect critical elements of the bank’s AML program.

Under the BSA and its regulations, the bank was required to file currency transaction reports (CTRs) with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on every currency transaction over $10,000. In 2017, at the request of bank officials, Brandes and Graham signed FinCEN forms verifying the CTR exemption, falsely classifying their entities as “direct mail” entities. After they signed the exemption forms, the bank stopped filing CTRs for transactions involving their entities. Although the entities were classified as “high risk” and subject to increased scrutiny, Brandes and Graham understood that the exemption would result in less stringent scrutiny of their transactions.

In addition, on October 11, 2016, at the direction of two bank employees, Brandes and Graham had outside counsel sign a legal opinion that they knew contained false information. The letter falsely stated that one of Brandes’ companies had not faced adverse legal action from regulators or private litigation for over three years, even though a government regulator had initiated legal action against the company. Brandes and Graham believed the letter would help the bank avoid its BSA obligations.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Moore for the Western District of Missouri. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys James D. Peterson and Della Sentilles of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section with assistance from the FBI’s Kansas City office.

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