Alleged Narco-Terrorist Leader “Araña” Extradited from Colombia as Part of Homeland Security Task Force Investigation

 

Geovany Andres Rojas, aka “Araña,” a Colombian national and alleged high-level narco-terrorist and prolific cocaine trafficker, was extradited from Colombia to the United States.

Rojas was ​handed over to U.S. officials this morning under heavy security at a Colombian National Police air base in Bogotá. The sendoff was attended by Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella. Rojas arrived at an undisclosed location in San Diego at 4:30 p.m. PST, flanked by DEA and FBI agents.

Photo of Rojas (center) flanked by law enforcement after being extradited from Colombia to the United States. Left to right, excluding uniformed agents: U.S. Department of Justice’s Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Kristopher Jarvis; U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, Southern District of California; San Diego DEA Special Agent in Charge James Nunnallee; Araña; DEA San Diego Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jacob Galvan; FBI San Diego Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jagdeep Khangura;  Acting Special Agent in Charge HSI San Diego Kevin Murphy

On March 7, 2025, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of California returned a two-count superseding indictment charging Rojas, whose alias translates to “Spider,” with International Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and Narco-Terrorism. 

Colombian authorities apprehended Rojas on February 12, 2025, pursuant to an INTERPOL Red Notice based on narcotics-related offenses. The Supreme Court of Colombia unanimously approved Rojas’s extradition in October 2025. Colombian President Gustavo Petro suspended Rojas’ extradition later that year, while Rojas participated in a new round of peace talks between armed groups and the Colombian government. On August 26, 2026, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella ordered that Rojas’ extradition should proceed.

“Colombia and the Department of Justice are making a clean sweep of narcoterrorists, starting with  Araña,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “Before President de la Espriella, armed criminal groups in Colombia roughly doubled in size. Their cocaine fueled the Mexican cartels pumping poison into our communities. The Araña extradition sweeps away a web that starts in the mountains of Putumayo and ends in the brutal, cartel contested plazas of Tijuana.” 

“This extradition demonstrates what the United States and Colombia can accomplish when we work together to dismantle the criminal networks that traffic deadly drugs, corrupt institutions, and threaten our communities,” said DEA Administrator Terry Cole. “Geovany Andres Rojas faces narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges for allegedly orchestrating multi-ton cocaine shipments bound for the United States. His extradition shows that borders, criminal influence, and efforts to conceal illegal activity will not prevent DEA and our partners from bringing major transnational traffickers to justice.” 

“Rojas’ extradition should send a clear message to cartel leaders: the FBI and our HSTF partners remain relentless in our fight to dismantle drug trafficking organizations that facilitate the flow of deadly drugs into our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “FBI San Diego will continue working closely with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to eliminate criminal cartels, hold their leaders accountable, and protect the American people.”

In the years leading up to Rojas’ arrest, he served as the spokesman and leader of Comandos de la Frontera, a paramilitary organization with an estimated 1,000 members operating in southwestern Colombia. Rojas identified himself as a high-level leader of Comandos de la Frontera, posing with weapons and heavily armed fighters in appearances on social media and in interviews with news organizations on behalf of the terrorist group.

In public statements, Rojas described Comandos de la Frontera as part of the Segunda Marquetalia, an organization of former Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) combatants who rearmed and returned to fighting following Colombia’s 2016 peace accord with FARC. Rojas himself was a member of the FARC who signed the 2016 Peace Agreement before rejecting peace and becoming a guerilla leader. The United States Secretary of State designated Segunda Marquetalia a foreign terrorist organization on December 1, 2021. 

Screen shots from video released by Comandos de la Frontera in approximately 2022, featuring Rojas (center) seated before Comandos de la Frontera - Segunda Marquetalia banner

The drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges against Rojas stemmed from a long-term Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) investigation which revealed that Comandos de la Frontera, under Rojas’ leadership, profited from the cultivation and production of cocaine in southwestern Colombia, maintaining control of its territory using weapons and violence. The area is one of Colombia’s top cocaine producing regions, with significant influence over the cocaine supply chain worldwide.

Photograph of Rojas from newspaper interview by Colombian news organization El

Screenshot of video interview with Rojas posted by Colombian news organization El Espectador on March 11, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdYBGrYCeHM

Rojas is expected to make his initial court appearance at 2 p.m. on September 28, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steve B. Chu.

The Justice Department’s Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Kristopher Jarvis, and Office of International Affairs Trial Attorney Aaron York, secured the arrest and extradition of Rojas. The U.S. Marshals Service provided significant assistance in ensuring a smooth and safe transfer of custody and transporting Rojas back to the United States.

The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

SUMMARY OF CHARGES 

International Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 959, 960, and 963

Maximum penalty: Mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life in prison

Narco-Terrorism – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 960a and 841

Maximum penalty: Mandatory minimum 20 years and up to life in prison

This case was investigated and prosecuted by the California Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of the HSTF initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.  

HERNANDEZ DEMANDS TRANSPARENCY OF DEI PENSION INVESTMENTS FROM DINAPOLI

 

Joseph Hernandez, Republican candidate for New York State Comptroller, demanded that Comptroller Tom DiNapoli provide transparency on the performance of the state's politically designated pension investments.

 

DiNapoli has committed $26 billion of the roughly $300 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund to climate-focused investments, with a stated goal of $40 billion. His office reports another $34.9 billion run through the Fund's Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise manager program. “There has been no clear reporting of a program-wide return for the SICS initiative or MWBE strategy that allows New Yorkers to evaluate those programs against a comparable benchmark,” explained Hernandez.

 

Independent research shows the strategies behind DiNapoli's ideological mandates don't deliver better returns. “New York pensioners trust DiNapoli with over $300 billion to deliver their retirement. They have the right to know how their money is being invested and the efficacy of those investments,” said Hernandez.

 

Hernandez points to an analysis of 18 ESG funds that found the average ESG portfolio ended 43.9% smaller than a similar S&P 500 index investment. From the analysis, only 2 of the 18 beat the S&P 500 benchmark over a 10 year period.

 

Hernandez also references that the widely cited McKinsey research that found companies with greater executive diversity had a 39% greater likelihood of financial outperformance failed independent replication in 2024. Minimal statistically significant relationships were found by researchers in the underlying public data.

 

“This is exactly why DiNapoli should release the performance of his ideological investments. Little data shows that they bring stronger returns, and I bet the data shows that,” explained Hernandez. According to recent polling, 71% of New Yorkers want the Comptroller to maximize pension returns rather than advance a political agenda.

 

"A fiduciary's job is simply to grow the fund and protect the pensioner," Hernandez said. "Every dollar routed through a political litmus test instead of a performance test is a dollar that isn't working as hard as it should for a retired teacher, nurse, or transit worker. New Yorkers’ retirement is no place to fight a culture war.”

95% of Large Buildings Meet Climate Emissions Limits as Mamdani Accelerates Climate Action

 

95% of large, privately owned buildings are meeting emissions limits under Local Law 97 

 

City-owned buildings are advancing sustainability through solar installation, innovative technology and new procurement tools 

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced significant progress in cutting greenhouse gas emissions from buildings across New York City, including 95% of large, privately owned buildings meeting emissions limits under Local Law 97, nearly 700 properties receiving support through the relaunched NYC Accelerator and major new investments in clean energy and sustainable construction across the city’s public buildings and affordable housing. 

  

Buildings account for two-thirds of New York City’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, making them central to the fight against climate change. As New York marks Climate Week, the progress announced today demonstrates how the Mamdani administration is using every tool available — from enforcing emissions standards to expanding solar power, electrifying buildings and investing in climate-resilient affordable housing — to build a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable city. 

  

“Climate change is not a problem for someone else to solve someday. It is here in New York City, and our buildings are where we both have a responsibility and an enormous opportunity to act,” said Mayor Mamdani. “We are cutting emissions in the buildings where New Yorkers live, work and learn, while making those buildings healthier and more resilient. From enforcing Local Law 97 to putting solar panels on schools and installing heat pumps in affordable housing, we are proving that climate action can improve New Yorkers’ lives today while building a city that is ready for tomorrow.” 

  

“Improving building efficiency is one of the best ways that we can make our city greener than it is today and tackle the broader climate crisis. We’re bringing a whole-of-government approach to sustainability, ensuring our City assets are as green as possible while continuing to regulate building emissions and help even more people live in sustainable, transit-rich communities,” said Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning. 

  

“Our buildings are what make our skyline iconic, but they’re also our city’s greatest contributor of greenhouse emissions. Every milestone in emission reduction is another opportunity for us to challenge this city to do better and go farther to protect New Yorkers from the dangers of pollution and climate change. We look forward to working across agencies and alongside building owners citywide to champion an ever-greener New York City,” said Julia Kerson, Deputy Mayor for Operations. 

  

“Cleaner buildings mean healthier New Yorkers,” said New York City Chief Climate Officer Louise Yeung. “The progress we’re seeing across the city shows what’s possible when we bring together the resources, partnerships, and practical solutions needed to improve the buildings where New Yorkers live, work, and learn in communities across all five boroughs.” 

  

Lower Emissions at Privately Owned Buildings 

The Department of Buildings (DOB) recently released new data showing widespread compliance with Local Law 97. About 95% of the approximately 20,000 private properties covered by the law filed a compliance report with DOB, and about 95% of the buildings demonstrating compliance through improved building efficiency are meeting their emissions targets during the first year of enforcement. 

  

Building owners can also demonstrate compliance with Local Law 97 by purchasing offset certificates through the City’s Affordable Housing Reinvestment Fund. The fund has raised approximately $1.7 million to date to support decarbonization projects at affordable housing buildings across New York City. 

  

The Mamdani administration has also relaunched NYC Accelerator, a free, concierge-style service that helps building owners and property managers plan, finance and complete decarbonization projects. Since its relaunch in April, NYC Accelerator has assisted nearly 700 properties, including 448 now using the online Momentum tool for compliance calculations, project scoping and retrofit management. 

  

The Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) has also launched the next phase of the NYC Carbon Challenge, a partnership with 127 private and nonprofit organizations working together to develop and share tools for cleaner, more efficient buildings. Participating institutions represent nearly 600 million square feet of real estate and have collectively kept nearly 1 million metric tons of carbon emissions out of the atmosphere. 

  

City-Owned Buildings Lead the Way on Sustainability 

The City is also continuing to reduce GHG emissions from its own operations, which have already been reduced by 31% from 2006 to 2025 – reaching the lowest level in 20 years.  

  

Over the past 12 years, the City has implemented more than 17,800 energy conservation measures across 2,500 facilities, reducing approximately 460,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of taking 100,000 cars off the road.  

  

The City has installed nearly 36 megawatts (MW) of solar power across 222 facilities, including 29 MW at 138 schools. An additional 78 school solar installations are currently in progress through the NYC Solar Schools Program.  

  

Earlier this year, New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) completed the City's first solar canopy electric vehicle charging installation at a public school, at The Michael J. Petrides School on Staten Island. In 2025, NYCPS also completed the City’s first boiler conversion to 100% biofuel at Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn.  

  

Public schools are also serving as living laboratories for climate education and green career pathways. Through the NYC Solar Schools program, DCAS and NYCPS have trained more than 1,600 teachers and 19,000 students as of 2026, in partnership with Solar One. 

  

The City is also using new procurement tools to accelerate clean-energy projects. Earlier this year, DCAS registered a contract for solar photovoltaic installations through “design-build,” which combines design and construction into a single procurement and can streamline project delivery. The contract is the City’s third design-build contract.  

  

In partnership with Governor Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the Mamdani administration is also exploring a landmark thermal energy network study as part of the Chambers Street J/Z station renewal project. The proposed system would recycle excess heat to warm nearby municipal buildings during the winter and could become the first thermal energy network in a U.S. transit system. 

  

MOCEJ has also partnered with the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) to test zero-emission construction equipment at City sites, including Parks operations in the Rockaways and a Department of Sanitation facility on Staten Island. 

  

In February, the Mamdani administration, led by the Department of Design and Construction (DDC), opened the new Shirley Chisholm Recreational Center, New York City’s first public building to meet LEED v4 Platinum standards for environmental sustainability. 

  

Advancing Sustainability in Affordable Housing 

The Mamdani administration is also improving energy efficiency and cutting emissions in the affordable housing New York City owns and finances.  

  

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) released its Sustainability Agenda in April, with a goal of installing clean, electric heating and cooling systems in 20,000 apartments over the next five years, among other initiatives.  

  

Earlier this week, NYCHA unveiled a model sustainability apartment at the Brooklyn Navy Yard showcasing the heat pumps, induction stove and far-infrared heating panels being installed as NYCHA and its partners renovate properties across the city. 

  

NYCHA is also pursuing additional decarbonization efforts through the electrification of domestic water heating systems, installation of energy-efficient windows, building-envelope insulation improvements and a commitment to install 10,000 induction stoves across its portfolio. Together with plans to install 30 megawatts of solar energy and 150 electric vehicle charging stations across NYCHA campuses, these investments will improve resident comfort and well-being while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. 

  

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is advancing sustainability through the affordable housing it supports, including 60 affordable housing projects built to “Passive House” sustainability standards and solar panels generating 17 MW of energy atop affordable housing developments.  

  

HPD has also allocated funding for nearly 2,800 households in 70 existing buildings to install heat pumps and updated its New Construction Design Guidelines to ensure that projects supported by the City minimize climate impacts while protecting New Yorkers from increasing climate risk. 

  

“Recognizing that the 1.1 million buildings across the five boroughs account for the majority of harmful greenhouse gas emissions in our city, city agencies are stepping up to tackle the issue head on,” said Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani. “Through our smart implementation of Local Law 97 carbon emission limits, DOB and our agency partners are helping tens of thousands of the city’s largest buildings get on a manageable compliance pathway to net-zero emissions by 2050. We are proud of the collaboration with our agency partners, grateful for owners who are making the investments and implementing changes needed to meet this moment and all relevant stakeholders working to keep New York City a leader in the field of building sustainability.” 

  

“DCAS and the City of New York are at the forefront of efforts to reduce building emissions as we mark tremendous progress and see our lowest carbon footprint in 20 years,” said DCAS Commissioner Yume Kitasei. “Climate week is a time to recommit ourselves to carbon reduction efforts; under this administration, we are tackling climate change head-on through our investment in solar panels, critical retrofits to aging building systems and innovative solutions to modern energy needs.” 

  

“Sustainability is a key component in our work to preserve our aging housing stock and our recent 2026 Sustainability Agenda is the roadmap guiding that work,” said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “Decarbonizing public housing means healthier, more comfortable, and more resilient homes for residents, and lower energy costs over the long term. By working alongside city agencies, partners, and residents, we are advancing solar, heating, and resiliency projects that will make our portfolio more efficient and better prepared for the impacts of climate change. We are appreciative of the Mamdani administration's continued partnership and commitment to ensuring that public housing residents are at the center of the city’s climate progress.” 

  

“As the City’s primary capital design and construction project manager, DDC builds many of the civic facilities used by New Yorkers every day and we are using every tool in our toolbox to aggressively lower our carbon footprint,” said NYC Department of Design and Construction Commissioner (DDC) Paul A. Ochoa. “By collaborating with sister agencies and world-class design and construction professionals, DDC achieves performance standards that far exceed private building industry averages. We are driving down carbon emissions by slashing energy use, eliminating on-site air pollution and by integrating clean solar energy and green infrastructure in our public buildings and Envision standards in our horizontal projects. In the face of increasingly severe weather, these resilient design standards are more urgent than ever.” 

  

“As flood levels rise and extreme weather events become more commonplace, it is more important than ever that we focus on the resiliency of our housing,” said HPD Commissioner Dina Levy. “Through our climate-focused design guidelines, sustainability training and resources, and initiatives such as the NYC Accelerator program, HPD is working to protect New Yorkers from climate threats while improving their quality of life.” 

  

“Every school we build is an opportunity to create a healthier, more sustainable learning environment for our students and the communities they call home,” said School Construction Authority (SCA) President and Chief Executive Officer Celeste A. Ramirez. “From the geothermal system being incorporated into the new school we’re building at the former St. John Villa in Staten Island to the bio-solar panels on the roof of K004, which opened this year in Brooklyn, we are making sustainability part of how we build schools for the future. We look forward to strengthening our collaboration with the Department of Buildings to expand the use of photovoltaic panels in new school buildings. This Climate Week, we are proud to reaffirm our commitment to developing green, accessible schools that reduce our environmental impact, strengthen our communities and create learning environments that can serve every child.” 

  

“Climate Week brings together the world’s leading minds on the climate crisis, and it’s also a chance to recognize the real progress we’ve made cutting carbon emissions right here in the five boroughs,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President & CEO Anthony Shorris. “The results are clear, and through efforts like the NYC Mass Timber Studio, the City is investing in the implementation pathways needed to efficiently and sustainably deliver homes for New Yorkers, while creating a more resilient, low carbon city for all.” 

  

Attorney General James Announces $100,000 Investment to Expand Childhood Lead Testing in Rural New York

 

Funding From OAG’s Dollar Tree Settlement Will Support Innovative Approaches to Increasing Blood Lead Screening for Young Children in the Finger Lake

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a $100,000 investment to expand childhood lead testing in rural New York, using funds secured through the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) settlement with Dollar Tree over the sale of recalled, lead-contaminated children’s food. Attorney General James’ investment will fund an 18-month project led by Pivital Public Health Partnership to model innovative approaches to increasing blood lead screening among one- and two-year-old children in Yates and Seneca counties, where fewer than half of children are currently screened for lead poisoning by age two. The project will combine community education sessions, grocery voucher incentives, and targeted outreach to help families complete lead screenings for their children.

“Lead poisoning can cause serious and lasting harm to children, and the best way we can protect young New Yorkers is by ensuring families know when their kids have been exposed,” said Attorney General James. “Every New York family should have access to the testing and resources they need to keep their children safe. We are putting money secured from Dollar Tree to work in communities where too many young children are going without this critical screening and building a model that can be brought to rural communities throughout New York.” 

“We’re deeply grateful to Attorney General James for this investment in the health of children and families in Yates and Seneca counties,” said Michele Foster, Executive Director of Pivital Public Health Partnership. “This project helps us to hear directly from parents and caregivers about their experiences with blood lead testing and better understand why testing rates remain low among children ages one and two. Together with education, outreach, and direct support for families, our goal is to increase blood lead testing in these counties.”

New York law requires health care providers to screen or refer every child for blood lead testing around ages one and two, but testing rates in Yates and Seneca counties have lagged well behind the state average, potentially leaving many cases of lead poisoning undetected. In 2025, just 41 percent of one-year-olds and 42.7 percent of two-year-olds in Yates County received blood lead testing, while testing rates in Seneca County were 49.5 percent and 49.1 percent, respectively.

Attorney General James is now awarding $100,000 to Pivital Public Health Partnership, a nonprofit affiliation of seven county public health departments in the Finger Lakes region, to address these disparities. Under the new program, Pivital will hold small-group listening and education sessions with caregivers in trusted community settings, offer grocery voucher incentives to families who complete their child's blood lead test, and run a messaging campaign informed directly by caregiver feedback. The campaign will include social media messaging to more directly reach families.

The project will prioritize outreach in state-designated Disadvantaged Communities within both counties, including information sessions and targeted marketing in neighborhoods that face the greatest barriers to preventive health care. The initiative will work through systems families already rely on, including county health departments, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Early Intervention, and primary care providers, so that successful strategies can continue beyond the 18-month pilot. The project will identify barriers to testing and evaluate which strategies are most effective at increasing testing rates. If successful, OAG hopes that the model can be shared with other rural communities in the Finger Lakes and across New York.

The funding for this project comes from Attorney General James’ $559,250 settlement with Dollar Tree following an OAG investigation into the company’s continued sale of lead-contaminated applesauce following a nationwide recall. The settlement funds were intended to be used for lead poisoning prevention and response programs and efforts to improve access to healthy and affordable food in underserved communities.

State Senator Julia Salazar - Next week's town hall

 

Kosovar National Pleads Guilty to Operating Cybercrime Marketplace Offering Tools and Products to Cybercriminals

 

Illicit Website Was Used to Steal Personal Information from Victims in the United States

Ardit Kutleshi, 28, a Kosovar national, pleaded guilty to charges related to his creation and operation of Rydox, an illicit website and marketplace for cybercriminals to buy, sell and trade stolen personal information, and to access devices and other tools for carrying out cybercrime and fraud. 

“The guilty plea of Ardit Kutleshi for operating the Rydox marketplace exposes a sophisticated scheme to profit from stolen identities and cybercrime tools,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This guilty plea sends a strong message to all cybercriminals that the Justice Department will identify, arrest, and prosecute cybercriminals regardless of where they are in the world through international cooperation, technical expertise, and cutting-edge law enforcement.” 

“Cybercriminals Ardit Kutleshi and his brother Jetmir — who pleaded guilty and was sentenced in December 2025 prior to his deportation back to Kosovo — operated the Rydox marketplace for their own gain, making hundreds of thousands of dollars from the marketplace where cyber criminals could purchase information and tools to effect and further their online crime,” said U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti of the Western District of Pennsylvania. “These types of cybercrimes cause not only financial loss, but also ongoing psychological harm to the victims who lose both money as well as trust in institutions and the online market infrastructure. Our office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to find and prosecute individuals who attempt to profit from the illegal sharing and sale of other people’s personal information and access devices, and related cybercrime.”

“Rydox put cybercriminal tools and sensitive data up for sale, including the stolen identities and logins of thousands of people,” said Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “The FBI and its foreign partners shut the marketplace down, and now the man who created it and ran it pleaded guilty. We will continue to use every legal tool at our disposal to extradite cybercriminals and take down their infrastructure.” 

According to court documents, since at least 2016, Rydox conducted over 7,600 transactions involving stolen personally identifiable information (PII), stolen access devices, means of identification, and cybercrime tools and services, receiving at least $232,000 in revenue.  These transactions involved the sale of PII stolen from victims located in the United States. Kutleshi pleaded guiltyin the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to aggravated identity theft and money laundering conspiracy. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 9, 2027, and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft count and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the money laundering conspiracy count. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Kutleshi was arrested by Kosovo law enforcement in December 2024 and extradited from Kosovo to the United States in 2025. In December 2024, the United States also judicially seized the domain www.Rydox.cc, which hosted and facilitated access to the Rydox website. The seizure of this domain prevented the owners and third parties from using the site to continue to buy and sell cybercrime tools and stolen personal identifying information of U.S. citizens.  

The FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office investigated this case in coordination with the Kosovo State Prosecutor’s Special Prosecution Office, the Kosovo Police’s Cybercrime Investigation Directorate, the Albanian Special Anti-Corruption Body (SPAK), the Royal Malaysia Police’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department, and the Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia.

Senior Counsel Thomas Dougherty of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Stockey for the Western District of Pennsylvania are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance. 

CCIPS investigates and prosecutes cybercrime and intellectual property (IP) crime in coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, often with assistance from the private sector. Since 2020, CCIPS has secured the conviction of over 180 cyber and IP criminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds.