Investigations

On January 10, 2022, Johansel Moronta pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey to possessing and obtaining contraband while in prison and for violating the terms of a supervised release for assault. On approximately October 30, 2018, Moronta, while an inmate at Fort Dix Federal Prison, helped coordinate a small drone delivering a package—containing tobacco, cell phone chargers, and USB charging cables—to an inmate housing unit at the prison. Moronta removed bolts to an access hatch that led to the housing unit roof to retrieve or attempt to retrieve the contraband. Another former Federal inmate, Jason Arteaga-Loayza, previously pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme and was sentenced in September 2021 to 43 months in prison. Two other co-conspirators, Adrian Goolcharran and Nicolo Denichilo, also have been charged for their participation in the scheme.

 

DOT-OIG is conducting this investigation with Department of Justice OIG and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations.