Date: Feb. 14, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov BOSTON — Over 40 members and associates of the Heath Street Gang in Boston were charged today in federal court in Boston with racketeering conspiracy; drug trafficking; firearms; wire fraud; and financial frauds, including COVID fraud, following a two-year investigation into gang violence in Boston. According to the charging documents, the Heath Street Gang operates primarily out of the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments (previously known as the Bromley Heath Housing Development), a public housing development located in Jamaica Plain. It is one of the largest housing developments in the greater Boston area. Formed in the 1980s, it is alleged that the Heath Street Gang is comprised of over 150 members and has historically been involved in acts of violence to preserve and protect the Gang’s power, territory and reputation. According to the charging documents, in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy, members/associates are implicated in a number of murders, attempted murders and shootings – many of which targeted rival gang members/associates of other Boston-based street gangs, particularly the Mission Hill Gang and the H-Block Gang. This allegedly includes an October 2016 shooting targeting rivals in the Mission Hill Gang’s territory, in which a nine-year-old female victim was shot and severely injured, as well as a June 2021 murder allegedly committed by a juvenile Heath Street member/associate in Mission Hill Gang territory. It is alleged that the Heath Street Gang commonly recruits juveniles living in the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments to join the Gang and participate in crimes on the Gang’s behalf, including shootings. It is further alleged that members of the Heath Street Gang require younger prospective members/associates to commit acts of violence as an act of initiation and often reward the juveniles with appearances in Heath Street Gang songs or music videos, which are used to publicly assert and affirm Gang membership/association, brag about acts of violence they have committed and denigrate and threaten rival gangs. On numerous occasions, members/associates of the Heath Street Gang have allegedly brazenly assaulted local law enforcement officers while engaged in official duties. According to the charging documents, Heath Street Gang members/associates have used the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments as a point for drug trafficking activities and, over a period of multiple years, have worked together to establish drug distribution networks throughout Massachusetts, Maine and California. Heath Street members/associates often use social media platforms to facilitate the distribution of controlled substances including fentanyl, fentanyl pills, cocaine, cocaine base and marijuana – specifically using social media posts to advertise, negotiate and arrange drug sales. It is further alleged that the Heath Street Gang engages in a number of financial and theft crimes. This includes an organized retail theft group that, since at least approximately 2019, has allegedly openly and brazenly stolen merchandise from various stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Additionally, it is alleged that members/associates of the Heath Street Gang have engaged in widespread CARES Act loan and unemployment fraud. The charge of RICO conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 10 years or 15 years (for offenses committed after June 25, 2022) in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession of firearm in furtherance of violent or drug trafficking crime provides for a mandatory consecutive sentence of five years in prison up to life, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act conspiracy) provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the scheme, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. The investigation was supported by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (CI); Boston Housing Authority Police Department; Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; Massachusetts State Police; U.S. Marshals Service; Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office; and Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the New England State Police Information Network; U.S. Department of Agriculture; U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; and the Quincy, Randolph and Lincoln Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Crowley, Sarah Hoefle and Lucy Sun of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit are prosecuting the cases. This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.
