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Boy with leukemia arrested, detained by ICE, lawyers say, and 5 more legal cases

Thousands of legal cases are filed each year. Read on for some of the latest stories, including a lawsuit that says a 6-year-old boy and his family are wrongly detained at an immigration center in Texas.
Thousands of legal cases are filed each year. Read on for some of the latest stories, including a lawsuit that says a 6-year-old boy and his family are wrongly detained at an immigration center in Texas. Getty Images/iStockphoto

The summaries below were drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories below were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.

Thousands of legal cases reach U.S. courts every year. From accusations of mistreatment in prisons to fraud to sexual abuse and beyond, here are some of the latest from across the country.

Man bonded women out of jail, then forced them into prostitution in FL, feds say

In Florida, Chad Cornelius Seymore ran a sex trafficking operation by bonding women out of jail and forcing them into prostitution, according to federal prosecutors. Seymore, known as “Circle City Pimp,” coerced women into commercial sex acts in Destin and Panama City Beach, prosecutors say. Seymore pleaded guilty to several charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida. | Published June 23 | Read More

Bookkeeper steals $1.6M from SC company, gets caught while on vacation, feds say

In South Carolina, Jennifer L. Bengston Cook was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of wire fraud, authorities said. She’s accused of stealing over $1.6 million from her employer, SSRC Inc., federal prosecutors say. Cook used the company’s bank account to pay personal expenses and tried to cover up her thefts by falsifying records, according to prosecutors. Her scheme was discovered while she was on vacation, leading to her termination and subsequent legal action, prosecutors say. | Published June 24 | Read More

Founder steals $100M from his FL disability nonprofit, buys properties, feds say

Leo Joseph Govoni, co-founder of a Florida nonprofit, embezzled over $100 million from trust funds meant for people with disabilities, according to federal prosecutors. The theft forced the nonprofit to file for bankruptcy, impacting many vulnerable clients, prosecutors say. Govoni faces multiple charges, including bank fraud, according to court documents. | Published June 24 | Read More

Cop ordered K-9 to bite biker with no light on, feds say. He gets prison in CA

In California, former police officer Morteza Amiri was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after he was accused of using excessive force by ordering his K-9 to bite a bicyclist, according to federal prosecutors. Amiri was also accused of falsifying reports and lying to obtain a pay raise, prosecutors say. His actions were part of a broader investigation into misconduct within the Antioch Police Department, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. | Published June 25 | Read More

6-year-old boy with leukemia arrested by ICE is now detained in Texas, suit says

A lawsuit in Texas says a 6-year-old boy with leukemia and his family have been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, creating concerns over him receiving necessary medical care. The family, seeking asylum from Honduras, was arrested after their case was dismissed in Los Angeles immigration court, according to their attorneys. The lawsuit argues that their detention violates their rights. | Published June 26 | Read More

More guards sexually abused women at CA prison called ‘rape club,’ feds say

A federal investigation into a now-closed California women’s prison, which has been called the “rape club,” has led to charges against more guards accused of sexual abuse, federal prosecutors say. Jeffrey Wilson and Lawrence Gacad are the latest to be charged with abusing inmates at FCI Dublin, according to prosecutors. Several prison staff members have already been sentenced in related crimes, prosecutors say. | Published June 27 | Read More

McClatchy News continues to follow lawsuits and legal cases from around the country. Check back for more legal stories.

This story was originally published June 28, 2025 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Boy with leukemia arrested, detained by ICE, lawyers say, and 5 more legal cases."

Julia Marnin
McClatchy DC
Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.
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