District of Alaska
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Fairbanks Man sentenced to three years for drug cultivationRead the Press Release
Fairbanks, Alaska -U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a Fairbanks man was sentenced in federal court in Fairbanks for two counts of drug trafficking.
Johnathon Butterfield, 23, of Fairbanks, Alaska, also recently of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced by Chief United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline to 37 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Cooper, who prosecuted the case, Butterfield was one of several persons involved in a cooperative venture to manufacture marijuana and to possess the drug with intent to distribute. Butterfield pled guilty to conspiracy and also to one count of manufacturing the drug.
In entering the sentence, Judge Beistline found that Butterfield had participated in cultivating more than five hundred marijuana plants in order to produce the marijuana intended for sale. The court also found that he had possessed hand guns and ammunition in connection with his commercial operation.
Ms. Loeffler commends the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Alaska Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit for the investigation of this case.
Fairbanks Man sentenced to ten years for drug cultivationRead the Press Release
Fairbanks, Alaska- U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a Fairbanks man was sentenced in federal court in Fairbanks on January 24, 2013, for three counts of drug trafficking and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking crimes.
Floyd Everett Harshman, 54, of Fairbanks, Alaska, was sentenced by Chief United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline to 120 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Cooper, Harshman supervised several persons in a cooperative venture to manufacture marijuana and to possess with intent to distribute. Harshman pled guilty to conspiracy and two counts of manufacturing the drug at different locations in the Fairbanks area, and also to one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking crimes.
In entering the sentence, Judge Beistline found that Harshman had supervised the cultivation of more than one thousand marijuana plants in order to produce the marijuana intended for sale. The court also found that he had possessed hand guns and ammunition in connection with his commercial operation.
Ms. Loeffler commends the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Alaska Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit for the investigation of this case.
Valdez Couple sentenced for long running tax evasion schemeRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that Gary and Marladeen Jokela of Valdez, Alaska, were sentenced for willfully evading Gary Jokela’s tax liabilities for more than a decade. U.S. District Court Judge H. Russel Holland sentenced Gary Jokela to one year in federal prison. Marladeen Jokela was sentenced to six months in federal prison, followed by six months of home confinement.
According to court filings, the Jokelas last filed a tax return in 1984. Meanwhile, Gary Jokela had outstanding tax liabilities that had not been paid since at least 1998. The Internal Revenue Service previously assessed taxes against Mr. Jokela and sent him numerous notices that the Service intended to levy his wages and bank accounts. When the Jokelas received these notices, both Gary and Marladeen began cashing Gary’s paychecks rather than depositing them to their joint bank account. In total, Gary cashed more than $170,000 of his paychecks.
Around the same time, Mrs. Jokela opened a separate bank account in her own name. Neither Gary Jokela's name nor his social security number were associated with this new account. During several of the years at issue in the case, Mrs. Jokela deposited more than $112,000 into her separate account.
The Jokelas also made sure that no taxes were withheld from Gary’s wages. In 2004, Gary submitted an IRS Form W-4 on which he claimed to be “exempt” from federal income tax withholding. When the IRS subsequently attempted to levy Gary’s wages directly from his employer, both of the Jokelas convinced the office’s bookkeeper not to honor the IRS notices.
The Jokelas admitted that they consistently failed to make any payments to the IRS between 1998 and 2008, they continually spent income on other personal items, including a motor home, a timeshare, and vacations. Between 2002 and 2008, the couple made more than $150,000 in credit card purchases, including vacations to Mexico and Hawaii; more than $30,000 on a motor home; and of more than $35,000 on other personal vehicles. Likewise, between 1998 and 2008, the Jokelas made $15,000 in payments on a timeshare in Florida.In addition to their prison sentences, the judge ordered the Jokelas to pay restitution in the amount of $51,889, with the express understanding that the IRS will seek interest and penalties on top of that amount. Judge Holland described the Jokelas’ conduct as “a blatant case of tax evasion” and said that their actions showed a “total lack of respect” for their obligations as citizens, despite their apparent willingness to accept both direct and indirect government benefits. The judge warned that tax evasion schemes that seem “too good to be true” almost always are.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation, and is being jointly prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas C. Bradley and Stephanie C. Courter of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska.
Las Vegas Man sentenced to prison for interstate travel to promote prostituutionRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska B U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a man from Las Vegas was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage for one count of Interstate Travel to Promote Prostitution. Brandon Michael Gadson traveled to Anchorage in July of 2010, with three women, the youngest of whom was 19 years old, and another man for the purpose of trafficking the women on the internet. After arriving, Gadson paid for the hotel rooms for two of the women, and his credit card was used to post explicit advertisements on the internet that the women were available for commercial sex acts. The Vice Squad of the Anchorage Police Department conducted a “sting” operation and Detectives with that unit arrested the three women in less than an hour from the start of the operation. When arrested, Gadson had approximately $10,000 in his pocket, but the three women had only insignificant amounts of cash in their possession.
Gadson, 32, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced January 18, 2013, by United States District Court Judge Sharon M. Gleason, to 18 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. During his period of supervised release, Gadson is restricted from use of the internet without his probation officer’s permission. The sentence imposed was in accordance with the United States Sentencing Guidelines for this crime.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel R. Cooper, Jr., Gadson appeared in at least three videos published on YouTube, all of which lyricized the degradation of women through sex trafficking, and promoted the exploitation of women through physical force. In his sentencing remarks, Cooper noted the Alaska State Legislature’s recent recognition that prostitution is in reality sex trafficking.
In imposing sentence, Judge Gleason termed Gadson’s conduct demeaning to women, and called his crime reprehensible. Judge Gleason found that Gadson was a long time trafficker, essentially living off of women, and so proud of his conduct that he had the word “Pimp” tattooed on the side of his neck. Judge Gleason noted that the tattoos and videos in which Gadson appears are despicable ways to project his sense of self to his family and children. Judge Gleason also said that Gadson’s conduct towards the women he had trafficked, and the videos in which he appeared, were despicable, as was his living off them. Moreover, Judge Gleason found that the assaultive behavior described in the police reports with respect to Jane Doe 1 was egregious.
U.S. Attorney Loeffler stated: “The United States Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with the Anchorage Vice Squad and the Federal Bureau of Investigations’ Innocence Lost Task Force, has prioritized the investigation and prosecution of sex trafficking, with particular emphasis on trafficking and exploitation of children and Native Alaskans. We will work with our State, Local and Federal partners to continuously and systematically attack this most exploitive of crimes.”
Ms. Loeffler commends the Vice Squad of the Anchorage Police Department for the investigation of this case, with the support of the Federal Bureau of Investigations’ Innocence Lost Task Force.
Arizona Man sentenced to five years in prison for drug cultivationRead the Press Release
Fairbanks, Alaska-U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that an Arizona man was sentenced in federal court in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Friday, January 18, for two counts of drug trafficking.
Nathanael Harshman, 20, formerly of Fairbanks, Alaska, and recently from Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced by Chief United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline to 60 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Cooper, who prosecuted the case, Harshman was one of several persons involved in a cooperative venture to manufacture marijuana and to possess it with intent to distribute by selling. Harshman pled guilty to conspiracy and also to one count of manufacturing the drug.
In entering the sentence, the judge found that Harshman had participated in cultivating more than one thousand marijuana plants in order to produce the marijuana intended for sale. The court also found that he had possessed hand guns and ammunition in connection with this commercial operation.
Ms. Loeffler commends the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Alaska Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit for the investigation of this case.
Southeast Resident sentenced for illegally killing, selling and failing to tag marine mammalsRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that Sherman Roger Alexander, 58, a resident of Ketchikan, Alaska, pled guilty and was sentenced to three violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act for his role in the illegal taking of 87 sea otters, the failure to tag the hides as required, and for the illegal selling of marine mammal parts. Alexander was the fourth individual to be convicted and sentenced as a result of U.S. Fish and Wildlife undercover investigation into the illegal taking and selling of sea otters in Southeast Alaska.
As part of the proceedings in court, Alexander pled guilty to three charges involving the illegal take, sale and recording of unlawfully taken sea otters. Between April 23, 2008, and May 4, 2008, Alexander hunted sea otters with another person using that individual’s boat. The boat owner/driver herded sea otters to Alexander and, after the otters were killed assisted Alexander with their transport. Eighty-seven sea otters were killed during these hunts and Alexander unlawfully gave 14 sea otter skulls to the boat owner/driver after the hunts. Only Alaska Natives are allowed to take marine mammals and the charged hunting practice used by Alexander was illegal. As to the other violations, Alexander failed to record any of the 87 otters he killed, as required by the law. The approximate value of the illegally taken pelts is $30,000. As to the third count, Alexander admitted to selling a sea otter blanket from an illegally taken sea otter to an individual who was not an Alaska Native. The blanket also contained marine mammal parts that are illegal to sell to a non-Alaska native.
Alexander received a sentence of 6 months home confinement, and was ordered to pay a fine of $10,000, forfeit 144 sea otter hides and serve probation for a period of one year. During that one year period, Alexander is not allowed to hunt, nor partake in any business involving sea otters. The United States agreed with the court that Alexander could teach tanning and other skills to other members of the Haida/Tlingit community during his term of probation or home confinement.
Alexander was the fourth individual sentenced in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s undercover operation into the illegal take of sea otters. In 2009, Christopher R. Rowland, a non-Alaska Native and resident of Craig, Alaska, was sentenced to 37 months in prison, a fine of $5,000 and 3 years of supervised release as a result of his conviction in federal court on felony charges of violating the Lacey Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, among other crimes.
At the time of Rowland’s sentencing, the United States Attorney’s office advised the court that Rowland was extensively engaged in the illegal hunting, killing, and export of sea otters, sea lions and harbor seals and the illegal sale of their pelts. As explained to the court, the investigation started as a response to a concerned citizen’s tip that non-Alaska Natives were illegally killing sea otters for their pelts. IN following leads subsequent to this tip, the investigation developed into a two-year undercover operation into the illegal killing and commercialization, by non-Alaska Natives and Alaska Natives alike, of sea otters, seals, and sea lions, and all of which are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. During the undercover investigation, agents documented the activities of Rowland, Alexander, Michael Smith and Douglas Smith in the illegal take of sea otters, the illegal sale of their pelts, and the failure to record and report harvest data as required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act as well as the sale of animal parts from animals protected by the Endangered Species Act.
The undercover operation revealed that Rowland conducted frequent and well-planned hunting trips to harvest sea otters and sell their pelts on a commercial scale and without regard to the consequences of his illegal activities. Rowland informed agents that he researched the regulations and laws governing sea otters by anonymously contacting various government agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for information on marine mammal rules and regulations. Thus armed with regulatory and legal information, Rowland gained a clear understanding on how best to conceal his crimes, and was able to put that understanding into practice. Rowland also took the additional steps to maximize his hunting time at sea by studying the work of biologists and other population distribution studies of sea otter populations in Southeast Alaska. From these habitat and population studies, Rowland learned of the best sea otter rafting and congregation areas where the mammals would present a larger concentration of targets.
In April, 2010, that Douglas Linn Smith, a resident of Craig, Alaska, was sentenced to one year in federal prison after pleading guilty to two felony charges of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and a single violation of the Lacey Act. In connection with his guilty plea and sentencing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Skrocki advised the court that Smith, who is not an Alaska Native, was involved in a conspiracy to illegally take, transport, sell, and attempt to sell illegally killed sea otters on the open market via the internet. He also pled guilty to the sale of parts of a Steller’s Sea Lion, an marine mammal listed as threatened in Southeast Alaska by the Endangered Species Act.In July, 2011, Sitka resident, Michael E. Smith, 36, was sentenced by the Honorable Leslie Longenbaugh, United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Alaska, to six months imprisonment for illegally selling two tanned sea otter pelts to an undercover officer in violation of the Lacey Act.
Smith, an Alaska Native, illegally sold two whole sea otter pelts to a non-Alaska Native undercover agent for $800 in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The tanned pelts were then shipped outside of Alaska to the undercover agent in violation of the Lacey Act. As part of his sentence of six months imprisonment, Smith was placed on a one year term of supervised release and during that time cannot hunt, or in any way participate in the take, sale or manufacture of marine mammals or marine mammal products. Smith was also required to forfeit a firearm used in connection with the offense.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement (USFWS-OLE) led the investigation that led to the prosecution of these individuals and the investigation benefitted significantly from the support of Alaska Wildlife Troopers, NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement, U. S. Forest Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Marshals Service, the State of Alaska Attorney General’s Office, the Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement, and the U. S. Attorney’s Office.Fairbanks Man indicted in murder for hire plotRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska B U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a Fairbanks area man has been indicted by the federal grand jury for two counts of using interstate commerce facilities with the intent that a murder for hire take place in either Indiana or Michigan. The indictment returned by the grand jury charges Fairbanks area resident Eric Donald Grabber, 55, with one count of causing another person to travel from Alaska to Indiana on December 29, 2012, with the intent that a contract murder of another individual take place in either Indiana or Michigan. The indictment charges Grabber with a second count of making a cellular telephone call on January 3, 2013, from Alaska to Michigan in furtherance of the murder for hire plot.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Bottini, who presented the case to the grand jury, indicated that the law provides for a sentence of up to ten years as well as a fine of up to $250,000.00. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Anchorage Woman sentenced to 84 monthsRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska B U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a woman from Anchorage, Alaska was sentenced on Thursday, January 10, 2013, in federal court in Anchorage for her role in an Anchorage drug distribution conspiracy.
Erica Tolliver, 35, from Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Timothy M. Burgess to 84 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release for her role in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine in Anchorage. Tolliver had previously plead guilty to an indictment charging her and her co-conspirator, Kelvin Washington, a/k/a, “Special K,” with one count of drug conspiracy. Her co-conspirator, Kelvin Washington, a/k/a, “Special K,” was sentenced to 96 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release for his role in the conspiracy on November 20, 2012.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Cavanaugh, who prosecuted the case, Tolliver and Washington made several sales of crack cocaine out of their shared residence in an Anchorage apartment to a confidential informant working for the Anchorage Police. Anchorage Police searched the apartment and found more crack and powder cocaine, as well as two firearms, and nearly $10,000 in cash. Interspersed with the $10,000, Anchorage Police found money they had used to purchase the crack cocaine from the co-conspirators. The total amount of cocaine that was recovered through controlled sales to a confidential informant and during the search of the apartment was 26 grams of crack cocaine and 68 grams of powder cocaine.
Ms. Loeffler commended the Anchorage Police Department, Alaska State Troopers and Drug Enforcement Administration for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Tolliver.
Petersburg Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Child ExploitationRead the Press Release
Anchorage, Alaska – United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a Petersburg resident was sentenced in federal court in Juneau to 12 years in federal prison for the distribution, receipt, and possession of child pornography.
On January 7, 2015, Tye Leif Petersen, 46, a resident of Petersburg, Alaska, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Timothy M. Burgess. Upon completion of his prison term, Petersen must complete a 25 year term of supervised release.
Petersen was sentenced to 144 months (12 years) in prison for a count of distribution, receipt, and possession of sexual explicit images and videos of children. Many of images were of prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The sentences are to run concurrently.
According to Assistant U. S. Attorney Jack S. Schmidt, Petersen, who had no criminal record, worked as the Director of Maintenance for the Petersburg School District. Petersen had distributed, received, and possessed over 2,000 images and 39 videos that included children under the age of twelve and material depicting sadistic or masochistic conduct. Petersen, in his position as Director of Maintenance, surreptitiously took pictures of children at the local high school and in the community of Petersburg. Petersen also obtained additional images from electronic media in the school’s lost and found, and on school-issued computers where Petersen recovered images using a software recovery program to obtain deleted images from the computers. Petersen then used those images to trade for child pornography on a Russian website that is solely used for the distribution and receipt of child pornography.
In ordering Petersen’s sentence, Judge Burgess noted the seriousness of the underlying offense and that Petersen’s actions were a “betrayal of trust” and “a level of betrayal and breach of trust that goes beyond what happens in most cases.” Judge Burgess further stated that the images the defendant took and used to trade for child pornography are “out there on the internet, forever.” Judge Burgess further noted the need to deter the defendant and others, the need to protect the public from the defendant, and the need to provide treatment for the defendant as reasons for the sentence imposed.
Ms. Loeffler commends the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Petersburg Police Department joint investigation of this case.
This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative which was launched to increase federal prosecutions of sexual predators of children, and to reduce the number of Internet crimes against children including child pornography trafficking. As a part of PSC, the United States Attorney’s Office has teamed with state and local agencies and organizations to increase law enforcement presence on the Internet, and to educate the public about safe Internet use, thereby reducing the risk that children might fall prey to online sexual predators. For additional information on the PSC initiative, please go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov or call the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska.