Northern District of Alabama
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Coal Company Executive Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Bribing State LegislatorRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A coal company executive who was in a scheme to bribe a state legislator to use his office to oppose Environmental Protection Agency Actions in north Birmingham, received a federal prison sentence today of 30 months, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Holloman.
District Judge Abdul Kallon sentenced David Lynn Roberson, 67, to 30 months in prison, $25,000 fine, and one year supervised release, for bribing former Alabama Rep. Oliver Robinson with a $375,000 contract paid to him through his non-profit Oliver Robinson Foundation over the past two years. He will be on bond pending appeal.
Roberson was convicted on July 23, 2018 of bribery, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
Robinson pleaded guilty in September 2017 to the conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, and tax evasion.
“The investigation and prosecution into Roberson not only lead to his conviction, but a just and stiff sentence”, Town said. “I am extremely proud of our agents, our prosecutors, and thankful for the dutiful work of the judge and jury. The victims in this case have been given a voice and everyone, especially Roberson, has heard it with unmistakable clarity: the citizens of Alabama will not tolerate corruption and federal prison awaits those who dare test that resolve.”
“I hope the message is clear”, Sharp said. “If you bribe a public official expect the FBI to investigate you, the U.S. Attorney to prosecute you, and you will answer for your crimes. Public corruption is the FBI’s top criminal priority for a reason and we will continue to root it out at every level.”
The FBI and IRS investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Martin, Robin Beardsley Mark and John B. Ward prosecuted.
Birmingham Lawyer Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Bribing State LegislatorRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A Birmingham lawyer who was in a scheme to bribe a state legislator to use his office to oppose Environmental Protection Agency Actions in north Birmingham, received a federal prison sentence today of 5 years, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Holloman.
District Judge Abdul Kallon sentenced JOEL IVERSON GILBERT, 46, to 5 years in prison, $25,000 fine, and 2 years supervised release with 100 hours of community service each year, for bribing former Alabama Rep. Oliver Robinson with a $375,000 contract paid to him through his non-profit Oliver Robinson Foundation over the past two years.
Gilbert was convicted on July 23, 2018 of bribery, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
Robinson pleaded guilty in September 2017 to the conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, and tax evasion.
“Gilbert was too clever by half and his concoction and execution of this illegal scheme was met today with just punishment”, Town said. “This case represents all manner of poisons in corrupt politics. It is my hope that these convictions and sentences will dissuade those who seek to gain unlawful advantages in the political process for their personal gain…and at the expense of too many. The victims in this case have gotten a voice through this process and that voice will ring in the ears of Mr. Gilbert for years to come.”
“Today, Mr. Gilbert answers for his path of corruption and will spend the next five years being held accountable for his actions”, Sharp said. “The FBI and our partners will continue to aggressively pursue those who would pursue corrupt practices.”
The FBI and IRS investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Martin, Robin Beardsley Mark and John B. Ward prosecuted.
U.S. Attorney Announces the Appointment of the District Election Officer for the Northern District of AlabamaRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town announced today that he has appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Jason R. Cheek to serve as the district election officer for the Northern District of Alabama. In that capacity, AUSA Cheek is responsible for overseeing the district’s handling of any complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses in consultation with Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C.
“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our great democracy. The Department of Justice will ensure that every citizen who is entitled to vote is able to do so without undue interference or discrimination,” Town said. “My office will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of our election process.”
In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 6, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, Town said that AUSA Cheek will be on duty in the Northern District while the polls are open on election day. The public can reach him at the following telephone number: (205) 244-2001.
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process.
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, D.C., by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to [email protected] or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.
A Former Alabama Resident Charged by Complaint with Attempting to Provide Material Support and Resources to a Foreign Terrorist OrganizationRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – Alaa Mohd Abusaad was charged by complaint in Birmingham, Alabama with attempting to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda, a designated foreign terrorist organization, and aiding and abetting others, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2339B and 2. Assistant Attorney General John Demers of the National Security Division, United States Attorney Jay E. Town of the Northern District of Alabama, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. of the Birmingham Division made the announcement today.
As set forth in the complaint, Abusaad instructed an FBI undercover employee (UCE) about how to send money to the mujahedeen—fighters engaged in jihad. Abusaad told the UCE that money “is always needed. You can’t have a war without weapons. You can’t prepare a soldier without equipment.” Abusaad also advised the UCE on how to send money without getting caught, such as by using fake names and addresses. Subsequently, Abusaad introduced the UCE to a financial facilitator who could route the UCE’s money to “brothers that work with aq (al Qaeda).”
If convicted, Abusaad faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and up to a life term supervised release. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the assigned judge.
Investigation of the case was conducted by the FBI, including FBI offices in Birmingham, Alabama and Cleveland, and Toledo, Ohio. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Henry Cornelius and Manu Balachandran, and Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The charges contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Federal Jury Convicts Chilton County Man for Transporting Two Minors and Producing, Transporting, and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal jury today convicted a Chilton County man on multiple counts of transporting two minor girls for illegal sexual activity and producing, transporting, and possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E, Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
The jury returned a guilty verdict against BRUCE NICHOLSON, 56, after three days of testimony before U.S. District Court Judge Madeline Haikala. A sentencing date has not been set.
BRUCE NICHOLSON was convicted of multiple charges for production, transportation, and possession of child pornography and transporting two minors with the intent to engage in unlawful sexual activity with them. The evidence at trial demonstrated that, for years, NICHOLSON had sexually abused his minor daughter and minor stepdaughter. In mid-2012, after impregnating his stepdaughter with twins, NICHOLSON fled the state of Alabama with both girls. He was apprehended in another state more than a month later.
NICHOLSON was indicted in 2016 on Mann Act and child pornography charges. Forensic examination of NICHOLSON’s devices revealed images of child pornography, including one image he had directed his stepdaughter to produce and send him.
“This man stole the innocence of two girls and a large part of their childhoods, and he had every intention of stealing the rest,” Town said. “This guilty verdict cannot take away the pain those girls have experienced, but it sends a message loud and clear to this defendant and every other sexual abuser. It also is another example of the courage that survivors of this abuse continue to show so that not another second of their lives is taken by these disgusting criminals.”
“Taking away the innocence of a child is deplorable and inexcusable,” Sharp said. “I am proud of the work done by my agents and our partners to hold Nicholson accountable for these crimes.”
FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys J.B. Ward and Don Long are prosecuting.
Law Enforcement Agencies Join Forces to Prevent Violent Crime in HuntsvilleRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE– A task force established to prevent violent crime in the City of Huntsville held its inaugural meeting today at the Huntsville Police Department, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Huntsville Police Chief Mark McMurray.
The Huntsville Public Safety Task Force is an effort between the United States Attorney’s Office and the Huntsville Police Department to develop a strategic plan for preventing violent crime in the City of Huntsville and the metro area. Joining Town and McMurray on the task force are representatives of the Mayor’s Office, Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Madison County District Attorney’s Office, Madison Police Department, Decatur Police Department, Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, Huntsville Housing Authority, and the federal law enforcement agencies FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service and Homeland Security Investigations.
“The formation of this Task Force marks the beginning of a strategic partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement to utilize enhanced crime intelligence to aggressively pursue the worst offenders in our city,” Town said. “The Task Force provides a needed platform to target alpha criminals for prosecution in the forum where the sanction is the highest, remove them from our streets with severe punishment, and return our communities back to their rightful owners...the law abiding citizens. Bed space in state and federal prisons awaits.”
“The HPSTF will be a great enhancement in our fight against violent criminals not only in our city but in North Alabama, McMurray said.” “Our Mission in this Task Force will be to systematically remove the most violent criminals and repeat offenders from the top down.” “The criminal intelligence derived from this list of repeat violent offenders will remain law enforcement sensitive information.” “This multi-agency relationship with federal authorities will greatly enhance sentencing these offenders and keep our city safe.” “We appreciate and look forward to working with Jay Town and his office in making this a success for everyone involved.”
“Huntsville is one of the safest cities in the country, and we want to keep it that way,” said Mayor Tommy Battle. “We are pleased to work proactively and collaboratively with our law enforcement partners in this initiative. It sends a powerful message to criminals – we won’t tolerate violent behavior, and we will find you, prosecute you, and put you in prison.”
The task force incorporates principles of Project Safe Neighborhoods which is the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy. By these agencies working together, it allows the task force to have a comprehensive utilization of multi-level resources to plan, collect, process, analyze and disseminate information among each other and to make targeting and capturing key offenders easier. Each agency will have an operational expectation unique to their department with the collective goal of producing useful intelligence on the worst criminal elements so that investigations can yield successful prosecutions in the jurisdiction where the punishment is the most significant. This allows the community and its citizens to enjoy the absence of these worst offenders for the longest possible time without reprisal.
Reinvigorated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions last year, PSN is a nationwide Department of Justice program committed to reducing violent crime by networking law enforcement agencies. PSN also provides funding to local and state agencies to assist them with departmental or agency operational needs. United States Attorney Town is the lone U.S. Attorney on the national Violent Crimes Reduction Coordinating Committee, which oversees the PSN program.
https://www.al.com/news/2018/10/north-alabama-task-force-targets-the-most-violent-criminals-and-repeat-offenders.html
Sylacauga Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison on Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a Sylacauga man to 10 years in prison on drug and gun charges, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.
U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor sentenced DAMON EUGENE ODEN, 40, for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and for possessing with intent to distribute about 12 grams of methamphetamine. A federal jury convicted Oden in June. When Sylacauga Police arrested Oden in May 2017, he was riding a bicycle and had a Hi-Point .380-caliber pistol in his pants pocket, digital scales in a backpack, and about 12 grams of methamphetamine in small plastic bags, according to court records.
“A convicted felon carrying drugs and a gun can only mean harm to the community,” Town said. “A federal jury convicted this defendant of federal crimes, so the sentence he received today is the sentence he will serve in full in federal prison.”
“This case is a good example of our law enforcement partners working with ATF’s crime gun intelligence, focused on areas where firearms are fueling violence and endangering the safety of those communities,” Watson said.
Court records relate the arrest that led to Oden’s conviction as follows:
On May 8, 2017, Sylacauga Police were patrolling an area of the city that had been experiencing vehicle break-ins when they saw Oden enter some woods on a bicycle. The officers, including Sylacauga Police Chief Kelley Johnson, stopped Oden as he came out on the other side of the woods.
As the officers approached Oden, they saw a gun in his pants pocket, which they prevented him from grabbing and then recovered. Oden was holding a plastic bag containing methamphetamine and had other bags containing methamphetamine in a pouch on his belt. He wore the backpack that held the scales.
Oden previously was convicted of felony unlawful possession of a controlled substance in January 2011 in Coosa County Circuit Court.
ATF investigated the case in conjunction with Sylacauga Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John B. Felton and John Geer prosecuted the case.
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Three U.S. Attorneys Announce Progress in Making Alabama Safer Through Project Safe NeighborhoodsRead the Press Release
MONTGOMERY – One year ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which Attorney General Sessions has made the centerpiece of the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Throughout the past year, we have partnered with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs. I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face. Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives, and restore safety to our communities.”
“In late 2017, Montgomery needed help. Too many people were illegally carrying guns, too many people were being shot, too many people were living in fear,” stated Louis V. Franklin, Sr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. “PSN was the perfect program to help Montgomery. So, we joined with our federal, state and local partners and focused on the worst of the worst violent criminals in Montgomery. We had a goal to reduce violent crime in Montgomery, and we saw results. By May of 2018, we saw an almost 16% decline in violent crime in Montgomery. This PSN partnership will continue to see Montgomery through this violent crime crisis. We have an obligation to our community and we will fulfill that obligation.”
“Because of PSN and the leadership of our Attorney General, never before have our law enforcement partnerships been so robust,” stated Jay E. Town, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. “Never before have we prosecuted so many defendants, especially violent criminals, in federal court, where sentences do not suffer the sanctuary of parole. Never before has there been the commitment to resources by the Department of Justice at every level of law enforcement to aggressively address violent crime. Federal prison beds are being filled by our worst offenders, and our neighborhoods are safer than ever before.”
“Most Alabamians are benefiting from a much safer Alabama as a direct result of the leadership of Attorney General Jeff Sessions,” stated Richard W. Moore, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. “Law enforcement officers have been empowered to do what they do best and the violent crime rate in many of our communities is going down. Aggressive efforts to take the “trigger pullers” who terrorize neighborhoods off the street makes sense and makes Alabama a safer place to live. Violent crime rates, however, are still too high and we are not resting on the good results that we have seen over the past two years. The American people have been clear about their desire to have a safer country. We are starting to deliver on the promise that President Trump made to make that a reality.”
As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the revitalized PSN program, here are some of the highlights of our PSN actions over the past year:
Enforcement Actions
- Federal, state, and local agencies tackled the violent crime problem in Montgomery by vigorously pursuing illegal firearm prosecutions. From January to April of 2018, the USAO concentrated on indicting Montgomery firearm cases. Additionally, Operation Triple Beam[1] kicked off and saturated law enforcement in those areas in Montgomery with the largest number of shootings. As a result of these partnerships and the re-invigorated PSN program, in May of this year the violent crime rate dropped in Montgomery by almost 16%.
- The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District has formed an array of task forces and partnerships that have seen impressive results. The Northern District office has formed Public Safety Task Forces in Huntsville and Birmingham, both designed to target the worst offenders and repeat offenders who have besieged those great cities too long. The office also formed the Prosecutor-to-Prosecutor Program, or “P3”, where District Attorneys from around the Northern District are given training and direct lines of communication to federal prosecutors so that state charges can be removed to federal court where the sentence does not suffer the sanction of parole. We have dramatically increased our federal presence in every community, every county, and every corner of the Northern District.
- This summer, a three-month operation focused on reducing violent crime in Selma and the Gulf Coast region resulted in federal charges against 24 defendants, with about 50 guns seized. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama joined with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to interrupt the pattern of federal firearms violations.
- Focused enforcement efforts throughout the Southern District are bringing armed criminals to justice in federal court, where the U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged 192 cases with 205 defendants with federal gun crimes in the past 12 months.
Community Partnerships
- In order to increase illegal firearm prosecutions in Montgomery, the U.S. Attorney’s Office joined with the Montgomery Police Department to organize training for each Montgomery Police officer, starting with patrol. The PSN coordinator and the Law Enforcement Coordinator met officers at rollcall at 5:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. until all officers were trained. The USAO has now expanded that project to other Middle District counties.
- Attorney General Jeff Sessions designated Birmingham as one of the nations’ few Public Safety Partnership communities where the Department of Justice infuses resources to the city and creates a platform for all levels of law enforcement to join forces to reduce violent criminal activity in the metropolitan area. Never before has there been the level of inter-agency cooperation that now exists in Birmingham. The Northern District office has taken that formula and expanded it around the Northern District, especially to include Anniston and Tuscaloosa. Not only are traditional members of law enforcement at the table, but also community leaders, City Hall, non-profits, and other groups with the sole interest of making neighborhoods safe again.
- In the Southern District, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has continued its Bridging the Gap program, a successful partnership with the FBI, the Mobile Police Department, community leaders, and school systems to reach out to ninth-grade students about demonstrating the proper conduct youth and law enforcement should expect from one another during a law enforcement encounter. This program, developed in Mobile, was implemented nationwide by all 56 FBI field offices.
- U.S. Attorney Richard Moore and his staff have been actively involved in the Selma area, coordinating with community organizations, community leaders, law enforcement, faith-based organizations, and the public to develop prevention and enforcement priorities, and to establish a long-term presence in the community.
Improvements to Community Safety
- The FBI’s official crime data for 2017 reflects that, after two consecutive, historic increases in violent crime, in the first year of the Trump Administration the nationwide violent crime rate began to decline. The nationwide violent crime rate decreased by approximately one percent in 2017, while the nationwide homicide rate decreased by nearly one and a half percent.
- The preliminary information we have for 2018 gives us reason for optimism that our efforts are continuing to pay off. Public data from 60 major cities show that violent crime was down by nearly five percent in those cities in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period a year ago.
- As stated above, due to the enhanced partnerships created by the re-invigorated PSN program, the violent crime rate in Montgomery decreased in May by almost 16%.
- The Northern District of Alabama has prosecuted more defendants in the past two years than in any two-year period in over a decade. Now, more than ever, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies are working together to target our worst offenders in the highest crime areas so that those neighborhoods can be returned to their rightful owners...the law-abiding citizens who live there. Recognizing that incarceration alone will not solve all problems with crime, the U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to work with community leaders from around the Northern District to provide opportunities and prevention programs that will not only prevent future criminal behavior, but make such behavior unnecessary in the first place.
- Statistics from the Mobile Police Department show that focused enforcement efforts are paying off. From January 1 through the end of September, violent crime decreased by 1.7%, and includes a 34.4% reduction in criminal homicides and a 9.4% reduction in robberies.
These enforcement actions and partnerships are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. Learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods.
[1] Operation Triple Beam was led by the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force and focused on street level crime, gang-related crime, undercover narcotics operations, traffic stop enforcement, and a warrant service in identified high-crime districts.
Huntsville Man Sentenced to 17½ Years in Prison as Armed Career CriminalRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE – A Huntsville man who shot at police in 2015 when they came to his home to serve a search warrant received a federal prison sentence Thursday of more than 17 years, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn sentenced CEDRIN FARODD CARTER, 35, to 17½ years in prison for illegal possession of marijuana and for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Carter’s felon in possession conviction carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum life sentence because the judge determined he is an armed career criminal.
“Society needs protection from dangerous criminals like this defendant, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are providing it,” Town said. “Carter is an armed career criminal with a string of prior drug offenses. He was dealing drugs, carrying a gun and fired it at police in September 2015. The judge sentenced Carter to 17½ years in federal prison, which ensures that he will be unable to further threaten society during this time.”
“The sentencing represents the direct impact by ATFs Crime Gun Intelligence for those who choose to cause harm to law enforcement and the public,” Watson said.
In sentencing Carter, Judge Blackburn found that he committed perjury when he testified in his own defense at his 2018 trial. According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Carter’s perjury included “outlandish allegations that law enforcement staged a crime scene, fabricated evidence, and coerced him into signing a Miranda waiver form. He plainly obstructed justice and failed to accept responsibility for his crimes.”
ATF investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Royster and Mohammad Khatib prosecuted.
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Anniston Man Arrested on Federal Charge for Having Gun at High School Football GameRead the Press Release
ANNISTON – Authorities today arrested an 18-year-old Anniston man on federal charges for having a pistol at an Anniston High School football game on Sept. 28, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.
ATF agents, assisted by the Anniston Police Department and the Seventh Judicial Circuit Major Crimes Unit, arrested CAMRON WATKINS on a federal criminal complaint charging him with knowingly having a gun within a school zone.
“Anyone who illegally brings a gun to a high school football game is a threat,” Town said. “Federal, state and local law enforcement have joined together to protect our schools and our communities from gun violence. Federal prosecution of gun crimes means real prison time.”
“The partnerships with the Anniston Police Department and the Calhoun County District Attorney’s Office are part of the efforts by ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence to reduce potential violent crime that impacts our school systems,” Watson said.
“We are thankful to our federal partners ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s office for their tireless work in Anniston,” said Police Chief Shane Denham. “Gun crimes in Anniston will not be tolerated and we are prepared, by any legal means necessary, to pursue, arrest, and prosecute anyone possessing illegal firearms. The Anniston Police Department is committed to making our community a safe environment for all.”
“We are very appreciative of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the APD working together to quickly address this public safety issue,” said Calhoun County District Attorney Brian McVeigh.
According to an arrest affidavit by ATF Special Agent Eric Hoxter, an Anniston Police officer working the Anniston High School football game on Sept. 28 stopped Watkins after a woman described Watkins to him and said he was carrying a gun. The officer found a loaded Taurus Model PT-709 9mm semi-automatic pistol stuck inside Watkins’ pants.
ATF, in conjunction with Anniston Police and the Calhoun County District Attorney’s Office, investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney John Geer is prosecuting.
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Drug Dealer Sentenced to 24 Years in Federal Prison for Selling Heroin that Killed Hoover ManRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a Birmingham man to 24 years and four months in prison on charges that included selling heroin that caused the death of a 22-year-old Hoover man, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.
U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre sentenced EDWARD LEE HENDERSON JR., 31, for selling heroin on Dec. 30, 2016, that caused the Hoover man’s death. The young man’s father found his son unresponsive in the parking lot of a Hoover business on Jan. 2, 2017. Forensic medical examination concluded the man would not have died “but for the heroin” found in his system.
Judge Bowdre also sentenced Henderson for distributing heroin and cocaine and for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Henderson, also known as Hot Boi Eddy, pleaded guilty to the charges in April.
“Overdoses from heroin and other opioids killed more people in America in 2017 than either car crashes or guns,” Town said. “This defendant pushed his deadly poison hard. My office and our law enforcement partners are deep into the fight against the country’s opioid epidemic. Drug dealers should be getting the message that if they cause an overdose death, they will spend time, possibly the rest of their lives, in federal prison.”
“The successful prosecution of Edward Lee Henderson should put others who engage in this type of activity on notice: if you sell drugs, and that drug causes a death, you will face federal charges and a lengthy prison sentence,” Hamilton said. “This ‘career offender’s’ sentence in federal prison sends a message of our unending resolve to pursue drug traffickers who wreak havoc in our communities.”
According to evidence presented in court, the overdose victim was a heroin addict who checked himself out of a rehabilitation facility in Bessemer on Dec. 7, 2016. On Dec. 30, 2016, he traveled to Birmingham to buy heroin from Henderson, whose number was saved in the victim’s cell phone as Hot Boi Eddy.
Investigators found text messages to and from Henderson on the victim’s phone discussing the potential sell of heroin between Dec. 24, 2016, and Dec. 27, 2016, according to evidence in court. One of the texts from Henderson said: “Christmas Eve deals goin today but deals only start when u get 3 or[sic] them today!”
A Christmas Eve text from the victim to a friend asked the friend to call 911 if he had not heard back from him in 15 or 20 minutes. The victim gave his friend an address for his location. The address was Henderson’s residence, according to evidence.
About a month after the victim’s overdose death, a Birmingham Police detective began making undercover drug buys from Henderson, according to evidence. The officer bought heroin from Henderson three times that February. In May 2017, the undercover bought heroin and cocaine from Henderson.
On July 4, 2017, when Birmingham Police stopped Henderson riding an all-terrain vehicle on Sixth Avenue South, he had a Smith & Wesson pistol in his waistband. Henderson had a previous felony conviction in Jefferson County Circuit Court in April 2012 for discharging a firearm into an occupied building, and an October 2010 conviction in Jefferson County District Court for unlawful possession of a controlled substance, according to court records.
DEA investigated the case in conjunction with the Birmingham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory R. Dimler prosecuted the case.
Federal Jury Returns Drug Conviction in Under Five MinutesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal jury took less than five minutes on Tuesday to convict a Birmingham man of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.
The jury returned its guilty verdict against NICHOLAS FAUSTO CISNERUS, 29, after two days of testimony before U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler. A sentencing date has not been set.
“Our message to drug dealers is unmistakably clear: you will go to federal prison,” Town said. “This jury underscored that message with a quick, decisive, and unanimous verdict. Cisnerus was given a fair trial...now he will be given bed space in a federal prison.”
“Nicholas Cisnerus rolled the dice by going to trial. He hoped that at least one of the 12 jurors wouldn’t believe the mountain of evidence obtained during this year-long investigation,” Hamilton said. “Luckily for the citizens of the Northern District of Alabama, the jurors in this case applied common sense to their duties and now Cisnerus will be second-guessing his gamble for many years to come in federal prison, where he belongs.”
Evidence at trial showed that, in 2017, Cisnerus was a member of a conspiracy distributing multiple kilograms of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine in Jefferson and Blount counties. Cisnerus had supplied the conspiracy with methamphetamine and had trafficked in cocaine and heroin, according to testimony. DEA obtained a federal wiretap, which captured Cisnerus speaking with another drug trafficker in coded drug language.
In late September 2017, a DEA agent, acting undercover, purchased half a pound of methamphetamine from another member of the conspiracy. Surveillance showed that member traveling to Cisnerus’s house to obtain the drugs, then returning to his house to deliver payment from the sale. Agents subsequently searched Cisnerus’ house and found drug packaging and scales, among other items.
DEA investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Austin Shutt and Mohammad Khatib are prosecuting.
Huntsville Woman Arrested for Distributing Fentanyl That Caused a DeathRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – Federal agents today arrested a Huntsville woman for distributing the synthetic opioid fentanyl that resulted in a death, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.
DEA agents arrested ASHLEY DANIELLE SMITH, 30, at her Huntsville apartment on a one-count federal indictment charging her with distributing fentanyl on Nov. 15, 2017, that resulted in the death of a 25-year old male. The grand jury returned the indictment against Smith on Sept. 26.
“The Department of Justice has marshaled forces to fight the opioid crisis that continues to claim lives and ravage families in America,” Town said. “Fentanyl is lethal in minute doses, and as dealers add it to more and more drugs, it is causing both fatal and non-fatal overdoses. Our message to the drug dealers could not be more clear...cause an overdose and go to federal prison.”
“A very small amount of fentanyl is a lethal dose, whether it is ingested or absorbed through the skin. It is important that the public is aware of the danger of this powerful and potentially lethal drug,” Hamilton said. “DEA is committed to working with our local and federal law enforcement partners, investigating and arresting those who distribute this dangerous drug, especially when that distribution results in a death,” said DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.
The penalty for distributing a controlled substance that results in death is 20 years to life in prison and a maximum $1 million fine.
DEA investigated the case in partnership with the Huntsville Police Department and the Madison County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Becher Sr. is prosecuting.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Huntsville Man Arrested of Being a Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – Federal agents today arrested the father of a Huntsville second-grader who was accidentally shot after taking a gun to school and showing it to a friend in a restroom at Blossomwood Elementary School in Huntsville, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.
ATF arrested LETROY COLE JR., 41, on the federal charge of being a convicted felon in possession of firearm. A federal grand jury returned the indictment against Cole on Sept. 26. The indictment charges that Cole possessed a Kel Tec model P-32 .32-caliber semi-automatic pistol on Sept. 17 in Madison County. He previously was convicted of felony possession of narcotics in circuit court in Cook County, Ill., in 1995, and of possession of a pistol by a felon in Cook County Circuit Court in February 2002, according to the indictment.
“Convicted felons who possess firearms will soon possess bed space in a federal prison,” Town said. “In this case, a federal grand jury returned a federal indictment with that will be presented in federal court and, upon conviction, a federal judge will impose a prison sentence that will not provide the sanctuary of parole.”
ATF Special Agent in Charge, Marcus Watson said. “ATF Crime Gun Intelligence Centers are the driving force to reduce the potential for violent crime and disrupting the shooting cycle that plagues our neighborhoods, to include firearms recovered in the school systems.”
The maximum penalty for federal charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
ATF investigated the case, in partnership with the Huntsville Police Department and the Madison County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Becher Sr. is prosecuting.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Former State Legislator Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Accepting BribesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a former Alabama legislator to nearly three years in prison for accepting bribes from a Birmingham lawyer and an Alabama coal company executive to advocate their employers’ opposition to EPA actions in north Birmingham. U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Holloman announced the plea.
U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon sentenced former state representative OLIVER L. ROBINSON JR., 58, of Birmingham, to two years and nine months in prison for conspiracy, bribery, honest services wire fraud and tax evasion. Robinson pleaded guilty to the charges late last year. The judge also ordered Robinson to pay $169,151 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and to forfeit $390,783 as proceeds of illegal activity. Robinson will be on supervised release for three years following completion of his prison term.
The government filed a motion asking the judge to depart downward from the guidelines sentencing recommendation of 51 to 63 months in prison because of Robinson’s substantial assistance, including trial testimony, in the government’s prosecution of his co-defendants. Prosecutors recommended the 33-month sentence.
A federal jury in July convicted Balch & Bingham partner Joel Gilbert and Drummond Company executive David Roberson in the bribery scheme. They are scheduled for sentencing Oct. 23.
“Robinson betrayed his constituents and neighbors in north Birmingham and Tarrant, selling his elected office to special interests for personal profit. An elected official can scarcely commit a more egregious crime,” Town said. “This former state legislator will never again hold elected office and he will spend the next three years of his life in federal prison.”
“Individuals in a position of public trust must be held accountable when that trust is violated,” Sharp said. “Today, the court is holding Mr. Robinson accountable. Citizens can rest assured knowing that the FBI and our partners will continue to be there to bring those who violate that trust to the bar of justice.”
“Elected government officials should be held to a higher ethical standard and it was obvious that Robinson chose greed over doing the honest thing,” Holloman said. “IRS-CI will continue to put resources on these public corruption investigations in an effort to clean up dirty politics.”
Robinson represented Alabama’s House District 58 from 1998 until he resigned Nov. 30, 2016. He sold his influence as a state legislator to Gilbert and Roberson to aid Balch & Bingham and its client, Drummond, in opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to prioritize and expand a Superfund site near Robinson’s legislative district.
EPA had designated an area of north Birmingham, including the neighborhoods of Harriman Park, Fairmont and Collegeville, as the 35th Avenue Superfund Site after finding elevated levels of arsenic, lead and benzo(a)pyrene during soil sampling. In September 2013, EPA notified five companies, including Drummond-owned ABC Coke, that they could potentially be responsible for the pollution. Such a finding could have cost the company tens of millions of dollars in cleanup costs and fines.
According to evidence at trial, Gilbert and Roberson were intent on protecting ABC Coke and Drummond from the tremendous potential costs associated with being held responsible for pollution at the site. They began working to prevent the site’s placement on EPA’s National Priorities List or its expansion into Tarrant or Inglenook. Their plan included advising public officials and residents of north Birmingham to oppose EPA’s actions.
Gilbert and Roberson bribed Robinson with a $375,000 contract paid to him through his non-profit Oliver Robinson Foundation over two years. In return, Robinson made a variety of official acts to support their agenda for Balch and Drummond, according to the government’s sentencing memorandum. Those acts included advocating the Balch and Drummond position in a meeting with the EPA, using talking points drafted by Gilbert and secretly recording the meeting. Robinson also made comments to the Alabama Environmental Management Commission, which oversees the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, urging the commission and the ADEM director to help narrow the list of parties potentially responsible for the Superfund site cleanup. Robinson also voted in the Alabama House of Representatives Rules Committee on a resolution, drafted by Gilbert, opposing the EPA’s efforts in north Birmingham. Robinson always concealed his financial relationship with Balch and Drummond, as required in his contract with Gilbert and Roberson.
The FBI and IRS investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Martin, Robin Beardsley Mark and John B. Ward prosecuted.
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Center Point Man Indicted for Producing, Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted a Center Point man on multiple counts of producing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jay Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
An 11-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges DENNIS JAMES HUDSON JR., 28, also known as D.J. Zygi Hudson, Zygi Hudson, Tyler Johnson and Brandon McDaniels, with 10 counts of persuading a person under the age of 18 to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce an image of that conduct and transmit it over the internet. Hudson is charged with inducing 10 different children to perform such acts between August 2016 and August 2017, according to the indictment. Hudson also faces one count of distributing child pornography between January 2015 and January 2016 using the internet and a file-sharing website.
“The internet and social media makes it easy for disgusting, sexual predators to find and exploit our children,” Town said. “Our law enforcement will continue to vigilantly monitor the internet using every method available to us in order to uncover signs of child exploitation and abuse so that the predators can be arrested by federal law enforcement, indicted by a federal grand jury, prosecuted in a federal court, and, once convicted, sentenced to time in a federal prison,” he said. “Our law enforcement cannot do it all, so it is incumbent upon parents to protect their children by responsibly monitoring their children’s activity on the internet, where there is little left to the imagination.”
The penalty for producing child pornography is 15 to 30 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. The penalty for distributing child pornography is five to 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.
The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Manu K. Balachandran and Leann White are prosecuting.
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V.P. of Sales for North Alabama Compounding Pharmacy Charged in Insurance ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – Federal prosecutors today charged the vice president of sales for Northside Pharmacy, a Haleyville, Ala.-based compounding pharmacy doing business as Global Compounding Pharmacy, with participating in a conspiracy to generate prescriptions and defraud health care insurers and prescription drug administrators out of tens of millions of dollars.
U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr., U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson, Defense Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Holloman announced the charges.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a 13-count information in U.S. District Court charging PHILLIP NATHAN MARKS, 49, of Winter Park, Fla., with conspiring between November 2014 and June 2016 to defraud multiple insurance plans including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Medicare, and TRICARE, as well as their prescription drug administrators. The information also charges Marks with 12 counts of health care fraud for submitting fraudulent prescription claims to these entities. Prosecutors also filed a plea agreement with Marks.
“Global Compounding stole from insurance programs, including Medicare and TRICARE, by using a marketing scheme that increased the sales of expensive medications without regard for patient need or medical necessity,” Town said. “Schemes like this drive up health care costs for everyone. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to prosecuting everyone who sought personal enrichment by participating in this pharmacy’s health care fraud.”
The charges stem from a larger investigation that already has resulted in guilty pleas from 13 individuals. Along with Marks, prosecutors also filed charges today against another Global sales representative, bringing to 15 the number of defendants in the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged JODY HOBBS, 45, of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., in a three-count information alleging conspiracy and health care fraud. Prosecutors also filed an associated plea agreement with Hobbs.
According to the court documents, Global, which described itself as “one of the top three largest compounding pharmacies in the United States,” primarily shipped compounded and other drugs from its Haleyville facility, but did most of its prescription processing, billing and customer service at its “call center” in Clearwater, Fla. The company hired sales representatives who were located in various states and were responsible for generating prescriptions from physicians and other prescribers.
The court documents describe a multi-faceted scheme that focused on obtaining and billing for high-dollar fraudulent prescriptions. In the scheme, Global would identify high-dollar drugs and instruct employees to obtain medically unnecessary prescriptions for themselves and family members. Global incentivized prescribers to issue these fraudulent prescriptions by hiring and paying their family members as sales representatives, and by directing sales representatives to work at practitioners’ offices to have better access to patients and their files. Global employees obtained prescriptions in various other fraudulent ways, including forging prescriptions. Global maximized proceeds on these fraudulent prescriptions by altering them to add or substitute drugs and automatically refilling and billing for them, regardless of patient need. It also routinely waived co-pays to encourage patients to accept unnecessary medications and refills. When insurance plans and their prescription drug managers attempted to police Global’s conduct, Global provided false and misleading information to them, and began billing through affiliate pharmacies. Court filings in Marks’ case note that two such affiliate pharmacies were The Prescription Shop in Haleyville and Tropic Pharmacy in Boca Raton, Fla.
According to the court documents, as vice president of sales, Marks routinely directed sales representatives to obtain medically unnecessary prescriptions for themselves and family members. One such drug was Silapak, which Global itself advertised as “not indicated for children.” Global employees nonetheless submitted Silapak prescriptions for children, some as young as two years old, which Global dispensed and billed. Nine of the health care fraud charges against Marks include multiple counts of fraudulent Silapak prescription billings for children of Global employees.
According to court documents, Global hired Hobbs as a sales representative because he had high-reimbursing health insurance from his other employer. Global billed for multiple medically unnecessary drugs for Hobbs, including a tube of wound care cream that cost $30,812.
The 13 individuals previously charged and who have pleaded guilty are Global Operations Manager Jeffrey South, District Manager Angie Nelson, National Field Trainer and sales representative Bridget McCune, and sales representatives Roddrick Boykin, Joshylyn Bowen, Vanessa Case, Peter Eodice II, Robin Lowry, Kelley Norris and Dawn Whitten, and billers Fermin Alfonso, Stacey Cardozo, and Christopher Nunez.
The maximum punishment for the conspiracy charge is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for health care fraud is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
FBI, USPIS, HHS-OIG, DCIS and IRS-CI investigated the cases, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chinelo Dike-Minor, Don Long, and Nicole Grosnoff are prosecuting.
An information or indictment contains only charges. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Marks Philip Information Marks Phillip Plea AgreementDOJ Office on Violence Against Women Awards $700,593 to Jefferson County’s One PlaceRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women has awarded One Place Metro Alabama Family Justice Center $700,593 to support its mission as the comprehensive service provider for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in Jefferson County. U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and One Place Executive Director Allison Dearing announced the grant.
OVW issued the award through its Improving Criminal Justice Responses grant program. One Place, in collaboration with Jefferson County, will use this award to provide a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner to coordinate and manage the SANE program operated by the Crisis Center at One Place. The grant funding also enables One Place to provide trauma-informed advocacy training for Rape Response medical advocates and law enforcement; support a staff attorney from the YWCA Central Alabama to work onsite at One Place and provide comprehensive legal assistance; and sustain quarterly events to promote community awareness and engagement with One Place.
“One Place is a vital resource in our community to ease the impact and trauma that victims of domestic violence and sexual assault suffer,” Town said. “Often victims of domestic violence and sexual assault are forced to relive horrific experiences as they recount the story of their assault to healthcare providers, crisis managers, law enforcement, and prosecutors. One Place is a national model where all domestic violence and sexual assault responders are gathered to coordinate services and limit the additional trauma suffered by victims. This grant will further enhance One Place’s ability to address the harm suffered by victims of violent crime and to best support their recovery.”
“The awarded funds will allow One Place to expand its current on-site resources to offer increased support for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault,” Dearing said. “This award affirms and advances the mission of our collaboration — which is to make the process less intimidating and more efficient for the survivors we serve.”
OVW’s Improving Criminal Justice Responses program is designed to encourage partnerships between state and local governments, courts, victim service providers, coalitions, and rape crisis centers to ensure that sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking are treated as serious violations of criminal law.
At One Place, victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault receive wraparound services from one central location, with an emphasis on maintaining a survivor-centered approach, which reduces barriers to seeking help in the Birmingham area.
The mission of One Place is to provide coordinated services to victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault through a multi-disciplinary team of agency professionals who are co-located and working together under roof. The founding agencies at One Place include the Birmingham Police Department, the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, the YWCA Central Alabama and the Crisis Center, Inc.
One Place is the only agency in the state of Alabama to receive this OVW grant award in 2018.
For more information on One Place and its services contact (205) 453-7261.
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Shelby County Woman Sentenced to Prison for Stealing from EmployerRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a Shelby County woman to nearly two years in prison for stealing from the Bessemer company where she worked as a bookkeeper, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins sentenced LUCY WOODS, 52, of Pelham, to 21 months in prison on four counts of wire fraud related to her stealing more than $150,000 from her former employer, Robert Warnock Co. Inc. Woods pleaded guilty to the charges in May. She must report to prison Nov. 12.
“This defendant blatantly abused the trust of her employer,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Beardsley Mark. “This sentence is a strong and clear message that abuse of trust and misuse of funds is unacceptable and anyone who considers engaging in similar conduct should know that it can lead to federal prison.”
“Ms. Woods exploited her position of trust with repeated conduct that was deliberate, deceptive and self-enriching, and the court has held her accountable,” Sharp said. “I, particularly, want to thank our partners with the Bessemer Police Department for their assistance in this case.”
Robert Warnock Co. is a manufacturer’s representative that sells capital equipment for the oil and gas industry. While employed by Robert Warnock, Woods fraudulently charged personal expenses totaling more than $30,000 on a corporate credit card account. She also forged, and made payable to herself, more than $120,000 in unauthorized checks from the corporate bank account, according to court records.
The FBI investigated the case in conjunction with the Bessemer Police Department, and Mark prosecuted the case.
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Huntsville Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Child Sex-Trafficking in Madison CountyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a Huntsville man to 15 years in prison for paying the father of a 15-year-old so he could have sexual contact with the child, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Jere T. Miles.
U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor sentenced BILLY R. EDWARDS, 64, on charges of commercial sex trafficking, coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution, and being a convicted felon in possession of firearms. Edwards pleaded guilty to the charges in June.
The child’s father, DARWIN MOISES AMADOR-ZEPEDA, 38, a Honduran national, pleaded guilty today to coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution. His sentencing in that case has not been set. In 2017, Amador-Zepeda pleaded guilty to a separate charge of illegally re-entering the United States after previous deportation. He served about five months in prison in the illegal re-entry case.
“Billy Edwards and this child’s father entered an unholy alliance to take advantage of a vulnerable teenage boy,” Town said. “Edwards gave no sanctuary to this young victim and he will have the next 15 years in a federal prison without the sanctuary of parole. Our Human Trafficking Task Force continues its work to bring to justice to anyone who engages in these disgusting, unconscionable crimes.”
Edwards acknowledged in his guilty plea that he began paying Amador-Zepeda in 2014 so that he would persuade or coerce his 15-year-old son to have sexual encounters with Edwards.
During the ongoing sexual trafficking of the child, Edwards often paid Amador-Zepeda by check, and the two men used cell phones to induce or coerce the child to engage in sexually explicit conduct, according to court records.
The sexual encounters with the child continued for several months until Edwards stopped paying to have them. At that point, Amador-Zepeda began blackmailing Edwards, threatening to show law enforcement the cell phone communications between him and the child unless Edwards paid him. Amador-Zepeda told the child what to say in English to deliver the blackmail threat, according to court records. The two men later executed a contract for Edwards to make a series of payments totaling $20,000 to Amador-Zepeda in exchange for the cell phone containing the incriminating evidence.
In May 2017, the child told law enforcement about the sex trafficking. In September 2017, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office obtained a warrant and searched Edwards’ residence, finding an Industrial National de Armes .38-caliber revolver, a Jimenez Arms .25-caliber pistol, a Bryco Jennings .380-caliber pistol and a Winchester model 1400 MKII shotgun. Edwards previously was convicted of a felony, conspiracy to commit fraud, in the Northern District of Alabama in 2005.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s HSI, in conjunction with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and the Madison County District Attorney’s Office, investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Xavier Carter and Carla Ward are prosecuting.
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Former YWCA Childcare Director Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Stealing from Non-profit EmployerRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a former YWCA childcare director to 15 months in prison for stealing nearly $200,000 from the non-profit over several years, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Michael Williams.
U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon sentenced RIKKI ROSS, 38, of Hoover, on one count of federal program fraud for stealing from an agency that received more than $10,000 in federal benefits annually between 2012 and 2017 through grants or other assistance. Ross pleaded guilty to the charge in April. She must report to prison Nov. 6.
The judge also ordered Ross to forfeit $198,597 to the government as proceeds of illegal activity, and to pay that same amount in restitution to the Young Women’s Christian Association of Central Alabama. Ross will remain on supervised release for three years following completion of her prison term.
“For 115 years, the YWCA has provided services to our community, including much needed childcare services for families in need. The parents trusted this defendant to provide a safe environment for their children,” Town said. “Ms. Ross betrayed the trust of the parents and the YWCA. Her deliberate theft from low-income working families and from a non-profit agency dedicated to helping young women and families in need is reprehensible. A federal prison cell awaits her.”
“The defendant in this case was self-centered and egotistical to take advantage of the most vulnerable in our society,” Williams said. “It’s gratifying for law enforcement when we are able to investigate white-collar criminals and bring individuals like Ms. Ross to justice.”
The YWCA of Central Alabama is a non-profit organization headquartered in Birmingham. The YWCA focuses on providing quality child development programs for children of homeless and working poor families, affordable housing, domestic violence services and social justice programming.
Ross worked as director of the YWCA Child Development Center from August 2010 until she resigned in 2017, according her plea agreement with the government.
As part of Ross’ job as the YWCA’s childcare director, she was responsible for processing credit and debit card payments from parents for childcare services. The YWCA CDC uses Square to process debit and credit card payments. Square is a point-of-sale provider that works in conjunction with the user’s smartphone or tablet device. The Square reader is a small removable magnetic stripe reader that plugs into the headset jack or Lightning port of a smartphone or tablet.
The YWCA CDC utilized a Square account named “YWCA Child Development Center.” The YWCA authorized Ross to use that account to process payments for childcare services provided at the YWCA. In April 2012, Ross created a Square account of her own and named it “YWCA CDC,” according to her plea. She linked the YWCA CDC account to her personal Regions Bank account.
Ross used the fraudulent Square account to charge parents and guardians for childcare services at the YWCA center, according to her plea. Between April 2012 and August 2017, Ross stole more than $190,000 intended as payment for childcare services at the YWCA.
The Secret Service investigated the case in conjunction with the Birmingham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Beardsley Mark prosecuted the case.
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FTC Takes Action against Alabama Operators of Copycat Military WebsitesRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE – The Alabama operators of copycat websites army.com and navyenlist.com have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they targeted people seeking to join the armed forces and tricked them by falsely claiming to be affiliated with the military in order to generate sales leads for post-secondary schools.
The defendants, including the Huntsville-based companies Sunkey Publishing Inc. and Fanmail.com, LLC, have agreed to relinquish army.com, armyenlist.com and other domain names, and to stop the practices that they allegedly used to deceive consumers.
“We are proud to work with the Federal Trade Commission to ensure that those brave few who served in this nation’s armed forces are not the targets of false and misleading marketing,” said U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town. “Legitimate veterans charities and private veterans programs fill necessary functions for our nation’s heroes. It is our sacred obligation to ensure that those philanthropic efforts are endowed by the virtues of service, not divested of moral and legal standards. My civil and criminal divisions will continue to aggressively engage in uncovering these illegal and deceptive practices.”
FTC Chairman Joe Simons said, “Those who are considering a military career deserve to have confidence that the recruitment site is legitimate and their personal information will not be misused. The FTC will take action against any party in the lead generation ecosystem – from sellers to purchasers – that fails to comply with the law.”
The defendants in the case have used copycat military recruitment websites since at least 2010, according to the FTC’s complaint, which the Department of Justice filed today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama on behalf of the commission. Some of the websites, such as army.com and armyenlist.com, appeared to be official recruiting websites affiliated with the U.S. military.
The websites prompted consumers to submit their information in order to learn more about joining the armed forces, according to the FTC. The complaint claims that the defendants promised to use the information consumers submitted to the site only for military recruitment purposes and not to share with anyone else.
Instead, the FTC charged that the defendants sold the information as marketing leads to post-secondary schools for $15 to $40 per lead.
In addition, people who submitted their information allegedly received follow-up phone calls from telemarketers who continued the misrepresentations by posing as members of the military, touting specific schools, and giving consumers the false impression that the U.S. military actually endorsed those schools.
This action is part of the FTC’s effort to combat government imposter schemes, the most frequent type of fraud complaint from military consumers in the FTC's Consumer Sentinel database. It also builds on the agency’s work in the area of lead generation, including its examination of various players involved.
The FTC charged the defendants with violating the FTC Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). The agency also alleged that they violated the Do Not Call provisions of the TSR by placing hundreds of thousands of illegal telemarketing calls to phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry and by failing to pay required fees.
The two proposed orders settling the FTC’s charges require the defendants to turn over to the FTC websites used to deceive consumers, including army.com and armyenlist.com. Turnover of these websites partially satisfies the civil penalty judgments of $11.1 million against Sunkey and $1 million against Fanmail. The judgments are otherwise suspended due to defendants’ inability to pay; however, if the defendants are later found to have misrepresented their financial condition to the FTC, the full amount of the penalty would become due.
The proposed orders also ban the defendants from misrepresenting a military affiliation, the endorsement of particular schools by the military, or the extent to which they share consumers’ personal information. They require the defendants to disclose that their sites are not official recruiting websites of the U.S. military, to solicit consumers’ acknowledgement of that fact, and to get permission to disclose consumer information collected in connection with lead generation for any purpose. The defendants also must notify the companies that bought consumer data from the defendants of the FTC’s allegations and instruct the companies to stop using the information.
The first proposed order settles the FTC’s charges against Sunkey Publishing Inc.; Sun Key Publishing, LLC; Wheredata, LLC; and Christopher Upp, individually and as an officer of the corporate defendants; and Mark Van Dyke, individually and as an officer of the corporate defendants. The second proposed order settles the FTC’s charges against Fanmail.com, LLC; and Lon Brolliar and Andrew Dorman, individually and as officers of Fanmail.com, LLC.
The FTC has education material to help consumers avoid trouble from imposters and to safeguard their personal information:
- Before you fill out forms or applications on a site, find out more about who is actually requesting your information and for what purpose by doing an online search for the site operator with words like “complaint” or “review.”
- If you think you have gotten a call from a government imposter, report it to the FTC at FTC.gov/complaint.
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Two Tuscaloosa Men Indicted for Series of Tuscaloosa County Armed Store RobberiesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted two Tuscaloosa men in connection to a series of armed store robberies in Tuscaloosa County between December 2017 and April 2018, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.
A nine-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges JOSE ANTONIO BROWN, 34, and KELVIN QUNTAVIUS THOMAS, 28, with robbing a Chevron convenience store and three Dollar General stores, as well as employees at the stores at the time of the robberies. The indictment also charges Brown and Thomas with either brandishing or discharging firearms during the robberies, and charges Brown as a convicted felon illegally possessing a firearm.
“The safety of many innocent people was threatened during this string of armed store robberies in Tuscaloosa County,” Town said. “Thanks to a combined investigation by local investigators and the ATF, coupled with the bravery of a Tuscaloosa County Deputy Sheriff in apprehending these men, these defendants have been charged with federal crimes and will be brought to account in federal court.”
“ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence focuses on reducing violent crime and disrupting the shooting cycle that negatively impacts our neighborhoods,” Watson said. “The priority of protecting the public is evident with these indictments.”
The indictment charges Brown and Thomas with Hobbs Act robberies at the following stores: Chevron convenience store, 7836 Alabama Highway 69 South, Tuscaloosa, on Dec. 24, 2017; Dollar General, 4419 U.S. Highway 43, Northport, on Jan. 23, 2018; Dollar General, 6520 Hargrove Road, Tuscaloosa, on Jan. 30, 2018; and Dollar General, 11573 U.S. Highway 82 East, Duncanville, on April 2, 2018.
The Hobbs Act prohibits actual or attempted robbery that affects interstate commerce and that involves the taking of property from another person by means of actual or threatened force or violence. The maximum penalty for Hobbs Act robbery is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The charge of carrying, brandishing or discharging a firearm during a crime of violence carries varying penalties. The penalty for someone previously convicted of a gun crime is a minimum 25 years in prison. The penalties for someone without a prior gun crime conviction are a minimum 10 years for discharging a gun, seven years for brandishing a gun and five years for carrying a gun. Each count also carries a $250,000 fine upon conviction.
ATF investigated the case, along with the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Department, the Tuscaloosa Police Department and the Northport Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa K. Atwood is prosecuting.
Man Who Led Police on Chase over Lookout Mt. Indicted as Felon Possessing GunRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted for illegal gun possession a northeast Alabama man who in April led police on a dangerous chase from Fort Payne into Menlo, Ga., on rural roads over Lookout Mountain, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.
A one-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges DENNIS JOHN JOHNSON, 43, of Albertville, with being a convicted felon in possession of a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol. The indictment cites prior felony convictions of second-degree assault in Marshall County Circuit Court in November 1997, unlawful possession of a controlled substance in Etowah County Circuit Court in June 2001, and third-degree robbery in Marshall County Circuit Court in April 2014.
“Felons with firearms will be charged with a federal crime, prosecuted in federal court, and, if convicted, do federal time in a federal prison where there is no sanctuary of parole,” Town said. “We are indebted to the brave officers who put themselves in harm’s way to end the car chase where this defendant endangered the lives of civilians and police officers.”
“ATF’s priority of reducing violent crime results in court actions such as this,” Watson said. “The use of Crime Gun Intelligence in working with our law enforcement partners is an effective resource to provide a safe environment for our communities.”
Johnson had the handgun with him when police arrested him on April 9 as he ran from a pickup truck he abandoned on Georgia Highway 48 in Chattooga County, Ga., according to a Fort Payne Police arrest report. Johnson jumped from the truck after fleeing police in Fort Payne and speeding away along U.S. Highway 11 to Hammondville. His flight took him onto Alabama Highway 117 and through Valley Head and Mentone before crossing the state line into Georgia, according to the arrest report.
Fort Payne officers had tried to pull over the pickup truck because the license plate was registered to a different vehicle, the police report said. In the ensuing chase, speeds topped 100 mph as Johnson ran vehicles off the narrow roads, swerved toward police vehicles and aimed his speeding truck at the Hammondville police chief, who was running across the road to deploy a stop strip. The first Fort Payne police vehicle in pursuit behind Johnson hit the stop strip and crashed, seriously injuring one Fort Payne officer, according to the police report.
The maximum penalty for a convicted felon in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
ATF investigated the case in conjunction with the Fort Payne Police Department, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office and the Chattooga County, Ga., Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Keim is prosecuting the case.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts St. Clair County Trio as Operators of Moody Pill MillRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted a Springville couple and a Moody physician on charges they operated a pill mill in St. Clair County for four years, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Holloman.
A 20-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges CINDY LOUISE HYCHE DUNN, 53, her husband, THOMAS MASON DUNN, 56, and Dr. JOHN LADD BUCKINGHAM, 85, in a conspiracy to operate a clinic in Moody for the main purpose of illegally distributing or dispensing controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. The object of the conspiracy was for the participants to enrich themselves, according to the indictment. The group ran Cindy Dunn & Dr. Buckingham, M.D., Weight Loss Clinic and Pain Management (CDPM) from January 2012 through December 2015.
“Personal greed motivates the people who operate illegal pain clinics, mass-prescribing opioids without medical justification and with no regard to the larger pain they bring to individuals, families and communities,” Town said. “The Department of Justice is determined to stamp out the operation of illegal pain clinics by all legal means as part of the fight against opioid abuse, and the Northern District of Alabama is fully committed to the fight. As one of 12 districts across the county participating in the department’s pilot Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit, we are taking advantage of data collection and analysis and joining together federal, state and local law enforcement to investigate and shut down illegal pill mills for good.”
“The abuse of prescription drugs is a serious problem in our communities – leading to addiction, shattered lives, and even death,” Hamilton said. “For the health and safety of our citizens, DEA and our law enforcement partners will continue to target those who illegally obtain and distribute these potentially dangerous drugs. We hope that these indictments serve as a reminder to anyone who might illegally divert pharmaceuticals that they will be held accountable for the harm they cause.”
“This was a classic example of a pill mill and these individuals will be held accountable,” Holloman said. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners in tackling the opioid epidemic head on in the state of Alabama. In following the money, you can trace the drug proceeds to the beneficiaries and bring the entire conspiracy ring to justice.”
The indictment includes 16 counts charging Cindy Dunn and Buckingham with unlawfully dispensing a controlled substance, all containing opioids. As part of the conspiracy and in disregard for usual standards of professional medical practice, Cindy Dunn, Buckingham and other co-conspirators prescribed more than 13,500 methadone-based pills to one patient and more than 8,200 oxycodone-based pills to another patient, according to the indictment. They also prescribed more than 7,900 oxycodone-based and methadone-based pills, collectively, to a single patient, and 7,700 oxycodone-based and methadone-based pills, collectively, to a different patient, the indictment says.
Cindy Dunn, owner and president of CDPM, operated the clinic, including hiring and directing physicians and staff and making financial decisions. She mainly hired relatives as clerical staff and, for the vast majority of the clinic’s operation, did not employ formally trained nurses or medical assistants, according to the indictment. Cindy Dunn had no known medical education of her own.
Thomas Dunn performed various administrative and financial duties for CDPM and received prescriptions for opioids from the clinic, according to the indictment. Buckingham was a licensed physician in Alabama, but was not a certified pain management specialist.
CDPM typically charged a $25 patient application fee, a $200-$300 clinic visit fee for new patients, then a $90-$125 monthly fee for follow-up visits, according to the indictment. The clinic did not accept insurance, requiring cash or credit payments. Patient examinations were “infrequent, and were typically minimal and cursory,” and Cindy Dunn and CDPM staff often issued controlled substance prescriptions that were pre-signed by Buckingham or other physician co-conspirators, according to the indictment.
The indictment charges Cindy Dunn and Buckingham with maintaining a drug-involved premises, and charges all three defendants with participating in a money-laundering conspiracy by opening bank accounts for the clinic and conducting financial transactions with illegally obtained funds in order to keep the illicit business operating.
The final count of the indictment charges Cindy Dunn with engaging in a monetary transaction involving criminally derived property valued at more than $10,000. The charge cites a $25,000 deposit into a CDPM account at Regions Bank with money from a clinic account at Metro Bank.
Both the conspiracy to distribute controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice charge and each substantive count of illegally distributing controlled substances carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The charge of maintaining a drug-involved premises carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Money-laundering conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Engaging in monetary transactions involving criminal proceeds carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
DEA and IRS-CI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohammad Khatib is prosecuting.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Separate Fraud Conspiracies Targeting Sam’s ClubsRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted two Tampa men and a Georgia trio in similar fraud conspiracies targeting Sam’s Club membership stores, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Michael Williams.
Both cases involve counterfeit access devices – debit or credit cards – used at a wide range of Sam’s Club locations to purchase goods or pre-paid gift cards. The Georgia defendants are charged with using counterfeited cards at Sam’s Clubs trailing from Indiana to Alabama, with excursions to Las Vegas and Oklahoma.
“The defendants in both of these cases are facing federal charges because of the collaborative work of the Secret Service Financial Crimes Task Force, Regions Bank and Walmart Global Investigations,” Town said. “We appreciate their work and recognition of the fact that when businesses suffer financial loss from criminal activity, oftentimes the community will incur higher costs and fees,” Town said.
“These indictments will serve as a strong deterrent to criminals who travel across state lines to commit financial crimes in the Northern District of Alabama,” Williams said.
A three-count federal indictment charges SWIFT OGDEN SPEER, 48, and EMERALD SANDERS-JACKSON, 28, both of Atlanta, and CHAKERA DENISE RICHARDSON, 27, of Austell, Ga., with conspiring between January and March in Jefferson County to traffic in counterfeit access devices by using them to obtain money, goods and services. The indictment also charges them with separate counts of using a counterfeit device and possessing device-making equipment on March 16 in Jefferson County.
As part of the conspiracy, Speer and Sanders-Jackson used four different Sam’s Club membership accounts as they visited stores in six states between Jan. 18 and March 16, buying goods and pre-paid gift cards with counterfeit credit and debit cards. They hit stores in Bloomington, Ind., Lexington and Bowling Green, Ky., Nashville, Memphis and Chattanooga, Tenn., and Huntsville and Florence, Ala., before showing up in a Las Vegas store on Feb. 26, according to the indictment. Speer and Sanders-Jackson next made fraudulent purchases at Sam’s Clubs in Homewood and Trussville, Ala., and in Edmond, Okla., before returning to stores in Trussville and Hoover, Ala., on March 16. According to the indictment, Richardson drove Speer and Sanders-Jackson to the Hoover and Trussville stores on March 16.
A separate three-count indictment charges PARALTA CHACON, 27, and LAZARO MARTINEZ QUINTANA, 24, both of Tampa, Fla., with conspiring between May and June in Jefferson County to traffic in counterfeit access devices by using them to obtain money, goods and services. The indictment also charges them with separate counts of using the counterfeit devices to make purchases and with possessing device-making equipment on June 21.
As part of the conspiracy, Chacon and Quintana created a Sam’s Club account in a name different from theirs and used counterfeit cards to make purchases on that account at stores in Columbus, Ga., Auburn, Homewood, Hoover and Trussville, Ala., and in Tampa.
The maximum penalty for the conspiracy charge is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty both for making purchases with the counterfeit access devises and for possessing device-making equipment is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Secret Service Financial Crimes Task Force investigated the cases in conjunction with Regions Bank and Walmart Global Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Beardsley Mark is prosecuting the cases.
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Jury Convicts Former Mexican Federal Police Officer for Illegal Drug TransportRead the Press Release
TUSCALOOSA – A federal jury on Tuesday convicted a former Mexican federal police officer on drug possession charges for packages of cocaine and morphine found hidden in the exhaust manifold of a pickup truck he was traveling in through Alabama last year, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.
Following a two-day trial before U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler, the jury found ADRIAN HERNANDEZ PORTILLO, 35, of Mexico, guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and morphine in north Alabama in January 2017. The jury also convicted Portillo on one count of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, and one count of possessing morphine with intent to distribute. Portillo’s co-defendant, EDUARDO MENDEZ HERNANDEZ, 23, of North Carolina, pleaded guilty in May to the conspiracy charge. Hernandez is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 30. Portillo is scheduled for sentencing Dec. 11.
“Our law enforcement is on the job everyday working to stop those who attack our borders by smuggling drugs across them,” Town said. “These defendants chose to bring illegal drugs into the United States and for that they will spend years in one of our federal prisons.”
“This case is a result of great police work on the part of one local police officer while patrolling his area of responsibility and then excellent cooperation among local and federal law enforcement agencies,” Hamilton said. “The agents and officers who worked this case more than likely saved lives and our communities are safer by sending these defendants to federal prison.”
“The vast majority of the dangerous illicit drugs being sold in the U.S. are imported from Central and South America by various drug-trafficking organizations,” Hamilton said. “Hopefully, this will serve as a warning to others who enter our country with the intent to sell poison to our residents – When we catch you, you WILL go to prison.”
An investigator with Alabama’s 17th Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force stopped a Toyota pickup truck traveling north on Interstate 20/59 in Greene County on Jan. 27, 2017. Hernandez was driving and Portillo was the only passenger, according to evidence at trial. After the two men gave inconsistent stories about the nature of their trip and the officer noticed the men had multiple cell phones, but little luggage, he requested and received consent to search the vehicle.
Officers found about 6.5 kilograms, or about 14 pounds, of cocaine and more than a pound of morphine wrapped in silver tape and hidden in a compartment built into the truck’s intake manifold, according to evidence.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection records showed that Portillo, who had served as a federal police officer in Mexico from 2007 to 2014, had driven the Toyota truck from Mexico to Texas the day before it was stopped on the interstate in Alabama, according to testimony.
The penalty for both the conspiracy charge and the possession with intent to distribute cocaine charge is 10 years to life in prison and a maximum $10 million fine. The maximum prison penalty for the possession with intent to distribute morphine charge is 20 years.
DEA and the 17th Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Austin Shutt and Greg Dimler are prosecuting.
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CVS Pharmacy Pays $1 Million Penalty in Settlement with DOJ for violations of the Controlled Substances ActRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – The Department of Justice has reached an agreement with CVS Pharmacy, Inc., to resolve violations of the federal Controlled Substances Act and its implementing regulations at CVS Pharmacy locations throughout the Northern District of Alabama, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Stephen G. Azzam.
Under the terms of the agreement, CVS paid a civil penalty of $1 million to the United States. It is the largest civil fine paid in Alabama for a DEA registrant.
“Our office is committed to ensuring total compliance with the Controlled Substances Act and we will vigorously enforce violations wherever we find them,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Saxon, who handled the case. “All DEA registrants should remember that DEA licensure is a privilege; it is not a right. Where that privilege is abused, the Justice Department will take all necessary action to ensure that it is revoked,” he said.
“The misuse of prescription painkillers is a public health crisis in the state of Alabama,” Azzam said. “DEA registrants have a responsibility to handle controlled substances in compliance with the Controlled Substances Act. DEA has an obligation to improve public health and safety, and we are committed to working with our law enforcement and regulatory partners to ensure that these rules and regulations are followed.”
Each CVS Pharmacy retail store located in the Northern District of Alabama is registered separately with the DEA and is assigned a unique DEA registration number that authorizes it to dispense controlled substances pursuant to the provisions of the Controlled Substances Act. Investigation by the DEA found violations of the act and its implementing regulations relating to recordkeeping by CVS. The civil penalty CVS paid covers all recordkeeping violations discovered in the Northern District of Alabama prior to July 29, the effective date of the settlement agreement. The Justice Department will continue actively monitoring compliance with the Controlled Substances Act by CVS and other DEA registrants throughout the Northern District of Alabama.
The DEA and Saxon investigated and handled the case.
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Justice Department, DEA Propose Significant Opioid Manufacturing Reduction in 2019Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON -- The Department of Justice and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have proposed a reduction for controlled substances that may be manufactured in the U.S. next year. Consistent with President Trump’s “Safe Prescribing Plan” that seeks to “cut nationwide opioid prescription fills by one-third within three years,” the proposal decreases manufacturing quotas for the most six frequently misused opioids for 2019 by an average ten percent as compared to the 2018 amount. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) marks the third straight year of proposed reductions, which help reduce the amount of drugs potentially diverted for trafficking and used to facilitate addiction.
On July 11, 2018, the Justice Department announced that DEA was issuing a final rule amending its regulations to improve the agency’s ability consider the likelihood of whether a drug can be diverted for abuse when it sets annual opioid production limits. The final rule also promotes greater involvement from state attorneys general, and today’s proposed reduction will be sent to those offices.
In setting the aggregate production quote (APQ), DEA considers data from many sources, including estimates of the legitimate medical need from the Food and Drug Administration; estimates of retail consumption based on prescriptions dispensed; manufacturers’ disposition history and forecasts; data from DEA’s own internal system for tracking controlled substance transactions; and past quota histories.
The DEA has proposed to reduce more commonly prescribed schedule II opioids, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, hydromorphone, morphine, and fentanyl:
Ultimately, revised limits will encourage vigilance on the part of opioid manufacturers, help DEA respond to the changing drug threat environment, and protect the American people from potential addictive drugs while ensuring that the country has enough opioids for legitimate medical, scientific, research, and industrial needs.
"The opioid epidemic that we are facing today is the worst drug crisis in American history," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. "President Trump has set the ambitious goal of reducing opioid prescription rates by one-third in three years. We embrace that goal and are resolutely committed to reaching it. According to the National Prescription Audit, we have already made significant progress in reducing prescription rates over the past year. Cutting opioid production quotas by an average of ten percent next year will help us continue that progress and make it harder to divert these drugs for abuse. The American people can be confident that federal law enforcement and the Trump administration are taking action to protect them from dangerous drugs. These smarter limits bring us one big step closer to President Trump's goal of finally ending this unprecedented crisis. I congratulate Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon and his team for taking action.”
“We’ve lost too many lives to the opioid epidemic and families and communities suffer tragic consequences every day,” said DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon. “This significant drop in prescriptions by doctors and DEA’s production quota adjustment will continue to reduce the amount of drugs available for illicit diversion and abuse while ensuring that patients will continue to have access to proper medicine.”
“The Northern District of Alabama is one of 12 federal judicial districts across the country participating in a Justice Department opioid pilot program focused on investigating and prosecuting health care providers who have chosen greed over care for far too many victims of this crisis,” said U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town. “We are fighting daily to prevent the illegal diversion of deadly opioids into our communities and the DEA’s reduction in manufacturing quotas is critical to that fight.”
Once the aggregate quota is set, DEA allocates individual manufacturing and procurement quotas to those manufacturers that apply for them. DEA may revise a company’s quota at any time during the year if change is warranted due to increased or decreased sales or exports, new manufacturers entering the market, new product development, or product recalls.
When Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act, the quota system was intended to reduce or eliminate diversion from “legitimate channels of trade” by controlling the quantities of the basic ingredients needed for the manufacture of controlled substances.
The Proposed Aggregate Production Quotas for schedule I and II controlled substances published in the Federal Register reflects the total amount of controlled substances necessary to meet the country’s medical, scientific, research, industrial, and export needs for the year and for the establishment and maintenance of reserve stocks. DEA establishes an APQ for more than 250 schedule I and II controlled substances annually.
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines to practitioners recommending a reduction in the prescribing of opioid medications for chronic pain. DEA and its federal partners have increased efforts in the last several years to educate practitioners, pharmacists, manufacturers, distributors, and the public about the dangers associated with the misuse of opioid medications and the importance of proper prescribing.
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Convicted Felon with Gun Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison as Armed Career CriminalRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE – A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a Jackson County man to 15 years in prison for illegal gun possession after determining the man was an armed career criminal based on prior convictions, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.
U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon sentenced RICHARD GRADY ROMANS, 52, of Flat Rock, for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm on Jan. 13, 2016, in Jackson County. Romans pleaded guilty to the charge in May, acknowledging that he had possessed a Remington .22-caliber rifle, a Marlin Firearms 30-30 caliber rifle, and a Savage 93R17 rifle. The judge upheld the government’s argument that Romans should be sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act because he has three prior federal felony drug convictions.
“The Armed Career Criminal Act is designed for defendants like Mr. Romans who, after spending significant time behind bars, continue their criminal activity once released back into society,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Becher Sr., who prosecuted the case. “Now, because of Mr. Romans’ ongoing criminal behavior, he will spend the next 15 years in a federal prison.”
“ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence focuses on reducing the violent crime and disrupting the shooting cycle that negatively impact our neighborhoods,” Watson said.
Court records show that Romans was convicted in federal court in Tennessee in 2005 for conspiracy to distribute cocaine from 1994 through 1999, for distributing cocaine on Jan. 15, 1999, and for distributing cocaine on Feb. 26, 1999.
ATF investigated the case.
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North Alabama Man Pleads Guilty to Online Drug-Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A Madison man known on the internet’s dark markets as OlympusXans, or OX, pled guilty today in federal court to conspiracy to traffic drugs, including fentanyl, and to possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez.
JOSEPH WILLIAM DAVIS, 25, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala. A federal grand jury indicted Davis on the drug-trafficking and firearms charges in May. According to the indictment, Davis conspired in 2016 and 2017 to traffic methamphetamine, Alprazolam and fentanyl in Madison and Cullman counties. He is scheduled for sentencing Dec. 19.
“Fentanyl overdose deaths continue to soar in the United States while drug traffickers hide behind their computers, ordering up potent synthetic opioids and other drugs from the darkest corners of the internet,” Town said. “The Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office know how to unmask these criminals and send them to federal prison without the refuge of parole.”
“Dangerous life-threatening drugs have no place in the U.S. Mail,” Gonzalez said. “This case should serve as a deterrent by reminding criminals that postal inspectors and their law enforcement partners continuously strive to keep the U.S. Mail safe.”
Davis acknowledged in his guilty plea that he used encrypted internet chats to arrange smuggled shipments of illegal drugs, which he arranged to be delivered to addresses in Madison County via U.S. Mail.
One package seized during the investigation in 2017 contained 10,580 pills containing Alprazolam, an anti-anxiety medication. Another package contained 602 Alprazolam pills and 611 pills containing fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin.
For purposes of sentencing, Davis was deemed responsible for distributing, possessing with intent to distribute and conspiring to distribute or to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, more than 40 grams of fentanyl, 2.81 grams of cocaine, and more than 80,000 units of Alprazolam, according to his plea.
The penalty for the conspiracy charge is 10 years to life in prison and a maximum $10 million fine. The penalty for possessing firearms in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes is five years to life in prison, served consecutively to any other prison term imposed, and a maximum $250,000 fine.
U.S. Postal Inspectors, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Huntsville-Madison County STAC, and the Cullman County Sheriff's Department investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Keim is prosecuting.
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Eight Sentenced to Federal Prison for Trafficking Methamphetamine in NE AlabamaRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge this week sentenced eight members of a northeast Alabama methamphetamine conspiracy to prison sentences ranging from two years to life, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala sentenced JEFF MORRIS BEAM JR., 37, of Gadsden, to life in prison as the leader of an Etowah County-based conspiracy that trafficked methamphetamine in Etowah, Marshall and Calhoun counties in Alabama and in areas of northwestern Georgia.
“The ringleader of this drug-trafficking operation will spend the remainder of his youth, middle age, and the rest of his life in a federal prison,” Town said. “All eight of his co-defendants, to include his sister, have been reserved bed space in a federal prison, half of whom will be there for at least a decade. Federal, state and local law enforcement have a shared commitment to take drug traffickers off the streets and direct them to federal custody where there is no sanctuary of parole,” he said.
“The work done by the North Alabama Safe Streets Task Force dismantled this criminal enterprise, which was bringing large quantities of methamphetamine to the streets of Etowah County,” Sharp said. “I want to thank the Etowah County Drug Task Force, the Etowah County District Attorney’s Office, the Anniston Police Department, and the Calhoun County District Attorney’s Office for their work to help to bring Beam and his criminal organization to the justice they deserve.”
A federal jury convicted Beam in April of the conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine between December 2014 and April 28, 2016. The jury also convicted Beam for distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on Aug. 18, 2015, and for possession with intent to distribute five grams or more on Aug. 25, 2015. The total amount of methamphetamine trafficked through the conspiracy was at least 33 kilograms, or nearly 73 pounds.
The seven other defendants involved in the conspiracy included Beam’s sister, JAMIE LEANN BEAM, 41, RICHARD WENDELL EDMONDSON, 36, HENRY CURTIS GILLEY, 34, HAROLD DEWAYNE DEAL, 39, and RICHARD LEE KIRBY, 35, all of Gadsden, and HANNAH BLAIR CROWDER, 25, and ROY CLAUDE FARLOW JR., 58, both of Attalla. All but Deal and Kirby pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge.
Edmondson pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and to two counts of possessing with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, once in Calhoun County on Jan. 3, 2016, and in Etowah County, along with co-defendant Farlow, on March 8, 2016. Judge Haikala sentenced Edmonson to 10 years in prison.
The judge sentenced Beam’s sister to 14 years in prison. Jamie Beam pleaded guilty in March to the conspiracy and to possessing with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine on July 1, 2015, and possessing with intent to distribute five grams or more on Oct. 14, 2015, both in Etowah County.
Gilley pleaded guilty in January to the conspiracy and to one count of possessing with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. The judge sentenced Gilley to 12 years in prison.
Deal pleaded guilty in January to possessing with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The judge sentenced Deal to 10 years and 10 months in prison.
Crowder pleaded guilty in January to the conspiracy, possessing with intent to distribute more than 50 grams and possessing with intent to distribute more than five grams of methamphetamine. The judge sentenced Crowder to seven years and seven months in prison.
Kirby pleaded guilty in January to possessing with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. The judge sentenced Kirby to five years and 10 months in prison.
Farlow pleaded guilty in January to the conspiracy and to one count of possessing with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. The judge sentenced Farlow to two years and four months in prison.
The FBI investigated the case in conjunction with Etowah County Drug Enforcement Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura D. Hodge and Erica Williamson Barnes prosecuted the case.
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Birmingham’s New Police Chief Joins U.S. Attorney’s Crime-Fighting Task ForcesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – New Birmingham Police Chief Patrick D. Smith met today with two task forces formed this spring through the U.S. Attorney’s Office to combat violent crime and improve police-community relations.
“Chief Smith’s presence is already felt on the task forces,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Town. “His wealth of experience in both reducing violent crime and expanding community outreach and prevention efforts brings great promise to the City of Birmingham and the future of crime-fighting in our city.”
“The task forces are an extra benefit to the greater Birmingham communities as a whole,’’ Smith said. “Whenever you can combine the individual talents of each law enforcement agency represented, and to have them work cohesively together on one common goal, it’s a great day for the City. This is a prime example of leadership and teamwork at its highest level,’’ the chief said. “I’m excited to continue to develop the additional partnerships necessary to help resolve crime in and around the City of Birmingham.”
Smith began work June 25 as Birmingham’s police chief, following a nationwide search to fill the post. He was officially sworn in on July 27.
Smith, a Tuscaloosa native and veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, was a commander with the Los Angeles Police Department before accepting the chief’s job in Birmingham. He served 28 years with the LAPD, working his way up through the ranks as a patrol officer, police field training officer and instructor, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and, since 2015, a police commander.
The LAPD has 10,000 sworn staff, 3,500 civilians and operates with a budget of $1.4 billion.
Smith has focused his career on crime reduction strategies and building public trust, including police training, reviewing critical use of force incidents and developing policy for best practices in policing.
In April, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, working with Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, launched the Birmingham Public Safety Task Force to focus on reducing homicides and other violent crime in the Birmingham metro area. Along with the Birmingham Police Department, other agencies represented on the public safety task force include the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Shelby County Drug Task Force, Housing Authority of Birmingham Division, Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, and Homeland Security Investigations.
The BPSTF incorporates principles of the mayor’s public safety initiative, Operation Step Up, and Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy, along with the National Public Safety Partnership, to identify and work to apprehend the key offenders responsible for the majority of violent crime in hot spots across the Birmingham area.
In May, the U.S. Attorney’s Office launched the Birmingham Safe Neighborhoods Task Force to offer prevention and community outreach programs within the city and complement the law enforcement work of the Public Safety Task Force. A key function of this task force is to build and improve communication between the community and members of law enforcement.
The Safe Neighborhoods Task Force engages law enforcement, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and corporate citizens in a coordinated and collaborative process to incorporate crime prevention, education and inmate re-entry programs with enforcement efforts in an overall crime-reduction strategy.
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Georgia Pair Arrested for Role in Interstate Jury-Duty ScamRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – The FBI today arrested two Georgia residents on charges they took part in an interstate jury-duty scam, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. and U.S. Marshal Martin Keely.
A one-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama charges TEIANA MARIE TAYLOR and ORENTHIAL WALKER, both of Decatur, Georgia, with conspiring together and with others to commit wire fraud with false information concerning jury duty. They were arrested in Georgia.
“Scammers like these undermine the authority of the courts and federal law enforcement agencies dedicated to the rule of law,” Town said. “It is important for everyone to understand, in an effort to avoid becoming a victim, that federal agencies will never call you on the phone and demand money. We do not, typically, call ahead.”
According to the indictment, a member of the conspiracy would call a resident of the Northern District of Alabama, falsely claim to be a federal official, falsely claim that a judge had issued an arrest warrant for the resident, and then demand immediate payment of money. If the resident agreed to pay, the caller would demand that the victim transfer the money by means of gift cards or through commercial money transfer services to an account controlled by the conspiracy. Walker, 42, and Taylor, 35, would then withdraw the proceeds of the fraud and transfer them as directed by the conspiracy, according to the indictment.
The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Victims of this fraud commonly report that the scammers sound convincing and speak authoritatively. The scammers may use real information about the victim and accurate court addresses. They may also use the real names of law enforcement officers, court officials, and federal judges to make the scam appear more credible. They may even “spoof” the phone number on caller ID so that it falsely appears to be from the court or a government agency.
Citizens can protect themselves by knowing these facts about federal jury service:
●The court will always send a jury summons by U.S. Mail.
●The court and law enforcement will never demand payment over the phone.
●The court and law enforcement will never demand a gift card number to satisfy an obligation.
●A prospective juror who disregards a jury summons will be contacted through the mail by the court clerk’s office and may, in certain circumstances, be ordered to appear before a judge. Such an order will always be in writing and signed by the judge.
●A fine will never be imposed until after the individual has appeared in court and been given the opportunity to explain his or her failure to appear. If a fine is imposed, it will be in open court and reduced to writing (and will not be payable by gift card number).
Citizens who wish to verify whether they were summoned for federal jury duty may contact the Northern District of Alabama’s jury office at 1-800-222-8715. Citizens can report a scam phone call by contacting the FBI Birmingham Field Office at 205-326-6166.
The FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service investigated this case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Keim is prosecuting.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Two Jefferson County Men Indicted for Three June Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted two Jefferson County men for three bank robberies in the county in June, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
A three-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges TERRY LYNN FOREHAND, 54, of Birmingham, and DERRICK TERRELL BIVENS, 52, of Mulga, with the June 7 robbery of a BB&T Bank on Meadow Brook Road in Birmingham and the June 27 robberies of that same BB&T branch and a Regions Bank on 2nd Avenue SW in Graysville.
Each bank robbery charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI investigated the case, in conjunction with the Hoover Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Geer III is prosecuting the case.
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Convicted Felons, Illegal Alien Indicted for Illegal Firearms PossessionRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal jury today indicted three men for illegally possessing firearms because of previous felony convictions, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson, and U.S. Marshal Martin Keely.
In separate and unrelated indictments, the grand jury charged JACOB ANDREW HAMMETT, STEPHEN CHANNING PRUITT and ALPHONSO O’NEAL BESS as convicted felons in possession of firearms.
“Felons who continue to violate our laws remain prime targets for federal law enforcement to take off the streets with federal charges on their way to federal prison,” Town said. “Our office is committed to having federal, state and local law enforcement working together to identify repeat offenders who threaten our communities with guns and violence and prove to everyone that there is no parole to cut short a federal prison sentence.”
Hammett, 28, of Munford, possessed a Taurus .38-caliber revolver on Nov. 8, 2017, in Calhoun County, after three prior felony convictions in Calhoun County Circuit Court, according to his indictment. His prior convictions were for first-degree property theft in April 2015, second-degree unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance in February 2013, and second-degree escape in January 2012, according to the indictment.
Pruitt, 27, of Ohatchee, possessed a Stevens Arms .22-caliber rifle on Aug. 15, 2017, in Calhoun County following two felony convictions in Calhoun County Circuit Court, according to his indictment. Pruitt’s convictions were for first-degree receiving stolen property and unlawful possession of controlled substances, both in February 2017, according to his indictment.
Bess, 29, of Birmingham, possessed a Glock .357-caliber pistol on July 10, 2018, in Jefferson County after a September 2012 first-degree robbery conviction in Jefferson County Circuit Court, according to his indictment.
The grand jury also indicted a Mexican national for illegally possessing a firearm while an alien unlawfully in the United States. JOSE HERNANDEZ HERNANDEZ, 32, possessed a Rossi 38-caliber pistol on June 6, 2018, in Madison County, according to the indictment.
The maximum penalty for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and for possessing a firearm as an illegal alien in the United States is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
ATF investigated the Hammett and Pruitt cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney L. James Weil Jr. is prosecuting the Hammett case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohammad Khatib is prosecuting the Pruitt case. The U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force investigated the Bess case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Royster is prosecuting.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated the Hernandez case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Weil is prosecuting.
An indictment contains only charges. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Federal Jury Convicts Lawyer and Coal Company Executive for Bribing State LegislatorRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal jury today convicted a Birmingham lawyer and an Alabama coal company executive in a scheme to bribe a state legislator to use his office to oppose Environmental Protection Agency actions in north Birmingham, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Holloman.
The jury returned its verdicts after deliberating about 12 hours following more than three weeks of testimony before U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon. The jury found Balch & Bingham partner JOEL IVERSON GILBERT and Drummond Company Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs DAVID LYNN ROBERSON guilty of bribing former Alabama Rep. Oliver Robinson to advocate their employers’ opposition to EPA’s prioritization or expansion of the north Birmingham Superfund site. The bribe came in the form of a lucrative consulting contract that paid Robinson $360,000 through his Oliver Robinson Foundation, a non-profit organization, between 2015 and 2016.
Drummond Company was a client of the Birmingham-based Balch & Bingham law firm.
The jury found Gilbert, 46, and Roberson, 67, guilty of bribery, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy.
Robinson pleaded guilty in September to the conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, and tax evasion.
“This case was not about the EPA. This case was not about pollution. This was a case about greed at the expense of too many,” Town said. “The findings of guilt for these three individuals, by trial or plea, should forewarn anyone who would be corruptly motivated to act in similar unlawful interest. Voters deserve public officials who seek to represent them honestly and fairly. When elected officials, corporate executives or their lawyers violate our federal laws, they should expect to suffer the fate of these three guilty defendants. We appreciate the dedication of the federal agencies that worked tirelessly on this case.”
“Public corruption continues to be the top criminal priority for the FBI and those who violate the public's trust must be held accountable,” Sharp said. “As long as corruption and greed exists, the FBI will work to bring them to the bar of justice.”
EPA had designated an area of north Birmingham, including the neighborhoods of Harriman Park, Fairmont and Collegeville, as a Superfund site after finding elevated levels of arsenic, lead and benzo(a)pyrene during soil sampling. In September 2013, EPA notified five companies, including Drummond-owned ABC Coke, that they could potentially be responsible for the pollution. Such a finding could have cost the company tens of millions of dollars in cleanup costs and fines.
In September 2014, EPA proposed adding the site, designated the 35th Avenue Superfund Site, to its National Priorities List, signaling that it required priority attention. Placement on the priorities list would have allowed EPA to use the federal Superfund Trust Fund to conduct long-term cleanup at the site, provided the State of Alabama agreed to pay 10 percent of the costs. EPA also was considering the petition of a Birmingham advocacy group, GASP, to expand the site to the Tarrant and Inglenook neighborhoods.
According to evidence at trial, Gilbert and Roberson were intent on protecting ABC Coke and Drummond from the tremendous potential costs associated with being held responsible for pollution in the 35th Avenue site. As part of their strategy to accomplish that goal, they began working to prevent expansion of the site or its placement on EPA’s priority list.
The defendants hired Robinson, whose legislative district adjoined the Superfund site, to persuade north Birmingham residents and governmental agencies to oppose EPA’s actions. According to documents and testimony, Balch made the payments to Robinson’s foundation, and then invoiced Drummond or the Alliance for Jobs and Economy, a tax-exempt organization whose account the defendant controlled, for reimbursement. At Gilbert’s and Roberson’s request, the invoices Balch sent to Drummond and to AJE were scrubbed of any reference to the Oliver Robinson Foundation.
One of Robinson’s first tasks was to appear before the Alabama Environmental Management Commission and the director of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management in February 2015 to advance the opposition to EPA’s plan. Robinson urged the AEMC to “narrow the list” of parties potentially responsible for the pollution in north Birmingham and argued that the Superfund designation or placement of the NPL could harm property values of residents in the area.
Robinson went before the AEMC as a state legislator and concealed from its members that Balch & Bingham and Drummond were paying him to represent their interests, according to testimony and other evidence.
Robinson also failed to inform EPA officials in an earlier meeting that he was working for Drummond and Balch & Bingham. Gilbert provided Robinson with talking points for that meeting, which Robinson secretly recorded and then provided the recording to Gilbert, according to testimony.
Evidence also showed that, in June 2015, Robinson voted, as a member of the Alabama House Rules Committee, to send to the floor an anti-EPA resolution that Gilbert had drafted. Gilbert prepared the resolution for the Alabama legislature knowing that Robinson would have a vote on it, at a time when Robinson’s foundation was working on a retainer contract with Balch.
Repeat Child Sex Offender Sentenced to 50 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a Birmingham man to 50 years in prison for sexually exploiting a five-year-old boy by forcing the child to perform sexual acts and videotaping the conduct, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
U.S. District Judge Madeline H. Haikala sentenced LARRY DEAN GARRETT Jr., 38, on one count of sexual exploitation of a child. A federal jury convicted Garrett in December. Garrett faced the potential 50-year sentence because of a previous conviction of a sexual offense against a child in Michigan in 2000. In that case, Garrett confessed to criminal sexual conduct involving a boy younger than 13, according to evidence at trial.
“There must be a standing reservation in the pits of hell for those who sexually abuse children,” Town said. “Fifty years behind the bars of a federal prison is exactly where a repeat child sex offender like Garrett needs to be. Sexual exploitation of a child is one of the most abhorrent crimes prosecuted at any level and we must do all that we can to protect our children from this sort of abuse. Thanks to the FBI’s tireless work on behalf of an innocent and particularly vulnerable victim, and to the child’s family and friends who showed great courage in their willingness to assist law enforcement, Larry Garrett will never have another opportunity to harm a child.”
“Garrett's sentence not only delivers justice for his victims, but puts an end to his opportunity to exploit children,” Sharp said. “I also hope that this 50-year sentence will serve as a deterrent and a warning to those in our communities who prey upon children that their conduct will not be tolerated, and that the FBI and our partners will work tirelessly to bring them to justice. I commend the agents who investigated Garrett for their professional and thorough investigation."
Garrett, who performs magic tricks and uses the name, “Magic,” lived in the same Birmingham apartment complex as his five-year-old victim and the child’s mother in 2016. He was known to have spent time with the child, according to evidence.
A friend of the child’s family, who also lived in the same apartment complex, testified at trial that he knew Garrett downloaded movies and requested one from him. When the man opened the files on the computer memory card that Garrett gave him, he discovered the sexually explicit video involving the child, he testified. He showed the video to members of the child’s family, and they provided the video to police.
The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Williamson Barnes prosecuted.
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Secret Service Presenting Law Enforcement Anti-Terrorism Training in Huntsville & TrussvilleRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – The U.S. Secret Service will present anti-terrorism training for law enforcement next week in both Huntsville and Trussville.
In conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama and the Huntsville and Trussville police departments, the Critical Protective Analysis Group of the Secret Service will present a one-day conference on Tuesday, July 17, at the Huntsville Public Safety Training Academy, 6000 Cecil Fain Drive. It will present the same conference on Thursday, July 19, at the Trussville Civic Center, 5381 Trussville Clay Road. The conference will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, with registration from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.
The training is free and open to all law enforcement. It is approved for six credit hours with the Alabama Peace Officers Standards & Training Commission. Training will focus on terrorism trends and tactics.
U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town will open Tuesday’s conference in Huntsville. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Lloyd Peeples will open the conference Thursday in Trussville. Only the opening segment of the conferences will be open to the media.
Advance registration will be available until noon Monday by emailing to [email protected] the name, address and phone number of your organization, along with the names of individuals planning to attend.
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Birmingham Brothers Sentenced to Federal Prison for Trafficking Cartel-Supplied MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced two Birmingham brothers for their roles in trafficking methamphetamine supplied by a Mexican cartel from Arizona to Birmingham in 2017, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Hal Taylor.
U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre sentenced DIONTEZ JAMEL MOORE, 31, to 24 years and four months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and sentenced DAESHUAN NATHANIEL MOORE, 28, to 10 years in prison for possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine in Jefferson County on May 3, 2017. Both men pleaded guilty to the charges in November.
Alabama State Bureau of Investigation agents arrested the brothers on May 3, 2017, after they fled police and crashed the sedan they were driving into two civilian vehicles at an intersection on Forestdale Boulevard. Both the Moores and two people in the vehicles they hit were hospitalized. Agents recovered about 1,100 grams, or more than two pounds, of methamphetamine from the trunk of the Moores’ sedan.
“Those individuals who engage in drug trafficking belong in federal prison,” Town said. “Postal inspectors work tirelessly to ensure that the U.S. Mail is used only for legitimate purposes and not in furtherance of any criminal enterprise. Their efforts, along with those of the Alabama state investigators, helped put these brothers where they belong.”
“Postal inspectors are committed to stopping drug cartels from using the U.S. Postal Service to distribute dangerous drugs into our communities,” Gonzalez said. “In this case, these suspects sought to put large amounts of methamphetamine onto the streets of Birmingham using the U.S. Postal Service. Postal inspectors, along with our state and local law enforcement partners, put an end to this scheme. I hope the substantial prison sentences handed down today serve as a deterrent to those who would try the same thing.”
Judge Bowdre sentenced Diontez Moore as a career offender based on his criminal history, which includes a prior murder conviction and an attempted fraud on the state court following his and his brother’s 2017 arrest. The judge imposed the mandatory minimum sentence for Daeshaun Moore, noting that he was less culpable than other defendants involved in the drug conspiracy, and that he has no violent crimes or drug offenses in his criminal history.
U.S. Postal inspectors and Alabama SBI agents began investigating mailings of dozens of packages from Phoenix, Arizona, to the Birmingham area in December 2016, according to court documents. The investigation began after postal inspectors in Arizona contacted inspectors in Alabama about a package they had intercepted and found to contain more than three pounds of methamphetamine, according to court documents. The package was addressed to a Birmingham area residence.
Agents identified the person who mailed that package as Deron Lee Green, a former Alabama resident with family in Birmingham who was living in Phoenix. Green pleaded guilty to the trafficking conspiracy in October. In June, Judge Bowdre sentenced Green to five years in prison.
Postal Inspector John Bailey testified during Diontez Moore’s sentencing hearing today that Green was responsible for shipping the methamphetamine to Alabama and for the “day to day contact with the cartel in Arizona.” Green told investigators that the Mexican-based Sinoloa Cartel supplied the methamphetamine, Bailey testified.
On May 3, 2017, postal inspectors in Birmingham discovered an inbound package from Phoenix to a Forestdale address that was associated with a relative of Green’s, according to court documents. The package was similar to other suspicious packages investigators had identified.
Law enforcement observed the package’s delivery to the Forestdale address, then watched a black sedan, occupied by Diontez and Daeshaun Moore, arrive at the residence, where Diontez Moore went into the garage, retrieved the package and placed it in the trunk of the sedan. As the sedan left the area with Daeshaun Moore driving, an Alabama State Trooper tried to stop it. The car sped away, leading troopers on a chase that ended when the Moores crashed into the vehicles at the intersection of Forestdale Boulevard and Cherry Avenue, leading to the brothers’ arrests. In Diontez’s hearing, prosecutors played a police-dash cam video of the high-speed chase along a two-lane residential road and through a construction area on the road, before ending with the Moores’ crash.
The Postal Inspection Service and ALEA-SBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Felton prosecuted.
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Birmingham Tax Preparer Sentenced to Five Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge on Monday sentenced a Georgia woman to five years in prison for preparing and filing fraudulent tax returns for other people through her Birmingham-area business between 2009 and 2012, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Holloman.
U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor sentenced PATRICE ANDERSON, 38, of Fairburn, Georgia, on 13 tax-related counts. A federal jury convicted Anderson in September for using her Birmingham tax-preparation business, Queen’s Fast Tax, to file returns that she knew contained false information.
“If you steal from the federal government, you will be charged with a federal crime and you will go to a federal prison,” Town said. “Anderson earned every minute of her five years by siphoning away monies belonging to honest taxpayers from the U.S. Treasury.”
“Patrice Anderson’s sentence demonstrates the seriousness of violating our nation’s federal tax laws,” Holloman said. “Anderson must now serve prison time for her criminal actions, and pay restitution to the tax-paying citizens she defrauded. This sentence should send a clear message: schemes that are directed at cheating the U.S. taxpayers have serious consequences and will result in jail time.”
Evidence at trial showed that Anderson filed tax returns claiming refundable credits to which her clients were not entitled so that they could receive much larger refunds from the government than they were eligible to receive. In return, Anderson would charge the clients abnormally high fees – up to $3,000 per fraudulent return – to file their taxes, according to testimony. The court determined that Anderson, who operated Queen’s Fast Tax from 2009 through 2012, had filed tax returns claiming more than $3.6 million in refunds in 2010 and 2011 alone, and that at least half the claimed refunds in those years were fraudulent.
Anderson testified that she only included information provided by clients on the tax returns that she prepared, but the government presented evidence that Anderson’s own 2010, 2011 and 2012 tax returns contained some of the same false items that were characteristic of the fraudulent tax returns she filed for her clients.
IRS-CI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Xavier O. Carter Sr. and Kathryn McHugh prosecuted.
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Condolences for Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and FamilyRead the Press Release
In sympathy on the day of Bridgette Gentry Marshall’s funeral, U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town expresses condolences to her husband, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, and their family:
“Today is another sad day for the Marshall family. We pray in hope that the family, relatives, and friends of Bridgette have full providence during this difficult time. The strength and character Steve has continued to show for his family, especially his daughter, Faith, while enduring this tragedy, has been a reassuring blessing to us all.”
Five NW Alabama Compounding Pharmacy Employees Charged in Multi-Million Dollar Prescription Fraud Conspiracy during National Health Care Fraud TakedownRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama this week charged five employees, including a district and an operations manager, of an Alabama-based compounding pharmacy with participating in a conspiracy to generate prescriptions and defraud health care insurers and prescription drug administrators out of tens of millions of dollars.
U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town announced the charges against employees of Northside Pharmacy, based in Haleyville and doing business as Global Compounding Pharmacy, as part of a nationwide health care fraud takedown. Global’s compounding and shipping facility was in Haleyville, but the pharmacy did its prescription processing, billing and customer service at its “call center” in Clearwater, Florida.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar III today announced the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action involving 601 charged defendants across 58 federal districts, including 165 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving more than $2 billion in false billings. Of those charged, 162 defendants, including 76 doctors, were charged for their roles in prescribing and distributing opioids and other dangerous narcotics. Thirty state Medicaid Fraud Control Units participated in today’s arrests. In addition, HHS announced today that from July 2017 to the present, it has excluded 2,700 individuals from participation in Medicare, Medicaid, and all other federal health care programs, which includes 587 providers excluded for conduct related to opioid diversion and abuse.
Attorney General Sessions and Secretary Azar were joined in the announcement by Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, FBi Deputy Director David L. Bowdich, Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Administrator John Martin, HHS-Office of Inspector General Deputy Inspector General Gary Cantrell, IRS Criminal Investigation Deputy Chief Eric Hylton, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Program Integrity Alec Alexander, and Defense Criminal Investigative Service Director Dermot F. O’Reilly.
Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by the Criminal Division, Fraud Section’s Health Care Fraud Unit in conjunction with its Medicare Fraud Strike Force partners, a partnership between the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI and HHS-OIG. In addition, the operation includes the participation of the DEA, DCIS, IRS-CI, Department of Labor, other various federal law enforcement agencies, and State Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
The charges announced today aggressively target schemes billing Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, a health insurance program for members and veterans of the armed forces and their families, and private insurance companies for medically unnecessary prescription drugs and compounded medications that often were never even purchased or distributed to beneficiaries. The charges also involve individuals contributing to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on medical professionals involved in the unlawful distribution of opioids and other prescription narcotics, a particular focus for the Department. According to the CDC, approximately 115 Americans die every day of an opioid-related overdose.
“Health care fraud is a betrayal of vulnerable patients, and often it is theft from the taxpayer,” said Attorney General Sessions. “In many cases, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists take advantage of people suffering from drug addiction in order to line their pockets. These are despicable crimes. That’s why this Department of Justice has taken historic new steps to go after fraudsters, including hiring more prosecutors and leveraging the power of data analytics. Today the Department of Justice is announcing the largest health care fraud enforcement action in American history. This is the most fraud, the most defendants, and the most doctors ever charged in a single operation — and we have evidence that our ongoing work has stopped or prevented billions of dollars’ worth of fraud. I want to thank our fabulous partners with the FBI, DEA, our Health Care Fraud task forces, HHS, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, Medicare, and especially the more than 1,000 federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers from across America who made this possible. By every measure we are more effective at finding and prosecuting medical fraud than ever.”
U.S. Attorney Town said, “The defendants in the north Alabama case helped their employer, Global Compounding Pharmacy, defraud millions from Medicare, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama and other insurance systems by pushing unnecessary medications and billing for reimbursement. The greed of these defendants, and this company, resulted in the distribution of medication when there was no need, with the primary focus on profit rather than the efficacy of care. The costs are not just monetary, but have social and health impacts on us all.”
“Every dollar recovered in this year’s operation represents not just a taxpayer’s hard-earned money – it’s a dollar that can go toward providing healthcare for Americans in need,” said HHS Secretary Azar. “This year’s Takedown Day is a significant accomplishment for the American people, and every public servant involved should be proud of their work.”
According to court documents, defendants from the national sweep allegedly participated in schemes to submit claims to Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE for treatments that were medically unnecessary and often never provided. In many cases, the charges are that patient recruiters, beneficiaries and other co-conspirators were paid cash kickbacks in return for supplying beneficiary information to providers, so that the providers could then submit fraudulent bills to Medicare. Collectively, the doctors, nurses, licensed medical professionals, health care company owners and others charged are accused of submitting a total of more than $2 billion in fraudulent billings. The number of medical professionals charged is particularly significant, because virtually every health care fraud scheme requires a corrupt medical professional to be involved in order for Medicare or Medicaid to pay the fraudulent claims. Aggressively pursuing corrupt medical professionals not only has a deterrent effect on other medical professionals, but also ensures that their licenses can no longer be used to bilk the system.
In the Global Compounding Pharmacy case in north Alabama, the defendants are charged with taking part in a multi-faceted, multi-million dollar scheme to defraud multiple insurance plans and their third-party pharmacy benefit managers by billing for fraudulent, often high-dollar prescriptions that Global would fill and bill for reimbursement. To maximize proceeds, Global engaged in additional fraudulent practices including automatically refilling and billing for prescriptions, regardless of patient need, and routinely waiving co-pays to incentivize patients to accept unnecessary medications and refills, according to charges and plea agreements in the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, through separate informations filed in U.S. District Court, and all with associated plea agreements, charged Global Operations Manager JEFFREY SOUTH, District Manager ANGIE NELSON, sales representatives RODDRICK BOYKIN and DAWN WHITTEN, and biller STACEY CARDOZO. The informations charge each of the defendants with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and health care fraud. South, Nelson, Boykin and Whitten also are charged with varying counts of health care fraud, and Whitten also faces a charge of aggravated identity theft.
The charges against South, 47, of Florence, Alabama, Nelson, 40, of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, Boykin, 45, of San Antonio, Texas, Whitten, 55, of Columbus, Georgia, and Cardozo, 28, of Largo, Florida, add to eight Global sales representatives previously charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and who all have pled guilty to the conspiracy and scheme.
“These defendants, motivated by pure greed, helped conduct a complicated scheme to obtain unnecessary, high-priced medications, purely to gain the insurance reimbursement,” said Birmingham FBI Field Office Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. “Rooting out health care fraud is central to the well-being of both our citizens and the overall economy. Health care fraud costs the country tens of billions of dollars a year, and the FBI seeks to identify and pursue investigations against the most egregious offenders involved in health care fraud through investigative partnerships with other federal agencies.”
According to court documents, Global hired sales representatives who were located in various states and were responsible for generating prescriptions from physicians and other prescribers. To generate a high volume of prescriptions, Global hired representatives who were married or related to doctors and other prescribers, and encouraged sales representatives to volunteer at doctors’ offices where they would review patient files and push Global’s products to patients, according to court documents.
The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, HHS-OIG, DCIS and IRS-CI, investigated the Global cases, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chinelo Dike-Minor, Don Long and Nicole Grosnoff are prosecuting.
The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in 10 locations nationwide. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged over 3,700 defendants who, collectively, have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion.
A complaint, information, or indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Four Georgia Men Indicted for Heflin Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted four Georgia men for the May robbery of an east Alabama bank, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
A two-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges DERRICK ANTONIO OWENS, 47, KENYATTA DELAFAYETTE COSBY, 46, and BRICE MERCIVIOUS KIMBRO, 22, all of Atlanta, and TRAVIS OMERE MONTFORD, 30, of Decatur, Georgia, with conspiracy to rob and with robbing Small Town Bank in Heflin on May 2.
“I commend the quick and courageous actions taken by Heflin Police officers in apprehending these suspects in flight from the scene of a bank robbery,” Town said. “Because of their professional response, and great work done by the FBI, these four defendants all face federal felony bank robbery charges where, if convicted, they will face federal time in a federal prison.”
According to the indictment, the four men traveled together to the Heflin bank and robbed it as follows:
Cosby entered the bank, jumped the teller counter and shoved a teller to the floor. Montford and Kimbro stood in front of the teller line to take money from the tellers, while Owens remained at the door “urging his coconspirators to act expeditiously.”
Owens also drove the car that the four men sped away from the bank in after the robbery.
The maximum penalty for the conspiracy charge is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for bank robbery is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Heflin Police and the FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Simpson is prosecuting.
An indictment contains only charges. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Law Enforcement Focuses Violent Crime Remedy in BessemerRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – Federal, state and local law enforcement last week fanned out in and around Bessemer pursuing 35 people on federal and state charges in an ongoing effort to reduce violent crime in the Greater Birmingham area.
U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson, U.S. Marshal Marty Keely, Bessemer Division Jefferson County District Attorney Lynneice Washington, Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale and Bessemer Police Chief Michael Roper announced the operation.
The roundup targeted violent offenders and high-crime areas of Bessemer as part of Operation Focused Remedy, a joint operation led by ATF with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Marshal Service, varying state and local police agencies and district attorney’s offices. The Bessemer Police Department and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office took part in last week’s operation seeking arrests on nine federal and 26 state warrants. More than 20 guns were recovered in the operation.
“This operation is a perfect example of how federal, state and local law enforcement can combine resources and efforts to remove our worst offenders from our communities, especially those in high-crime areas,” Town said. “This ATF operation is yet another example of how law enforcement partnerships enable law-abiding residents to continue to reclaim safety and security for their families.”
“These arrests highlight ATF’s Operation Focused Remedy as a force multiplier from the partnerships of law enforcement and community,” Watson said. “ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence resources will continue to aid in reducing violent crime in focused areas.”
Operation Focused Remedy is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state and local law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Decatur Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Plan to Kidnap Woman and Sell Daughter into Sex TradeRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a Decatur man involved in a kidnapping and child sex-trafficking plot to 30 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor sentenced BRIAN DAVID “Blaze” BOERSMA, 49, for attempted kidnapping of a minor, attempted kidnapping, attempted sex trafficking of a child, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime. Boersma pleaded guilty to the charges in March.
Boersma had a detailed plan to kidnap a woman and her 14-year-old daughter, sexually assault and torture the woman, and sell her child into the sex trade, according to court records. Boersma falsely implicated the woman’s ex-husband in the kidnapping plot.
“Boersma’s actions will forever remain despicable and the horrors that he intended upon innocent victims was avoided because a concerned citizen heard something and then said something,” Town said. “There is only one place suitably worse than prison for Boersma…and that day will come, too.”
“Boersma is now being held accountable for his depraved and abhorrent behavior,” Sharp said. “I, particularly, want to thank my agents and our partners at the Decatur Police Department for their work in bringing Boersma to justice. The FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to aggressively seeking out those who exploit innocent victims.”
Boersma worked at the Alabama Farmers’ Cooperative in Decatur shuttling trailers from the storage yard to the warehouse where they would be loaded with merchandise to ship to other locations. His plea agreement with the government lays out his efforts in the fall of 2017 to encourage a co-worker at the co-op to find someone willing to kidnap a woman and her daughter for payment. Boersma, in installments, gave the co-worker $3,440 to hold for a kidnapping payment. The co-worker alerted the FBI to Boersma’s plan in mid-September and the bureau sent two undercover employees to pose as willing kidnappers.
According to Boersma’s plea agreement, he intended to carry out the kidnappings and child sex-trafficking as follows:
Boersma boasted to his co-worker that he would sell the child to a pimp he knew in Memphis, Tenn., and hoped to get as much as $40,000 because she was “a young, clean virgin.” Ultimately, his contact in Memphis offered him only $8,000 for the girl, Boersma said.
Boersma had outfitted a trailer at the co-op with a mattress and restraints for holding the mother and daughter. He also placed inside the trailer a metal “sex device” he had built so the woman could be tied to it, beaten and raped.
Boersma falsely claimed that the woman’s ex-husband wanted the woman and child kidnapped as retribution for the woman divorcing him and taking him to court for child support. He said the ex-husband wanted to beat the woman with a bullwhip and it would be a “bloody mess” in the trailer. He said he put plastic down inside the trailer to help with clean up.
Boersma also told the undercover FBI employees that once the woman was dead, he would “have to go get 300 pounds of lime and dig a hole.” He said he would get the lime from the co-op and bury the body under a nearby bridge.
On Oct. 10, Boersma and his co-worker met at a Decatur hotel with the undercover FBI agents who Boersma believed would kidnap the mother and child. Boersma told the agents what he wanted done, provided photos of the two intended victims and handed the agents $3,440. He then led the agents to the woman’s workplace, to her home and to the co-op, where he showed them the trailer he had prepared for holding the victims.
Shortly after returning to the hotel, police arrested Boersma as he approached his pickup truck. A loaded Smith & Wesson M&P .40-caliber pistol was recovered in a subsequent search of the truck. Boersma was prohibited from possessing the gun because of a felony unlawful possession of a controlled substance conviction in Shelby County, Tenn., in 1998.
The FBI investigated the case in conjunction with the Decatur Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Davis Barlow prosecuted the case.
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Madison County Man Pleads Guilty as Convicted Felon Trying to Buy Gun with Counterfeit MoneyRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE – A Madison County man pleaded guilty today in federal court to being a convicted felon and trying to buy a pistol with counterfeit money, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Michael Williams and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.
MONTREZ CHEBEIR MARTIN, 33, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon to one count of passing counterfeit obligations or securities and one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. His sentencing is scheduled Oct. 2.
“Felons who desire to buy firearms will be aggressively prosecuted and should concern all of us. Felons who desire to buy firearms with counterfeit bills exacerbate our concerns even more,” Town said. “Thanks to the victim’s quick action in reporting the crime to police, and to the dedicated work of ATF and the Secret Service, this felon will serve federal punishment in a federal facility under the federal guidelines.”
“This individual was prevented from illegally purchasing a firearm with counterfeit currency,” Williams said. “This case highlights one of the many ways the U.S. Secret Service collaborates with local, state, and federal agencies to combat financial crimes affecting our communities.”
“This court action demonstrates ATF’s commitment to target illegal firearms trafficking in all forms, to include the use of the internet,” Watson said. “ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence leverages technology to reduce violent firearms-related crimes.”
According to Martin’s plea agreement with the government, he attempted his gun purchase with counterfeit money as follows:
Martin answered an individual’s advertisement of a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber pistol and 450 rounds of ammunition for sale on the website, armslist.com, in September 2017. Martin and the seller agreed to meet in a Decatur business parking lot so Martin could buy the gun.
The seller first asked Martin if he were a felon, which Martin said he was not, and the seller then gave Martin the pistol and ammunition. The agreed price for the gun was $450. Martin gave the seller $400 and as he began counting it, Martin started walking quickly away. The seller realized the money was counterfeit, seeing Chinese characters on three $100 bills.
The seller pulled a pistol and jumped in front of the vehicle Martin was in, telling Martin to open the door and place the pistol and ammunition on the ground, and Martin complied before driving away.
The seller reported the incident to police and later picked Martin out of a photo lineup.
The maximum penalty for passing counterfeit obligations is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and the maximum penalty for being a felon in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Secret Service and ATF investigated the case in conjunction with the Decatur and Huntsville police departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Davis Barlow is prosecuting the case.
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Huntsville Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISISRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon today sentenced a Huntsville man to 15 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. announced the sentence.
AZIZ IHAB SAYYED, 23, pleaded guilty in March to the terrorism charge. He acknowledged that he bought bomb-building ingredients in 2017, that he stated his aspirations to conduct ISIS-inspired attacks on police stations and Redstone Arsenal, and that he attempted to form a cell to conduct violent acts within the United States.
“We will not tolerate threats to our national security from terrorist groups like ISIS, which continues to radicalize and encourage terrorists through the internet,” Demers said. “The defendant, a citizen of this country, plotted to carry out attacks on his fellow Americans in our country, but was thwarted by the close cooperation of our partners in law enforcement. This successful outcome should send a clear message to any other would-be terrorists that the National Security Division will find them and bring them to justice.”
“Aziz Sayyed was inspired by ISIS to kill or harm Americans and he has earned every bit of his prison term,” Town said. “This case, and this investigation, serves as the gold standard for what is possible when federal, state and local law enforcement agencies work together. The FBI did an outstanding job ensuring this investigation was successful by cultivating those layers of law enforcement necessary in cases like this.”
“The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is dedicated to identifying and bringing to justice those individuals who attempt to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations, promote violent extremism, and threaten our national security,” Sharp said. “Today’s sentence is a culmination of the tireless efforts of our JTTF, and the invaluable partnership we have with the Huntsville Police Department.”
According to Sayyed’s plea agreement with the government, he attempted to provide services and personnel, namely himself, to ISIS, knowing that the group is a designated foreign terrorist organization
Between January and June of 2017 in Madison County, Sayyed, a U.S. citizen, obtained and viewed ISIS propaganda videos depicting ISIS forces committing bombings, executions by gunshot and beheading, and other violent acts. Sayyed shared the videos and expressed his support for ISIS and for ISIS terrorist attacks around the world, according to his plea agreement.
Sayyed researched and learned how to make triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a highly volatile and extremely dangerous explosive material. He then purchased the necessary ingredients for the explosive and professed his aspiration to use TATP in an explosive belt or a car bomb.
On June 13, 2017, Sayyed met with an individual he understood to be an ISIS member. In fact, the person was an undercover employee of the FBI. Sayyed and the undercover employee discussed the danger of TATP, ISIS’s preference for the use of certain explosives, and Sayyed’s desire to assist ISIS, according to the plea agreement. In that meeting, Sayyed offered to personally carry out attacks on behalf of ISIS.
The FBI investigated the case in conjunction with the Huntsville Police Department, Madison County District Attorney’s Office, Madison County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Army 902 MI Group, Redstone Arsenal’s Garrison Command, University of Alabama at Huntsville Police Department, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Henry Cornelius and Davis Barlow prosecuted the case with the assistance of Trial Attorney Joseph Attias of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
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Huntsville Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sex-Trafficking in Madison CountyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A Huntsville man pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to charges that he paid the father of a 15-year-old so he could have sexual contact with the child, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Jere T. Miles.
BILLY R. EDWARDS, 63, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor to charges of commercial sex trafficking, coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution, and being a convicted felon in possession of firearms. His sentencing is scheduled Sept. 12.
The child’s father, DARWIN MOISES AMADOR-ZEPEDA, 38, a Honduran national, is charged with commercial sex trafficking and coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution. Amador-Zepeda’s case is proceeding to trial, but a date has not been set.
“The trafficking of any human being, especially a child, is unconscionable, unthinkable, and unforgivable,” Town said. “Our Human Trafficking Task Force remains committed to bringing these despicable traffickers to justice and we have reserved bed space in prison for them all, which will only serve as temporary quarters on their road to perdition.”
Edwards acknowledges in his plea agreement with the government that he began paying Amador-Zepeda in 2014 so that he would persuade or coerce his 15-year-old son to have sexual encounters with Edwards.
During the ongoing sexual trafficking of the child, Edwards often paid Amador-Zepeda by check, and the two men used cell phones to induce or coerce the child to engage in sexually explicit conduct, according to Edwards’ plea agreement.
The sexual encounters with the child continued for several months until Edwards stopped paying to have them, according to the plea agreement. At that point, Amador-Zepeda began blackmailing Edwards, threatening to show law enforcement the cell phone communications between him and the child unless Edwards paid him. Amador-Zepeda told the child what to say in English to deliver the blackmail threat, according to Edward’s plea agreement. The two men later executed a contract for Edwards to make a series of payments totaling $20,000 to Amador-Zepeda in exchange for the cell phone containing the incriminating evidence.
In May 2017, the child told law enforcement about the sex trafficking. In September 2017, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office obtained a warrant and searched Edwards’ residence, finding an Industrial National de Armes .38-caliber revolver, a Jimenez Arms .25-caliber pistol, a Bryco Jennings .380-caliber pistol and a Winchester model 1400 MKII shotgun. Edwards previously was convicted of a felony, conspiracy to commit fraud, in the Northern District of Alabama in 2005.
The penalty for commercial sex trafficking is 15 years to life in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. The penalty for coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution is 10 years to life in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for being a convicted felon in possession of firearms is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s HSI, in conjunction with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and the Madison County District Attorney’s Office, investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Xavier Carter and Carla Ward are prosecuting.
Mountain Brook Man Sentenced to Nearly Three Years in Prison for Cyberstalking Former Girlfriend and Associate of HersRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a Mountain Brook man to nearly three years in prison for cyberstalking, including threatening to kill, a former girlfriend and a second woman associated with her, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre sentenced STEPHEN PARKS LEWIS, 32, to two years and nine months in prison on two counts of cyberstalking. Lewis pleaded guilty to the charges in January. Along with the prison sentence, Judge Bowdre ordered Lewis to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. She prohibited him from any contact with his victims or their extended families during his supervised release, and ordered him to undergo in-patient treatment for drug and alcohol abuse during the first year of his release.
“Lewis used Facebook, emails, text messages and voicemails to harass and threaten a young woman who broke off an abusive relationship with him, and when he could no longer find her, he turned his cyberstalking and cruel threats on her family. He even threatened to kill the woman who was dating his victim’s brother, as well as the woman’s six-year-old child,” Town said. “Prison is the best destination for someone who methodically torments and terrifies his victims.”
“Lewis will now answer for his sustained and menacing cyberstalking,” Sharp said. “This prison sentence should send the message that the FBI and our partners will hold accountable those who would use modern communication methods to deliver threats and intimidation.”
According to court documents, Lewis’s threats to the woman who had ended their five-year dating relationship included claims that he would commit a mass shooting akin to the one in Las Vegas last year, in which 58 people were killed and more than 500 wounded, if she did not submit to his demands. His cyberstalking went on for at least 10 months in 2017 and he threatened his harassment would “continue forever.”
The second woman Lewis threatened and harassed was the girlfriend of his first victim’s brother. Lewis used Facebook and text messages to threaten her, including threats to stalk and kill her and her minor daughter.
Among Lewis’ often profane Facebook messages to his second victim, he demanded to know where he could find his former girlfriend. “I have your phone number. I have your address. I know where [Victim-1’s brother] lives. I know where you live,” he wrote, according to his plea agreement. “You tell me where she is. You tell me whats (sic) going on. Or I’m coming with a desert eagle .45.” Following that message, Lewis sent a photo of a Desert Eagle pistol to Victim 2.
The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohammad Khatib prosecuted.