Northern District of Alabama
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
U.S. Attorney Town Congratulates Birmingham Mayor Woodfin on New Police ChiefRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – Statement from U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town on Mayor Randall L. Woodfin’s announcement of Patrick Smith, a commander with the Los Angeles Police Department and a native of Tuscaloosa, as Birmingham’s chief of police:
“I congratulate Mayor Woodfin on his selection of Patrick Smith as the city’s next chief of police,” Town said. “We all look forward to Chief Smith’s leadership, vision and continued partnership. Our collective violent crime reduction and outreach task force initiatives have never looked so promising.”
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NDAL U.S. Attorney's Office Receives Four New Prosecutor Positions from 311 Announced by Attorney General SessionsRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – On the 500th day of the Trump Administration, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town for the District of Northern Alabama announced that the Department of Justice is taking a dramatic step to increase resources to combat violent crime, enforce our immigration laws, and help roll back the devastating opioid crisis.
In the largest increase in decades, the Department of Justice is allocating 311 new Assistant United States Attorneys to assist in priority areas. Those allocations are as follows: 190 violent crime prosecutors, 86 civil enforcement prosecutors, and 35 additional immigration prosecutors. Many of the civil enforcement AUSA’s will support the newly created Prescription Interdiction & Litigation Task Force which targets the opioid crisis at every level of the distribution system.
“Under President Trump's strong leadership, the Department of Justice is going on offense against violent crime, illegal immigration, and the opioid crisis — and today we are sending in reinforcements,” Sessions said. “We have a saying in my office that a new federal prosecutor is 'the coin of the realm.' When we can eliminate wasteful spending, one of my first questions to my staff is if we can deploy more prosecutors to where they are needed. I have personally worked to re-purpose existing funds to support this critical mission, and as a former federal prosecutor myself, my expectations could not be higher. These exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime-fighting partnership. This addition of new Assistant U.S. Attorney positions represents the largest increase in decades.”
In the 31-county Northern District of Alabama, three of the newly allotted AUSAs will focus on reducing violent crime, including through more aggressive gun and drug-trafficking prosecutions. A fourth newly added AUSA will focus on affirmative civil enforcement, seeking monetary recoveries from corporations and individuals who have defrauded the United States through health care or other government procurement fraud.
“This announcement solidifies the commitment that the Department of Justice has in reducing crime, especially violent crime, and protecting the public fisc in Northern Alabama,” Town said. “The steadfast leadership of Attorney General Sessions continues to impact positively every district in the United States, and these new prosecutors will bolster our ability to execute the violent crime priorities of the Department of Justice. Our side of the battlefield can never be too crowded.”
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Tax Preparer Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Filing Fraudulent ReturnsRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM - A federal judge today sentenced long-time tax preparer SANDRA LENORA GREEN, 61, of York, Ala., to five years and three months in prison for aiding and abetting the filing of false tax returns, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Holloman.
“The federal government is funded by people who pay the taxes that they owe. When unscrupulous tax preparers like Green make their living filing false returns that seek unjustified payouts, they end up stealing money from the taxes paid by those Americans who follow the law,” Town said. “Tax crimes negatively impact every aspect of the public fisc, from national security to our interstates, and will not be tolerated.”
“Today’s sentencing is another example of what happens to abusive tax preparers who seek to produce false tax returns for higher client fees and refunds,” Holloman said. “IRS-Criminal Investigation will continue to serve the American taxpayer by ensuring unscrupulous tax preparers are brought to justice.”
Green pleaded guilty in November to her role in filing false tax returns in the names of three people, who were not charged. According to her plea agreement, Green falsely claimed credits and losses on clients’ tax returns in order to inflate the amount of the tax refund they would receive. By doing this, Green increased the profit for the tax-preparation service by increasing the number of clients or increasing the fees from clients. Green agreed to pay restitution of $247,174 to the IRS and admitted that her crimes involved actual or intended losses of $1.5 million to $3.5 million.
At the time of her guilty plea, U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler told Green not to prepare any tax returns other than her own between then and her sentencing date. During the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that Green had ignored the court order and had served as a tax preparer during this year’s tax-filing season – again submitting false tax returns in her clients’ names.
IRS-CI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa K. Atwood prosecuted.
Last of Nine Defendants in Conspiracy Trafficking Fentanyl, Heroin, Cocaine Sentenced to 16 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge on Wednesday imposed a 16-year prison sentence on the last of nine defendants in a Birmingham-based conspiracy to distribute multiple kilograms of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine in Jefferson County in 2015 and 2016, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.
U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced JOSE AGUSTIN GUTIERREZ, 32, of Phoenix, Ariz., on the conspiracy count, one count of possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and one count of using a telephone to commit a drug-trafficking crime. Gutierrez pled guilty to the charges last year.
Throughout the investigation, agents seized 8.8 kilograms of cocaine that Gutierrez intended to deliver from Arizona, and 4.662 kilograms of pure fentanyl delivered from Mexico.
“This defendant organized and delivered major quantities of heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine into the Northern District of Alabama from Arizona, and now he will spend the next 16 years behind bars,” Town said. “Thanks to the work of the DEA and other law enforcement partners, this is one drug conspiracy we have shut down, closing that pipeline of deadly drugs into Alabama and sending nine drug traffickers to prison.”
“With this sentencing, DEA and its federal, state and local law enforcement partners have taken down an organization responsible for distributing large quantities of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine in the state of Alabama,” Hamilton said. “By removing this criminal from the street, he can no longer threaten the health and safety of our communities. We will continue to work together to target criminal organizations to ensure that drug traffickers are held responsible for the harm they cause."
In April, Judge Coogler sentenced the leader of the conspiracy, ANTHONY LEVY WARD, 37, of Chelsea, to 20 years and 10 months in prison. Ward had pled guilty to multiple counts of conspiracy to distribute or possess with intent to distribute at least a thousand grams of heroin or at least five kilograms of cocaine and two counts of attempted possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. He also pled guilty and was sentenced on multiple counts of using a telephone to commit a drug trafficking crime, one count of carrying a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
The amount of fentanyl trafficked in the conspiracy was about 7.1 kilograms, or more than 350,000 doses of the drug.
Besides Ward and Gutierrez, other defendants convicted in the conspiracy are: Anthony Levy Alexander, 58, and Betty Levy Alexander, 51, Ward’s father and aunt, Ferlando Carmise Mims, 20, Onandas Carmece Beard, 20, and Corey Darnelle Haynes, 38, all of Birmingham, and Jesus Ubaldo Montoya, 24, and Marahai Ardizo Enriquez, 26, both of Phoenix. The sentences for those defendants range from about two to 15 years.
The DEA investigated the case in conjunction with the Birmingham and Hoover police departments and the U.S. Marshals Service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama prosecuted the case.
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Prattville Man, Shelby County Woman Indicted for Child Pornography, EnticementRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted an Alabama couple on child pornography charges, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Jere T. Miles.
A two-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges KENNETH EARL HOOKS, 35, of Prattville, and SARAH PAULINE MORRIS, 28, of Shelby County, with producing child pornography and enticing a young child to engage in sexual activity for the purpose of creating obscene images between December 2016 and August 2017.
Police in California found Hooks and Morris living in a desert area on the southern tip of the state after locating a red Mitsubishi Montero with an Alabama license plate there, according to a May 4 federal criminal complaint and arrest affidavit issued for Hooks in the Northern District of Alabama. The red Mitsubishi was registered to Morris and police were searching for it because security cameras at a Walmart in Brawley, Calif., caught her driving it on March 30 when security officers at the store saw Morris attempting to film two young girls in a bathroom stall, according to the affidavit.
“ICE-HSI and U.S. Marshals proved in this case that federal law enforcement is resolved to see child predators prosecuted, and that resolve doesn’t waiver when fugitives flee across state lines,” Town said. “Our net will always be bigger than their map.”
Producing child pornography carries a penalty of 15 to 30 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. Enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity in order to produce child pornography carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s HSI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Xavier Carter is prosecuting.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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North Alabama Man Indicted for Trafficking Drugs, Including FentanylRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted a Madison man for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, Fentanyl and Alprazolam in Madison County and elsewhere in the Northern District of Alabama, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez.
A seven-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges JOSEPH WILLIAM DAVIS, 25, with the drug-distribution conspiracy in 2016 and 2017, and with possessing firearms, a Glock G22 semi-automatic handgun and a Bushmaster Carbon 15 semi-automatic rifle, in furtherance of the conspiracy. As part of the conspiracy, Davis possessed with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on March 2, 2017, in Madison County, and both possessed and attempted to possess with the intent to distribute Alprazolam, an anti-anxiety medication, on March 8, in Cullman County, according to the indictment.
On March 2, the indictment also charges, Davis possessed with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid at least 50 times more potent than heroin, and possessed with intent to distribute both cocaine and Alprazolam.
“Drug traffickers bring gun violence to our neighborhoods and peddle their deadly poison without regard to the pain and ruin they leave behind,” Town said. “The Postal Inspection Service is one of the many law enforcement agencies working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure these drug dealers are caught, prosecuted and sent to prison.”
The penalty for the conspiracy charge and for the distribution charge involving 50 grams or more of methamphetamine 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.
Possessing with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of Fentanyl carries a five- to 40-year prison sentence and a maximum $5 million fine. Possessing cocaine with intent to distribute carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Possession of Alprazolam with intent to distribute carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $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.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Huntsville Man Indicted for February Robbery of Woodforest BankRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted a north Alabama man for a February bank robbery in Huntsville, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
A one-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges KEON LADELL REED, 38, with the Feb. 15 robbery of a Woodforest Bank branch on University Drive in Huntsville.
The maximum penalty for bank robbery is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell E. Penfield is prosecuting.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Guntersville Man Indicted for Distributing MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted a Guntersville man on charges of distributing methamphetamine in Blount County, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
An indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges DANIEL DAVID GUGER, 35, with four counts of possessing with intent to distribute or distributing methamphetamine in March 2017. Two counts charge Guger with distributing five grams or more of the drug, and one count charges him with possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. A fourth count charges distribution of the drug without specifying an amount.
The penalty for possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, and up to life in prison, and a maximum $10 million fine. Distributing or possessing with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine carries a prison penalty of at least five and up to 40 years in prison and maximum $5 million fine. Distributing or possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
The FBI investigated the case in conjunction with the Blount County Sheriff’s Office and the Marshall County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohammad Khatib is prosecuting the case.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former FCI Aliceville Corrections Officer Sentenced to 1 ½ Years in Prison for Abusive Sexual Contact with InmateRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a former corrections officer at the federal prison for women in Alabama to 1½ years in prison for committing a sexual act with an inmate and lying about his contact with her while he worked at the facility. U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, Miami Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Robert A. Bourbon announced the sentence.
U.S. District Judge Virginia E. Hopkins sentenced JESSE BAILEY, 28, of Carrolton, Ala., on one count each of abusive sexual contact and making false statements to the government. Bailey pleaded guilty to the charges in December.
“This defendant now enters the prison system as an inmate rather than a guard and will learn how critically important it is that corrections officers honor their responsibility to supervise and protect inmates,” Town said. “The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the safety of inmates and my office continues to work with the Office of Inspector General to investigate incidents of alleged abuse by correctional staff.”
“Bailey abused the trust of inmates, staff and the public, and when confronted, he lied to cover up his actions,” stated Bourbon. “Today’s sentence serves as a reminder that no correctional officer is above the law. The DOJ OIG thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its diligent efforts to help bring this case to a successful conclusion.”
Bailey worked as a corrections officer at the Federal Correctional Institution at Aliceville, a low-security prison for women, from January 2015 to August 2016. He had direct custodial, supervisory and disciplinary authority over inmates, including the victim.
In January 2016, Bailey was assigned to the prison dorm unit where the victim was housed and soon began a flirtation with her that resulted in the sexual act that took place in a staff bathroom near the dorm unit. Over the course of the flirtation that lasted several weeks, Bailey began communicating with the woman, even when he was not assigned to her dorm, including by email and telephone, according to his plea. Such communication between corrections officers and inmates is strictly prohibited.
Agents from the FBI and the DOJ OIG interviewed Bailey at FCI Aliceville in August 2016 about allegations of improper communications and sexual contact with the inmate. Bailey falsely denied the sexual contact and told the agents he had never communicated with the victim or other inmates by phone or email outside of his assigned role as a corrections officer, according to his plea.
DOJ OIG investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Xavier O. Carter Sr. prosecuted.
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U.S. Attorney Launches Birmingham Safe Neighborhoods Task ForceRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – The U.S. Attorney’s Office today launched the Birmingham Safe Neighborhoods Task Force to offer prevention and community outreach programs within the city. This task force will complement the law enforcement work of the Birmingham Public Safety Task Force, which was announced last month, in combined efforts to reduce violent crime in the Birmingham area, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town.
The Birmingham Safe Neighborhoods Task Force will engage law enforcement, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and corporate citizens in a coordinated and collaborative process to ensure parity in prevention, enforcement, and reentry efforts. Building and restoring relationships between communities and law enforcement is a primary function of the task force.
“This task force will endeavor to meaningfully engage citizens of Birmingham with regard to how we can improve the station of the entire city,” Town said. “It is no longer enough just to prosecute our worst offenders. Prevention and outreach programs that decrease criminal activity and increase opportunity must accompany our overall crime reduction initiative,” he said. “I appreciate the leadership of our mayor, our sheriff, and all of our task force members for their willingness to engage in this worthy challenge.”
“As stated before, we are here for as long as it takes,” said Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale. “I have no doubt this multifaceted initiative is going to have a very positive impact on crime in general, but most especially violent crime. Taking violent criminals out of these neighborhoods and locking them up for 15 or more years will return these neighborhoods back to the good folks and improve their quality of life dramatically. That is the goal. It will be met.”
Members of the Birmingham Safe Neighborhoods Task Force will collaborate to develop and conduct community programs aimed at education, community-police relations and building opportunities that will benefit the entire community.
Building and improving trust and communication between the community and members of law enforcement will be a critical function of the BSNTF, Town said. That will include encouraging patrol officers, deputies and agents to increase general and positive interactions in the community, whether that be helping to spruce up a community park or passing out free ice-cream coupons to neighborhood kids.
The two Birmingham task forces incorporate principles of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy, and the National Public Safety Partnership. PSN is a nationwide Justice Department program committed to reducing gun and gang crime by networking existing local programs that target gun crime and supporting those efforts with training and funding.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced PSP last year as a training and technical assistance program designed to enhance the capacity of local jurisdictions to address violent crime in their communities. He selected Birmingham as one of the initial 12 locations to participate in the program. The PSP and PSN programs both reinforce the federal, state and local task force model as one of the most effective ways to reduce violent crime.
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Missouri Woman Sentenced in Birmingham to 19 Years in Prison for 2016 Multi-State Crime SpreeRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a Missouri woman to more than 19 years in prison for conspiracy and armed carjackings connected to a four-state crime spree in 2016 that ended with her partner’s death in a shoot-out with police in Florida, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala sentenced BRITTANY NICOLE HARPER, 32, of Joplin, Mo., to 19 years and three months in prison on one count of conspiracy to transport a stolen vehicle across state lines, two counts of transporting a stolen vehicle across state lines, three counts of carjacking and one count of brandishing a gun during a crime of violence. Harper pleaded guilty to the charges in January. In exchange for Harper’s plea, the government agreed to drop a second count of brandishing a gun during a crime of violence.
“Harper and her companion crossed four states violently threatening the lives of innocent people,” Town said. “This was a rampage, not a crime spree, and the 20 years Harper will spend behind bars compares well to the grave fate suffered by her co-conspirator as a result of their shared malevolence.”
“Harper, who with her partner moved through four states carjacking vehicles and terrorizing citizens, thankfully, no longer poses a threat,” Sharp said. “Today’s sentence guarantees Harper will spend many years behind bars to face the consequences of her actions.
“For days the world watched as Harper and her boyfriend, Blake Fitzgerald, acted out some criminal fantasy of being a modern day Bonnie and Clyde, but the consequences of their actions in the Northern District of Alabama were very, very real,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Williamson Barnes. “Early on a Sunday morning, Harper and Fitzgerald kidnapped a young motel clerk in Tuscaloosa and forced him to ride along with them for over an hour; they pointed a gun at a restaurant employee trying to get to work in a busy shopping district; and they invaded a normally sleepy residential neighborhood and kidnapped a mother in her nightgown away from her two young children,” Barnes said. “Harper did not wield the gun, but she played an active role in terrorizing these three victims and the Northern District as a whole. The sentence imposed today holds her accountable for that and sends the message that there is nothing romantic about violent crime.”
The conspiracy between Harper and her male companion was “to unlawfully obtain vehicles, by whatever means necessary,” including acts of violence, and then to use the stolen vehicles as transportation between various states, according to federal court records.
Police arrested Harper in Milton, Fla., on Feb. 5, 2016, after a face-off with police in which her partner was shot and killed and she was wounded.
The couple launched a 10-day crime spree in Webb City, Mo., on Jan. 26, 2016, when they took a 2009 Cadillac on a test drive from a dealership and never returned. Before arriving in Alabama, the couple burglarized a home in Missouri, where they parked the stolen Cadillac in the garage and stole a 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer parked at the home.
The crimes Harper and her co-conspirator committed in Alabama, according court records, included:
Stealing an air pump at the Walmart in Bessemer on Jan. 30, 2016, before driving the Trailblazer to Tuscaloosa, where they forced a motel clerk at gunpoint into the backseat of his 2011 Volkswagen Jetta. Harper and her companion drove the Jetta to Hoover on Jan. 31, 2016, and tried, unsuccessfully, to take a Camaro from a McDonald’s employee, and then released the motel clerk in Vestavia Hills.
Soon after releasing the clerk, Harper’s companion entered a home on Monte Vista Drive in Vestavia Hills, where he encountered one of the home owners and his minor children. The co-conspirator put a gun to the man’s neck and began forcing him toward the garage, but the man got free and went for help. The co-conspirator then forced the man’s wife at gunpoint into the homeowners’ 2010 Ford Edge and drove away.
Harper and her companion released the woman near the Grandview Medical Center on Cahaba River Road in Birmingham, and then drove the stolen Ford Edge to Perry County, Ga.
The indictment lists other crimes in Georgia and Florida before Harper’s arrest following a high-speed chase through neighborhoods in Milton, Fla., after police confronted the couple.
The FBI investigated the case, which Barnes and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Felton prosecuted.
Claimed Naturopathic Doctor Sentenced to 75 monthsRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM –A federal judge today sentenced a woman who falsely claimed to be a naturopathic doctor to 75 months for defrauding patients at a Hoover clinic in 2015, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez.
U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala sentenced ISABEL KESARI GERVAIS, 61, on one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of making false statements. Gervais pleaded guilty to the charges in July 2017. She must forfeit $108,146 as proceeds of illegal activity.
“Through lies and deceit, this defendant took advantage of desperately ill people in Alabama and other states,” Town said. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service did great work in uncovering this fraud and finding the evidence to make this case. Now, the fake doctor will spend deserved time in a real prison cell.”
“It is hard to comprehend the devastation and loss of hope victims feel after realizing that someone trusted to heal them was committing fraud against them," Gonzalez said. “Although this defendant operated her scheme for several years, when she decided to use the U.S. Postal Service to further her scam, she came to the attention of postal inspectors. We thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the dedication and support it gave postal inspectors in bringing this pitiless scammer to justice.”
Using the alias, Dr. Rose Starr, Gervais defrauded patients at the Euro Med Klinic by lying about her name, her credentials, her experience, her license to practice medicine, and the services she could provide.
As part of Gervais’ guilty plea, she acknowledged that over the last 15 years she operated multiple clinics in Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas and Kansas using her current name and various aliases that often employed different spellings of the name Debra Lynn Goodman. The clinics included Sagewood Medical Clinic in Montgomery and Springdale, Ark., the Chiron Clinic in Marietta, Ga., DRI Enterprises in Atlanta, Ascension Medical Health in various locations in Arkansas, and AMHC in Leawoood, Kan. At all the clinics, Gervais falsely represented herself as a licensed doctor with extensive experience and various degrees who used naturopathic medicine to cure people of various illnesses, including cancer.
The Alabama and Arkansas medical boards investigated her fraudulent activity; Arkansas state authorities prosecuted her; and she has faced civil monetary claims and actions in multiple states, but until today, she has never been sentenced to significant prison time. To avoid legal action and detection, Gervais had abandoned rental properties, changed locations, changed business names and adopted aliases.
Gervais opened the Euro Med Klinic in Hoover in 2015 as Dr. Starr, claiming she had years of experience and was licensed to practice medicine in Alabama and throughout the world. She promised patients, including cancer sufferers, at the Hoover clinic that she could provide various medical services, including DNA tests that she did not have the technology to conduct, according to court records. Gervais ran some tests on patients, prescribed various substances and, through her misrepresentations about licensure and qualifications, fraudulently induced patients to pay her thousands of dollars.
Gervais misappropriated the identity of one patient at the Hoover clinic in order to charge the patient’s credit card without consent. She also misappropriated the identity of another individual and used it fraudulently to set up a post office box, according to court records.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Williamson Barnes prosecuted.
Federal Prison for Three Men Involved in Pelham Gun Store Smash-and-GrabRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – Three Birmingham men involved in a 2017 crime spree that included an armed carjacking and the smash-and-grab theft of 16 guns from a Pelham store were sentenced to prison this week in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Jay T. Town and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.
U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre today sentenced SIDONTE TOMAR HARRIS, 20, to seven years in prison and TREVION KEONTE BENNETT, 22, to 10 years and one month in prison for various firearms violations, including the Jan. 13, 2017, theft of firearms from Alabama Guns and Outdoors in Pelham, and for a Jan. 12, 2017, armed carjacking. On Monday, the judge sentenced OLANDO JACKSON JR., 24, to 14 years in prison, for the theft from the licensed gun store, and other gun violations. All three men pleaded guilty in December. The court ordered the men to pay $16,000 in restitution to Alabama Guns and Outdoors.
According to court records, Bennett and Harris carjacked a 2010 Dodge Ram truck from a man leaving a Birmingham convenience store on Jan. 12, 2017. Several hours later, just after midnight, the three men stole 16 handguns from Alabama Guns and Outdoors after smashing the stolen truck through the store’s front window.
“This case is a prime example of ATF and local law enforcement working together to make Birmingham, and by extension the Northern District, a safer place,” Town said. “We will continue to reward criminals and felons in the possession of firearms, and those who steal firearms and who straw-purchase firearms, with bed space in federal prison, returning our neighborhoods to law-abiding citizens.”
“This sentencing is a result of the combined efforts of law enforcement and the community working together to reduce violent crime,” Watson said. “ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence is the driving force behind the recovery of stolen firearms that potentially could have been used in violent criminal acts within our neighborhoods.”
ATF, within 48 hours of the gun-store break-in, recovered eight of the 16 stolen weapons.
Along with the gun-store theft and carjacking, Harris also was sentenced for possessing a stolen Colt .38-caliber revolver, a Colt 32-20 caliber revolver and a Beretta .40-caliber pistol on Jan. 14, 2017, all which had been stolen from the gun store. Bennett and Jackson were sentenced for possessing a Heckler and Koch 9mm pistol and a Springfield .40-caliber pistol on Jan. 13, 2017, which had been stolen from the gun store, and for being convicted felons in possession of those and other guns on that date. Jackson also was sentenced for being a convicted felon in possession of firearms on Aug. 22, 2016, and on Oct. 5, 2016, for separate and unrelated crimes.
The guns stolen from Alabama Guns and Outdoors were: a Beretta .40-caliber pistol, two Springfield Armory 9mm pistols, two Springfield Armory .40-caliber pistols, a Springfield Armory .45-caliber pistol, a Colt .32-20 caliber revolver, a Beretta 9mm pistol, a Colt .38 special revolver, two Taurus .357-magnum revolvers, a Taurus .45-caliber revolver, two Smith and Wesson .357-magnum revolvers, a Heckler and Koch 9mm pistol, and a Glock 9mm pistol.
The ATF investigated the case in conjunction with the Pelham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney L. James Weil Jr. prosecuted the case.
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Two-Month Operation Nets 71 Defendants, Takes 140 Guns Off N. Alabama StreetsRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A two-month operation focused on reducing violent crime in Birmingham and across north Alabama resulted in federal charges against 71 defendants, with about 140 guns seized, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson and Acting Birmingham Police Chief Henry Irby III.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and ATF joined with local law enforcement in Birmingham, Jefferson County and across north Alabama in an intense effort in March and April to charge violent offenders and take guns off the streets.
"At the Department of Justice, we've increased violent crime prosecutions to 25-year highs and gun prosecutions to 10-year highs," U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. "Under our Project Safe Neighborhoods program, I've directed our U.S. Attorneys to target the most violent criminals in the most high-crime areas, and to work with people in the community to develop a customized crime-reduction plan. That's exactly what U.S. Attorney Jay Town has done in Northern Alabama. I want to thank him, Sheriff Mike Hale, ATF, Birmingham Police, and all of our other fabulous law enforcement partners who have made these arrests and firearm seizures possible. I have no doubt they have made my fellow Alabamians safer. This roundup is more proof that our targeted, community-based model really works."
“These indictments represent the hard work of many of our law enforcement partners, especially the ATF, and exemplify our global efforts to return our neighborhoods to their rightful, peaceful owners,” Town said. “The Department of Justice has reserved space in federal prison for gang members, trigger-pullers, violent offenders, and felons with guns … and we plan on filling it. We must shift our prosecutorial philosophy more towards Capone rather than Soprano, not conflating the level of crime with the level of criminal,” Town said.
“ATF and our partners are committed to removing the criminal element from the streets of Birmingham,” Watson said. “ATF Crime Gun Intelligence Centers are the driving force to reducing the violent crime that plagues our neighborhoods.”
“The Birmingham Police Department continues to pursue ways to help improve the quality of life for our citizens,” Irby said. “The Gun Round Up will have a huge impact on the City of Birmingham as it relates to violent crime. Violent crime is an epidemic that has no barriers. Our citizens deserve law enforcement’s combined efforts to ensure that they are safe and secure as they go about their daily lives,” he said. “Our children, in particular, are our future. They deserve a chance to grow into productive citizens and do incredible things.”
“This is only the beginning of what I believe will put an end to the gun violence we are seeing day in and day out,” Hale said. “Our partnership and commitment with all participating agencies has never been stronger. Our resolve has never been stronger. That’s good news for the law-abiding citizens who deserve a quality of life that doesn’t include fear of harm at the hand of these violent thugs,” he said. “We will be here as long as it takes. That’s a promise.”
Cases involving about 24 of the 71 defendants are based in Jefferson County, but the remaining cases range across north Alabama and include five Talladega defendants indicted in March on drug distribution and firearms charges. Law enforcement seized at least 15 firearms in the Talladega case.
The majority of the 71 defendants facing current gun charges have at least one prior felony conviction. The total number of prior convictions tops 160. There are at least 40 additional arrests among the defendants for violent offenses, including charges such as domestic violence, assault and attempted murder, and at least 13 of the 71 defendants are suspected of having a gang affiliation.
Law enforcement seized one firearm from the majority of the defendants charged during the operation in March and April, but five or more guns were seized from at least eight defendants. Among the 140 firearms seized, at least 30 were identified as stolen, according to ATF.
These cases are 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, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
gun_roundup_defendants_5.7.18_002.pdfTwo North Alabama Men Indicted in Separate Counterfeiting CasesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted two north Alabama men in unrelated counterfeiting cases, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Michael Williams.
A five-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges CONNOR DOUGLAS GLASS, 25, of Cullman, with making counterfeit $100 and $20 bills in Cullman and Jackson counties between January 2017 and October 2017. The indictment also charges Glass with possessing counterfeit $100 and $20 bills on Oct. 27, 2017, in Jackson County. The indictment charges Glass with separate counts of passing counterfeit bills at three different Dollar General Stores in Cullman and Jackson counties. Glass was aided by others in passing the counterfeit money, according to the indictment.
An unrelated indictment charges MONTREZ CHEBEIR MARTIN, 33, of Huntsville, with three counts of passing counterfeit $50 bills to separate individuals in Madison and Morgan counties in September 2017. The indictment identifies the individuals only by initials.
A fourth count of the indictment against Martin charges him as a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber, on Sept. 3, 2017, in Morgan County. According to the indictment, Martin was convicted of second-degree theft in state court in Iowa in 2014 and of second-degree assault in Madison County, Ala., Circuit Court in 2017.
Each of the counterfeiting charges carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Secret Service investigated the cases, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Davis Barlow is prosecuting.
Indictments contain only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Honduran National Indicted on Gun, Drug, Illegal Re-entry ChargesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted a Honduran national on gun, drug and illegal re-entry charges, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr.
A four-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges CARLOS ALBERTO JUAREZ-MENDEZ, 24, with being in the United States illegally on Feb. 10 after having been deported from Texas in 2015. Juarez-Mendez was living in Birmingham.
The indictment also charges Juarez-Mendez with two counts of illegally possessing a firearm, a Ruger 9mm pistol, on Feb. 10. One count charges that he possessed the pistol following a 2016 felony conviction in Jefferson County District Court for unlawfully possessing a controlled substance. The second gun count charges that Juarez-Mendez was an illegal alien possessing the pistol. The final count of the indictment charges that Juarez-Mendez illegally possessed cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana on Feb. 10.
“Convicted felons who are deported from the United States only to return to our homeland in possession of illegal firearms and illicit drugs will be prosecuted again, not simply deported,” Town said. “DHS and my office will continue to aggressively pursue justice for any illegal aliens engaged in criminal activity.”
The maximum penalty for illegal re-entry is two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for being a convicted felon or an illegal alien in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for illegal possession of a controlled substance is one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
The grand jury also returned four other illegal re-entry indictments.
A one-count indictment charges BYRON DANILO CRISTOBAL-PECHE, 33, a Guatemalan national who was living in Florence, with being illegally in the United States on March 16 after having been deported in 2004 and twice in 2012. The removals followed a conviction for an aggravated felony, according to the indictment. The maximum penalty for illegal re-entry when a prior aggravated felony conviction exists is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
A one-count indictment charges JOSE RAFAEL MONZON-SANDOVAL, 48, a Mexican national, who was living in Fairfield, with being in the United States illegally on Feb. 26 after having been deported in October 2016 following a conviction for an aggravated felony.
Separate one-count indictments charge both NEREO CONSECO-SANTIAGO, 41, and JAMES BRAHIN REYES-CARBAJAL, 20, with illegally re-entering the United States after deportation.
Conseco-Santiago was found in the country illegally on March 17, according to his indictment. He is a Mexican citizen who was living in Cullman. Conseco-Santiago had been deported to Mexico in March, September and November of 2013, according to his indictment.
Reyes-Carbajal was found in the country illegally on April 6 in Jefferson County, according to his indictment. He is a Honduran citizen who was living in Birmingham. Reyes-Carbajal had been deported to Honduras in 2011 and 2015, according to his indictment.
Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s HSI investigated the cases, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama is prosecuting.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Leader of Conspiracy Trafficking Fentanyl, Heroin, Cocaine Sentenced to 21 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today imposed a nearly 21-year sentence on the leader of a Birmingham-based conspiracy to distribute multiple kilograms of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine in Jefferson County in 2015 and 2016, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.
ANTHONY LEVY “Amp” WARD, 37, of Chelsea, is the eighth of nine defendants sentenced in the case. The final defendant, JOSE AGUSTIN GUTIERREZ, 32, of Phoenix, Ariz., is scheduled for sentencing May 22.
U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced Ward to 20 years and 10 months in prison on multiple counts of conspiracy to distribute or possess with intent to distribute at least a thousand grams of heroin or at least five kilograms of cocaine and two counts of attempted possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. He also sentenced Ward on multiple counts of using a telephone to commit a drug trafficking crime, one count of carrying a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Ward pleaded guilty to the charges last year.
“A tiny fraction of a gram of fentanyl can be lethal and Ward was found with 17,000 pills cut with this illicit narcotic,” Town said. “It was his intent to make this poison available to an alarming number of people, which could have resulted in an equally alarming number of fatal and non-fatal overdoses. Judge Coogler’s sentence today justly sends the message that the death and destruction of this criminal behavior will not be tolerated, will not be excused, and will be severely punished.”
“For years, Anthony Ward has distributed poison in the form of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl to individuals in the Birmingham area,” Hamilton said. “There is no telling how many families have been destroyed by Ward’s actions. But with this sentence, the residents of Birmingham have one less drug dealer to worry about for years to come. I hope that those who looked up to ‘Amp’ will see the futility in the life Ward has lived thus far. Otherwise, DEA will not hesitate in giving them the opportunity to live in federal prison, too.”
The amount of fentanyl trafficked in the conspiracy was about 7.1 kilograms, or more than 350,000 doses of the drug.
Ward and the other defendants in the case are responsible for paying a $1.7 million judgment in the case as proceeds of illegal activity.
Throughout the investigation, agents seized 8.8 kilograms of cocaine intended to be delivered to Ward from Arizona, and 4.662 kilograms of pure fentanyl delivered from Mexico. Agents seized 254.9 grams of pure fentanyl from China that Ward had mailed to an address, other than his own, in the Birmingham area.
Besides Ward and Gutierrez, other defendants convicted in the conspiracy are: Anthony Levy Alexander, 58, and Betty Levy Alexander, 51, Ward’s father and aunt, Ferlando Carmise Mims, 20, Onandas Carmece Beard, 20, and Corey Darnelle Haynes, 38, all of Birmingham, and Jesus Ubaldo Montoya, 24, and Marahai Ardizo Enriquez, 26, both of Phoenix. The sentences for the seven previously sentenced defendants range from about two to 15 years in prison.
The DEA investigated the case in conjunction with the Birmingham and Hoover police departments and the U.S. Marshals Service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama prosecuted the case.
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Alabama Executes Man for 1989 Mail-Bomb Murder of U.S. Appeals Court Judge Robert S. VanceRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – The State of Alabama last night carried out the death penalty for Walter Leroy Moody Jr., the man convicted of the 1989 capital murder of U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Robert S. Vance. A federal jury in 1991 also convicted Moody on 71 charges related to the pipe-bomb murders of Judge Vance and Georgia civil rights lawyer Robert E. Robinson.
“In the almost 30 years since the explosion at their Mountain Brook home killed Judge Vance and seriously injured his wife, Helen, his family never lost faith in America’s system of justice and the rule of law. Robert Vance Jr. is a circuit judge in Jefferson County and his wife, Joyce White Vance, preceded me in this office as U.S. Attorney. Alabama, last night, imposed its court-ordered punishment for Mr. Moody, and justice is done.”
“Moody was tried and convicted by a jury of his peers and his conviction has been scrubbed by every level of court in our justice system,” Town said. “He may have been condemned to death by the State of Alabama, but he was executed because of his own murderous actions. I hope that Moody’s punishment brings some closure and peace to the family and friends who loved Judge Vance.”
Moody was linked to the mail-bomb deaths of Judge Vance and Robinson through a similar bomb nearly two decades earlier that had injured Moody’s wife when it exploded. His prosecution in that case led to his resentment of the courts leading up to the 1989 bombings.
Along with the bombs that killed the judge and Robinson, Moody also sent bombs that were intercepted before exploding — one at the main 11th Circuit courthouse in Atlanta and another at the NAACP's office in Jacksonville, Fla.
Law Enforcement Agencies Join Forces to Address Birmingham Violent CrimeRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A task force designed specifically to reduce homicides and other violent crime in Birmingham held its first meeting today at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin.
The Birmingham Public Safety Task Force is an outgrowth of the U.S. Attorney and the mayor working together to develop a strategic plan for reducing violent crime in the Birmingham metro area, they said. Joining Town and Woodfin on the task force are representatives of the Birmingham Police Department, 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, and the federal law enforcement agencies FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, and Homeland Security Investigations.
“The federal partners here today stand shoulder to shoulder with Mayor Woodfin, Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale, and the citizens of Birmingham to aggressively pursue the worst offenders in this city,” Town said. “Returning Birmingham to its rightful owners, peaceful law-abiding citizens who should not have to live in a fog of violent crime, is the number one priority of this task force. This assembly of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies will move swiftly to smother the violent criminal activity afoot in this city.”
“Violent crime is a public health issue in too many cities across America, including our community. This is a challenge to the quality of life for the people in all 99 neighborhoods,” Woodfin said. “This issue must be addressed in three areas: prevention, enforcement and reducing the likelihood of repeat offenders. Today, we are announcing a critical partnership that supports all three areas with a focus on greater deterrence through strengthened and targeted enforcement,” he said. “I welcome the involvement of our federal, state and local partners in an unprecedented level of coordination and cooperation. Together we resolve to reduce violent crime and protect the people who live, work and play in our great city.”
"We are committed to stopping this culture of violence in its tracks now and for the long term,” said Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale. “We have never seen a stronger partnership come together. This initiative will have a long-term positive effect on eradicating violent criminals and behavior from our communities,” Hale said. “I appreciate all involved and we will be here as long as it takes. This is a great day for Birmingham and all of our surrounding communities."
Incorporating 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, the Birmingham task force will unite federal, state and local law enforcement to identify and work to apprehend the key offenders responsible for the majority of violent crime in hot spots across the Birmingham area.
One of the task force’s first orders of business was to develop a short list of serious offenders who have drawn the attention of various task force agencies. With task force members sharing information and resources, tracking the worst offenders should be made easier, Town said.
PSN is a nationwide Justice Department program committed to reducing gun and gang crime by networking existing local programs that target gun crime and supporting those efforts with training and funding.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced PSP last year as a training and technical assistance program designed to enhance the capacity of local jurisdictions to address violent crime in their communities. He selected Birmingham as one of the initial 12 locations to participate in the program. The PSP and PSN programs both reinforce the federal, state and local task force model as one of the most effective ways to reduce violent crime.
U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and representatives of Birmingham Police Department, 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, and the federal law enforcement agencies FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, and Homeland Security Investigations gather at U.S. Attorney’s Office to launch the Birmingham Public Safety Task Force.Former Albertville City Judge Sentenced to 17 ½ Years in Prison for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced an Albertville lawyer and former part-time municipal judge to 17½ years in prison on a child pornography crime, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
STEVEN VINCENT SMITH, 54, pleaded guilty in November to one count of receiving child pornography on a computer between January 2015 and March 2016. U.S. District Court Judge Virginia E. Hopkins sentenced Smith and ordered him to serve 10 years of supervised release following his prison term.
“This defendant swore to honor the law and uphold justice, but instead he committed loathsome crimes on the most vulnerable of victims,” Town said. “His innocent victims will grow into being survivors while Smith will spend most of his remaining breaths inside of a cell.”
According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Smith “committed a shocking number of sex crimes.” Along with distributing child pornography on the internet and possessing thousands of images of child pornography, including photos of graphic sexual assaults on toddlers, Smith also molested a child, according to the sentencing memorandum. He also solicited the production of child pornography and advised other sexual predators on how to groom and molest children, the memorandum said.
Smith’s crimes spanned years, with forensic evidence showing him “discussing the rape of children and distributing child pornography as early as 2010,” according to the memorandum.
The FBI investigated the case in conjunction with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Manu Balachandran prosecuted the case.
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Justice Department Announces Nationwide Initiative to Combat Sexual Harassment in HousingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — Today, as the Department of Justice recognizes the 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the nationwide rollout of an initiative aimed at increasing awareness and reporting of sexual harassment in housing. The announcement includes an interagency task force between the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Justice Department to combat sexual harassment in housing, an outreach toolkit, and a public awareness campaign. This three-pronged approach will strengthen the Department’s efforts to combat sexual harassment in housing.
“Sexual harassment in housing is illegal, immoral, and unacceptable," said Attorney General Sessions. “It is all too common today, as too many landlords, managers, and their employees attempt to prey on vulnerable women. We will not hesitate to pursue these predators and enforce the law. In October, I ordered a new initiative to bring more of these cases, and we have already won relief for 15 victims. Today we announce three new steps to make the initiative more effective and to win more cases. I want to thank the dedicated and committed professionals in our Civil Rights Division and our partners in the Department of Housing and Urban Development for their hard work in this effort. We will continue to aggressively pursue harassers, because everyone has a right to be safe in their home.”
“All discrimination stains the very fabric of our nation, but HUD is especially focused on protecting the right of everyone to feel safe and secure in their homes, free from unwanted sexual harassment,” said Secretary Ben Carson. “No person should have to tolerate unwanted sexual advances in order to keep a roof over his or her head. Part of our mission at HUD is to provide safe housing and we will remain diligent in this mission to protect those we serve. I look forward to working with Attorney General Sessions and the Department of Justice as part of this task force to bring an end to this type of discrimination.”
“Sexual harassment in housing is as despicable as it is illegal," Town said. “A home should be a place of peace, safety, and retreat. No citizen should be made to feel unsafe or threatened at home or forced to perform the unthinkable in order to keep it.”
Anyone who has information on possible sexual harassment in housing or other violations of the Fair Housing Act in northern Alabama should call the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama at 205-244-2001.
In October 2017, the Justice Department announced an initiative to combat sexual harassment in housing and launched pilot programs in D.C. and the Western District of Virginia. The initiative sought to increase the Department’s efforts to protect women from harassment by landlords, property managers, maintenance workers, security guards, and other employees and representatives of rental property owners. During the pilots, the Department developed and tested ways to better connect both with victims of sexual harassment in housing and with those organizations that victims may turn to first for help – including law enforcement, legal services providers, public housing authorities, sexual assault services providers, and shelters. The Department also tested certain aspects of the initiative in other jurisdictions, including New Jersey, the Central District of California, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Michigan.
The two pilot programs generated an upswing in harassment reporting to the Department from both D.C. and the Western District of Virginia. In D.C., the Department generated six leads since the October 2017 launch. In Virginia, the Department generated three leads. While the Justice Department recognizes that leads and investigations do not always lead to enforcement actions, the pilot program’s results—when extrapolated across all the U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country—could lead to hundreds of new reports of sexual harassment in housing across the country.
Because of these promising results, the Department is rolling out three major components to the Initiative.
First, the new HUD-DOJ Task Force to Combat Sexual Harassment in Housing will drive a shared strategy between the Department and HUD for combatting sexual harassment in housing across the country. It will focus on five key areas: continued data sharing and analysis, joint development of training, evaluation of public housing complaint mechanisms, coordination of public outreach and press strategy, and review of federal policies.
Second, the outreach toolkit is designed to leverage the Justice Department’s nationwide network of U.S. Attorney’s Offices. The toolkit provides templates, guidance, and checklists based on pilot program feedback. It ultimately will amplify available enforcement resources and help victims of sexual harassment connect with the Department.
Third, the public awareness campaign has three major components: a partnership package with relevant stakeholders, launch of a social media campaign, and Public Service Announcements (PSAs) run by individual U.S. Attorney’s offices. The campaign is specifically designed to raise awareness, and make it easier for victims all over the country to find resources and report harassment.
More information about the Civil Rights Division and the civil rights laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of sexual harassment in housing should call the Department at 1-844-380-6178, send an e-mail to [email protected], or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777. If you have information or questions about any other housing discrimination, you can contact the Department at 1-800-896-7743.
Note: If you would like a 60-second recorded PSA, please contact Peggy Sanford at 205-244-2020 or [email protected]. The larger file will need to be sent in a separate email.
30-Second Public Service Announcement
Audio file30-Second PSA Audio Transcript
60-Second Public Service Announcement
Audio file60-Second PSA Audio Transcript
Justice Department Observes National Crime Victims’ Rights Week with Events Throughout the CountryRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE – In observance of this week as National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, federal and state prosecutors in north Alabama today joined with service providers, survivors and community members to honor a victim advocate, a state prosecutor and five federal agents who have shown special commitment to helping crime victims.
Veleda Davis, a victim advocate at the non-profit AshaKiran volunteer center in Madison County, Lauderdale County Assistant District Attorney Angie Hamilton, and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Birmingham office received awards during the 2018 National Crime Victims’ Rights Recognition Ceremony this morning at Huntsville’s Jackson Center. Alexis Barton, the event’s featured speaker, received the Distinguish Survivor Award. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, the Madison County District Attorney’s Office and Crisis Services of North Alabama presented the recognition ceremony.
"In law enforcement, we are sworn to serve and protect," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. "We carry out this oath every day by protecting the rights of law abiding people from criminals and by achieving justice for crime victims. This week, we remember the millions of Americans who have been victimized by criminals and we thank those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in their service to those victims. As we do so, we recommit ourselves to fulfilling our oath and to reducing crime in America."
“National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is a celebration of courage. It is a celebration of survivors. It is a celebration of those service officers who spend countless hours supporting victims and helping them become survivors,” said U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town. “It is the acknowledgment by our justice system that we confront offenders together, shoulder to shoulder, and serves to embolden and empower all crime victims.”
In Birmingham on Sunday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office joined 22 local agencies to kick off National Crime Victims’ Rights Week with One Heart in the Park, to stand in solidarity with the community’s victims of crime in Linn Park. A goal of the event was to connect crime victims and members of the community with agencies and advocates that provide assistance and services to victims and to highlight how professionals, organizations, and communities can work in tandem to reach all victims.
Each year in April, the Department of Justice and United States Attorney’s Offices observe National Crime Victims’ Rights Week nationwide by taking time to honor victims of crime and those who advocate on their behalf. In addition, the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney’s Offices organize events to honor the victims and advocates, as well as bring awareness to services available to victims of crime. The theme for this year’s observance is Expand the Circle: Reach All Victims.
The U.S. Department of Justice will host the Office for Victims of Crime’s annual National Crime Victims’ Service Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Friday to honor outstanding individuals and programs that serve victims of crime.
The Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime, within the Office of Justice Programs, leads communities across the country in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week each year. President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in 1981 to bring greater sensitivity to the needs and rights of victims of crime.
The Office of Justice Programs provides innovative leadership to federal, state, local, and tribal justice systems, by disseminating state-of-the art knowledge and practices across America, and providing grants for the implementation of these crime fighting strategies. Because most of the responsibility for crime control and prevention falls to law enforcement officers in states, cities, and neighborhoods, the federal government can be effective in these areas only to the extent that it can enter into partnerships with these officers. More information about the Office of Justice Programs and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov. More information about Crime Victim’s Rights Week can be found at https://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ncvrw/. You may also contact the Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney’s Office Victim Witness Program at (205) 244-2093.
Etowah County Man Convicted for Drug Trafficking CrimesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM- Today a federal jury convicted an Etowah County man for drug trafficking crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr.
JEFFREY MORRIS BEAM, JR., 37, of Gadsden, Alabama was charged in a multi-count indictment with eight other defendants for Conspiracy to Possess and Distribute Methamphetamine. The jury found Beam guilty for his role in the conspiracy that started in 2014 and ended in April 2016. He was also convicted for distributing more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and possessing with the intent to distribute more than 5 grams of methamphetamine in August 2015. All other defendants have pled guilty.
The evidence at trial established that Beam and others were responsible for importing multiple kilograms of methamphetamine into the Etowah County area from California and Georgia. Beam used FedEx to receive the meth from California and used co-defendants to transport meth from Georgia back to Alabama in their vehicles.
“Methamphetamine persists in plaguing our streets, neighborhoods, schools, and cities,” Town said. “Today’s verdict ensures that another dealer in this poison will be behind bars until he draws his last breath. We have an excellent trial team, to include the FBI and a conscientious jury, to thank for that,” Town said.
“Beam will now be held accountable for his role in distributing the poison that is destroying lives in Etowah County. I appreciate the work of my agents and our law enforcement partners in bringing this case to final resolution,” Sharp said.
Beam faces a life sentence for these crimes.
This case was prosecuted by Laura D. Hodge and Erica W. Barnes. The FBI investigated this case along with the Etowah County Drug Enforcement Unit who are members of the FBI North Alabama Safe Streets Task Force.
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Federal Prosecutors Charge Shelby County Woman for Stealing from EmployerRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – Federal prosecutors have charged a Shelby County woman on multiple counts of wire fraud for stealing from the Bessemer company where she had worked as a bookkeeper, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a four-count information last week in U.S. District Court charging LUCY WOODS, 52, of Pelham, with stealing more than $150,000 from her former employer, Robert Warnock Co. Inc. The company is a manufacturer’s representative that sells capital equipment for the oil and gas industry. In conjunction with the charges, the government also filed a plea agreement with Woods. She must appear before a judge to enter a guilty plea.
“This is another example of a case where an employee had access to financial information as part of her job duties and took great advantage of and violated her employer’s trust,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Beardsley Mark. “Businesses should be able to trust their employees with confidential business information and when that trust is broken, the employee should be held accountable.”
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 the charges and plea agreement.
The maximum penalty for each count of wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI investigated the case in conjunction with the Bessemer Police Department. Mark is prosecuting the case.
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Birmingham Doctors and Co-Conspirators Indicted for $7.8 Million Health Care Fraud, Unlawful Drug Distribution, Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A March indictment unsealed today charges four people in connection to a $7.8 million health care fraud conspiracy at a Birmingham clinic, and charges that the husband and wife physicians who operated the clinic used it, in part, as a “pill mill.”
U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr., and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton announced the charges.
The 44-count indictment returned March 30 charges Dr. PATRICK EMEKA IFEDIBA, 59, his wife, Dr. UCHENNA GRACE IFEDIBA, 53, both of Shelby County, Patrick Ifediba’s sister, NGOZI JUSTINA OZULIGBO, 48, of Trussville, and CLEMENT ESSIEN EBIO, 60, of Hoover, with the health care fraud conspiracy. It brings other charges against the various defendants, including unlawful drug distribution conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. A federal judge unsealed the 44-count indictment following Patrick Ifediba’s arrest.
“The opioid crisis in the United States accounts for the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans every year,” Town said. “Physicians who pocket millions while taking advantage of patients, many of whom are addicted to opioids, and unnecessarily drive up health care costs for both patients and insurance providers, knowingly sacrifice the efficacy of care for greed,” Town said. “Physicians who engage in this illicit practice will soon be trading their white coats for prison stripes.”
“The FBI and our partners will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who violate their Hippocratic Oath for greed and needlessly destroy lives, families and communities,” Sharp said.
“DEA has dedicated an entire enforcement group to investigating drug dealers who hide behind medical degrees in the state of Alabama, and as long as we have doctors in this state who base their decisions on profits versus best medical care, we will continue to do so,” Hamilton said. “DEA agents and task force officers have been investigating the Ifedibas and their coconspirators for three years. This is a testament to the dedication and patience of these investigators and should be a warning to any medical providers who would resort to fraud and illegal prescribing.”
“As alleged, the indictment describes schemes motivated by unbridled greed in which the doctors allegedly used their prescribing authority to force unwilling, but ultimately opioid-dependent, patients to submit to unnecessary allergy testing and treatment in exchange for narcotics prescriptions,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohammad Khatib. “Such conduct is not only anti-medicine; it is a crime for which justice demands a serious response.”
The charges all stem from the defendants’ association with Care Complete Medical Clinic, a private clinic at 1300 Bessemer Road in Birmingham that provided allergy and pain management services. The indictment charges that the four defendants stole millions of dollars from health care programs by fraudulently billing for allergy treatments and services. Apart from the health care fraud conspiracy and scheme, Uchenna Ifediba is further charged with one count of false statements in connection with health care matters.
Drs. Patrick and Uchenna Ifediba also are charged as part of an unlawful drug distribution conspiracy. The husband and wife team churned out prescriptions for schedule II controlled substances – opioid painkillers – for no legitimate medical purpose in order to maximize personal financial gain, according to the indictment. The pair also face one count of maintaining drug-involved premises for allegedly operating CCMC, in part, as a pill mill. Patrick Ifediba also faces 14 counts, and Uchena Ifediba, five counts, of unlawful distribution of controlled substances.
Patrick Ifediba and Ozuligbo are further charged as part of a money laundering conspiracy. Among other violations, the siblings moved the proceeds of CCMC’s unlawful health care fraud and pill mill scheme in order to hide the illicit nature of the funds, according to the indictment. Dr. Patrick Ifediba faces an additional three counts of concealment money laundering, and four counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property valued at more than $10,000. The indictment charges Uchenna Ifediba and Ozuligbo with three counts and one count, respectively, of concealment money laundering.
The charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and health care fraud both carry maximum penalties of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Making false statements related to health care matters carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and distribution of controlled substances both carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Maintaining drug-involved premises carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Money laundering conspiracy and laundering of monetary instruments both carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property worth more than $10,000 carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved.
The FBI and DEA investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Khatib and Jim Weil are prosecuting.
An indictment carries only charges. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
ifediba indictment###
Former Alabama Kindergarten Teacher Sentenced to Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
An Alabama man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for producing child pornography between 1997 and 1998, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town of the Northern District of Alabama.
Charles Mark McCormack, 54, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, pleaded guilty on Nov. 27, 2017, to one count of production of child pornography before Chief U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre of the Northern District of Alabama.
According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, between Aug. 1, 1997, and Oct. 15, 1998, McCormack used an approximately six-year-old girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of the conduct, by videotaping the girl urinating in a bathroom in his Colbert County, Alabama residence. During a May 2016 search of McCormack’s residence, law enforcement discovered images of nude and topless females believed to constitute child pornography and a suitcase containing young girls’ panties. McCormack was employed as a kindergarten teacher at the time of the search.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations is investigating this case with support from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Trial Attorney William M. Grady of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chinelo Dike-Minor of the Northern District of Alabama are prosecuting the case.
This investigation is a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Former Alabama Kindergarten Teacher Sentenced to Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
An Alabama man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for producing child pornography between 1997 and 1998, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town of the Northern District of Alabama.
Charles Mark McCormack, 54, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, pleaded guilty on Nov. 27, 2017, to one count of production of child pornography before Chief U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre of the Northern District of Alabama.
According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, between Aug. 1, 1997, and Oct. 15, 1998, McCormack used an approximately six-year-old girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of the conduct, by videotaping the girl urinating in a bathroom in his Colbert County, Alabama residence. During a May 2016 search of McCormack’s residence, law enforcement discovered images of nude and topless females believed to constitute child pornography and a suitcase containing young girls’ panties. McCormack was employed as a kindergarten teacher at the time of the search.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations is investigating this case with support from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Trial Attorney William M. Grady of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chinelo Dike-Minor of the Northern District of Alabama are prosecuting the case.
This investigation is a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Sisters Indicted for Misusing a Social Security Number and Misrepresenting Immigration Status to Get JobsRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted sisters from Guatemala for fraudulently using someone else’s Social Security number and identification in order to misrepresent their immigration status and get jobs in Marion County, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge Margaret Moore-Jackson.
Separate indictments filed in U.S. District Court charge that both INES GLADDIS AVALOS-PAAU, 35, and LOURDES MAGDALENA AVALOS-PAAU, 33, used an alias, falsely claimed a Social Security number assigned to the person whose name they used, and fraudulently presented an Arkansas non-driver’s identification card in that name when they applied for jobs. The indictment also charges that the women fraudulently misrepresented on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ forms for employment eligibility verification that they were U.S. citizens.
Ines Gladdis Avalos-Paau misused the documents and misrepresented her immigration status in February 2014 when she applied for a job at Hamilton Plastic Products in Hamilton, according to her indictment.
Lourdes Magdalena Avalos-Paau misused the documents and misrepresented her immigration status in December 2017 when she applied for a job at Kith Kitchens in Haleyville, according to her indictment.
The maximum penalty for both falsely representing a Social Security number and for fraudulently using an identification document is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for making a fraudulent statement on a government immigration document is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
SSA, OIG, investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Davis Barlow is prosecuting.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Georgia Residents Indicted for Distributing Meth in AlabamaRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted two Georgia residents on charges of distributing large quantities of methamphetamine in Alabama, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.
A three-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges MICHAEL MONTOYA-AUSTRIA, 26, of Atlanta, and SERGIO ORTIZ, 31, a Mexican national living in Doraville, Ga., with conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine in Jefferson County between February and March. The indictment also charges both Montoya-Austria and Ortiz with possessing with intent to distribute that quantity of the drug on March 7.
The indictment charges Montoya-Austria with distributing 500 grams or more of methamphetamine in St. Clair County on Feb. 27.
The penalty for each charge is 10 years to life in prison and a maximum $10 million fine.
DEA investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory R. Dimler is prosecuting.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Californian Man Indicted for Fraudulent Bank Accounts Opened with Stolen IdentitiesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted a California man for stealing other peoples’ identities and using them to open accounts at the Birmingham-based BBVA Compass Bank, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
A 12-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges EDUARDO FERNANDO VILLANUEVA ARANGUENA, 32, of Reseda, Calif., with six counts each of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Aranguena obtained personally identifying information for six individuals and opened an account or accounts in those individuals’ names at Compass Bank between Sept. 15, 2016, and Nov. 1, 2016, according to the indictment.
Aranguena used the fraudulently established accounts to deposit, withdraw and transfer money, as well as to make purchases, load gift cards, open lines of credit and apply for credit cards, according to the indictment.
“With today’s technology, cybercriminals can commit identity theft against a Birmingham, Alabama, bank from thousands of miles away,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Keim, who is prosecuting the case. “We appreciate the investigative assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Central District of California and the Western District of North Carolina and the Charlotte Field Office of the FBI.”
The maximum penalty for bank fraud is 30 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence, which would have to be served consecutively to any sentence imposed for bank fraud, and a possible fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
The FBI investigated the case.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Prosecutors & Crisis Services of North Alabama Recognize Champions for Crime VictimsRead the Press Release
April 10 Ceremony Commemorates 2018 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week
HUNTSVILLE — The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Alabama, Madison County District Attorney’s Office and Crisis Services of North Alabama will commemorate National Crime Victims’ Rights Week with a ceremony Tuesday, April 10, recognizing individuals who have shown a commitment to helping crime victims.
The agencies will present the 2018 National Crime Victims’ Rights Recognition Ceremony from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Jackson Center, 6001 Moquin Drive NW, Huntsville. Alexis Barton, an outspoken advocate for sexual assault survivors, will be the ceremony’s featured speaker. Barton is an active member of the Junior League of Birmingham and serves on the board of One Place Metro Alabama Family Justice Center, which provides coordinated services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault with a multi-disciplinary team of professionals working together under one roof.
The Crime Victims’ Rights Recognition Ceremony in Huntsville will honor individuals from the areas of victim advocacy, law enforcement and prosecution who have contributed outstanding services to victims.
National Crime Victims’ Rights Week this year is April 8-14. The U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime leads communities throughout the country in their annual observances of the week by promoting victims’ rights and honoring crime victims and those who advocate on their behalf. This year’s theme – Expand the Circle: Reach All Victims – highlights how a community’s investment in crime victims expands the opportunity for victims to disclose their victimization, connect with services, and receive the support they need. The theme also acknowledges the many barriers facing victims of crime, especially LGBTQ victims, older adults, speakers with limited English proficiency, those with disabilities, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and others from historically marginalized communities.
This event is free and open to the public.
To register to attend the Huntsville ceremony, visit https://usaoalntraining.org/NationalCrimeVictimsCeremony.
For additional ideas on how to support victims of crime, visit OVC’s website at www.ovc.gov.
*Graphics of this year’s logo are available on the OVC website.
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Compounding Pharmacy Owner Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for $10.5 Million Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced the owner of a Decatur compounding pharmacy to five years in prison for conspiring to defraud a federal health insurance program out of more than $10 million. U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Justin D. Green and Defense Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin announced the sentence.
U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor sentenced JOHN CHRISTOPHER LEMLEY, 51, of Decatur, for the health care fraud conspiracy and ordered him to forfeit nearly $1 million as proceeds of the crime. Most of that amount – $918,234 – already has been seized from bank accounts held by Lemley or his businesses, along with a 2015 Lexus Gx-460 Premium bought with criminal proceeds, according to court documents. The judge also ordered Lemley to pay $918,234 in restitution to the federal military health insurance program. Lemley pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge in November. He must report to prison June 20.
“Every dollar stolen from TRICARE is a dollar that weakens our overall military posture and makes healthcare for our troops even more embattled,” Town said. “Whether $10 million or $10,000, those who intend to defraud the federal government, especially our DOD components, will be joining Mr. Lemley soon.”
“This sentencing, resulting from a complex and widespread investigation by DCIS and other law enforcement partners, is a strong warning to anyone who believes they can get away with conspiring and scheming to fleece the Defense Department's TRICARE system,” Khin said. “Fraud and corruption in our health care programs, especially involving deceptive practices with prescription medications, is far from a ‘victimless’ crime. This defendant selfishly put greed and personal gain before the safety and well-being of our military members, their families, and retirees, who deserve proper medications and the best care available.”
“U.S. consumers rely on the FDA to ensure they receive drugs which are safe, effective, and properly labeled,” Green said. “We remain fully committed to pursuing those individuals who endanger the public health by distributing misbranded products.”
Lemley owned a Decatur pharmacy that operated as Southern Compounding. He also owned Apotheca Supply, which was licensed to relabel and repackage pharmaceutical drugs. Apotheca was located in a suite adjoining Southern Compounding on U.S. Highway 31 South. Lemley also had a 20 percent membership interest in Medworx Sunflower LLC, an affiliate of Medworx Compounding, a pharmacy in Ridgeland, Miss., according to the charges against Lemley and the government’s sentencing memorandum.
Between February 2015 to January 2016, Lemley conspired with others at Medworx Sunflower and Southern Compounding to defraud TRICARE, a U.S. Department of Defense health care program, as well as third-party prescription-drug program administrator Express Scripts Incorporated, according to the court documents. Southern Compounding submitted prescription reimbursement claims to TRICARE as part of ESI’s pharmacy network.
As part of the conspiracy, Lemley conducted the fraud by various means that included improperly contracting with Medworx Compounding to refer prescriptions to Southern Compounding. He also paid kickbacks to independent sales representatives as incentive to refer TRICARE prescriptions, sold misbranded over-the-counter medications as prescription drugs, and failed to reverse claims on prescriptions he knew were forged, according to court documents.
Although ESI’s regulations prohibited Southern Compounding from subcontracting any of its work, Southern entered a management agreement with Medworx in early 2015 whereby Medworx referred prescriptions to Southern Compounding. Southern filled the prescriptions, billed third-party administrators for them and sent almost all the payments received to Medworx. Medworx then returned a portion of those payments directly to Lemley. The amount returned totaled $918,234, representing a distribution for Lemley’s 20 percent membership interest in the Medworx affiliate, Medworx Sunflower.
Southern Compounding’s billings to TRICARE soared in the two months after Southern entered its agreement with Medworx, according to court documents. In the 13 months prior to the agreement, TRICARE paid claims of about $215,561 to Southern. In the two months following the February 2015 agreement, TRICARE, through ESI, paid about $10.5 million in claims to Southern. More than 90 percent of that was profit.
In accordance with Southern’s management agreement with Medworx, Lemley transferred most of the money – about $10.2 million – to Medworx. Most of the transferred money was to fund kickbacks to the independent sales representatives, according court documents.
FDA-OCI and DCIS investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Chinelo Dike-Minor prosecuted.
Attorney General Sessions Will Travel to Birmingham to Address the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) CEO LuncheonRead the Press Release
****** MEDIA ADVISORY *******
WASHINGTON - Attorney General Jeff Sessions will travel to Birmingham
FRIDAY, March 23, 2018, to address the NOBLE CEO luncheon.
WHO: Attorney General Jeff Sessions
WHAT: Attorney General Sessions will address the NOBLE CEO luncheon.
WHEN: 12:45 pm. CDT
Friday, March 23, 2018
WHERE: Sheraton Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham Ballroom 3 & 4 (floor/lobby level)
2101 Richard Arrington Jr Blvd N
Birmingham, AL 35203
OPEN PRESS
(Camera Preset time for K9 sweep: 11:30 a.m. CDT// Final access time for print media: 12:30 p.m. CDT)
NOTE: Media must RSVP and present government-issued photo I.D. and valid media credentials. Please RSVP via email to Kelly Laco in the Office of Public Affairs at [email protected] or 202-305-5219. Please RSVP with the email addresses of the person(s) attending the event, so that we may reach them directly if details change.
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Federal Judge Sentences Prior Felon to 22 Years in Prison for Armed CarjackingRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a Graysville man to more than 20 years in prison for a 2016 carjacking in Forestdale, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced MICHAEL DeWAYNE JOHNSON, 33, to 21 years and 10 months in prison on one count each of carjacking, being a convicted felon in possession of a gun and using a gun during the commission of a violent crime. Johnson pleaded guilty to the charges in October.
“This defendant was a violent career criminal. At the time of this offense, he had just recently been released on probation for another violent robbery in which he used a gun,” Town said. “The revolving door for Johnson is now locked tightly behind him and a warm prison bed awaits him.”
“I applaud the sentence handed down today because this is the type of violent offender who needs to be taken off the streets,” Sharp said. “I want to thank the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and my agents for their outstanding work on this case.”
According to Johnson’s plea agreement, the carjacking and his arrest occurred as follows:
Johnson stole a Chevrolet Trailblazer from a man stopped in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant on Forestdale Boulevard on Aug. 17, 2016, by opening the truck door, twice striking the man with the butt of a pistol and ordering him out of the vehicle. The victim had stopped in the parking lot to call his wife and ask what she wanted him to order.
The victim reported the carjacking and a Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy spotted a truck matching the Trailblazer’s description about 30 minutes later at a gas station about five miles from the restaurant where the incident occurred. When the deputy pulled behind the Trailblazer, Johnson sped away, only to lose control and wreck the vehicle after a short chase. The truck flipped several times, strewing debris, before landing in a residential yard.
Law enforcement recovered two semi-automatic handguns among the debris, a Taurus Millennium .40-caliber and a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber, both matching the victim’s description of the gun used in the carjacking. The Taurus pistol was reported stolen from a burglary in Tarrant the day before the carjacking. A passenger in the Trailblazer with Johnson told investigators that he had no guns on him that night and both firearms found at the scene must have belonged to Johnson.
Johnson had at least two prior state felony convictions – first degree robbery in Jefferson County in 2004, and first degree robbery in Jefferson County in 2008.
The FBI and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Xavier O. Carter Sr. prosecuted.
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Decatur Man Pleads Guilty to Kidnapping and Child Sex-Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A Decatur man pleaded guilty today in federal court to kidnapping and child sex-trafficking charges as part of a detailed plan to hire someone to kidnap a woman and her 14-year-old daughter, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
BRIAN DAVID “Blaze” BOERSMA, 48, entered his guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor to 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. A sentencing date has not been set.
“Boersma has revealed the worst parts of human depravity and his guilty plea provides little comfort to those who would have suffered unspeakable horrors,” Town said. “He will spend most, if not all, of the remainder of his life in prison…and then he has hell to look forward to.”
“It is unacceptable for adults to take advantage of minors in such a way that will forever impact their lives, and the deplorable behavior exhibited in this case is beyond comprehension,” Sharp said. “Human trafficking steals the innocence from our children and young women, and individuals like Boersma, who prey upon the vulnerable, need to be removed from our society.”
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 for shipment 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 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 prison penalty for attempted kidnapping of a minor is a minimum of 20 years. Attempted sex trafficking of children carries a prison penalty of 10 years to life. Attempted kidnapping carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence. The maximum prison sentence for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon is 10 years. Possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime carries a minimum five-year prison sentence that must run consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed.
The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Davis Barlow is prosecuting.
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DOJ Officials, Arkansas First Lady to Open NCAC International SymposiumRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE – Two top U.S. Department of Justice officials and the First Lady of Arkansas will open the 34th International Symposium on Child Abuse presented by the National Children’s Advocacy Center March 19-22 at the Von Braun Center.
The annual symposium is a premiere conference that provides expert training and numerous networking opportunities to professionals in the child maltreatment field, and is one of the few conferences that addresses all aspects of child maltreatment, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, exposure to violence, poly-victimization, exploitation, intervention, trafficking and prevention. The NCAC will bring together approximately 1,400 law enforcement, medical, prosecution, victim advocacy, child protection and mental health professionals, and youth-serving organizations from 48 states, Washington, D.C., and 12 countries for the symposium.
Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Alan Hanson and Arkansas’ First Lady Susan Hutchinson will speak at the symposium’s opening session Tuesday, March 20, 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
NCAC Executive Director Chris Newlin said, “We are honored to have officials from the U.S. Department of Justice, along with First Lady Hutchinson of Arkansas, with us to welcome participants from throughout the United States and the world and provide an inspirational message about the impact and value of the work being done at Children’s Advocacy Centers. The Department of Justice has long supported the multidisciplinary work of Children’s Advocacy Centers in responding to child abuse.”
“Since its inception in 1985, the NCAC has been a model in caring for abused children and in coordinating the work of the numerous agencies that treat and care for those courageous children with the agencies that investigate and prosecute cases involving them,” Town said. “The NCAC and its international symposium have trained thousands of professionals in the best methods of caring for the children and investigating their cases. The Justice Department has awarded valuable grants to support the NCAC’s important work, and I welcome Acting Associate Attorney General Panuccio and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Hanson to Alabama to address the symposium and underscore the invaluable service the NCAC provides to children and communities across our country,” he said.
Hutchinson, a former schoolteacher, has a lifetime of experience advocating for and working with children. Before becoming Arkansas’ first lady, Hutchinson spent several years on the board of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Benton County, one of 16 non-profit Children’s Advocacy Centers in Arkansas that work with abused children.
Panuccio is the third-ranking officer in the Department of Justice, overseeing more than a dozen department components, including the Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Environment and Natural Resources, and Tax Divisions, and the Office of Justice Programs and the Office on Violence Against Women.
Hanson, who worked as general counsel, chief of staff and legislative director for U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, brings more than 17 years of congressional policy, management, appropriations and political experience to the Justice Department.
The three-day international gathering will offer more than 160 workshops with tracks designed specifically for administration, child protective services, forensic interviewing, human trafficking/sexual exploitation, law enforcement, medical, mental health/treatment, prevention, prosecution/legal, secondary traumatic stress, victim advocacy and youth-serving organization.
For information or to arrange an interview with NCAC Executive Director Newlin or a speaker, contact Pam Clasgens, NCAC Community Awareness and Prevention Director, 256-327-3761 (direct line), or 256-533-5437 (main line) or [email protected].
About the NCAC: The NCAC revolutionized the response to child sexual abuse in the U.S. There are currently more than 1,000 Children’s Advocacy Centers in the U.S. and 33 other countries are based on the model developed in Huntsville, Ala., in 1985. The NCAC provides services to children and families in the Huntsville-Madison County area, and is a national and international leader in training for professionals responsible for the protection of children.
The NCAC models, promotes and delivers excellence in child abuse response and prevention through service, education and leadership. For information, contact 256-533-5437 or visit www.nationalcac.org.
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Boca Raton Man Arrested for Securities Fraud and Mail Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – The FBI on Thursday arrested a Florida man on securities and mail fraud charges related to a multi-million dollar scheme involving highly speculative, low-priced penny stocks, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
A ten-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges BRIAN ROBERT “Mailman” SODI, 46, of Boca Raton, with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and mail fraud, and related charges.
“Financial crimes prey on the unsuspecting public and undermine the integrity of the nation’s stock exchanges,” Town said. “Pump-and-dump schemes like this must be disrupted by law enforcement before they disrupt market forces.”
According to the indictment, Sodi used his Florida-based publishing houses to distribute deceptive promotional mailers recommending the purchase of select penny stocks, while hiding from potential investors that he secretly was selling the stocks he was urging them to buy. The indictment also charges that Sodi obscured his involvement in the scheme by using offshore accounts and intermediaries to launder the proceeds of his fraud back to himself and his publishing houses.
According to the indictment, Sodi conducted his scheme as follows:
He would acquire shares of a publicly-traded stock, positioning himself to benefit from selling the shares at inflated prices. Sodi would try to induce the public to purchase the stock by developing and disseminating promotional and marketing mailers that exaggerated the stock’s prospects for growth and urged readers to purchase it. The mailers would falsely and deceptively conceal and fail to disclose that Sodi intended to sell the stock he was urging others to buy. After the stock price rose, Sodi would sell the stock for a profit.
Sodi hid his ownership interest in the promoted stock by trading through Arliss, a Swiss account, instead of through a brokerage account held in his own name. He brought the proceeds of his fraud back to himself and his publishing houses through offshore accounts held by firms in Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, and elsewhere.
On Jan. 10, 2013, Sodi used the U.S. Postal Service to send mailers promoting the stock of Southern USA, Inc., a company with mining operations in Ashland, Ala., to addresses throughout the country. On March 1, 2013, after the price and volume of trading in SUSA stock had dramatically increased as a result of the promotion, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order suspending trading in SUSA stock. SUSA subsequently laid off most of its workers and suspended its mining operations in Alabama.
If convicted of the charge of conspiracy, Sodi would face a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
The FBI investigated the case, with assistance from the SEC, the Alabama Securities Commission, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of New Jersey, the Eastern District of New York, and the Eastern District of Virginia. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Keim is prosecuting.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Federal Prosecutors Charge Huntsville Man with Material Support to Foreign Terrorist OrganizationRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – Earlier this week, federal prosecutors filed a terrorism charge against a Huntsville man who has acknowledged that he bought bomb-building ingredients last year, stated his aspirations to conduct ISIS-inspired attacks on police stations and Redstone Arsenal, and attempted to form a cell to conduct violent acts within the United States.
U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. announced the charge and today’s guilty plea.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a one-count information charging AZIZ IHAB SAYYED, 23, with attempting to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization. According to the charge and an accompanying plea agreement, Sayyed attempted to provide services and personnel (himself) to ISIS – the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham – knowing that ISIS is a designated foreign terrorist organization. Sayyed pled guilty to the charge before U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon. Sayyed’s plea agreement stipulates a 15-year prison sentence. The judge scheduled Sayyed’s sentencing hearing for June 20.
“The successful resolution of this case can be entirely attributed to the robust cooperation between local, state and federal members of law enforcement,” Town said. “The Madison County District Attorney’s Office, HPD, UAHPD, and especially the FBI played key, complimentary roles in this investigation and all contributed significantly in bringing Aziz Sayyed to justice. The National Security Division of the Department of Justice also played an important role in the investigation and prosecution of Sayyed. Moreover, Sayyed was brought to our attention because citizens saw something, so they said something. If we are to keep our cities safe, no matter the type of suspicious activity, our community must play an active role,” Town said.
“I want to commend the work of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Huntsville Police Department, the Madison County District Attorney’s Office, and our many other law enforcement partners that worked to bring Mr. Sayyed to justice,” Sharp said. “The citizens of north Alabama can rest assured that the FBI will continue to work with our partners and the community to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention.”
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, according to the court documents. Sayyed shared the videos and expressed his support for ISIS and for ISIS terrorist attacks around the world.
Sayyed researched and learned how to make triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a highly volatile and extremely dangerous explosive material, then he purchased the necessary ingredients for the explosive, and professed his aspiration to use TATP in an explosive belt and/or a car bomb, according to his plea agreement.
On June 13, 2017, Sayyed met with an individual he understood to be an ISIS member. In fact, the person was an undercover employee (UCE) of the FBI. Sayyed and the UCE 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 are prosecuting the case with the assistance of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Alabama Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISISRead the Press Release
Earlier this week, a one-count information was filed charging Aziz Ihab Sayyed, 23, of Huntsville, Alabama, with attempting to provide services and personnel, namely himself, to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization. Sayyed pleaded guilty today.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town for the Northern District of Alabama and Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr. of the FBI’s Birmingham Field Office made the announcement. The guilty plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon.
Sayyed acknowledged that he bought bomb-building ingredients last year, stated his aspirations to conduct ISIS-inspired attacks on police stations and Redstone Arsenal, and attempted to form a cell to conduct violent acts within the United States. Sayyed admitted knowing that ISIS 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, according to the court documents. Sayyed shared the videos and expressed his support for ISIS and for ISIS terrorist attacks around the world.
Sayyed researched and learned how to make triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a highly volatile and extremely dangerous explosive material, purchased the necessary ingredients for the explosive, and professed his aspiration to use TATP in an explosive belt and/or a car bomb, according to the plea agreement.
On June 13, 2017, Sayyed met with an individual he understood to be an ISIS member. The person was in fact an undercover employee (UCE) for the FBI. Sayyed and the UCE 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 himself as personnel to the UCE, believing that the UCE was an ISIS member.
Sayyed’s plea agreement stipulates a 15-year prison sentence.
The FBI investigated the case in conjunction with the Huntsville Police Department and the Madison County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Henry Cornelius and Davis Barlow of the Northern District of Alabama are prosecuting this case with the assistance of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Advisory: Press Conference Thursday afternoonRead the Press Release
FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2018
*******MEDIA ADVISORY*******
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, FBI, Madison County District Attorney’s Office and Huntsville Police Department will hold a press conference Thursday afternoon to announce developments in a material support of terrorism case.
WHAT: Press conference
WHEN: Thursday
March 8, 2018
3 p.m.
WHERE: FBI Huntsville Resident Agency
4700 Whitesburg Drive SE
Huntsville, AL 35802
Media should arrive about 30 minutes before the press conference to set up.
NOTE: All media must have photo identification and valid media credentials. For additional information, contact Peggy Sanford at 205-244-2020, or [email protected], or Paul Daymond at 205-533-0600, or [email protected].
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U.S. Attorneys Jay Town, Richard Moore and Donald Cochran to Speak at Friday Symposium at Alabama Law SchoolRead the Press Release
TUSCALOOSA – U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town will be among current and former U.S. Attorneys visiting the University of Alabama School of Law on Friday to discuss the role lawyers play in government.
The law school’s symposium, “The Role of Lawyers in Good Government,” will be from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Room 287 of McMillan Lecture Hall on the University of Alabama campus.
Town will participate with current U.S. Attorneys Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama and Donald Q. Cochran of the Middle District of Tennessee in the first of the symposium’s three panels. Former Middle District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Leura Canary, now general counsel for the Retirement Systems of Alabama, will moderate the panel in which members will discuss their role as the chief federal law enforcement official in their respective districts.
“It is an honor to appear alongside my colleagues at the University of Alabama Law School,” Town said. “I think there is great benefit to those learning the law to have former and current United States Attorneys gather to discuss issues in criminal justice. I know I speak for all of us when I thank my predecessor for providing this platform and organizing such a first class symposium.”
Former Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, now a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer in Law at the UA law school, will moderate the day’s second panel, which will address the role of lawyers as executive agency leaders. Leslie Proll, former director of the Departmental Office of Civil Rights for the U.S. Department of Transportation, Sarah R. Saldana, former director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, and David K. Bowsher, a partner with Adams and Reese and former acting general counsel and deputy general counsel at the United States Department of Commerce will comprise the panel.
The third panel will address the role that U.S. Attorneys play in shaping criminal justice policy. Panelists will be Peter F. Neronha, former U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island and a candidate for Rhode Island attorney general, Emily Gray Rice, former New Hampshire U.S. Attorney, now city solicitor for Manchester, N.H., and Greg R. Davis, former Southern District of Mississippi U.S. Attorney, now a partner with Goss & Williams. Meg Reiss, executive director, Institute for Innovation in Prosecution, will moderate the panel.
The event is open to the media. For more information, contact Monique Fields at [email protected] or 205-348-5195.
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U.S. Attorney Jay Town Providing LE Training on Warrant, Arrest and Trial IssuesRead the Press Release
TUSCALOOSA – U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town will conduct training Friday in Tuscaloosa for west Alabama law enforcement on constitutional protections concerning search warrants, arrests and trials.
The training will be from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Bedsole Moot Courtroom at the University of Alabama School of Law, 101 Paul Bryant Drive East.
“I consider it my responsibility to provide robust training to prosecutors and members of law enforcement regarding issues we are seeing in both state and federal courts,” Town said. “I consider it an honor to be amongst those who selflessly put themselves in harm’s way for the safety of all Alabamians and those prosecutors who ensure that our worst offenders find a bed in prison. This training will have the net effect of improving our investigations and strengthening our prosecutions at all levels.”
The U.S. attorney will provide an update for police officers, sheriffs and district attorneys on individual protections provided by the 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, including matters related to search and seizure and right to counsel.
The 4th Amendment guarantees the right of individuals to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. The 5th Amendment in criminal cases provides the right to a grand jury, forbids double jeopardy, and protects against self-incrimination. The 6th Amendment protects the rights of criminal defendants, including the right to a public trial without unnecessary delay, the right to counsel and the right to an impartial jury. The 6th Amendment also guarantees defendants the right to know the nature of the charges and evidence against them, and who their accusers are.
The training is for law enforcement only and will be closed to the media. Town will be available to the media before the training, between 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m., outside the moot courtroom.
For more information, contact Peggy Sanford at [email protected] or 205-244-2020, or Stacy Crane at [email protected], or 205-244-2015.
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Federal Prosecutors Charge Former YWCA Child Care Director for Stealing from Non-profit EmployerRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – Federal prosecutors today charged a former YWCA child care director 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.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a one-count information in U.S. District Court charging RIKKI ROSS, 37, of Hoover, with 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. The Young Women’s Christian Association 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 to a plea agreement with the government filed in association with today’s charge. Ross agrees to forfeit $198,597 to the government as proceeds of illegal activity, and to pay that same amount in restitution to the YWCA, according to her plea agreement.
“Stealing from any non-profit is unconscionable, but to steal program fees that were intended to provide a positive space for kids is truly indefensible,” Town said. “The Secret Service did an excellent job, as always, bringing Ross to justice.”
“This case highlights the excellent work the Secret Service Financial Crimes Task Force is conducting,” Williams said. “This task force is a strong force-multiplier of Birmingham metro law enforcement that fights financial crimes affecting our community.”
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, according to her plea agreement. 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 device.
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 agreement. 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 agreement. Between April 2012 and August 2017, Ross stole more than $190,000 intended as payment for childcare services at the YWCA.
The maximum penalty for federal program fraud is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Secret Service investigated the case in conjunction with the Birmingham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Beardsley Mark is prosecuting the case.
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Madison County Man Indicted on Gun, Drug-Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted a New Hope man on drug-trafficking and firearms charges, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.
A three-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges ANDREW DONALD PASEUR, 38, with possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in Madison County on May 12. The indictment also charges Paseur with possessing a firearm, a Smith & Wesson .45-caliber pistol, in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
According to the indictment, Paseur has two previous felony drug-possession convictions in Madison County Circuit Court – unlawful possession of marijuana, first degree, in 2006, and unlawful possession of a controlled substance in 2012.
“Drugs, guns and violent crime nearly always come as a package,” Town said. “We are committed to working with federal, state and local law enforcement to find the criminals who threaten our communities the most and charge them with the most serious, readily provable offense.”
The prison penalty for possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, after a previous felony drug conviction, is a minimum of 20 years. The prison penalty for using a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime is a minimum of five years, which must be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed for the crime. Possessing a gun as a convicted felon carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
DEA investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura D. Hodge is prosecuting.
An indictment carries only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Four Men Indicted for Illegally Re-entering United States after DeportationRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted four Mexican nationals for illegally re-entering the United States after previous deportation, two following felony convictions, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Ray Parmer.
Separate and unrelated indictments charge FELIPE MARTINEZ-ARRELLANES, 35, MIKE SIERRA, 40, RICARDO VASQUEZ-ALFEREZ, 38, and FRANCISCO VERA-MARTIN, 46, as foreign aliens who illegally re-entered the United States.
According to the indictment against Vasquez-Alferez, he was in Marshall County on Feb. 4 after having been removed from the United States to Mexico in July 2009 following his conviction for an aggravated felony. The maximum penalty for that charge is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to Martinez-Arrellanes’ indictment, he was found in Tuscaloosa County on Jan. 18 after having been removed to Mexico in June 2013 following a felony conviction. The maximum penalty for that charge is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Sierra’s indictment charges he was found in Tuscaloosa County on Dec. 6 after removal from the United States in February 2016 and in July 2014. Vera-Martin was found in Jefferson County on Nov. 14 after having been removed from the country in December 2010 and in August 2017, according to his indictment. The maximum penalty for illegal re-entry is two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement HSI investigated the cases, which are being prosecuted in the Northern District of Alabama.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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California Man Indicted for Trafficking Heroin into Jefferson CountyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted a California man for trafficking heroin into Jefferson County, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.
A one-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges ALEXANDRO PEDRO MONTES, 26, of Compton, Calif., with possessing with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin on Nov. 30.
“Enforcing drug-trafficking laws and attacking the epidemic of opioid abuse in our country is a top priority of the Department of Justice and we continue working with federal, state and local law enforcement to bring the most serious available charges against drug dealers,” Town said.
The charge carries a prison sentence of five to 40 years and a maximum fine of $5 million.
DEA investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Simpson is prosecuting.
An indictment carries only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Pharmacy Tech Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Tampering with Opioids for IV FluidRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge today sentenced a former lead technician at a central Alabama pharmacy to five years in prison for tampering with vials of opioid painkillers used in the compounding of intravenous fluid bags intended for terminally ill patients in debilitating pain.
U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton and Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, Acting Special Agent in Charge Peter Kuehl announced the sentence.
U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor sentenced JOHNATHON WILLIAM CLICK , 30, of Bessemer, on one-count of tampering with consumer products in reckless disregard for the risk that another person would be placed in danger of death or bodily injury, and under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to that risk. Click pleaded guilty to the charge in November.
“Jonathan Click knew he was inflicting untold pain and suffering on terminally ill cancer patients, yet for two years he diluted their medication and took the opioid drugs for himself,” U.S. Attorney Town said. “Mr. Click is going to prison for his crime, and he will be joined shortly by those like him.”
“Patients deserve to have confidence that they are receiving the proper treatment from those entrusted with providing their medical care,” said FDA Acting Special Agent in Charge Kuehl. “That’s why we must hold medical personnel accountable when they take advantage of their unique position and tamper with drugs needed by their patients, especially when such tampering causes additional pain and suffering for those who are terminally-ill.”
“DEA is committed to investigating and bringing to justice those who divert prescription drugs. Opiate abuse is a major problem across the nation, with over four million Americans addicted to prescription drugs,” DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Hamilton said. “The sentencing of this pharmacy technician should send a clear message to those within the medical profession. DEA will continue to work with our federal, state and local law enforcement and regulatory partners to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
Click worked at Birmingham-based ContinuumRx of Central Alabama, which primarily distributes IV bags containing morphine and hydromorphone for palliative care of patients in hospice or homecare. The majority of CRX’s patients were terminally ill with cancer and suffering breakthrough pain. Click, as the lead pharmacy technician, prepared the vast majority of CRX’s IV bags, which helped safeguard his scheme, according to court documents.
Between December 2014 and September 2016, when CRX ended Click’s employment, he removed morphine sulfate and hydromorphone hydrochloride from vials intended for use in mixing IV bags. He diluted the vials to hide his theft, knowing that patients in excruciating pain would receive the diluted pain medication, according to the government’s sentencing memorandum. The document states that Click stole the medication so he could feed his opioid addiction.
“The nature and circumstances of this offense shock the conscience,” the government said in its sentencing memorandum. Click’s victims “were painfully dying – because the defendant tampered with their medicine for his own gratification. In their final days on earth, the defendant denied them the comfort of pain remediation they so desperately needed. The defendant knew what he was doing each time he tampered with those vials of medicine.”
According to the sentencing memorandum and Click’s plea agreement, he surreptitiously removed vials of morphine and hydromorphone from CRX’s locked inventory, withdrew drugs from the vials with a syringe and replaced the withdrawn amount with saline or sterile water. Click then would return the adulterated and diluted vials to the inventory, undetected, and later use the vials to compound IV bags that were distributed and administered to homecare and hospice patients. CRX’s primary customers are Alacare Home Health & Hospice, New Beacon Hospice, Lakeview Homecare & Hospice, Comfort Care Hospice and Kindred Hospice.
DEA, FDA and the Alabama Board of Pharmacy investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohammad Khatib prosecuted.
Conference to Explore Veterans Treatment Courts, Behavioral Health of VeteransRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE – The U.S. Attorney’s Office, University of Alabama in Huntsville’s Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, University of Alabama School of Social Work, and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will present a conference Feb. 9 to discuss Veterans Treatment Courts and their positive impact on making communities safer and helping veterans reintegrate into society.
“Veterans Treatment Courts: No Veteran Left Behind” will be a daylong conference in the Charger Union Theater on the UAH campus. The conference will explore the structure and work that Veterans Treatment Courts provide to participating veterans, and the tools needed to ensure success for those veterans. The conference also will examine the behavioral health of veterans, who after long deployments or recovery from serious injuries have problems readjusting to civilian life.
“The VTC is something every judicial circuit should have,” Town said. “It gives our veterans not just a holistic system to get their honor back, but vests them with the truth that they never lost it in the first place.”
The conference will include morning and afternoon keynote addresses, followed by panel discussions. Buffalo, N.Y., Judge Robert Russell, who is credited with starting the first Veterans Treatment Court in the nation, will provide the morning keynote address.
Judge Russell began presiding over the Veterans Treatment Court in Buffalo in January 2008. Before that, he created Buffalo’s Drug Treatment Court in December 1995, and continues to serve as its presiding judge. In December 2002, Judge Russell established and began presiding over Buffalo’s Mental Health Treatment Court. Judge Russell is the past chairman of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals Board of Directors and the past president of the New York State Association of Drug Treatment Court Professionals. He also serves on the National Advisory Board of the Judges’ Criminal Justice/Mental Health Leadership Initiative.
Dr. Eric Seemann, a counseling psychologist, U.S. Navy veteran and a member of the Alabama Army National Guard, will present the afternoon keynote address. Seemann is the Veterans’ Services Coordinator for UAH. His research and teaching interests include post-traumatic stress and recovery, chronic pain and resilience, psychometrics, personality, social support and coping. Seemann’s areas of specialization as a licensed psychologist include forensic psychology, assessment, military psychology, crisis intervention, risk assessment, pain psychology, and dangerous populations.
Lt. Gen. Jim Pillsbury will also be a guest speaker during the afternoon. Pillsbury has 38 years of military experience and retired as commander of Redstone Arsenal and the Aviation and Missile Command. Pillsbury was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973, after graduating college, and became an infantry officer. He would go on to become a pilot, holding several positions in the Army. He retired in 2011.
Panels during the conference will address topics including the role of judges in Veterans Treatment Courts and the role mentors play in ensuring the success of court participants. Panelists will include Madison County Circuit Court Judge Ruth Ann Hall, Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Bill Bostick, Cumberland School of Law Professor and former U.S. Magistrate Judge John Carroll, Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs General Counsel Beverly Gebhardt, Madison County Assistant District Attorney Emily Carroll, VA’s Veterans Justice Outreach Coordinator Ahmad Brewer, and Madison County Veterans Treatment Court mentor Ray Zimmerman.
The conference is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Please click on the following link to register: https://usaoalntraining.org/VeteransTreatmentCourtsConference, or contact [email protected]. Six APOST hours have been approved for law enforcement officers. Continuing Education Units of 5.8 hours of have been approved for attorneys. CEUs for social workers are pending.
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Trussville Man Sentenced to 15½ Years in Federal Prison for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a Trussville man to more than 15 years in prison for distributing and possessing child pornography, 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 WAYNE RAY, 55, to 15 years and eight months in prison. Ray pleaded guilty in October to one count of distributing child pornography between March 9, 2016, and March 15, 2016, using the internet and an email account. He also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography between Feb. 14, 2016, and July 5, 2016, in Jefferson County.
“Long prison sentences are well-deserved for both defendants in this case,” Town said. “Mr. Ray assumed different personas to troll the internet for child pornography and Ms. Galloway produced and provided pornographic images of a child she should have been protecting. Fortunately, neither one of these individuals will be near children for years to come.”
Judge Proctor last year sentenced Ray’s co-defendant, Jennifer Lynne Galloway, 34, of Shelby County, to 24 years and six months in prison for producing child pornography of an eight-year-old relative in 2015.
After Galloway took the explicit photos of the child, she sent them to a man she knew as Cory Haynes, whom she had met on the internet. Haynes actually was Ray, according to his plea agreement with federal prosecutors. FBI investigators discovered the pornographic images that Galloway produced attached to emails between Ray and a man living in Washington, D.C., according to the plea agreement. The FBI also located other images of child pornography within Ray’s email account.
The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Williamson Barnes prosecuted.
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South Alabama Man Indicted for Three Armed Bank Robberies in North AlabamaRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted a Conecuh County man for three armed bank robberies in northern Alabama last year, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.
A five-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges KELVIN CARNELL GOLDEN, 32, of Evergreen, with armed bank robberies in St. Clair County, Jefferson County and Calhoun County. The indictment charges him with a separate firearm count on two of the robberies.
“Those who rob banks at gun point and threaten the lives of innocent employees and customers are exactly the violent criminals we will remove from free society and relocate to prison,” Town said. “The FBI did an outstanding job investigating this case.”
According to the indictment, Golden used a handgun and robbed a Pell City branch of BB&T bank on March 31, 2017. The indictment charges Golden with brandishing a 9mm semi-automatic pistol during that robbery.
On April 5, 2017, Golden used a handgun and robbed a Trussville branch of First Commercial Bank, according to the indictment, which also charges him with brandishing a 9mm semi-automatic pistol during that crime of violence.
The indictment charges Golden with using a handgun to rob an Oxford branch of BB&T on April 10, 2017.
Armed bank robbery carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, which must be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed for the crime.
The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Simpson is prosecuting.
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