District of Columbia

WASHINGTON – Kevin Jones, 48, a former contract oversight specialist with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), was sentenced today to 24 months in prison on a federal bribery charge stemming from a scheme in which he provided non-public information about pending HUD contracts to a business owner in exchange for tickets to sporting events, travel, and cash.

           The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Charles A. Dayoub, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Criminal Division, FBI Washington Field Office, and Reginald O. Sessoms, Special Agent in Charge, Special Investigations Division, HUD Office of Inspector General.

           Jones, of Laurel, Md., pled guilty in March 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of federal bribery. He was sentenced by the Honorable Randolph D. Moss. As part of his plea agreement, he is required to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $50,302.75 representing the value of the gifts and benefits he received. Following his prison term, Jones will be placed on three years of supervised release and complete 100 hours of community service.

           According to a statement of offense signed as part of the plea, Jones began work at HUD in 1999. His responsibilities included serving as the technical point of contact for certain contracts and reviewing contractor performance. By virtue of his position, he had access to bid, proposal, and source selection information about a number of HUD contracts.

           The bribery charge involves Jones’s dealings with Charles Thomas, the sole owner and president of a company in Maryland that provided technology services to agencies of the federal government and educational services to public school children in the Washington, D.C. area.

           Between at least 2010 and 2018, according to the statement of offense, Thomas provided Jones with tickets to sporting events, travel, and cash in exchange for Jones providing Thomas and his company with non-public information about pending HUD contracts. In particular, the information and recommendations that Jones provided gave Thomas an unfair competitive advantage in obtaining two contracts valued at more than $4.5 million. Jones himself approved invoices totaling nearly $3.8 million for work done under one of the two contracts.

           According to the statement of offense, from 2010 through 2017, Thomas and his company provided Jones with a variety of gifts and benefits, including more than $17,000 worth of tickets to Washington Redskins games and three Super Bowls; $1,700 in Washington Wizards tickets, more than $3,200 in hotel accommodations; more than $3,600 in travel expenses, more than $13,000 in cash and checks, meals, a camera, and a pair of basketball shoes.

           In a related prosecution, another former HUD employee, LaFonda Lewis, 57, of  Lusby, Md., was sentenced to a year and a day in prison in April 2019, for providing non-public information about pending HUD contract to Thomas in exchange for money, tickets to sporting events, and other things of value. As part of her plea, she agreed to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $23,055, representing the illegal proceeds. Lewis was a former supervisory contract oversight specialist.

           Thomas, 45, of Lusby, Md., pled guilty in May 2018 to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of conspiracy to pay gratuities and violate the Procurement Integrity Act. Thomas is awaiting sentencing. In his guilty plea, Thomas admitted to paying bribes to the two HUD employees as well as to an employee of the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) in return for payments on contracts involving that agency.

           The former District of Columbia employee, Shauntell Harley, 49, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced in July 2018 to 56 months in prison for accepting bribes in return for clearing the way for payments to be made to Thomas and another businessman.

           In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Acting Special Agent in Charge Dayoub, and Special Agent in Charge Sessoms commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, HUD’s Office of the Inspector General, and the Office of the Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

           They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Joshua Fein and former Paralegal Specialist Kristy Penny. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter C. Lallas, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia teams up with our local and federal law enforcement partners and community-based organizations to host the Ninth Annual “Breaking the Silence on Youth Violence Youth Summit,” on Friday, June 28, 2019, at The Catholic University of America in the Hartke Theater.

             The free Summit will focus on gun violence and drug prevention and feature dynamic speakers, entertainment, prizes, invaluable information and resources.

           For the past eight years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has collaborated with its partners to host the Youth Summit. Past Summits have included sessions that highlight the causes and consequences of youth violence, challenge youth participants to make better decisions, and emphasize the importance of cooperating with law enforcement. The breakout sessions focus on public safety issues facing our youth, such as teen domestic violence, heroin and opiate abuse, and human trafficking. The Summits have concluded with an educational entertainment segment to reinforce the positive messages of the Youth Summit. 

           The Summits have also included a youth informational fair in which numerous non-profits provide information on youth development programs, mentoring programs, and educational youth activities. More than 500 youths participated in the event last year, and thousands have participated in the activities since the first event in 2011.

           The ninth annual “Breaking the Silence on Youth Violence Summit” will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the Catholic University of America in the Hartke Theater at 3801 Harewood Road, NE Washington, D.C. 200017. All youth between the ages of 8-18 are welcome.

           The Summit is a part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhood Program, a nationwide effort to reduce violent crime.

           This year’s partners include Mayor Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program, East of the River Family Collaborative, Hillcrest Children Family Center, the Metropolitan Police Department, Collaborative Solutions for Communities, the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, D.C. Department of Behavioral Health, Kids Eat Free, D.C. Prevention Centers, Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, and a Foundation for a Drug-Free World.

           For more information, contact Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney for External Affairs, Wendy Pohlhaus (202)252-6930 or [email protected].

WASHINGTON – Thelmiah Lee, 68, of Southeast Washington, D.C., pled guilty last week to charges stemming from his involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain thousands of dollars in unemployment benefits from the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

           Lee pled guilty, mid-trial, on June 18, 2019, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to two felony counts of first degree identity theft, and admitted to his conduct in fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits from the District of Columbia over a four-year period.

           As part of his plea, Lee agreed to a term of incarceration between 42 and 96 months and agreed to return more than $16,000 in cash that law enforcement seized at the time of his arrest. The cash will be delivered to his victims as partial compensation for their losses.

           According to the government’s evidence, beginning in 2012 and continuing until his arrest in July 2016, Lee stole the identities of two victims: his own brother, and another man.  Lee used those identities and his victims’ personal identifying information to fraudulently submit and obtain nearly $25,000 in unemployment benefits from the District of Columbia. Lee took steps to mask his identity as the actual recipient of those funds, and he received the benefits on debit cards—which he used at various businesses. Over the course of a multi-year investigation, detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department, agents from the D.C. Office of Inspector General, and claims examiners from the D.C. Department of Employment Services worked together to interview victims, identify Lee, and gather evidence of his identity thefts—as well as his submission, receipt, and use of the unemployment benefits. On July 22, 2016, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Lee’s residence, which he had fraudulently rented using the name of his brother. During the search, law enforcement recovered more than $16,000 in cash, along with multiple licenses, tax documents, and other confidential materials belonging to Lee’s victims. 

           On June 17, 2019, the trial for this case began in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. The following day, after opening statements and the testimony of multiple victims, Lee entered a negotiated guilty plea to two felony counts. The Court ordered that Lee be detained pending sentencing, scheduled for September 13, 2019.    

           In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department, Office of Inspector General, and D.C. Department of Employment Services detectives, agents, and claims examiners who investigated the case. U.S. Attorney Liu also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Assistant U.S. Attorney William Schurmann, who investigated and tried the case, as well as Paralegal Rommel Pachoca, Legal Assistant Emma Atlas, and Litigation Technology personnel Paul Howell and Leif Hickling.

 

WASHINGTON – Tremaine McDowell, 37, Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury yesterday of burglarizing an apartment in Northwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

           McDowell was found guilty of one count of first-degree burglary and two counts of theft. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. McDowell will remain in custody pending his sentencing on August 20, 2019, by the Honorable Judge Robert Okun.

           According to the government’s evidence, on September 26, 2018, McDowell entered an apartment located at 3003 Van Ness Street NW at approximately 3:45 a.m. McDowell was in the apartment for 45 minutes while the victims, a married couple and their 2-year-old child, were asleep in a back bedroom. The victims were unaware of the burglary until they viewed footage from their home security camera two days later. The security footage showed McDowell entering the apartment from the front door. McDowell then proceeded to search a desk, which was located next to the front door and then moved to the kitchen area. He used a flashlight to search the kitchen area and as he went through the victim’s purse. After McDowell left the kitchen, he went to the living room, which was out of the security camera’s view. When McDowell returned to the kitchen area, he was seen carrying an item. He left the apartment through the front door, and it was later determined that McDowell had stolen a laptop and an I-Phone 6Plus.

           In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. She also applauded the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Forman and Colleen Kukowski who investigated and prosecuted the case. 

WASHINGTON – Jharrod Armstrong, 21, of Capitol Heights, Md., was sentenced today to seven years in prison stemming from his role in several armed robberies, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

           Armstrong was found guilty on January 22, 2018, following a plea in the D.C. Superior Court before the Honorable Todd E. Edelman. Armstrong was convicted of one count of armed robbery, one count of attempted robbery, and two counts of carrying a pistol without a license, stemming from three different incidents that occurred in 2016 and 2017. Following his prison term, Armstrong will be placed on three years of supervised release.

           On September 16, 2016, law enforcement stopped Armstrong in the 1400 block of Columbia Road, N.W., Washington, D.C and discovered a Glock 23 .40 caliber firearm in his undergarments (case 2016-CF2-15164).

           Less than a year later, Armstrong committed two armed robberies on July 2, 2017 (case 2017-CF3-13635). At approximately 12:35 a.m., Armstrong encountered one victim in the 4500 block of Arkansas Avenue N.W., pointing a firearm at him and forcing him to give Armstrong his cell phone and change the phone’s password. Armstrong fled in a recently stolen silver BMW SUV. Less than 10 minutes later, Armstrong pointed a firearm at a different victim in the 1400 block of Fort Stevens Drive, N.W., forcing the victim to hand Armstrong his wallet. Armstrong fled in the same silver BMW SUV. The BMW was located the following day parked in a handicapped parking spot in front of 1127 Girard Street N.W. Inside of the vehicle, law enforcement later located a BMW manual, which had a fingerprint on it that belonged to Armstrong. Armstrong was identified by the first victim through a presented nine-person photo array.

           Law enforcement also learned that Armstrong had a pending arrest warrant issued on July 19, 2017, from Prince George’s County, Md. for first-degree murder. MPD apprehended Armstrong on the same day. Police found a Taurus .45 caliber firearm underneath Armstrong’s compression shorts.

           In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, and Chief Newsham commended the assistance provided by officers of MPD and the Prince George’s County Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who prosecuted the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Rosen of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Shehzad Akhtar of the Felony Major Crimes Section.

Case Numbers:

17-CF3-13635

17-CF2-12397

16-CF2-15164

WASHINGTON - Malik Morris, 20, of Washington, D.C. pled guilty to second degree murder while armed and assault with intent to kill on Friday stemming from a shooting where he struck and killed one D.C. man and injured another, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Morris pled guilty on June 21, 2019, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The plea, which is subject to the Court’s approval, calls for an agreed-upon sentence of 15 years in prison.  He will be sentenced by the Honorable Ronna Beck on August 30, 2019. 

           According to the government’s evidence, on November 26, 2018, at approximately 1:49 p.m. in the 1800 block of Benning Road, Northeast, Morris observed several people, including the decedent in a convenience store. Morris did not enter the store, instead, he went to an adjacent parking lot where he adjusted his pants and moved an object consistent with a firearm around his waistband. Shortly thereafter Morris ran past the convenience store and toward the decedent and another individual who were walking on Benning Road. Morris fired several shots in the direction of the decedent striking him and injuring another victim. After the shooting, Morris fled the scene. He was subsequently arrested in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania on December 6, 2018, before he was extradited back to the District of Columbia to face charges.

           In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham, commended the work of the MPD officers who investigated the case. They also acknowledge the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including, Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin, Paralegal Specialist Lashone Samuels, and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcy Rinker.

           Finally, they commend the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Santiago, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON - Andrew T. Maliska, 27, of Nashville, Tennessee, pled guilty on Monday, June 17 to cyberstalking in the District of Columbia following an investigation into the creation and circulation of doctored images, related postings, and the personal information of the victim.

           The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and John P. Selleck, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

           Maliska was indicted by a grand jury on one count of cyberstalking and indicted on two counts of identity theft. The indictment was unsealed on May 24, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

           According to the government’s evidence, Maliska resided in the District of Columbia from September 2009 until June 2013, where he studied at a local university and met the victim. The indictment alleges that during the course of his friendship with the victim, Maliska without authorization, accessed and obtained non-sexual images from the victim’s social media accounts. According to the indictment, Maliska then doctored those images to sexualize them and posted them on various online forums.

           The indictment alleges that Maliska also posted the victim’s name, phone number, and address on an escort website in May of 2015. This posting resulted in the victim receiving multiple inquiries from individuals seeking escort services from her. The indictment further alleges that the nature of the other postings were pornographic, racist, and defamatory.

           The victim and her family filed a civil suit against Maliska in October of 2015. The following year, the victim and her family obtained a civil settlement in which Maliska acknowledged the postings and content were authored by him, stated he would remove the content, and agreed that he would refrain from engaging in further defamatory postings of the victim.

           As alleged in the indictment, in August 2017, after Maliska entered into the civil settlement, he continued to commission sexual images of the victim, posted about the victim, and reactivated a fake social media account in her name. The indictment alleges that Maliska used the victim’s name, biographical information, and images to create the fake social media account. Maliska used the fake social media account to befriend and communicate with others online.

           The charge of cyberstalking carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and potential financial penalties.

           This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Youli Lee and Charles Willoughby, paralegal Diane Brashears, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sumit Mallick, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron Jones of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Tennessee and Bianca Evans, formerly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

 

WASHINGTON - Michael A. Orji, 40, formerly of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 10 years in prison on federal charges stemming from his role in at least seven bank fraud schemes, involving at least 10 victims and more than $5.7 million in intended losses.

           The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, John P. Selleck, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Jay N. Lerner, Inspector General for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

           Orji, a Nigerian national, pled guilty on Oct. 26, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced by the Honorable Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell. Orji also was ordered to pay a restitution judgment in the amount of $905,274.98 divided among five victims with uncompensated losses. As part of his plea agreement, Orji additionally agreed to forfeit $75,254 in previously seized funds and pay a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $1,705,320.03. Following his prison term, he is required to surrender himself to ICE and cooperate with the deportation proceedings to Nigeria.  

           According to a statement of offense and related conduct acknowledged by Orji, he participated in an ongoing conspiracy from August 2015 through November 2017 to commit a variety of financial frauds, primarily involving stolen checks and business e-mail compromise (BEC) schemes. He then laundered the resulting proceeds through a network of fraudulent bank accounts, shell corporations, and co-conspirators in the District of Columbia and elsewhere. In a typical BEC scheme, a co-conspirator working online tricks a company or individual using “spoofed,” or fake, e-mails into transferring large sums of money into bank accounts controlled by those participating in the crime. Soon after the wire transfers are completed, the co-conspirators drain the bank accounts and launder the criminal proceeds.

           In total, Orji participated in at least seven bank fraud schemes involving 10 victims and 15 fraudulent accounts opened and/or controlled by the defendant under false names. The schemes generated a total of $905, 274.98 in actual losses and $5,717,596.23 in intended losses.

           He used false aliases and forged driver’s licenses in carrying out the crimes.

           The victims of the defendant’s frauds included a public school system, a medical center, several small and medium-sized companies, an individual who happened to call the bank in order to take precautions before an international trip, an individual attempting to purchase a new home, and an individual saving for retirement. Meanwhile, according to the government’s evidence, Orji frequented casinos, which he also used to launder money, and lived in a luxury apartment under a borrowed name.

           Orji was arrested on Nov. 20, 2017, and has been in custody ever since. On that day, federal agents executed a search warrant on Orji’s residence in the District of Columbia. During the search, , they found 14 fraudulent driver’s licenses corresponding to the defendant’s false aliases, 1 fraudulent Social Security card in the name of false alias, a printed-out copy of the Wikipedia article on “Bank Fraud,” a copy of a journal article on online banking fraud with handwritten markings, a book on creating false identities, and multiple burner phones.

           The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of Inspector General. Assistance was provided by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service, the District of Columbia Office of the Inspector General, and the Metropolitan Police Department.

           The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher B. Brown, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist C. Rosalind Pressley.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Duvall, Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section Trial Attorney W. Joss Nichols, former Assistant U.S. Attorney John Marston, and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman also assisted in investigating and prosecuting the case.  

WASHINGTON – Anthony Crawford, 23, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to first degree murder for fatally stabbing a D.C. woman as she ran in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

           Crawford pled guilty on June 21, 2019, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to one count of first degree murder while armed. The plea agreement, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for a sentence of 30 years and a fine of up to $250,000. As part of the plea deal, Crawford will also have to contribute between $100 and $5,000 to the Victims of Violent Crime Compensation Fund. The Honorable Judge Craig Iscoe scheduled sentencing for September 13, 2019.

           According to the government’s evidence, on the evening of September 18, 2018, Crawford stole a kitchen knife from a local grocery store. Twenty minutes later, Crawford encountered the victim who was out for an evening run. Crawford attacked the victim at the intersection of 11th Street and P Street, stabbing her seven times; twice in the head, once in her face, three times in the neck, and once in the back, with the stolen knife. The victim was able to get away and ran into a nearby Chinese restaurant to escape Crawford’s attack. Crawford fled the area and threw the knife on the ground. Crawford also discarded several clothing items covered in his and the victim’s blood. 

           Several good Samaritans attempted to save the victim as she lay on the floor of the restaurant bleeding. The victim was transported to a local hospital to receive further medical treatment for the stab wounds. Over the course of the evening, her condition deteriorated and she died from the injuries. 

           Crawford has been in custody since his arrest on September 19, 2018. 

           In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department, as well as paralegals Alesha Matthews and Kelly Blakeney, and Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin. She also expressed appreciation for the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Earnest who prosecuted the matter.

WASHINGTON – Maxim R. Smith, 25, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury yesterday of assault with a dangerous weapon, for beating a man approximately ten months ago in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced today.

           Smith was found guilty on June 19, 2019, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Smith was convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault with significant injury while armed. The Honorable Judge Kimberley S. Knowles scheduled sentencing for August 30, 2019. Smith faces a statutory maximum of 10 years of incarceration.

           According to the government’s evidence, on August 6, 2018, the victim was driving in his vehicle through Georgetown after a friend’s gathering. As he drove toward Wisconsin Avenue NW on M Street NW, he encountered Smith stopped on his bicycle in the middle of the right turn lane. The victim honked his horn, and Smith yelled expletives at the victim and did not move. The victim then passed the defendant on the left side in his vehicle, and at that point heard a loud thump on the back of his car. Assuming the defendant had hit his car with an object, the victim turned right onto Wisconsin Avenue NW and pulled his car to the side of the road. The victim got out of his car to inspect for damage and to call the police. Smith also turned right onto Wisconsin Avenue NW and rode his bike to Prospect Street. As soon as Smith turned back and saw the victim on the phone, he shouted to the victim, “Are you really calling the police?” and directed a racial slur at him. The victim is a black male from Cameroon, and the defendant is a white male. Smith then rode aggressively back toward the victim and got into a physical altercation with him. Smith then struck the victim on the head with a metal u-lock while yelling racial slurs at him. The victim required 21 stiches to his head as a result of the assault.

           In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. She also acknowledged the work of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jack Korba and Alyse Constantinide.

WASHINGTON – Jackson A. Cosko, 27, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to four years in prison for stealing Senate information and posting illegal restricted information of five U.S. Senators on the Wikipedia website.

           The announcement was made by Alessio Evangelista, the Acting U.S. Attorney in this case, and Steven A. Sund, Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police.

           Cosko, a former staff member of a United States Senator, pled guilty in April 2019, to five federal offenses: two counts of making public personal information; one count of computer fraud; one count of witness tampering, and one count of obstruction of justice, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In addition to his sentence term, Cosko had to forfeit computers, cellphones, and other equipment used in the crimes, which was part of his plea agreement. He was sentenced by the Honorable Senior District Judge Thomas F. Hogan.

           According to the government’s evidence, the U.S. Capitol Police began an investigation on Sept. 27, 2018, after it was determined that the Wikipedia pages of three U.S. Senators had been edited to include restricted personal information without their knowledge or permission. This information included home addresses and personal telephone numbers. These edits took place roughly contemporaneously with public – and highly publicized – Senate proceedings related to a nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court. On Oct. 1, 2018, similar information was posted on the Wikipedia pages of two additional Senators.

           “Doxxing” is the act of gathering, by licit and illicit means, and posting on the Internet personal identifying information (“PII”) and other sensitive information about an individual.

           Cosko admitted that he was angry about his termination in May 2018 from his employment as a computer systems administrator in the office of another U.S. Senator (described in court documents as Senator #1). As a result, from July 2018 to October 2018, he engaged in an extensive computer fraud and data theft scheme. Cosko admitted that he carried out the scheme by breaking into Senator # 1’s office on at least four occasions and accessing Senate-owned computers for the express purpose of stealing proprietary electronic information, including the personal contact information for numerous other Senators. He then published the contact information for five U.S. Senators (identified as Senators #2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) using Wikipedia and Twitter, with the intent to threaten and intimidate these five Senators and their families.  

           On the night of Oct. 2, 2018, according to the affidavit, a witness saw Cosko at a computer in Senator # 1’s office. The witness confronted Cosko, who left the office. Later that evening, according to the statement of offense, Cosko sent a threatening e-mail to the witness, titling it, “I own EVERYTHING” and warning that, “If you tell anyone I will leak it all.” Additionally, that evening Cosko attempted to delete electronic evidence from items including a laptop computer that he used to obtain and download the stolen data.

           This case was investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Demian S. Ahn, Tejpal S. Chawla, and Youli Lee. Assistance was provided by Paralegal Specialists Diane Brashears and Matthew Ruggierio and Victim/Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – Mustafa al-Imam, a Libyan national approximately 48 years old, was found guilty of terrorism charges for his participation in the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. Special Mission and Annex in Benghazi, Libya. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and U.S. government personnel Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty died in the attack at the Mission and the nearby CIA Annex in Benghazi.

           The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu, Assistant Director Michael McGarrity of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division., and Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr. of the FBI’s New York Field Office.

           “We will never forget those we lost in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012 – Tyrone Woods, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty, and Ambassador Christopher Stevens,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “And we will not rest in our pursuit of the terrorists who attacked our facilities and killed these four courageous Americans – they must be held accountable for their crimes.  I want to thank the agents, analysts, and prosecutors – and all of their partners in the U.S. government – who are responsible for this important investigation.”

           “Mustafa al-Imam was found guilty and will be held accountable for his role in the terrorist attack that destroyed the U.S. Mission in Benghazi,” said U.S. Attorney Liu.  “Four American heroes lost their lives and others were seriously wounded during the attack on two U.S. facilities. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue justice against those who commit terrorist acts against the United States no matter how far we must go or how long it takes.”

           “Mustafa Al-Imam has been found guilty for his role in a brutal terrorist attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi that killed four Americans,” said Assistant Director Michael McGarrity. This case shows the FBI's commitment to bring to justice those who commit acts of terror against the United States and our citizens—no matter how far away those acts take place or how long an investigation may take.”

           “Mustafa al-Imam played a significant role in the 2012 Benghazi attack, one that ultimately claimed American lives,” said Assistant Director William F. Sweeney, Jr. “While nothing will ever change the outcome of this horrific event, today’s verdict is a reminder that the safety of Americans—whether at home or abroad, civilian or otherwise—will always be our top priority. If you commit an act of terrorism, we will find you and bring you to justice."

           Al-Imam was captured in Libya on October 29, 2017. He was found guilty by jury on June 13, 2019, of conspiracy to provide material support and resources to terrorists and maliciously destroying and injuring a dwelling and placing lives in jeopardy.  The former charge is punishable by up to a maximum of 15 years in prison, while the latter charge is punishable by up to a maximum of 20 years in prison.  The jury failed to reach a verdict on 15 other charged counts, leading the court to declare a mistrial on those counts today, June 17, 2019.  The government has not yet announced whether it plans to retry Al-Imam on the remaining counts. The maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes.  The sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court after considering the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

           The trial began with opening statements on May 8, 2019, before a jury in the courtroom of the Honorable Judge Christopher R. Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Over the next four weeks, the government presented testimony from 29 witnesses. The witnesses included those who were wounded in the attack, as well as others who survived the attacks.

            This case was investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office with substantial assistance from various other government agencies, including the Department of Defense and the two victim agencies, the CIA and the Department of State. The National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section provided significant assistance.

           The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Cummings and Karen Seifert of the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  Assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Coleman and Jolie Zimmerman, Paralegal Specialist Donna Galindo, detailed Paralegal Specialist Ashley Davis, Intelligence Research Special Dustin Powell, contract Document Management Analyst Michael Watts, Victim-Witness Advocates Yvonne Bryant, Tonya Jones, Laverne Perry and Wanda Queen, and Litigation Technology Chief Leif Hickling.  Earlier stages of the prosecution were handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiLorenzo and former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Opher Shweiki and Julieanne Himelstein.

Mustafa al-Imam, a Libyan national approximately 48 years old, was found guilty of terrorism charges for his participation in the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. Special Mission and Annex in Benghazi, Libya.  Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and U.S. government personnel Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty died in the attack at the Mission and the nearby Annex in Benghazi.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu, Assistant Director Michael McGarrity of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division and Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr. of the FBI’s New York Field Office.

“We will never forget those we lost in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012 – Tyrone Woods, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty, and Ambassador Christopher Stevens,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “And we will not rest in our pursuit of the terrorists who attacked our facilities and killed these four courageous Americans – they must be held accountable for their crimes.  I want to thank the agents, analysts, and prosecutors – and all of their partners in the U.S. government – who are responsible for this important investigation.”

“Mustafa al-Imam was found guilty and will be held accountable for his role in the terrorist attack that destroyed the U.S. Mission in Benghazi,” said U.S. Attorney Liu.  “Four American heroes lost their lives and others were seriously wounded during that attack. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue justice against those who commit terrorist acts against the United States no matter how far we must go or how long it takes.”

“Mustafa Al-Imam has been found guilty for his role in a brutal terrorist attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi that killed four Americans,” said Assistant Director McGarrity.  “This case shows the FBI's commitment to bring to justice those who commit acts of terror against the United States and our citizens — no matter how far away those acts take place or how long an investigation may take.”

“Mustafa al-Imam played a significant role in the 2012 Benghazi attack, one that ultimately claimed American lives,” said Assistant Director in Charge Sweeney.  “While nothing will ever change the outcome of this horrific event, today’s verdict is a reminder that the safety of Americans — whether at home or abroad, civilian or otherwise — will always be our top priority.  If you commit an act of terrorism, we will find you and bring you to justice.”

Al-Imam was captured in Libya on Oct. 29, 2017.  He was found guilty of conspiracy to provide material support and resources to terrorists and maliciously destroying and injuring a dwelling and placing lives in jeopardy by a jury on June 13, 2019.  The former charge is punishable by up to a maximum of 15 years in prison, while the latter charge is punishable by up to a maximum of 20 years in prison. The jury failed to reach a verdict on 15 other charged counts, leading the court to declare a mistrial on June 17, 2019.  The government has not yet announced whether it plans to retry Al-Imam on the remaining counts.  The maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes.  The sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court after considering the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The trial began with opening statements on May 8, 2019, before a jury in the courtroom of the Honorable Judge Christopher R. Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Over the next four weeks, the government presented testimony from 27 witnesses.  The witnesses included those who were wounded in the attack, as well as others who survived the attacks.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office with substantial assistance from various other government agencies, including the Department of Defense and the two victim agencies, the CIA and the Department of State.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Cummings and Karen Seifert of the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  Assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Coleman and Jolie Zimmerman, Paralegal Specialist Donna Galindo, detailed Paralegal Specialist Ashley Davis, Intelligence Research Special Dustin Powell, contract Document Management Analyst Michael Watts, Victim-Witness Advocates Yvonne Bryant, Tonya Jones, Laverne Perry and Wanda Queen, and Litigation Technology Chief Leif Hickling.  Earlier stages of the prosecution were handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiLorenzo and former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Opher Shweiki and Julieanne Himelstein.  The National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section provided significant assistance.

WASHINGTON – Lonnell Tucker, 42, of Temple Hills, Md., was sentenced today to five years in prison stemming from his role in a large-scale narcotics conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

           Tucker, Anthony Fields, 45, of Washington, D.C., and Abdul Samuels, 45, of Washington, D.C., were found guilty on March 21, 2019, following a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before the Honorable Amit P. Mehta. Tucker was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin from on or about June 1, 2017 through February 1, 2018. Judge Mehta sentenced Tucker to a prison term of five years. Following his prison term, Tucker will be placed on 36 months of supervised release.

           In June 2017, ATF began investigating the trafficking of narcotics from the Next Level Cuts barbershop located in the 2400 block of MLK, Jr., Avenue, SE and adjoining property above. Law enforcement discovered a coordinated drug trafficking operation that was centered at the barbershop and extended into Maryland through surveillance, controlled purchases from inside and outside the barbershop, residential search warrants, cellphone searches, arrests, jailhouse calls, pleas, and cooperating witnesses. The investigation established that drug traffickers used the barbershop and adjoining property as a stash location.

           The investigation led to a series of arrests beginning in February 2018. These arrests led to the recovery of three firearms from the barbershop, one firearm in a residence, the seizure of more than $7,000 in cash, and without packaging, the seizure of more than 300 grams of PCP, more than 150 grams of heroin, more than 100 grams of fentanyl, boxes of suboxone strips, and more than 100 grams of a cutting agents.

           During the trial, officers and agents of the Prince George’s County Police Department, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, and the Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor, testified regarding separate arrests of coconspirators during the course of ATF’s investigation, which resulted in the seizure of narcotics, drug paraphernalia, and U.S. currency.

           Tucker was previously prosecuted in the D.C. Superior Court and convicted of drug trafficking felony offenses on three separate occasions. In 2010, he was convicted of two counts of distributing PCP. In 1999 and 2000, he was convicted of possessing crack cocaine with an intent to distribute.

           On June 13, 2019, Fields was sentenced to 16 years of incarceration to be followed by eight years of supervised release. Samuels has not yet been sentenced for his role in the drug trafficking conspiracy. Three other defendants – Darryl Smith, 41, of Washington, D.C., James Venable, 47, of Fort Washington, Md., and Lacy Hamilton, 42, of Suitland, Md. – pled guilty earlier to federal charges. Another defendant remains at large as a fugitive. Smith managed the barbershop and was sentenced to 80 months in prison relating to his possession of narcotics in the barbershop on February 1, 2018, and for his possession of packaged fentanyl and a loaded firearm following an arrest by MPD in December 2017 outside of the barbershop. Venable, another conspirator, was sentenced to a 37-month prison term following his possession of narcotics and a firearm in both Washington, D.C. during a December 2017 arrest by MPD and at his residence in Maryland on February 1, 2018. Venable also acknowledged selling narcotics to an ATF confidential informant in July 2017. Hamilton was sentenced to a 15-month prison term for selling narcotics outside the barbershop and in Maryland as part of the charged narcotics conspiracy.

           In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Benedict, and Chief Newsham commended the assistance provided by officers and agents of the Prince George’s County Police Department, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, and the Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Macchiaroli and Gregory Rosen of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, and Paralegal Specialist Candace Battle.

WASHINGTON – Camille Covington, 34, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury yesterday of aggravated assault while armed after violently attacking a woman at a bus stop in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

           Covington was found guilty on June 11, 2019, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District before the Honorable Ronna L. Beck. Covington was convicted of aggravated assault while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon. The Honorable Judge L. Beck scheduled sentencing for August 16, 2019, and Covington will be detained in jail pending the sentencing date. 

           According to the government’s evidence at trial, on October 31, 2016, the victim first encountered Covington near Truesdell Elementary School. Both women’s children attend the school. The victim was headed to a bus stop located at the intersection of 9th and Kennedy Street NW to catch a bus to her English-language classes, when Covington forcefully bumped into the victim on the sidewalk. Minutes later, Covington violently attacked the victim while she stood at the bus stop, slashing her face and neck with a knife. The victim lost a significant amount of blood, and has permanent injuries to her face. During the assault, Covington yelled several times: “I don’t like Hispanic Women.” The victim is a Hispanic woman. The jury found that Covington’s aggravated assault on the victim was not a “biased-related” crime.

           When a passerby saw Covington attacking the victim and tried to intervene, Covington threatened him with a knife.  The jury convicted Covington of assault with a dangerous weapon for that assault. 

           In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Police Department. She also acknowledged the work of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Litigation Technology Specialist William Henderson; Victim/Witness Service Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington; interns Ashley Young, Holly Tripp, and Elliott Riches; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Rosen and Ethan Carroll for investigating the case; and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicole McClain and Janani Iyengar for prosecuting the case at trial.

WASHINGTON – Anthony Fields, 45, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 16 years in prison stemming from his leadership role in a large-scale narcotics conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

           Fields, Abdul Samuels, 45, of Washington, D.C., and Lonnell Tucker, 42, of Temple Hills, Md., were found guilty on March 21, 2019, following a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before the Honorable Amit P. Mehta. Fields was convicted of engaging in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, phencyclidine (pcp), fentanyl, suboxone, marijuana, and synthetic cannabinoids, in various amounts, and maintaining a residence for drug trafficking purposes. Judge Mehta sentenced Fields to a prison term of 16 years. Following his prison term, Fields will be placed on eight years of supervised release.

           In June 2017, ATF began investigating the trafficking of narcotics from the Next Level Cuts barbershop located in the 2400 block of MLK, Jr., Avenue, SE and adjoining property above. Through surveillance, controlled purchases from inside and outside the barbershop, residential search warrants, cellphone searches, arrests, jailhouse calls, pleas, and cooperating witnesses, law enforcement discovered a coordinated drug trafficking operation that was centered at the barbershop and extended into Maryland. The investigation established that drug traffickers used the barbershop and adjoining property as a stash location.

           The investigation led to a series of arrests beginning in February 2018 which led to the  recovery of three firearms from the barbershop and one firearm in a residence, the seizure of more than $7,000 in cash, and without packaging, the seizure of more than 300 grams of PCP, more than 150 grams of heroin, more than 100 grams of fentanyl, boxes of suboxone strips, and more than 100 grams of a cutting agents. In addition to being convicted of conspiring to distribute narcotics, Fields was convicted of possessing 100 grams or more of PCP and 100 grams or more of heroin and using the residence above the barbershop as a location to traffic narcotics.

           During the trial, officers from the Prince George’s County Police Department and the Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor testified regarding a separate arrest of Fields in 2017 in Maryland, in which cutting agents, false bottom containers, and over $7,000 in U.S. currency were recovered from a vehicle that Fields was operating after law enforcement observed him purchasing items from a location that was well known for the selling of drug paraphernalia.

           During the sentencing, Judge Mehta found that Fields obstructed justice during the course of the Government’s investigation.

           The Defendant was previously convicted of assault with intent to kill while armed in D.C. Superior Court in 2002, following the shooting of a victim on a public street and was on supervised release for that offense with the U.S. Parole Commission at the time the present conspiracy took place. The Defendant also has additional firearms and drug trafficking convictions from separate cases.

           Samuels and Tucker have yet to be sentenced for their roles in the drug trafficking conspiracy. Three other defendants – Darryl Smith, 41, of Washington, D.C., James Venable, 47, of Fort Washington, Md., and Lacy Hamilton, 42, of Suitland, Md. – pled guilty earlier to federal charges. Another defendant remains at large as a fugitive. Smith managed the barbershop and was sentenced to 80 months in prison relating to his possession of narcotics in the barbershop on February 1, 2018, and for his possession of packaged fentanyl and a loaded firearm following an arrest by MPD in December 2017 outside of the barbershop. Venable, another conspirator, was sentenced to a 37-month prison term following his possession of narcotics and a firearm in both Washington, D.C. during a December 2017 arrest by MPD and at his residence in Maryland on February 1, 2018. Venable also acknowledged selling narcotics to an ATF confidential informant in July 2017. Hamilton was sentenced to a 15-month prison term for selling narcotics outside the barbershop and in Maryland as part of the charged narcotics conspiracy.

           In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Benedict, and Chief Newsham commended the assistance provided by officers and agents of the Prince George’s County Police Department, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, and the Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Macchiaroli and Gregory Rosen of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, and Paralegal Specialist Candace Battle.

WASHINGTON – Ricardo Burnette, 54, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 60 months in prison on firearms and narcotics offenses stemming from an investigation in which law enforcement recovered three firearms and numerous types of narcotics, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Burnette pled guilty on March 22, 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to one count of using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense.  He was sentenced by the Honorable Beryl A. Howell.  Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government's evidence, on October 30, 2018, MPD and ATF executed a search warrant at Burnette’s residence in Northwest Washington, D.C., and recovered numerous items, to include an assault rifle, a revolver, and a semiautomatic pistol, as well as ballistic vests and numerous types of ammunition, including four high-capacity magazines loaded with more than 90 rounds of ammunition. Officers also recovered a number of different types of narcotics, to include opiates, cocaine, amphetamines, marijuana, liquid PCP, as well as numerous items of drug paraphernalia.

            Burnette was arrested at his residence when the search warrant was executed and has been detained since the time of his arrest.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Benedict, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from ATF and MPD. They also commended the efforts of those who worked in the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office including Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Willis, Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Crane, and Paralegal Specialists Rommel Pachoca and Teesha Tobias.

WASHINGTON – Ricardo Burnette, 54, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 60 months in prison on firearms and narcotics offenses stemming from an investigation in which law enforcement recovered three firearms and numerous types of narcotics, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Burnette pled guilty on March 22, 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to one count of using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense.  He was sentenced by the Honorable Beryl A. Howell.  Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government's evidence, on October 30, 2018, MPD and ATF executed a search warrant at Burnette’s residence in Northwest Washington, D.C., and recovered numerous items, to include an assault rifle, a revolver, and a semiautomatic pistol, as well as ballistic vests and numerous types of ammunition, including four high-capacity magazines loaded with more than 90 rounds of ammunition. Officers also recovered a number of different types of narcotics, to include opiates, cocaine, amphetamines, marijuana, liquid PCP, as well as numerous items of drug paraphernalia.

            Burnette was arrested at his residence when the search warrant was executed and has been detained since the time of his arrest.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Benedict, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from ATF and MPD. They also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney's Office including Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Willis, Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Crane, and Paralegal Specialists Rommel Pachoca and Teesha Tobias.

 

WASHINGTON – Three individuals were indicted today for trafficking in counterfeit goods through their operation of a retail store and warehouse used to sell apparel and accessories under unauthorized trademarks announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

            Today a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment alleging that Zi Yu Zheng, 57, Xiao Ling Wei, 56, and Ling Wu Wei, 50, all from Maryland, conspired to sell apparel and accessories with counterfeit trademarks that appeared to be items that were manufactured by brand-name designers. According to the indictment, the three individuals operated a retail store, The Guang Da Group, and a warehouse in Northeast, D.C., from which they sold counterfeit clothing, shoes, jewelry, handbags, and other accessories that were virtually indistinguishable from legitimate merchandise produced by designer companies such as Burberry, Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Nike, Polo, Ralph Lauren, Rolex, North Face, and Timberland. 

            According to the indictment, the defendants kept a filing cabinet of logos trademarked by these companies, which they attached to apparel and accessories sold from their warehouse and The Guang Da Group retail store. The indictment alleges that the three individuals openly displayed the counterfeit merchandise in the retail store, while engaging in various security and counter-surveillance measures to prevent detection by law enforcement, including limiting access to their warehouse to individuals and customers they knew, prohibiting cell phones in the warehouse, and maintaining a secret showroom of counterfeit merchandise behind a false emergency door. According to the indictment, law enforcement penetrated the conspiracy through controlled purchases executed by confidential sources and an undercover agent.

            All three defendants are charged with conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.  Zi Yu Zheng and Xiao Ling Wei are also each charged with one count, and Ling Wu Wei is also charged with two counts, of trafficking in counterfeit goods, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320(a).  The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation. The case has not yet been assigned to a U.S. District Judge and an initial appearance date has not been set.

            The charges in an indictment are merely allegations and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The statutory maximum penalty for conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, is five years; for trafficking in counterfeit goods, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320(a), the statutory maximum penalty is 10 years. 

            The case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Marando of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section is prosecuting the case.

WASHINGTON – Three individuals were indicted today for trafficking in counterfeit goods through their operation of a retail store and warehouse used to sell apparel and accessories under unauthorized trademarks announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

            Today a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment alleging that Zi Yu Zheng, 57, Xiao Ling Wei, 56, and Ling Wu Wei, 50, all from Maryland, conspired to sell apparel and accessories with counterfeit trademarks that appeared to be items that were manufactured by brand-name designers. According to the indictment, the three individuals operated a retail store, The Guang Da Group, and a warehouse in Northeast, D.C., from which they sold counterfeit clothing, shoes, jewelry, handbags, and other accessories that were virtually indistinguishable from legitimate merchandise produced by designer companies such as Burberry, Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Nike, Polo, Ralph Lauren, Rolex, North Face, and Timberland. 

            According to the indictment, the defendants kept a filing cabinet of logos trademarked by these companies, which they attached to apparel and accessories sold from their warehouse and The Guang Da Group retail store. The indictment alleges that the three individuals openly displayed the counterfeit merchandise in the retail store, while engaging in various security and counter-surveillance measures to prevent detection by law enforcement, including limiting access to their warehouse to individuals and customers they knew, prohibiting cell phones in the warehouse, and maintaining a secret showroom of counterfeit merchandise behind a false emergency door. According to the indictment, law enforcement penetrated the conspiracy through controlled purchases executed by confidential sources and an undercover agent.

            All three defendants are charged with conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.  Zi Yu Zheng and Xiao Ling Wei are also each charged with one count, and Ling Wu Wei is also charged with two counts, of trafficking in counterfeit goods, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320(a).  The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation. The case has not yet been assigned to a U.S. District Judge and an initial appearance date has not been set.

            The charges in an indictment are merely allegations and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The statutory maximum penalty for conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, is five years; for trafficking in counterfeit goods, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320(a), the statutory maximum penalty is 10 years. 

            The case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Marando of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section is prosecuting the case.

WASHINGTON – Levi Ruffin, 41, of Washington, D.C., was indicted yesterday by a Superior Court grand jury for sexually assaulting three women in separate attacks that occurred in 2003 and 2007, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Ruffin was indicted on 15 counts for the first attack, which occurred on July 2, 2003, including burglary while armed, kidnapping while armed, and first-degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances. He was indicted on nine counts for the second attack, which occurred on June 3, 2007, including burglary, kidnapping, and first-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances. He was indicted on five counts for the third attack, which occurred on September 8, 2007, including burglary while armed, kidnapping while armed, and first-degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances. Cold case detectives linked the defendant to two of the three attacks by DNA evidence.  

            The charges carry a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of release and, if convicted, Ruffin will be required to register for the rest of his life as a sex offender. The charges are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

            According to the government’s evidence, on July 2, 2003, the defendant displayed a knife, violently attacked and sexually assaulted the victim in her home, and demanded money before fleeing. On June 3, 2007, the defendant violently attacked and sexually assaulted the victim in a stairwell of her apartment building. On September 8, 2007, the defendant displayed a knife, violently attacked and sexually assaulted the victim in her apartment building. The defendant was a stranger to all three victims.

            Ruffin was identified as a suspect in these offenses by MPD’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit in June, 2018. On June 27, 2018, a D.C. Superior Court judge signed a complaint and warrant authorizing Ruffin’s arrest, five days before the statute of limitations would have run on the first case. Ruffin is currently in custody serving a sentence on a 2013 violent armed sexual assault and robbery of a woman in the 6900 block of Georgia Avenue, NW.

            In announcing the indictment, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of the detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit, Deputy Marshals from the U.S. Marshals Service, and forensic examiners from the Federal Bureau of Investigations. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who are working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocates Veronica Vaughan and Juanita Harris, and Paralegal Specialists Tiffany Fogle and TJ McPhail.

            Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Zubrensky and Marisa S. West, who are investigating and prosecuting the case.

WASHINGTON – Levi Ruffin, 41, of Washington, D.C., was indicted yesterday by a Superior Court grand jury for sexually assaulting three women in separate attacks that occurred in 2003 and 2007, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Ruffin was indicted on 15 counts for the first attack, which occurred on July 2, 2003, including burglary while armed, kidnapping while armed, and first-degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances. He was indicted on nine counts for the second attack, which occurred on June 3, 2007, including burglary, kidnapping, and first-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances. He was indicted on five counts for the third attack, which occurred on September 8, 2007, including burglary while armed, kidnapping while armed, and first-degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances. Cold case detectives linked the defendant to two of the three attacks by DNA evidence.  

            The charges carry a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of release and, if convicted, Ruffin will be required to register for the rest of his life as a sex offender. The charges are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

            According to the government’s evidence, on July 2, 2003, the defendant displayed a knife, violently attacked and sexually assaulted the victim in her home, and demanded money before fleeing. On June 3, 2007, the defendant violently attacked and sexually assaulted the victim in a stairwell of her apartment building. On September 8, 2007, the defendant displayed a knife, violently attacked and sexually assaulted the victim in her apartment building. The defendant was a stranger to all three victims.

            Ruffin was identified as a suspect in these offenses by MPD’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit in June, 2018. On June 27, 2018, a D.C. Superior Court judge signed a complaint and warrant authorizing Ruffin’s arrest, five days before the statute of limitations would have run on the first case. Ruffin is currently in custody serving a sentence on a 2013 violent armed sexual assault and robbery of a woman in the 6900 block of Georgia Avenue, NW.

            In announcing the indictment, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of the detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit, Deputy Marshals from the U.S. Marshals Service, and forensic examiners from the Federal Bureau of Investigations. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who are working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocates Veronica Vaughan and Juanita Harris, and Paralegal Specialists Tiffany Fogle and TJ McPhail.

            Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Zubrensky and Marisa S. West, who are investigating and prosecuting the case.

 

WASHINGTON – A criminal indictment and four arrest warrants were unsealed today charging an American, a Slovenian, a Serbian, and a Spaniard with a racketeering conspiracy to develop and distribute malware through the major computer hacking forum known as Darkode.

            U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, and John Selleck, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.

            Thomas McCormick, aka fubar, 26, of Washington state, in the United States; Matjaz Skorjanc, aka iserdo aka serdo, 32, of Maribor, Slovenia; Florencio Carro Ruiz, aka NeTK aka Netkairo, 40, of Vizcaya, Spain; and Mentor Leniqi, aka Iceman, 35, of Gurisnica, Slovenia, are each charged with racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.  The racketeering conspiracy charge includes conspiracy to commit bank, wire, and access device fraud, identity theft, hacking, and extortion.  McCormick is also charged with five counts of Aggravated Identity Theft.  The indictment was filed under seal on Dec. 4, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  McCormick was arrested on Dec. 10, 2018, at the FBI’s Washington Field Office in Washington, D.C.  Skorjanc, Leniqi, and Ruiz remain fugitives. 

            As alleged in the charging documents, Darkode was a criminal organization centered around an online, password-protected criminal forum where high-level international hackers and other cyber-criminals convened to develop, buy, sell, trade, and share hacking tools, information, and ideas.  Before becoming a member of Darkode, prospective members were vetted through a process in which an existing member invited a prospective member to the forum to present the skills or products that he or she could bring to the group.  Darkode members allegedly used each other’s skills and products to infect computers and electronic devices of victims around the world with malware and, thereby gain access to, and control over, those devices.  

            The charges are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  The maximum penalty for a racketeering conspiracy to commit bank fraud is 20 years of incarceration.  The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud is 30 years of incarceration.  The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any offense, a defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            The investigation into this matter was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office with assistance from Europol and their European Cyber Crime Center (EC3). 

            Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. Dominguez and Peter V. Roman of the Cyber Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case. The Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Organized Crime and Gangs Section, and the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division provided significant assistance.

WASHINGTON – Daniel Geter, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced on Monday to 15 years in prison on charges stemming from a shooting outside an apartment building in Northeast Washington, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

            Geter was found guilty in March 2019, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of charges of assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault while armed, and related firearms offenses. He was sentenced by the Honorable Robert Okun. Geter will be placed on five years of supervised release following his prison term.

            According to the government’s evidence, on March 17, 2018, at around 9:30 a.m., the victim and other friends gathered outside 1219 Simms Place NE to celebrate a birthday. Geter, who was dating one of the victim’s friends, arrived and criticized his girlfriend’s clothing. The victim verbally defended her friend. Geter approached the victim, pulled out a Ruger .380 semi-automatic handgun and fired six shots at the victim. Geter walked away while continuing to shoot at the victim. The victim was struck three times in the leg, piercing her femoral artery. After receiving immediate medical attention on scene from responding officers, the victim was hospitalized, lost copious amounts of blood when she arrived to the hospital, and required multiple surgeries. The victim sustains life-altering injuries, including relearning to walk. Geter was arrested on March 23, 2018.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu expressed her appreciation to the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service for their work on the case. She also acknowledged the work of Paralegal Specialist Debra McPherson and Litigation Technology Specialist Thomas Royal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and former AUSA Sumit Mallick, who investigated the case. Finally, she commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys Puja Bhatia and Andrea Duvall, who indicted and prosecuted the case.

Peyman Amiri Larijani, 33, a citizen of Iran and former resident of Istanbul, Turkey, was charged in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in two separate indictments.  The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia and Assistant Secretary Nazak Nikakhtar of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

A 34-count indictment returned on April 22, 2015, charges Larijani and a Turkish based company, Kral Havacilik IC VE DIS Ticaret Sirketi (Kral Aviation), with conspiracy to acquire U.S. origin aircraft parts and goods to supply to entities and end-users in Iran, to conceal from United States companies and the U.S. government that the U.S.-origin goods were destined for Iranian aviation business end users, to make financial profit for defendants and other conspirators, and to evade the regulations, prohibitions, and licensing requirements of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR), and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

“The Department is committed to vigorous enforcement of the sanctions placed on Iran for its oppressive and destabilizing behavior,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “The indictment charges the defendant with conspiring to equip an Iranian airline that has been designated for supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, a key instrument of the Iranian regime’s belligerent activity.  Sanctions evasion weakens the power of sanctions to change Iran’s behavior and makes us all less safe.”

“Our export laws are in place to prevent the shipment of goods to hostile countries and to keep items out of the hands of people who intend to harm the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.  “We will continue to aggressively prosecute those who violate our export control laws to protect the national security of the United States.”

“The Trump Administration will apply maximum pressure on Iran to end its promotion of instability and terrorism worldwide,” said Assistant Secretary Nikakhtar.  “Mahan Air represents a continuing significant threat against United States and its allies.  We will use all of the tools at our disposal to bring to justice those who threaten our way of life and violate our laws.”

According to the indictment, beginning around December 2010 through July 2012, Larijani was the Operations Manager for Kral Aviation.  Larijani and his co-conspirators purchased U.S.-origin aircraft parts and accessories from U.S. companies.  Larijani and his co-conspirators wired money to banks in the United States as payment for these parts and concealed from U.S. sellers the ultimate end use and end users of the purchased parts.  Larijani and his co-conspirators caused these parts to be exported from the United States to Istanbul, Turkey, before shipping to airlines in Iran including Mahan Air, Sahand Air, and Kish Air.

Mahan Air has been designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a Specially Designated National (SDN) for providing financial, material and technological support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force.  The Department of Commerce has placed Mahan on its Denied Parties List and Kral Aviation on the Entity List.

On March 15, 1995, the President, pursuant to IEEPA, issued Executive Order No. 12957, finding that “the actions and policies of the Government of Iran constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States” and declaring “a national emergency to deal with the threat.”  In subsequent Executive Orders, the President imposed economic sanctions, including a trade embargo, on Iran.  The Executive Orders and the ITSR prohibit the exportation, re-exportation, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, to Iran of any goods, technology, or services from the United States or by a United States person without prior authorization or license from the United States Department of the Treasury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, located in Washington, D.C.

A four-count indictment returned on Oct. 6, 2016, charges Larijani along with Mahan Air, Kral Havacilik IC VE DIS Ticaret Sirketi (Kral Aviation), Toufan Amiri Larijani, Javad Rajabi, Mehdi Bahrami, and Ghodratollah Zarei with conspiracy to export U.S. goods to Iran, specifically U.S. origin commercial aircraft engines, and provide services to a Mahan Air, a SDN, and to defraud the United States; and the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Commerce; unlawful exports and attempted exports to embargoed country and provision of services to an SDN; willful violation of denial order; and conspiracy to commit money laundering for purchasing a U.S. origin aircraft engine to supply to Mahan Air in Iran without obtaining an export license.

According to the indictment, beginning around April 2012 through September 2012, Larijani and his co-conspirators attempted to acquire U.S. origin aircraft engines to supply to Mahan Air in Iran without obtaining a license or other authorization from the United States.  Larijani and his co-conspirators caused the shipment of an aircraft engine from the United States with the express purpose of re-exporting the aircraft engine to Iran. 

If convicted, Larijani faces a maximum of 20 years imprisonment.

The investigation was conducted by special agents from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement, Miami Field Office/Atlanta Resident Office and Washington Field Office. 

The details contained in an indictment are mere allegations.  All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

WASHINGTON – Peyman Amiri Larijani, 33, a citizen of Iran and former resident of Istanbul, Turkey was charged in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in two separate indictments.  The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, Assistant Secretary, Nazak Nikakhtar U.S. Department of Commerce.

            A 34-count indictment returned on April 22, 2015, charges Larijani and a Turkish based company, Kral Havacilik IC VE DIS Ticaret Sirketi (Kral Aviation), with conspiracy to acquire U.S. origin aircraft parts and goods to supply to entities and end-users in Iran, to conceal from United States companies and the U.S. government that the U.S.-origin goods were destined for Iranian aviation business end users, to make financial profit for defendants and other conspirators, and to evade the regulations, prohibitions, and licensing requirements of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR), and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

            “The Department is committed to vigorous enforcement of the sanctions placed on Iran for its oppressive and destabilizing behavior,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers. “The indictment charges the defendant with conspiring to equip an Iranian airline that has been designated for supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, a key instrument of the Iranian regime’s belligerent activity. Sanctions evasion weakens the power of sanctions to change Iran’s behavior and makes us all less safe.”

            “Our export laws are in place to prevent the shipment of goods to hostile countries and to keep items out of the hands of people who intend to harm the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu. “We will aggressively prosecute those who violate or circumvent U.S. sanctions and export control laws to protect the national security of the United States.”

            “The Trump Administration will apply maximum pressure on Iran to end its promotion of instability and terrorism worldwide," said Assistant Secretary Nazak Nikakhtar. “Mahan Air represents a continuing significant threat against United States and its allies. We will use all of the tools at our disposal to bring to justice those who threaten our way of life and violate our laws."

            According to the indictment, beginning around December 2010 through July 2012, Larijani was the Operations Manager for Kral Aviation.  Larijani and his co-conspirators purchased U.S.-origin aircraft parts and accessories from U.S. companies. Larijani and his co-conspirators wired money to banks in the United States as payment for these parts and concealed from U.S. sellers the ultimate end use and end users of the purchased parts.  Larijani and his co-conspirators caused these parts to be exported from the United States to Istanbul, Turkey, before shipping to airlines in Iran including Mahan Air, Sahand Air, and Kish Air.

            Mahan Air has been designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a Specially Designated National (SDN) for providing financial, material and technological support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force.  The Department of Commerce has placed Mahan on its Denied Parties List and Kral Aviation on the Entity List.

            On March 15, 1995, the President, pursuant to IEEPA, issued Executive Order No. 12957, finding that “the actions and policies of the Government of Iran constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States” and declaring “a national emergency to deal with the threat.”  In subsequent Executive Orders, the President imposed economic sanctions, including a trade embargo, on Iran.  The Executive Orders and the ITSR prohibit the exportation, re-exportation, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, to Iran of any goods, technology, or services from the United States or by a United States person without prior authorization or license from the United States department of the Treasury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, located in Washington, D.C.

            A four-count indictment returned on Oct. 6, 2016, charges Larijani along with Mahan Air, Kral Havacilik IC VE DIS Ticaret Sirketi (Kral Aviation), Toufan Amiri Larijani, Javad Rajabi, Mehdi Bahrami, and Ghodratollah Zarei with conspiracy to export U.S. goods to Iran, specifically U.S. origin commercial aircraft engines, and provide services to a Mahan Air, a SDN, and to defraud the United States; and the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Commerce; unlawful exports and attempted exports to embargoed country and provision of services to an SDN; willful violation of denial order; and conspiracy to commit money laundering for purchasing a U.S. origin aircraft engine to supply to Mahan Air in Iran without obtaining an export license.

            According to the indictment, beginning around April 2012 through September 2012, Larijani and his co-conspirators attempted to acquire U.S. origin aircraft engines to supply to Mahan Air in Iran without obtaining a license or other authorization from the United States.  Larijani and his co-conspirators caused the shipment of an aircraft engine from the United States with the express purpose of re-exporting the aircraft engine to Iran. 

            If convicted, Larijani faces a maximum of 20 years imprisonment.

            The investigation was conducted by special agents from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement, Miami Field Office/Atlanta Resident Office and Washington Field Office. 

            The details contained in an indictment are mere allegations.  All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

WASHINGTON – Jose Hernandez, 24, of District Heights, Md., was sentenced today to 13 years in prison followed by five years supervised release for sexually abusing a nine-year-old girl, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Hernandez pled guilty on November 16, 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to a charge of first-degree child sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances.  Following his prison term, Hernandez will be required to register for the rest of his life as a sex offender and complete a five-year term of supervised release. As part of the plea, the government agreed to dismiss a pending gun case. The Honorable Danya A. Dayson sentenced Hernandez today.

            According to the government’s evidence, on June 16, 2017, the victim was at her home in Northwest Washington with her 4-year-old brother. The defendant - the victim’s stepfather’s brother - came to the house. The defendant forced the victim into the bathroom. The victim asked her brother for help, but the defendant closed the door on her brother and sexually assaulted the girl. The victim began pushing the defendant off of her, and he got off of her and went back into the living room. The victim went back into the living room and the defendant kept apologizing to her. The defendant asked the victim if she was going to tell her mother, and said that if she told, the defendant would go to jail and she would never see him again. After initially informing the defendant she was going to call her parents, the victim told the defendant she wouldn’t so the defendant wouldn’t get mad at her. The defendant left the home, and the victim locked the door behind him. The victim then called her mother to report the assault.

            The defendant was arrested in October 2017 and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth and Family Services Division. She also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, the Children’s Advocacy Center, and Children’s National Medical Center. She acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocates Juanita Harris and Tracy Owusu, Paralegal Specialists Brenda Williams, D’Yvonne Key, and T.J. McPhail, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elana Suttenberg and Stuart D. Allen, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Morris Harley, 37, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty to second degree murder on Friday stemming from a road rage incident where he struck and killed a pedestrian following a verbal altercation, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).  

            Harley pled guilty on May 31, 2019, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  The plea calls for a sentence of 15 years in prison. He will be sentenced by the Honorable Juliet McKenna on August 9, 2019.

            According to a proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, the fatal hit and run took place at approximately 1:45 a.m. on Tuesday, February 5, 2019, at the intersection of 4th and T Streets NW. The victim, Daniel Olaya, was walking on the sidewalk of T Street with two others, when Harley, who was driving a Toyota RAV4, drove past and exchanged words with the group.  Nearby surveillance video captured footage of a verbal altercation between Harley and Mr. Olaya after Harley stopped and got out of the idling vehicle on T Street. Harley can be heard threatening Mr. Olaya after Mr. Olaya took a cell phone photograph of the RAV4’s license plate on the video. As Mr. Olaya attempted to walk away, the video shows Harley get into the idling RAV4, and speeding toward Mr. Olaya, and striking him. The video also shows Harley speed away out of the camera’s view after turning onto 4th Street.  MPD detectives later identified the striking vehicle from the photo of the license plate taken by Mr. Olaya.  The vehicle was later located parked nearby at the residence of Harley’s girlfriend, bearing different license plates. 

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of the officers and detectives who investigated the case from both the Major Crash Investigations Unit and the Criminal Investigations Division Homicide Branch of the Metropolitan Police Department.  They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Forensic Examiner John Marsh; Paralegal Specialist Stephanie Siegerist and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcy Rinker. 

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward A. O’Connell, who prosecuted the matter.

WASHINGTON – Santiago Rodriguez Campos, 34, a Mexican national who lived in Alexandria, Va., was sentenced today to 36 months in prison with three years supervised release and must register as a lifetime sex offender for sexually abusing four women, including two in 2016 and two in 2018, in NW, Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Rodriguez Campos pled guilty in November 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to two counts of fourth-degree sexual abuse and two counts of misdemeanor sexual abuse. He was sentenced by the Honorable Juliet McKenna. As part of his sentence, Rodriguez Campos will be required to register for the rest of his life as a sex offender. Additionally, he will be subject to deportation proceedings following his prison term.

            According to the government’s evidence, in the first offense, on Sept. 5, 2016, at about 10:30 p.m., the victim was walking on N Street NW to the 1200 block of Potomac Street NW when she first observed a man, later identified through forensic evidence as Rodriguez Campos. She reported that he was dressed in dark-colored clothing with a hood covering his head and face. The victim initially thought that she was about to be robbed. She began to walk up the steps to her door when Rodriguez Campos approached her from behind. He then reached between the back of her legs and ran his hand between her inner thighs, through her buttocks over her outer garment. The blue-jean pants that the victim was wearing were subsequently tested for DNA. Later DNA testing established that the perpetrator was Rodriguez Campos.

            In the second offense, on Oct. 26, 2016 at approximately 8:15 p.m., the victim was walking to her car, which was parked in the 1600 block of 33rd Street NW. While she was walking, she observed a man, later identified through forensic evidence as Rodriguez Campos, wearing a grey hoodie covering his face. As he walked towards her, the victim stayed by a tree box and let Rodriguez Campos walk past. As soon as he walked past her, she turned her back and he reached under her dress from behind, between her legs, and grabbed her vagina. The victim immediately screamed at the defendant and began yelling for help. She stated she was either pushed or fell to the ground and while doing so, struck Rodriguez Campos with her elbow. He then ran away. The victim later observed what appeared to be lubricant left between her legs by the defendant. This substance was swabbed and recovered as evidence. DNA analysis was done on this evidence sample. Later DNA testing established that the perpetrator was Rodriguez Campos.

            In the third offense, on May 31, 2018, the victim was walking home at approximately 10:10 p.m. when a man, later identified through forensic evidence as Rodriguez Campos, grabbed her neck, put his hand under her skirt, and touched her buttocks, vagina, and thighs. Rodriguez Campos also placed an unknown liquid on her legs. He then fled through the courtyard of a church she was standing in front of, located in the 2400 block of K Street NW. The victim turned over her underwear and skirt to law enforcement as evidence and it was tested for DNA. Later DNA testing established that the perpetrator was Rodriguez Campos.

            In the fourth offense, on June 3, 2018, the victim was walking west in the 1500 block of P Street NW, when she was approached from behind by a man, later identified through forensic evidence as Rodriguez Campos. He reached under her dress and grabbed her left buttock, then reached in between her legs and touched her vagina. The victim felt a sticky substance transfer from Rodriguez Campos’s hand to an area under her dress. The victim’s underwear, dress, and swabs of her inner thighs were submitted for DNA analysis. Later DNA testing established that the perpetrator was Rodriguez Campos.

            The defendant was apprehended on Aug. 9, 2018 and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department, which investigated the case, and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocates Lezlie Richardson and Tracey Hawkins and Paralegal Specialists T.J. McPhail and D’Yvonne Key.

            Finally, she expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stuart D. Allen and Ryan Creighton, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Michael Wells, 48, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty yesterday to a federal firearms charge stemming from his possession of a loaded firearm on March 23, 2018, in the 600 block of Raleigh Place, Southeast, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Wells pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year and one count of possession of phencyclidine (PCP). He will be sentenced on September 11, 2019, by the Honorable Richard J. Leon. Wells faces a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years of incarceration.

            According to the government’s evidence, on March 23, 2018, at approximately 5:00 p.m., MPD was conducting drug enforcement operations in the 600 block of Raleigh Place, Southeast. Officers observed Wells purchase PCP from another individual. Wells, along with others, were stopped by police. In Wells’ left jacket pocket, law enforcement recovered a wet PCP cigarette, and inside of his backpack, they located a RG14 six-cylinder loaded revolver as well as 23 .22 caliber bullets.

            Wells has previously been convicted of a number of felonies, including the same charge—Unlawful Possession of a Firearm—out of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2000. Wells has also been convicted previously of several narcotics trafficking offenses out of D.C. Superior Court.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham, commended the work of the MPD officers who investigated the case. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Rosen.

WASHINGTON – Four individuals were arrested yesterday on federal indictments alleging that they participated in corruption and fraud schemes centered at the District of Columbia’s Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR). 

            Last week, a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned a sealed indictment alleging that Vincent Slater, 41, of Temple Hills, MD, the former supervisor of OTR’s Compliance Administration Adjustment Unit; Anthony Merritt, 44, of Washington, D.C., a former employee of the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA); and Andre de Moya, 46, of Brookeville, MD, a District business owner, conspired to fraudulently reduce the tax liabilities of de Moya’s businesses by paying bribes to Slater. The indictment also alleges that two other District business owners, Chao Charles Zhou, 46, and Arman Amirshahi, 48, both of Maryland, participated in the conspiracy. 

            According to the indictment, Slater brokered bribery agreements with de Moya, Zhou, and Amirshahi through Merritt, whom Slater relied upon to communicate with the business owners and to collect bribe payments. The indictment alleges that Slater used his position at OTR to fraudulently eliminate tax liabilities of businesses owned by de Moya, Zhou, and Amirshahi.  According to the indictment, Slater caused fraudulent tax adjustments to be entered into the computer database used by OTR to manage taxpayer accounts.  These adjustments resulted in the granting of waivers and abatements for which the businesses were ineligible under OTR policies and procedures, as well as the creation of false tax credits that the indictment alleges Slater to have caused to be applied against the businesses’ current liabilities.  The indictment further alleges that Slater settled the tax liabilities of at least one business by creating a fraudulent Offer in Compromise agreement, in which he falsely identified himself as a supervisor in the Collection Division, because he was not authorized to issue such an agreement in his role in the Adjustment Unit.  Finally, the indictment alleges that Slater used his official position and knowledge of District tax laws to take measures to help co-conspirators unlawfully evade taxes without consequence. 

            In a separate indictment, also returned under seal by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia last week, Bobby Tucker, 63, of Suffolk, Virginia, is alleged to have paid bribes to an OTR official in order to reduce the tax liabilities of a business he consulted and to take other actions to benefit Tucker’s business interests as opportunities arose.  The indictment alleges that Tucker agreed to pay an OTR official, who was working as a confidential source, to obtain referrals of city taxpayers with outstanding tax liabilities.  According to the indictment, Tucker would then attempt to broker a bribery agreement whereby he would be paid by a business owner to facilitate a bribe to the OTR official to fraudulently reduce or eliminate tax liabilities. 

            Slater, Merritt, and de Moya were arrested Wednesday in the Metropolitan Area and presented to U.S. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  All three defendants were released on personal recognizance.  They are each charged with one count of Conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; Slater and de Moya are each charged with one count of Bribery, and Merritt is charged with two counts of Bribery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201; and all three defendants are charged with six counts of Money, Property, and Honest Services Wire Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1346. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, who scheduled an initial status conference for De Moya, Merritt, and Slater on May 29, 2019.

            Tucker was arrested on Wednesday in Suffolk, VA, and presented to U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Norfolk Division.  He was released on personal recognizance.  Tucker is charged with one count of Bribery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201.  Tucker’s case is assigned to Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The next court date is May 31.

            The charges in an indictment are merely allegations and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  The statutory maximum penalty for Conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, is five years; for Bribery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201, the statutory maximum penalty is 15 years; and for Money, Property, and Honest Services Wire Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1346, the statutory maximum penalty is 20 years. 

            These cases are being investigated by the FBI's Washinigton Field Office and the District of Columbia Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of Integrity and Oversight.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Miller, Molly Gaston, and Peter Lallas of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section are prosecuting the cases.

WASHINGTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington will host two Senior Awareness Events featuring fitness workshops, exercise classes and public safety seminars on May 23, 2019, and May 28, 2019, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.to recognize Older Americans Month.

            These events will highlight the importance of exercise and lifestyle changes and encourage seniors to be active. Valuable information on fitness, drug prevention, financial fraud, and healthy eating will be provided. Seniors will also have the opportunity to participate in several fitness workshops led by YMCA Fit & Well instructors and safety seminars hosted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            The Administration for Community Living (ACL) was created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2012 around the fundamental principle that older adults and people of all ages with disabilities should be able to live where they choose, with the people they choose, and with the ability to participate fully in their communities. ACL brings together the efforts and achievements of the Administration on Aging (AoA), the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD), and the HHS Office on Disability to serve as the Federal agency responsible for increasing access to community supports, while focusing attention and resources on the unique needs of older Americans and people with disabilities across the lifespan.

            ACL leads our nation’s observance of Older Americans Month every May. This year’s theme, Connect, Create, Contribute, encourages older adults and their communities to connect with friends, family, and services that support participation; create by engaging in activities that promote learning, health, and personal enrichment; and contribute time, talent, and life experience to benefit others. “May is a time for us to celebrate the wonderful contributions given by so many older Washingtonians,” said U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu. “We recognize that older adults play a key role in the vitality of our neighborhoods, networks, and lives and we hope that these types of events encourage them to take advantage of resources and social programs available throughout their communities.”

            The May 23, 2019, event will be at the Hattie Holmes Wellness Center located at 324 Kennedy Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20011. The event on May 28, 2019, will be at the Barry Farms Recreation Center located at 1230 Sumner Road, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20020. There will be a continental breakfast, guest speakers, and giveaways. Both events are free and open to all seniors.

            These events are part of the Office’s wider efforts to combat crimes against seniors. In 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia launched an Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Initiative to expand its response to criminal and civil violations targeting older adults. The initiative has enabled the U.S. Attorney’s Office to further develop and coordinate its prosecution of these cases and enhance its overall support of older victims. The team consists of experienced prosecutors and victim advocates from across the Office, to include the Superior Court, Criminal, and Civil Divisions as well as the Victim Witness Assistance Unit.

WASHINGTON – Steven Wilson, 62, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison for his involvement in a January 5, 2017, armed home invasion at 78 Webster Street NE, Washington, D.C. This sentence followed a jury trial in September of 2018, where Wilson was convicted of several violent crimes, including First Degree Burglary, Kidnapping, Unlawful Entry, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Felony Threats, and Conspiracy to Commit Burglary.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Two additional defendants were previously convicted of crimes related to this home invasion. In December of 2017, a jury convicted Zakiya Ahmed, also known as Lori Fitzgerald, of similar crimes, including Kidnapping While Armed and Obstruction of Justice. The Honorable Judge Danya Dayson sentenced Ahmed to nine years in prison on May 11, 2018. In February of 2018, India Frazier, another co-conspirator, pled guilty to Robbery and First Degree Burglary, and was sentenced by the Honorable Judge Jose Lopez to seven years in prison pursuant to a plea agreement.

            As established at trial, on January 4, 2017, officers with MPD conducted a search warrant on the residence of the victim. The search warrant was based on information provided to police by the victim, who indicated that several persons, including co-defendant Ahmed, were trafficking narcotics out of his residence. The victim explained to police that he wanted Ahmed and her cohorts to leave, but due to the ongoing drug trade and the victim’s addiction, he was unable to get them to leave and turned to police to help him recover his residence.

            Police executed the warrant around 7:00 p.m., arresting several people for narcotics and forced Ahmed out of the apartment. Ahmed was told to leave the victim alone and not to return. Throughout the night of January 4, 2017, into the morning of January 5, 2017, Ahmed continued to text the victim from afar. Specifically, Ahmed demanded her property and became increasingly frustrated by the victim’s unwillingness to comply with her demands. Ahmed repeatedly threatened the victim via text message. Ahmed tried to come up with a plan to get back into the victim’s apartment, finally bringing Wilson and Frazier into the fold. Ahmed contacted Wilson and asked Wilson to bring his “friend,” a comment interpreted to mean a weapon or firearm.

            Around 4:30 a.m., the victim heard knocking on the door to his residence. The victim opened the door, only to be knocked back by an incoming Frazier and Wilson. Wilson forced the victim onto the floor, pistol-whipped him, kicked him, called him several inappropriate names, and threatened his life. During the course of the burglary—as Frazier and another conspirator took Ahmed’s property and more out of the residence—Wilson covered the victim’s face with a sheet or a piece of clothing, making the victim think he might die. Shortly after Wilson, Frazier, and another conspirator broke into the apartment, Ahmed walked in. Ahmed taunted the victim, calling him a snitch. After stealing from the victim, the group quickly left.

            In announcing the verdicts, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Metropolitan Police Department who were involved in the case. U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham expressed special acknowledgement for Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Gregory Rosen and Nicole McClain, who investigated and prosecuted the case and Assistant United States Attorney Eric Hansford, who assisted on appellate issues. They also acknowledged the efforts of Paralegal Specialist Donville Drummond and the entire Victim Witness Program, with specific appreciation of Witness Program Specialist Lesley Slade.

                    WASHINGTON –Four individuals who were arrested and removed from the Embassy of Venezuela yesterday each made their initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today on federal charges stemming from trespassing and interfering with the U.S. Department of State’s protective functions, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

                    An arrest warrant was issued on May 15, 2019, for Kevin Bruce Zeese, 64, Margaret Ann Flowers, 57, Adrienne Pine, 49, and David Vernon Paul, 70, who were located in the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Washington, D.C. The individuals were arrested on a criminal complaint charging them with a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 118, Interference with Protective Functions of the Department of State, for knowingly and willingly obstructing, resisting, or interfering with a Federal law enforcement agent engaged, within the United States, in the performance of the protective functions of the State Department Basic Authorities Act.

According to the complaint:

• On January 23, 2019, President Donald J. Trump officially recognized the President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, as the Interim President of Venezuela.
• On January 23, 2019, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo released an official press statement recognizing Juan Guaidó as the new interim President of Venezuela. The notification stated that Mr. Vecchio has authority to take actions on behalf of Venezuela.
• On January 24, 2019, interim President Juan Guaidó notified the United States Government that Mr. Carlos Alfredo Vecchio was accredited as Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Venezuela in the United States.
• The United States accepted interim President Juan Guaidó’s notification of accreditation of Mr. Carlos Alfredo Vecchio as the Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Government of Venezuela to the United States on January 25, 2019.
• On January 29, 2019, interim President Juan Guaidó sent a letter to President Trump appointing Mr. Carlos Alfredo Vecchio as Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United States of America. 

                    Members of a group called Code Pink, individuals calling themselves the Embassy Protection Collective, and members of a group called the Popular Resistance began occupying the Venezuelan Embassy and the Permanent Mission of Venezuela to the Organization of American States on April 10, 2019.

                    On April 26, 2019, Venezuelan Ambassador Carlos Vecchio sent a diplomatic note to the U.S. Department of State, requesting the support of the Government of the United States for the Venezuelan Embassy’s efforts to take occupancy of the premises of the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, D.C. In the diplomatic note, Ambassador Vecchio requested the assistance of U.S. law enforcement officials in the removal of any person on the premises of the Venezuelan Embassy who is not authorized by the Venezuelan government to be present. 

                    On May 13, 2019, the Diplomatic Security Service read a trespass notice via loudspeaker and posted trespassing notices at the Embassy of Venezuela in Washington, D.C. After the reading, the four defendants remained in the Embassy and refused to vacate the premises. The defendants’ refusals to leave the Embassy interfered with the Department of State’s protective function of maintaining the security of Venezuelan Embassy and the Permanent Mission of Venezuela to the Organization of American States.

                    At today’s hearing before Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey, the defendants were released on various conditions, and the next court date was set for June 12, 2019.

                    The charges in criminal complaints are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The statutory maximum penalty for a charge of Interference with Protective Functions of the Department of State is one year of incarceration. If convicted of any offense, each defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

                    The investigation into this matter was conducted by the Diplomatic Security Service in cooperation with other law enforcement partners including the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division.

                    The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Danielle Rosborough.

WASHINGTON – Darnell Catlett, 46, of Upper Marlboro, pled guilty yesterday to trafficking in crack and powder cocaine as part of a nearly year-long narcotics conspiracy in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            Catlett pled guilty before the Honorable Richard J. Leon in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base and a detectable amount of cocaine. The charge requires a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years of incarceration and up to life imprisonment. Catlett’s sentencing guidelines range calls for a sentence of 168 months to 210 months of incarceration. Judge Leon scheduled Catlett’s sentencing for August 9, 2019.

            Catlett was arrested on the morning of March 15, 2018 and his residence was searched pursuant to a search warrant. At Catlett’s residence, the FBI recovered a loaded firearm, $70,813 in U.S. currency, a black and white money counter, and multiple plastic bags with drug residue. Inside his BMW parked in the garage, Catlett had 234 grams of packaged crack stored in the vehicle. As part of his plea agreement, Catlett accepted responsibility for a firearm possessed in his Maryland residence at the time of his arrest and that he was a leader of the conspiracy.

            Five others have pled guilty to charges in the case. They include Everette Reel, 46, of Upper Marlboro, MD; Jamal Curtis, 41, of Washington, D.C., Derek Holmes, 54, of Washington, D.C., Russell Harrison, 40, of Temple Hills, MD., and Brian Jenkins, 44, of Brentwood, MD. Reel, Curtis, and Holmes are now serving sentences. Coconspirators Russell Harrison and Brian Jenkins still face sentencing. Harrison faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years of incarceration and up to life imprisonment for his possession of multiple firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking as part of the conspiracy. Jenkins faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years of incarceration and up to forty years imprisonment for his distribution of cocaine and crack as part of the conspiracy.

            This case is part of an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF specializes in the investigation and prosecution of drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and related criminal enterprises.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu and Assistant Director in Charge McNamara, commended the work of those who investigated the case. They cited the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Paralegal Specialists Candace Battle and Teesha Tobias, Legal Assistant Emma Atlas, and Christopher Macchiaroli and Kevin Rosenberg of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Section, who conducted the underlying investigation, indicted the case, and prosecuted the defendants.

WASHINGTON – The Community Prosecution Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will host a Town Hall Panel Discussion, “Clergy Can Combat Childhood Trauma,” at the Hughes Memorial United Methodist Church in Northeast, Washington, D.C. on May 16, 2019, at 6:30 p.m.

            The faith-based community plays an essential role in educating, motivating and mobilizing the community. Over the past year, there has been a sharp increase in homicides throughout the District of Columbia. This town hall discussion seeks to provide faith-based organizations and the community at large with a deeper understanding of the impact of childhood trauma, particularly violent trauma, and provide them with resources and tools to combat childhood trauma through programming, counseling services, and changing the way they interact with traumatized youth and adults. “These discussions help us understand how children and adolescents cope with trauma and the psychological stress associated with extended periods of feeling at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu. “If we can stop young people’s exposure to violence early, we can stop its impact from spreading through the community.”

            The panel will consist of grassroots practitioners, educators and mental health professionals who have experience addressing or combatting the effects of childhood trauma and/or working with clergy members to address mental health issues in the community.

            Organizers encourage both the faith-based organization, city leaders, and the community as a whole to participate in the discussion. For more information or to RSVP for the program, please contact Monica Veney, 5th District Community Outreach Specialist, [email protected], (202)-698-0145.

Informatica LLC f/k/a Informatica Corporation has agreed to pay $21.57 million to resolve allegations that it caused the government to be overcharged by providing misleading information about its commercial sales practices that was used in General Services Administration (“GSA”) contract negotiations, the Justice Department announced today.  Informatica is a software development company, headquartered in Redwood City, California that sells tools for establishing and maintaining data warehouses.

“Companies that negotiate contracts with the government must make complete and accurate disclosures,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division.  “We will continue to hold accountable those who harm taxpayers by withholding critical information from contracting agencies.”

Informatica allegedly knowingly provided false information concerning its commercial discounting practices for its products and services to resellers, who then used that false information in negotiations with GSA for government-wide contracts called “Multiple Award Schedule contracts.”   Under these contracts, GSA uses commercial pricing disclosures to negotiate the maximum prices that a vendor can charge government agencies.  Here, Informatica’s allegedly false disclosures caused GSA to agree to less favorable pricing, and, ultimately, government purchasers to be overcharged.  The settlement also resolves allegations that Informatica caused sales to the United States in violation of the Trade Agreement’s Act, which restricts the country of origin for goods purchased by the government.

“Companies seeking to participate directly or indirectly in government contracts must adhere to applicable rules designed to promote the United States’ objective of prudently expending taxpayer funds by negotiating fair and reasonable pricing for the goods and services it purchases,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu.  “We will pursue recoveries from those that fail to live up to these obligations.” 

“This settlement demonstrates our commitment to ensure taxpayers are not overpaying for the products and services they receive.”  Carol Fortine Ochoa, Inspector General of the U.S. General Services Administration.

The allegations resolved by this settlement arose from a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act.  The act permits private citizens to sue on behalf of the government and share in any recovery.  The whistleblower, who is a former employee of Informatica, will receive $4,314,000.

This case was handled by the Justice Department’s Civil Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance from GSA’s Office of Inspector General.  The case is captioned United States ex rel. Sullivan v. Informatica Corp., Case No. 15-0716 (D.D.C.). 

The claims resolved by the United States are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. 

WASHINGTON – Ashley Furst, 35, of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for her role in an embezzlement scheme in which she stole over $545,000 from a non-profit organization in the District of Columbia.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            Furst pled guilty in January 2019, to one count of wire fraud charge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was sentenced by the Honorable Dabney L. Friedrich. In addition to her prison term, Furst must pay restitution in the amount of $244,994.87, as well as a forfeiture money judgement in the same amount. Following her prison term, she will be placed on three years of supervised release, during which she must complete 100 hours of community service.

            Furst was hired in 2011 as the office administrator for the American Horse Council; a Washington, D.C. based non-profit trade association. She was later promoted to the position of Director of Communications. While employed by the non-profit, Furst’s responsibilities included public outreach, membership recruitment, and communications. She also handled duties typically performed by an office administrator, such as maintaining accounting records, reconciling the monthly bank account statements, transferring on-line donations from the PayPal account to their bank account, providing copies of the bank statements to the members of the Board of Directors, and serving as the sole point of contact for the outside auditors.

            Starting in 2012 and continuing through June 2018, Furst stole money from the non-profit in a variety of ways. First, she paid her own personal credit card bills from her employer’s bank account, primarily through on-line debits from the bank account to satisfy her credit card balance, for approximately $415,202.52. Second, she wrote herself unauthorized checks drawn on her employer’s bank account, typically listing on the memo line a bogus reason for the check, for approximately $83,656.40. Third, she repaid her personal loan from her employer’s funds, for approximately $56,411.43. Fourth, although Furst was responsible for transferring donations from her employer’s PayPal account, she misdirected approximately $60,949.49 to her own account or to pay for personal items. Fifth, Furst increased her salary without authorization, by approximately $29,875.03. Through these five methods, Furst embezzled approximately $646,094. However, before the victim discovered the crime, Furst returned $100,500 to her employer, leaving a total embezzlement of $545,594.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Assistant Director in Charge McNamara commended the work performed by those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Amanda Rohde and Assistant U.S. Attorney Virginia Cheatham, who prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Derryck Decuir, 26, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty yesterday of murder and other charges stemming from the June 2015 slaying of Ballou High School student Malek Mercer, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            On May 2, 2019, Decuir was found guilty following a jury trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia of Second Degree Murder while Armed with an enhancement for committing a crime against a minor, and related firearms offenses. Decuir, who will be sentenced by the Honorable Craig Iscoe on July 23, 2019, faces a maximum sentence of sixty years in prison.

            According to the government’s evidence, on June 16, 2015, at approximately 12:20 a.m., Decuir and Mr. Mercer, who did not know one another, found themselves at the same bus stop at L’Enfant Square. One of Decuir’s friends teased Decuir for looking at and commenting on Mr. Mercer’s belt, and Mr. Mercer snickered at Decuir. After riding the bus together for about 10 minutes, Decuir followed Mr. Mercer off the bus and, without saying anything, shot him once in the back of the neck. Decuir then fled from the area. MPD officers responding to a 911 call, found Mr. Mercer lying in the grass on the corner of 28th Street and Naylor Road, SE. Mr. Mercer suffered a gunshot wound to the neck and was bleeding profusely. He was transported to Washington Hospital Center, where he died on June 19, 2015.  Decuir was arrested pursuant to a warrant on that same day and has been held in custody ever since.

            This was the third trial, following two mistrials after prior juries could not reach a decision on the murder count. At the first trial in 2017, Decuir was convicted of being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Obstruction of Justice. The obstruction charge was based on Decuir making phone calls from the jail to ask his friend to relocate the murder weapon out of his backyard so that the police would not find it. Despite those efforts, MPD officers located the murder weapon about a year later, and analysts with the D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences linked that weapon to the shooting of Mr. Mercer.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Metro Transit Police Department, the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the District of Columbia Department of Corrections. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Misler and Nicholas Coleman; Supervisory Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington; Victim/Witness Services Coordinator La June Thames; Victim/Witness Program Specialist Lesley Slade; Supervisory Security Specialist Laverne Perry; Contract Specialist Sallie Rynas; Administrative Services Specialist Karen Lee-Putt; Supervisory Paralegal Sharon Newman; Paralegals Kelly Blakeney and Debra Joyner; Criminal Investigators Durrand Odom and Melissa Matthews; Victim Advocate Marcia Rinker; Supervisory IT Specialist Leif Hickling; and Investigative Analyst Zach McMenamin.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Nestler and Anwar Graves, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Arnold Boon, 33, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today by Judge Paul L. Friedman, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to over seven years in prison and three years of supervised release resulting from his guilty plea to federal charges stemming from a robbery in which he and at least two others drove a stolen pick-up truck through the front of a Northwest Washington convenience store and hauled off an ATM machine containing at least $130,000.  As part of the sentence, Boon was also ordered to pay over $150,000.00 in restitution to the owner of the money stolen and the owner of the building where the store is located.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            On April 22, 2019, Boon pled guilty before Judge Friedman to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of interference with interstate commerce by robbery. 

            According to the government’s evidence, on January 19, 2018, at approximately 1:30 a.m., a stolen Ford pickup truck smashed through the front of a 7-Eleven convenience store in the 200 block of Cedar Street NW. The truck was being driven by an unidentified male wearing dark clothing and a mask. Surveillance video captured two other masked men, one later identified as Boon through DNA evidence, entering the convenience store and lifting the store’s ATM machine onto the bed of the truck. While Boon and the other suspects attempted to lift the ATM machine, video from the store captured a gold watch worn by Boon fall to the ground.  

            A store clerk and at least one customer were inside the store at the time of the robbery. After struggling for several minutes to lift the ATM onto the truck, the men successfully loaded it onto the truck’s bed and Boon climbed onto the bed of the truck while the other two suspects entered the cab of the vehicle and fled the area.  Boon and the other suspects fled with more than $130,000 in cash that was inside the ATM.  

            The stolen vehicle was found idling a short distance from the location of the 7-Eleven with no occupants or the ATM machine. The next morning, the stolen ATM machine was recovered by police in a wooded area in Washington, D.C., with all the currency removed.  

            Police also recovered the gold watch at the crime scene, and DNA obtained from the watch eventually was matched to Boon. At the time of his arrest on March 17, 2018, Boon was in possession of a loaded semi-automatic pistol, which was recovered from the dresser drawer in his bedroom. Boon has been in custody since his arrest. At the time of the crime, he was barred from possessing a gun because of prior convictions on assault and other charges. 

            This matter was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office's Violent Crime Safe Streets Task Force which is composed of FBI Agents and task force officers from MPD and the United States Capital Police. The task force works cooperatively and in partnership with the Capital Region law enforcement community in investigating violent crimes and criminal threats within the region. 

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge DeSarno, and Chief Newsham commended the work of the FBI agents and MPD officers who investigated the case. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven B. Wasserman and Ethan Carroll, and Paralegal Specialist Rommel Pachoca.

 

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A former attorney who perpetrated a multimillion-dollar investment fraud scheme, was convicted today by a jury in the District of Columbia, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia.

Brynee Baylor was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and five counts of first-degree fraud under District of Columbia law.

According to court documents and the evidence presented at trial, Baylor, a former partner in the D.C. law firm of Baylor & Jackson PLLC, conspired with a Pennsylvania man and his company, known as the Milan Group, to recruit investors to a purported trading program. Investors were promised extremely large profits in a short time with little or no risk. 

The evidence presented at trial showed that in 2010 and 2011, Baylor caused more than $2 million of investor funds to pass through the Baylor & Jackson lawyer trust account. More than half of the investor funds were used for the benefit of Baylor, the Pennsylvania man, the Milan Group, and Baylor & Jackson. Baylor falsely assured investors that the purported trading program was legitimate and had little if any risk. Baylor also falsely told investors that she had personally observed investors successfully complete transactions with the Milan Group. In reality, the Milan Group did not complete any such transactions and did not return any of the investors’ money.

In 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Baylor and others for fraud in connection with the purported trading program. 

Sentencing is not yet scheduled. Baylor faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy count, 20 years in prison for the securities fraud count, and 10 years in prison for each of the first-degree fraud counts. Baylor will also face a term of supervised release and monetary penalties.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Liu thanked the SEC for its invaluable assistance and commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Jeffrey McLellan and Eric Powers of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.

WASHINGTON – Paul Bernard Jones, 59, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 70 months’ imprisonment on a federal bank robbery charge for a hold-up last summer in downtown Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Jones pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on January 28, 2019. The plea, which the Court approved, called for an agreed-upon prison sentence of 70 to 87 months, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The Honorable Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Jones to 70 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. As part of Jones’s sentence, he was ordered to forfeit $1,433 of U.S. Currency found on his person after the bank robbery, and pay back the bank $17 in restitution. Finally, Judge Berman Jackson ordered Jones to undergo anger management treatment, substance abuse treatment, and a variety of other conditions upon his release.

            According to plea documents, on June 11, 2018, at approximately 9:10 a.m., Jones entered a TD Bank branch in the 1700 block of Connecticut Avenue NW. He walked up to a teller, took a wadded-up piece of paper, and tossed it at her. He then stated “give me everything, give me hundreds, fifties, and twenties only and don’t push anything. I have something on me.” The wadded-up piece of paper also demanded money and contained a threat. The teller provided Jones with $1,450 in cash and he fled the bank.

            Within minutes, the Metropolitan Police Department and FBI responded to the bank. An MPD officer observed Jones at the intersection of 14th and R Streets NW, a few blocks from the bank. He tried to run, but was immediately apprehended. Law enforcement located $1,433 in cash in a search of the defendant. Jones has been in custody since his arrest.

            The prosecution grew out of the efforts of the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu, Assistant Director in Charge McNamara, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Catherine O’Neal and Legal Assistant Emma Atlas of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Rosen of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, who prosecuted the matter.

WASHINGTON – Gene James, 29, of Calvert County, MD, has been sentenced to over seventeen years in jail stemming from his involvement in a shooting and armed carjacking of an Uber driver that occurred on November 19, 2016, in Southeast, Washington, DC, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

           Following a trial in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia, on February 13, 2019, a jury returned a verdict of guilty on ten counts including Armed Carjacking and weapons-related offenses. On April 26, 2019, the Honorable Michael O’Keefe sentenced the defendant to 206 months’ incarceration, to be followed by a five-year term of supervised release.

           The government’s evidence established that on November 19, 2016, the victim, who was employed as an Uber driver, was standing beside his running vehicle at the corner of 16th and W Streets SE. James and his two co-defendants, Jameik Bassil and Travonn Davis, drove up to the intersection and James jumped out with an assault rifle and a drum magazine, threatening the victim. As the victim and James struggled over the gun, it went off multiple times, striking the victim in the leg. The two co-defendants ran over to help James and then all three fled the scene with the defendant driving the victim’s car. MPD officers located the victim’s car several blocks away and stopped James a block from the car. James’s fingerprint was found in the victim’s car, and the drum magazine was recovered near his location.

           MPD officers arrested James that night and he has been in custody ever since. Co-defendants Bassil and Davis were arrested after further investigation, including an analysis of GPS tracking data. They both pled guilty to Armed Robbery and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and were sentenced in 2017 to 76 months and 96 months’ incarceration respectively.

           In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of the MPD officers who immediately responded to the scene and followed a trail of evidence that led to the defendant’s arrest on the same night of the offense. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jack Korba, Brittany Keil, and Julia Cosans, with assistance from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff, as well as paralegals Antoinette Sakamsa and Daphne Theresa Nelson who helped prepare the case for trial.

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WASHINGTON – Mariia Butina, a Russian national, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison after earlier pleading guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government.

            The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu, and Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            Butina, 30, a Russian citizen who had been residing in Washington D.C., pled guilty on Dec. 13, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  She was sentenced by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan.  Following her incarceration, she is to be deported to Russia.

            According to the government’s evidence, from approximately 2015 to 2017, Butina acted as an agent of a Russian government official.  Under his direction, she provided key information about Americans who were in a position to influence United States politics and took steps to establish an unofficial line of communication between Russia and these Americans.  As described in the plea documents, Butina sought to do so for the benefit of the Russian Federation. She took these actions without providing the required notifications to the Attorney General that she was in fact acting as an agent of the Russian Federation.

            Butina was arrested on July 15, 2018, in Washington, D.C., and has been in custody ever since.  Butina will get credit for the time she already has served.  The court also granted a government motion that led to a reduced sentence in the case.

            The investigation into this matter was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erik M. Kenerson, Thomas N. Saunders, and Jolie Zimmerman of the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney William A. Mackie of the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Mariia Butina, a Russian national, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison after earlier pleading guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu, and Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

Butina, 30, a Russian citizen who had been residing in Washington D.C., pled guilty on Dec. 13, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  She was sentenced by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan.  Following her incarceration, she is to be deported to Russia.

According to the government’s evidence, from approximately 2015 to 2017, Butina acted as an agent of a Russian government official.  Under his direction, she provided key information about Americans who were in a position to influence United States politics and took steps to establish an unofficial line of communication between Russia and these Americans.  As described in the plea documents, Butina sought to do so for the benefit of the Russian Federation. She took these actions without providing the required notifications to the Attorney General that she was in fact acting as an agent of the Russian Federation.

Butina was arrested on July 15, 2018, in Washington, D.C., and has been in custody ever since.  Butina will get credit for the time she already has served.  The court also granted a government motion that led to a reduced sentence in the case.

The investigation into this matter was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erik M. Kenerson, Thomas N. Saunders, and Jolie Zimmerman of the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney William A. Mackie of the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

WASHINGTON – Isaiah Green, 28, of Washington D.C., has been sentenced to a 50-month prison term for his role in a gun trafficking scheme in the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Green pled guilty in November 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of interstate travel in connection with engaging in the business of illegally dealing in firearms. He was sentenced on April 24, 2019, by the Honorable Amit P. Mehta. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            The guilty plea followed an investigation by ATF, MPD, and the Virginia State Police into Green’s role in the purchase of significant quantities of firearms during the summer of 2018. Green and another individual were arrested on July 27, 2018, in the District of Columbia after allegedly purchasing four firearms at the Dulles Gun Show in Chantilly, Virginia. An additional five firearms, all with obliterated serial numbers, were recovered by law enforcement from an apartment in the District of Columbia where Green was living at the time.   

            According to the government’s evidence, beginning in or around June 27, 2018, Green and the other individual began accepting orders for firearms purchases from people residing within the District of Columbia. To fulfill the orders, the two traveled to various gun stores and pawn shops throughout Virginia. The other individual would fill out ATF forms and falsely assert that she was the intended owner of the firearm. Green could not purchase the firearms himself because he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms due to a prior domestic violence conviction.    

            After purchasing the firearms, the two traveled back to an apartment in Southeast Washington, where Green used a sanding tool to remove the serial numbers from the firearms so that the firearms could not be traced back to them after they were sold. The two would then illegally sell the firearms for a profit within the District of Columbia.

            As part of the plea agreement, Green admitted that he and his co-defendant purchased 31 firearms for illegal resale in a one-month time period in 2018.  

            In a related development, a third person pled guilty on April 24, 2019, for purchasing firearms from Green and his co-defendant. Juan Jones, 41, of District Heights, Md., pled guilty to conspiring to violate federal laws connected to his involvement in requesting straw purchased firearms with obliterated serial numbers. Jones is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior felony conviction for a gun crime and he is currently on parole for this offense.  Jones is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Mehta on July 24, 2019. His plea, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for an agreed-upon sentence of three years in prison.

            This case is being investigated by the ATF and MPD with the assistance of the Virginia State Police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin L. Rosenberg of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Candace Marie Claiborne, a former employee of the U.S. Department of State, pleaded guilty today to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States, by lying to law enforcement and background investigators, and hiding her extensive contacts with, and gifts from, agents of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), in exchange for providing them with internal documents from the U.S. State Department. 

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu of the District of Columbia, Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Deputy Assistant Secretary Ricardo Colón, Domestic Operations, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.

The plea took place before the Honorable Randolph D. Moss of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. 

“Candace Marie Claiborne traded her integrity and non-public information of the United States government in exchange for cash and other gifts from foreign agents she knew worked for the Chinese intelligence service,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “She withheld information and lied repeatedly about these contacts.  Violations of the public’s trust are an affront to our citizens and to all those who honor their oaths.  With this guilty plea we are one step closer to imposing justice for these dishonorable criminal acts.” 

“Candace Claiborne broke the public trust when she accepted gifts and money from foreign officials, and then lied about it to State Department background investigators,” said U.S. Attorney Liu. “The United States will continue to seek to hold accountable those who abuse their positions of trust.” 

“Candace Claiborne was entrusted with Top Secret information when she purposefully misled federal investigators about her repeated interactions with foreign contacts which violated her oath of office as a State Department employee,” said Assistant Director McNamara.  “The FBI will continue to investigate individuals who fail to report foreign contacts, which is a key indicator of potential insider threats posed by those in positions of public trust.”

“Our close working relationship with the FBI and the Department of Justice resulted in the conviction of Candace Claiborne who violated the public trust and damaged our national security,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Colón.  “Diplomatic Security will continue working with our law enforcement partners to vigorously defend the interests and security of the United States of America.”

According to the plea documents, Claiborne, 63, began working as an Office Management Specialist for the Department of State in 1999.  She served overseas at a number of posts, including embassies and consulates in Baghdad, Iraq, Khartoum, Sudan, and Beijing and Shanghai, China.  As a condition of her employment, Claiborne maintained a TOP SECRET security clearance.  Claiborne also was required to report any contacts with persons suspected of affiliation with a foreign intelligence agency as well as any gifts she received from foreign sources over a certain amount.

Despite such a requirement, Claiborne failed to report repeated contacts with two agents of the People’s Republic of China Intelligence Service, even though these agents provided tens of thousands of dollars in gifts and benefits to Claiborne and her family over five years.  The gifts and benefits included cash wired to Claiborne’s USAA account, Chinese New Year’s gifts, international travel and vacations, tuition at a Chinese fashion school, a fully furnished apartment, a monthly stipend and numerous cash payments.  Some of these gifts and benefits were provided directly to Claiborne, while others were provided to a close family member of Claiborne’s.

In exchange for these gifts and benefits, as stated in the plea documents, Claiborne provided copies of internal documents from the State Department on topics ranging from U.S. economic strategies to visits by dignitaries between the two countries. 

Claiborne noted in her journal that she could “Generate 20k in 1 year” working with one of the PRC agents.  That same agent at one point tasked her with providing internal U.S. Government analyses on a U.S.-Sino Strategic Economic Dialogue that had just concluded.

Claiborne, who confided to a co-conspirator that the PRC agents were “spies,” willfully misled State Department background investigators and FBI investigators about her contacts with those agents, the plea documents state.  After the State Department and FBI investigators contacted her, Claiborne also instructed her co-conspirators to delete evidence connecting her to the PRC agents.  She was arrested on March 28, 2017, following a law enforcement investigation.

Judge Moss scheduled sentencing for July 9, 2019.  Claiborne, of Washington, D.C., was ordered detained pending sentencing, but will self-surrender for said detention on June 5, 2019.  The statutory maximum penalty for a person convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States is five years in prison.  The maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes.  The sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court after considering the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI’s Washington Field Office is leading the investigation into this matter.  The case was prosecuted by Thomas A. Gillice and investigated by John L. Hill, both Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Deputy Chief Julie A. Edelstein and Trial Attorney Evan N. Turgeon of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

WASHINGTON – Candace Marie Claiborne, a former employee of the U.S. Department of State, pleaded guilty today to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States, by lying to law enforcement and background investigators, and hiding her extensive contacts with, and gifts from, agents of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), in exchange for providing them with internal documents from the U.S. State Department. 

            The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu of the District of Columbia, Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Deputy Assistant Secretary Ricardo Colón, Domestic Operations, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.

            The plea took place before the Honorable Randolph D. Moss of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. 

            “Candace Marie Claiborne traded her integrity and non-public information of the United States government in exchange for cash and other gifts from foreign agents she knew worked for the Chinese intelligence service,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “She withheld information and lied repeatedly about these contacts.  Violations of the public’s trust are an affront to our citizens and to all those who honor their oaths.  With this guilty plea we are one step closer to imposing justice for these dishonorable criminal acts.” 

            “Candace Claiborne broke the public trust when she accepted gifts and money from foreign officials, and then lied about it to State Department background investigators,” said U.S. Attorney Liu. “The United States will continue to seek to hold accountable those who abuse their positions of trust.” 

            “Candace Claiborne was entrusted with Top Secret information when she purposefully misled federal investigators about her repeated interactions with foreign contacts which violated her oath of office as a State Department employee,” said Assistant Director McNamara.  “The FBI will continue to investigate individuals who fail to report foreign contacts, which is a key indicator of potential insider threats posed by those in positions of public trust.”

            “Our close working relationship with the FBI and the Department of Justice resulted in the conviction of Candace Claiborne who violated the public trust and damaged our national security,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Colón.  “Diplomatic Security will continue working with our law enforcement partners to vigorously defend the interests and security of the United States of America.”

            According to the plea documents, Claiborne, 63, began working as an Office Management Specialist for the Department of State in 1999.  She served overseas at a number of posts, including embassies and consulates in Baghdad, Iraq, Khartoum, Sudan, and Beijing and Shanghai, China.  As a condition of her employment, Claiborne maintained a TOP SECRET security clearance.  Claiborne also was required to report any contacts with persons suspected of affiliation with a foreign intelligence agency as well as any gifts she received from foreign sources over a certain amount.

            Despite such a requirement, Claiborne failed to report repeated contacts with two agents of the People’s Republic of China Intelligence Service, even though these agents provided tens of thousands of dollars in gifts and benefits to Claiborne and her family over five years.  The gifts and benefits included cash wired to Claiborne’s USAA account, Chinese New Year’s gifts, international travel and vacations, tuition at a Chinese fashion school, a fully furnished apartment, a monthly stipend and numerous cash payments.  Some of these gifts and benefits were provided directly to Claiborne, while others were provided to a close family member of Claiborne’s.

            In exchange for these gifts and benefits, as stated in the plea documents, Claiborne provided copies of internal documents from the State Department on topics ranging from U.S. economic strategies to visits by dignitaries between the two countries. 

            Claiborne noted in her journal that she could “Generate 20k in 1 year” working with one of the PRC agents.  That same agent at one point tasked her with providing internal U.S. Government analyses on a U.S.-Sino Strategic Economic Dialogue that had just concluded.

            Claiborne, who confided to a co-conspirator that the PRC agents were “spies,” willfully misled State Department background investigators and FBI investigators about her contacts with those agents, the plea documents state.  After the State Department and FBI investigators contacted her, Claiborne also instructed her co-conspirators to delete evidence connecting her to the PRC agents.  She was arrested on March 28, 2017, following a law enforcement investigation.

            Judge Moss scheduled sentencing for July 9, 2019.  Claiborne, of Washington, D.C., was ordered detained pending sentencing, but will self-surrender for said detention on June 5, 2019.  The statutory maximum penalty for a person convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States is five years in prison.  The maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes.  The sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court after considering the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            The FBI’s Washington Field Office is leading the investigation into this matter.  The case was prosecuted by Thomas A. Gillice and investigated by John L. Hill, both Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Deputy Chief Julie A. Edelstein and Trial Attorney Evan N. Turgeon of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

WASHINGTON – Jarvell Kent, 21, and Olona Roba, 20, of Washington, D.C., have been sentenced to 10-year prison terms on federal charges stemming from their involvement in a total of four armed robberies that were committed in three quadrants of the District of Columbia.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Kent and Roba pled guilty in January 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to one count of using, carrying, possessing, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and two counts of interference with interstate commerce by robbery, for four separate incidents. They were sentenced on April 23, 2019, by the Honorable Randolph D. Moss. Following their prison terms, they will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            The government’s evidence established that Kent and Roba robbed two 7-Eleven convenience stores at gunpoint, while wearing masks.  During both armed robberies, one of the weapons used was a large black sub‑machine gun style firearm with an extended magazine. The first robbery took place on May 5, 2017, at approximately 11:40 p.m., at a store in the 3200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE. The second was on May 11, 2017, at approximately 1 a.m., at a store in the 4400 block of Benning Road NE.

            In addition to the armed robberies that the defendants jointly committed, each defendant admitted involvement in additional armed robberies.  Kent pled guilty to a May 15, 2017, armed robbery of another 7-Eleven located in the 900 block of 17th Street NW, and Roba pled guilty to a March 4, 2017, armed robbery of a carryout driver in the 5800 block of Southern Avenue SE, a crime in which shots were fired at the carryout driver as he fled from the scene.

            Kent and Roba were arrested in May 2017 and have been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Liu, Assistant Director in Charge McNamara, and Chief Newsham commended the work of the FBI Agents and MPD officers who linked together investigations that spanned three quadrants of the District of Columbia and arrested Kent and Roba.  They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittany Keil, Laura Crane, and William Schurmann, with assistance from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff, Paralegal Specialists Rommel Pachoca and Antoinette Sakamsa, and Legal Assistant Peter Gaboton.

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