District of Columbia

On August 15, Judge Thomas F. Hogan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia entered an order that revoked the naturalized U.S. citizenship of a convicted war criminal. The court held that defendant Edin Dzeko, a native of the former Yugoslavia, procured his U.S. citizenship illegally and by concealment of material facts and willful misrepresentation. The court’s order was based, in part, on Dzeko’s admission that he misrepresented and concealed his military service on immigration forms and lied while under oath at his naturalization interview.

“War criminals are not entitled to safe haven in the United States, and we will not allow individuals who commit such atrocities to take advantage of our immigration system,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler. “This case sends the message that the Department will remain resolute in our commitment to prosecute those who seek to gain, or have gained, U.S. citizenship unlawfully.”

“This case demonstrates that the United States will protect the integrity of its refugee programs,” said U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to target war criminals who attempt to abuse the process to gain entry into our country.”

Dzeko, 46, was part of an elite unit of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina that attacked the village of Trusina in April 1993, in what is known as the Trusina massacre. The unit allegedly targeted Bosnian Croats who resided in the village because of their Christian religion and Croat ethnicity, killing 22 unarmed individuals including women and the elderly. A Bosnian court previously found that Dzeko played a key role in the massacre, serving as part of a firing squad that executed six unarmed prisoners of war and civilians. Dzeko was admitted to the United States as a refugee before naturalizing in 2006.

In June 2014, Dzeko was convicted in a Bosnian court of war crimes against prisoners of war and war crimes against civilians, and held responsible for eight killings, including the six described above. Dzeko is still serving his 13-year prison sentence in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  The Justice Department is also pursuing the denaturalization of Sammy Rasema Yetisen, aka Rasema Handanovic, one of Dzeko’s fellow soldiers and another perpetrator of the Trusina massacre.

“Those who commit such acts of inhumanity and abuse may not use lies and deceit to fraudulently call this country home,” said Brad Bench, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle. “Today’s announcement marks the necessary carriage of justice, and I am proud of the professional investigators who upheld the law and order that defines our nation.”

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations Human Rights Violator and War Crimes Unit and the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation, District Court Section (OIL-DCS) National Security and Affirmative Litigation Unit (NS/A Unit), with consultation and support from ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) Human Rights Law Section and Seattle Office of the Chief Counsel, and the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section. 

The case was jointly prosecuted by Deputy Chief Timothy Belsan and Senior Counsel for National Security Aram Gavoor of OIL-DCS’s NS/A Unit and Trial Attorney Steven Platt of OIL-DCS, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Wynne Kelly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Members of the public who have information about foreign nationals or naturalized U.S. citizens suspected of engaging in human rights abuses or war crimes are encouraged to call the ICE tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or to complete its online tip form; or the Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section at 1-202-616-2492.  Callers may remain anonymous.

Ghobad Ghasempour, 38, a Canadian national, was sentenced on Aug. 20, in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 42 months in prison for conspiracy to unlawfully export U.S. goods to Iran.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia and U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes for the Western District of Washington made the announcement. 

“This sentencing exemplifies the outstanding investigative work by HSI special agents in conjunction with other law enforcement and government partners locally and abroad,” said HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Dave Shaw. “The illegal export of U.S.-origin items to prohibited countries is harmful to U.S. national security and will not be tolerated. HSI will continue to aggressively pursue those that seek to violate these laws and jeopardize our nation’s safety.”

Ghasempour was arrested on March 28, 2017 as he entered the United States at Blaine, Washington.  An investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego, California, revealed that Ghasempour had used front companies in China and co-conspirators in Iran, Turkey and Portugal to illegally export restricted technology products to Iran.

At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart noted that Ghasempour was solely motivated by greed and money, and that the unlawful export of goods and technology was to the “the Department of Defense for Iran -- the very group that would be the most harmful to the United States.”

According to records filed in the case, between 2011 and 2017, Ghasempour and his co-conspirators illegally exported and attempted to export goods and technology to Iran that have both military and non-military uses.  Ghasempour exported a thin film measurement system, manufactured by a California company, that is essentially a microscopic tape measure for liquid coatings and parts that are used in cell phones and missiles; he attempted to export an inertial guidance system test table, manufactured by a North Dakota company, used to test the accuracy of gyroscopes that assist in flying commercial and military airplanes; and the conspirators exported two types of thermal imaging cameras, manufactured by an Oregon company, that can be used in commercial security systems and military drones.  Some of the items Ghasempour sought to export were intercepted by law enforcement.  The conspirators falsified shipping documents and lied to U.S. manufacturers by claiming that the restricted items were being shipped to customers in Turkey and Portugal, knowing that the true destination of these goods was Iran. The Iranian customers paid the Chinese front companies owned by Ghasempour and a co-conspirator.

Ghasempour pleaded guilty in April 2018.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.  The criminal case was originally filed in the District of Columbia in Washington D.C., but was resolved in the Western District of Washington.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederick Yette for the District of Columbia, Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie Dalton for the Western District of Washington, and Trial Attorney Amy Larson, of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

WASHINGTON – Ghobad Ghasempour, 38, a Canadian national, was sentenced on Aug. 20, in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 42 months in prison for conspiracy to unlawfully export U.S. goods to Iran.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia and U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes for the Western District of Washington made the announcement. 

“This sentencing exemplifies the outstanding investigative work by HSI special agents in conjunction with other law enforcement and government partners locally and abroad,” said HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Dave Shaw. “The illegal export of U.S.-origin items to prohibited countries is harmful to U.S. national security and will not be tolerated. HSI will continue to aggressively pursue those that seek to violate these laws and jeopardize our nation’s safety.”

Ghasempour was arrested on March 28, 2017 as he entered the United States at Blaine, Washington.  An investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego, California, revealed that Ghasempour had used front companies in China and co-conspirators in Iran, Turkey and Portugal to illegally export restricted technology products to Iran.

At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart noted that Ghasempour was solely motivated by greed and money, and that the unlawful export of goods and technology was to the “the Department of Defense for Iran -- the very group that would be the most harmful to the United States.”

According to records filed in the case, between 2011 and 2017, Ghasempour and his co-conspirators illegally exported and attempted to export goods and technology to Iran that have both military and non-military uses.  Ghasempour exported a thin film measurement system, manufactured by a California company, that is essentially a microscopic tape measure for liquid coatings and parts that are used in cell phones and missiles; he attempted to export an inertial guidance system test table, manufactured by a North Dakota company, used to test the accuracy of gyroscopes that assist in flying commercial and military airplanes; and the conspirators exported two types of thermal imaging cameras, manufactured by an Oregon company, that can be used in commercial security systems and military drones.  Some of the items Ghasempour sought to export were intercepted by law enforcement.  The conspirators falsified shipping documents and lied to U.S. manufacturers by claiming that the restricted items were being shipped to customers in Turkey and Portugal, knowing that the true destination of these goods was Iran. The Iranian customers paid the Chinese front companies owned by Ghasempour and a co-conspirator.

Ghasempour pleaded guilty in April 2018.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.  The criminal case was originally filed in the District of Columbia in Washington D.C., but was resolved in the Western District of Washington.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederick Yette for the District of Columbia, Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie Dalton for the Western District of Washington, and Trial Attorney Amy Larson, of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

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An indictment was returned today charging Ahmadreza Mohammadi-Doostdar, 38, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen, and Majid Ghorbani, 59, an Iranian citizen and resident of California, with allegedly acting on behalf of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran by conducting covert surveillance of Israeli and Jewish facilities in the United States, and collecting identifying information about American citizens and U.S. nationals who are members of the group Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK).

The charges were announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, and Acting Executive Assistant Director Michael McGarrity of the FBI’s National Security Branch.

“The National Security Division is committed to protecting the United States from individuals within our country who unlawfully act on behalf of hostile foreign nations,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “Doostdar and Ghorbani are alleged to have acted on behalf of Iran, including by conducting surveillance of political opponents and engaging in other activities that could put Americans at risk.  With their arrest and these charges, we are seeking to hold the defendants accountable.”

“This indictment demonstrates the commitment of the Department of Justice to hold accountable agents of foreign governments who act illegally within the United States, especially where those agents are conducting surveillance of individuals and Constitutionally-protected activities in this country,” said Jessie K. Liu, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.

“This alleged activity demonstrates a continued interest in targeting the United States, as well as potential opposition groups located in the United States,” said Acting Executive Assistant Director McGarrity. “The FBI will continue to identify and disrupt those individuals who seek to engage in unlawful activity, on behalf of Iran, on US soil.”

The indictment charged Doostdar and Ghorbani with knowingly acting as agents of the government of Iran without prior notification to the Attorney General, providing services to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions, and conspiracy.  Both defendants were arrested on Aug. 9, pursuant to criminal complaints issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  Those complaints were unsealed today.

According to the indictment, in or about July 2017, Doostdar traveled to the United States from Iran in order to collect intelligence information about entities and individuals considered by the government of Iran to be enemies of that regime, including Israeli and Jewish interests, and individuals associated with the MEK, a group that advocates the overthrow of the current Iranian government.

On or about July 21, 2017, Doostdar is alleged to have conducted surveillance of the Rohr Chabad House, a Jewish institution located in Chicago, including photographing the security features surrounding the facility.

On or about Sept. 20, 2017, Ghorbani is alleged to have attended a MEK rally in New York City, during which he photographed individuals participating in the protest against the current Iranian regime.  In or about December 2017, Doostdar returned to the United States from Iran and made contact with Ghorbani in the Los Angeles area.  During the meeting, Doostdar paid Ghorbani approximately $2,000 in cash and Ghorbani delivered to him 28 photographs taken at the September 2017 MEK rally, many of which contained hand-written annotations identifying the individuals who appeared in the photos.  These photographs, along with a hand-written receipt for $2000, were found concealed in Doostdar’s luggage as he transited a U.S. airport on his return to Iran in December 2017.

The indictment also alleges that Ghorbani traveled to Iran in or about March 2018, after informing Doostdar that he would be going to Iran to conduct an “in-person briefing.”  Thereafter, on or about May 4, Ghorbani attended the MEK-affiliated 2018 Iran Freedom Convention for Human Rights in Washington, D.C.  During the course of the conference, Ghorbani appeared to photograph certain speakers and attendees, which included delegations from across the United States.  On May 14, Doostdar called Ghorbani to discuss clandestine methods Ghorbani should use in order to provide this information to Iran.

Ghorbani is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 21, before the Honorable G. Michael Harvey.

The charges in an indictment are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  The maximum penalty for conspiracy is five years; the maximum penalty for acting as an agent of a foreign power is ten years; and the maximum penalty for a violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act is 20 years.  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 and Los Angeles Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice.

WASHINGTON – An indictment was returned today charging Ahmadreza Mohammadi-Doostdar, 38, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen, and Majid Ghorbani, 59, an Iranian citizen and resident of California, with allegedly acting on behalf of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran by conducting covert surveillance of Israeli and Jewish facilities in the United States, and collecting identifying information about American citizens and U.S. nationals who are members of the group Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK).

            The charges were announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, and Acting Executive Assistant Director Michael McGarrity of the FBI’s National Security Branch.

            “The National Security Division is committed to protecting the United States from individuals within our country who unlawfully act on behalf of hostile foreign nations,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “Doostdar and Ghorbani are alleged to have acted on behalf of Iran, including by conducting surveillance of political opponents and engaging in other activities that could put Americans at risk.  With their arrest and these charges, we are seeking to hold the defendants accountable.”

            “This indictment demonstrates the commitment of the Department of Justice to hold accountable agents of foreign governments who act illegally within the United States, especially where those agents are conducting surveillance of individuals and Constitutionally-protected activities in this country,” said Jessie K. Liu, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.

            “This alleged activity demonstrates a continued interest in targeting the United States, as well as potential opposition groups located in the United States,” said Acting Executive Assistant Director McGarrity. “The FBI will continue to identify and disrupt those individuals who seek to engage in unlawful activity, on behalf of Iran, on US soil.”

            The indictment charged Doostdar and Ghorbani with knowingly acting as agents of the government of Iran without prior notification to the Attorney General, providing services to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions, and conspiracy.  Both defendants were arrested on Aug. 9, pursuant to criminal complaints issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  Those complaints were unsealed today.

           According to the indictment, in or about July 2017, Doostdar traveled to the United States from Iran in order to collect intelligence information about entities and individuals considered by the government of Iran to be enemies of that regime, including Israeli and Jewish interests, and individuals associated with the MEK, a group that advocates the overthrow of the current Iranian government.

            On or about July 21, 2017, Doostdar is alleged to have conducted surveillance of the Rohr Chabad House, a Jewish institution located in Chicago, including photographing the security features surrounding the facility.

            On or about Sept. 20, 2017, Ghorbani is alleged to have attended a MEK rally in New York City, during which he photographed individuals participating in the protest against the current Iranian regime.  In or about December 2017, Doostdar returned to the United States from Iran and made contact with Ghorbani in the Los Angeles area.  During the meeting, Doostdar paid Ghorbani approximately $2,000 in cash and Ghorbani delivered to him 28 photographs taken at the September 2017 MEK rally, many of which contained hand-written annotations identifying the individuals who appeared in the photos.  These photographs, along with a hand-written receipt for $2000, were found concealed in Doostdar’s luggage as he transited a U.S. airport on his return to Iran in December 2017.

            The indictment also alleges that Ghorbani traveled to Iran in or about March 2018, after informing Doostdar that he would be going to Iran to conduct an “in-person briefing.”  Thereafter, on or about May 4, Ghorbani attended the MEK-affiliated 2018 Iran Freedom Convention for Human Rights in Washington, D.C.  During the course of the conference, Ghorbani appeared to photograph certain speakers and attendees, which included delegations from across the United States.  On May 14, Doostdar called Ghorbani to discuss clandestine methods Ghorbani should use in order to provide this information to Iran.

            Ghorbani is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 21, before the Honorable G. Michael Harvey.

            The charges in an indictment are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  The maximum penalty for conspiracy is five years; the maximum penalty for acting as an agent of a foreign power is ten years; and the maximum penalty for a violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act is 20 years.  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 and Los Angeles Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice.

WASHINGTON – Demarius Jackson, 25, of Hyattsville, Md., was sentenced today to 15 years in prison on charges stemming from a shooting in Northwest Washington last year that killed one man and injured another, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Jackson pled guilty in May 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of voluntary manslaughter while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon sentence between 13 and 16 years in prison. The Honorable Danya A. Dayson accepted the plea and sentenced Jackson accordingly. Following his prison term, Jackson will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to a factual proffer submitted at the plea hearing, the shooting took place at approximately 2:50 a.m. on Saturday, July 8, 2017. The shooting, in the 3500 block of Water Street NW, in the Georgetown area, followed a verbal altercation between the victims and the occupants of a vehicle. The vehicle was operated by an associate of Jackson’s. The interaction continued for about five minutes and concluded when Jackson walked up to one victim, Kennedy Amaya-Olivares, and shot him three times. He then chased after the other victim, shooting at him multiple times and striking him twice in the torso. Mr. Amaya-Olivares, 19, was shot once in the back of the head and once in the chest. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

            Jackson was arrested on Sept. 12, 2017, in Morgantown, W. Va., and extradited to the District of Columbia. He has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. Finally, they acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Lornce Applewhite, Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Allen, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Merikas, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

WASHINGTON – A 24-year-old man from Washington, D.C. was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for engaging in sexual acts in his home with a cousin who was 9 and 10 years old at the time, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu. 

            The defendant, who is not identified here to protect the privacy of the victim, pled guilty in April 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to two counts of second-degree child sexual abuse.  He was sentenced by the Honorable Danya A. Dayson. Once released from prison, the defendant will be placed on three years of probation. He will also be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years. 

            According to the government’s evidence, between Sept. 1, 2016 and Oct, 31, 2017, the defendant engaged in sexual acts with the young girl at his residence in Southeast Washington. He was arrested on Feb. 13, 2018, and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu praised detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth Division; as well as employees of the girl’s school, who upon learning of the sexual abuse, immediately notified the police.  She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Brenda C. Williams and Victim/Witness Advocate Juanita Harris.  Finally, U.S. Attorney Liu commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter V. Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted this case. 

WASHINGTON – Harry Meir Mimoun Amar, a resident and citizen of Israel and Morocco, was sentenced today to 43 months in prison for taking part in an international conspiracy to trick mid-level corporate employees into wiring millions of dollars to bank accounts under the control of those in the criminal enterprise.

            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.

            In April 2018, Amar, 40, pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Today, he was sentenced by the Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. Following his prison term, Amar will be placed on 36 months of supervised release. He also must pay $273,321 in restitution and $49,503 in a forfeiture money judgment. Additionally, Amar will be subject to deportation proceedings.

            Amar was among 17 people arrested in early 2017 following a multi-year investigative effort by federal and international law enforcement agencies to target multimillion-dollar fraud and money laundering schemes perpetrated by a transnational organized crime network. Amar was arrested in Israel and consented to his extradition to the United States. He has remained in custody since his arrest.

            Amar was charged along with others last year with participating in one particular fraud scheme, known as a business e-mail compromise, or “BEC” scheme. One defendant was arrested and prosecuted in Germany for the BEC scheme. Cases against others remain pending.

            According to a statement of offense submitted at the plea hearing, Amar and others used the Internet and primarily U.S.-based electronic communications to target mid-sized and large companies and impersonate executive-level employees in e-mail communications with mid-level employees. These mid-level employees were led to believe they were being entrusted to handle a large financial transaction, such as a “secret” corporate acquisition. The employees were instructed to initiate wire transfers from the company’s corporate bank accounts to bank accounts controlled by members of the criminal enterprise. Once the funds were transferred, the money was quickly wire transferred out of the reach of the target corporation into accounts located in the People’s Republic of China and elsewhere, with the funds ultimately being delivered to co-conspirators located in Europe and elsewhere.

            In his guilty plea, Amar admitted taking part in the scheme from approximately January 2014 until August 2014, working with co-conspirators who were operating in other countries, including Turkey and Bulgaria. The statement of offense ties Amar to false representations made to four companies from Germany, Spain, Finland and Portugal. According to the statement of offense, the scheme generated $1,093,557 in U.S. dollars. Amar personally received $49,503 of the proceeds.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Assistant Director in Charge McNamara commended the work of those who are investigating the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Israeli National Police, German LKA Baden-Wurttemberg, the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior, Main Directorate Border Police, and Sofia Interpol.

            They acknowledged the efforts of those who are handling the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Paralegal Specialists Brittany Phillips and Elizabeth Swienc, former Paralegal Specialist Christopher Toms, and Litigation Technology Specialist Jeanie Latimore-Brown.

            Finally, they commended the work of former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Atkinson and David Last, Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Lucas, of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Marando and David Kent, of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            WASHINGTON –Five people, all from Washington, D.C., have been sentenced this week following guilty pleas to federal charges following an investigation into the trafficking of PCP, crack cocaine and heroin in Southwest Washington.

            The sentences, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, were announced by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Thomas L. Chittum III, 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).

            The sentences followed an investigation by ATF and MPD targeting the area near the King Greenleaf Recreation Center, in the 200 block of N Street SW. The investigation began in early 2017 after authorities noticed an increase in drug sales and violent activity in the area, which is in MPD’s First Police District. According to the government’s evidence, in addition to the area near the recreation center, drug sales took place in various alleys and corners, including near a church in the 1300 block of First Street SW, near a food market in the 1300 block of Half Street SW, and near a convenience store in the 1100 block of South Capitol Street SW.

            The drug trafficking activity admitted to by the defendants took place within a one-block radius of the corner of Half Street SW and Q Street SW, one block west of Nationals Stadium.

            All five defendants were indicted in March 2018 and pled guilty in May 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. They were sentenced by the Honorable Senior Judge Thomas F. Hogan.

            The most recent sentencing took place today. Jerome Fuller, 33, was sentenced to 63 months in prison after earlier pleading guilty to distribution of PCP.

            Others sentenced this week include:

            -Kione Banks, 21. He was sentenced on Aug. 13 to a 33-month prison term following his guilty plea to conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute PCP. Banks also is awaiting sentencing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland after pleading guilty to the use of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime in connection with a string of armed robberies at convenience stores in Prince George’s County.

            -Raymond Boston, 27. He was sentenced on Aug. 14 to two years in prison following his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute PCP.

            -Damion Littman, 32. He was sentenced on Aug. 14 to 37 months of incarceration following his guilty plea to distribution of PCP.

            -Morriko Washington, 24. He was sentenced on Aug. 15 to five years in prison following his guilty plea to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

            Three additional defendants pled guilty to charges and are awaiting sentencing.

            In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Chittum, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the ATF and MPD. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Legal Assistant Katie Cowley. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin L. Rosenberg and William Schurmann, of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, who are investigating and prosecuting the matter. 

WASHINGTON - David Sutton, 22, and Dacquan Gregory, 20, both of Washington, D.C., have been found guilty by a jury of charges stemming from a broad daylight, 100-minute crime spree that included the theft of a car and three armed robberies and that finally ended with a car crash that seriously injured a woman, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced today.

            Both men were found guilty on Aug. 14, 2018, of one count each of conspiracy to commit robbery, theft, and unauthorized use of a vehicle to commit a crime of violence, two counts each of armed robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon, and related firearms offenses. Sutton also was found guilty of charges of aggravated assault while armed and unlawful possession of a firearm. The verdict was returned following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Ronna L. Beck scheduled sentencing for Oct. 26, 2018. The defendants face a range of 15 years to more than 30 years in prison.

            According to the government’s evidence, the chain of events began at about 3:55 p.m. on Aug. 30, 2016. At that time, Sutton and Gregory stole a running Nissan Rouge SUV in the 3400 block of Holmead Place NW. They then used that vehicle to approach three victims with a firearm, robbing them at gunpoint. The robberies took place within just 25 minutes in the 1400 block of Rock Creek Church Road NW, the 1400 block of Tuckerman Street NW, and the 700 block of Sheridan Street NW.

            Following these crimes, Sutton and Gregory drove into Maryland, where they tried to rob a former police officer in Mount Rainier at gunpoint.  He was able to disarm them and take the magazine out of the gun.  They then fled back into the District of Columbia, where they ran red lights and stop signs, and sped through a residential area. They finally crashed into another vehicle at about 5:35 p.m. in the 2600 block of 18th Street NE. The driver of the car they struck was a woman on her way home from work; she was transported to the hospital and had her spleen, gallbladder and part of her liver removed.  She was in the hospital for two weeks. 

            Gregory was found by police within minutes of the crash, crawling on the ground, with a gun on him.  Sutton was arrested three days later.  Both have been in custody ever since.

            Video surveillance captured the vehicle traveling throughout the city, and surveillance video showed defendant Sutton following one victim into his apartment building.  DNA evidence tied the defendants to the robberies and the Nissan Rogue

            In announcing the verdicts, U.S. Attorney Liu commended those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. She also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences and the Prince George’s County, Md. Police Department.

            U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittany Keil and Melissa Jackson, who investigated and prosecuted the case. Finally, she acknowledged the efforts of those who provided assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Rosen and Ahmed Baset; Paralegal Specialist Antoinette Sakamsa; Litigation Technology Specialists Kimberly Smith and Anisha Bhatia, and Victim/Witness Services Coordinator La June Thames.

WASHINGTON – Darryl Smith, 41, the manager of a Southeast Washington barbershop, was sentenced today to 80 months in prison on federal narcotics and firearms offenses stemming from an investigation into drug trafficking at the business and surrounding area, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Thomas L. Chittum III, 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).

            Smith pled guilty in May 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense and one count of possession with the intent to distribute PCP. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an 80-month prison term, to be followed by five years of supervised release. The Honorable Judge Amit P. Mehta accepted the plea and sentenced Smith accordingly.

            The charges against Smith stemmed from two separate arrests in the 2400 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE, where Smith managed the Next Level Cuts barbershop that was used by multiple individuals to traffic narcotics.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Dec. 24, 2017, Smith was arrested by MPD while in the possession of a loaded firearm and packaged capsules of fentanyl after he fled officers following a drug transaction on the street. Smith was also arrested on additional charges following a search warrant executed at the barbershop and surrounding property on Feb. 1, 2018. In addition to recovering three firearms from the barbershop and adjoining property, law enforcement seized more than $7,000 in cash, more than 800 grams of PCP, more than 300 grams of heroin, and boxes of Suboxone strips.  

            Anthony Fields, 44, of Washington, D.C., was also arrested and charged by indictment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia with drug trafficking offenses arising from the Feb. 1, 2018 seizure; he faces trial in November 2018. James Venable, 40, of Fort Washington, Md., pled guilty on Aug. 10, 2018, to narcotics and firearms charges stemming from his commission of two separate drug trafficking offenses while in the possession of loaded firearms. Venable’s sentencing has been scheduled for Oct. 16, 2018.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Chittum, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those involved in the case. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who are handled the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Macchiaroli and Paralegal Specialist Candace Battle.

WASHINGTON – Steven Mason, 48, and Andrea Miller, 49, both of Washington, D.C., have been sentenced to prison terms for their roles in a narcotics trafficking organization that imported and distributed heroin and other drugs into the Washington, D.C. area.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu; Patrick J. Lechleitner, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Washington, D.C.; Eric Shen, Acting Inspector in Charge, Washington Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Mason and Miller were found guilty by a jury in March 2018, following a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Both defendants were found guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and a quantity of alprazolam.  Miller also was found guilty of conspiracy to import 100 grams or more of heroin and a quantity of alprazolam from a foreign country.

            The Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan sentenced Mason today to a five-year prison term, to be followed by four years of supervised release. Judge Chutkan sentenced Miller on June 27, 2018, to a 15-month prison term, to be followed by three years of supervised release. While they are on supervised release, both defendants will be required to perform 100 hours of community service.

            Mason and Miller were among a total of 14 defendants indicted in May 2016 following a long-term investigation into a drug trafficking organization with sources of supply in Nigeria and distribution points in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. Eleven others have been convicted of drug trafficking charges and one defendant remains a fugitive.

            According to the government’s evidence, between August 2014 and June 2016, Miller conspired to import packages of narcotics into the United States from various countries in Africa, and, Miller and Mason, together with their co-conspirators, conspired to distribute the narcotics throughout the Washington D.C. region.

            The drug operation misused the United States Postal Service and the commercial shipping industry to illegally import into the United States and then redistribute significant quantities of drugs, primarily heroin, within the District of Columbia and the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. 

            For purposes of this criminal activity, the international packages had the controlled substances hidden or secreted within certain items or clothing located inside the packages, and the packages were addressed and emanated from foreign countries, such as India, and listed fictitious names for addresses or locations within the Washington, D.C., area.  Higher-level participants in the drug network would either wait for the packages to be delivered to certain addresses by the Postal Service or another commercial shipping business, or these same conspirators would use various civilians to accept packages containing drugs in the mail at their residences or other locations for cash or illegal drugs.

            Significant quantities of the heroin were re-distributed in the 11th and H Street NE, Fourth Street and Florida Avenue NE, and 19th and Benning Road NE areas of the District of Columbia, and other locations in the District of Columbia and Maryland. 

            This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Customs and Border Protection Agency of the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Metropolitan Police Department. The prosecution was sponsored and supported by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).

            The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth F. Whitted and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamila Hodge of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Swanton of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Assistance was provided by Paralegal Specialists Candace Battle, Catherine O’Neal, Teesha Tobias, and Mary Downing; Legal Assistants Peter Gaboton and Katie Cowley; Litigation Technology Specialists Ron Royal, Kimberly Smith, and Anisha Bhatia, and Intern Mallory Kruper.

WASHINGTON – Deantre Cole, 25, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to charges of robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm stemming from the July 4, 2018 robbery of a sandwich restaurant in Northwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

            Cole pled guilty to the charges in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He is to be sentenced on Oct. 26, 2018, by the Honorable Kimberly S. Knowles.

            According to the government’s evidence, on the Fourth of July, at approximately 12:45 pm., Cole came into the Jimmy John’s restaurant in the 4400 block of Wisconsin Avenue NW, looked around, and spoke to a manager. He told the manager that he used to work at the Pennsylvania Avenue branch of the restaurant and left the store without incident. Twenty minutes later, he and an unknown accomplice came back into the store masked.

            As soon as they entered into the store, Cole who was wearing brass knuckles, rushed the store manager and punched him in the face. Cole’s accomplice who was wielding a gun, pointed the gun at the store manager and forced him to the floor. Two other employees ran into the freezer to hide. Cole went after them and dragged one of the employees back into the front of the store. He forced the employee to open the register and remove the till. Cole grabbed all the cash in the till, and he and his accomplice then hurriedly exited the store.

            A law enforcement investigation led to Cole’s apprehension on July 18, 2018. He has been in custody since his arrest.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. She also acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Nurudeen Elias, who investigated and prosecuted the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica Sanchez.

WASHINGTON – Keith Johnson, 48, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault with significant bodily injury while armed for attacking his brother-in-law, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

            The verdict was returned on Aug. 13, 2018, followed a two-week trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable José M. López scheduled sentencing for Nov. 9, 2018.

            According to the government’s evidence, in the early morning hours of Jan. 10, 2018, Johnson’s wife was visiting her sister and brother-in-law, in the 4300 block of Wheeler Road SE. Johnson went to the residence to take his wife home. When his wife refused to leave with him, Johnson became irate. The brother-in-law, 56, intervened and asked Johnson to leave.

            A fight ensued, which culminated in Johnson pulling his brother-in-law by his ankles down two flights of stairs. With his brother-in-law in and out of consciousness at the bottom of the stairs, Johnson went to his car, retrieved a steel lug wrench, and returned to strike him over the head with the lug wrench. He hit him with such force that the lug wrench broke into two pieces. Johnson fled and was arrested during a traffic stop a few minutes later. His brother-in-law suffered a 4 ½-inch gash across the top of his head, which required surgical staples to close.

            Johnson, who was in custody pending trial, remains held pending the sentencing.

            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 efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Louis Manzo and Kristina Wolf; Appellate Division Deputy Chief Nicholas Coleman; Victim/Witness Advocate Elsa Maltese; Michael Ambrosino, Special Counsel for DNA and Forensic Evidence Litigation;  Forensic Operation/Program Specialist Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie; Litigation Technology Supervisor Jeanie Latimore-Brown; Paralegal Specialists Tiffany Jones and Brenda Williams; Criminal Investigator Tommy Miller, and Interns Megan Hughes, Alexa Perlmutter, and Jill Rogowski.

            Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer B. Loeb and Amy Joy Thomas, who prosecuted the case at trial.

WASHINGTON – Andre Dudley, 22, Marcus King, 22, and Christopher Proctor, 28, all of Washington, D.C., were sentenced today to prison terms on charges stemming from the August 2015 slaying of Matthew Shlonsky, an innocent bystander who was shot three years ago on a crowded street in Northwest Washington. Dudley was sentenced to an 18 ½-year prison term for the murder, King was sentenced to 17 ½ years, and Proctor was sentenced to 14 years.

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

            The three defendants pled guilty in June 2018 to one count of voluntary manslaughter while armed and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. Dudley also pled guilty to a charge of attempted assault with a dangerous weapon stemming from a jailhouse stabbing. The pleas took place in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

            Dudley’s plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for him to be sentenced to an agreed-upon 18 ½-year prison term for the shooting and an additional 22 months for the jailhouse stabbing, for a total of 20 years and four months of incarceration. King’s plea called for an agreed-upon sentence of 15 to 20 years, and Proctor’s plea called for an agreed-upon term of 12 to 14 years. The Honorable Juliet McKenna accepted the pleas and sentenced the defendants accordingly. Following their prison terms, the defendants will each be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, King and Proctor both associated with the Ninth Street neighborhood of Northwest Washington. On Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015, at approximately 4:45 p.m., King and Proctor were standing near a liquor store at the intersection of Seventh and S Streets NW, both armed with firearms. Dudley, meanwhile, drove to the area of Seventh and S in a red Chrysler 300 sedan. While stopped at the intersection of 8th and S Streets, Dudley got into an argument with Ninth Street crew members. One pulled out a gun, and Dudley pulled out his gun as well. King and Proctor were both nearby, and Proctor yelled out to other crew members to find out the identity of the person in the red car.

            Dudley then turned from Eight Street onto S Street and headed east. He adjusted his position so that his head and arms were outside the sunroof. He then pointed his gun at individuals on the south side of S Street, near Seventh. King and Proctor both fired shots at Dudley as he crossed their path. King fired seven shots from a .40-caliber semiautomatic firearm and Proctor fired 10 shots from a different .40-caliber semiautomatic.  Dudley extended his arm out and fired several shots in the direction of King and Proctor.

            Mr. Shlonsky, 23, had just gotten out of an Uber with friends and was heading to a concert at the Howard Theatre. He was walking in the 1800 block of Seventh Street NW, near the entrance to the Shaw/Howard University Metro station, when one of the bullets from the shootout struck him in the chest. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

            While King and Proctor were firing their weapons, a couple was walking on the sidewalk of the 700 block of S Street NW. The man and woman were each pushing strollers that had two young children inside each of them. Hearing the gunshots, the couple sprinted away, however, their proximity to the gunfire put them in the zone of harm.

            While Dudley drove east on S Street NW, his vehicle came head-to-head with a vehicle turning left on S Street, NW, from Sixth Street NW.  Blocked, Dudley again lifted his head and arms out of the sunroof, pointed a gun at the driver, threatened to kill him, and yelled at him to move his car.  Scared, the driver moved his vehicle and Dudley then continued across S Street; as he sped into the 1900 block of Fourth Street NW, another man yelled at Dudley to slow down.  In response, Dudley slammed on the brakes, rolled down his window, pointed an imitation firearm at the man, which the man believed was an actual firearm, and fired shots in the general vicinity of the man. Dudley then left the area. Dudley pled guilty to two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon for these crimes.

            As part of the plea agreement, Dudley admitted to his role in the May 17, 2018 stabbing of a fellow inmate at the District of Columbia Jail.  The victim of that incident sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

            Dudley was arrested on a warrant in a burglary case on Sept. 11, 2015, and charged with the murder in December 2015. King was arrested on Aug. 21, 2015. Proctor was arrested on Feb. 23, 2016. All have been in custody since their arrests.

            In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the FBI, including the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team, and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences.

            They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharon Donovan, Kimberley Nielsen, Laura A. Bach, Jeffrey Nestler, Julianne Johnston, and Sharon Marcus-Kurn; former Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana Fulton; Paralegal Specialists Lornce Applewhite and Sharon Newman; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling; Criminal Investigator Durand Odom, and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney David Misler, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Barrett Harrington, 31, and Germar Fox, 35, both of Washington D.C., were sentenced today to 8 ½-year prison terms on charges stemming from an armed home invasion that took place in July 2016 near Capitol Hill, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Harrington and Fox pled guilty in June 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to the charge of first-degree burglary while armed. The pleas, which were contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for each defendant to be sentenced to 102 months of incarceration. The Honorable Kimberly S. Knowles accepted the pleas and sentenced the defendants accordingly. Following their prison terms, both men will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, the burglary took place at about 5:30 p.m. on July 15, 2016, with both Harrington and Fox conspiring to take items of personal property from the victim while he was present in his apartment in the 1000 block of New Jersey Avenue SE. Fox was armed with a firearm during the crime. According to the evidence, Harrington, Fox, and a third man conspired to commit the crime. The third man previously befriended the victim, but that was actually a ruse. On the day of the home invasion, the third man and the victim were together. The third man stepped out and informed Harrington and Fox that he was alone with the victim in the apartment. Harrington and Fox then barged into the apartment, bound the victim with duct tape, placed a pillow case over his head, assaulted him with the gun, and robbed him of his safe with thousands of dollars in cash and other items.  

            As they made their escape, a passerby noted the license plate of the getaway car, and provided it to police. Further investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including fingerprint and DNA evidence, led to the arrests of the defendants. Harrington was arrested on June 24, 2017 and Fox was arrested on July 11, 2017. Both have been in custody ever since. The case against the third man remains pending.

            In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. She also expressed appreciation for the assistance of the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. She acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Veronica Sanchez, Denise Cheung, and Stephen Rickard; Paralegal Specialists Tiffany Fogle and Donice Adams; Victim/Witness Advocate James Brennan; Litigation Technology Specialist Anisha Bhatia, and Criminal Investigator John Marsh.

            Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kamil Shields, Alyse Constantinide and Louis Manzo, who investigated, indicted and prosecuted the matter.

WASHINGTON – James Venable, 40, of Temple Hills, Md., pled guilty today to federal firearms and narcotics offenses.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Thomas L. Chittum III, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Henry P. Stawinski III, Chief of the Prince George’s County, Md. Police Department.

            Venable pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a crime punishable in excess of 12 months in prison and one count of unlawful distribution of a detectable amount of heroin. He faces up to 30 years in prison. The Honorable Amit P. Mehta scheduled sentencing for Oct. 16, 2018.

            Venable’s charges arise from a law enforcement investigation regarding alleged drug trafficking from the Next Level Cuts barbershop and surrounding property in the 2400 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE. On Feb. 1, 2018, law enforcement agents from ATF, MPD and the Prince George’s County Police Department executed search warrants on three locations and five vehicles, which led to the seizure of firearms, ammunition, and quantities of narcotics. During the course of the investigation, Venable had been arrested twice in possession of distribution quantities of narcotics and a loaded firearm.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Dec. 5, 2017, MPD’s Narcotics and Special Investigations Division was conducting undercover operations in the 600 block of Yuma Street SE. After purchasing crack cocaine, a lookout was given for the suspect dealer. Law enforcement moved in to stop the suspected dealer, who was standing with Venable next to Venable’s vehicle. An MPD canine officer and canine responded to the location and the canine gave a positive reaction for the presence of a firearm in the immediate area of the front-passenger-seat compartment. Upon opening the compartment, law enforcement observed a loaded 9 mm handgun. Venable was subsequently arrested with 32 grams of heroin on his person.

            Then, on Feb. 1, 2018, while he was on pretrial release from the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for his Dec, 5, 2017 arrest, law enforcement executed search warrants on Venable’s residence and vehicle in Maryland. Law enforcement recovered three baggies containing approximately 10.6 grams of heroin and $852 in cash from Venable’s person.  During the search of Venable’s vehicle, law enforcement recovered an AWS-600 digital scale on the driver’s side floor, a small black digital scale in the center console, and a black Sharpstone box containing a silver press in the trunk. During the search of Venable’s residence, law enforcement recovered a loaded .45 caliber pistol that had been reported stolen. In the kitchen, law enforcement recovered a black scale, a silver press, plastic sandwich baggies, and a strainer. In the hallway closet, law enforcement located a blue Nike bag containing two scales, a spoon, and plastic baggies, as well as, additional packing material for narcotics.

            Venable was charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and he agreed to have the charge transferred to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia as part of a global resolution to the charges against him.

            One other defendant pled guilty to charges in the case and another is awaiting trial. Darryl Smith, 41, the manager of the Next Level Cuts barbershop, pled guilty to federal narcotics and firearms offenses and is to be sentenced on Aug. 15, 2018. Anthony Fields, 44, of Washington, D.C., was indicted for drug trafficking offenses and is awaiting trial.

            In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Chittum, Chief Newsham, and Chief Stawinski commended the work of those investigating and prosecuting the cases. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who are handling the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Paralegal Specialists Candace Battle, Teesha Tobias, and Kim Hall; Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Parker Tobin and Rebecca Caruso of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Macchiaroli, and from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Sykes.

            WASHINGTON –Tyrone Hopkins, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to five years in prison on a federal firearms charge stemming from his arrest last fall in a narcotics investigation, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Thomas L. Chittum III, 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).

            Hopkins pled guilty in July 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He was sentenced by the Honorable Amy Berman Jackson. Following completion of his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, Hopkins was arrested on Oct. 16, 2017, in the 1900 block of West Virginia Avenue NE after he and another man sold crack cocaine to an undercover MPD officer. When MPD officers arrested Hopkins, they discovered an additional amount of crack cocaine in his pocket and a loaded firearm tucked in his waistband. Hopkins had previously been convicted of a felony offense and was, at the time of his arrest, on pre-trial release for a pending drug charge in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

            The firearm recovered from Hopkins was linked to a broader investigation into a firearms ring that acquired guns in Atlanta, Ga., and transported weapons into the District of Columbia for resale. According to the evidence, the gun in Hopkins’s possession was purchased by Jeremy Carr at a store in Smyrna, Ga. Carr, 34, of Marietta, Ga., has been indicted along with two co-defendants on federal charges in a separate case in the District of Columbia, including a charge of taking part in a conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing in firearms without a license. All three defendants have pled not guilty to charges and are awaiting further court proceedings.

            According to court documents filed in the case against Carr, more than 20 firearms that Carr purchased have already been recovered in the District of Columbia.

            These cases are being investigated by ATF and MPD. They are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin L. Rosenberg and Gregory Rosen of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – Michael N. Jackson, 44, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to a 30-month prison term on a federal firearms charge, stemming from his possession of a loaded handgun onboard a Metrobus in Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Ron Pavlik, Chief of the Metro Transit Police Department.

            Jackson pled guilty in June 2018, 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 simple possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced on Aug. 9, 2018, by the Honorable Amy Berman Jackson. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Sept. 14, 2017, at approximately 7:40 p.m., Jackson boarded a Metrobus at 8th and H Streets NE.  He was highly intoxicated, and initiated an argument with another passenger.  He later threatened to shoot and kill everyone on the bus.

            Officers with the Metro Transit Police Department responded to the bus after it arrived at the Minnesota Avenue bus bay.  They made contact with Jackson, and recovered a loaded 9-mm handgun from his waistband.  After Jackson’s arrest, officers found crack cocaine in his pocket.  Further investigation revealed that the handgun had been stolen from Prince George’s County, Md. Jackson has been in custody since his arrest.

            This case marked Jackson’s fifth conviction for an offense involving a handgun. They included a 2006 conviction of a federal firearms charge in the District of Columbia and a 2014 conviction of a firearms charge in Prince George’s County, Md.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Pavlik commended the work of the officers who investigated the case.  They also acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S.  Attorneys Akhi Johnson, Lisa Walters, and William Schurmann, who prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Elliott A. Starks, 35, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 15-year prison term for killing a woman in December 2016 along a bicycle trail in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Starks pled guilty in May 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to second-degree murder while armed. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon prison term of 15 years. The Honorable Craig Iscoe accepted the plea and sentenced Starks accordingly. Following his prison term, Starks is to be placed on five years of supervised release. However, he also faces revocation of his parole for an earlier killing.  

            According to the government’s evidence, the victim, Antina Pratt, 40, was slain on Nov. 7, 2016, just over an hour after she left the restaurant where she worked. After work, Ms. Pratt took a bus from a stop near the restaurant to the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue and Howard Road SE, a short distance from the Sheridan Station apartment complex. When she got off the bus, at approximately 11:15 p.m., Starks, who knew Ms. Pratt, walked up to her at a location behind the apartment complex. The two walked alongside each other onto the 2600 block of Pomeroy Road SE, and towards a bike path adjacent to Suitland Parkway SE.

            Several minutes later, while in a grassy area near the bike path, Starks drew a knife and stabbed Ms. Pratt repeatedly, inflicting a total of 29 stab wounds. She fought back, and in the process, scratched her assailant with her fingernails. She eventually collapsed and Starks fled on foot. A passerby found Ms. Pratt’s body the following afternoon.

            Starks had been paroled in June 2016 after serving a term of imprisonment for other offenses, including a murder that he committed in 1999, also in Southeast Washington. In the earlier murder case, he had been sentenced to a prison term of 14 to 42 years.

            Telephone records revealed that Starks and Ms. Pratt had communicated with each other on the night of Nov. 7, 2016. As a result, MPD detectives arranged to interview Starks. During the interview, on Dec. 22, 2016, Starks acknowledged knowing Ms. Pratt and being aware of her death. But he denied being responsible for the stabbing.

            The District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, meanwhile, had examined Ms. Pratt’s fingernail clippings and found the presence of an unknown male’s DNA profile. The profile was uploaded into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a web of state and national databases containing DNA profiles from convicted offenders and crime scenes.  Because of his convictions for the earlier offenses, a sample of Starks’s DNA profile had been uploaded into the CODIS database. On Dec. 30, 2016, MPD was advised that Starks’s DNA profile matched the one found on the fingernail clippings.

            At the time of Ms. Pratt’s murder, Starks was still under supervision following his parole for the earlier crimes. However, in January 2017, he stopped reporting for meetings. On Jan. 6, 2017, a warrant was issued for his arrest for Ms. Pratt’s murder. He was arrested on Oct. 4, 2017, and has been in custody ever since.

            As a result of this crime, Starks faces revocation of his parole for the earlier conviction. He could be required to serve the remaining 25 years on the sentence for that crime.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, and the Metro transit system. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark and Paralegal Specialist Alesha Matthews-Yette. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Liebman, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Leroy Jones, 32, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 10 years in prison after earlier pleading guilty to one count of possessing firearms, including a short-barreled rifle, in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Michael Hughes, U.S. Marshal for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). 

            Jones pled guilty in May 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The plea, which was subject to the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon sentence of 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. The Honorable Senior Judge Reggie B. Walton accepted the plea and sentenced Jones accordingly.

            According to a statement of offense submitted at the time of the plea, on June 28, 2017, Deputy U.S. Marshals came to an apartment building in the 1300 block of Kenyon Street NW to conduct an eviction. Building management provided them with the keys to the apartment. The deputy marshals announced their arrival for an eviction and entered the unit. No one was inside. The deputy marshals observed suspected narcotics, ammunition, and a firearm in plain view and reported the discovery to the Metropolitan Police Department.

          Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department secured the apartment while a search warrant was sought.  The officers who secured the apartment locked the front door and waited inside the apartment.  While they waited, Jones returned to the apartment and unlocked the front door.  Officers came to the front of the unit and detained Jones in the hallway.

            Officers then searched the apartment pursuant to a search warrant. They found, among other things a duffel-style bag containing a Wyndham Weaponry .223-caliber short-barreled rifle, a rifle-pistol, two handguns, several high-capacity magazines and various types of ammunition. They also discovered in the apartment a ballistic vest, loose ammunition, a loaded magazine, suspected narcotics, and $3,409 in cash.

            The suspected narcotics were submitted to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and a lab analysis determined them to be mixtures of substances containing cocaine and cocaine base.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Marshal Hughes, and Chief Newsham  commended the work of those who investigated the case from the U.S. Marshals Service and Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the DEA. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Catherine O’Neil, Legal Assistant Peter Gaboton, and Criminal Investigator Derek Starliper. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys C.B. Buente, Steven B. Wasserman, Emory V. Cole, and Vincent Caputy, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

            WASHINGTON –Crevonte Johnson, 25, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to conspiring to distribute more than 280 grams of cocaine base, commonly referred to as crack cocaine, in the Washington, D.C. area, 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).

            Johnson pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine base. The plea, which is subject to the Court’s approval, calls for an agreed-upon sentence of 10 years in prison. The Honorable Trevor N. McFadden scheduled sentencing for Oct. 26, 2018.

            Johnson was among 12 people indicted in December 2017 following an investigation into a drug trafficking organization that distributed large amounts of heroin, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. One other defendant has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges, and ten others are awaiting trial.

            According to plea documents filed today, law enforcement began investigating drug trafficking activities in the 2600 block of Birney Place SE in late 2015. Throughout the investigation, an undercover police officer purchased crack cocaine from Johnson on multiple occasions. The first such purchase took place in 2015 and Johnson continued selling crack cocaine to the undercover officer on a regular basis throughout 2016. The last of these sales took place on Dec. 14, 2016, in the parking lot of a grocery store in the 2800 block of Alabama Avenue, SE. Throughout the investigation, Johnson sold the undercover officer approximately $10,080 worth of narcotics. Johnson admitted in Court that he was responsible for conspiring to distribute over 280 grams of crack cocaine.

            The prosecution grew out of the efforts of the FBI/MPD Safe Streets Task Force, a multi-agency team that conducts comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. The prosecution was sponsored and supported by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office is working with MPD, the FBI, and other law enforcement partners on a Justice Department initiative called Project Safe Neighborhoods that is expected to generate additional cases targeting drug organizations. Under Project Safe Neighborhoods, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to a coordinated law enforcement approach and identifying and addressing the most violent locations in the District of Columbia and the offenders.

            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 Safe Streets Task Force, including the FBI, MPD, U.S. Park Police, Prince George's County, Md. Police, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

            Finally they cited 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. Attorneys Nihar Mohanty and Kevin L. Rosenberg of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Swanton, who assisted with the forfeiture aspects of the investigation.

WASHINGTON – Sean Green, 27, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder while armed and other charges for killing a man in July 2015 in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), announced today.

            Green also was found guilty of assault with intent to kill while armed and related firearms offenses. The verdict, on Aug. 9, 2018, followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Judith Bartnoff scheduled sentencing for Nov. 2, 2018.

            According to the government’s evidence, on July 30, 2015, at approximately 9:25 p.m., Green encountered the victim, Derrick Black, 24, who had flashed a gun at him in the area of the 3300 block of Georgia Avenue NW. Green left the area and immediately retrieved his own gun for the purpose of killing Mr. Black. Green did just as he had intended.  He returned to the area where he last saw Mr. Black and fired multiple shots at the fleeing victim, causing him to run into the street and collapse to the ground from gunshot wounds to his head and back.  According to the government’s evidence, Mr. Black never fired a shot at Green.  Moreover, an unknown individual safely escaped Green’s gunfire while running alongside the victim into the street.

            Green was arrested on Oct. 19, 2015, and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Pace, David Misler, Katherine Earnest, and Silvia Gonzalez Roman; Appellate Division Deputy Chiefs Nicholas Coleman and Suzanne Curt; Victim/Witness Advocate Diana Lim; Victim/Witness Services Coordinator La June Thames; Forensic Operation/Program Specialist Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Litigation Technology Supervisor Jeanie Latimore-Brown; Litigation Technology Specialists Leif Hickling and Paul Howell; Supervisory Paralegal Specialists Sharon Newman and Michelle Wicker; Paralegal Specialists Lornce Applewhite, Kelly Blakeney, and D’Yvonne Key, and Law Clerk Alexa Perlmutter.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Akhi Johnson and Michelle D. Jackson, who prosecuted the case at trial, as well as Law Clerks Julie Bessler and Siri Palm, who handled all aspects of courtroom technology.

WASHINGTON – Cole Christian, 33, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 37 months in prison after earlier pleading guilty to possession of child pornography, 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).

            Christian pled guilty in May 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to a charge of possession of child pornography. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon prison term of 37 months. The Honorable Rudolph Contreras accepted the plea and sentenced Christian accordingly. Following his prison term, Christian will be placed on 10 years of supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender for 15 years.

            According to the government's evidence, on Dec. 23, 2016, Christian contacted an undercover officer with the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, through a social network site.  Christian continued communications with the undercover officer over the next several months. In May 2017, he began sending images of child pornography to the undercover officer.

            Christian was arrested on Aug. 4, 2017, and has been in custody ever since. Numerous electronic devices were seized by law enforcement during a search of his home, and the images of child pornography sent to the undercover were found on those devices.

            This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

            In announcing the sentence, 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 Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD’s Youth Investigations Division. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brenda Johnson and Jason Park, Paralegal Specialist Michelle Wicker, and Criminal Investigator John Marsh.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea L. Hertzfeld, who prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Manulito Chambliss, 47, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a federal drug offense after a traffic stop by police for a broken headlight led to the discovery of cocaine in the car that he was driving, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Chambliss pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of unlawful possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. The plea, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for an agreed-upon sentence of five years in prison. The Honorable Thomas F. Hogan scheduled a sentencing hearing for Sept. 13, 2018. The judge ordered that Chambliss be detained pending the hearing.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Dec. 23, 2017, at approximately 7 p.m., MPD officers on patrol in the 200 block of 19th Street SE spotted a silver Infiniti that had only one headlight running. Officers lost sight of the vehicle, but then located it nearby, stopped in the 1700 block of Bay Street SE. Chambliss, who was alone in the vehicle, began to drive it. Using lights and sirens, officers tried to pull Chambliss over, but he did not stop and kept driving off. Eventually Chambliss became stuck in traffic in the 1500 block of Benning Road NE and came to a stop. After officers removed him from the driver’s seat, they found 346 small zip lock bags, containing 44 grams of cocaine base, on the driver’s seat and on Chambliss’s person.

            The case marks the fourth time that Chambliss has been convicted in the District of Columbia of a felony drug offense.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from 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 Assistant U.S. Attorneys C.B. Buente and Vincent W. Caputy, who are prosecuting the matter.

WASHINGTON – Michael Jones, 22, of Bladensburg, Md., pled guilty today to a charge of second-degree murder while armed stemming from the slaying of singer Omar Rogers last fall outside a bar and grill in Southeast Washington. A second man, Khalil Davis, 23, of Washington D.C., pled guilty today to a related charge of accessory after the fact.

            The guilty pleas were announced by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Both men pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and are to be sentenced on Oct. 12, 2018, by the Honorable Judith Bartnoff.

            According to a proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, the shooting took place at approximately 3:50 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2017. Mr. Rogers, 25, had been at Uniontown Bar and Grill earlier that night, where he had performed with his band, the “AJA Band.”  Jones and Davis also were in the club that night.  Once Mr. Rogers’s band had finished playing and as the club closed, Mr. Rogers went into a rear parking area behind the club to where his vehicle was parked.  While in the parking lot, Mr. Rogers got into a brief verbal altercation with the two defendants.

            After the verbal altercation had ended, Mr. Rogers attempted to pull his vehicle out of its parking spot.  While doing so, he accidentally backed his car into the vehicle that Davis was driving that night, a 2001 red Oldsmobile Intrigue.  The occupants of the Intrigue were the same group of individuals that had just gotten into a verbal altercation with Mr. Rogers, including Jones and Davis. Once that situation seemed to have de-escalated, Mr. Rogers pulled off and parked his vehicle behind Uniontown Bar and Grill, near the 1200 block of W Street SE. 

            As Mr. Rogers sat parked in his vehicle, the other individuals involved in the altercation and accident began approaching his vehicle. Jones walked up to where Mr. Rogers was parked, and pretended to mingle with a group of females while on the phone.  As he did this, he watched Mr. Rogers have a conversation with another individual, who was standing at the driver’s side door of Mr. Rogers’s vehicle.  During that time, Davis pulled up his vehicle immediately behind Mr. Rogers’s vehicle, where he parked, sat, and waited. 

            As soon as the individual who had been talking with Mr. Rogers walked away from the driver’s side door, Jones approached the vehicle. Jones then fired seven shots within close range into the driver’s side window of the vehicle.  In total, Mr. Rogers was shot five times at close range by Jones and died from the injuries.

            Jones then ran to where Davis was waiting and got into the rear passenger seat after Davis unlocked the car for him.  Jones and Davis then fled the scene. Jones was arrested on Oct. 20, 2017, and Davis was arrested five days later. Both have been in custody since their arrests.

            In announcing the pleas, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Bach, Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin, Paralegal Specialist Kelly Blakeney, and Victim/Witness Advocate James Brennan.

WASHINGTON – Saint Vincent Harris, 22, and Anthony Dickey, 24, both of Washington, D.C., have been indicted on federal charges stemming from an alleged conspiracy to deal heroin and crack cocaine in Northwest and Southwest Washington. Harris also has been indicted on related federal firearms charges. 

            The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Chief of the Fairfax County, Va. Police Department.

            The indictment was returned on Aug. 7, 2018, by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Both men were arrested on the night of Aug. 7 during the execution of search warrants by law enforcement. Harris and Dickey were each indicted on one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine base. Harris also was indicted on four counts of unlawful distribution of heroin; four counts of unlawful distribution of cocaine base, and two related firearms offenses. The indictment includes a forfeiture allegation seeking all proceeds that can be attributed to the crimes.

            Both men were arraigned this afternoon at a hearing before the Honorable G. Michael Harvey. They pled not guilty and were ordered held pending a hearing set for Aug. 13, 2018.

            According to the government’s evidence, the drug conspiracy began in October 2017 and was still taking place. Harris and Dickey allegedly utilized a “stash house” in Northwest Washington, out of which crack cocaine and heroin were sold to members of the community.  Drug customers from the District of Columbia and Virginia traveled to the location to purchase narcotics.  During the course of the conspiracy, according to the evidence, multi-ounce quantities of both crack cocaine and heroin were sold.   During one of the transactions, Harris also allegedly sold a firearm to a customer.

            Harris faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison if convicted of the charges.  Dickey faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison if convicted of the charge against him. 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 U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the Fairfax County Police Department. It is being investigated and prosecuted by the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – A 43-year-old man, formerly of Northwest Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 13 years in prison for repeatedly sexually abusing his teenage daughter, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            The defendant, who is not identified here to protect the privacy of the victim, pled guilty in March 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of first-degree child sexual abuse and attempted second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. He was sentenced by the Honorable Danya A. Dayson. Upon completion of his prison term, the defendant will be placed on 10 years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

            According to the government’s evidence, the defendant sexually abused his daughter from age 12 to 16. On Sept. 25, 2017, he pressured his daughter into drinking so much alcohol that she became seriously ill and passed out. The next morning, he performed a sexual act on her. The victim reported the abuse shortly after this incident. On a call recorded by law enforcement between the defendant and the victim, the defendant admitted to surreptitiously giving the victim “Plan B” birth control medicine and instructed his daughter to lie to law enforcement about his actions.

            The defendant was arrested on Sept. 29, 2017, and has been in custody ever since. At the time of this conduct, he was on supervised release after serving more than 11 years in prison on narcotics charges. He now will face revocation proceedings before the U.S. Parole Commission.

            In announcing the sentence, 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 work of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocates Juanita Harris and Lezlie Richardson, Paralegal Specialist Tiffany Jones, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julianne Johnston and J. Matt Williams, who prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Russell Harrison, 40, of Temple Hills, Md., pled guilty today to possessing six firearms in furtherance of his participation in a drug trafficking conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            Harrison pled guilty before the Honorable Richard J. Leon in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. The charge requires a mandatory minimum sentence of five years of incarceration and up to life imprisonment. Judge Leon scheduled sentencing for Nov. 16, 2018.

            Harrison was arrested with seven other individuals in March 2018 in relation to a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and 280 grams or more of crack. Numerous defendants were also charged with possessing and distributing various narcotics, including crack, cocaine, PCP and fentanyl, during the period of the investigation. The charges followed an investigation into narcotics trafficking in the Washington, D.C. area.

            Harrison’s guilty plea is based on the discovery of six firearms, ammunition, and drug paraphernalia at his residence when it was searched by law enforcement on March 15, 2018. During the execution of a search warrant, FBI agents and members of the U.S. Marshals Service recovered six separate firearms, multiple rounds of ammunition, a 50-round capacity drum, a firearm silencer, and drug paraphernalia. During his plea hearing, Harrison acknowledged that he possessed the firearms in furtherance of his participation in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

            This represents Harrison’s fourth felony conviction. He earlier was convicted twice of trafficking narcotics and once of committing an assault with a firearm.

            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 also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service. Finally, 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 Jeannette Litz and Teesha Tobias, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Swanton, of the Asset Forfeiture & Money Laundering Section, who assisted with forfeiture related issues, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Macchiaroli and Kevin Rosenberg of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Section, who conducted the underlying investigation, indicted the case, and are prosecuting the remaining defendants.

            WASHINGTON –Eight people, all from Washington, D.C., have pled guilty to federal charges following an investigation into the trafficking of PCP, crack cocaine and heroin in Southwest Washington.

            The guilty pleas, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, were announced today by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Thomas L. Chittum III, 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).

            The guilty pleas followed an investigation by ATF and the MPD targeting the area near the King Greenleaf Recreation Center, in the 200 block of N Street SW. The investigation began after authorities noticed an increase in drug sales and violent activity in the area, which is in MPD’s First Police District. According to the government’s evidence, in addition to the area near the recreation center, drug sales took place in various alleys and corners, including near a church in the 1300 block of First Street SW, near a food market in the 1300 block of Half Street SW, and near a convenience store in the 1100 block of South Capitol Street SW.

            Those pleading guilty include:

            -Antonio Spencer, 24. He pled guilty today to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute PCP, heroin, and crack cocaine. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a statutory maximum of 40 years in prison.

            -Maurice Spencer, 19. He pled guilty on July 19, 2018 to conspiracy to distribute PCP and faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison. He is the younger brother of Antonio Spencer.

            -Kione Banks, 20. He pled guilty on May 23, 2018, to one count of conspiring to distribute PCP and faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison.

            -Raymond Boston 27. He pled guilty on May 16, 2018, to one count of conspiring to distribute PCP and faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison.

            -Jerome Fuller, 33. He pled guilty on May 22, 2018, to one count of distribution of PCP and faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison.

            -Damion Littman, 32. He pled guilty on May 21, 2018, to one count of distribution of PCP and also faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison.

            -Davon Warren, 22. He pled guilty on July 19, 2018 to one count of conspiring to distribute PCP and faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison.

            -Morriko Washington, 24. He pled guilty on May 22, 2018, to one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He faces a mandatory sentence of five years and a statutory maximum of life in prison.
 
            This case is being investigated by ATF and MPD. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin L. Rosenberg and William Schurmann, of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – Kevin Cole, 26, of Washington, D.C., has pled guilty to charges stemming from a pair of schemes in which he stole nearly $80,000 in checks intended for local businesses, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced today.

            Cole pled guilty on July 31, 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to two counts of first-degree theft, including one with an enhancement for violating terms of his pretrial release, and one count each of first-degree fraud and violating the Bail Reform Act. Cole is in custody pending his sentencing on Oct. 19, 2018, by the Honorable Kimberley S. Knowles.

            According to a proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, from September through December of 2014, Cole targeted a privately owned swimming pool business in a fraud scheme. He stole checks that were being mailed to a mailbox the company kept at a copy and print shop in Northwest Washington. He also created a bank account in a name that mimicked that of the company’s. In total, he stole at least 21 checks from the company, totaling $64,794. In addition, he obtained access to checkbooks belonging to two other people, and attempted to deposit checks into accounts he had created. The pool company discovered the fraud and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) began an investigation that led to Cole’s arrest in June 2016.

            In 2017, while on pretrial release for the earlier fraud, Cole carried out essentially the same scheme again: this time, he got access to business mailboxes by signing up for an account at a virtual office space in Northwest Washington. Once there, he stole a number of checks from different companies, including a check in the amount of about $15,000 that was paid from a church to a musician for a Christmastime concert and recording. Again, Cole created a fraudulent bank account in the name of the musician’s company and tried to pass the check off as his own; however, the scheme was detected and the church stopped payment on the stolen check.

            Cole was once again arrested in May 2017. He failed to appear for a court hearing on July 13, 2018, leading to the Bail Reform Act charge against him.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of the detectives who investigated the crimes from the Metropolitan Police Department. She also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Arlington County, Va. Police Department. She acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Miller and Michael Christin; former Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Howie; Paralegal Specialists Aisha Keys and Angelia Slagle; Litigation Technology Specialist Anisha Bhatia, and Intern David Seidman and former Intern Tessa Tilton. Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Romano and Jason Feldman, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Vincenzo Lomax, 23, of Temple Hills, Md., was sentenced today to 42 months in prison on a federal firearms charge stemming from his possession of a loaded firearm on July 4, 2017, in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Lomax pled guilty in January 2018 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. He was sentenced by the Honorable Christopher R. Cooper. Following his prison term, Lomax will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on July 4, 2017, just after 2 a.m., MPD officers were in full uniform patrolling the 3200 block of Buena Vista Terrace SE, when they observed a small group of individuals —including Lomax— in the middle of the street.  Lomax was wearing a backpack strapped to the front of his chest. Approximately 10 seconds after officers stopped their car to make contact with the group, Lomax took off in a full sprint.  While he ran from officers, Lomax tossed his backpack, which contained a loaded firearm, to the ground.

             After tossing the backpack, Lomax jumped a fence, continued running, and hid from officers at the bottom of an exterior stairwell leading to a residence.  MPD officers set up a perimeter in an attempt to ensure that Lomax did not escape. Within several minutes, police located him crouched in a fetal position hiding at the bottom of the stairwell and sweating profusely. The cellphone that he was holding was subsequently searched pursuant to a search warrant and contained several photographs of Lomax holding numerous firearms. Lomax was arrested and has remained in custody ever since.

            At the time of his arrest, Lomax was on supervision with the U.S. Parole Commission in connection with a March 20, 2015 shooting that took place in broad daylight aboard a Metrobus in Southeast Washington. As the bus traveled in the 2200 block of Good Hope Road SE, Lomax and a male passenger were involved in an altercation that prompted Lomax to pull out a loaded pistol. While Lomax and the male passenger physically struggled with each other, Lomax ended up shooting a wholly uninvolved innocent woman. Fortunately, the woman’s injuries were not life-threatening. Lomax pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to two felony offenses related to the shooting and was sentenced in June 2015 to two years in prison. He faces formal revocation of his supervised release and additional incarceration separate and apart from the sentence that he faces for possessing a firearm on July 4, 2017.

            In announcing the sentence, 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. Attorneys Christopher Macchiaroli and Kondi Kleinman, and Paralegal Specialist Candace Battle.

WASHINGTON – Derkwon Johnson, 18, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to six years in prison for a pair of armed robberies committed in March 2016 in which he lured unsuspecting victims to his neighborhood in Southeast Washington and robbed them at gunpoint or knifepoint, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). 

            Johnson pled guilty in September 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to seven charges, including, conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery while armed, possession with the intent to distribute PCP, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. He was sentenced by the Honorable Thomas J. Motley. Upon completion of his prison term, Johnson will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, Johnson and several unidentified individuals created fake accounts on OfferUp, an online marketplace to buy and sell goods. They did so for the purpose of luring unsuspecting victims to their neighborhood and robbing them at gunpoint. Johnson and at least one other individual began posting items for sale in March 2016. Throughout the course of the scheme, Johnson posted items for sale, including, but not limited to, iPhones, expensive shoes, dirt bikes, and high-end cars such as an Audi A6.

            On March 3, 2016, one victim believed he was traveling to the 1200 block of Easton Road SE in order to buy an iPhone from an individual using the OfferUp screen name “Larry.” When the victim arrived on the block, Johnson came to his car with a bag, sat in the car, and immediately pulled out a firearm and pointed it at the victim’s head, declaring, “Give me the --- money or I’m gonna --- kill you.” Johnson stole $300 and cut the victim’s hand with a knife during a brief struggle.

            Three days later, Johnson lured another victim to the same block for the purpose of buying a dirt bike. This victim arrived at the location, exited his truck, and was quickly grabbed by two individuals, one of whom stuck a knife to his chest. They dragged him back to his pick-up truck where a third individual approached and broke the passenger side window. One of the individuals stated, “Where’s the money, don’t lie to me or I’ll kill you.”  The victim told the assailants where the money was hidden inside of his truck, and they escaped with $1,000.

            Johnson was soon identified through fingerprints that he left at both crime scenes. Additionally, he used his mother’s Internet IP address to set up the OfferUp accounts.

            MPD officers attempted to arrest Johnson for these robberies on July 31, 2016. Johnson attempted to flee but was apprehended. Upon arrest, he had PCP in his pocket, and a loaded firearm tucked in his compression shorts. He has been in custody since his arrest.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. They acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin L. Rosenberg and Brittany Keil, who prosecuted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Bach, who supervised the prosecution.   

WASHINGTON – Raul Rodriguez, also known as Ricardo Vidaurre Chicas, 45, has been extradited from El Salvador on a charge of first-degree murder while armed (premeditated) for allegedly killing a man in a drive-by shooting in May 1995 in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Michael Hughes, U.S. Marshal for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. 

            Rodriguez, aka Chicas, is accused of killing Charles Wilkins, a 31-year-old accountant with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs, in the early morning hours of Saturday, May 27, 1995. He was arrested within minutes of the shooting and made his first appearance on May 29, 1995, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. However, he was released a week later after posting a $5,000 cash or surety bond set by the judge and he then failed to appear for a court hearing that had been set for June 8, 1995. At the time of his arrest in 1995, Rodriguez, aka Chicas, had been residing in Alexandria, Va.

            The defendant, a Salvadoran citizen, subsequently moved to El Salvador, where he was found by law enforcement in 2015 working as a teacher.  Rodriguez, aka Chicas, was arrested in November 2016 in El Salvador on the United States extradition request and extradited to the United States on July 13, 2018, at which time he was arraigned in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was ordered held without bond by the Honorable Judge Danya A. Dayson pending further court proceedings, including a status hearing set for Sept. 7, 2018. 

            According to the government’s evidence, Rodriguez, aka Chicas, shot Mr. Wilkins multiple times. Mr. Wilkins had been at a nightclub celebrating his brother’s birthday. Rodriguez, aka Chicas, allegedly shot him from inside a vehicle as Mr. Wilkins walked to his car in the 100 block of M Street SE. An eyewitness immediately relayed information to the Metropolitan Police Department. Police pursued the vehicle and apprehended its occupants, including the defendant, within five minutes of the shooting.  Police also recovered the gun used in the shooting, which had been thrown out of the vehicle during the police pursuit. 

            According to the evidence, the defendant was determined to be a member of the Vatos Locos gang.  Mr. Wilkins had no gang affiliations and no known ties to the defendant.

            Rodriguez, aka Chicas, was initially indicted in July 1996 on the murder and related weapons charges. A grand jury returned a superseding indictment in February 2016, adding a charge of violating the Bail Reform Act, stemming from his failure to appear in court.

            An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department, and the defendant’s whereabouts were investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service.  The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Department of State provided substantial assistance in securing extradition.   

            Assistance has been provided by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the U.S. Marshals Service International Investigations Branch, the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, FBI (Central Americas Division) and the Salvadoran National Police.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Macey of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy and Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark.

WASHINGTON – Steven Davis, 40, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for robbing a bank in Northwest Washington last fall, 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).

            Davis pled guilty in April 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to bank robbery. He was sentenced by the Honorable Timothy J. Kelly. Following his prison term, Davis will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, on Nov. 7, 2017, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Davis entered a branch of TD Bank in Dupont Circle, wearing a baseball hat and one latex glove. Davis approached the teller counter and handed the teller a handwritten note that stated “I have a bag full of explosives hand over the $ now or die.” The teller pulled $500 from the cash register and handed it over. Davis placed the money in his canvas bag and left the bank branch. 

            Officers with the Metropolitan Police Department arrived immediately after the robbery and searched the area. Davis attempted to flee by entering the DuPont Circle Metro station. MPD Officers arrested Davis on the lower level platform of the station while he was waiting for a Metro train. He possessed $490 of the $500 he stole from the TD Bank branch.

            In announcing the sentence, 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 MPD. They also expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin L. Rosenberg, who prosecuted the case.

            WASHINGTON –Tyrone Hopkins, 25, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a federal firearms charge stemming from his arrest last fall in a narcotics investigation, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Thomas L. Chittum III, 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).

            Hopkins pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He is to be sentenced on Aug. 10, 2018, by the Honorable Amy Berman Jackson. Hopkins faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of life. He remains in custody pending sentencing.

            According to the government’s evidence, Hopkins was arrested on Oct. 16, 2017, in the 1900 block of West Virginia Avenue NE after he and another man sold crack cocaine to an undercover MPD officer. When MPD officers arrested Hopkins, they discovered an additional amount of crack cocaine in his pocket and a loaded firearm tucked in his waistband. Hopkins had previously been convicted of a felony offense and was, at the time of his arrest, on pre-trial release for a pending drug charge in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

            The firearm recovered from Hopkins was linked to a broader investigation into a firearms ring that acquired guns in Atlanta, Ga., and transported weapons into the District of Columbia for resale. According to the evidence, the gun in Hopkins’s possession was purchased by Jeremy Carr at a store in Smyrna, Ga. Carr, 34, of Marietta, Ga., has been indicted along with two co-defendants on federal charges in a separate case in the District of Columbia, including a charge of taking part in a conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing in firearms without a license. All three defendants have pled not guilty to charges and are awaiting further court proceedings.

            According to court documents filed in the case against Carr, more than 20 firearms that Carr purchased have already been recovered in the District of Columbia.

            These cases are being investigated by ATF and MPD. They are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin L. Rosenberg and Gregory Rosen of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

The owner of a company that provided durable medical equipment pleaded guilty today to a federal charge of health care fraud for carrying out a scheme in which she fraudulently obtained more than $9.4 million in District of Columbia Medicaid payments.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Philadelphia Regional Office and District of Columbia Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas.

Waveney Blackman, 72, of Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  Her sentencing is scheduled on Oct. 18 before the Honorable Thomas F. Hogan.  

Blackman was the sole owner and chief executive officer of WaveCare Health Services LLC, also known as WaveCare Healthcare Services LLC.  The company, based in the District of Columbia, was a provider of durable medical equipment, including wound care and incontinence supplies, to Medicaid beneficiaries and others.  It became a Medicaid provider in 2008.

According to the plea documents, Blackman devised and executed a scheme to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicaid for durable medical equipment, including incontinence and wound care supplies, which she knew were not purchased or provided to Medicaid beneficiaries.  From January 2010 through approximately June 2016, Blackman sent and caused employees to send false and fraudulent invoices to a biller engaged by the company, which were then submitted to Medicaid.  All told, she submitted and caused the submission of at least $9.8 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicaid.  Blackman, through WaveCare, fraudulently obtained $9,431,979 from Medicaid.

According to the plea documents, Blackman used the fraudulent proceeds to obtain properties, including three in Florida and four in Maryland, as well as a Mercedes Benz.

Blackman was charged in a criminal information filed on June 26.  The charges were filed as part of the nation’s largest ever health care fraud enforcement action.  On June 28, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex M. Azar III, announced results of the nationwide effort.  The various enforcement actions involved 601 charged defendants across 58 federal districts, including 165 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving more than $2 billion in false billings.  Of those charged, 162 defendants, including 76 doctors, were charged for their roles in prescribing and distributing opioids and other dangerous narcotics. 

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, HHS-OIG and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the District of Columbia Office of the Inspector General. Assistance has been provided by the U.S. Marshals Service.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Amy Markopoulos of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily A. Miller and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker Tobin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Assistance with forfeiture issues was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman, and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marina Stevenson and Sean Welsh.  Assistance also has been provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise A. Simmonds, Paralegal Specialists Aisha Keys and Robert Fishman, and Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Tonya Jones.  Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Teresa A. Howie, Lionel André, and Angela Saffoe also assisted with the investigation of the case.

WASHINGTON – The owner of a company that provided durable medical equipment pleaded guilty today to a federal charge of health care fraud for carrying out a scheme in which she fraudulently obtained more than $9.4 million in District of Columbia Medicaid payments.

            The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Philadelphia Regional Office and District of Columbia Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas.

            Waveney Blackman, 72, of Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  Her sentencing is scheduled on October 18, 2018, before the Honorable Thomas F. Hogan. 

            Blackman was the sole owner and chief executive officer of WaveCare Health Services LLC, also known as WaveCare Healthcare Services LLC.  The company, based in the District of Columbia, was a provider of durable medical equipment, including wound care and incontinence supplies, to Medicaid beneficiaries and others.  It became a Medicaid provider in 2008.

            According to the plea documents, Blackman devised and executed a scheme to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicaid for durable medical equipment, including incontinence and wound care supplies, which she knew were not purchased or provided to Medicaid beneficiaries.  From January 2010 through approximately June 2016, Blackman sent and caused employees to send false and fraudulent invoices to a biller engaged by the company, which were then submitted to Medicaid.  All told, she submitted and caused the submission of at least $9.8 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicaid.  Blackman, through WaveCare, fraudulently obtained $9,431,979 from Medicaid.

            According to the plea documents, Blackman used the fraudulent proceeds to obtain properties, including three in Florida and four in Maryland, as well as a Mercedes Benz.

            Blackman was charged in a criminal information filed on June 26.  The charges were filed as part of the nation’s largest ever health care fraud enforcement action.  On June 28, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex M. Azar III, announced results of the nationwide effort.  The various enforcement actions involved 601 charged defendants across 58 federal districts, including 165 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving more than $2 billion in false billings.  Of those charged, 162 defendants, including 76 doctors, were charged for their roles in prescribing and distributing opioids and other dangerous narcotics. 

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, HHS-OIG and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the District of Columbia Office of the Inspector General. Assistance has been provided by the U.S. Marshals Service.

            The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Amy Markopoulos of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily A. Miller and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker Tobin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            Assistance with forfeiture issues was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman, and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marina Stevenson and Sean Welsh.  Assistance also has been provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise A. Simmonds, Paralegal Specialists Aisha Keys and Robert Fishman, and Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Tonya Jones.  Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Teresa A. Howie, Lionel André, and Angela Saffoe also assisted with the investigation of the case.

WASHINGTON - Emeka Ndukwu, 46, of Upper Marlboro, Md., was sentenced today to four years in prison for conspiring to launder the proceeds of scams that tricked seven companies in the United States and abroad into wiring more than $900,000 into accounts controlled by various co-conspirators.

            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.

            Ndukwu, a dual citizen of the United States and Nigeria, pled guilty in April 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of money laundering conspiracy. He was sentenced by the Honorable Timothy J. Kelly. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered Ndukwu to pay $791,870 in restitution to the companies. Additionally, Judge Kelly ordered Ndukwu to forfeit a 2014 Mercedes-Benz GL450 and to pay a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $429,848, representing the share of the criminal proceeds that Ndukwu personally obtained.

            According to documents filed at the time of the plea, Ndukwu participated in an ongoing conspiracy from 2013 through 2017 to receive and launder the proceeds of various cyber frauds, primarily arising from business e-mail (“BEC”) compromise schemes. In a typical BEC scheme, a co-conspirator tricks a company into transferring large sums of money into accounts controlled by others participating in the scheme. Using fake e-mails, often containing forged sender addresses, co-conspirators impersonate someone connected to the victim company and deceive an employee of that company into wiring funds. Soon after the wire transfers are completed, the co-conspirators drain the bank accounts and launder the criminal proceeds.

            This particular conspiracy targeted at least seven companies in the United States and overseas, including victims in Texas, Illinois, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, and China.  The victims were fraudulently induced into sending $916,056 in wire transfers to accounts controlled by Ndukwu and other co-conspirators.  The funds were then laundered through transactions conducted in Washington, D.C. and other jurisdictions, including layering through shell company accounts and accounts controlled by co-conspirators.

            According to the court documents, Ndukwu used false aliases and forged Nigerian passports to facilitate these schemes, and he used encrypted messaging to communicate with co-conspirators. Ndukwu was indicted in December 2017 and has been in custody since his arrest that month. A co-defendant, Chuka Mbonu, 33, of Nigeria, remains at large.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher B. Brown and Michael J. Marando are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist C. Rosalind Pressley.  Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Natalia Medina participated in investigating the case. 

WASHINGTON – Robert Moses, 19, and James Mayfield, 18, both of Washington, D.C., were indicted today on murder and other charges stemming from the Aug. 10, 2017, slaying of 17-year-old Jamahri Sydnor, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) announced. Moses and Mayfield also were indicted on charges involving the wounding of three other innocent bystanders. 

            Moses and Mayfield were indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on charges of first-degree murder while armed (premeditated), with aggravating circumstances; assault with intent to kill while armed, and aggravated assault while armed.  Moses was also charged with obstructing justice and committing offenses while on release in another criminal matter.

            Both men are to be arraigned on July 27, 2018, at a hearing before the Honorable Craig Iscoe. They each face a maximum of life in prison if convicted of the charges.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Aug. 10, 2017, at about 3:30 p.m., Moses and Mayfield, each armed with firearms, approached on foot the intersection of Montana and Saratoga Avenues NE.  Numerous people were outside at the time, in and around the busy neighborhood intersection.  Both Moses and Mayfield are accused of opening fire across Montana Avenue towards the people on Saratoga Avenue, collectively firing over ten rounds. As they did, Jamahri Sydnor, 17 years-old, was driving through the intersection of Montana and Saratoga Avenues with a 12 year-old passenger.  Ms. Sydnor, who was days away from beginning her college education, was struck in the head by a bullet.  Incapacitated, she lost control of the car, and it crashed into another parked car.  The 12-year-old, who was in the front passenger seat, was injured by the impact of the collision, as well as the shattering glass when the bullet traveled through the front passenger window before striking Ms. Sydnor.  A third victim was shot as he stood on the corner speaking with friends, while yet another innocent bystander shattered his leg attempting to take cover from the hail of gunfire. 

            Following the attacks, Moses and Mayfield fled the scene.  Moses was arrested on Oct. 26, 2017, and Mayfield was arrested on Dec. 27, 2017.  Both have been in custody since their respective arrests.

            At the time of the alleged offenses, Moses was on release in a pending gun case in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

            An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

            In announcing the charges, 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 District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences.  They acknowledged the efforts of those who are working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker; Victim/Witness Security Specialist Wanda M. Queen; Paralegal Specialists Alesha Matthews-Yette, Meridith McGarrity, Stephanie Gilbert, and Lashone Samuels. Finally, they commended the work of former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deborah Sines and Glenn Kirschner, along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Santiago and Kimberley Nielsen, who are investigating and prosecuting the case.

WASHINGTON – Kelby Gordon, 32, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of second-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, and related firearms offenses for killing an innocent bystander and firing into an occupied bedroom during a broad-daylight shooting in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            Gordon was found guilty on July 23, 2018, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He is to be sentenced on Sept. 21, 2018, by the Honorable Milton C. Lee.

            According to the government’s evidence, on March 24, 2016, at approximately 11:15 a.m., the victim, Gabriel Turner, was walking in a cut-through behind the 2600 block of Birney Place SE, headed to a nearby bus stop. Mr. Turner, 46, who had intellectual disabilities and who was working at the FBI as a janitor, had just finished having breakfast with his mother – as he had every morning. Gordon, meanwhile, was in the area and, after seeing another man pull out a large amount of money, decided to rob that man near the mouth of the cut-through.

            However, as Gordon attempted to rob the man, the man began to pull out his own firearm. Gordon, in his own words, gave the man no chance, and pulled his gun out first. The two men began running down the cut-through behind Mr. Turner.

            Unbeknownst to Mr. Turner, Gordon planted his feet and began firing towards the man, who fled in the same direction that Mr. Turner was walking. The man who Gordon was targeting weaved around Mr. Turner and escaped, but a single bullet struck Mr. Turner in the upper back as he ducked. The bullet lodged itself in Mr. Turner’s sinus – killing him almost instantly. Two other bullets flew into an occupied apartment across the street, just missing the head of a second victim as he returned to bed. 

            An investigation led to Gordon’s arrest on April 17, 2016, by the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Liu, Chief Newsham, and Assistant Director in Charge McNamara commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), as well as the FBI/MPD Safe Streets Task Force and the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team, which helped identify Mr. Turner’s assailant. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the United States Park Police, the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, the United States 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 Victim/Witness Service Coordinators La June Thames and Katina Adams-Washington; Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark; Administrative Services Specialist Sallie Rynas; Forensic Operation/Program Specialist Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Criminal Investigator John Marsh; Paralegal Specialists Lornce Applewhite and Jeffrey Bloom; Litigation Technology Specialist Thomas “Ron” Royal, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily A. Miller, who initially investigated the case.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsey Merikas and Monica Trigoso, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Donald R. Hairston, 51, of District Heights, Md., was sentenced today to a 49 ½-year prison term for the June 2016 slaying of his ex-girlfriend at her home in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            Hairston was found guilty by a jury in May 2018 of first-degree murder while armed, first-degree felony murder while armed, first-degree burglary while armed, temporary protection order violation, stalking, and related firearms offenses. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Danya A. Dayson.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Saturday, June 18, 2016, at approximately 1 a.m., the victim, Stephanie Goodloe, was in bed in her three-bedroom rowhouse in the 700 block of Kentucky Avenue SE. Her 11-year-old daughter, who was asleep in a nearby bedroom, awoke to her mother’s cry and the sound of “Pop… pop, pop, pop.”  She then then saw a man walk by her open bedroom door.  The man she observed was Hairston, her mother’s ex-boyfriend. Terrified, the girl waited a few minutes before checking on her mother because she was afraid the defendant would come after her next.  When she finally gained the courage to go into her mother’s room, she found her 39-year-old mother dead, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the head.  Frantic, she called 911.

            Prior to the murder, according to the government’s evidence, Hairston had engaged in a pattern of domestic violence against Ms. Goodloe. She had filed for a temporary protection order against him approximately two weeks earlier after he had slashed her tires and showed up at her house pounding on the door at all hours of the night.  Additionally, in the weeks leading up to the murder, he stole her house keys from her front door, threatened to kill her, and generally stalked and harassed her. They were scheduled to go to court regarding the temporary protection order on Monday, June 20, 2016, just two days after the murder.

            Hairston was arrested on the day of the murder and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle D. Jackson, David Gorman, and Laura R. Bach; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker; Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington; Forensic Child Interview Specialists Karen Giannakoulias and Tracy Owusu; Forensic Operation/Program Specialist Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie; Contract Specialist Marquetta Little; Lead Paralegal Specialist Meridith McGarrity; Paralegal Specialists Kelly Blakeney and Stephanie Gilbert; Criminal Investigators John Marsh and Zachary McMenamin, and Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alicia Long and John Timmer, who investigated, indicted, and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Delonte Mack, 31, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 13 years in prison on charges stemming from a brazen shooting that took place in broad daylight last year in Southwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            The victim was shot numerous times at close range and, but for the quick medical attention of a responding Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer, could have died.

            Mack was found guilty by a jury on April 17, 2018, of charges of aggravated assault while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Juliet McKenna. Following his prison term, he will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, at approximately 12:45 p.m., the victim was standing in front of a carry-out restaurant in the unit block of N Street SW, a short distance from Nationals Park. Without warning, Mack came from an alley running alongside the carry-out and approached the victim from behind. He then opened fire.

            The victim was hit five times, including in the groin, back and arm. During the trial, the surgeon who treated the victim testified how emergency surgery was needed to prevent him from bleeding to death on the operating table. The victim continues to suffer pain and limited mobility as a result of his gunshot wounds, and lost a toe in the attack.

            After the shooting, Mack ran back into the alley and toward the back yard of his nearby home on Carrollsburg Place SW. Minutes later, he sped away in his car, headed into Maryland. An investigation led to his arrest on March 17, 2017, and he has been in custody ever since.  

            Mack was linked to the crime through video from the alley, cell site data, and Internet searches he conducted about the shooting and about “boots for missing toes.” At the time of his arrest, Mack was on supervised release stemming from an earlier firearms case.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences and the FBI’s Cellular Survey Analysis Team. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Tiffany Fogle and Lornce Applewhite; Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, and Criminal Investigators Durand Odom, Tommy Miller, Mark Crawford, and John Marsh.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys John B. Timmer and Laura Crane, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON - The United States filed a civil complaint today to forfeit more than $640,000 in funds from Wang Wei, a/k/a Jack Wang, whose companies allegedly were procuring U.S.-origin items and illegally supplying them to sanctioned entities in Iran.

            The announcement was made by Jessie K. Liu, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and Jill Sanborn, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis Division.

            The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and seeks the civil forfeiture of one ownership unit in the EB-5 Investment Program Cleveland International Fund - Medical Mart Hotel, set to mature in 2020 and pay out $500,000, and $141,086 allegedly laundered into the United States to Reekay Technology, one of Wang’s sanctioned companies.

            According to the complaint, a law enforcement investigation into an Iranian procurement network revealed that Wang was the Beijing-based owner of several Iranian procurement front companies. On November 12, 2015, the U.S. Department of Commerce sanctioned Wang and his affiliated companies, Sky Rise Technology Ltd, TiMi Technologies Co Ltd, 32 Group China Ltd., Caprice Group Ltd, and Reekay Technology, for supplying U.S.-origin items to an Iranian party associated with the Iranian defense industry and to an Iranian party whose customers include companies designated by the Department of Treasury as Specially Designated Nationals.

            Additionally, on March 21, 2017, the U.S. Department of State sanctioned Wang and his affiliated companies for transfers to Iran’s missile program. 

            The complaint alleges that at Wang’s direction, front companies, located in mainland China and Hong Kong, purchased sensitive U.S. origin technology on behalf of Iranian end users without the licenses required by the U.S. government.  According to the complaint, Wang and his companies conducted more than 100 wire transfers from offshore U.S. dollar accounts worth more than $1.1 million as part of this scheme.  The complaint alleges that at least $641,086 of these wires related to illegal procurements from companies that exported U.S. origin items to Wang, which he failed to disclose were going to Iran.  The remaining approximately $533,063 in transactions reflect Wang conducting U.S. dollar wire transfers between overseas electronics manufacturers, distributors and telecommunications companies to procure items for sanctioned Iranian entities, the complaint alleges. As part of this scheme, a Chinese front company allegedly wired $141,086 to Reekay Technology.  These funds were seized as they transited through the United States for Iranian sanctions violations, and represent one of the defendant properties. 

            The EB-5 visa program provides a method for eligible immigrant investors to become lawful permanent residents (i.e., “green card holders”) by investing at least $500,000 to finance a business in a targeted employment area in the United States that will employ at least 10 American workers.   The Cleveland International Fund (“CiF”) is an Ohio-based regional center offering foreign nationals the opportunity to make investments in the United States for the ultimate purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship through the EB-5 investment visa program.  Wang is an investor in CiF’s Medical Mart Hotel project, whose members consist of CiF as managing member, as well as individual overseas members who purchase their membership unit for $500,000, pursuant to EB-5 program. As alleged in the complaint, Wang laundered $500,000 into the United States in support of his EB-5 application, which was converted into one ownership unit in the Cleveland International Fund - Medical Mart Hotel, Ltd.  These funds have been invested in a bond which will mature in 2020, and will result in a pay out at that time to Wang.  The government seeks to forfeit Wang’s interest in the bond.

            The complaint also seeks a civil monetary penalty against Wang for these sanctions and money laundering violations related to this scheme.

            The claims made in the complaint are only allegations and do not constitute a determination of liability.

            The FBI’s Minneapolis Divison, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul, Minnesota, Office, and Department of Commerce are investigating the case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S Attorneys Zia M. Faruqui, Ari Redbord, and Brian P. Hudak, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Department of Justice Trial Attorney David Recker, of the National Security Division. Assistance is being provided by Paralegal Specialist Toni Anne Donato of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

WASHINGTON – Rose Gross, 62, a former background investigator who did work under contract for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), pled guilty today to a charge stemming from her falsification of work on background investigations of federal employees and contractors, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Norbert E. Vint, Acting Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management.

            Gross, of District Heights, Md., pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to making a false statement. The Honorable Rudolph Contreras scheduled sentencing for Oct. 22, 2018. The charge carries a statutory penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Gross faces a range of 12 to 18 months in prison. She also has agreed to pay $189,042 in restitution to the federal government.

            According to a statement of offense submitted to the Court, Gross was employed by USIS and KeyPoint Government Solutions as an investigator under contract to conduct background investigations on behalf of OPM’s Federal Investigative Services, which now is known as OPM’s National Background Investigations Bureau. All of the criminal conduct in this case took place while Gross worked under contract on behalf of Federal Investigative Services.

            Between April 2014 and February 2015, in more than two dozen Reports of Investigations on background investigations, Gross represented that she had interviewed a source or reviewed a record­ regarding the subject of the background investigation. In fact, she had not conducted the interviews or obtained the records of interest. These reports were utilized and relied upon by the agencies requesting the background investigations to determine whether the subjects were suitable for positions having access to classified information, for positions impacting national security, for receiving or retaining security clearances, or for positions of public trust.

            The false representations by Gross have required OPM to reopen and rework numerous background investigations that were assigned to her during the time period of her falsifications, at an estimated cost of at least $189,092 to the U.S. government.

            OPM has a robust integrity assurance program which utilizes a variety of methods to ensure the accuracy of reported information.  The falsification of investigative case work by the defendant was detected through the program.

            This is one of numerous cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia since 2008 involving false representations by background investigators and record checkers working on federal background investigations. In addition to Gross, 24 other background investigators and two record checkers have been convicted of charges.

            With a staff of more than 9,900 federal and contract employees, the National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) conducts approximately 95 percent of all personnel background investigations for the federal government.  NBIB processed over 2.5 million background investigations in the 2017 fiscal year.

            In performing background investigations, the investigators conduct interviews of individuals who have information about the person who is the subject of the review. In addition, the investigators seek out, obtain, and review documentary evidence, such as employment records, to verify and corroborate information provided by either the subject of the background investigation or by persons interviewed during the investigation.  After conducting interviews and obtaining documentary evidence, the investigators prepare a Report of Investigation containing the results of the interviews and document reviews, and electronically submit the material to OPM in Washington, D.C. OPM then provides a copy of the investigative file to the requesting agency, which can use the information to determine an individual’s eligibility for employment or a security clearance.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu and Acting Inspector General Vint praised the efforts of Special Agent Christopher J. Sulhoff, OPM, Office of the Inspector General, and Philip Kroop and Kevin Cassidy, OPM, NBIB. They also acknowledged the work of Paralegal Specialists Aisha Keys and Joshua Fein of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Chubin Epstein, who investigated and prosecuted this matter.

WASHINGTON – Keith Young, 46, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 20  years in prison on federal drug trafficking and firearms charges, after a search by law enforcement last year recovered from his residence more than two kilograms of heroin laced with fentanyl, a loaded firearm, 170 rounds of ammunition, and multiple extended magazines.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Thomas L. Chittum III, 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).

            Young was found guilty by a jury on April 27, 2018, of one count of possession with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person previously convicted of a crime punishable by in excess of 12 months in prison. The verdict followed a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson. Following his prison term, Young will be placed on 10 years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on April 25, 2017, the ATF executed a search warrant in the 500 block of Newcomb Street SE, and was assisted by agents and officers of MPD’s Narcotics and Special Investigations Unit, the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, and the Uniformed Division of the U.S. Secret Service.

            Young was present at the residence when the search was executed. In Young’s bed, agents located a loaded .45-caliber semi-automatic firearm with an extended magazine under a pillow. Throughout the residence, law enforcement recovered 170 rounds of ammunition in four calibers, and five ammunition magazines, including multiple extended magazines. In the living room, law enforcement found two large plastic bins that were filled with drug manufacturing paraphernalia, such as, sifters, blenders, digital scales, playing cards, cutting agents, masks, gloves, and various sized storage bags. Additionally, hidden inside a section of the basement ceiling, law enforcement found a blue box and black bag.  When agents opened the box and bag, they found in excess of two kilograms of heroin, valued at approximately $180,000. The Secret Service examined evidence for fingerprints and suspected DNA. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) later confirmed that the heroin contained fentanyl.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Chittum, and Chief Newsham commended the work and collaboration of those who investigated the case from the ATF and MPD. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Secret Service, and the DEA.

            They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Jeannette Litz, Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Lucas, who assisted with forfeiture issues, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Crane, who assisted with the investigation. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Macchiaroli and David Misler of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Section, who tried the case.

WASHINGTON – Three men have been found guilty by a jury of felony murder and other charges stemming from the slaying of a man during a home invasion in Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Joseph Barbour, 38, Willie Glover, Jr., 40, and Charles McRae, 66, were found guilty on July 17, 2018, of murder, first-degree burglary while armed and related offenses following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Barbour and McRae are from Washington, D.C., and Glover is from Forestville, Md.  They remain held pending sentencing on Sept. 14, 2018, by the Honorable Craig Iscoe.

            According to the government’s evidence, on the night of the killing, Dec. 21, 2015, the victim, Lenard Wills, was with a group of people in an apartment in the 700 block of 24th Street NE. His girlfriend was making dinner for the group when she got into a verbal argument with McRae. McRae left the apartment and came back a short time later with Barbour and Glover. One of the occupants let McRae into the apartment and, as he entered, Barbour and Glover came in behind him, wearing masks and carrying guns. 

            All three told the people in the apartment to get down and shut up.  Barbour and Glover immediately went to Mr. Wills, who was seated at a table in the living room, and started pistol-whipping him, demanding money and drugs. McRae held down one of the occupants and punched another who tried to flee.  He then pounded on the bathroom door demanding that Mr. Wills’ girlfriend come out, and punched her when she did.  A struggle between Mr. Wills, Barbour and Glover ensued, during which one of the guns went off and broke apart.  At some point during the struggle, Mr. Wills stabbed Barbour and Glover. McRae then came over to assist.  Mr. Wills, 50, was stabbed multiple times and all three defendants fled the apartment.  Mr. Wills was pronounced dead a short time later at a hospital.

            Bleeding heavily, Barbour fled across the courtyard and a basketball court to his girlfriend’s apartment building.  Later, while canvassing along the blood trail, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department recovered a knife in a trash can as well as Barbour’s cell phone on the basketball court.  Glover, meanwhile, drove himself to an area hospital. McRae met up with several of the apartment’s occupants at a bus stop while police were canvassing the scene and told them, among other things, that what happened in the apartment was not meant for them and that if he had the gun, he would have shot Mr. Wills.

            Barbour and Glover were arrested within days of the murder, and McRae was arrested in March 2016. All have been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. They acknowledged the efforts of those who assisted with the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chrisellen Kolb and Daniel Lenerz; Forensic Operation/Program Specialist Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie; Intelligence Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Criminal Investigator John Marsh; Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Sharon Newman; Paralegal Specialists Meridith McGarrity, Alesha Matthews, Stephanie Gilbert, and Kelly Blakeney;  Litigation Technology Specialists Anisha Bhatia, Leif Hickling, and Jeanie Latimore-Brown; Victim/Witness Advocate James Brennan, and Witness Security Specialist Debra Cannon. Finally, they commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica Sanchez, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Earnest and Richard Barker, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Charles Morgan, 57, a registered sex offender who is formerly of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 40 years in prison on child exploitation charges and other offenses stemming from his sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl he picked up at a bus stop. 

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

            Morgan was found guilty by a jury on May 2, 2018, following a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was found guilty that day of two federal charges, including one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and one count of attempted production of child pornography.  On May 5, 2018, the Court found him guilty of two additional federal counts of commission of a crime of violence against a minor while being required to register as a sex offender.

            Morgan was sentenced by the Honorable Senior Judge Ellen S. Huvelle. Following completion of his prison term, he is to be placed on supervised release for the rest of his life. He also must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

            According to the government’s evidence, the defendant, a convicted rapist, sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl on May 23, 2016. The victim had left home after dark without telling her family and was trying to catch a bus to a friend’s house.  Morgan, who was in a car, pulled over near the bus stop at Minnesota Avenue and Randall Circle SE and offered the victim a ride.  Given that it was nearly midnight, there was no bus in sight, and the victim’s cellular phone was dead, she reluctantly accepted because Morgan showed her a business card and an identification badge to reassure her of his identity.  Instead of taking the victim to her friend’s home, Morgan drove the victim to his basement apartment in Capitol Heights, Maryland, and anally sodomized her.  Morgan told the victim to wash off in the bathroom, gave her a pair of his underwear to put on, then drove her back into the District of Columbia and dropped her off along the street near where he had picked her up.  Morgan told the victim that he was going to pick her up again the following weekend so that he and his roommate could engage in sexual acts with her.

             The victim immediately reported the rape.  An undercover officer assumed the victim’s identity and engaged in a text conversation with Morgan in which the defendant insisted that he was going to pick up the victim the following weekend to assault her again. Morgan also demanded that the victim take naked photos of genitals and send them to him. He was arrested shortly thereafter and charged in the District of Columbia on the charges for which he stands convicted.  Morgan has also been charged in Maryland with rape charges stemming from the sexual assault of the victim that occurred in his residence there.

            Morgan was already registering as a sex offender as a result of an armed rape of a woman that he committed in 1989. He was released from prison in that case in 2009.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Marshal Hughes, Assistant Director in Charge McNamara, and Chief Newsham commended the work of Senior Inspector Floriano Whitwell and other members of the D.C. Superior Court Sex Offender Investigations Section of the U.S. Marshals Service, who investigated the case, as well as those who worked on the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            They acknowledged those who assisted with the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay Suttenberg, of the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section; Elizabeth Trosman, Chief of the Appellate Division; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Bates and Nicholas Coleman, of the Appellate Division, and Michael Ambrosino, Special Counsel for DNA and Forensic Evidence Litigation. They also acknowledged the assistance provided by Criminal Investigator John Marsh; Victim/Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant; Witness Security Specialist Debra Cannon; Forensic Operation/Program Specialist Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie; Paralegal Supervisor Michelle Wicker; Paralegal Specialist Tiffany Jones; former Paralegal Specialist Donhue Troy Griffith; Litigation Technology Specialist Anisha Bhatia, and former Litigation Technology Specialist Joshua Ellen. 

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea L. Hertzfeld and Jason Park, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

            This case was part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and was, along with the U.S. Marshals Service Sex Offender Investigations Section, investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD.  In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov

WASHINGTON – Charles E. Scott, Jr., a vendor who claimed to be providing tutoring and mentoring services for students with special needs, was sentenced today to 26 weekends in jail, to be followed by 180 days of home confinement, for a scheme in which he collected more than $75,000 from the District of Columbia Public Schools for work that never was performed.

            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 District of Columbia Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas. 

            Scott, 38, of Baltimore, Md., pled guilty in April 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to mail fraud and identity theft. He was sentenced by the Honorable Rudolph Contreras. The judge sentenced him to five years of probation, during which he must serve the jail term and complete the home confinement, as well as perform 100 hours of community service. He also is required to pay $75,398 in restitution to the District of Columbia Public Schools and an identical amount in a forfeiture money judgment.

            According to a statement of offense filed as part of the plea, the scheme took place from approximately February 2013 through December 2013. During that time, Scott submitted invoices, timesheets and other documents to the Office of Special Education, a component of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). The Office of Special Education manages the school system’s Compensatory Education Program.

            The Compensatory Education Program awards services to eligible students to assist with their educational needs and development. Students awarded compensatory education services have learning, mental, and/or behavioral disabilities that create an educational barrier that prevents them from reaping the full benefits of education. Services consist of tutoring, individualized education, monitoring, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and behavioral and psychological analysis. Once DCPS approves specific services, parents or guardians receive letters specifying the services that can be provided and it is up to the parent or guardian to identify an independent provider to perform the authorized services.

            Scott’s invoices included the names and dates of birth for 10 minor children for whom he claimed to have performed services. The accompanying timesheets included what purported to be the signatures of the parents or guardians whose children had purportedly received the services as well as the signatures of the tutors who supposedly did the work. Nearly all of what purported to be signatures of the parents and guardians were forged. Tutors’ signatures also were forged.

            Scott did not have permission to use the names and dates of the children listed on his invoices and did not have approval from parents or guardians to sign their names.

            All told, Scott obtained a total of $75,398 for services that were never performed. In addition, the District of Columbia disputed and never paid him for $20,314 worth of invoices and timesheets that he submitted for services that never were performed.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Assistant Director in Charge McNamara, and Inspector General Lucas commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the District of Columbia Office of the Inspector General. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Lucas, who is handling forfeiture issues, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrienne Dedjinou, and Paralegal Specialists Joshua Fein, Aisha Keys, and Kristy Penny. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter C. Lallas, who is prosecuting the case.

The owner of Eelon Training Academy (“Eelon”), a privately owned, non-accredited school purporting to specialize in digital media courses, pleaded guilty today to bribing a public official at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in exchange for the public official’s facilitation of payments to Eelon that were supposed to be dedicated to providing vocational training for military veterans with service-connected disabilities.  Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia made the announcement.

Michelle Stevens, 57, of Waldorf, Maryland, pleaded guilty to one count of bribing a public official.  The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge John D. Bates of the District of Columbia.  In April 2018, two other individuals, Albert Poawui and Sombo Kanneh, pleaded guilty in related cases to bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery, respectively.

The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program is a VA program that provides disabled U.S. military veterans with education and employment-related services.  VR&E program counselors advise veterans under their supervision which schools to attend and facilitate payments to those schools for veterans’ tuition and necessary supplies.

According to admissions made in connection with Stevens’ plea, she created Eelon Training Academy after learning about the VR&E program from a VR&E program counselor.  In or about September 2016, the VR&E program counselor facilitated the first tuition payment from the VA to Eelon.  Shortly after receiving this payment, the VR&E program counselor told Stevens that she should give him seven percent of the monies paid by the VA to Eelon. 

Stevens admitted to later making two cash payments of $1,500 to the VR&E program counselor in furtherance of her scheme to bribe the VR&E program counselor in exchange for the VR&E program counselor sending veterans under his supervision to Eelon and facilitating the VA’s payments to Stevens.  In total, Stevens received approximately $83,000 from the VA for education that she purported to provide to veteran students.  Stevens submitted invoices to the VA amounting to no less than $300,000 for the tuition and equipment of seven students, but was not paid the balance of the invoice amount due to the VA’s ongoing investigation into Eelon following complaints by students about the poor quality of education. 

In an effort to procure the outstanding payments from the VA, Stevens made numerous fraudulent misrepresentations to the VA, and maintained fraudulent student files in the event of an audit by the VA.             For example, Stevens emailed to the VA an “attendance” sheet for eight students.  The attendance sheet was created by Stevens and included handwritten check marks purporting to represent the dates that the students attended class.  In fact, as Stevens well knew, the students had not attended class on many of those dates nor was class even held on many of those dates. 

Stevens’ plea is the third guilty plea in an ongoing investigation by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the VA Office of Inspector General.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonali D. Patel of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Simon J. Cataldo of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrienne Dedjinou and Paralegal Specialist Joshua Fein also assisted in the prosecution of this case.