District of Columbia

WASHINGTON – 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.

WASHINGTON – A former management analyst for the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) was sentenced today to 56 months in prison on charges stemming from schemes in which she accepted bribes in return for clearing the way for payments to be made on fraudulent invoices that cost the D.C. government more than $480,000.

            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.

            Shauntell Harley, 48, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in March 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery. She was sentenced by the Honorable Randolph D. Moss. Following her prison term, Harley will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            As part of the plea agreement, Harley must pay $488,311 in restitution to the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education. She also was ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $100,400.

            OSSE is an agency of the District of Columbia government. Harley was a management analyst for fiscal policy and grant management in OSSE’s Division of Special Education. From 2009 through 2014, her responsibilities included issuing requests for services through the government’s procurement process and then reviewing invoices from those who supposedly provided the services.

            According to a statement of offense submitted at the plea hearing, Harley took part in two separate schemes involving fraudulent invoices paid by the D.C. government.

            In one scheme, which began in or about June of 2012, she and business owner Vashawn Strader agreed that Harley would receive money and other things of value in exchange for favorable official action for Strader’s companies. They agreed that Strader would create fraudulent invoices purporting to reflect work that his companies did not actually perform. This work purportedly included early intervention services and professional development training.

            Harley used her official position at OSSE to provide Strader with non-public information about OSSE contracts, assist him in creating fraudulent invoices, and submit these fraudulent invoices and other documents as necessary in order to cause OSSE to make the payments for services the companies never performed. In total, this led to $308,311 in payments in 2012 and 2013 to the two companies for services that never were provided. In return for her actions, Harley personally obtained a total of $43,900 in proceeds traceable to the scheme.

            Strader, 39, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in October 2017 to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. He is awaiting sentencing. Under his plea agreement, Strader is required to pay $308,311 in restitution to OSSE and an identical amount in a forfeiture money judgment.

            In the second scheme, which unfolded in 2013 and 2014, Harley admitted conspiring with the owner of another company to have that firm invoice OSSE for work that was not performed. Harley used her official position to create and submit fraudulent purchase orders and otherwise caused OSSE to pay the company. In exchange, the company owner provided Harley with a portion of the proceeds. According to the statement of offense, in this scheme Harley used her official position to cause OSSE to pay $179,999 for services that the company never provided. The company owner made approximately $53,000 in payments to Harley.

            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 Office of the Inspector General of the District of Columbia. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Swanton, who assisted with forfeiture issues, and Paralegal Specialists Joshua Fein and Kristy Penny. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter C. Lallas, who is investigating and prosecuting the matter.

WASHINGTON – Jerome A. Proctor, Jr., 24, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for discharging a firearm during an armed robbery of a United States Postal Service (USPS) Letter Carrier who was delivering mail, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Acting Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Washington Division, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Proctor pled guilty in April 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon sentence of 10 years in prison. The Honorable Christopher R. Cooper accepted the plea and sentenced Proctor accordingly. Following his prison term, Proctor will be placed on five years of supervised release. Judge Cooper also ordered Proctor to pay $10,000 in restitution to the victim.

            The government’s evidence established that on Nov. 26, 2016, at approximately 6 p.m., Proctor and an associate attacked the victim in the 2300 block of 2nd Street NE. The victim was completing mail deliveries on his route and Proctor brandished a black semi-automatic handgun and pointed it towards the letter carrier’s head.  Proctor then kicked and pistol-whipped the victim while he was on the ground and his associate went through the victim’s pockets, taking the victim’s cell phone, personal keys, and wallet, containing identification and debit cards.  Property of the U.S. Postal Service was also taken, including a mail satchel and scanner. 

            A vehicle drove up during the assault and robbery, at which point Proctor fired a single shot into the air in an attempt to scare off the driver of the vehicle.  The driver of the vehicle heard the gunshot, and fearing for her safety, sped away, with the letter carrier chasing after the vehicle.  Shortly after the assault and robbery, Proctor and his associate could be seen together on video footage from the Fashion Centre mall at Pentagon City in Arlington, Va., where Proctor’s associate attempted to use a debit card stolen from the letter carrier at the food court.

            Proctor was arrested in December 2016 in Prince George’s County, Md. and he has been in custody ever since. He was indicted in this case in May 2017.

            During the assault on the letter carrier, Proctor commented that the victim got “blood on his new Timberlands.”  During the course of the investigation, the victim’s blood was identified on a stain on a pair of jeans recovered from the residence where Proctor was arrested. 

            “Today’s sentence holds Jerome Proctor, Jr. accountable for a brazen armed robbery of a Postal Service Letter Carrier who was completing deliveries on his route,” said U.S. Attorney Liu.  “The community is safer now that this dangerous offender is off the streets.”

            “Protection of Postal employees is one of the Postal Inspection Service's highest priorities,” said Acting Inspector in Charge Shen. “We greatly appreciate the assistance of our law enforcement partners in bringing justice for this violent crime and improving the safety of our employees and community.”

            At the time of his arrest in Maryland, Proctor was on probation in Maryland for a firearms conviction.  Proctor’s probation was revoked by Maryland and he was re-sentenced to serve the three-year sentence that had previously been suspended.  That sentence must run consecutive to the sentence in this case.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Acting Inspector in Charge Shen, and Chief Newsham commended the work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and MPD officers in the Fifth District in quickly investigating and arresting Proctor.  They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Crane of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, Paralegal Specialist Rommel Pachoca, and Legal Assistant Peter Gaboton.

 

A criminal complaint was unsealed today in the District of Columbia charging a Russian national with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation within the United States without prior notification to the Attorney General.

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

Maria Butina, 29, a Russian citizen residing in Washington D.C., was arrested on July 15, 2018, in Washington, D.C., and made her initial appearance this afternoon before Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was ordered held pending a hearing set for July 18, 2018.

According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, from as early as 2015 and continuing through at least February 2017, Butina worked at the direction of a high-level official in the Russian government who was previously a member of the legislature of the Russian Federation and later became a top official at the Russian Central Bank.  This Russian official was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control in April 2018.

The court filings detail the Russian official’s and Butina’s efforts for Butina to act as an agent of Russia inside the United States by developing relationships with U.S. persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation. The filings also describe certain actions taken by Butina to further this effort during multiple visits from Russia and, later, when she entered and resided in the United States on a student visa. The filings allege that she undertook her activities without officially disclosing the fact that she was acting as an agent of Russian government, as required by law. 

The charges in criminal complaints 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 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.

The investigation into this matter was conducted by the FBI’s Washington 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 National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

WASHINGTON – A criminal complaint was unsealed today in the District of Columbia charging a Russian national with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation within the United States without prior notification to the Attorney General.

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

            Mariia Butina, 29, a Russian citizen residing in Washington D.C., was arrested on July 15, 2018, in Washington, D.C., and made her initial appearance this afternoon before Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was ordered held pending a hearing set for July 18, 2018.

            According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, from as early as 2015 and continuing through at least February 2017, Butina worked at the direction of a high-level official in the Russian government who was previously a member of the legislature of the Russian Federation and later became a top official at the Russian Central Bank.  This Russian official was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control in April 2018.

            The court filings detail the Russian official’s and Butina’s efforts for Butina to act as an agent of Russia inside the United States by developing relationships with U.S. persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation. The filings also describe certain actions taken by Butina to further this effort during multiple visits from Russia and, later, when she entered and resided in the United States on a student visa. The filings allege that she undertook her activities without officially disclosing the fact that she was acting as an agent of Russian government, as required by law.

            The charges in criminal complaints 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 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.

            The investigation into this matter was conducted by the FBI’s Washington 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 National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

           

            WASHINGTON – Richard Reid, 43, of Washington, D.C. and Dwonne Washington, 43, of Silver Spring, Md., have pled guilty to federal charges for robbing and beating a man who was servicing ATM machines last fall in Northwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge of the Criminal Division of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Both men pled guilty to a charge of interference with interstate commerce by robbery as well as a related federal firearms offense. Reid entered his guilty plea on July 11, 2018, in the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia, and Washington entered his plea on the following day. Both men face mandatory minimum sentences of seven years in prison for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and additional time for the robbery offense. Under sentencing guidelines, Reid faces a likely total range of 125 to 135 months in prison and Washington faces an estimated 117 to 125 months. The Honorable Rudolph Contreras scheduled sentencing for Oct. 2, 2018. Both men remain held pending sentencing.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Nov. 15, 2017, the victim was refilling ATM machines owned by his company throughout the Washington, D.C. area.  The attack took place after the victim had refilled an ATM machine located inside a market in the 300 block of P Street NW. At 1:45 p.m., as the victim was walking to his car with a backpack filled with cash, he was attacked from behind by two assailants.

            The first assailant, Washington, pistol-whipped the victim with a firearm while the second assailant, Reid, beat the victim with his fists.  Both Washington and Reid wrestled the backpack off the victim’s back and fled the area in a vehicle.  During the attack, which was captured on surveillance video, the victim’s nose was broken.

            An investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department revealed that the getaway vehicle used by the assailants was registered to Washington.  Witnesses then identified Washington in the surveillance video and he was arrested the day after the crime.  He has been held ever since.  Subsequent investigation by MPD and the FBI’s Washington Field Office identified a phone dropped on scene as belonging to Reid, and a witness identified him in the surveillance video.  He was arrested on Feb. 23, 2018 and has been held since that time. 

            In announcing the pleas, U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu, Special Agent in Charge DeSarno, and Chief Newsham commended the work of MPD’s Fifth District detectives and the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara Vanore and Sumit Mallick, who successfully prosecuted the defendants. 

 

WASHINGTON – Selvin Chocooj, 32, a former driver with a national ride-sharing company, was sentenced today to 19 months in prison for sexually assaulting a passenger last year in Northeast Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Chocooj, who is from Guatemala and had been living in Oxon Hill, Md., pled guilty in April 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to third-degree sexual abuse. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon prison sentence of 12 to 24 months, to be followed by a period of supervised release and sex offender registration. The Honorable Craig Iscoe accepted the plea and sentenced Chocooj accordingly. Chocooj will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his prison term.

            According to a proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, on Dec. 10, 2017, at approximately 4 a.m., near the 400 block of East Capitol Street NE, Chocooj and the victim were seated in the front of the defendant’s Toyota Prius. While in the car, Chocooj touched the victim’s breast by force and against her will. She resisted and a physical struggle ensued. During this struggle, the victim sustained injuries to her neck and shoulder, and Chocooj sustained injuries to his face. As the struggle continued, Chocooj physically forced the victim out of the vehicle, got back into the car, and drove away. The victim remained on the scene and called 911.

            The day after the incident, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department went to an apartment building in Oxon Hill, Md., and attempted to speak with Chocooj about the allegations. Chocooj jumped out of a third-story window and fled. He was eventually located by the U.S. Marshals Service in the Pikeville, Ky. area and arrested on Dec. 22, 2017.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit. She also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service. She acknowledged work of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Tracy Hawkins, Paralegal Specialist Tiffany Jones, and Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Matt Williams, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – A 58-year-old man, from Clinton, Md., was sentenced today to 64 months in prison for sexually abusing his niece in 2004, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            The defendant, who is not identified here to protect the privacy of the victim, pled guilty in May 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of attempted first-degree child sexual abuse. He was sentenced today by the Honorable Craig Iscoe. Upon completion of his prison term, the man will be placed on three 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 was visiting the girl’s home in Northwest Washington to watch a football game while her mother was at church services on the date of the assault. He asked the girl to go into her mother’s bedroom and then performed oral sex on her. At the time, the girl was 10 years old.

            The victim reported the abuse in February 2018, and an investigation led to the man’s arrest. He has been in custody since April 2018.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth and Family Services Division (MPD). She also commended those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocates Tracey Hawkins and Lezlie Richardson, Paralegal Specialist T.J. McPhail, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart D. Allen, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Andrew T. Maliska, 27, of Nashville, Tennessee, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia following an investigation into the creation and circulation of doctored images, related postings, and the personal information of the victim.

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

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

            According to the indictment, Maliska resided in the District of Columbia from September 2009 until June 2013, where he studied at a local university and met the victim. The indictment alleges that in 2013 and 2015, during the course of his friendship with the victim, Maliska without authorization, accessed and obtained non-sexual images from the victim’s social media accounts. According to the indictment, Maliska then doctored those images to sexualize them and posted them on various online forums.

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

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

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

            Maliska was arrested on May 31, 2018. He made his first appearance on May 31, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. He pled not guilty to the charges and was detained pending his initial appearance in the District of Columbia. He made his initial appearance today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was released pending further court proceedings.

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

            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. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Youli Lee and Sumit Mallick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron Jones of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Tennessee and Bianca Evans, formerly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

 

WASHINGTON – Ranjith Keerikkattil, 30, of Catonsville, Md., has been found guilty by a jury of stalking a junior co-worker, starting while they were both employed at a consulting firm, and continuing after he was fired, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced today.

            Keerikkattil was found guilty of the stalking charge on July 9, 2018, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Robert A. Salerno released Keerikkattil following the verdict, pending sentencing. The judge ordered him to appear the next morning to have a GPS monitoring device installed. However, he failed to appear, and fled the United States to Iceland. A grand jury subsequently indicted him on July 11, 2018, on a charge of violating the Bail Reform Act. He will be re-arrested upon his return to the United States.

            According to the government’s evidence at trial, the criminal conduct began in May 2015, while Keerikkattil was a senior consultant at a consulting firm in Rosslyn, Va. The victim, who resided at the time in the District of Columbia, had begun her first job out of college in 2015 as a business technology analyst for the firm. Keerikkattil was her first mentor on her first project. After the victim performed countless evening and weekend hours on the project, Keerikkattil, told her that he only brought her onto the project to get close to her and that he was merely giving her busy work.  He ignored her wishes to keep their relationship strictly professional and continued to pursue her.  After she repeatedly tried to resolve the matter herself, she reported Keerikkattil, on June 1, 2015, to her human resources counselor.

            Keerikkattil was fired on June 19, 2015, for not being forthcoming about his conduct, which was captured on texts between the two, during the firm’s internal investigation of the matter.  He blamed the victim for his termination and then began a stalking campaign in retaliation.  His stalking acts included publishing false allegations about the victim on the Internet and through mass e-mails to the victim and former company employees in order to seriously frighten and defame her. When ignored, he escalated his actions. Almost two months after being fired, he sat in a café that was frequented by company employees, including the victim. He was able to obtain eye contact with the victim on one occasion inside this café, frightening her even more.  The victim’s attorney notified Keerikkattil, instructing him not to have any further contact with her, but he continued to text her statements like, “Every morning I wake up thinking about you and go to bed thinking about you.”

            With the victim continuing to ignore him, Keerikkattil decided to take a plane almost 3,000 miles to Seattle and then rent a car and travel an additional three hours to pay an unannounced visit to the victim’s parents in a remote suburb of Portland, Ore. On Oct. 24, 2015, he knocked on the door to the victim’s childhood home, which was at the bottom of a long driveway, and asked her father for directions to the nearby parks. It took a moment for the father to piece things together. Once he was able to figure out whom the defendant was, he slammed and locked the door and called 911. Keerikkattil texted the victim shortly thereafter, “Was nice meeting your dad today.”  An arrest warrant was obtained shortly thereafter, and Keerikkattil was arrested on Dec. 19, 2015, and charged with stalking.

            Before fleeing to Iceland, the defendant was scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 14, 2018, facing 12 months of incarceration for the stalking charge.  He now also faces an additional maximum of five years of incarceration if convicted of the felony Bail Reform Act charge. The charge in the indictment is merely an allegation, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

            In announcing the stalking verdict, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. 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 Paralegal Specialists Lynda Randolph and Stephanie Siegerist, Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Allen, and Victim/Witness Services Coordinator La June Thames.

            Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ethan Carroll and Kristina Wolf, who assisted in investigating the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Giovannelli who prosecuted and tried the case to verdict.

WASHINGTON – An area man, 32, was found guilty today of first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree child sexual abuse, and other charges for sexually abusing his cousin, beginning when she was 12 and continuing until she was 14, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu. 

            The defendant, who is not identified here to protect the privacy of the victim, recently lived in both Silver Spring, Md., and Alexandria, Va. He was found guilty by a jury following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  The Honorable Ronna L. Beck ordered that he be held without bond until sentencing on Nov. 2, 2018. He faces up to decades in prison. 

            According to the government’s evidence at trial, the victim and her younger sister would spend weekends at the Northeast Washington home of their adult sister.  The man lived in that same home and, before his abuse became known, and was beloved by the victim’s parents and her adult siblings, who viewed him like a son or brother, rather than as a nephew and cousin.

            In the summer of 2014, when the victim was 12 years old, the defendant began sexually abusing her during her weekend visits.  The nature of his abuse escalated over time, and each time he abused the girl, he told her not to tell anyone about what he was doing.  He also told her that if she told, nobody would believe her, and that she would be the one to get in trouble, not him.  The victim confided in her 10-year old sister when the abuse began, but the younger sister did not understand the sexual abuse, and therefore, did not believe the victim and told her so. This caused the victim to fear that just as the defendant had warned, nobody would believe her if she told.  Thus, she kept the abuse bottled up inside for the next couple of years.

            In early 2017, however, the victim began refusing to visit her adult sister’s home.  The victim’s mother and her adult sister found that odd.  After church one Sunday in April 2017, the older sister began pressing the victim as to why she had quit coming over to the sister’s home on weekends.  It was at that point that the victim finally reported the sexual abuse to which the defendant had been subjecting her.  Contrary to the defendant’s threats that no one would believe the victim, the victim’s family immediately reported the abuse to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and the defendant was later arrested.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Liu praised the work of members of the Youth and Family Services Division of 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. Attorney John Mannarino, Deputy Chief of the Appellate Section; Paralegal Specialists Brenda C. Williams and Tiffany Jones; Victim/Witness Advocates Juanita Harris, Elsa Maltese and Karen Giannakoulias; Litigation Technology Specialists Anisha Bhatia and Jeanie Latimore-Brown, and Interns Megan Hughes, John Bedecarre, Marianne Aguilar, Demia Lee, and Leon Stern.  Finally, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer B. Loeb and Peter V. Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted this case. 

WASHINGTON – A 28-year-old man, from Laurel, Md., was sentenced today to a 6 ½-prison term for sexually abusing a young boy whose mother entrusted him to his care, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            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 a charge of second-degree child sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances. The plea, which was subject to the Court’s approval, called for a prison term of five to seven years. The Honorable Craig Iscoe accepted the plea today and sentenced the defendant accordingly. Upon completion of his prison term, the man will be placed on five years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for a period of 10 years.

            According to the government’s evidence, the defendant was residing with the boy and the boy’s mother at an apartment in Southeast Washington at the time of the incidents in the District of Columbia, which took place between late October 2014 and late December 2015. At the time, the boy was four or five years old. The defendant was a significant caregiver to the boy during this time period because the mother worked one or two jobs or was attending school.

            According to the evidence, the man rubbed his penis between the boy’s buttocks while the mother was out of the house. The victim disclosed the abuse in the summer of 2017, and an investigation led to the man’s arrest. He has been in custody since August 2017.

            The victim also disclosed that the defendant’s abuse continued when the family moved to Prince George’s County, Md. Following the defendant’s sentencing by Judge Iscoe, the man pled guilty to a charge of sex abuse of a minor in that jurisdiction. He was sentenced to a concurrent sentence to the sentence imposed today in the District of Columbia.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth and Family Services Division (MPD). She also expressed appreciation for the work of the Children’s Advocacy Center and Children’s National Medical Center. Finally, she acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica A. Vaughan, Forensic Interviewer Tracy Owusu, Paralegal Specialist T.J. McPhail, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart D. Allen, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

 

WASHINGTON - Floyd Sellers, 55, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to three years in prison after earlier pleading guilty to a charge stemming from a break-in of an apartment in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Sellers pled guilty in March 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of attempted burglary. He was sentenced by the Honorable Robert A. Salerno. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government evidence, on July 24, 2016, at approximately 1 a.m., Sellers smashed the rear window of an apartment in the 1500 block of Church Street NW. He entered the apartment and stole some electronic devices, including an iPad, iPhone, laptop, and camera. No one was home at the time. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) later linked Sellers to the crime through fingerprints and other evidence and he was arrested in December 2016.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of the detectives from MPD’s Second District, who investigated the case. She also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. Finally, she 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 - Garth Anthony Gardner, 49, a citizen of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, has pled guilty to charges involving a scheme in which he made misrepresentations to apply for and obtain more than $3 million in multiple home equity line of credit loans.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Acting Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington D.C. Field Office.

            Gardner pled guilty on July 2, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to two counts of bank fraud. Each charge carries a statutory maximum of 30 years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he faces an estimated range of 51 to 63 months in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. The plea agreement calls for him to pay $3,165,294 in restitution to 24 financial institutions. It also calls for him to pay a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $2,048,446. The Honorable Christopher R. Cooper scheduled sentencing for Sept. 24, 2018.

            According to the government’s evidence, in October 2003, Gardner purchased a property in the 5100 block of 13th Street NW, using the Social Security number of another person and falsely representing himself as a U.S. citizen.  In May 2005, he used a corporation that he owned to purchase a second property in the 1300 block of Dexter Terrace SE.  Gardner transferred ownership of the second property from the company to himself for $10.  Next, Gardner applied for a series of home equity line of credit loans using the two properties as collateral.

            By settling these loans in close proximity to each other, Gardner minimized the banks’ ability to learn about the other loans.  From August to October 2004, Gardner obtained 12 home equity line of credit loans from 12 different banks secured by the 13th Street property, totaling approximately $1.4 million.  Between March and April 2006, Gardner applied for 13, and obtained 12, such loans from 12 banks, secured by the Dexter Terrace property, totaling approximately $1.9 million.

            In approximately February 2008, Gardner stopped making payments and defaulted on all of the loans.  The banks discovered Gardner’s fraudulent conduct after initiating foreclosure proceedings on the properties.

            Gardner admitted that he used a portion of the proceeds from the fraudulent scheme to purchase 15 silver bars, which the government recovered and liquidated for about $1.1 million.

            Gardner was arrested in Frankfurt, Germany in May 2017, and was extradited to the District in February 2018, to face the charges that had been pending since 2014.  He remains in custody pending his sentencing.

            The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in the extradition of Gardner from Germany to the United States. 

           In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jackson commended the work performed by those who investigated the case from the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Washington Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service and the Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Bradford, Diane Lucas, and Denise A. Simmonds, former Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Last, and Paralegal Specialist Aisha Keys.

 

WASHINGTON – Bryan D. Moles, 44, of Edinboro, Pa., pled guilty today to a firearms offense stemming from the discovery of a semi-automatic pistol and an AR-15-style rifle in the car he parked last year at the Trump International Hotel in downtown Washington.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Brian J. Ebert, Special Agent in Charge, Washington Field Office, U.S. Secret Service, ), 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.

            Moles pled guilty in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia to carrying a pistol without a license, a District of Columbia offense. As part of the plea, the government has agreed to dismiss a federal firearms charge that was included in an indictment returned in June 2017. The charge carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $12,500, Based on the District of Columbia’s voluntary sentencing guidelines, Moles faces a possible range of six to 24 months in prison. The Honorable Richard J. Leon scheduled sentencing for Sept. 7, 2018.

            The plea agreement also calls for Moles to forfeit various firearms recovered from the car as well as from his home in Pennsylvania.

            According to a factual proffer submitted for the plea, Moles traveled by car from Pennsylvania to the District of Columbia, leaving on May 30, 2017 and arriving on May 31. Prior to heading off, he placed a Glock 23 .40-caiber pistol and a Bushmaster Carbon-15 .223-5.56mm caliber rifle in the car. The pistol was in an unlocked glove compartment and the rifle was in an unlocked rifle case in the rear hatchback. At the time of his trip, Moles had been a regular user of marijuana for at least the prior month.

            Moles parked the car at the Trump International Hotel early in the morning of May 31. He reported to hotel staff that he had firearms in the car and checked in as a hotel guest. Law enforcement agents later knocked on the door to his hotel room. Moles let them inside, He told the agents that he had brought the two firearms to the District of Columbia, and said that he self-medicated with marijuana. Agents found marijuana and a vaporizer smoking device in the bathroom of the hotel room. 

            Moles was released from custody on June 2, 2017, but his pretrial release was revoked on June 15, 2017, after the judge determined he had violated his release conditions.  He has been in custody ever since.

            Under District of Columbia law, Moles would have been ineligible to obtain a license to carry a firearm due to his use of marijuana.

            This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Metropolitan Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Friedman.

 

WASHINGTON – Tauheed Wheeler, 36, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 30 months in prison on charges of misdemeanor child sexual abuse and felony threats stemming from an incident in which he tried to entice a young girl into the back seat of his car, and then threatened to beat her if she told anyone what happened, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu. 

            Wheeler pled guilty in March 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  He was sentenced by the Honorable Ronna L. Beck. Following his prison term, he must register as a sex offender for a 10-year period; he will be on supervised release during that time.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Dec. 10, 2016, the victim was 12 years old. Wheeler was a friend of the girl’s mother at the time, and he offered to drive the victim to a relative’s home.  The relative was not home, and Wheeler drove the girl into an alley in Southeast Washington, where he parked near some trees.  Wheeler got into the back seat of the car and, while touching his genitalia, asked the girl to get into the back seat with him so that he could engage in sexual contact with her.  The girl refused.  Wheeler kept encouraging the girl to get into the back seat with him, but she continued resisting.  Eventually, Wheeler gave up but told that victim that if she told anyone about what he had tried to do, he would beat her.  Afraid, the victim did not initially tell her mother.  However, in June of 2017, she finally told her mother what Wheeler had done.  Her mother immediately called the police. Wheeler was arrested and indicted in January 2018 and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended members of the Youth and Family Services Division of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).  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 Tracey Hawkins.  Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter V. Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted the case. 

WASHINGTON – Justin Wray, 30, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 51 months in prison on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon for stabbing the father of his then-girlfriend in the chest, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Under what is known as the Alford doctrine, Wray pled guilty in March 2018 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Under an Alford plea, the defendant does not admit the allegations but agrees that the government has enough evidence to secure a conviction.  Wray was sentenced by the Honorable Danya A. Dayson. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, Wray and his girlfriend argued in the early morning of May 4, 2016 at the girlfriend’s apartment in the unit block of Galveston Street SW. Wray then left the residence, but returned a short while later, at approximately 6:40 a.m., to obtain his possessions. The girlfriend’s father let Wray back into the apartment and led Wray to his girlfriend’s bedroom. Soon thereafter, the girlfriend’s father attempted to lead Wray out of the apartment. Wray became extremely agitated. From behind, he reached over the top of his girlfriend’s father’s back and stabbed the father in the chest with a knife. He fled the scene.

            The girlfriend’s father suffered a punctured lung. Wray was arrested on Sept. 10, 2016 and has been in custody ever since. In his plea, Wray said that he had no memory of events but acknowledged that the government had sufficient evidence to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

            In announcing the sentence, 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 Paralegal Specialists T.J. McPhail and Victim/Witness Advocate Elsa Maltese.

            Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis Manzo, who investigated, indicted and prosecuted the case.

 

WASHINGTON – A Maryland woman who was employed as a personal care aide was arrested today on federal charges stemming from a scheme in which she allegedly submitted nearly $400,000 in false claims to the District of Columbia’s Medicaid program.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno, of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, District of Columbia Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas, and Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), for the region that includes Washington, D.C.

            Hope Omone Falowo, 42, of Bowie, Md., was arrested on a criminal complaint charging her with health care fraud and making health care false statements. She made her first appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was released on personal recognizance pending a hearing set for July 19, 2018.

            According to the complaint, Falowo was employed as a personal care aide from approximately January 2013 through March 2017. Under the Medicaid program, personal care aides perform services intended to assist Medicaid beneficiaries in carrying out the activities of daily living. These can include helping beneficiaries get in and out of bed, bathe, dress, eat out, take medication, and engage in toileting. To receive personal care services under Medicaid, a beneficiary must obtain a prescription from a doctor.

            Last year, Falowo’s billing practices drew the attention of the District of Columbia Department of Health Care Finance, and that led to an investigation. According to the complaint, the investigation determined that Falowo submitted approximately $399,165 in false claims between 2013 and 2017. The complaint alleges that these claims fall into three categories: claims purporting that she provided services in excess of 24 hours in a given day; claims purporting that she provided services when she was in fact on international travel; and claims purporting that she provided services to Medicaid beneficiaries to whom she provided no care at all. 

             The charges in criminal complaints are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The statutory maximum penalty for a charge of health care fraud is 10 years of incarceration.  The statutory maximum for health care false statements is five years of incarceration. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any offense, a defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            The investigation into this matter was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the District of Columbia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

            The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Amy Markopoulos of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Robert Fishman.

            The arrest this morning was among the results of the nation’s largest ever health care fraud enforcement action. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex M. Azar III, announced results of the nationwide effort earlier today. All told, the enforcement action involves 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. 

 

WASHINGTON – The former office manager of a trade association management company was sentenced today to 51 months in prison on a federal charge of wire fraud for embezzling more than $1.5 million from the firm, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            Leunea D. Myers, 39, of Clinton, Md., pled guilty in March 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was sentenced by the Honorable Christopher R. Cooper. Following her prison term, she will be placed on three years of supervised release. She also must pay $1,550,075 in restitution to her former employer and two of its clients, and the Court issued a forfeiture money judgment in the same amount.

            According to a statement of offense filed as part of the plea, Myers worked from February 2015 to November 2017 as the office manager and bookkeeper for a company identified in court documents as “Company A.” This company is a professional trade association management company in the District of Columbia that has been in business for more than 40 years. It has two primary clients. Myers’s responsibilities included tracking client billings and receipts, depositing money, and reconciling clients’ bank accounts, drafting checks, and preparing financial statements.

             From April 2015 through November 2017, Myers embezzled funds by making unauthorized charges on company credit cards and by writing fraudulent checks directly to herself or to pay third parties to pay bills that she owed.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Assistant Director in Charge McNamara commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Caruso and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Welsh and Parker Tobin, who assisted with forfeiture issues; Paralegal Specialist Brittany Phillips; former Paralegal Specialist Kate Abrey, and former Assistant U.S.  Attorney John P. Marston. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Derrick L. Williams, who handled the sentencing phase of the case.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and numerous local and federal law enforcement agencies and community-based organizations are teaming up to host the Eighth Annual “Breaking the Silence on Youth Violence Youth Summit” on Friday, June 29, 2018, at Friendship Collegiate Academy.

             The focuses this year will be gun violence, sexual assault, and bullying prevention.  The event will feature dynamic speakers, entertainment, and invaluable information and resources.

            For the past seven years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has joined its many partners to host the Youth Summit. The Youth Summits have kicked off with plenary sessions that highlighted subjects such as the causes and consequences of youth violence, challenged youth participants to make better decisions, and emphasized the importance of cooperating with law enforcement.  The plenary sessions have been followed by breakout sessions that have focused on public safety issues facing our youth, such as teen domestic violence, heroin and opiate abuse, and human trafficking. The summits have concluded with an educational entertainment segment, which reinforced the positive messages of the Youth Summit. 

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

            The eighth annual “Breaking the Silence on Youth Violence Summit” will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., east of the Anacostia River, at Friendship Collegiate Public Charter Senior High School, 4095 Minnesota Avenue NE. The location is directly across the street from the Minnesota Avenue Metro station.

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

            The many collaborative partners include East of the River Family Collaborative, Collaborative Solutions for Communities, Men Can Stop Rape, the District of Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation, Hillcrest Children and Family Services, Howard University Hospital, the District of Columbia Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, the  Metropolitan Police Department,  the Mayor Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program, the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, Go-Go Fitness and a Foundation for a Drug-Free World. People with questions may contact Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney for External Affairs, Wendy Pohlhaus at (202)-252-6930 or [email protected].

 

WASHINGTON – Robert McCloud, 39, most recently of Warrenville, S.C., pled guilty today to a federal wire fraud charge stemming from a real estate scheme in which he and others used forged deeds and fake driver’s licenses to fraudulently transfer ownership of District of Columbia homes from the rightful owners.

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

            McCloud pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, McCloud faces a likely range of 27 to 33 months in prison and a fine of up to $60,000. He also has agreed to pay $200,488 in restitution to two title insurance companies, as well as a forfeiture money judgment of $57,965. The Honorable Amit P. Mehta scheduled sentencing for Oct. 19, 2018.

            According to the government’s evidence, McCloud and others identified vacant or seemingly abandoned residential properties in the District of Columbia, and then prepared and filed forged deeds with the District of Columbia’s Recorder of Deeds transferring the properties into fictitious names. Next, they agreed to sell these properties to legitimate purchasers and arranged with unsuspecting title and escrow companies to finalize the sale and transfer ownership. Finally, they shared the fraudulently-obtained sales proceeds amongst themselves. 

            In his guilty plea, McCloud admitted taking part in two such fraudulent transactions within a two-month period of 2015, which generated a total of $580,482 in proceeds.

            In the first, in April 2015, McCloud filed a forged Intra-Family deed with the District of Columbia’s Recorder of Deeds purporting to show that a home in the unit block of K Street NW was transferred from the true owners to a fictitious person.  The true owners, who owned the home outright without any mortgage liens, did not sign the deed and did not give anyone permission to transfer their home. McCloud then appeared at the title company pretending to be the owner in order to close the transaction, presenting a California driver’s license with his photograph but in the name of the fictitious person, signing the settlement documents and selling the property. The title company sent by wire transfer $195,527 to a bank account opened in the name of the fictitious person. McCloud withdrew approximately $43,000 of the funds before the crime was discovered; the rest of the funds were returned to the title company.

            In the second transaction, in May 2015, a conspirator arranged for a forged deed with respect to another home, in the 6400 block of 16th Street NW, to be filed with the Recorder of Deeds. As with the other property, the true owners, who owned the home outright without any mortgage liens, did not sign the deed and did not give anyone permission to sell the residence. In June 2015, McCloud appeared at the title company pretending to be the owner and using another fake California driver’s license with his photograph.  He again signed the settlement documents in the fictitious name. The title company sent by wire transfer $384,955 to a bank account opened in the name of the fictitious person. McCloud was arrested the following day.

            Although McCloud received $580,482 in proceeds from his wire fraud scheme regarding both real properties, law enforcement seized a total of $369,990, which was later administratively forfeited.  These forfeited funds, and the partial return of funds to the title company from the K Street transaction, reduced the amount owed in forfeiture to $57,965, which is the amount of the forfeiture money judgment.

            The harm caused to the owners, buyers, and title companies was covered by title insurance; the restitution amount of $200,488 is the amount due and owing to the title insurance companies after giving credit to the forfeited funds, which were returned to the victims. 

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu, Assistant Director in Charge McNamara, and Chief Newsham commended the work performed by those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and 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 Diane Lucas and Stephanie Miller, former Paralegal Specialist Christopher Toms, Paralegal Specialist Aisha Keys, and Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Virginia Cheatham, who is prosecuting the case.

WASHINGTON – Ahmed Abu Khatallah, aka Ahmed Mukatallah, 47, a Libyan national, was sentenced today to 22 years in prison on federal terrorism charges and other offenses stemming from the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya.  Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and U.S. government personnel Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty died in the attack at the Mission and the nearby Annex in Benghazi.

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

            Khatallah was captured in Libya on June 15, 2014, and brought to the United States to face trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  He was found guilty by a jury on November 28, 2017, following seven weeks of trial, of one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to terrorists, one count of providing material support or resources to terrorists, one count of maliciously destroying and injuring dwellings and property, and placing lives in jeopardy within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, and one count of using and carrying a semiautomatic assault rifle during a crime of violence. He was sentenced by the Honorable Christopher R. Cooper.

            According to the government’s evidence, Khatallah was a leader of an extremist militia named Ubaydah bin Jarrah, which operated outside the law, and in the months prior to the attacks, he sought to incite violence by his and other militia groups against the presence of the United States in Libya.  In early September of 2012, he and other members of his group mobilized for an attack by stockpiling truckloads of weaponry.

            On the night of September 11, 2012, according to the government’s evidence, Khatallah directed his group to carry out the violence, striking first at the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi.  A group of men, armed with AK-47 rifles, grenades, and other weapons, swept into the Mission compound, setting fires and breaking into buildings.  During that violence, Ambassador Stevens and Mr. Smith valiantly tried to protect themselves when the attackers stormed into a villa, but they were fatally overcome by thick, black smoke when the attackers set a fire.  A State Department employee, who tried to guide them to safety, was injured.

            Before, during and after the attack, Khatallah maintained contact with his group in a series of cellphone calls.  Also, according to the government’s evidence, for much of the attack, he positioned himself on the perimeter of the compound and kept others, including emergency responders, from getting to the scene.  The government’s evidence also showed that Khatallah made calls to leaders of other militia groups warning them not to interfere with the attack.

            Following the attack at the Mission, in the early hours of September 12, 2012, the violence continued at a nearby CIA annex, first with gunfire and then with a precision mortar attack.  Mr. Woods and Mr. Doherty died in the mortar attack, and a State Department employee and U.S. government security specialist were seriously wounded.

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

            The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Crabb, Jr., Michael C. DiLorenzo, and Julieanne Himelstein, all of the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Opher Shweiki. Assistance was provided by Trial Attorney C. Alexandria Bogle of the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth Kohl and David Mudd of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            Assistance also was provided by Victim/Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant, Paralegal Specialists Rayneisha Booth and Jessica Moffatt, Legal Assistant Matthew Ruggiero, and Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Tonya Jones, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

 

Ahmed Abu Khatallah, aka Ahmed Mukatallah, 47, a Libyan national, was sentenced today to 22 years in prison on federal terrorism charges and other offenses stemming from the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya.  Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and U.S. government personnel Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty died in the attack at the Mission and the nearby Annex in Benghazi.

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

Khatallah was captured in Libya on June 15, 2014, and brought to the United States to face trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  He was found guilty by a jury on Nov. 28, 2017, following seven weeks of trial, of one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to terrorists, one count of providing material support or resources to terrorists, one count of maliciously destroying and injuring dwellings and property, and placing lives in jeopardy within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, and one count of using and carrying a semiautomatic assault rifle during a crime of violence.  

According to the government’s evidence, Khatallah was a leader of an extremist militia named Ubaydah bin Jarrah, which operated outside the law, and in the months prior to the attacks, he sought to incite violence by his and other militia groups against the presence of the United States in Libya.  In early September of 2012, he and other members of his group mobilized for an attack by stockpiling truckloads of weaponry.

On the night of Sept. 11, 2012, according to the government’s evidence, Khatallah directed his group to carry out the violence, striking first at the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi.  A group of men, armed with AK-47 rifles, grenades, and other weapons, swept into the Mission compound, setting fires and breaking into buildings.  During that violence, Ambassador Stevens and Mr. Smith valiantly tried to protect themselves when the attackers stormed into a villa, but they were fatally overcome by thick, black smoke when the attackers set a fire.  A State Department employee, who tried to guide them to safety, was injured.

Before, during and after the attack, Khatallah maintained contact with his group in a series of cellphone calls.  Also, according to the government’s evidence, for much of the attack, he positioned himself on the perimeter of the compound and kept others, including emergency responders, from getting to the scene.  The government’s evidence also showed that Khatallah made calls to leaders of other militia groups warning them not to interfere with the attack.

Following the attack at the Mission, in the early hours of Sept. 12, 2012, the violence continued at a nearby CIA annex, first with gunfire and then with a precision mortar attack.  Mr. Woods and Mr. Doherty died in the mortar attack, and a State Department employee and U.S. government security specialist were seriously wounded.

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

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Crabb, Jr., Michael C. DiLorenzo, and Julieanne Himelstein of the District of Columbia, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney and Opher Shweiki.  Assistance was provided by Trial Attorney C. Alexandria Bogle of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth Kohl and David Mudd of the District of Columbia.

Assistance also was provided by Victim/Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant, Paralegal Specialists Rayneisha Booth and Jessica Moffatt, Legal Assistant Matthew Ruggiero, and Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Tonya Jones, all of the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – Anthony Nowlin, 23, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to two years in prison on a federal charge stemming from a courthouse incident last year in which he assaulted a Deputy United States Marshal, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Michael Hughes, U.S. Marshal for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

            Nowlin pled guilty in February 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to a charge of assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal law enforcement officer. He was sentenced by the Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Sept. 6, 2017, Nowlin was appearing before the Honorable Maribeth Raffinan in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for violating terms of his probation in an earlier assault case. Two deputy U.S. marshals were assigned to the courtroom. Judge Raffinan revoked Nowlin’s probation and ordered that he be remanded to the custody of the deputy marshals. Nowlin became loud and belligerent while in the courtroom, and started to walk towards the cellblock before Judge Raffinan finished her ruling.

            One of the deputy marshals instructed Nowlin to wait until Judge Raffinan concluded her ruling before leaving the courtroom and going to the cell block. Then, once Judge Raffinan concluded the hearing, the two deputy marshals escorted Nowlin to the cellblock behind the courtroom. Nowlin continued to be belligerent while in the cellblock and resisted efforts by the deputy marshals to search him for weapons or contraband.

            As he continued to resist, Nowlin spun around and threw a punch at one of the deputy marshals. A struggle ensued, with Nowlin continuing to punch the deputy marshal in the face and head area. Other deputy marshals responded and Nowlin was subdued. The deputy marshal who was struck by Nowlin was taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Marshal Hughes commended the work of those who handled the matter from the U.S. Marshals Service. They expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Jeannette Litz and Teesha Tobias. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole, who prosecuted the case.

 

WASHINGTON – Windell Barnes, 29, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 32-month prison term on charges stemming from a sexual assault he committed against a woman who works at a gas station in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Barnes was found guilty by a jury in April 2017 of one count of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of indecent exposure. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Craig Iscoe. Following his prison term, Barnes will be placed on 10 years of supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender for a 10-year period upon his release from prison.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Dec. 12, 2017, at approximately noon Barnes attacked the victim after she dropped off supplies at her workplace. He grabbed the woman when no one was around and told her he wanted to have sex with her. He pulled down her pants, exposing her buttocks, and he tried to sexually assault her.  The victim was eventually able to escape Barnes’s grasp and run to her car.  Barnes, however, chased after her, attempted to get into her car, and then further tried to humiliate her, kissing the car window and exposing his genitalia to her in public. 

            The victim called police. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) quickly responded to the scene and Barnes was arrested a short time later. He has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department Sexual Assault Unit. She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney John Mannarino; Paralegal Specialists T.J. McPhail, Angelina Slagle, and Ethel Noble; Victim/Witness Advocate Tracey Hawkins; Victim/Witness Services Coordinators Katina Adams-Washington and LaJune Thames, and Litigation Technology Specialist Anisha Bhatia.

            Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessi Brooks and Kristina Wolf, who together investigated, indicted and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Joseph N. Davenport, 47, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to nine years in prison on charges of robbery and obstruction of justice for beating and robbing an acquaintance at her apartment, and then trying to get his girlfriend to lie about his whereabouts at the time of the attack, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced. 

            Davenport pled guilty in March 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon sentence of nine years in prison. The Honorable Zoe Bush accepted the plea and sentenced the defendant accordingly. Following his prison term, Davenport will be on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, in the early morning hours of May 1, 2014, Davenport went to the Southeast Washington apartment of a female acquaintance who lived in the same complex as Davenport’s then-girlfriend. He told the woman that his girlfriend had put him out of her apartment and that he needed a place to stay. He asked whether he could spend the night sleeping on the victim’s couch.  When the victim told Davenport “no,” he became enraged, punched her in the face, and knocked her onto a glass-topped table, which shattered as she fell through it.  He then grabbed her debit card and other property and fled.

            An arrest warrant was issued and Davenport was arrested on May 6, 2014.  A few days later, he called his then-girlfriend from the District of Columbia Jail, where all such calls are recorded.  During that call, Davenport tried to get his girlfriend to create a false alibi for him for the time during which he was beating and robbing the other woman.  She refused to do so.  Prosecutors subpoenaed Davenport’s jail calls and this call became the basis of the obstruction of justice charge to which Davenport pleaded.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu praised the work of officers from the Seventh District of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and from a joint task force comprised of members of the MPD and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). She also expressed appreciation for the work of the Special Police Officers from the apartment complex, who assisted in the investigation of the case.

            She acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Colleen M. Kennedy, Special Counsel for Mental Health Litigation; Assistant U.S. Attorney Silvia Gonzalez Roman; Michael Ambrosino, Special Counsel for DNA and Forensic Evidence Litigation; Paralegal Specialists D’Yvonne Key, Donhue Troy Griffith and Brenda C. Williams; Victim/Witness Advocate Lezlie Richardson; Criminal Investigators Melissa Matthews and Nelson Rhone; Investigative Analysts Shannon Alexis, William Hamann, and Sharon Johnson, and Information Technology Specialist Aneela Bhatia. Finally, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Aziz, Kenechukwu Okocha and Peter V. Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted this case. 

WASHINGTON – Ashton Hinds, 18, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a four-year prison term for robbing a man last year in a residential neighborhood of Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Hinds pled guilty in September 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of armed robbery. He was sentenced by the Honorable Anthony C. Epstein. Following his prison term, he is to be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on April 28, 2017, at approximately 7:25 p.m., Hinds and an accomplice approached a man in front of a residence in the 3100 block of Jocelyn Street NW. One of the robbers demanded the victim hand over his property, and the victim handed over a book bag, containing his personal property and computer. The same assailant reached into the victim’s pants pocket and took the victim’s cell phone. The two robbers demanded to be let inside the house, but the victim refused. The two then fled the area in a gold-colored sedan, and the victim notified the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            At the time of the crime, Hinds was wearing a GPS monitoring device. Law enforcement determined that he was within close proximity to the scene of the armed robbery and also determined a possible location of the vehicle he was using at the time. Police located the vehicle later that evening in the 1300 block of Seventh Street NW. They then obtained an arrest warrant for Hinds. On April 29, officers approached Hinds, who fled the scene and discarded a loaded, semiautomatic handgun. Hinds subsequently was arrested; police recovered the victim’s cellphone from Hinds and other stolen items inside the vehicle. No one else has been arrested.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. She also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Vivien Cockburn, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

WASHINGTON – Joseph Minor, 27, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 47 years in prison for killing a man on Christmas Eve of 2014 in an alley in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Minor was found guilty by a jury in April 2018 of first-degree murder while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, and related firearms offenses, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Judith Bartnoff.

            According to the government’s evidence, Minor and the victim, Gregory Lee, knew one another from the Barry Farm area in in Southeast Washington. Despite that relationship, in mid-December, Minor stole Mr. Lee’s jacket from him at gunpoint. Then, a short time later, Mr. Lee saw Minor with his jacket, and he took it back, angering Minor for days.

            Five days later – shortly before 9 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2014, a misty Christmas Eve – Minor and a co-defendant, Maurice Blakey, went looking for Mr. Lee and confronted him in an alley near the 1300 block of Stevens Road SE, in the Barry Farm area. After a short verbal confrontation, both Minor and Blakey began firing weapons. Minor shot the unarmed Mr. Lee multiple times as Mr. Lee tried to flee, killing him. Blakey, meanwhile, pulled out a pump-action shotgun during the confrontation and fired at a person who was with Mr. Lee; that person was not hit and fled. One of the bullets from Minor’s .380 semiautomatic handgun had pierced multiple major organs and vessels in Mr. Lee’s chest, and he bled to death in a yard, just off the alley. By the time first responders arrived, he was completely unresponsive, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

            Minor and Blakey, 26, were arrested a week after the murder and have been in custody ever since. Blakey, also of Washington, D.C., admitted his role in the shooting. Blakey now is serving a 22-year prison term for a separate murder.

            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, the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, and the U.S. Park Police. They acknowledged the work of those who assisted with the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Mannarino, Lauren Bates, and Magdalena Acevedo; former Assistant U.S. Attorney Natalia Medina; Paralegal Specialists Stephanie Siegerist, Lornce Applewhite, and Alesha Matthews-Yette; Liaison and Operations Manager Linda McDonald; Litigation Technology Specialists Anisha Bhatia, William Henderson, Leif Hickling, and Paul Howell; Criminal Investigator Zachary McMenamin; Victim/Witness Service Coordinators La June Thames and Katina Adams-Washington; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker; Forensic Operation/Program Specialist Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie, and former Intern James Haynes.

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

 

            WASHINGTON –James Young, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 45 years in prison on murder and other charges stemming from the slaying of a man in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Young and a co-defendant, Tyrone Michael Hight, were found guilty in April 2018 of first-degree felony murder while armed, second-degree murder while armed, armed robbery, first-degree burglary while armed, tampering with evidence, obstruction of justice, and related weapons offenses. The verdicts followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  Young was sentenced by the Honorable Milton C. Lee.

            Hight, 26, also of Washington, D.C., is awaiting sentencing.

            According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 7 a.m. on Aug. 31, 2014, the victim, Willard Carlos Shelton, drove to the 2500 block of Pomeroy Road SE to purchase narcotics.  About10 minutes after Mr. Shelton arrived, Hight and Young produced firearms, attempted to rob him, and then pistol-whipped him. Hight and Young then fired several shots at Mr. Shelton, who attempted to escape the onslaught of bullets. 

            One of the bullets struck Mr. Shelton in the abdomen, knocking him to the ground.  Once the gunshots ended, Young went over to Mr. Shelton and took his personal effects, including his wallet and keys.  Young then pointed a gun at Mr. Shelton’s head, but this time he did not fire.  Mr. Shelton, 38, of Alexandria, Va., later died from his injuries.

            Following the shooting, Hight and Young fled the scene, broke into a nearby apartment, and hid the firearms used to shoot Mr. Shelton.  Young later attempted to obstruct justice by making threatening statements directed at a government witness.  Hight later attempted to obstruct justice by convincing someone who was not a witness to the shooting to make false statements to law enforcement about the murder. 

            Hight and Young were arrested in September 2014 and have 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 acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Liaison and Operations Manager Linda McDonald; Paralegal Specialists Debra Joyner, Sharon Newman, and Kelly Blakeley; Criminal Investigators John Marsh and Zachary McMenamin; Litigation Technology Specialists Leif Hickling, Anisha Bhatia, and Jeanie Latimore-Brown; Victim/Witness Services Coordinators La June Thames and Katina Adams-Washington; Witness Security Specialists  M. Laverne Perry, Wanda Queen, and Tanya Via,  and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker.

            Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Barker and Laura Crane, who investigated and prosecuted the case, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kendra Briggs, Jeffrey Nestler, Thomas Saunders, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Eckert, who investigated and indicted the case. 

 

WASHINGTON – Martel Hall, 29, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 12-year prison term on a charge stemming from the stabbing death of a man in Southwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

            Hall pled guilty in April 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of voluntary manslaughter while armed.  The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a sentencing range of 10 ½ to 12 years in prison.  The Honorable Danya A. Dayson accepted the plea today and sentenced Hall to 12 years. Following his prison term, Hall will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on the night of Sept. 11, 2017, the victim, David Neal, and a relative went to the 7-Eleven in the 3900 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SW.  As Mr. Neal was waiting in line to purchase food, Hall came into the 7-Eleven and told Mr. Neal to come outside. Moments later, Mr. Neal walked out of the 7-Eleven and into the parking lot. Surveillance footage shows Hall follow Mr. Neal into the parking lot, where a physical altercation ensued.  Mr. Neal sustained wounds and lacerations to his head, body and hands.  These included two stab wounds to the chest, a stab wound stretching approximately five to six inches across Mr. Neal’s abdomen, a stab wound above his left eye, and a laceration in the inner left elbow.  There were defense wounds to his hands and an additional stab wound to the backside of Mr. Neal’s left shoulder.  Mr. Neal, 31, died from injuries that night.

            According to eyewitnesses, and corroborated by surveillance video, Mr. Neal and Hall  began tussling with one another in the 7-Eleven parking lot. During the struggle, Mr. Neal began gushing blood and collapsed.  Hall, who sustained a single cut to his face, then fled the scene, discarding a knife in the 7-Eleven parking lot.  As he was leaving the scene, Hall took off his shirt, which was covered in blood, and left it in the 7-Eleven parking lot. Hall was arrested on Sept. 27, 2017 and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. She also expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Barker, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

 

WASHINGTON – Timothy L. Jennings, Sr., 61, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to five years in prison for robbing two banks in downtown Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Jennings pled guilty in April 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to two counts of bank robbery. He was sentenced by the Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan. In addition to the prison term, Jennings was ordered to pay a total of $1,367 in restitution to the two banks. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, Jennings carried out the first robbery on July 17, 2017, at approximately 9:05 a.m., targeting a SunTrust Bank in the 900 block of 17th Street NW. Jennings told a teller: “This is a robbery and I have a gun and I'll shoot you,” and demanded money. The teller handed him a total of $926 and Jennings fled the scene.

            The second robbery took place four days later, on July 21, 2017, at approximately 9:20 a.m. This time, Jennings entered an M&T Bank in the 500 block of 12th Street NW and handed the teller a note demanding money. The teller handed him $441 and Jennings fled.

            In his plea, Jennings also accepted responsibility for two additional bank robberies, which took place later on the morning of July 21, within an hour of the M&T Bank robbery.  In both incidents, he left the banks without money. One attempt took place at a BB&T branch in the 800 block of Connecticut Avenue NW and the other at a Bank of America branch in the 800 block of 17th Street NW. Hours after these incidents, officers from the Metropolitan Police Department located Jennings and arrested him. He has been in custody ever since.

            At the time of these offenses, Jennings had been on supervised release for a few months after serving more than 10 years in prison for several additional bank robberies.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge DeSarno, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. They expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who worked in the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Paralegal Specialists Jeannette Litz and Teesha Tobias and Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole, who prosecuted the case.

           

WASHINGTON – The FBI Washington Field Office along with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Montgomery County Police Department, Prince George’s County Police Department, Arlington County Police Department, and Greenbelt Police Department seek information from the public to identify an unknown male named the “D.C.-Area Hotel Rapist.”

            Between August 22, 1998 and February 6, 2006, a serial rapist violently assaulted six to nine women in the D.C. area. Six of these attacks have been definitively linked by DNA to a single assailant, and suspicious activity that may be related was reported in five additional area hotels.

            In the vast majority of these cases, hotel housekeepers were victimized. The assailant would enter hotel rooms by stealth and rape housekeepers as they cleaned rooms. In several of the incidents, the suspect used a box cutter, a necktie, or a cord to threaten and harm his victims. These assaults took place at hotels in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

            The D.C.-Area Hotel Rapist is described as an African-American male, between 5’7”-5’10” tall, with a medium to stocky build, brown eyes, black hair, and a medium to dark complexion. At the time of the assaults, he was believed to be in his 20s to 30s. Since time has progressed, he is believed to be in his late 30s to late 40s.

            On May 1, 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia secured an indictment of the DNA profile of the unknown suspect on charges stemming from the two attacks that took place in Washington, D.C. This is the first time that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has ever indicted a John Doe DNA profile. 

            “Working with the public and our law enforcement partners, we are hopeful that we finally will be able to hold this serial rapist accountable for his brazen crimes,” said Jessie K. Liu, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. “DNA evidence has enabled us to push this case forward and we are hopeful that this DNA profile, and the community, can help us finally achieve justice. Despite the passage of time, we have never forgotten these victims.”

            “This individual preyed on members of the D.C. region for nearly a decade,” says Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Police Peter Newsham. “We have not deviated from our goal of holding this person accountable for his heinous actions and feel confident that our recent progress will lead to his identification.”

            “With the turn of the century, we can now reach back in time, up to two decades ago, and hold criminals accountable, and thus is the case going forward,” said Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department.   

            “Today law enforcement in the Metropolitan Washington area sent a clear message that we will not waiver in our commitment to investigate and identify the individual responsible for these horrible attacks on our community. No matter how much time passes, we will relentlessly pursue these investigations and use all available resources to identify this sexual predator and seek justice for the victims,” said Daniel Murray, Arlington County Police Department Deputy Chief of Criminal Investigations.

            The first of these DNA-linked cases occurred in May 2002 on the street in the offender’s vehicle in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

            The age-progressed composite sketch, which was created by Parabon NanoLabs, was not created by eyewitness accounts but from DNA that was left behind by the offender. This type of DNA testing uses DNA to produce a detailed report and composite sketch of the potential suspect that includes eye color, skin color, hair color, face morphology, and detailed biogeographic ancestry with age progression. 

            “The Montgomery County Police Department has used Parabon NanoLabs as an investigative tool in several cases. When our Cold Case Unit begin working on this serial rapist case with the other neighboring agencies we felt strongly that this could be a great tool to generate new investigative leads and help solve these horrific crimes,” said Thomas Manger, Chief of the Montgomery County Police Department.

            The FBI and local law enforcement are asking for the public’s help to solve this cold case.

            “Our combined law enforcement efforts include the work that was done at each scene, the work of the prosecutors to bring forth this indictment and now a public outreach effort seeking information on this violent assailant,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal Division. “If you recognize this person, if this box cutter or ring are familiar, if you have seen these items before, we need you to call law enforcement and provide the information. The public's assistance is vital in solving this case.”

            The DNA evidence from the linked assaults can either positively identify or exclude a suspect. This allows investigators to quickly exclude innocent parties, and the public should not hesitate to come forward with information—even if it is the name or address of an individual who resided in the areas of the crimes. Many parties will be quickly excluded by a simple, non-invasive test.

            A combined reward of up to $45,000 is being offered by the FBI, Metropolitan Police Department, Montgomery County Police Department, Prince George’s Police Department, Greenbelt Police Department, and Arlington County Police Department for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the unknown suspect.

            A detailed map and related story that includes addresses of the incidents, an original 2003 composite sketch of the assailant, an age-progressed DNA composite of the assailant, and images of the box cutter and ring that were recovered from the crime scenes are available on the FBI’s website.

            Law enforcement agencies are asking anyone with information to contact the Metropolitan Police Department at (202) 727-9099, text the MPD Text Tip Line at 50411, or submit a tip with the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. All tips can remain anonymous.

**

The dates and locations of these assaults are:

LINKED BY DNA

• Sunday, May 26, 2002, at approximately 6:50 a.m. An 18-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in the offender’s vehicle on the 4000 block of Penwood Street in Hyattsville, Maryland, after having been picked up from the 3400 block of Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast Washington, D.C. The vehicle was described as a small black four-door car, unknown make and model.
   
• Sunday, December 1, 2002, at approximately 2:30 p.m. A 31-year-old female housekeeper was sexually assaulted in a hotel room at the Hilton Hotel on Colesville Road in Silver Spring, Maryland. During the assault, the offender brandished a red-handled box cutter, which was recovered on the scene. The box cutter had the name Debbie handwritten on it.

 

• Sunday, May 11, 2003, at approximately 3:15 p.m. A 27-year-old female housekeeper was sexually assaulted in a hotel room at the Renaissance Hotel on 9th Street in Northwest Washington, D.C. The offender’s ring came off during the assault and was recovered on the scene. 

 

• Friday, May 23, 2003, at approximately 10:30 a.m. A 68-year-old female housekeeper was sexually assaulted in a hotel room at the Jefferson Hotel on 16th Street in Northwest Washington, D.C. The offender bound the victim’s hands with a necktie during the assault. 

 

• Friday, June 6, 2003, at approximately 10:00 a.m. A 29-year-old female housekeeper was sexually assaulted in a hotel room at the Holiday Inn Hotel on Jefferson Davis Highway in Arlington, Virginia. The offender brandished a cord during the assault.

 

• Monday, June 9, 2003, at approximately 12:28 p.m. A 22-year-old female housekeeper was sexually assaulted in a hotel room at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel on Golden Triangle Drive in Greenbelt, Maryland.

 

OTHER SEXUAL ASSAULTS AND INCIDENTS THAT MAY BE RELATED

• Saturday, August 22, 1998, at approximately 12:05 p.m. A 30-year-old female housekeeper was sexually assaulted in a hotel room at the Quality Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. 
   
• Wednesday, May 28, 2003, at approximately 10:30 a.m. A suspicious person was observed at a Hyatt Hotel on Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia.

 

• Wednesday, May 28, 2003, at approximately 10:45 a.m. A suspicious person was observed in the Marriott Courtyard Hotel on Clarendon Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia approximately 15 minutes after the Hyatt Hotel incident (0.2 miles away).

 

• Monday, June 9, 2003, at approximately 12:13 p.m. A suspicious person was observed at a Residence Inn Hotel in Greenbelt, Maryland. The suspect was questioned by an employee and exited the hotel 10 minutes later. This activity occurred 15 minutes prior to the DNA-linked attack at the Marriott Courtyard (0.1 mile away).

 

• Friday, June 13, 2003, at approximately 11:00 a.m. A suspicious person was observed trying to open doors on various floors at the Marriott Hotel on Russell Avenue in Gaithersburg, Maryland, then hastily fleeing The individual was observed leaving the scene in a black Nissan Sentra.

 

• Friday, June 13, 2003, at approximately 12:10 p.m. Two housekeepers reported that they observed a suspicious person at the Sheraton Baltimore Washington Airport Hotel in Linthicum Heights, Maryland. The housekeepers stated that the individual resembled the suspect who was portrayed in a flyer circulated by the Hotel Association of Washington, D.C.

 

• Sunday, February 13, 2005, at approximately 11:27 a.m. A 34-year-old woman was sexually assaulted at knifepoint in a hotel room at the Quality Inn Hotel on New Hampshire Avenue in Takoma Park, Maryland.

 

• Monday, February 6, 2006, at approximately 3:40 p.m. A 28-year-old female housekeeper was sexually assaulted at knifepoint in a hotel room at the Red Roof Inn on Richmond Highway in Alexandria, Virginia.

 

 

WASHINGTON – A Maryland man was sentenced today to seven years in prison for his involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in income tax refunds.

            The announcement was made by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division; U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia; Acting Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington D.C. Field Office; Acting Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Washington Division and Assistant Inspector General for Investigations John L. Phillips of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

            Antonio Cooper, 47, of Oxon Hill, Md., pled guilty in May 2016 to charges of conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, theft of public money, and aggravated identity theft.

            Cooper was part of a massive sophisticated stolen identity refund fraud scheme that involved a network of more than 130 people, many of whom were receiving public assistance.  Conspirators fraudulently claimed refunds for tax years 2005 through 2012, often in the names of people whose identities had been stolen, including the elderly, people in assisted living facilities, drug addicts and incarcerated prisoners.  Returns were also filed in the names of, and refunds were issued to, willing participants in the scheme.  The returns filed listed more than 400 “taxpayer” addresses located in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.  According to court documents, the overall case involved the filing of at least 12,000 fraudulent federal income tax returns that sought at least $42 million in refunds. 

            Conspirators played various roles in the scheme: stealing identifying information; allowing their personal identifying information to be used; creating and mailing fraudulent federal tax returns; allowing their addresses to be used for receipt of the refund checks; cashing the refund checks; providing bank accounts into which the refund checks were deposited and forging endorsements of identity theft victims on the refund checks.  The false returns typically reported inflated or fictitious income from a sole proprietorship and claimed phony dependents to generate an Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable federal income tax credit for working families with low to moderate incomes.  To date, approximately two dozen participants in this scheme have pleaded guilty, and three have been convicted by a trial jury.  

            According to the government’s evidence, Cooper actively participated in the scheme from approximately February 2010 through July 2012. He also recruited others to do so. As he admitted in Court, Cooper played an integral part in the overall conspiracy; he, his friends, and his family members defrauded the IRS out of more than $2 million through the receipt of fraudulently obtained income tax refund checks. Among other things, Cooper used others’ addresses to receive checks, bought personal identifying information needed to complete tax forms, and cashed some of the fraudulently-obtained tax refund checks. 

            In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer ordered Cooper to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $2,420,241 in restitution to the IRS.  She also ordered a forfeiture money judgment $806,747.

            Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman, U.S. Attorney Liu, Acting Special Agent in Charge Jackson, Acting Inspector in Charge Shen and Assistant Inspector General Phillips commended the special agents who conducted the investigation and acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Columbia, including former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Schornstein; Assistant U.S. Attorney Chrisellen Kolb; Paralegal Specialists Aisha Keys and Donna Galindo; former Paralegal Specialists Jessica Mundi and Julie Dailey; Litigation Technology Specialist Ron Royal; Investigative Analysts William Hamann and Zachary McMenamin, and Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Tonya Jones. They also expressed appreciation for the work of Trial Attorneys Jeffrey B. Bender, Thomas F. Koelbl, and Jessica Moran of the Tax Division, who worked on the case.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen Chubin Epstein and Michelle Bradford of the District of Columbia’s Fraud and Public Corruption Section and Trial Attorney Kimberly G. Ang of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Lucas, who assisted with forfeiture issues.

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

WASHINGTON – Malik Parker, also known as Yohan Raymoore, 21, of Temple Hills, Md., was sentenced today to five years in prison on charges stemming from a shooting that took place in September 2016 in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Parker pled guilty in March 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon sentence of five years in prison. The Honorable Danya A. Dayson accepted the plea and sentenced the defendant accordingly. Following his prison term, Parker will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Sept. 19, 2016, at approximately 8:10 p.m., Parker and his girlfriend argued loudly in the street, in the 2900 block of P Street SE. Family members from a nearby house exited to observe the commotion. One of those family members, the victim, told Parker to take the argument somewhere else because he did not want the police to be called. Parker declined his request. Parker removed his gun, fired three shots in the air and then eight shots at the family as they fled back toward their house. Luckily, none of the shots found their targets. Parker then fled before the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrived.

            Parker was arrested on Sept. 28, 2016 and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the United States Marshals Service. She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists T.J. McPhail, Victim/Witness Advocate Shawn Slade, and Litigation Technology Specialist Anisha Bhatia.

            Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessi Brooks and Louis Manzo, who together investigated, indicted and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Jerome C. Lewis, 51, of Washington, DC, was ordered today to pay $204,503 in restitution to the estate of Samauri Michelle Jenkins, a four-year-old girl who died after he set fire to the house where she was staying in Southeast Washington.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), 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 Gregory M. Dean, Chief of the District of Columbia Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services (DCFEMS).

            Lewis was found guilty by a jury in October 2017 of first-degree murder with aggravating circumstances, second-degree murder, and first-degree cruelty to children. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced to a 32-year prison term on those charges in February 2018 by the Honorable Milton C. Lee.

            The government had requested restitution for the estate of Samauri Jenkins or the imposition of a fine based on the defendant receiving a payout from an insurance company for the damage to his home and personal property.  Judge Lee convened a follow-up hearing today to consider the government’s request for orders of restitution and/or fines. In advance of today’s hearing, Judge Lee granted the government’s request to freeze Lewis’s assets.

            According to the government’s evidence, Lewis owned a home in the 2600 block of 33rd Street SE.  In late 2011, Lewis began renting the first and second floors to relatives while he lived in the basement.  In early 2013, his relationship with his tenant-relatives had become strained and he was experiencing a financial crisis.  On Feb.17, 2013, in the early hours of the morning, he set fire to his mattress located in his basement living area, causing a fire that spread throughout the basement and to the first floor of the home.

            Everyone was able to escape the home, with the exception of four-year-old Samauri Jenkins. She was rescued from a second floor bedroom by the District of Columbia Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services. She was taken to a hospital with burns and smoke inhalation, but died from her injuries two days later.

            Lewis was arrested on the morning of the fire and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing today’s developments, U.S. Attorney Liu, Chief Newsham, Special Agent in Charge Chittum, and Chief Dean commended the work of the D.C. Arson Task Force, which is comprised of members from MPD, the Washington Field Division of the ATF, and DCFEMS. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Sharon Newman; Paralegal Specialist Stephanie Gilbert; Legal Secretary Dawn White; Intelligence Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker; Supervisory Victim/Witness Services Coordinator David Foster; Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington; Supervisory Administrative Services Specialist Tina Wall, and Administrative Services Specialist Sallie Rynas.

            Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberley C. Nielsen and Michelle D. Jackson, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Cesar Morales, 23, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to five years in prison on charges stemming from a shooting last summer at the Columbia Heights Metro station in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Morales was found guilty by a jury in January 2018 of assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and related firearm offenses. The verdict followed a one-week trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Jennifer A. Di Toro. Following his prison term, Morales will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Aug. 25, 2017 at approximately 12:20 p.m., Morales chased the victim around the Columbia Heights Metro station. As they reached the top of the escalators on the west entrance, Morales fired one shot with a .22-caliber Ruger towards the victim. Luckily, the victim was able to run away and get through the station unharmed. At the time of the shooting, dozens of people were in and around the station.

            Morales fled westbound on Irving Street NW, making a right on Hyatt Place and then a left onto Park Road NW. Within minutes, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) were able to contact and attempted to stop the defendant and another individual. When officers asked to see Morales’s hands, the defendant reached in his waistband and fled from the officers. Officers observed Morales toss a firearm. Morales was able to get away.

            Video surveillance captured the shooting outside the Metro station and the victim running inside the station. Body-worn camera of the officers captured the stop minutes after the shooting. MPD released video and an investigation led to Morales’s arrest on Aug. 31, 2017. He has been in custody ever since. A casing was recovered from the Metro station stairs that was determined to have been fired by the firearm recovered in defendant’s flight path.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from Metropolitan Police Department and Metro Transit Police Department. She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Tiffany Fogle, Litigation Technology Specialist Anisha Bhatia, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff. Finally, she acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Trigoso, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

 

 

WASHINGTON – The owner of a tutoring and mentoring business and a former employee of the District of Columbia Public Schools pled guilty today to federal charges for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently bill the school system more than $200,000 for services that they falsely claimed had been provided to students with special needs.

             The guilty pleas were announced by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas of the District of Columbia.

            John A. Faulkner, Jr., 40, the business owner, and Isaiah Johnson, 38, the former D.C. Public Schools employee, each pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to charges of mail fraud and identity theft. Mail fraud carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and identity theft carries up to 15 years. Both charges also carry potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, each defendant faces an estimated range of 33 to 41 months in prison and fines of up to $75,000. They also must pay a total of $217,366 in restitution to the District of Columbia Schools. Faulkner also has agreed to pay $142,866 in a forfeiture money judgment, and Johnson has agreed to pay $74,500 in a forfeiture money judgment. The Honorable Rudolph Contreras scheduled sentencing for Sept. 11, 2018.

            Faulkner and Johnson, both of Baltimore, were indicted on Sept. 14, 2017, and remain free on personal recognizance pending their sentencing hearing.

            According to a statement of offense submitted at the time of the pleas, the men carried out a scheme from at least July of 2012 through at least July of 2014 involving fraudulent invoices submitted to the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) for services purportedly performed under the 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. They also receive a list of independent providers, or vendors.

            According to the statement of offense, Faulkner owned a company that in 2011 became eligible to be paid by DCPS as a vendor for tutoring and mentoring services. Johnson was a DCPS compliance case manager who was responsible for notifying parents or guardians, via letters, that their children were entitled to obtain the services of the independent providers. In that role, according to the indictment, Johnson had access to students’ names as well as compensatory education letters and the forms used to create those letters.

            Faulkner and Johnson created or caused to be created false and fraudulent timesheets purporting to reflect compensatory education services provided to students that had, in fact, not been performed. These documents included the names and, in some instances, the signatures of individuals who purportedly provided services, the DCPS students and the students’ parents or guardians. Faulkner and Johnson admitted that they and others used these means of identification without the knowledge or permission of the individuals. Faulkner attached these timesheets to invoices to DCPS. He received payments and distributed a portion of the proceeds to Johnson.

            DCPS sent at least $217,366 in payments for services that never were performed.

            In announcing the pleas, 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;  former Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Howie; Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Tasha Harris, Paralegal Specialists Kristy Penny and Joshua Fein, and former Paralegal Specialist Jessica Mundi.  Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter C. Lallas and Adrienne Dedjinou, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Eight businessmen, including five Russian nationals and three Syrian nationals, were indicted today on federal charges alleging that they conspired to violate U.S. economic sanctions against Syria and Crimea, by sending jet fuel to Syria and making U.S. dollar wires to Syria and to sanctioned entities in Syria without receiving a license from the U.S. Treasury Department. 

            The indictment was returned in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and involves transactions conducted by Joint Stock Company Sovfracht (Sovfracht), a Russian shipping company and freight forwarder.

            The five Russian nationals – Ivan Okorokov, Ilya Loginov, Karen Stepanyan, Alexey Konkov and Liudmila Shmelkova – are employees of Sovfracht.  Yaser Naser is a Syrian national who has worked on behalf of Sovfracht in Syria to coordinate its business there.  Farid Bitar and Gabriel Bitar are petroleum inspectors at Port Banias, Syria.  All eight individuals were charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.  A forfeiture allegation was also included in the indictment.

            Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, and Special Agent in Charge Timothy Dunham of the FBI Washington Field Office Counterintelligence Division made the announcement.

            “The U.S. sanctions on Syria and Crimea thwart Syria’s support of terrorism and its pursuit and use of weapons of mass destruction, as well as the actions of those who seek to undermine Ukraine’s democratic processes and territorial integrity.  The National Security Division will not tolerate any attempts to evade these important foreign policy and national security tools,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “The defendants allegedly conspired to defy our sanctions against Syria and Crimea, endangering both American interests in the region as well as our foreign policy and national security at home.  I applaud the investigators who helped bring these alleged violations to light and the violators to justice.”

            “The indictment in this case demonstrates that we will vigorously investigate and prosecute violations of U.S. economic sanctions, including the use of our financial system to promote and facilitate the activities of sanctioned entities, such as the delivery of jet fuel to Syria,” said U.S. Attorney Liu.  “The charges also reflect the tireless dedication of the FBI to rooting out this illegal activity.”

            “The FBI takes sanctions violations extremely seriously and will not hesitate to use our full investigative resources to stop this type of alleged illegal activity,” said Special Agent in Charge Dunham.  “This investigation underscores the determination of the special agents and intelligence analysts who pursue those who violate United States laws, no matter where they reside.”

***

            As noted in the indictment, on May 11, 2004, the President declared a national emergency to deal with the threat to the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States posed by the actions of the Government of Syria. That and subsequent Executive Orders imposed economic sanctions on Syria, which prohibited, among other things, the exportation, re-exportation, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, to Syria of any goods, technology, or services from the United States, which includes the processing of U.S. dollar wires for transactions conducted overseas.

            According to the indictment, as early as 2011, banks began rejecting U.S. dollar wires by Sovfracht that were destined for Syria.  The alleged conspirators began using front companies and falsifying information in shipping records and the related U.S. dollar wires in order to circumvent the sanctions. In subsequent conversations in 2015, the defendants allegedly sent e-mails warning about the effect of “Western sanctions” and the related prohibition on U.S. dollar transactions. 

            The indictment alleges that the defendants used vessels owned by Transpetrochart Co. Ltd. (Transpetrochart), a Russian based company that owned the petroleum tankers Mukhalatka and Yaz, to transship jet fuel and other items surreptitiously to Syria.

            The indictment also notes that on May 8, 2014, the Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), designated the Banias Refinery Company, a Syrian based petroleum processing company owned by the Syrian regime, for processing petroleum that was imported into the Syrian Port of Banias.  According to the indictment, in spite of these sanctions, the defendants engaged in U.S. dollar transactions beginning in 2015 to deliver jet fuel to Syria via the Banias Refinery Company.  On or about Jan. 13, 2016, OFAC blocked two wires from Sovfracht that passed through the United States totaling $2,585,340 for the delivery of jet fuel to Syria.  As a result, the defendants allegedly began to use third party companies to continue making U.S. dollar payments for shipments to Syria.

            On Sept. 1, 2016, OFAC designated Sovfracht for Crimean sanctions violations.  Following these sanctions, Sovfracht was prohibited from transacting in U.S. dollars without first receiving a license from OFAC, regardless of whether or not the transaction was for the supply of goods to Syria.  On Sept. 9, 2016, the government sent notice to Sovfracht of a forfeiture action against the blocked $2,585,340. On Dec. 20, 2016, OFAC designated Transpetrochart for working with Sovfracht.

            According to the indictment, in October 2016, following Sovfracht’s designation, the defendants utilized Maritime Assistance LLC (Maritime) as a front company for Sovfracht, as part of the scheme to circumvent U.S. sanctions and conduct U.S. dollar transactions.  Maritime was operated by employees, including several of the defendants, of Sovfracht.  The indictment alleges that Sovfracht and Maritime employees acted interchangeably.  Maritime assumed debts previously owed by Sovfracht and paid third parties on contracts previously negotiated by Sovfracht.  The indictment alleges that these activities allowed the defendants to continue engaging in U.S. dollar transactions, which passed through the United States, in spite of Sovfracht’s designation.

            According to the indictment, following designation, Sovfracht, acting through Maritime, continued to transact in U.S. dollars for the delivery of jet fuel to Syria, in violation of both the Crimean and Syrian sanctions.  For example, on or about May 11, 2017, OFAC blocked two wires from Sovfracht that passed through the United States totaling $2,957,983 for the delivery of jet fuel to Syria. In response to the blocking, Ilya Loginov allegedly stated to co-conspirators that Maritime “has been burned,” that it was “unadvisable to make further use of it,” and that they had “to create a new … clean company.”

            An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

            The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to violate IEEPA is five years in prison, and for conspiracy to commit money laundering is 20 years in prison.  The charges also carry potential financial penalties and forfeitures of blocked funds and facilitating property such as the vessels in question.  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.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            The government is represented by Trial Attorney David Recker of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section; and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zia Faruqui and Erik Kenerson, Arvind K. Lal, Chief of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker Tobin, Paralegal Specialist Toni Anne Donato, and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick of the District of Columbia. Assistance earlier was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Eight businessmen, including five Russian nationals and three Syrian nationals, were indicted today on federal charges alleging that they conspired to violate U.S. economic sanctions against Syria and Crimea, by sending jet fuel to Syria and making U.S. dollar wires to Syria and to sanctioned entities in Syria without receiving a license from the U.S. Treasury Department. 

The indictment was returned in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and involves transactions conducted by Joint Stock Company Sovfracht (Sovfracht), a Russian shipping company and freight forwarder.

The five Russian nationals – Ivan Okorokov, Ilya Loginov, Karen Stepanyan, Alexey Konkov and Liudmila Shmelkova – are employees of Sovfracht.  Yaser Naser is a Syrian national who has worked on behalf of Sovfracht in Syria to coordinate its business there.  Farid Bitar and Gabriel Bitar are petroleum inspectors at Port Banias, Syria.  All eight individuals were charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.  A forfeiture allegation was also included in the indictment.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, and Special Agent in Charge Timothy Dunham of the FBI Washington Field Office Counterintelligence Division made the announcement.

“The U.S. sanctions on Syria and Crimea thwart Syria’s support of terrorism and its pursuit and use of weapons of mass destruction, as well as the actions of those who seek to undermine Ukraine’s democratic processes and territorial integrity.  The National Security Division will not tolerate any attempts to evade these important foreign policy and national security tools,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “The defendants allegedly conspired to defy our sanctions against Syria and Crimea, endangering both American interests in the region as well as our foreign policy and national security at home.  I applaud the investigators who helped bring these alleged violations to light and the violators to justice.”

“The indictment in this case demonstrates that we will vigorously investigate and prosecute violations of U.S. economic sanctions, including the use of our financial system to promote and facilitate the activities of sanctioned entities, such as the delivery of jet fuel to Syria,” said U.S. Attorney Liu.  “The charges also reflect the tireless dedication of the FBI to rooting out this illegal activity.”

“The FBI takes sanctions violations extremely seriously and will not hesitate to use our full investigative resources to stop this type of alleged illegal activity,” said Special Agent in Charge Dunham.  “This investigation underscores the determination of the special agents and intelligence analysts who pursue those who violate United States laws, no matter where they reside.”

***

As noted in the indictment, on May 11, 2004, the President declared a national emergency to deal with the threat to the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States posed by the actions of the Government of Syria. That and subsequent Executive Orders imposed economic sanctions on Syria, which prohibited, among other things, the exportation, re-exportation, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, to Syria of any goods, technology, or services from the United States, which includes the processing of U.S. dollar wires for transactions conducted overseas.

According to the indictment, as early as 2011, banks began rejecting U.S. dollar wires by Sovfracht that were destined for Syria.  The alleged conspirators began using front companies and falsifying information in shipping records and the related U.S. dollar wires in order to circumvent the sanctions. In subsequent conversations in 2015, the defendants allegedly sent e-mails warning about the effect of “Western sanctions” and the related prohibition on U.S. dollar transactions. 

The indictment alleges that the defendants used vessels owned by Transpetrochart Co. Ltd. (Transpetrochart), a Russian based company that owned the petroleum tankers Mukhalatka and Yaz, to transship jet fuel and other items surreptitiously to Syria.

The indictment also notes that on May 8, 2014, the Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), designated the Banias Refinery Company, a Syrian based petroleum processing company owned by the Syrian regime, for processing petroleum that was imported into the Syrian Port of Banias.  According to the indictment, in spite of these sanctions, the defendants engaged in U.S. dollar transactions beginning in 2015 to deliver jet fuel to Syria via the Banias Refinery Company.  On or about Jan. 13, 2016, OFAC blocked two wires from Sovfracht that passed through the United States totaling $2,585,340 for the delivery of jet fuel to Syria.  As a result, the defendants allegedly began to use third party companies to continue making U.S. dollar payments for shipments to Syria.

On Sept. 1, 2016, OFAC designated Sovfracht for Crimean sanctions violations.  Following these sanctions, Sovfracht was prohibited from transacting in U.S. dollars without first receiving a license from OFAC, regardless of whether or not the transaction was for the supply of goods to Syria.  On Sept. 9, 2016, the government sent notice to Sovfracht of a forfeiture action against the blocked $2,585,340. On Dec. 20, 2016, OFAC designated Transpetrochart for working with Sovfracht.

According to the indictment, in October 2016, following Sovfracht’s designation, the defendants utilized Maritime Assistance LLC (Maritime) as a front company for Sovfracht, as part of the scheme to circumvent U.S. sanctions and conduct U.S. dollar transactions.  Maritime was operated by employees, including several of the defendants, of Sovfracht.  The indictment alleges that Sovfracht and Maritime employees acted interchangeably.  Maritime assumed debts previously owed by Sovfracht and paid third parties on contracts previously negotiated by Sovfracht.  The indictment alleges that these activities allowed the defendants to continue engaging in U.S. dollar transactions, which passed through the United States, in spite of Sovfracht’s designation.

According to the indictment, following designation, Sovfracht, acting through Maritime, continued to transact in U.S. dollars for the delivery of jet fuel to Syria, in violation of both the Crimean and Syrian sanctions.  For example, on or about May 11, 2017, OFAC blocked two wires from Sovfracht that passed through the United States totaling $2,957,983 for the delivery of jet fuel to Syria. In response to the blocking, Ilya Loginov allegedly stated to co-conspirators that Maritime “has been burned,” that it was “unadvisable to make further use of it,” and that they had “to create a new … clean company.”

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to violate IEEPA is five years in prison, and for conspiracy to commit money laundering is 20 years in prison.  The charges also carry potential financial penalties and forfeitures of blocked funds and facilitating property such as the vessels in question.  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.

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

The government is represented by Trial Attorney David Recker of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section; and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zia Faruqui and Erik Kenerson, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker Tobin, Paralegal Specialist Toni Anne Donato, and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick of the District of Columbia. Assistance earlier was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

WASHINGTON - Ulysses Goodine, 39, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 15 ½-year prison term for stabbing a man in Southeast Washington and then stabbing a woman who tried to stop the attack, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Goodine was found guilty by a jury in March 2018 of one count each of aggravated assault while armed and assault with significant bodily injury while armed, and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Goodine was sentenced by the Honorable Juliet McKenna. Upon completion of his prison term, he will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Oct. 18, 2016, at approximately 10:45 p.m., Goodine got into an altercation with a 19-year-old man in in the 5000 block of D Street SE. The altercation followed a series of interactions between the two men that evening that had ranged from verbal exchanges to a friendly handshake. The chain of events ended with Goodine calling the victim over to him and stabbing him several times in the arm, shoulder, and back. The most severe wound – which penetrated the victim’s chest cavity and collapsed his lung – was delivered to the back, as the victim was attempting to run away. In addition to stabbing this victim, Goodine attacked a woman who tried to intervene by stabbing her in the hand.

            Goodine was arrested on Oct. 21, 2016, and has been in custody ever since. At sentencing, the government noted that Goodine now has 15 convictions as an adult, including for offenses such as distribution of drugs and assaults.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the United States Park Police. She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Rakoczy, Jennifer Kerkhoff, and Laura A. Bach; Michael Ambrosino, Special Counsel for DNA and Forensic Evidence Litigation; Forensic Operation/Program Specialist Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie; Paralegal Specialists Antoinette Sakamsa and Tierra Nanches; Litigation Technology Specialist Claudia Gutierrez, and Victim/Witness Security Specialists Debra Cannon and Lesley Slade.

            Finally, she expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen D’Angelo and Maryam Adeyola, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Three men, all from Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to charges stemming from the August 2015 slaying of Matthew Shlonsky, an innocent bystander who was shot on a crowded street in Northwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Andre Dudley, 22, Marcus King, 22, and Christopher Proctor, 28, pled guilty 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 is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for Dudley 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 calls for an agreed-upon sentence of 15 to 20 years, and Proctor’s plea calls for an agreed-upon term of 12 to 14 years. The Honorable Juliet McKenna scheduled sentencing for Aug. 13, 2018. All three defendants remain held pending the sentencing hearing.

            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 Eighth 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 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.

             In announcing the pleas, 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 Bach, and Jeffrey Nestler; former Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana Fulton; Paralegal Specialists Lornce Applewhite and Sharon Newman; Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, 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 – A former staff employee of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) has been indicted and arrested on charges of making false statements to special agents of the FBI during the course of an investigation into the unlawful disclosure of classified information, announced Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu, and Timothy M. Dunham, Special Agent in Charge of the Counterintelligence Division of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            James A. Wolfe, 57, of Ellicott City, Md., was indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001. At the time he made the alleged false statements to the FBI, Wolfe was Director of Security for the SSCI, a position he held for approximately 29 years. As SSCI Director of Security, Wolfe was entrusted with access to classified SECRET and TOP SECRET information provided by the Executive Branch, including the U.S. Intelligence Community, to the SSCI.  In this position, Wolfe was responsible for safeguarding all classified information in the possession of the SSCI. 

            Wolfe is alleged to have lied to FBI agents in December 2017 about his repeated contacts with three reporters, including through his use of encrypted messaging applications.  Wolfe is further alleged to have made false statements to the FBI about providing two reporters with non-public information related to the matters occurring before the SSCI.  

            “The Attorney General has stated that investigations and prosecutions of unauthorized disclosure of controlled information are a priority of the Department of Justice.  The allegations in this indictment are doubly troubling as the false statements concern the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive and confidential information,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers.  “Those entrusted with sensitive information must discharge their duties with honesty and integrity, and that includes telling the truth to law enforcement.”

            “Mr. Wolfe’s alleged conduct is a betrayal of the extraordinary public trust that had been placed in him,” said U.S. Attorney Liu. “It is hoped that these charges will be a warning to those who might lie to law enforcement to the detriment of the United States.”

             “All individuals in positions of trust must be held to the highest of standards, as the American public deserves no less,” said Special Agent in Charge Dunham.  “As alleged in this indictment, Mr. Wolfe failed to meet those standards in his repeated lies to federal agents concerning the unauthorized disclosure of information.  His arrest demonstrates that this conduct will not be tolerated, and those that engage in it will be held accountable.”

            Wolfe was arrested on June 7, 2018, and is expected to make his first appearance Friday, June 8, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The case is entitled United States v. James A. Wolfe, and the matter has been assigned to the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

             The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The maximum penalty for each count of making a false statement to federal law enforcement agents is five years in prison. The maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes. The sentencing of the defendant, if he is later convicted, will be determined by the court after considering the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

           The investigation into this matter is being conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Columbia, with assistance from the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

WASHINGTON - Anthony Brooks, 29, of Indian Head, Md., pled guilty today to federal charges of transporting a minor across state lines with intent to sexually abuse her. The minor was a 14-year-old girl whom Brooks tutored as part of an afterschool program the child was ordered to attend by a family court.

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

            Brooks pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to two counts of transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Trial had been scheduled to begin on June 7, 2018. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. The Honorable James E. Boasberg scheduled sentencing for Sept. 7, 2018.

            The minor had been ordered by the Family Court of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to attend the Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) program, an afterschool diversion program through which at-risk youth are provided tutoring and mentoring. Brooks, then 28, a college graduate, was employed as one of her tutors.

            According to the government’s evidence, in late spring of 2017, the minor was transferred to a different BARJ location and, from that time forward, should have had no additional contact with Brooks. Brooks had previously been admonished by staff not to have contact with female students outside of the program. Brooks, however, continued to have contact with her. By July 2017, he was exchanging sexually explicit text messages with the girl, who had just completed the 8th grade.  On July 11, 2017, Brooks contacted the girl’s father and asked the father’s permission to “tutor” the child. According to the evidence, Brooks then drove nearly an hour from his home in Maryland to Southeast Washington, where he picked up the girl, brought her to his home, and had sexual intercourse with her.

            Between July 11 and July 12, Brooks discussed with the girl over text message coming to pick her up again. Brooks advised the girl in text messages written on July 11 that he did not want to come get her on back to back days because her father might become suspicious. Instead, on July 13, 2017, Brooks again drove nearly an hour from his home in Maryland to Southeast Washington to pick up the child. He arrived at 6:30 a.m., at a time when the child’s father, the girl’s sole guardian and the only adult in the house, was at work at his construction job. According to the government’s evidence, he transported the child back to his house in Maryland, where he again engaged in sexual acts with her.

            Through September 2017, Brooks continued to communicate with the girl, exchanging sexually explicit text messages with her. On Sept. 19, 2017, the child’s father discovered the text messages between Brooks and his daughter while reviewing the messages on his daughter’s phone. He promptly contacted the MPD Youth and Family Services Division, which commenced an investigation. The FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation Task Force immediately joined the investigation. Brooks was arrested on Sept. 20, 2017 and has been in custody ever since. On Feb. 14, 2018, Brooks was indicted on two counts of transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge DeSarno, and Chief Newsham commended the work of the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and FBI Special Agents in the Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Pennsylvania, and the District of Maryland, as well as the U.S. Marshals Service.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Park, who investigated and indicted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi Lazarus who is prosecuting the matter along with Jason Park.

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Jeff Sessions has selected the District of Columbia to receive three additional Assistant U.S. Attorneys to focus on violent crime and civil enforcement matters, part of a nationwide influx of federal resources to communities.

            In the largest increase in decades, Attorney General Sessions announced on June 4, 2018 that the Department of Justice is allocating 311 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys to assist in priority areas. Those allocations are as follows: 190 violent crime prosecutors, 86 civil enforcement attorneys, and 35 additional immigration prosecutors. Nationwide, much of the civil enforcement work will support the newly created Prescription Interdiction & Litigation Task Force, which targets the opioid crisis at every level of the distribution system.

            “Under President Trump's strong leadership, the Department of Justice is going on offense against violent crime, illegal immigration, and the opioid crisis—and today we are sending in reinforcements,” said Attorney General Sessions. “We have a saying in my office that a new federal prosecutor is ‘the coin of the realm.’  When we can eliminate wasteful spending, one of my first questions to my staff is if we can deploy more prosecutors to where they are needed. I have personally worked to re-purpose existing funds to support this critical mission, and as a former federal prosecutor myself, my expectations could not be higher. These exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime fighting partnership. This addition of new Assistant U.S. Attorney positions represents the largest increase in decades.”

            “My office is grateful for the extra support being provided by the Justice Department to make our community safer,” said U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu. “We will put our new attorneys to work as quickly as possible on complex cases involving violent crime, drug trafficking, health care fraud, and other serious offenses that harm the citizens of the District of Columbia.”

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office already is working with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and other law enforcement partners on a Justice Department initiative called Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) that is generating additional cases focusing on violent crime. 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 the District of Columbia, two of the three new Assistant U.S. Attorneys will focus on violent crime and one will focus on civil enforcement. The new attorneys are in addition to an Assistant U.S. Attorney provided to the District of Columbia in an earlier initiative created by Attorney General Sessions to target cases involving violent crime.

            On the violent crime front, the two new prosecutors will take on responsibilities including work on multi-agency investigations focusing on neighborhood crews and gangs in the Sixth and Seventh Police Districts. Much of the upcoming work will include coordinating federal and local law enforcement resources to combat the recent uptick in violent crime in these areas.  The additional Assistant U.S. Attorneys will supplement and increase efforts in executing the Office’s ongoing Project Safe Neighborhoods initiatives and MPD’s Summer Crime Initiatives.

            On the civil enforcement side, the new attorney will join five current Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Office’s Civil Division in sharing responsibility for handling a large docket of complex fraud cases.  The District of Columbia ranks fourth in the nation in the number of whistleblower cases filed under the False Claims Act since 1987, and the number of new cases in this district in which the United States is the plaintiff increased on average by 76% during the period from 2013 - 2017.  Those cases primarily involve procurement fraud and health care fraud schemes that require substantial resources to investigate and prosecute. 

WASHINGTON – Barrett Harrington, 31, and Germar Fox, 35, both of Washington D.C., have pled guilty to charges stemming from an armed home invasion that took place in July 2016 near Capitol Hill, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced today.

            Harrington and Fox pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to the charge of first-degree burglary while armed. Harrington entered his guilty plea on June 1, 2018, and Fox pled guilty today. The pleas, which are contingent upon the Court’s approval, call for each defendant to be sentenced to 102 months of incarceration. The Honorable Kimberly S. Knowles scheduled sentencing for Aug. 10, 2018. Both men were to stand trial today before deciding to plead guilty to the lead charge in the indictment.

            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 plea, 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 – Darryl Smith, 41, the manager of a Southeast Washington barbershop, pled guilty today to federal narcotics and firearms offenses stemming from an investigation into drug trafficking at the business and surrounding area.

            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).

            Smith pled guilty 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 agreement, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for a sentence of 80 months of incarceration, to be followed by five years of supervised release. The Honorable Amit P. Mehta scheduled sentencing for Aug. 15, 2018.

            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 in the 2400 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE, where the Next Level Cuts barbershop is located. Smith also was arrested 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.  

            Smith, of Washington, D.C., was indicted on federal charges in February 2018.

            Two co-defendants are still facing charges. Anthony Fields, 44, of Washington, D.C., was indicted for drug trafficking offenses arising from the Feb. 1, 2018 seizure. James Venable, 46, of Fort Washington, Md., was indicted on narcotics and firearms charges, stemming from two separate drug trafficking offenses committed in the District of Columbia, one of which alleges his distribution of narcotics outside the barbershop. Both have pled not guilty.

            In announcing the plea, 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 handling 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 – Jeffrey S. Kahn, 51, 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 his 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.

           Kahn, of Saratoga Springs, Utah, pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to making a false statement. The Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson scheduled sentencing for Aug. 16, 2018. The charge carries a statutory penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. As part of the plea, Kahn has agreed to pay $77,649 in restitution to the federal government.

            According to a statement of offense submitted to the Court, Kahn was employed by 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 Kahn worked under contract on behalf of Federal Investigative Services.

            Between May 2013 and August 2013, in more than 18 Reports of Investigations on background investigations, Kahn represented that he had interviewed a source or reviewed a record­ regarding the subject of the background investigation. In fact, he 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.

            Kahn’s false representations have required OPM to reopen and rework numerous background investigations that were assigned to him during the time period of his falsifications, at an estimated cost of at least $77,649 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 Kahn, 23 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 – Tyrone Hunter, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 13 years and two months in prison for a series of armed robberies that took place within a two-day period last year in Northwest and Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Hunter was found guilty by a jury in March 2018 of eight counts of armed robbery, as well as conspiracy to commit robbery, fleeing and eluding police, reckless driving, and related weapons offenses and other charges. The verdict followed a five-week trial, with testimony from more than 50 witnesses, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Robert A. Salerno. Following his prison term, Hunter is to be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Jan. 15, 2017, at approximately 1:30 a.m., a 2016 grey Audi sedan was stolen from a parking garage in the 400 block of K Street NW. Over the next two days, the stolen Audi was used as the getaway vehicle in eight armed robberies in Northwest and Northeast Washington. In each instance, Hunter exited the front passenger seat and robbed the victims at gunpoint of their personal belongings before fleeing in the stolen car. According to the evidence at trial, the first robbery took place before dawn on Jan. 15, 2017, and the crimes continued into the night of Jan. 16, 2017.

            On Feb. 8, 2017, law enforcement observed Hunter driving the stolen Audi.  Following a brief chase that resulted in the stolen Audi crashing into numerous vehicles, Hunter exited the vehicle and fled from the police.  Law enforcement soon located and arrested Hunter. Following his arrest, several victims identified him as the gunman who robbed them. Hunter has been in custody since his arrest.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). She also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team and 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 Michael Ambrosino, Special Counsel for DNA and Forensic Evidence Litigation; Forensic Operation/Program Specialist Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie; Criminal Investigators John Marsh and Durand Odom; Paralegal Specialists Zoe Antwi and Antoinette Sakamsa; Victim/Witness Advocates Diana Lim and Jennifer Clark; Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington, and Litigation Technology Specialists Leif Hickling, Anisha Bhatia, William Henderson, and Ron Royal. Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vivien Cockburn and Ellen D’Angelo, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Avon Thompson, 23, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to five years and three months in prison for severely attacking two people with a knife who attempted to prevent him from stealing alcohol from their store in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Thompson pled guilty in January 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault with significant bodily injury.  He was sentenced by the Honorable José M. López. Following his prison term, Thompson will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on the afternoon of Nov. 15, 2017, Thompson entered a store in the 2400 block of Martin Luther King Jr., Avenue SE.  After looking around the store, he took a bottle of liquor, put it in his pants and attempted to leave without paying.  The first victim, the storeowner, attempted to confront Thompson and call the police to report the theft.  However, Thompson turned irate and began striking the victim several times – first with his fist, then with a knife.  The second victim, the wife of the storeowner, came out to help defend her husband, but was assaulted as well. 

            During the assault, Thompson knocked both victims to the floor and continued attacking them.  The storeowner had multiple lacerations to his head and had to undergo multiple dental surgeries to repair damaged and missing teeth.  The wife of the storeowner also had to have surgery to insert a metal rod in her arm to repair her broken wrist.

            Thompson was arrested soon after the attack and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Diana Lim and Assistant U.S. Attorney Emile C. Thompson, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

WASHINGTON - Anthony Robinson, 26, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to five years in prison on a charge of armed robbery stemming from an incident in which he conspired to rob an acquaintance after a party, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

            Robinson pled guilty in April 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Judith Bartnoff. Following his prison term, Robinson will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Oct. 15, 2016, at approximately 3:30 a.m., Robinson and another man, having conspired to rob the victim, came to the front of the Baron Hotel in the 1500 block of 22nd Street NW, where a party was being held, to execute their plan. The victim was standing on the sidewalk, talking to occupants of a car parked on the street.

            When Robinson and his accomplice arrived, the accomplice immediately pointed a gun to the victim’s head and demanded the man’s backpack. Robinson stood a few feet away. The victim handed his backpack to the accomplice, and Robinson urged him to “come on.”

            At this point, one of the passengers in the car stepped out and Robinson’s accomplice fired two shots at him; one of these bullets hit the man below his right ear and exited through his neck. The man survived the gunshot wound. Robinson ran down the block to wait for his accomplice. Robinson took the backpack from the accomplice and both men fled the scene. Robinson was arrested on Nov. 7, 2016. No one else has been charged to date.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Second District, who investigated the case. She also acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Nurudeen Elias, who investigated and indicted the case with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney John Giovannelli.