District of Columbia

WASHINGTON – A 24-year-old man from Washington, D.C. pled guilty today to two counts of second-degree child sexual abuse for engaging in sexual acts in his home with a cousin who was 9 and 10 years old at the time, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu. 

            The defendant, who is not identified here to protect the privacy of the victim, pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  The Honorable Danya A. Dayson scheduled sentencing for June 22, 2018.  Once released from prison, the defendant will be placed on a period of supervised release.  He will also be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years. 

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

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

WASHINGTON – Timothy L. Jennings, Sr., 61, of Washington, D.C., has pled guilty to robbing two banks last summer in downtown Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Jennings pled guilty on April 12, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to two counts of bank robbery. Each charge carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Jennings faces a possible range of 57 to 71 months in prison. He also must pay a total of $1,367 in restitution to the two banks. The Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan scheduled sentencing for June 21, 2018.

            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 a series of three bank robberies.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu, Assistant Director in Charge McNamara, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. They 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 United States has filed a civil complaint seeking the forfeiture of an oil painting by Marc Chagall that was recovered by the FBI decades after it was stolen from collectors in New York. The United States intends to return the artwork to its rightful owners.

            The announcement was made by 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.

            The artwork, “Othello and Desdemona,” is an oil painting on canvas created by Chagall in 1911, in the early stages of his career. It depicts a male, Othello, in the left foreground holding a sword in his hand and looking at a female figure, Desdemona, lying on a bed in the right background.  It now is in the possession of the FBI and is currently being held at an FBI facility in Washington, D.C. This piece was previously displayed at an art gallery in Switzerland in the 1960s.

            The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and seeks forfeiture of the painting on the basis that it represents the proceeds of the interstate transportation of stolen property and possession of stolen goods.

            “For nearly 30 years, this magnificent painting was in the control of people who had no legal right to it,” said U.S. Attorney Liu. “It was stolen from New York collectors who had owned it since the 1920s, and they never saw it again. Now, thanks to the tireless efforts of the FBI, it has been located and will be returned to the collectors’ estate. This case shows that law enforcement will never stop its dogged pursuit of justice, and will do all it can to recover stolen treasures.”

            “As the FBI returns this painting to the estate of its proper owners, we do so with the purpose of preserving history,” said Assistant Director in Charge McNamara. “This piece of artwork is of significance not just for its monetary value, but for its place in the world of art and culture. The FBI continues to commit investigative resources to recover cultural property.”

            According to the complaint, the painting had been rightfully owned by Ernest and Rose Heller, art collectors who lived in New York. The Hellers, who are now deceased, had amassed a collection of artwork from their travels in Europe and other parts of the world. By 1988, they had collected more than 20 paintings and 12 sculptures, which they kept in their apartment.

            In August of 1988, they came home to their apartment and discovered that the painting, along with other artwork and sculptures, had been stolen. The piece by Chagall had a label indicating that its owners were “Mr. + Mrs. E.S. Heller, New York.” The property was insured by an insurance company, which paid the Hellers a lump sum following the theft.

            Following the burglary, Interpol listed the Chagall painting as a stolen artwork. An FBI investigation revealed that the painting was stolen from the apartment by an individual who worked in the building.  That individual was convicted in a federal district court of interstate transportation of stolen property and mail fraud related to the theft and sale of other works of art stolen from other apartment buildings.  Prior to the arrest of this individual, he attempted to sell the painting to a third party. That third party took the painting from the suspected thief in the late 1980s or early 1990s. 

            After that, this third party attempted to consign the painting to an art gallery in Washington, D.C., but without proof of ownership, the gallery refused to accept the painting.  The gallery suggested that the individual contact law enforcement, which resulted in the FBI obtaining custody of the painting.

            Upon completion of the forfeiture proceedings, the painting will be returned to the Rose Heller estate.  At that time, and in consultation with the insurer’s representative, Art Recovery International, the painting will be sold at auction. The Heller estate will repay the insurance company for their disbursement from the proceeds of the sale, pay any related legal expenses, and donate the remainder of the sale proceeds to the estate’s beneficiaries: the McDowell Colony, a haven for artists in New Hampshire (80%), Columbia University (10%), and NYU Medical Center (10%), all 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit corporations.

            In a news article that appeared days after the theft, Ernest Heller was quoted as saying that he especially liked the Chagall. “It’s all in the hands of the police,” Mr. Heller said at the time. “Sometimes they’re (stolen paintings) returned but I doubt it.”

            Christopher A. Marinello, CEO of Art Recovery International, the firm that is working with the insurer, issued a statement saying, “We are extremely grateful to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for doggedly pursuing this case 30 years after the theft. This sends a resounding message to art thieves everywhere that in the U.S.A., the passage of time will not defeat the original owner’s right to bring a claim in recovery.”

            The lawsuit is captioned United States v. One Oil Painting Entitled Othello and Desdemona by Marc Chagall. The claims made in the complaint are only allegations and do not constitute a determination of liability.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zia M. Faruqui, Brian P. Hudak, and Anthony Scarpelli, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Welsh, and Paralegal Specialist Toni Anne Donato, all from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, are representing the government.

 

WASHINGTON — Today, as the Department of Justice recognizes the 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the nationwide rollout of an initiative aimed at increasing awareness and reporting of sexual harassment in housing. The announcement includes an interagency task force between the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Justice Department to combat sexual harassment in housing, an outreach toolkit, and a public awareness campaign. This three-pronged approach will strengthen the Department’s efforts to combat sexual harassment in housing.

            “Sexual harassment in housing is illegal, immoral, and unacceptable," said Attorney General Sessions. “It is all too common today, as too many landlords, managers, and their employees attempt to prey on vulnerable women. We will not hesitate to pursue these predators and enforce the law. In October, I ordered a new initiative to bring more of these cases, and we have already won relief for 15 victims. Today we announce three new steps to make the initiative more effective and to win more cases. I want to thank the dedicated and committed professionals in our Civil Rights Division and our partners in the Department of Housing and Urban Development for their hard work in this effort. We will continue to aggressively pursue harassers, because everyone has a right to be safe in their home.”

            “All discrimination stains the very fabric of our nation, but HUD is especially focused on protecting the right of everyone to feel safe and secure in their homes, free from unwanted sexual harassment,” said Secretary Ben Carson. “No person should have to tolerate unwanted sexual advances in order to keep a roof over his or her head. Part of our mission at HUD is to provide safe housing and we will remain diligent in this mission to protect those we serve. I look forward to working with Attorney General Sessions and the Department of Justice as part of this task force to bring an end to this type of discrimination.”

            In October 2017, the Justice Department announced an initiative to combat sexual harassment in housing and launched pilot programs in Washington, D.C. and the Western District of Virginia. The initiative sought to increase the Department’s efforts to protect women from harassment by landlords, property managers, maintenance workers, security guards, and other employees and representatives of rental property owners. During the pilots, the Department developed and tested ways to better connect both with victims of sexual harassment in housing and with those organizations that victims may turn to first for help – including law enforcement, legal services providers, public housing authorities, sexual assault services providers, and shelters.  The Department also tested certain aspects of the initiative in other jurisdictions, including New Jersey, the Central District of California, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Michigan.

            The two pilot programs generated an upswing in harassment reporting to the Department from both the District of Columbia and the Western District of Virginia. In the District of Columbia, the Department generated six leads since the October 2017 launch. In Virginia, the Department generated three leads. While the Justice Department recognizes that leads and investigations do not always lead to enforcement actions, the pilot program’s results—when extrapolated across all the U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country—could lead to hundreds of new reports of sexual harassment in housing across the country.

           During the pilot program, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia reached out to citizens at numerous community events, joined with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to meet with advocacy groups and other local stakeholders, and teamed with HUD on other local efforts.

             “My office is committed to doing all that it can to enforce the Fair Housing Act,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu. “We were pleased to participate in the pilot project and encouraged by the results. People have a right to feel safe in their own homes. This includes the right under federal fair housing laws to be free from unwanted sexual conduct. We urge anyone who has been sexually harassed – by a landlord or property manager, a loan officer, or housing official – to come forward so that we can help.”

            Because of the promising results of the pilot programs, the Justice Department is rolling out three major components to the Initiative.

            First, the new HUD-DOJ Task Force to Combat Sexual Harassment in Housing will drive a shared strategy between the Department and HUD for combatting sexual harassment in housing across the country. It will focus on five key areas: continued data sharing and analysis, joint development of training, evaluation of public housing complaint mechanisms, coordination of public outreach and press strategy, and review of federal policies.

            Second, the outreach toolkit is designed to leverage the Justice Department’s nationwide network of U.S. Attorney’s Offices. The toolkit provides templates, guidance, and checklists based on pilot program feedback. It ultimately will amplify available enforcement resources and help victims of sexual harassment connect with the Department.

            Third, the public awareness campaign has three major components: a partnership package with relevant stakeholders, launch of a social media campaign, and Public Service Announcements (PSAs) run by individual U.S. Attorney’s offices. The campaign is specifically designed to raise awareness, and make it easier for victims all over the country to find resources and report harassment.

            More information about the Civil Rights Division and the civil rights laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of sexual harassment in housing should call the Department at 1-844-380-6178, send an e-mail to [email protected], or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777.  If you have information or questions about any other housing discrimination, you can contact the Department at 1-800-896-7743.

30-Second Public Service Announcement from U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu

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30-Second PSA Transcript

 

60-Second Public Service Announcement from U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu

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60-Second PSA Transcript

WASHINGTON - U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and the Victim Witness Assistance Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia paid tribute today to crime victims, their families, witnesses, community members, criminal justice partners, and Good Samaritans for their bravery, compassion, and dedication to the pursuit of justice.

             More than two dozen honorees were recognized during an event at the Ceremonial Courtroom of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. The ceremony was timed with the annual observance of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. This year’s national theme, “Expand the Circle: Reach All Victims,” emphasizes the importance of inclusion in victim services and addresses the need to ensure that every crime victim has access to services and support, and for professionals, organizations, and communities to work in tandem.

            “We draw inspiration every day from the bravery, resilience and strength shown by victims, witnesses, and the many people in our community who stand up for justice,” said U.S. Attorney Liu. “The people being honored today remind us of the importance of thinking creatively and collaboratively to reach all those victims who need help.”

            The featured speaker was Fainess Lipenga, a survivor of labor trafficking who now shares her experience to educate the community and raise awareness. Ms. Lipenga told of working 16 and 17-hour work days, seven days a week, as a domestic employee. She was able to flee from the ordeal and now is a consultant for the Human Trafficking Legal Center, training lawyers and other professionals nationwide. She also has been a member of the National Survivor Network, a program of the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST). She spoke of the kindness of people who helped her start a new life.

            In addition to Ms. Lipenga, the U.S. Attorney’s Office honored other individual victims, survivors, Good Samaritans, and partners whose efforts furthered the cause of justice.

            For example, the honorees included a teenager who showed great strength and tenacity in testifying against a twice-convicted sex offender who sexually abused her in 2016 at the Potomac Avenue Metro Station; a woman who urged the Metropolitan Police Department to take another look at the 1999 murder of her father, leading to the solving of the case, and a Good Samaritan who aided a woman who was being sexually assaulted in 2017 in the back of a taxicab. The Good Samaritan, a motorist, saw the woman in the passenger seat of the cab in the 4900 block of 16th Street NW, waving for help and fighting the taxi driver. He made a U-turn and pulled in front of the taxi, forcing it to stop. The woman was able to escape. The Good Samaritan called police, waited for them to arrive and the taxi driver was caught and later convicted of his crimes.

            The honorees also included a neighbor who did all that he could to aid a dying homicide victim who showed up at his doorstep in Southeast Washington. The victim, Darlene Bryant, was stabbed in the neck on May 13, 2015, inside the stairwell of a building on Wheeler Road SE. Ms. Bryant, 46, made her way down the stairs, stumbled to the street, and banged on the neighbor’s door. The neighbor tried to comfort her and cover the wound, in addition to calling 911 and diligently following instructions of the 911 operator. Despite these heroic efforts, Ms. Bryant died on his front steps. The neighbor did not see who killed Ms. Bryant, but described her final moments at the trial of the man later convicted of the murder.

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office also recognized the extraordinary efforts of partners who provided support to victims’ families during the three-week trial last year that ended with the convictions of two Mexican nationals for the killing of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the attempted murder of ICE HSI Special Agent Victor Avila on Feb. 15, 2011, in Mexico.  More than 20 members of the Special Agents’ families attended the trial and were greeted and aided daily by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Court Security Officers at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Additionally, the Capital Area Law Enforcement Foundation (CALE) assisted the family members, including hosting a dinner for them and arranging a meeting with Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) during their time in Washington. Finally, Aaron Adaway, Administrative Assistant to Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell, was honored for the special care he showed during the trial.

            Today’s event was developed and organized by the Victim Witness Assistance Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Members of the Unit provide essential services and support to victims and witnesses, such as making referrals for counseling and other services, addressing safety concerns, arranging travel, and accompanying victims to court proceedings.  The Unit also notifies victims of their rights and provides information regarding significant case events, such as the filing of charges, plea hearings, trials and sentencing hearings.

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            Additional information about the Victim Witness Assistance Unit is available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/victim-witness-assistance

            Further information about National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is available at http://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ncvrw/

            Each year in April, the Department of Justice and United States Attorney’s Offices nationwide observe National Crime Victims’ Rights Week by honoring victims of crime and those who advocate on their behalf. The Justice Department will host the Office for Victims of Crime’s annual National Crime Victims’ Service Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C. on April 13, 2018, to honor outstanding individuals and programs that serve victims of crime.

            “In law enforcement, we are sworn to serve and protect,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “We carry out this oath every day by protecting the rights of law abiding people from criminals and by achieving justice for crime victims. This week, we remember the millions of Americans who have been victimized by criminals and we thank those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in their service to those victims. As we do so, we recommit ourselves to fulfilling our oath and to reducing crime in America."

WASHINGTON - Benjamin Paz, 54, of Montgomery Village, Md., was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman after illegally entering her residence in Georgetown in February 2004, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Paz pled guilty in December 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to one count of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of first-degree burglary. The plea agreement, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon prison sentence within the range of eight to 15 years. The Honorable Hiram E. Puig-Lugo accepted the plea and sentenced the defendant accordingly. Following his prison term, Paz will be placed on lifetime supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

            “This prosecution is an example of our determination to ensure that violent crimes are not left unsolved,” said U.S. Attorney Liu. “By taking a fresh look at this case, we were pleased to join the Metropolitan Police Department and our other partners to get this dangerous predator off the street and achieve justice for the victim.”

            According to the government’s evidence, on Feb. 22, 2004, at approximately 4:30 a.m., Paz broke into a residence in the 3300 block of Prospect Street NW, where the victim, then 21, was home alone, sleeping. Paz was a stranger to the victim. Paz removed the victim’s clothing and sexually assaulted her by force. During the assault, the victim was able to push Paz off her, after which he got up and ran out the back door into the alley. The victim ran out the front door to get help.

            The victim made an immediate report to police, and was transported to an area hospital, where she received a Sexual Assault Nurse Examination. This examination included the collection of swabs from her intimate areas. The Physical Evidence Recovery Kit was later sent for forensic testing. That testing revealed an unknown male DNA profile developed from the victim’s swabs. That unknown male DNA profile was uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a web of state and national databases containing DNA profiles from convicted offenders and crime scenes that is used as an investigative tool. There were no hits.

            Paz was developed as a suspect in these offenses by MPD in 2017. On Feb. 9, 2017, a D.C. Superior Court judge signed a search warrant authorizing the collection of buccal swabs from the defendant. The warrant was executed on Feb. 15, 2017, and the swabs were later sent for forensic testing. During the testing, Paz’s DNA profile was developed and compared to the unknown male DNA profile developed from the testing of the victim’s swabs in the 2004 offense. The results of this comparison revealed that the DNA profile of the defendant matched the DNA profile of the unknown male on the swabs.

            Paz was arrested on March 22, 2017, and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of the detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit and Second Police District, as well as the Deputy Marshals from the U.S. Marshals Service. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Tracey Hawkins, Victim/Witness Specialists LaJune Thames and Katina Adams-Washington, and Executive Assistant Shelia Miller.

 

            Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Zubrensky, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Mark Chuvala, 41, of Berlin, Md., was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for sexually abusing a former teenage piano student, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Chuvala was found guilty by a jury on Jan. 30, 2018 of four counts of first-degree child sexual abuse, three counts of second-degree child sexual abuse, one count of indecent sexual proposal to a minor, one count of misdemeanor sexual abuse of a child, and one count of use of a minor in a sexual performance. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ronna L. Beck. Following his prison term, Chuvala will be placed on 10 years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

            According to the government’s evidence, Chuvala was the victim’s piano teacher in 2011 at Middle C Music in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Northwest Washington. At the time of the lessons, Chuvala was 34, and the student was 13 years old. When the lessons had concluded, Chuvala asked the girl to stay in touch, and they began a relationship over text communications.

            The two got together a few days later and walked to a park in Montgomery County, Maryland, where Chuvala kissed the girl and engaged in the first sexual contact with her. Chuvala has pled guilty in Montgomery County to three counts of third-degree sex offense for this conduct, and is awaiting sentencing there on April 9, 2018.

            Shortly after they got together in Montgomery County, Chuvala and the girl met on at least two occasions in the middle of the night in Washington, D.C. During those two incidents, Chuvala performed oral sex on the victim and had her perform oral sex on him, among other sexual conduct. After these sexual encounters, Chuvala and the victim continued to exchange numerous texts with each other at all hours of the day and night. When Chuvala moved from the Washington, D.C. area, he engaged in conversations with the girl over video Skype, in which he would ask her to undress, masturbating as he watched her, and would ask her to masturbate.

            In the spring of 2012, the victim first disclosed the abuse to a friend, and her friend told a school counselor. The counselor notified law enforcement, and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) opened an investigation. However, the victim was not ready to go forward with a police investigation at the time, and persuaded her parents not to provide the abuser’s name to police. Ultimately, in the fall of 2014, the victim decided that she was prepared to go forward with a police investigation. The investigation led to Chuvala’s arrest on June 24, 2015. Following the verdict, the judge ordered that he be placed in custody pending sentencing.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham praised the work of detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth and Family Services Division. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists D’Yvonne Key and Brenda Williams, Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughan, Investigative Analyst William Hamann, and Litigation Technology Specialist Anisha Bhatia. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elana Suttenberg and Nicholas Miranda, who investigated and prosecuted this case. 

WASHINGTON – Charles E. Scott, Jr., a vendor who claimed to be providing tutoring and mentoring services for students with special needs, pled guilty today to federal charges stemming from a scheme in which he collected more than $75,000 from the District of Columbia Public Schools for work that never was performed.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and District of Columbia Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas. 

            Scott, 38, of Baltimore, Md., pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to mail fraud and identity theft. Mail fraud carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and identity theft carries a statutory maximum of 15 years. Both charges carry potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Scott could face a sentence of 15 to 27 months in prison and a fine. The plea agreement also requires him to pay $75,398 in restitution to the District of Columbia Public Schools and an identical amount in a forfeiture money judgment. The Honorable Rudolph Contreras scheduled sentencing for July 5, 2018.

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

WASHINGTON – Tyrone Michael Hight, 26, and James Young, 25, both of Washington, D.C., were found guilty by a jury today of murder and other charges stemming from the slaying of a man in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Hight and Young were found guilty 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.  The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on June 22, 2018 by the Honorable Milton C. Lee.

            According to the government’s evidence, on the morning of 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 verdicts, 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 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 M. Laverne Perry, Wanda Queen, Tanya Via, La June Thames and Katina Adams-Washington, and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker.

            Finally, she 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. 

The Justice Department today filed denaturalization lawsuits against two convicted war criminals and natives of the former Yugoslavia, who according to the Department’s complaints, murdered civilians and prisoners of war because of their religion and ethnicity, then fraudulently obtained refugee status and later naturalized into U.S. citizenship by concealing their crimes. The civil complaints were filed in federal court in the District of Oregon and the District of Columbia.

 

“War criminals will find no safe haven or shelter within the United States,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “We will be steadfast as we investigate and prosecute human rights violators, torturers, and war criminals. This is especially true for those who fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship. For too long, we have tolerated egregious fraud in our refugee program, our immigration system, and the naturalization process. This Administration will hold alleged fraudsters accountable.”

 

“We at DHS are committed to working with our partners across the federal government to target those who seek to break our immigration laws to obtain U.S. citizenship. There will be consequences,” said Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen from the Department of Homeland Security.  “National security is homeland security and fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship will not be tolerated.  Those who abuse our generous immigration system take opportunities away from those who follow our laws and who undoubtedly deserve U.S. citizenship.”

 

Today’s lawsuits allege that Edin Dzeko, 46, and Sammy Rasema Yetisen, aka Rasema Handanovic, aka Zolja, 45, were part of an elite unit of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina that attacked the village of Trusina on April 16, 1993, in what is known as the Trusina massacre. The unit targeted Bosnian Croats who resided in the village because of their Christian religion and Croat ethnicity, killing 22 unarmed individuals including women and the elderly. A Bosnian court previously found that Dzeko and Yetisen played key roles in the massacre: both were part of a firing squad that executed six unarmed prisoners of war and civilians, and Yetisen proceeded to make sure all six were dead by shooting them again. In addition to his participation in the firing squad, Dzeko also killed a crippled elderly man, and then shot the man’s wife in the back, killing her because she would not stop crying. 

 

According to the complaints, Dzeko’s and Yetisen’s actions came to light in 2011 when the United States granted their extradition to Bosnia and Herzegovina at that country’s treaty-based request. In April 2012, Yetisen was convicted in a Bosnia court pursuant to a guilty plea of war crimes against prisoners of war and war crimes against civilians based on the firing squad execution-style killings. In exchange for her plea and cooperation, Yetisen was sentenced to five years and six months in prison. In June 2014, Dzeko was convicted in Bosnia court of war crimes against prisoners of war and war crimes against civilians, and held responsible for the eight killings described above, in part based on Yetisen’s testimony against him. Yetisen has been released from prison and resides in Oregon. Dzeko is still serving his sentence in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

Before their war crimes had come to light, Dzeko and Yetisen each requested and received refugee status from the United States, claiming themselves to be victims of persecution. The complaints allege that Dzeko and Yetisen concealed and affirmatively misrepresented their criminal history, military service, and persecutory acts throughout their immigration proceedings. Such benefits would have been denied had immigration authorities known about the defendants’ roles in the Trusina massacre. 

 

“The United States has been a safe haven and symbol of hope for people fleeing from persecution, not for war criminals,” said U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu of the District of Columbia. “The actions taken in the District of Columbia and in Oregon today demonstrate that we will use every tool to ensure the integrity of our refugee programs.”

 

“The United States is a refuge for those fleeing violence and the atrocities of war, not those responsible for these unthinkable acts,” said U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams of the District of Oregon. “I applaud the hard work and coordination of law enforcement across the country that culminated in these lawsuits.”

 

Today’s civil denaturalization cases follow on the recent criminal conviction of a Bosnia Serb residing in North Carolina for making materially false claims and statements on his initial application for refugee status, which involved similar concealment of service in a military unit involved in the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre that resulted in the deaths of between 7,000 and 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men.

 

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

 

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

 

The claims made in these complaints are allegations only, and there have been no determinations of liability.

 

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

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today filed denaturalization lawsuits against two convicted war criminals and natives of the former Yugoslavia, who according to the Department’s complaints, murdered civilians and prisoners of war because of their religion and ethnicity, then fraudulently obtained refugee status and later naturalized into U.S. citizenship by concealing their crimes. The civil complaints were filed in federal court in the District of Oregon and the District of Columbia.

            “War criminals will find no safe haven or shelter within the United States,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “We will be steadfast as we investigate and prosecute human rights violators, torturers, and war criminals. This is especially true for those who fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship. For too long, we have tolerated egregious fraud in our refugee program, our immigration system, and the naturalization process. This Administration will hold alleged fraudsters accountable.”

            “We at DHS are committed to working with our partners across the federal government to target those who seek to break our immigration laws to obtain U.S. citizenship. There will be consequences,” said Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen from the Department of Homeland Security.  “National security is homeland security and fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship will not be tolerated.  Those who abuse our generous immigration system take opportunities away from those who follow our laws and who undoubtedly deserve U.S. citizenship.”

            Today’s lawsuits allege that Edin Dzeko, 46, and Sammy Rasema Yetisen, aka Rasema Handanovic, aka Zolja, 45, were part of an elite unit of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina that attacked the village of Trusina on April 16, 1993, in what is known as the Trusina massacre. The unit targeted Bosnian Croats who resided in the village because of their Christian religion and Croat ethnicity, killing 22 unarmed individuals including women and the elderly. A Bosnian court previously found that Dzeko and Yetisen played key roles in the massacre: both were part of a firing squad that executed six unarmed prisoners of war and civilians, and Yetisen proceeded to make sure all six were dead by shooting them again. In addition to his participation in the firing squad, Dzeko also killed a crippled elderly man, and then shot the man’s wife in the back, killing her because she would not stop crying. 

            According to the complaints, Dzeko’s and Yetisen’s actions came to light in 2011 when the United States granted their extradition to Bosnia and Herzegovina at that country’s treaty-based request. In April 2012, Yetisen was convicted in a Bosnia court pursuant to a guilty plea of war crimes against prisoners of war and war crimes against civilians based on the firing squad execution-style killings. In exchange for her plea and cooperation, Yetisen was sentenced to five years and six months in prison. In June 2014, Dzeko was convicted in Bosnia court of war crimes against prisoners of war and war crimes against civilians, and held responsible for the eight killings described above, in part based on Yetisen’s testimony against him. Yetisen has been released from prison and resides in Oregon. Dzeko is still serving his sentence in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

            Before their war crimes had come to light, Dzeko and Yetisen each requested and received refugee status from the United States, claiming themselves to be victims of persecution. The complaints allege that Dzeko and Yetisen concealed and affirmatively misrepresented their criminal history, military service, and persecutory acts throughout their immigration proceedings. Such benefits would have been denied had immigration authorities known about the defendants’ roles in the Trusina massacre. 

            “The United States has been a safe haven and symbol of hope for people fleeing from persecution, not for war criminals,” said U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu of the District of Columbia. “The actions taken in the District of Columbia and in Oregon today demonstrate that we will use every tool to ensure the integrity of our refugee programs.”

            “The United States is a refuge for those fleeing violence and the atrocities of war, not those responsible for these unthinkable acts,” said U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams of the District of Oregon. “I applaud the hard work and coordination of law enforcement across the country that culminated in these lawsuits.”

            Today’s civil denaturalization cases follow on the recent criminal conviction of a Bosnia Serb residing in North Carolina for making materially false claims and statements on his initial application for refugee status, which involved similar concealment of service in a military unit involved in the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre that resulted in the deaths of between 7,000 and 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men.

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

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

            The claims made in these complaints are allegations only, and there have been no determinations of liability.

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

WASHINGTON – Faneshia Scott, 28, of Washington, D.C., has been indicted on charges stemming from the death of her 16-month-old daughter and the beatings of her two other minor children, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced today.

            Scott was arrested on April 3, 2018, following her indictment on March 20, 2018, by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on two counts of first-degree felony murder, with aggravating circumstances, and seven counts of first-degree cruelty to children. The aggravating circumstances allege that the crime was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel and that the victim was especially vulnerable. The charges carry a potential sentence of life in prison with no possibility of release. Scott is to be arraigned on the charges later today.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at approximately 3 p.m., the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the District of Columbia Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services responded to an apartment in the 5400 block of C Street SE after a report that a 16-month-old child at that location was unconscious and not breathing.

            When first responders arrived, the child, Rhythm Fields, was lying on the living room floor and citizens who had come to her aid were administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The child was cold and had been dead for at least three hours.

            According to the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Rhythm died of blunt force trauma. Her injuries included 23 old and new rib fractures, contusions and abrasions of the head, neck, torso, and extremities, and a subdural hemorrhage. There also was a detection of dextromethorphan substance found in the child.

            According to the government’s evidence, during the investigation of Rhythm’s death, Scott told an MPD detective that she gave her daughter adult cold syrup (dextromethorphan), which was not age appropriate. Instructions on a cough medicine bottle similar to the one administered to the child state, “Do Not Give to Children under Age 12.” A sippy cup/bottle that was found on the scene was forensically examined by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and was found to contain dextromethorphan.

            In addition to the murder charges, Scott was indicted on five counts of first-degree cruelty to children involving Rhythm, covering the time period between Jan. 1, 2017, and the child’s death. These involve acts that caused various injuries, as well as the administration of cough syrup and the alleged failure to obtain medical treatment for the child.

            The other two counts of first-degree cruelty to children allege that Scott beat her two other children, also within the time period of Jan. 1 through March 21, 2017.

            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 Metropolitan Police Department. Assistance has been provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, and the District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency. The case is being investigated and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia G. Wright.

WASHINGTON - Anthony Robinson, 25, of Washington, D.C., has pled guilty to 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 on April 3, 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Judith Bartnoff scheduled a sentencing for June 1, 2018. Robinson faces a statutory maximum of 30 years in prison and a statutory minimum of five years.

            According to the government 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 plea, 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.

WASHINGTON – Deon Walker, 18, of District Heights, Md., was sentenced today to 62 months in prison for a pair of attacks he committed on the same block last summer while stealing vehicles in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Walker pled guilty in January 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to robbery and attempted robbery charges. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-up sentence of four to six years in prison. The Honorable Chief Judge Robert E. Morin accepted the plea and sentenced the defendant accordingly.  Following his prison term, Walker will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to a proffer of facts submitted at the time of the plea, the first crime took place on July 7, 2017, at approximately 4:15 p.m. Walker approached a man and a woman who were standing next to their 2006 Toyota Camry in the 4300 block of Barker Street SE. He punched the man twice in the face and took his car and house keys. Walker also took the woman’s purse. He then drove off in the victim’s car. The Camry later was recovered.

            The second crime took place on Aug. 31, 2017, at approximately 10:35 a.m., also in the 4300 block of Barker Street SE. This time, Walker approached a woman who was getting into her 2002 Lexus sport-utility vehicle and demanded her car key. She attempted to run away, but Walker followed her, pushed her to the ground, and put his hands around her neck. The woman dropped the car key, and Walker picked it up and then drove off.

            Surveillance video captured the second incident. The Lexus later was recovered and processed for fingerprints. Some of the fingerprints matched Walker’s. He was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in December 2017 and admitted taking both vehicles. Walker has remained 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. She also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. Finally, she commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Smalky, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Michael Williams, 24, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to three years in prison for groping a stranger after knocking her to the sidewalk in downtown Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

            The victim was eight months pregnant at the time.  Fortunately, both the victim and her baby sustained no serious injuries.

            Williams pled guilty in September 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of third-degree sexual abuse. He was sentenced by the Honorable Zoe Bush. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for a 10-year period.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Friday, May 5, 2017, at about 3:30 p.m., Williams approached the victim just outside the U.S. Tax Court in the 400 block of 3rd Street NW.  He was stark naked. When the victim saw Williams approaching, she tried to flee, but Williams caught her, grabbed her, and tackled her to the sidewalk, where he groped her.  A guard inside the Tax Court saw the assault and ran outside to try to intervene, but Williams fled.  By happenstance, a homicide detective with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) was driving by and saw a naked man running up 3rd Street.  He jumped out of his car, pursued, caught and arrested Williams. Williams has been in custody since his arrest.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the quick action of the homicide detective and the security officers at the U.S. Tax Court who helped pursue the defendant.  She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Brenda C. Williams and Victim/Witness Advocate Juanita Harris.  Finally, U.S. Attorney Liu expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter V. Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted this case. 

 

 

WASHINGTON – Davon Rashad Wood, 27, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 50 months in prison for groping a 12-year old girl as she was walking into a community aquatic center in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu. 

            Wood pled guilty in September 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of second-degree child sexual abuse. He was sentenced by the Honorable José M. López.  Following his prison term, Wood will be placed on 10 years of supervised release.  He also must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. 

            According to the government’s evidence, on June 26, 2017, at about 10:45 a.m., the victim was walking into the William H. Rumsey Aquatic Center in the 600 block of North Carolina Avenue SE. Wood held the door for the girl as she entered the aquatic center, then grabbed her buttocks as she walked past him.  His actions were captured on the aquatic center’s security cameras.  The girl did not know Wood. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) provided clips from security footage to the local media in hopes of getting the public’s assistance. Several people then called MPD to identify the man as Wood. Wood was arrested at his home in Southeast Washington on July 2, 2017.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu praised detectives from MPD’s Youth Division, the aquatic center employees who provided MPD with footage from the center’s security cameras, and members of the public, who helped identify Wood as the perpetrator. She   also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Brenda C. Williams and Victim/Witness Advocate Juanita Harris.  Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter V. Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted this case.

WASHINGTON – Zevi Chaim Mehlman, 52, of Silver Spring, Md., pled guilty today to federal charges of wire fraud and mail fraud for a pair of schemes in which he stole $96,000 from a school where he was working and an additional $572,000 from a relative.

            U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, Brian J. Ebert, Special Agent in Charge, Washington Field Office, U.S. Secret Service, and Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge, Washington Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement.

            Mehlman pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Each of the charges carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Mehlman faces a likely range of 51 to 63 months in prison and a fine of up to $200,000. He has agreed to pay a total of $668,000 in restitution to the victims and an identical amount in a forfeiture money judgment. The Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan scheduled sentencing for Aug. 8, 2018.

            According to a statement of offense submitted at the plea hearing, one scheme was carried out by Mehlman against his then-employer, the Washington International School. Mehlman worked for the school from September 2008 until November 2015, initially running its computer network before becoming Assistant Director of Information Services.

            At Mehlman’s request, the school provided him with two credit cards so that he could assist in the purchase of computers. From August 2014 until October 2015, Mehlman used the credit cards to make approximately 50 unauthorized purchases of Apple computer equipment. This equipment was not purchased for the school’s use. Instead, Mehlman returned the equipment to Apple and instructed Apple to place the credit onto his own personal debit cards. The total amount that Mehlman generated through this scheme was approximately $96,000.

            The school’s leadership confronted Mehlman about the purchases in November 2015, and he admitted his actions and apologized. The school terminated his employment soon afterward.

            According to the statement of offense, Mehlman carried out the second scheme against his uncle.  In 2003, his uncle gave power of attorney to Mehlman to conduct financial affairs for him.  In 2012, the District of Columbia’s Adult Protective Services filed a court petition seeking the appointment of a guardian and conservator for the uncle. The agency filed the petition after it was informed that approximately $1.2 million had been withdrawn from his brokerage accounts in 2010 and 2011. In the petition, the agency alleged that the uncle was an incapacitated individual who needed 24-hour care and who was unable to handle his finances and living arrangements. On May 3, 2012, the Court appointed co-guardians and co-conservators and revoked Mehlman’s power of attorney.

            A copy of the Court’s order was mailed to Mehlman.  Despite that order, and without the knowledge of the guardians and conservators, from May 17, 2012 until May 28, 2016, Mehlman wrote dozens of checks and stole approximately $572,000 from one of his uncle’s accounts.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Ebert, and Inspector in Charge Wemyss commended the work of those who investigated the case from the U.S. Secret Service. They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who investigated the case from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, including Grace Gale, Investigative Support Analyst. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the matter from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Criminal Investigator Nicole Hinson, Paralegal Specialists Kristy Penny and Joshua Fein, former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marina Stevenson, who assisted with forfeiture issues, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler, who is investigating and prosecuting the case.

A Maryland woman was sentenced today to 28 months in prison for her involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in income tax refunds, announced 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, Special Agent in Charge Kimberly Lappin of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Washington D.C. Field Office, Inspector in Charge Robert B. Wemyss 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.

 

According to court documents, Cheryle Murphy, 48, participated in a massive and sophisticated stolen identity refund fraud scheme involving 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. The overall case involved the filing of over 12,000 fraudulent federal income tax returns that sought at least $42 million in refunds.

 

Conspirators played various roles in the scheme to include: stealing identifying information, creating and mailing fraudulent federal tax returns, cashing fraudulent refund checks and forging endorsements of identity theft victims. 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.

 

From approximately August 2010 through November 2010, Murphy participated in claiming approximately $570,280 in fraudulent refunds from the IRS.  Murphy agreed to allow her residence to be used for the delivery of tax refund checks and agreed with a co-conspirator to be paid for each check she received.  Murphy also deposited into bank accounts under her name two cash deposits and four checks which Murphy received from a co-conspirator and that were obtained as part of the scheme. Ultimately, Murphy deposited a total of approximately $73,396 obtained as part of the scheme, of which she withdrew from ATMs approximately $17,500.

 

In addition to the term of imprisonment imposed, U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer ordered Murphy to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $127,180 in restitution to the IRS. She also ordered a forfeiture money judgment of $17,500.

 

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Lappin, Inspector in Charge Wemyss and Assistant Inspector General Phillips commended the special agents, who conducted the investigation, and 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.

 

They also expressed appreciation for the work of Tax Division Trial Attorneys Jeffrey B. Bender, Thomas F. Koelbl, and Jessica Moran and acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for 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.

 

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

WASHINGTON – A Maryland woman was sentenced today to 28 months in prison for her involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in income tax refunds, announced 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, Special Agent in Charge Kimberly Lappin of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Washington D.C. Field Office, Inspector in Charge Robert B. Wemyss 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.

            According to court documents, Cheryle Murphy, 48, participated in a massive and sophisticated stolen identity refund fraud scheme involving 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. The overall case involved the filing of over 12,000 fraudulent federal income tax returns that sought at least $42 million in refunds.

            Conspirators played various roles in the scheme to include: stealing identifying information, creating and mailing fraudulent federal tax returns, cashing fraudulent refund checks and forging endorsements of identity theft victims. 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.

           From approximately August 2010 through November 2010, Murphy participated in claiming approximately $570,280 in fraudulent refunds from the IRS.  Murphy agreed to allow her residence to be used for the delivery of tax refund checks and agreed with a co-conspirator to be paid for each check she received.  Murphy also deposited into bank accounts under her name two cash deposits and four checks which Murphy received from a co-conspirator and that were obtained as part of the scheme. Ultimately, Murphy deposited a total of approximately $73,396 obtained as part of the scheme, of which she withdrew from ATMs approximately $17,500.

            In addition to the term of imprisonment imposed, U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer ordered Murphy to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $127,180 in restitution to the IRS. She also ordered a forfeiture money judgment of $17,500.

           Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Lappin, Inspector in Charge Wemyss and Assistant Inspector General Phillips commended the special agents, who conducted the investigation, and 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.

            They also expressed appreciation for the work of Tax Division Trial Attorneys Jeffrey B. Bender, Thomas F. Koelbl, and Jessica Moran and acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for 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.

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

WASHINGTON – Takisha Brown Dorsey, a former union official with the Fraternal Order of Police, was sentenced today to 10 months in prison on a federal charge stemming from her theft of more than $130,000 from the organization, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            Brown Dorsey, 42, of Waldorf, Md., pled guilty in March 2017 to a charge of wire fraud, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was sentenced by the Honorable Reggie B. Walton. Following her prison term, Brown Dorsey will be placed on six months of home confinement and three years of supervised release. Judge Walton also ordered her to pay $132,305 in restitution and an identical amount in a forfeiture money judgment.

            According to a statement of offense filed at the time of the plea, Brown Dorsey took office in January 2012 as the elected chairperson of the union representing correctional officers employed by the District of Columbia Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS). She led the Fraternal Order of Police-DYRS, which has approximately 240 members, through December 2015. As chairperson, Brown Dorsey, who also was a correctional officer, had access to union funds and was authorized to spend union money in accordance with bylaws.

            In 2014, Brown Dorsey removed a safeguard requiring a second signature on all union checks, making herself the only required signatory. She also was the only one who had access to the union’s bank account and the ATM card that was associated with it. On Nov. 24, 2015, the union took a vote of no confidence in Brown Dorsey, and soon after that, members of the union’s executive board visited the Bank of America to inquire about the union’s finances. The balance was only $277, even though more than $100,000 in union dues were deposited into the account in calendar 2015. At the time that Brown Dorsey resigned, in December 2015, the union was about $92,000 in debt; at the beginning of her tenure, the union had a balance of $49,100.

            A subsequent investigation determined that, from April 2013 through December 2015, Brown Dorsey withdrew, debited, or transferred more than $130,000 from the union’s bank account for her personal use or for deposit into her personal account.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Assistant Director in Charge Vale 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 Paralegal Specialists Aisha Keys and Kristy Penny, former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Vesna Harasic-Yaksic, who assisted with forfeiture issues, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kendra D. Briggs, who prosecuted the matter.

 

WASHINGTON – Tarek Abou-Khatwa, also known as Dean Addem, 58, of Washington, D.C., has been indicted on charges that he defrauded CareFirst, a health care benefit program, and through his scheme, gained for himself in excess of $2 million.

            The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Stephen C. Taylor, Commissioner of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking.

            Abou-Khatwa was arrested earlier today and pled not guilty to the charges this afternoon in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was released on high-intensity supervision pending a status hearing set for April 10, 2018. The 24-count indictment charges him with violations of health care fraud, false statements to a health care benefit program, wire and mail fraud, and identity theft, which is a District of Columbia Code offense.  The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation seeking all proceeds that can be traced to the fraud scheme. The indictment was returned on March 20, 2018, and unsealed today.

            According to the indictment, Abou-Khatwa defrauded CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (“CareFirst”) a not-for-profit, private health care benefit program, offering health insurance plans for individuals and groups, as well as other products. Group health insurance coverage is a policy purchased by an employer and offered to eligible employees (and often to the employees’ family members) as a benefit of working for that employer.  

           The insurance premium rates for group contracts at issue in this indictment were based on multiple factors, the most significant one being the average age of the covered employees listed on the census and wage/tax forms for the employer groups. Abou-Khatwa, through his company, was a broker for CareFirst until May 2011, and received commissions from CareFirst as his compensation as a broker; later he continued to work through other CareFirst brokers.

            According to the indictment, Abou-Khatwa defrauded CareFirst by creating fake groups of insured individuals, which included both fictitious names and real people with altered years of birth, to fraudulently obtain lower insurance premium quotes from CareFirst; once the premium rates were set, he had the CareFirst invoices sent directly to him instead of his clients, marked up the insurance premiums charged by CareFirst, and pocketed the difference between the two. Through this scheme, Abou-Khatwa allegedly fraudulently siphoned off in excess of $2 million in illegal proceeds, and diverted the proceeds of the fraud for his personal use and benefit.

            The indictment further states that when CareFirst undertook audits of the employer groups, Abou-Khatwa submitted false employee census reports and wage/tax forms to CareFirst to justify the listings of employees in the shell company contracts. 

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

            In announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Liu, Assistant Director in Charge Vale, and Commissioner Taylor expressed appreciation for the work performed by Special Agents and forensic accountants from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and fraud investigators from the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking.  They also acknowledged the efforts of those working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including former Forensic Accountant Crystal Boodoo and current Forensic Accountant Bryan Snitselaar; former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Kavanaugh, Philip A. Selden, and Richard DiZinno; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kendra Briggs and Peter Lallas; former Paralegal Specialists John Lowell, Angela Lawrence, and Jessica Mundi; Paralegal Specialists Donna Galindo, Joshua Fein, and Aisha Keys, and Litigation Technology Specialist Claudia Gutierrez. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Lucas, who is assisting with forfeiture issues, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Virginia Cheatham, who is prosecuting the case.

            WASHINGTON –Nine people have been indicted on federal charges stemming from an ongoing investigation into the trafficking of PCP, crack cocaine and heroin in Southwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Thomas L. Chittum III, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            The defendants are charged in four indictments returned in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Six were arrested on March 22, 2018, and the others already were in custody. The drug conspiracy indictment – which charges six people, including two brothers – was unsealed today.

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

            Six defendants were indicted on March 20, 2018, and charged with conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than 100 grams of PCP, heroin, and crack cocaine. They include Antonio Spencer, 24; his brother, Maurice Spencer, 19; Kione Banks, 20; Raymond Boston, 26; Damion Littman, 32, and Davon Warren, 21. All are from Washington, D.C. The charges cover a time period extending from January 2017 through July of 2017. All but Banks were arrested on March 22; Banks already was in custody.

            In a separate indictment returned this week and unsealed today, Morriko Washington, 24, of Washington, D.C., is charged with distributing more than 100 grams of PCP on four separate occasions between August 2017 and November of 2017.  Washington was arrested March 22.

            Jerome Fuller, 33, of Washington, D.C., was arrested on March 12, 2018, on charges of selling PCP and crack cocaine in July and August of 2017. He has pled not guilty to the charges. 

            The ninth defendant, Mark Jamahl Stephens, 26, also of Washington, D.C., was indicted on Dec. 14, 2017 on charges of possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine and possession of a firearm in connection with his arrest in May 2017. He has been in custody.

          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 ATF and MPD. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin L. Rosenberg, of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – Tauheed Wheeler, 36, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to 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 the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  The Honorable Ronna L. Beck scheduled sentencing for June 8, 2018. Wheeler faces a statutory maximum prison term of 20 ½ years.  Once released from prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender for a 10-year period and will be on supervised released for up to 10 years.

            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 about 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 plea, 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 this case. 

WASHINGTON – Firoz Patel and Ferhan Patel, the founders and operators of Payza.com, AlertPay.com and Egopay.com, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia on charges alleging they operated an Internet-based unlicensed money service business that processed more than $250 million in transactions. 

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Patrick J. Lechleitner, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C.

            The indictment was returned earlier this month and unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Firoz Patel, 43, and Ferhan Patel, 37, who live in the area of Montreal, Québec, are charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and to violate anti-money laundering program requirements, one count of a money laundering conspiracy and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in the District of Columbia.  If convicted, each of the brothers faces a maximum sentence of more than 25 years.

            MH Pillars, Ltd., doing business as Payza, is charged with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

            Ferhan Patel was arrested on March 18, 2018, in Detroit. He made his first appearance on March 19, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He remains held pending further proceedings in the District of Columbia. His brother remains at large.

            “The arrest and indictments in this case demonstrate that we will vigorously enforce laws meant to protect the American consumer,” said U.S. Attorney Liu. “Money transmitting businesses are required to be registered federally and licensed in most states and jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia.  Consumers should beware of those that do not follow these laws because they could be acting as a cover for other illegal activity.”

            “I am proud of the skilled and professional teams of investigators and attorneys involved in today’s indictment and commend their efforts,” said Special Agent in Charge Lechleitner, special agent in charge of HSI Washington. “Through this type of routine interagency cooperation we ensure our safe, reliable and just society.”  

            The indictment alleges that the criminal activity took place from in or about March 2012 until the present. The defendants, through Payza.com, are accused of operating a money transmitting business that operated without the necessary state licenses and knowingly transmitting funds that were derived from illegal activity.  Despite receiving cease and desist letters from various states, and being told by a consultant that operating a money transmission business without the necessary licenses was a crime, Firoz and Ferhan Patel continued their illegal activity, the indictment alleges.

            The indictment alleges that the Patels, together with other co-conspirators, are responsible for transmitting over $250 million throughout the United States and elsewhere. The investigation is continuing.

            According to the indictment, Payza’s customers included Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes.  The Patels opened bank accounts in the United States and laundered their illegal proceeds through those accounts.

            The indictment also seeks forfeiture of any property involved in these offenses or traceable to these offenses.  In addition, the indictment seeks the specific forfeiture of approximately $10 million that has already been seized and frozen.

            Further information is available to the public at https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/victim-witness-assistance/obopay-payza.

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

            This case is being investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, Washington Field office.  It is being prosecuted and investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Zia Faruqui and Arvind Lal and former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kate Connelly John Marston, with assistance from Paralegal Specialists C. Rosalind Pressley and Toni Donato; Victim/Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant; Document Management Analyst Basizette Stribling; Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick; and Thomas Royal and Joshua Ellen from the Litigation Support Section.

WASHINGTON – Nine people have been indicted on federal charges stemming from an ongoing investigation into a ring that allegedly distributed crack cocaine, cocaine, PCP, fentanyl, and firearms in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

            To date, more than 500 grams of cocaine base and 100 grams of PCP have been seized as a result of the investigation, along with 13 firearms. Nine of the guns were seized today.

            The charges are contained in three indictments unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and 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).

            Seven defendants were arrested today, including Darnell Catlett, 45, of Upper Marlboro, Md.; Jamal Curtis, 39, of Washington, D.C.; Pamela Davis, 56, of Washington, D.C.; Russel Harrison, 38, of Temple Hills, Md.; Brian Jenkins, 42, of Brentwood, Md., Tydell Mims, 48, of Upper Marlboro, Md., and Everette Reel, 45, of Upper Marlboro., Md. Two other defendants are still being sought.

            Eight defendants are charged with taking part in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and 280 grams or more of crack. Numerous defendants are also charged with possessing and distributing various narcotics, including crack, cocaine, PCP and fentanyl, during the period of the investigation. The indictments also include a forfeiture count against all of those now charged in the investigation, which seeks all proceeds from the crimes.

            Two defendants are alleged to have engaged in a conspiracy to traffic firearms based on the controlled purchase of firearms by law enforcement led by the FBI, with the assistance of MPD and ATF.

            “This investigation is another example of our determination to target drug trafficking organizations that are bringing crack cocaine, cocaine, PCP and firearms into neighborhoods of the District of Columbia,” said U.S. Attorney Liu. “Through this coordinated law enforcement effort, we were able to remove significant quantities of drugs as well as firearms from the streets.”

            “Today’s arrests send a clear message that drug traffickers have no place in our community,” said Assistant Director in Charge Vale. “The FBI along with our local law enforcement partners is focused on stopping the movement and sale of drugs on our streets and ensuring that our neighborhoods are free from illegal firearms.”

            “ATF is dedicated to removing those that use firearms to commit violence from our streets,” said Special Agent in Charge Chittum. “This investigation is a great example of how we actively collaborate with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to reduce violent crime and keep our communities safe.”

            In May 2015, the FBI, with the assistance of MPD, began a long-term investigation into a drug trafficking organization that operated in the Montana Terrace neighborhood of Northeast Washington and extended into Maryland. Earlier today, the FBI coordinated the execution of eight search warrants and the arrest warrants in the District of Columbia and Maryland. The search warrants were executed on five residences and three automobiles belonging to numerous alleged co-conspirators, resulting in the recovery of additional quantities of narcotics, firearms, narcotics paraphernalia, and approximately $80,000 in cash. 

            The defendants began making their first court appearances today.

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

            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.

            In announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Liu, Assistant Director in Charge Vale, Chief Newsham, and Special Agent in Charge Chittum commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI, ATF, and MPD. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI’s Baltimore Division, the Prince George’s County, Md. Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

            Finally, they cited the efforts of those who are working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Rosenberg and Christopher Macchiaroli.

 

WASHINGTON – A Clinton, Md. man was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for his involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in income tax refunds, announced 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; Special Agent in Charge Kimberly Lappin of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington D.C. Field Office; Inspector in Charge Robert B. Wemyss 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.

            Tony Bryant, 56, was convicted by a jury on Feb. 17, 2017, of one count of conspiracy to commit theft of government funds and to defraud the United States and five counts each of theft of public money and aggravated identity theft. Two co-defendants also were found guilty at trial. They include Bryant’s son, Brian Bryant, 30, formerly of Mount Rainier, Md., and Tarkara Cooper, 37, of Washington, D.C. The verdicts followed a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Brian Bryant was sentenced earlier this month to a 100-month prison term, and Cooper was sentenced in July 2017 to a 63-month prison term.

            Bryant 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.  

            According to the evidence presented at trial, from approximately April 2010 through June 2012, Bryant, his son, Cooper, and others collectively claimed $4,959,310 in fraudulent refunds, of which the IRS paid out approximately $2,285,717.  Specifically, Tony Bryant used bank accounts under his control to negotiate federal income tax refund checks, often with assistance from bank employees who were compensated for their services.  The proceeds were usually transferred within a day or two to other bank accounts.

            In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer ordered Bryant to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $2,118,139 in restitution to the IRS.  She also ordered a forfeiture money judgment of $244,262.

            Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Lappin, Inspector in Charge Wemyss 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 Advocate 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 – Elias Hailu, 37, of Washington, D.C., has pled guilty to sexually abusing a stranger on the street in broad daylight last fall in the 14th Street corridor of Northwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.  

            Hailu pled guilty on March 13, 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to attempted third-degree sexual abuse. After completing any term of incarceration imposed by the Court, Hailu will be subject to 10 years of registration as a sex offender and a period of supervised release. The Honorable Judith Bartnoff scheduled sentencing for May 9, 2018.

            According to the government’s evidence, Hailu encountered the victim on the afternoon of Nov. 15, 2017, as she was walking on U Street toward 13th Street NW. He began to follow the victim, who was a stranger to him, for several blocks while she proceeded to work. All the while, Hailu made sexually explicit proposals to the victim and ignored her repeated requests that he leave her alone. Hailu sexually abused the victim by forcefully grabbing the victim’s breast with his hand. The victim made an immediate report to law enforcement.

            Surveillance footage that captured a portion of Hailu’s conduct showed Hailu’s distinctive clothing, some of which he had been wearing the day before in the same area. Based on the description provided by the victim and the surveillance footage, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) was able to identify Hailu as the perpetrator. He was arrested on Nov. 17, 2017, wearing some of the same clothing he had worn during the sexual assault.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu praised the work of officers from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit.  She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Tracy Owusu, Paralegal Specialist Donhue Troy Griffith, and Criminal Investigator John Marsh. Finally, U.S. Attorney Liu commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Matt Williams and Marisa West, who investigated and prosecuted this case.

 

WASHINGTON – Darryl Smith, 44, the self-identified manager of a Southeast Washington barbershop, has been indicted on federal charges stemming from an investigation into alleged drug trafficking at the business and in the surrounding area.

            The charges were announced today by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Thomas L. Chittum III, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Smith, of Washington, D.C., is among three defendants charged with various offenses following the investigation into alleged drug trafficking from the Next Level Cuts barbershop and surrounding property in the 2400 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE. He was arraigned on March 12, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on a superseding indictment filed earlier this month that charges him with firearms and narcotics offenses. He pled not guilty to the charges and remains held pending further court proceedings.

            The indictment includes narcotics and weapons offenses related to Smith’s arrest on Dec. 24, 2017, by the Metropolitan Police Department in the 2400 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE. On that date, he was allegedly in the possession of a loaded firearm and packaged capsules of fentanyl after he fled officers following a drug transaction on the street. Additionally, Smith faces PCP drug trafficking and other charges stemming from a search warrant that was executed on Feb.1, 2018 at the business. During the search, law enforcement recovered three firearms from the barbershop and adjoining property, more than $7,000 in cash, more than 800 grams of PCP, more than 300 grams of heroin, and boxes of Suboxone strips.

            Anthony Fields, 44, of Washington, D.C., also was arrested and charged by indictment last month in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia with drug trafficking offenses arising from the Feb. 1, 2018 seizure. He has pled not guilty and also remains held.

            The third defendant, James Venable, 46, of Fort Washington, Md., was indicted last month in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on narcotics and firearms charges. Venable also is charged by complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland after law enforcement recovered a loaded firearm from his Maryland residence on Feb. 1, 2018. He, too, has pled not guilty and remains held pending further court proceedings.

            The charges in indictments and complaint are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

            In announcing the arrests and indictments, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Chittum, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who are investigating 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.

WASHINGTON – A former management analyst for the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) pled guilty today to federal 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, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

            Shauntell Harley, 48, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery. Each charge carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, the parties have estimated that Harley faces a likely range of 70 months to 87 months in prison and a fine of up to $125,000. The Honorable Randolph D. Moss scheduled sentencing for June 7, 2018. 

            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 has agreed 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 today’s 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 plea, U.S. Attorney Liu, Assistant Director in Charge Vale, 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 – Delonta Phillips, 28, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a federal charge stemming from a police pursuit that led to the recovery of a loaded firearm and a significant quantity of marijuana from the vehicle he had been driving.

            The plea, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Thomas L. Chittum III, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Phillips pled guilty before the Honorable Senior Judge Thomas F. Hogan to one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. The plea agreement, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for a sentence of five years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Judge Hogan scheduled a sentencing for May 30, 2018.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Oct. 11, 2017, at approximately 2:15 p.m., ATF agents and a MPD Task Force Officer conducted surveillance in the 3400 block of 24th Street SE for Phillips, who was the subject of pending warrants.

            Upon seeing Phillips, law enforcement attempted to arrest him. Phillips quickly entered the driver’s side door of a burgundy Cadillac DeVille and fled from law enforcement.  Agents immediately followed Phillips’s vehicle and put out a vehicle description over the radio. Agents observed the vehicle turn left onto Southern Avenue SE, right onto Naylor Road at Suitland Parkway, left onto eastbound Suitland Parkway, exit onto the Suitland Road off ramp, make a left onto Suitland Road, and finally come to a stop in the 3700 block of Regency Parkway, in Suitland, Md. Agents observed Phillips exit the front driver’s side door of the vehicle and flee on foot into the woods. An ATF agent pursued Phillips into the woods, while another agent remained with the vehicle and coordinated the response of multiple law enforcement officers in setting up a perimeter around the ravine to prevent Phillips’s escape.

            While securing the vehicle, agents observed a back pack on the driver’s side floor of the back seat. Inside the back pack, agents subsequently recovered a Glock 26, 9mm-caliber firearm, with an extended magazine containing 28 rounds of ammunition, and a jar and full gallon Ziploc bag of marijuana. At approximately 3:15 p.m., Phillips was discovered hiding underneath a ledge in the ravine, while submerged in water. Law enforcement subsequently determined that the recovered firearm had been reported stolen to the Anne Arundel County, Md., Police Department

            At the time of his arrest, Phillips was on supervised release following an earlier guilty plea to a firearms offense in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He now could face formal revocation of his supervised release in that case.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Chittum, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from ATF and MPD. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Macchiaroli, and Paralegal Specialists Candace Battle and Teesha Tobias.

WASHINGTON – Dominique Williams, 24, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of murder and other charges in the 2015 drive-by killing of a man in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Williams was found guilty on March 12, 2018, of second-degree murder while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, and related firearms offenses. A co-defendant, Maricco Knight, 25, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by the jury of acting as an accessory after the fact and obstruction of justice for his role in assisting Williams while Williams was evading law enforcement prior to his arrest. The verdicts followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Judith Bartnoff scheduled sentencing for both defendants to take place on May 11, 2018.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Sept. 19, 2015, shortly after 1 a.m., Williams, Knight and another man pulled over a Honda Accord in the 3200 block of 28th Street SE. Williams was in the rear passenger seat, Knight was in the front passenger seat, and the third man was driving. A short distance away from the Accord, gathered in an alley, were three men and an 11-year-old boy.  Williams had earlier disputes with persons who resided or sometimes gathered in the block, but none of those persons was among the group in the alley.

            After the Accord pulled over, Williams leaned out of the car and fired eight shots from a 9-millimeter handgun at the group.  One person was hit – Marcellus Green, 39. He was shot once and was declared dead about an hour later. The three people in the Accord drove off.

            MPD officers were on the scene within a few minutes.  Witnesses gave the police a description of the Accord and its license plate number.  At about 1:40 a.m., an officer in a marked MPD cruiser spotted the Accord, still occupied by the three men, in a different neighborhood.  Before the officer could even activate his emergency equipment, the Accord began to drive off at a high rate of speed.  After a 20-minute chase, during which the 9-millimeter handgun was tossed out, the Accord crashed and all three occupants fled on foot. Within two minutes, the driver and Knight were stopped.

            Williams, however, got away. An arrest warrant was issued for him three months later and he was ultimately apprehended on July 20, 2016, at the residence of Knight’s girlfriend.  During the search for Williams, according to the government’s evidence, Knight assisted in helping Williams hide out despite the fact that he was told repeatedly by law enforcement that Williams was wanted for the murder.

            In announcing the verdicts, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Michael Ambrosino, Special Counsel for DNA and Forensic Evidence Litigation; Forensic Operation/Program Specialist Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie; Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling; Paralegal Specialist Alesha Matthews; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; former Supervisory Victim/Witness Services Coordinator David Foster; Victim/Witness Security Specialist Lesley Slade; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker, and Interns Korey Johnson and Shani Brown.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Liebman who investigated and prosecuted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ahmed Baset, who prosecuted the case.

 

WASHINGTON - Terrance Atchison, 22, and Barry Bloomfield, 29, both of Washington, D.C., have been found guilty by a jury of numerous charges stemming from a shooting at a barber shop in Southeast Washington, in which a father and his 21-month-old child were injured.

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

            Atchison and Bloomfield were found guilty on March 8, 2018, of charges of aggravated assault while armed, assault with significant bodily injury while armed (of a minor), assault with a dangerous weapon, and related offenses. The verdicts followed a multi-week trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  The defendants face sentencing on May 18, 2018 before the Honorable Judge Danya A. Dayson.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, at approximately 1:40 p.m., three masked gunmen opened the doors of Wrenn’s Barber Shop, in the 1000 block of Eighth Street SE, and began firing a total of eight rounds. At the time of the shooting, the shop was bustling with customers, and the toddler and his father were waiting for a haircut. The father, who was holding his son, was shot three times, and one wound shattered his ankle.  A bullet grazed the child’s leg. Witnesses observed the gunmen run to a waiting white sport utility vehicle just around the corner and flee. 

            Video surveillance showed the defendants getting into a white Toyota RAV 4 about 20 minutes before the shooting and travelling to the barber shop.  The defendants were on GPS monitoring because they were on post-conviction supervision, and their tracks placed them directly in front of the barber shop at the time of the shooting, as well as mirrored the RAV 4’s travel to and flight from the barber shop.  

            Atchison was arrested on Feb. 17, 2016, and Bloomfield was arrested on Feb. 18, 2016. They have been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the verdicts, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the work of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa N. Walters and Thomas Saunders, who investigated the case, Paralegal Specialist Antoinette Sakamsa, Information Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, and Criminal Investigators Nelson Rhone and Melissa Matthews. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittany Keil and Melissa Jackson, who prosecuted the case.

            WASHINGTON –Three men have been indicted on federal charges stemming from an ongoing investigation into a firearms trafficking ring that acquired firearms in Atlanta, Ga., and transported the weapons into the District of Columbia for resale.

            The charges are contained in an indictment that was unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Thomas L. Chittum III, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Jeremy Carr, 34, of Marietta, Ga., was arrested on March 6, 2018 in Marietta. Stephon Jeter, 27, and his cousin, Quran Jeter, 19, both of Washington, D.C., were arrested earlier today in the District of Columbia. Carr made his first appearance on March 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and is awaiting extradition to the District of Columbia. The Jeters made their first appearances today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. All three defendants remain detained pending further court proceedings.

           All three defendants are charged with taking part in a conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing in firearms without a license. Carr and Stephon Jeter also are charged with 12 counts of interstate travel for the purpose of acquiring firearms to deal without a license. Quran Jeter also is charged with carrying a pistol without a license and possession of an unregistered weapon, District of Columbia offenses. The indictment includes a forfeiture allegation seeking all proceeds of the crimes.

            As alleged in the indictment, from June 2016 through at least February 2017, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to acquire firearms in Georgia and illegally resell them in the District of Columbia. Carr acted as a straw purchaser on behalf of the conspiracy, the indictment alleges, and provided false information to a licensed firearms dealer in order to acquire firearms.

            According to the indictment, Carr then sold those firearms to Stephon and Quran Jeter. The indictment alleges that the Jeters asked Carr to purchase several types of firearms on their behalf, including the Taurus PT 111, Taurus PT 709, Zastava PAP M85, Century Arms PAP M92, and a Smith and Wesson SD9VE. The indictment further alleges that Stephon Jeter made 12 different trips from Washington, D.C. to Atlanta and back, for the purpose of acquiring firearms from Carr. The indictment alleges that the members of the conspiracy were able to resell firearms in the District of Columbia for three times the initial purchase price in Georgia.

            As alleged in the indictment, Carr purchased at least 55 firearms between August 2016 and February 2017. To date, approximately 22 of these firearms have been recovered in the District of Columbia or in Prince George’s County Maryland. 

            The charges arose from a long-term investigation into people suspected of illegally trafficking firearms into the District of Columbia. The majority of firearm recoveries related to this investigation took place in the Columbia Heights area of Northwest Washington.

            Quran Jeter is charged with carrying a pistol without a license in connection with a Nov. 21, 2016 arrest. According to the indictment, Jeter was arrested in the District of Columba with a Smith and Wesson SD9VE, a firearm that Carr purchased on Oct. 14, 2016 in Smyrna, Ga.

            Two additional defendants previously were charged in connection with this investigation.

            David Stewart, 32, of Washington D.C., is charged with felon in possession of a firearm for two separate firearms he allegedly possessed in the District of Columbia. Stewart was arrested on Oct. 31, 2016, in the area of the 2300 block of 11th NW with a Taurus PT111 G2 9mm handgun after MPD officers responded to multiple phone calls for the sound of gunshots. According to the evidence, Carr purchased this firearm in Smyrna, Ga., in January 2016.

            Stewart was arrested again on July 10, 2017, in the 1400 block of Park Road NW, this time with a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber firearm with a high-capacity magazine. According to the evidence, Carr purchased this firearm in Smyrna, Ga., in January 2017.

            Tyrone Hopkins, 25, of Washington, D.C. was charged with felon in possession of a firearm, distribution of crack cocaine, and use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in connection with an arrest on Oct. 16, 2017 in the area of the 1900 block of West Virginia Avenue NE.  Hopkins was arrested with a Taurus PT111G2, 9mm semi-automatic pistol. According to the evidence, Carr purchased this firearm in Smyrna, Ga., in September 2016.

             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.

            This case is being investigated by the Washington Field Division of the ATF and MPD, with assistance from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Criminal Investigator Derek Starliper of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Rosenberg, of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            WASHINGTON –Jay Crowder, 34, and Trishelle Jabore, 27, of Washington, D.C., were sentenced today to 12-year prison terms on charges stemming from the starvation-related death of their seven-week-old daughter, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Both defendants pled guilty in June 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of voluntary manslaughter, first-degree cruelty to children, and welfare fraud-unlawful food stamp usage. Crowder also pled guilty to a charge of attempted distribution of a controlled substance (synthetic cannabinoid or K2).

            Crowder’s plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon sentence of 10 to 12 years in prison. The Honorable José M. Lόpez accepted the plea and sentenced Crowder accordingly. Following completion of their prison terms, Crowder and Jabore will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to a proffer of facts presented at the plea hearing, on Nov. 6, 2016, Jabore gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Trinity. The infant weighed 4 pounds, 14.5 ounces, but was considered at term and healthy.  At the time of her birth, both the mother and child tested positive for THC, an active ingredient in marijuana. Both parents had prior experience parenting newborn children. They received approximately $995 in welfare funds, including food stamps. They paid $9.80 in rent and $50 for Internet service, and they spent money on cigarettes and marijuana; according to Jabore, she and Crowder smoked marijuana most days. Around Thanksgiving, they sold some of their food stamps to a family member for $150.

            On the evening of Dec. 24, 2016, the baby was put to bed in her car seat with a bottle at 7 p.m.  At approximately 9 a.m. on Dec. 25, 2016, Crowder entered his and Jabore’s bedroom, where the baby was still in her car seat.  Crowder picked up the child and felt that her body was limp.  Crowder attempted to feed her a bottle but she would not take it. The baby’s breathing appeared labored at that time, and Jabore said that her lips were yellow. Jabore and Crowder monitored the baby’s condition for about three hours. At noon, Jabore called 911 and stated that the baby was unconscious and not breathing.  Jabore and Crowder reported that she had no signs of illness or any falls or trauma and had not been involved in any accidents.

            The D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) were dispatched to the defendants’ home in Southwest Washington. The baby was taken to the Emergency Department at Children’s National Medical Center.  Hospital staff attempted advanced life-saving measures, but the child was pronounced dead at 12:26 p.m.  A doctor reported that she appeared cachectic and had what appeared to be blood in her diaper.

            According to the evidence, the baby did not get adequate food or nutrition.  She lost over 10 ounces in weight from the time she was born. Additionally, the infant suffered 13 rib fractures and clavicle fracture at various stages of healing and severe diaper rash. Neither parent had taken her for medical treatment or care. She was in the exclusive care of Jabore and Crowder.

            Even though Jabore and Crowder had money and their home had plenty of food for older children and adults, their baby starved to death. The parents were providing a fraction of the recommended amount of formula in an effort to make it go further.  Alternatively, when not giving formula, they were giving their newborn cow’s milk (powdered milk or evaporated milk), which is harmful to an infant’s digestive tract.  Chemists with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tested a bottle found on the scene. Their testing revealed the bottle contained mostly water and had very little nutritional value.

            The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia determined that the baby’s death was caused by malnutrition and hyponatremia[1], that the fractured ribs and clavicle fracture were contributing factors, and that the manner of death was homicide.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of the detectives, officers, and others who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department, analysts from the Food and Drug Administration, and medical personnel from Children’s National Medical Center. They also expressed appreciation to the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences for assistance in the investigation. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Kelly Blakeney, Stephanie Gilbert, Lornce Applewhite, and Alesha Matthews; Criminal Investigators Tommy Miller, Durand Odom, Nelson Rhone, Sharon Johnson, Shannon Alexis, and Chris Brophy; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker; Litigation Technology Specialists Anisha Bhatia and Joshua Ellen; Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Kahn, and Intern Emily Yu. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia G. Wright, who prosecuted the case.

 

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[1] Hyponatremia is a condition that occurs when the level of sodium in your blood is abnormally low. Mayo Clinic Staff, Diseases and Conditions Hyponatremia, http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyponatremia/basics/definition/con-20031445  (last updated May 28, 2014).

WASHINGTON – Maurice Bellamy, 19, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury today of two counts of first-degree murder while armed and other charges stemming from the separate killings of an off-duty United States Secret Service officer and a 15-year-old boy.

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

            Bellamy was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder while armed, one count of armed robbery, and a weapons offense. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Juliet McKenna scheduled sentencing for July 20, 2018.

            The jury found that the murder of 15-year-old Davonte Washington was especially cruel, atrocious and heinous. The jurors also found that the murder of off-duty officer Arthur Earl Baldwin Jr. was committed during the course of a robbery. As a result, Bellamy could face sentences of life in prison with no possibility of release for each of those offenses.

            According to the government’s evidence, the first murder took place on Dec. 15, 2015 in the 4700 block of First Street SW. Bellamy and two accomplices approached a car parked on the street at approximately 2:50 p.m. Bellamy, armed with a .38-caliber revolver, approached the passenger window. The assailants instructed the driver, Mr. Baldwin, to pop open the trunk. Nothing of value was found. Mr. Baldwin then attempted to push his way out of the driver’s seat, and Bellamy opened fire. One of Bellamy’s accomplices then fired his gun. The three then took Mr. Baldwin’s wallet, cell phone, and iPad. Mr. Baldwin, 30, an off-duty U.S. Secret Service officer, was taken to a hospital, where he died from multiple gunshot wounds.

            The second murder took place on Saturday, March 26, 2016, the day before Easter, at the Deanwood Metro station, in the 4700 block of Minnesota Avenue NE. According to the government’s evidence, just before 4 p.m., Bellamy saw Davonte Washington on the platform with his mother and two little sisters also waiting for a train.  The family was on the way to getting Davonte’s haircut for Easter. Bellamy mistakenly believed Davonte was “mugging” on him, and he pulled his .38-caliber revolver from his pocket and fired it at close range into Devonte’s chest, killing him. He then fled the station. Davonte died from two gunshot wounds to the torso.

            The homicide of Davonte Washington was captured on Metro surveillance video.  Bellamy was arrested two days after Davonte’s murder and has been in custody ever since. An investigation determined that the same gun that killed the teenager was used to kill Mr. Baldwin.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Liu, Chief Newsham, and Chief Pavlik commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the Metro Transit Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Forensic Operation/Program Specialist Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie;  Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling; Lead Paralegal Specialist Meridith McGarrity; Paralegal Specialist Alesha Matthews; Acting Supervisory Victim/Witness Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington; former Supervisory Victim/Witness Services Coordinator David Foster; Victim/Witness Supervisory Security Specialist M. Laverne Perry; Victim/Witness Security Specialist Lesley Slade, and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deborah Sines and Glenn Kirschner, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Andrea Miller, 48, and Steven Mason, 48, both of Washington, D.C., have been found guilty by a jury of federal charges stemming from their roles in a narcotics trafficking organization that imported and distributed heroin and other drugs into the Washington, D.C. area.

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

            The verdicts followed a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Miller was found guilty of conspiracy to import 100 grams or more of heroin and a quantity of alprazolam from a foreign country. Both Miller and Mason were found guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and a quantity of alprazolam.  The defendants now each face five--year mandatory-minimum sentences and up to 20 years in prison. The Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan scheduled sentencing for June 19, 2018. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

            WASHINGTON –A former staff employee of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives was sentenced today to serve a year and a day in prison for the circulation of private, nude images and videos of the member and the member’s spouse, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu  and Matthew R. Verderosa, Chief of the United States Capitol Police.

            Juan R. McCullum, 36, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in January 2018 to two federal cyber-related charges and two District of Columbia offenses, including conspiracy to disclose sexual images and attempted first-degree unlawful publication of a sexual image. He was sentenced by the Honorable John D. Bates in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

            McCullum’s plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon sentence of one year and 361 days of incarceration, with all but one year and a day suspended on the condition that he successfully completes two years of supervised probation. During his probation, McCullum will be required to perform 100 hours of community service. Judge Bates accepted the plea and sentenced McCullum accordingly.

            A co-defendant, Dorene Browne-Louis, 45, of Upper Marlboro, Md., pled guilty in January 2018 to one federal cyber charge and the District of Columbia offense of conspiracy to disclose sexual images. She is to be sentenced on April 23, 2018.

            According to statements of offense filed as part of the defendants’ guilty pleas, McCullum worked from April 2015 until June 2016 in the House member’s legislative office in Washington, D.C. Browne-Louis worked in the same office from January 2015 until April 2016.

            According to the documents, during the course of his employment, McCullum offered in March 2016 to assist the House member in repairing the member’s malfunctioning, password-protected iPhone by taking the device to a local Apple store. The House member provided McCullum with the device solely to have it repaired. The House member later provided the password so that the device could be unlocked by the Apple store solely for the purpose of having the iPhone repaired. McCullum was not given permission to take, copy, or distribute any of the contents of the iPhone. The iPhone contained the private, nude images and videos.

            In July 2016, the documents state, after McCullum left the House member’s staff, he engaged in a course of conduct that included creating a Hotmail account and a Facebook social media account, using a fictitious name, to distribute and post the private, nude images and videos. In addition, he made Browne-Louis aware that he was in possession of the images from the iPhone. Further, McCullum encouraged others on social media to redistribute the private, nude images and videos in the member’s congressional district. Browne-Louis assisted by providing McCullum with e-mail addresses and other contact information to distribute the images. Browne-Louis also distributed one of the private, nude images to a person who was working on the campaign of a challenger to the member’s primary election.  McCullum and Browne-Louis understood their actions did cause, and were likely to cause, emotional harm to the House member and spouse, as well as negative impact on the member’s re-election, the plea documents state.

            Both defendants were indicted in July 2017 following an investigation by the United States Capitol Police.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Verderosa commended the work of those who investigated the case from the United States Capitol Police. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who assisted with the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including former Assistant U.S. Attorney Natalia Medina, Criminal Investigator John Marsh, Paralegal Specialists Bianca Evans, Diane Brashears, and Matthew Ruggiero, Victim/Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant, and Litigation Technology Specialists Leif Hickling, Thomas Royal, and Paul Howell. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tejpal S. Chawla, Youli Lee, and Veronica Jennings, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

 

WASHINGTON – The former office manager of a trade association management company pled guilty today to a federal charge of wire fraud for embezzling more than $1.5 million from the firm, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            Leunea D. Myers, 38, of Clinton, Md., pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Honorable Christopher R. Cooper scheduled sentencing for June 28, 2018. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Myers faces a likely range of 51 to 63 months in prison and a fine of up to $150,000. The plea agreement calls for her to pay $1,550,075 in restitution to her former employer and an identical amount in a forfeiture money judgment.

            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. 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 plea, U.S. Attorney Liu and Assistant Director in Charge Vale 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 former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Welsh, who assisted with forfeiture issues; former Paralegal Specialist Kate Abrey, and Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Marston, who is prosecuting the case.

WASHINGTON – Tyrone Hunter, 25, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury today of 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 of eight counts of armed robbery, one count of 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. Hunter is to be sentenced on May 2, 2018, by the Honorable Robert A. Salerno.

            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 verdict, 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 Durand Odom and John Marsh; 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 - Stanislav Nazarov, 46, a dual citizen of Israel and Russia, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after earlier pleading guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering stemming from his role in an international fraud scheme.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and John L. Phillips, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations for the U.S. Department of Treasury.

            Nazarov was among 19 people charged last year in federal indictments outlining various international fraud and money laundering conspiracies. He was indicted in January 2017 and arrested in March 2017 in Israel. Nazarov later waived extradition to the United States and pled guilty on Dec. 12, 2017, in the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia. He has remained in custody since his initial arrest and was sentenced on March 5, 2018.

            In addition to the prison term, the Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered Nazarov to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $50,000. Following completion of his prison term, Nazarov will be subject to deportation proceedings.

             “Stanislav Nazarov engaged in a multi-layered form of money laundering to hide the proceeds of international fraud schemes,” said U.S. Attorney Liu. “His arrest and extradition from Israel was a result of international cooperation amongst law enforcement targeting global crime networks.”

            “This sentencing illustrates a significant disruption to transnational organized crime,” said Assistant Director in Charge Vale. “The FBI works diligently with our partners in the United States and abroad to ensure criminals like Nazarov are brought to justice.”

             “Treasury OIG continues to prioritize investigating transnational criminal organizations that exploit financial institutions, money service and other businesses impacting Treasury’s role in the oversight of the nation’s financial infrastructure, said Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Phillips. “Treasury OIG appreciates the support of our law enforcement partners which led to this successful prosecution.”

            According to a statement of offense submitted at the plea hearing, in or around 2013, Nazarov agreed to become partners with an unnamed money launderer who worked with individuals and groups engaged in fraudulent schemes in Israel and elsewhere. In return for his assistance, Nazarov was to receive a share of proceeds that his partner made from various fraudulent schemes. In one such scheme, a cyber-phishing scam was carried out in 2015 that tricked a director of a company into wiring $1.4 million to a bank account in the United States. 

            In December 2016, Nazarov obtained what he believed to be a portion of that $1.4 million by receiving $50,000 at his location in Israel.  According to the statement of offense, Nazarov received that money by orchestrating a sophisticated money laundering scheme whereby the $50,000 was first transferred to Russia, and then to Nazarov in Israel.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of the Inspector General. Assistance has been provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) Washington, D.C., and the Israeli National Police. The FBI Legal Attaché in Tel Aviv, Israel, also provided assistance.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Lucas of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Marando and David Kent of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Brittany Phillips, Christopher Toms, C. Rosalind Pressley, and Elizabeth Swienc.

 

WASHINGTON – David Johnston, 62, of Fredericksburg, Va., has been sentenced to nine years in prison for traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Johnston pled guilty to the charge in November 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  He was sentenced on Feb. 28, 2018, by the Honorable John D. Bates. Upon completion of his prison term, Johnston will be placed on 15 years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for 25 years.

            According to the government's evidence, on Jan. 22, 2017, Johnston contacted an undercover officer with the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, through a social network site. Over the next several days, Johnston engaged in e-mail and text-messaging conversations with the undercover officer. During the course of these conversations, Johnston arranged with the undercover officer to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with a female who was a minor.  On Jan. 31, 2017, Johnston traveled from Virginia to a pre-arranged meeting place in Washington, D.C.  When he arrived, he was arrested. He has been in custody ever since.

           During the sentencing proceedings, the government noted that, in 1990, the defendant pled guilty at an Air Force court martial proceeding to one count of committing indecent acts upon the body of a female under 16 years of age.

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

           In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Assistant Director in Charge Vale, and Chief Newsham commended the work of the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force. They also expressed their appreciation for the assistance provided by the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office and Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Park, who prosecuted the case.

 

WASHINGTON – A Mount Rainier, Md. man was sentenced today to 100 months in prison for his involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in income tax refunds, announced 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; Special Agent in Charge Kimberly Lappin of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington D.C. Field Office; Inspector in Charge Robert B. Wemyss 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.

            Brian Bryant, 30, was convicted by a jury on Feb. 17, 2017, for conspiring to commit theft of government funds and defraud the United States, theft of public money, and aggravated identity theft. Two co-defendants also were found guilty at trial. They include Bryant’s father, Tony Bryant, 56, formerly of Clinton, Md., and Tarkara Cooper, 37, of Washington, D.C. Tony Bryant is to be sentenced on March 15, 2018, and Cooper was sentenced in July 2017 to a 63-month prison term.

            Bryant 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.  

            According to the evidence presented at trial, from approximately April 2010 through June 2012, Bryant, his father, Cooper, and others collectively claimed $4,959,310 in fraudulent refunds, of which the IRS paid out approximately $2,285,717.  Specifically, Brian Bryant participated in the scheme from January 2011 through May 2013, and assisted in the negotiation of $650,003 worth of fraudulently obtained tax refund checks.  Both Bryants deposited refund checks fraudulently obtained by others into accounts that they controlled. Cooper agreed to allow her residence to be used for the delivery of tax refund checks, and was paid by a co-conspirator when she provided the tax refund checks to him.  

            In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer ordered Bryant to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $650,003 in restitution to the IRS.  She also ordered a forfeiture money judgment of $176,624.

            Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Lappin, Inspector in Charge Wemyss 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 Jessica Mundi, Aisha Keys, and Donna Galindo; former Paralegal Specialist Julie Dailey; Litigation Technology Specialist Ron Royal; Investigative Analysts William Hamann and Zachary McMenamin, and Victim/Witness Advocate 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.

The Department of Justice today announced the indictment of Michael Ron David Kadar, 19, who holds dual United States and Israeli citizenship, in three jurisdictions for hate crimes and other offenses.

The indictment from Florida charges Kadar with hate crimes as a result of threatening calls he made to Jewish Community Centers in the state. In addition, the indictment from the District of Columbia charges Kadar with threatening the Israeli Embassy and the Anti-Defamation League in Washington, D.C. The third indictment charges Kadar with cyberstalking and conveying false information to police dispatch regarding harm to private residents in Georgia.

An investigation into numerous threats made to individuals and organizations throughout the United States in 2016 and early 2017 led to Kadar being charged initially in criminal complaints on April 21, 2017 in Florida and Georgia following his arrest in Israel. Kadar remains in custody in Israel where he also faces charges.

The indictment from the Middle District of Florida charges that beginning on or about Jan. 4, 2017, and continuing until Feb. 27, 2017, Kadar made multiple threatening calls involving bomb threats and active shooter threats to numerous Jewish Community Centers throughout Florida. Additionally, the indictment charges Kadar with attempting to obstruct the free exercise of religion at the Jewish Community Centers when he made the bomb threats and active shooter threats. Finally, the indictment charges that Kadar made bomb threats to the Orlando International Airport and a middle school in the Middle District of Florida. Although no actual explosives were found, many of the calls resulted in the temporary closure and evacuation or lockdown of the targeted facilities, and required law enforcement and emergency personnel to respond to and clear the area.  

The indictment from the District of Columbia charges that on or about March 7, 2017, Kadar made a threatening call to the Anti-Defamation League involving a bomb threat. Additionally, the indictment alleges that on or about March 9, 2017, Kadar sent a threatening email to the Israeli Embassy involving a bomb threat.

The indictment from the Middle District of Georgia charges that on or about Jan. 3, 2017, Kadar made a phone call to a police department conveying false information about an alleged hostage situation in progress at a private residence in Athens, Georgia, which included a threat to kill responding police officers. Police and emergency personnel responded to the scene, only to learn that there was no emergency.

The hate crime charges each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, the bomb threats charges each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, and the interstate threats charge, the hoax charge, and the cyberstalking charge each carry a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment. If convicted, Kadar could also be subject to court ordered restitution.

“When individuals target victims of their crimes based on who they are, what they believe, or how they worship, they target the bedrock principles on which our nation was founded,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “These alleged threats of violence instilled fear in the Jewish community and other communities across the country, and it is the Justice Department’s duty to make sure all Americans can live their lives without this type of fear.”

“These alleged threats were very real for those individuals who were evacuated, for the first responders who quickly mobilized to get people out of harm’s way, and for those in Jewish communities across the United States who felt targeted and unsafe,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “This indictment demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to working together with our partners to protect the safety and civil rights of all Americans, and shows that we will not stand by as someone threatens our communities based on their religion or their beliefs.”

“Threats, intimidation, or violence perpetrated against anyone because of their beliefs, their faith, or how they choose to worship is intolerable,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez for the Middle District of Florida. “Individuals should be free to exercise these rights without fear. We will continue to use our resources to enforce these precious rights for all individuals.”

“The indictment returned today in the District of Columbia is part of a broader nationwide fight against hate, terror, and threats in all of their forms,” said U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia. “The charges also reflect the tireless dedication of the DOJ, the FBI, and our local and international partners to rooting out and prosecuting those who would terrorize our communities.”

“Hiding behind anonymous phone calls to threaten innocent citizens is cowardly and dangerous,” said U.S. Attorney Charles E. Peeler for the Middle District of Georgia. “The calls that this defendant allegedly made harassed innocent victims, endangered first responders and the victims themselves, and needlessly consumed law enforcement resources vital to protecting our communities.”

This case was investigated by the FBI Tampa Division, FBI Washington Field Office, and FBI Atlanta Division; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia; the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in this case. Federal authorities also acknowledge and appreciate the assistance and the investigative efforts of the Israeli National Police.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice today announced the indictment of Michael Ron David Kadar, 19, who holds dual United States and Israeli citizenship, in three jurisdictions for hate crimes and other offenses.

            The indictment from Florida charges Kadar with hate crimes as a result of threatening calls he made to Jewish Community Centers in the state. In addition, the indictment from the District of Columbia charges Kadar with threatening the Israeli Embassy and the Anti-Defamation League in Washington, D.C. The third indictment charges Kadar with cyberstalking and conveying false information to police dispatch regarding harm to private residents in Georgia.

            An investigation into numerous threats made to individuals and organizations throughout the United States in 2016 and early 2017 led to Kadar being charged initially in criminal complaints on April 21, 2017 in Florida and Georgia following his arrest in Israel. Kadar remains in custody in Israel where he also faces charges.

            The indictment from the Middle District of Florida charges that beginning on or about Jan. 4, 2017, and continuing until Feb. 27, 2017, Kadar made multiple threatening calls involving bomb threats and active shooter threats to numerous Jewish Community Centers throughout Florida. Additionally, the indictment charges Kadar with attempting to obstruct the free exercise of religion at the Jewish Community Centers when he made the bomb threats and active shooter threats. Finally, the indictment charges that Kadar made bomb threats to the Orlando International Airport and a middle school in the Middle District of Florida. Although no actual explosives were found, many of the calls resulted in the temporary closure and evacuation or lockdown of the targeted facilities, and required law enforcement and emergency personnel to respond to and clear the area. 

            The indictment from the District of Columbia charges that on or about March 7, 2017, Kadar made a threatening call to the Anti-Defamation League involving a bomb threat. Additionally, the indictment alleges that on or about March 9, 2017, Kadar sent a threatening email to the Israeli Embassy involving a bomb threat.

            The indictment from the Middle District of Georgia charges that on or about Jan. 3, 2017, Kadar made a phone call to a police department conveying false information about an alleged hostage situation in progress at a private residence in Athens, Georgia, which included a threat to kill responding police officers. Police and emergency personnel responded to the scene, only to learn that there was no emergency.

            The hate crime charges each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, the bomb threats charges each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, and the interstate threats charge, the hoax charge, and the cyberstalking charge each carry a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment. If convicted, Kadar could also be subject to court ordered restitution.

            “When individuals target victims of their crimes based on who they are, what they believe, or how they worship, they target the bedrock principles on which our nation was founded,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “These alleged threats of violence instilled fear in the Jewish community and other communities across the country, and it is the Justice Department’s duty to make sure all Americans can live their lives without this type of fear.”

            “These alleged threats were very real for those individuals who were evacuated, for the first responders who quickly mobilized to get people out of harm’s way, and for those in Jewish communities across the United States who felt targeted and unsafe,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “This indictment demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to working together with our partners to protect the safety and civil rights of all Americans, and shows that we will not stand by as someone threatens our communities based on their religion or their beliefs.”

            “Threats, intimidation, or violence perpetrated against anyone because of their beliefs, their faith, or how they choose to worship is intolerable,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez for the Middle District of Florida. “Individuals should be free to exercise these rights without fear. We will continue to use our resources to enforce these precious rights for all individuals.”

            “The indictment returned today in the District of Columbia is part of a broader nationwide fight against hate, terror, and threats in all of their forms,” said U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia. “The charges also reflect the tireless dedication of the DOJ, the FBI, and our local and international partners to rooting out and prosecuting those who would terrorize our communities.”

            “Hiding behind anonymous phone calls to threaten innocent citizens is cowardly and dangerous,” said U.S. Attorney Charles E. Peeler for the Middle District of Georgia. “The calls that this defendant allegedly made harassed innocent victims, endangered first responders and the victims themselves, and needlessly consumed law enforcement resources vital to protecting our communities.”

            This case was investigated by the FBI Tampa Division, FBI Washington Field Office, and FBI Atlanta Division; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia; the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in this case. Federal authorities also acknowledge and appreciate the assistance and the investigative efforts of the Israeli National Police.

            An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 

WASHINGTON – Stanley Moghalu, 31, of Bowie, Md., was sentenced today to a 75 ½-year prison term for an attack that killed one man, who was a government witness, and wounded another man in Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Moghalu was found guilty by a jury in October 2017, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of first-degree murder while armed with aggravating circumstances, assault with intent to kill, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and other charges.

            Before imposing the sentence, the Honorable José M. López stated that, “I agree with the government that the murder of a government witness is among the most serious crimes known to society.  Such crimes directly threaten the order of our criminal justice system.”   

            According to the government’s evidence, on Nov. 14, 2011, shortly after 5 p.m., Moghalu and an accomplice ambushed Ronald D. Smith and Charles Harrison at the intersection of 21st and M Streets, NE. Mr. Smith, 27, was killed in the attack. Mr. Harrison was shot nine times, losing the use of his right arm, but survived his injuries.

            An investigation determined that Mr. Smith was killed because he was a government witness in an investigation into the May 2011 murder of Ervin L. Griffin in the 1200 block of 18th Street NE. One defendant, David Warren, now 31, and formerly of Washington, D.C., was later found guilty of first-degree murder while armed and other charges in Mr. Griffin’s slaying and sentenced to 36 years in prison.

            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 Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura R. Bach; Lead Paralegal Specialist Meridith McGarrity; Paralegal Specialist Stephanie Gilbert; Intelligence Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker.

            Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Glenn Kirschner and Gilead Light, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – John T. Fitzgerald, a former vice president of the Washington, D.C. office of an investment banking firm, was sentenced today to two years in prison on federal charges stemming from a scheme in which he accepted kickbacks for construction management contracts he steered to another firm, as well as other fraudulent activities.

            The announcement was made by Alessio Evangelista, Acting U.S. Attorney in this case, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Kimberly Lappin, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C. Field Office.

            Fitzgerald, 48, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in December 2017, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to charges of wire fraud and tax evasion. He was sentenced by the Honorable Amy Berman Jackson. Following his prison term, Fitzgerald will be placed on three years of supervised release. During that time, he will be required to perform 500 hours of community service. Additionally, the judge ordered Fitzgerald to pay $713,806 in restitution, representing his share of proceeds from the scheme, and an identical amount in a forfeiture money judgement. He also has agreed to pay $114,411 in taxes to the IRS.

            A co-defendant, Bryan D. Wright, 55, of Laytonsville, Md., pled guilty in February 2016 to one count of conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering. He is to be sentenced on April 10, 2018.

            In his guilty plea, Fitzgerald acknowledged that he began work at the investment banking firm in 2008 and oversaw its real estate development activities and investments. His responsibilities included oversight of a commercial development project in Hanover, Md., known as the Station Ridge development project. The investment banking firm was the managing investor-owner of the project, which ultimately included three buildings for use as offices by various tenants.

            In or around mid-2011, Fitzgerald admitted, he began to invoice the general contractor on Station Ridge through a company Fitzgerald owned and thereby obtained roughly $41,000 for himself on the project. 

            Later in 2011, Fitzgerald installed Wright as construction manager on Station Ridge, and the two agreed to an invoicing and kickback scheme that lasted into 2013. Wright was president of P&E Services, LLC. Between 2011 and 2013, through their scheme, Wright and Fitzgerald took $769,000 from the investment banking firm employing Fitzgerald and another $417,000 from the general contracting company (which was reimbursed by the investment banking firm). Wright, through P&E and other companies, paid Fitzgerald nearly $600,000 in proceeds from the Station Ridge project, roughly half of the total amount that P&E Services obtained.

            In a related scheme involving purported projects on the Bridgewater office building in Fairfax, Va., which was another development project of the investment banking firm, Wright and Fitzgerald submitted invoices for work that was not completed, and obtained additional money from Fitzgerald’s employer.  Once again, Fitzgerald and Wright split the proceeds between them, with Fitzgerald receiving approximately $70,000.

            In his guilty plea, Fitzgerald admitted that the total loss to his employer as a result of his conduct on these projects was over $1.3 million, and his share of the illegal proceeds was $713,806. The tax charges stem from Fitzgerald’s failure to report the income in calendar years 2012 and 2013.

            In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Evangelista, Assistant Director in Charge Vale, and Special Agent in Charge Lappin commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. They acknowledged the work of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including former Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Last, Paralegal Specialists Tasha Harris, Aisha Keys, and C. Rosalind Pressley; Legal Assistants Angela Lawrence and John Lowell, and Litigation Technology Specialist Ron Royal. Finally, they acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Marston, Kendra D. Briggs, and Zia Faruqui, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Daniel Skinner, 34, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to seven years in prison for an armed robbery he carried out at a convenience store in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Skinner pled guilty to the armed robbery charge in December 2017 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Juliet McKenna. Following his prison term, Skinner will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on June 26, 2016, shortly after 5 a.m., Skinner entered a 7-Eleven store in the 900 block of Bladensburg Road NE and got a cup of coffee. He then went to the cash register, pulled up his shirt, and brandished what appeared to the store employee to be a black handgun from his waistband. The item was later determined to be a screwdriver. Skinner ordered the employee to open the cash register and the employee complied. Skinner leaned over the counter and took approximately $60 before fleeing.

            The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) quickly responded to the scene and officers saw a cup of coffee on the counter; witnesses confirmed that the robber had this cup in his possession before fleeing the store. Additionally, surveillance footage of the robbery showed that the assailant was wearing a T-shirt that stated “Challenge Accepted” and a black bucket hat.

            The coffee cup was submitted for DNA examination. The resulting DNA profile was uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a web of state and national databases containing DNA profiles from convicted offenders and crime scenes that is used as an investigative tool. It revealed a match for Skinner. Additionally, Skinner was arrested a few weeks after the 7-Eleven robbery in Prince George’s County, Md.  A search of the vehicle he was using led to the recovery of various items, including multiple screwdrivers, the “Challenge Accepted” T-shirt, and the black bucket hat.

            Skinner earlier pled guilty to four other armed robberies in Prince George’s County and was sentenced to 40 years in prison for those crimes. The sentence in the District of Columbia case will run concurrently with the one he is now serving in Maryland.

            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 District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences and the Prince George’s County, Md. Police Department. Finally, she acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Vivien Cockburn, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

WASHINGTON – Jerome C. Lewis, 51, of Washington, DC, was sentenced today to 32 years in prison on charges of first-degree murder with aggravating circumstances, second-degree murder, and first-degree cruelty to children in a house fire that led to the death of a four-year-old child, Samauri Michelle Jenkins.

            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 of the charges on Oct. 25, 2017, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Milton C. Lee.

            At today's sentencing, the government 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 set a follow-up hearing for June 15, 2018 to consider the government’s request for orders of restitution and/or fines. In advance of that 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 the sentence, 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 - Wandell G. Roy, 42, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 27 years in prison for killing a man in July 2017 on the Anacostia River Trail in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Roy pled guilty in November 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to the charge of second degree murder. He was sentenced by the Honorable Judith Bartnoff. Upon completion of his prison term, Roy will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on July 26, 2017, at approximately 8:30 a.m., the victim, Victor Williams, was walking his two puppies, heading south on the Anacostia River Trail from the East Capitol Bridge.  Roy, riding a red bike, was also on the trail some distance behind Mr. Williams.  Roy then discarded his bike on the side of the trail, came within approximately 20 feet behind Mr. Williams, and shot at Mr. Williams at least four times.  After Mr. Williams’s body immediately dropped to the ground, Roy walked up to his body and shot him at close range at least two more times.  Roy then stole Mr. Williams’s iPhone 7 off of his person and fled the area.  

            The autopsy revealed that Mr. Williams, 37, died of a gunshot wound to the midline of his back and another gunshot wound to the left side of his face. On the scene, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) found that one of the puppies was also killed by a gunshot wound to the chest, and the other puppy was found alive.

            Due to the quick thinking and cooperation of eyewitnesses, as well as the detective work of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch, Roy was identified as the shooter and arrested on Aug. 17, 2017.  He has been in custody ever since. The investigation revealed no connection between Mr. Williams and Roy. 

            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 Firearms Examination Unit of 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 Victim/Witness Advocate Diana Lim, Paralegal Specialist Debra Joyner, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jin Park, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

WASHINGTON – Anthony Nowlin, 23, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to 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 the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal law enforcement officer. He remains held pending his sentencing on May 16, 2018 by the Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan.

            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 plea, 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 and Legal Assistant Peter Gaboton. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole, who prosecuted the case.