District of Columbia

WASHINGTON – Jimmie Fleming, 36, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 36 years in prison on charges stemming from a shooting in which two people were killed and another was wounded, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Fleming pled guilty in September 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to two counts of voluntary manslaughter while armed for the deaths of Donchell Thomas and Derek Price, and one count of aggravated assault while armed, for the shooting of the third victim. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a prison term of 36 years. The Honorable Robert E. Morin accepted the plea and sentenced Fleming accordingly. Upon completion of his prison term, Fleming is to be placed on five years of supervised release.

     According to the government’s evidence, on July 13, 2014, at about 1 a.m., Fleming and a juvenile approached a blue Honda Accord near North Capitol and T Streets NW.  Mr. Price, 20, was the driver of the car, and Mr. Thomas, 21, was in the back seat. A second passenger was in the front seat. Mr. Price agreed to drive Fleming and the juvenile down the street. 

     Fleming and the juvenile entered the back seat, joining Mr. Thomas. As Mr. Price drove the car, Fleming pulled out a gun and fired it at all of the occupants inside the car.  This shooting was unprovoked and without any warning.  Mr. Price and Mr. Thomas were both shot in the head and died from their respective injuries.  The front seat passenger, who survived the incident, was shot multiple times in his torso and arm. The juvenile was not hit by the gunfire.

     Due to the shooting, the car crashed at the intersection of North Capitol and T Streets. Fleming fled from the car on foot and ultimately ran to a nearby house, where he was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department. A search of the home was conducted later that morning.  Among other things, the police found a bag of ammunition in the defendant’s room. 

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives of the Criminal Investigations Division, crime scene officers, and the Fifth Police District of the Metropolitan Police Department.  He also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughn and Paralegal Specialist Fern Rhedrick.  He also praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana L. Fulton, who prosecuted the case.

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WASHINGTON – Michael Centanni, 48, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a federal charge of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Washington, D.C.

     Centanni entered the plea in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He is to be sentenced on April 9, 2015 by the Honorable Senior Judge Thomas F. Hogan. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for a minimum period of 15 years.

     Centanni was arrested on Oct. 30, 2014 following an investigation by HSI. According to a statement of offense signed by the defendant as well as the government, the investigation determined that Centanni had been using the Internet to obtain child pornography files.

     Law enforcement searched Centanni’s residence on Oct. 14, 2014 and seized hard drives and other electronic media. A subsequent examination identified more than 3,000 images and 267 videos depicting child pornography. Centanni has been in custody since his arrest. In an interview with law enforcement, he admitted obtaining images and videos depicting child pornography and storing it on the electronic devices seized during the search.

     In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen and Special Agent in Charge Settles commended the work of the HSI Special Agents who investigated the case and expressed appreciation for the assistance of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassidy Kesler Pinegar, who prosecuted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord, who assisted in the investigation.

15-003

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced today that it will not pursue criminal charges against John W. Hinckley, Jr., related to the death last summer of former White House Press Secretary James Brady.        

     The decision was made following a review of applicable law, the history of the case, and the circumstances of Mr. Brady’s death, including recently finalized autopsy findings.

     On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan, his Press Secretary, Mr. Brady, Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy, and Metropolitan Police Department Officer Thomas Delahanty were shot during an assassination attempt in the driveway of the Washington Hilton Hotel. All four victims immediately survived the shooting. Mr. Brady, however, was gravely wounded by a bullet to the brain, and remained incapacitated by that injury for the rest of his life.

     Hinckley was apprehended on the scene. He later was charged with three federal and 10 District of Columbia offenses. In June 1982, following a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, a jury returned a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity on all charges.  Hinckley, 59, has now been committed for over 32 years to St. Elizabeths Hospital.

     Mr. Brady died on Aug. 4, 2014. He was 73. On Aug. 8, 2014, the Commonwealth of Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled that Mr. Brady’s death was a homicide and that it was caused by the 1981 gunshot wound. In the wake of that ruling, the U.S. Attorney’s Office initiated a review to determine whether to prosecute Hinckley for the homicide.

     According to an autopsy report prepared by the chief medical examiner’s office, and finalized on Dec. 4, 2014, the traumatic brain injury sustained by Mr. Brady created difficulty managing oral secretions and food and led to aspiration pneumonia and other chronic diseases. At the time of his death, Mr. Brady was suffering from aspiration pneumonia. The chief medical examiner thus concluded that Mr. Brady’s death was determined to be “gunshot wound of head and consequences thereof.”

     At his 1982 trial, the jury found Hinckley not guilty by reason of insanity of the two charges, assault with intent to kill while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon, related to the shooting of Mr. Brady. Because the jury conclusively made this finding, the government would be precluded now from arguing that Hinckley was sane at the time he shot Mr. Brady.

     Additionally, before 1987, the District of Columbia courts abided by the “year and a day rule,” by which a homicide prosecution could only be brought if the victim died within a year and day of the injury causing death. At the time that Hinckley made his assassination attempt, the year-and-a-day rule was still in effect.

     In summary, any further prosecution of Hinckley premised on his March 1981 shooting of Mr. Brady would be precluded by the doctrine of collateral estoppel, which would prevent the U.S. Attorney’s Office from arguing, or a court or jury from finding, that Hinckley was sane at the time Mr. Brady was shot.  Thus, Hinckley would be entitled to a directed verdict that he was not guilty of the murder of Mr. Brady by reason of insanity.  Furthermore, a homicide prosecution would be precluded by the common law "year-and-a-day rule," in effect at the time.

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WASHINGTON – Brianna Meadows, 32, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of federal charges stemming from a scheme to defraud the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services of more than $14,000 in unemployment benefits, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

     Meadows was found guilty on Dec. 22, 2014 of four counts of wire fraud, one count of theft of government funds, and one count of first-degree theft. The verdict followed a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Honorable Amy Berman Jackson scheduled sentencing for March 11, 2015.

     The government’s evidence at trial established that Meadows submitted 49 false claims to the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services from May 2009 through April 2010, indicating that she was unemployed, when, in fact, she was working full time for a private contractor doing work at a government agency in Maryland. She submitted more than two dozen of those claims from a computer terminal at the agency, the evidence showed.

     In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen and Assistant Director in Charge McCabe commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  They expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Donna Galindo and Lesley Slade; Information Technology Specialist Jeanie Latimore-Brown, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jelahn Stewart, who assisted in the investigation. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth B. Waxman and Mervin A. Bourne, Jr., who prosecuted the case.

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WASHINGTON – Donald Dubose, 25, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a charge of second-degree murder while armed stemming from a fatal shooting that took place in 2012 in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Dubose pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He is to be sentenced on Feb. 20, 2015, by the Honorable Jennifer Anderson.  The plea, which is contingent on the Court’s approval, calls for a sentence between 15 and 17 years of incarceration.

     According to the government’s evidence, on May 12, 2012, at approximately 5:35 a.m., the victim, Michael Smith, 34, and another man left Northwest Washington in a gray Mercedes Benz.  They headed towards the Barry Farm community in Southeast Washington. The other man drove while Mr. Smith sat in the front passenger seat.  Dubose followed behind them in a black Ford Fusion with the intention of causing physical harm and injury to Mr. Smith and the other man in the Mercedes Benz.  At least two of Dubose’s associates were in the car with him. 

     When they reached Stevens Road SE, in Barry Farm, the other man pulled the Mercedes to the side of the road in the 1100 block of Stevens Road.  Dubose stopped the Ford Fusion beside the Mercedes, on the driver’s side of the Mercedes. The individuals in the Ford Fusion shot at Mr. Smith and the other man with multiple guns.  Mr. Smith was shot twice in the head and died shortly thereafter.  The other man survived the gunfire, but suffered a gunshot wound to his arm.  Though injured with a gunshot wound, he attempted to drive the Mercedes away.  He crashed the Mercedes into the side of a nearby house across the street.  Dubose and the shooters, meanwhile, fled from the shooting in the Ford Fusion, which defendant drove.

     In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives of the Criminal Investigations Division Homicide Branch, crime scene officers, and the Seventh Police District of the Metropolitan Police Department.  He also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Marcia Rinker, M. Laverne Forrest, Tanya Via and Michael Hailey of the Victim/Witness Assistance Unit; former Paralegal Specialists Fern Rhedrick and Marian Russell; Paralegal Specialist Vanessa Trent-Valentine; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Brittin; and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Dillon.  He also praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana L. Fulton, who investigated, indicted, and prosecuted the case.

 

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     WASHINGTON –Florence Bikundi, the owner of three home care agencies, has been charged in a superseding indictment with six additional offenses related to a scheme to secure more than $75 million in District of Columbia Medicaid payments, even though she was barred from participating in any federal health care programs. The new charges include allegations that Bikundi and others conspired to bill the Medicaid program for services that were not provided. 

     Bikundi, 51, of Bowie, Md., has been in custody since her arrest in February 2014, following her indictment on one count of health care fraud, one count of Medicaid fraud, four counts of money laundering, and three counts of engaging in illegal monetary transactions. The superseding indictment, returned by a grand jury on Dec. 18, 2014, and unsealed today, includes those nine charges and adds six additional offenses against her, including one count of health care fraud; one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and three additional counts of money laundering.

     The superseding indictment charges eight other people with taking part in the fraudulent activities, including Bikundi’s husband, son, and two sisters.

     The charges were announced by Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Nicholas DiGiulio, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), for the region that includes Washington, D.C.; Kathy A. Michalko, Special Agent in Charge, Washington Field Office, U.S. Secret Service; Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

     Bikundi, also known as Florence Ngwe and Florence Igwacho, is pending trial before the Honorable Beryl A. Howell in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

     Bikundi was among more than 20 people charged in February 2014 following a wide-ranging investigation that uncovered numerous, separate schemes involving fraud, kickbacks, and false billings in the growing field of home care services for D.C. Medicaid beneficiaries. The case so far has generated 16 guilty pleas in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Those pleading guilty include people who worked as personal care aides in the home care industry, patient recruiters who demanded money for access to Medicaid beneficiaries, and others.

**

     “This indictment charges Florence Bikundi and eight others with a conspiracy to defraud Medicaid through cash kickbacks, bogus paperwork, and services that were never provided,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “We are seeking the forfeiture of $75 million in ill-gotten gains, including jewelry, luxury vehicles, and money stashed in dozens of accounts.  This indictment is part of a broader crackdown on health care fraud that has resulted in 16 guilty pleas to date. These prosecutions demonstrate our commitment to defending the integrity of a program that serves the most vulnerable members of our community.  We will continue to fight to protect taxpayer dollars and conserve resources for those truly in need.”

     “The additional charges announced today outline that the owner and eight employees of a home health care company never provided services to residents who were part of the D.C. Medicaid program,” said Assistant Director in Charge McCabe. “This fraud steals from government programs designed to assist deserving patients. The FBI, with our partners at HHS-OIG, U.S. Secret Service, IRS, and D.C. OIG, will continue to investigate the exploitation of our health care system.”

     “Our success in this case and similar investigations is a result of our close work with law enforcement partners,” said Special Agent in Charge Michalko. “The Secret Service worked closely with the FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and a variety of other federal and state partners to share information and resources that ultimately led to the indictment of Florence Bikundi.  This case demonstrates there is no such thing as anonymity for those engaging in health care fraud and illegal schemes.”

     “Health care fraud schemes are complex and involve intense focus on many details, especially when so many wrongdoers are working together to commit fraud,” said Inspector General Lucas. “This scheme perpetuated against the District’s Medicaid program is no different.  It is because of our concentrated efforts, working with other law enforcement entities, that we were able to continue the work necessary to bring this superseding indictment.  We will continue those efforts after today.”

**

     Medicaid provides for home care services to be performed by personal care aides, working for eligible home care agencies. The aides assist Medicaid beneficiaries in performing activities of daily living, such as getting in and out of bed, bathing, dressing, keeping track of medication, and so forth. In order to be covered for such benefits, the beneficiaries must get a doctor’s prescription.

     According to the superseding indictment, Bikundi owns two entities named Global Healthcare, Inc., and one named Flo-Diamond Inc.  In April 2000, according to the indictment, HHS-OIG notified Bikundi in writing that she was excluded from participation in Medicare, Medicaid, and all federal health care programs. This notice was based on the revocation the previous year of Bikundi’s nursing license in Virginia. The exclusion was issued against Bikundi under her name of Florence Igwacho. Bikundi subsequently concealed her past when she secured Medicaid provider numbers for her businesses using the name of Florence Bikundi, the indictment alleges. She also did not disclose that her nursing licenses were revoked in Virginia, South Carolina and the District of Columbia, the indictment alleges.

     In violation of the terms of her exclusion, between July 2007 and early 2014, according to the indictment, Bikundi’s entities received more than $78 million in payments from Medicaid; of this, $75 million came from the District of Columbia program and the rest from Maryland.

     The new charges against Bikundi include allegations that she also participated in a wide-ranging scheme to defraud the Medicaid program by billing the program for services that were not provided.  The indictment alleges that cash payments were made by employees of Bikundi’s companies to Medicaid beneficiaries in exchange for signatures falsely stating that services had been provided.  According to the superseding indictment, Bikundi and employees of her companies also falsified patient files and employee files to make it appear as though the claims for payment were legitimate when they were not.

     The superseding indictment also alleges that Bikundi and her husband, Michael D. Bikundi, Sr., 52, conspired to launder the proceeds of the illegally obtained Medicaid funds and committed substantive money laundering violations.

     In addition to Michael Bikundi, Sr., seven others were charged with health-care related offenses in the superseding indictment. All are employees and administrators of Bikundi’s company. They include three other relatives: Florence Bikundi’s son, Carlson M. Igwacho, 33, and two sisters, Irene M. Igwacho, 49, and Berenice W. Igwacho, 30, all of Bowie, Md.

     Others charged include Christian S. Asongcha, 38, of Lanham, Md.; Elvis N. Atabe, 55, of Adelphi, Md.; Atawan Mundu John, 37, of Laurel, Md., and Melissa A. Williams, 31, of Bowie, Md. The indictment alleges that Melissa A. Williams and Atawan Mundu John tampered with witnesses during the law enforcement investigation of health care fraud.

     The United States has seized over $11 million in funds and five luxury vehicles from Florence Bikundi and Michael Bikundi.  The superseding indictment seeks a forfeiture money judgment of $75 million against the Bikundis and the forfeiture of the funds, vehicles, and the Bikundi residence.

**

     The various investigations were conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Secret Service; the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the District of Columbia’s Office of the Inspector General; the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); the Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, Office of Inspector General, Department of Labor; the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. Assistance was provided by the District of Columbia’s Department of Health Care Finance and other agencies.

     The FBI has set up a hotline number to report suspected incidents of Medicaid fraud: 855-281-1242. People can also provide information by e-mail to [email protected].

     HHS-OIG also has a hotline that can be reached at 800-HHS-TIPS or by clicking the “Report Fraud” tab on the agency’s website: http://oig.hhs.gov

     These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lionel André, Anthony Saler, Ted Radway, Michael Friedman, and Michelle Zamarin.

     Assistance was provided by Forensic Accountant Maria Boodoo; Paralegal Specialists Toni Donato, Donna Galindo, Krishawn Graham, Tasha Harris, and Corinne Kleinman; Legal Assistants Angela Lawrence, Jessica McCormick, and Christopher Samson; Litigation Support Specialist Ron Royal, and Criminal Investigator Nicole Hinson, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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WASHINGTON – Joseph A. Morales, 27, a former teacher’s aide at Cardozo Education Campus in the District of Columbia, pled guilty today to enticing a minor in violation of District of Columbia law, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). 

     Morales, now of Brooklyn, N.Y., entered the guilty plea in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston is to sentence him on Feb. 27, 2015.  The charge carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $12,500.

     According to the government's evidence, between May 2013 and May 2014, Morales engaged in a series of Facebook messaging sessions with a 16-year old student at the high school. During those sessions, Morales was employed as a teacher’s aide and substitute teacher, and had administrative duties at the school. He repeatedly asked the student for images of the student’s penis and asked that the student engage in sexual acts with him.

     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 guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge McCabe and Chief Lanier praised the work of the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord, who is prosecuting the case.

14-283

WASHINGTON – Don Page, 24, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to a 14-year prison term for killing a man in June 2013 in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.

     Page pled guilty in October 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of second-degree murder while armed. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a sentence within the range of 12 to 15 years. The Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston accepted the plea and sentenced Page on Dec. 18, 2014. Upon completion of his prison term, Page will be placed on five years of supervised release.

     According to the government’s evidence, in the early morning hours of June 22, 2013, Page and the victim, Quentin White, 28, were each outside in the 3500 block of East Capitol Street SE with their respective groups of friends.  A fight ensued when members of the group with Mr. White began chanting, “Free Khari,” a reference to Khari Williams, then 18, who at the time was in custody and awaiting trial for the murder of Angelo Payne. Mr. Payne, 23, was killed on Dec. 30, 2012 in Southeast Washington.

     Mr. Payne and Page had been very close friends.  Mr. White and Khari Williams were close friends.  Page’s friends became involved in a physical altercation with friends of Mr. White.  During the fight, Page retrieved a silver revolver and fired one shot into the air. Mr. White approached Page, with his hands up, and told Page to put the gun down and fight like a man.  Page then pointed the gun at Mr. White and fired one shot at his chest, killing him. Page then fled in his car. He was arrested nearly two weeks later in Martinsburg, W. Va.

     Khari Williams pled guilty in April 2014 to a charge of voluntary manslaughter for the slaying of Angelo Payne. He was sentenced in June 2014 to a 12-year prison term.

     In announcing this week’s sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the Metropolitan Police Department for its work on the investigation.  He also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Debra Joyner and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker.  Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Bradford, who investigated and indicted the case.

14-282

     WASHINGTON –Jeffrey Henry Williamson, 49, of Las Vegas, Nev., has been found guilty by a jury of making threats against a federal law enforcement officer, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, announced today.

     The jury verdict was returned Dec. 16, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Honorable Rosemary M. Collyer will sentence Williamson on March 10, 2015.  Williamson faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

     According to the government’s evidence, Williamson called the 911 Office of Unified Communications, in Washington, D.C., on June 19, 2014, and during an approximately 4 ½-minute recorded call, threatened to kill an FBI Special Agent who works in Denver. The evidence presented at trial established that Williamson made the threats in retaliation for an investigation of the defendant that the agent conducted in 2005 and 2006. That investigation involved harassing and threatening phone calls that Williamson was making to the Denver FBI field office and federal judges in Denver. 

     In 2008, Williamson was prosecuted in the Southern District of Texas for making threatening communications there. He was found guilty following a trial and sentenced to 42 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. However, Williamson kept up a pattern of harassing communications directed at federal officials. He completed his sentence and was released, but the Court revoked his supervised release. He then completed his second period of incarceration on Nov. 29, 2013. He arrived in Washington, D.C., in May 2014.

     In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen and Assistant Director in Charge McCabe commended those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force and 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 Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling; Criminal Investigators Zachary McMenamin and Durand Odom; Paralegal Specialists Jessica Moffatt and Michelle Holland, and Legal Assistant Donice Adams. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederick Yette, who prosecuted the case.

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WASHINGTON – Timon Otis Sandidge, 38, of Temple Hills, Md., pled guilty today to federal narcotics and firearms offenses for his role in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of cocaine in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

     Sandidge pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. He also pled guilty to a related firearms offense. The Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan sentenced him to a six-year prison term, to be followed by five years of supervised release. The judge also ordered Sandidge to perform 100 hours of community service once he has completed his prison term.

     Sandidge is among more than two dozen people charged in 2012 in connection with an investigation by the FBI/Metropolitan Safe Streets Task Force into a network that distributed cocaine in the Washington, D.C. area. According to the government’s evidence, he and other defendants conspired to carry out the drug operation from September 2010 through March of 2012, when it was broken up by law enforcement. The network operated in the District of Columbia and Maryland.

     In his guilty plea, Sandidge admitted that, during the conspiracy, he purchased cocaine from a supplier on a regular basis. He accepted responsibility for at least two kilograms of cocaine powder, including amounts that he distributed and possessed with intent to distribute.

     On Feb. 24, 2012, law enforcement conducted a search at Sandidge’s residence in Maryland. Law enforcement recovered a semi-automatic pistol in a dresser drawer in the bedroom. Law enforcement also recovered $3,000 in a safe in the closet of Sandidge’s bedroom, along with cocaine and other evidence. Another $564 in cash was found in the bedroom.

     As part of his plea agreement, Sandidge agreed to the forfeiture of $3,564 and the gun.

     This prosecution grew out of a long-term FBI/MPD alliance called the Safe Streets Task Force that targets violent drug trafficking gangs in the District of Columbia.  The Safe Streets Initiative is funded in part by the Baltimore Washington High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area as well as the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. The initiative involves more than 150 Safe Streets Task Forces across the country that combat street gangs by combining federal, state and local police resources. The task forces, which began in 1992 in Los Angeles and the District of Columbia, address gang activity, including drug-related crimes.

     In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge McCabe, and Chief Lanier thanked those who pursued the investigation from the FBI/MPD Safe Streets Task Force and other agencies. They expressed appreciation to the Prince George’s County, Md., Police Department, the U.S. Park Police, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Maryland State Police for their assistance in the investigation.

     They also acknowledged the efforts of those who have worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Rommel Pachoca, Regan Gibson, Starla Stolk, Kim Hall, Teesha Tobias, Mary Downing, Candace Battle, Catherine O’Neal, Jeannette Litz, Carolyn Carter-McKinley, and Crystal Barclay; Legal Assistants Latoya Wade, Candice Sisco, Diane Brashears, and Tammy Scott, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Zamarin and Thomas A. Gillice, who indicted and handled the majority of the investigation and case-related litigation.

     Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen J. Gripkey and John K. Han, of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, who began trial preparation and handled plea negotiations, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zia Faruqui and Anthony Saler and Arvind Lal, of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.

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Jonathan M. Hargett, a former civilian employee of the Department of Defense, was sentenced today to serve 40 months in prison on a charge of health care fraud stemming from a scheme in which he collected over $2.2 million after submitting fraudulent claims for federal health care benefits.

The sentencing was announced by Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Robert E. Craig Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Mid-Atlantic Field Office of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); Patrick E. McFarland, Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM); Gregg Hirstein, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General, Central Field Office of Investigations; and Frank Robey, Director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's Major Procurement Fraud Unit.

Hargett, 42, formerly of Germany, pleaded guilty on Sept. 8, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  He was indicted in October 2013, extradited from Germany, and returned to the United States in July 2014.  He was sentenced by the Honorable Senior Judge Paul L. Friedman.  Upon completion of his prison term, Hargett will be placed on three years of supervised release.  The plea agreement also calls for Hargett to pay over $2.2 million in restitution to the United States.  He also is subject to a forfeiture money judgment in the same amount.  The government has seized more than $704,000 from Hargett’s bank accounts, and German authorities have seized or frozen over $500,000.

“Jonathan Hargett is headed to prison because he ripped off more than $2 million from the American taxpayer,” said U.S. Attorney Machen.  “His bogus medical claims drained resources from a program designed to serve wounded veterans.  Defending the integrity of federal health care programs is a top priority because it protects the funds needed to provide medical services to our veterans and other deserving citizens.”

“Protecting the integrity of the Department of Defense's programs and resources, to include health care funding, is of critical importance to the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS),” said Special Agent in Charge Craig.  “When government personnel display a blatant disregard for the law and intentionally divert taxpayer money to enrich themselves, DCIS and our law enforcement partners will aggressively investigate, work to ensure prosecution to the fullest extent possible, and seek to recover all available funds so they may be returned to proper use.”

“The purpose of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program is to provide for the health and well-being of federal employees, retirees, and their families,” said Inspector General McFarland of the OPM.  “Through his unscrupulous actions, Mr. Hargett not only stole from enrollees and the American taxpayers, he also violated their trust.  We are all gratified to see that he will be held accountable.”

“The VA's Foreign Medical Program is extremely important to veterans who need medical care while residing or traveling abroad,” said Special Agent in Charge Hirstein.  “Today's sentencing reaffirms the VA Office of Inspector General's commitment to bring to justice those who steal from such programs which promote the health and well-being of our nation's deserving veterans.”

“We applaud Mr. Hargett's sentencing and are pleased that he has been brought to justice for fraud and stealing from the American taxpayer,” said Director Robey.  “We cannot emphasize enough that if you attempt to steal and commit fraud against the DOD and U.S. Army, you will be caught and brought to justice.  Mr. Hargett is a prime example.”

According to a statement of offense submitted to the Court at the time of the guilty plea, Hargett worked from 1996 through 2012 in various positions as a civilian employee for the Department of Defense in Germany.  From January 2011 through May 2012, he was an intelligence analyst stationed in Heidelberg.  Previously, he had served in the U.S. Army from 1992 to 1996.

As a federal employee stationed overseas, Hargett was enrolled since 2002 in the Foreign Service Benefit Plan (FSBP), a health care benefit program.  Because of his service in the Army, he also was eligible for health care coverage from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.  For veterans working or residing abroad, the VA provides this coverage through its Foreign Medical Program (VA-FMP).

From January 2007 through April 2012, according to the statement of offense, Hargett carried out a scheme to submit fraudulent claims and invoices to the FSBP and the VA-FMP.  The claims falsely represented that Hargett bought prescription medications and other pharmaceutical items from a pharmacy in Germany.  They also falsely represented that he had received and paid for various health care items and services from a doctor in Germany.  Hargett also created and submitted forged invoices and other fraudulent paperwork, and admitted creating many of the false invoices on his government computer at the U.S. Army base in Heidelberg, Germany.

All told, Hargett submitted more than $2.5 million in false claims to the two government health care programs, for items and services Hargett never received and never paid for.  As a result, Hargett wrongfully obtained more than $2.2 million, including about $943,519 from the FSBP and $1,261,512 from the VA-FMP.

This case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Office of the Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management, the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.  Assistance was provided by the Office of International Affairs in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; the Department of Defense; U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR) Legal Office; former Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney G. Saleski; Paralegal Specialist Donna Galindo, and former Paralegal Specialist Nicole Wattelet.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ted Radway and Peter Lallas, of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Lucas, of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.

WASHINGTON – Jonathan M. Hargett, a former civilian employee of the Department of Defense, was sentenced today to 40 months in prison on a charge of health care fraud stemming from a scheme in which he collected over $2.2 million after submitting fraudulent claims for federal health care benefits.

     The sentencing was announced by Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Robert E. Craig, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Mid-Atlantic Field Office of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); Patrick E. McFarland, Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM); Gregg Hirstein, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General, Central Field Office of Investigations; and Frank Robey, Director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's Major Procurement Fraud Unit.

     Hargett, 42, formerly of Germany, pled guilty on Sept. 8, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was indicted in October 2013, extradited from Germany, and returned to the United States in July 2014. He was sentenced by the Honorable Senior Judge Paul L. Friedman. Upon completion of his prison term, Hargett will be placed on three years of supervised release. The plea agreement also calls for Hargett to pay over $2.2 million in restitution to the United States. He also is subject to a forfeiture money judgment in the same amount. The government has seized more than $704,000 from Hargett’s bank accounts, and German authorities have seized or frozen over $500,000.

     “Jonathan Hargett is headed to prison because he ripped off more than $2 million from the American taxpayer,” said U.S. Attorney Machen.  “His bogus medical claims drained resources from a program designed to serve wounded veterans.  Defending the integrity of federal health care programs is a top priority because it protects the funds needed to provide medical services to our veterans and other deserving citizens.”

     “Protecting the integrity of the Department of Defense's programs and resources, to include health care funding, is of critical importance to the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS),” said Special Agent in Charge Craig. “When government personnel display a blatant disregard for the law and intentionally divert taxpayer money to enrich themselves, DCIS and our law enforcement partners will aggressively investigate, work to ensure prosecution to the fullest extent possible, and seek to recover all available funds so they may be returned to proper use.”

     “The purpose of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program is to provide for the health and well-being of Federal employees, retirees, and their families,” said Inspector General McFarland of the OPM. “Through his unscrupulous actions, Mr. Hargett not only stole from enrollees and the American taxpayers, he also violated their trust.  We are all gratified to see that he will be held accountable.”

     “The VA's Foreign Medical Program is extremely important to veterans who need medical care while residing or traveling abroad,” said Special Agent in Charge Hirstein. “Today's sentencing reaffirms the VA Office of Inspector General's commitment to bring to justice those who steal from such programs which promote the health and well-being of our nation's deserving veterans.”

     We applaud Mr. Hargett's sentencing and are pleased that he has been brought to justice for fraud and stealing from the American taxpayer,” said Director Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's Major Procurement Fraud Unit. “We cannot emphasize enough that if you attempt to steal and commit fraud against the DOD and U.S. Army, you will be caught and brought to justice. Mr. Hargett is a prime example.”

     According to a statement of offense submitted to the Court at the time of the guilty plea, Hargett worked from 1996 through 2012 in various positions as a civilian employee for the Department of Defense in Germany. From January 2011 through May 2012, he was an intelligence analyst stationed in Heidelberg. Previously, he had served in the U.S. Army from 1992 to 1996.

     As a federal employee stationed overseas, Hargett was enrolled since 2002 in the Foreign Service Benefit Plan (FSBP), a health care benefit program. Because of his service in the Army, he also was eligible for health care coverage from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. For veterans working or residing abroad, the VA provides this coverage through its Foreign Medical Program (VA-FMP).

     From January 2007 through April 2012, according to the statement of offense, Hargett carried out a scheme to submit fraudulent claims and invoices to the FSBP and the VA-FMP. The claims falsely represented that Hargett bought prescription medications and other pharmaceutical items from a pharmacy in Germany. They also falsely represented that he had received and paid for various health care items and services from a doctor in Germany. Hargett also created and submitted forged invoices and other fraudulent paperwork, and admitted creating many of the false invoices on his government computer at the U.S. Army base in Heidelberg, Germany.

     All told, Hargett submitted more than $2.5 million in false claims to the two government health care programs, for items and services Hargett never received and never paid for.  As a result, Hargett wrongfully obtained more than $2.2 million, including about $943,519 from the FSBP and $1,261,512 from the VA-FMP.

     This case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Office of the Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management, the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command. Assistance was provided by the Office of International Affairs in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; the Department of Defense; U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR) Legal Office; former Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney G. Saleski; Paralegal Specialist Donna Galindo, and former Paralegal Specialist Nicole Wattelet.

     The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ted Radway and Peter Lallas, of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Lucas, of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.

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WASHINGTON – Karie Brown, 20, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 16 years in prison for a shooting outside an apartment building in Southeast Washington that seriously wounded an eight-year-old girl, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Brown pled guilty in October 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of aggravated assault while armed; assault with intent to rob while armed, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a sentence of 14 ½ to 21 ½ years in prison. The Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston accepted the plea and sentenced Brown today. Upon completion of his prison term, Brown will be placed on five years of supervised release.

     A co-defendant, Nathaniel Patten, 22, also of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in November 2014 to charges of assault with intent to commit robbery while armed and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is to be sentenced March 5, 2015.

     “An innocent eight-year-old girl, playing in the snow on a day off from school, was struck by a bullet of a man trying to rob a marijuana dealer,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “She was nearly killed by the reckless actions of violent men with no regard for the safety of others. We only hope that this sentence brings some comfort and closure to this little girl, her family, and our community.”

     According to the government’s evidence, Brown and Patten decided on the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 14, 2014 to rob an individual they believed sold marijuana. Brown and Patten were armed with a .22-caliber Ruger semi-automatic pistol, which Brown was carrying. The men headed to the 1200 block of Valley Avenue SE, an area they knew that the individual had frequented.

     Brown and Patten pretended to be waiting to gain access to a locked apartment building on the block. The eight-year-old girl – who was going outside to play in the snow - held the door open for them. Brown and Patten then followed the individual who they were targeting into the building as he went upstairs. They then attempted to rob him and gain access to an apartment that he was about to enter. The individual escaped and ran downstairs. Brown shot once at the individual while inside the building and then fired multiple shots at him outside.

     The shots missed the individual, but hit the girl in the torso.

     The bullet that hit the child struck inches from her heart. It caused severe bleeding, and she was rushed to an emergency room and placed in critical care. She required immediate surgery and could have died but for the timely intervention of medical assistance.

     According to the government’s evidence, Brown and Patten fled together, not stopping to provide any assistance to their young victim, and Brown discarded the firearm, which was found by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The defendants were both found and arrested soon after the shooting in the 3500 block of Wheeler Road SE. After his arrest, Brown gave an interview to law enforcement and admitted that he had attempted to rob the individual and that he shot at that person outside the building.

     The firearms charge stemmed from the fact that Brown had previously been convicted of a charge of conspiracy to commit robbery, in an unrelated case.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Muyiwa Bamiduro; Paralegal Specialist Theresa Nelson; Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark, and Victim/Witness Security Specialist Tanya Via. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tejpal S. Chawla and Kendra Briggs, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

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     WASHINGTON Forrester Construction Company has agreed to pay $2.15 million to the United States and implement internal reforms to resolve a criminal investigation into alleged fraud committed by the company in connection with the use of Certified Business Enterprises (CBEs) in the procurement of more than $145 million in District of Columbia government contracts. The internal reforms will be subject to independent review and reporting.

     As part of the resolution, Forrester Construction admitted that it improperly entered into written letter agreements and “Action of Management Committee” memoranda with the CBE participants to joint ventures that were not disclosed to the District of Columbia during the contract procurement process. As a result, the company admitted, both Forrester Construction and the CBE partners failed to follow the required CBE rules and regulations.

     The resolution was announced by Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia, and Peggy E. Gustafson, Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA-OIG).

     The announcement concludes a two-year investigation into Forrester Construction, a firm based in Rockville, Md., as well as its CBE partners on the joint venture projects.

     Under the terms of a non-prosecution agreement reached with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Forrester Construction agreed to pay $2.15 million to the United States and accepted and acknowledged responsibility for its improper conduct, as described in a Statement of Facts.  The company also agreed to undertake various remedial measures to ensure compliance with the requirements of the District of Columbia’s CBE program (or any such equivalent on federal government projects) and the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program, insofar as the company undertakes projects involving CBEs or 8(a) companies in the future.

     Both the District of Columbia's CBE program and SBA’s 8(a) program are meant to help small, disadvantaged businesses access government procurement markets.

     The remedial measures include the hiring or designation of a CBE and 8(a) Compliance Officer, as well as an Ethics Officer; the implementation of a comprehensive training program for all company personnel regarding compliance with the CBE and 8(a) programs; maintaining an effective compliance and ethics program, and continuing cooperation with law enforcement. Significantly, individual employees directly associated with the inappropriate conduct are no longer employed by the company.

     Additionally, the company agreed to undertake community service intended to develop improvements in the CBE and 8(a) programs going forward. Forrester Construction agreed to offer workshops, either individually or in collaboration with an industry trade association, aimed at providing training with respect to the rules and regulations of the CBE and 8(a) programs, among other topics relating to the construction industry.

     This case is the latest example of law enforcement efforts to protect the integrity of CBE programs. Michael A. Brown, a former member of the Council of the District of Columbia, pled guilty in 2013 to a federal bribery charge stemming from an undercover investigation in which he accepted $55,000 from FBI agents posing as employees of a company that purportedly wanted CBE approval and contracting opportunities. Brown is serving a 39-month prison term.

**

     “Forrester won lucrative D.C. construction contracts by exploiting a program designed to help disadvantaged local businesses,” said U.S. Attorney Machen.  “Forrester entered secret side deals that wrested control of those contracts away from their historically under-represented partners and undermined the purpose of the CBE program.  In addition to paying $2.15 million, Forrester has agreed to implement and fund industry-leading compliance programs within the company and provide training to other participating corporations on the rules and regulations of the CBE and 8(a) programs. This prosecution, along with the investigation and conviction of former D.C. Council member Michael Brown, highlights law enforcement’s efforts to prevent fraud and abuse in programs intended to promote fairness and equality in the awarding of city government contracts.”

     “By changing the terms of joint ventures with small disadvantaged businesses and not reporting them to the D.C. government, Forrester Construction circumvented the foundation of the CBE program and used their proceeds to increase their own bottom line,” said Assistant Director in Charge McCabe. “By doing so, Forrester did a grave disservice to the D.C.-based CBE certified companies that work to support local job creation and grow our local economy. The FBI, along with the SBA, will continue to investigate companies that abuse procurement laws.”

     “The agreement to settle this criminal investigation demonstrates this Office’s commitment along with our federal partners, the SBA-OIG, the FBI, and the United States Attorney’s Office, to ensure that businesses which receive District of Columbia government contracts and participate in programs designed to help small and disadvantage businesses, like the District’s CBE program and the federal SBA 8(a) program, are expected to comply fully with program requirements,” said Inspector General Lucas of the District of Columbia.

     “These joint ventures principally served the interests of Forrester Construction Company to make money and to obtain contracting opportunities otherwise unavailable to them,” said SBA Inspector General Gustafson. “Joint ventures involving SBA program participants should be structured and executed to give the small business an opportunity to gain experience and technical knowledge and to further develop their business.  I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its leadership in reaching this agreement.”

     According to the Statement of Facts agreed to by the company, between 2008 and 2009, Forrester Construction formed multiple joint ventures with CBEs for the purpose of bidding on construction contracts in the District of Columbia. 

     Three joint ventures formed by Forrester Construction and one of the CBEs, EEC of D.C., Inc., were awarded construction contracts from the District of Columbia. These contracts, including change order amounts, totaled approximately $64 million for construction of a new headquarters building for the Department of Employment Services; approximately $5.4 million for construction of a Senior Wellness Center in Ward 1, and approximately $56 million for the renovation and modernization of the existing Anacostia Senior High School building. 

     Forrester Construction also formed joint ventures with another CBE, and those joint ventures were also awarded construction contracts from the District of Columbia, which were, over a period of approximately three years, in an aggregated amount in excess of $20 million. 

     In each of these various projects, the joint venture formed by Forrester Construction and the respective CBE partner received the maximum amount of contracting preferences for which the CBE partner was eligible, which provided Forrester Construction and the respective CBE partner with a competitive advantage during the bidding process.

     As part of its joint venture submissions to the District of Columbia Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD), Forrester Construction and its respective CBE partner represented that the CBE partner would be the majority partner and maintain a 51% interest in the joint venture, entitling the CBE partner to 51% of the net operating profits of the joint venture. Each joint venture agreement also established a “Management Committee,” consisting of two representatives from the CBE partner and one representative from Forrester Construction, which provided the CBE partner with majority control of the joint venture. 

     After each joint venture for the projects was submitted to, and certified by, the DSLBD, however, Forrester Construction and the respective CBE partner signed a memorandum entitled “Action of Management Committee” or signed a letter agreement, which related to the operations of each joint venture.  The memoranda and/or letter agreements effectively increased Forrester Construction’s control over the day-to-day operations of the projects and reduced the CBE partner’s share of the profits or losses in the projects -- notwithstanding the requirements of the joint venture agreements and the CBE rules and regulations.  Forrester Construction and the CBE partner did not disclose these “Action of Management Committee” memoranda or the letter agreements to the District of Columbia government during the procurement process. 

     The “Action of Management Committee” memoranda also revised the respective scope of work and services that Forrester Construction and the CBE partner would provide to certain of the projects.  In each instance, the “Action of Management Committee” memorandum applicable to the particular project identified a small scope of work for the CBE partner to complete and provided that Forrester Construction would provide all remaining general conditions, subcontract work, and all other work required to fulfill the requirements of the project.

     For example, with respect to the Anacostia Senior High School joint venture, the applicable “Action of Management Committee” memorandum provided that the scope of work for the CBE equated to approximately $2.75 million, while the scope of work for Forrester Construction equated to approximately $46 million.  The “Action of Management Committee” memoranda also established a pre-determined profit for the joint venture that specifically excluded any profits earned or losses sustained by either Forrester Construction or the CBE partner for their respective scope of work.  Moreover, Forrester Construction and the CBE partner agreed that only the pre-determined profit, exclusive of each partner’s individual “scope of work,” would be split in the proportions agreed to in the joint venture agreement (i.e., 51% for the CBE partner and 49% for Forrester Construction).  All other profits or losses generated through an individual scope of work would belong to the respective entity.

     All of the work was performed under the various contracts. However, as a result of the letter agreements and “Action of Management Committee” memoranda, the CBE participant for each of the projects did not maintain majority control of the projects and did not receive 51% of the profits or losses associated with the projects, as required by the joint venture agreements and in accordance with the CBE rules and regulations.

     This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office; the Criminal Investigation Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia; the District of Columbia’s Office of the Inspector General, and the SBA Office of Inspector General. 

     The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Last, Richard DiZinno, and Michael K. Atkinson, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

     Assistance is being provided by Criminal Investigators Juan Juarez and Stephen Cohen; Forensic Accountant Maria Boodoo; Paralegal Specialists Tasha Harris, Angela Lawrence, and Heather Sales; Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

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WASHINGTON – Alaska and Virginia-based technology contractors Eyak Technology LLC (EyakTek) and Eyak Services LLC (ESL) have agreed to pay $2.5 million and relinquish any rights to additional payments from the United States to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Justice Department announced today. 

     EyakTek and its sister company, ESL, provide healthcare, information technology, communications and infrastructure services to the U.S. government.  Both are subsidiaries of The Eyak Corporation, headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska.

     “This settlement demonstrates our willingness to use every tool of civil and criminal law in our arsenal to defend the American taxpayer from corruption in contracting,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. “The criminal investigation into this wide-ranging bribery and kickback scheme has now resulted in the convictions of 20 individuals, including EyakTek’s former contracts director.  We have aggressively pursued asset forfeitures in the criminal proceedings to make the taxpayer whole and to deprive wrongdoers of their ill-gotten gains.  This civil settlement sends a message to contractors who try to cheat in the competition for government funds.”

     “Federal government contractors and their employees must adhere to high standards in their dealings with the government,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “We will vigorously pursue those who pay kickbacks or otherwise engage in conduct that undermines the integrity of the contracting process.”

     From 2005 to 2011, EyakTek held a $1 billion prime contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers known as the Technology for Infrastructure, Geospatial, and Environmental Requirements contract. 

     The government alleged that, between Sept. 12, 2007, and Oct. 4, 2011, EyakTek’s then-director of contracts, Harold Babb, accepted kickbacks from several subcontractors of EyakTek and ESL in return for using his position to direct subcontracts to them.  EyakTek and ESL allegedly submitted invoices to the Army Corps that included charges for work that was never performed by the subcontractors and lacked internal controls to detect the improper charges. 

     In March 2012, Babb pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to bribery and kickback charges. He later was sentenced by the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan to 87 months in prison, to be followed by 36 months of supervised release and more than $9 million in restitution for his role in the kickback scheme.

     The Army Corps stopped payments to EyakTek and ESL when the alleged scheme came to light.  As part of the settlement, EyakTek and ESL will withdraw any appeals seeking the return of those funds, and relinquish all rights to any payments that have been withheld.

     “This is yet another prime example of our commitment, along with other fellow law enforcement agencies to hold people and companies accountable for each and every detail of their contracts with the U.S. government and the U.S. Army,” said Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's Major Procurement Fraud Unit.  “Our agents will continue to aggressively investigate and identify any potential abuses that arise in regard to the contracting process.”

     “Manipulations of the Department of Defense procurement process will not be tolerated,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office.  “Today’s settlement demonstrates the commitment by DCIS and its partner agencies to hold accountable companies who attempt to bypass federal contracting laws.”

     Today’s settlement is the result of a coordinated effort among the department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DCIS, the Defense Contract Audit Agency, the Army’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit and the Small Business Administration.

     The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

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WASHINGTON – John F. General, 50, formerly of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury today of second-degree murder for the 1997 murder of a woman in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Lynn Leibovitz scheduled sentencing for Feb. 27, 2015.

     According to the government’s evidence, on the morning of Nov. 26, 1997, the partially clothed body of the victim, Deborah McKinney, was discovered in a stairwell of an apartment building in the 900 block of M Street NW. The District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Ms. McKinney, 38, was killed by means of asphyxiation.

     Although there were no eyewitnesses to this murder, the government’s evidence showed that Ms. McKinney encountered the defendant and that a violent encounter ensued.

     General was identified as a suspect in January 2010 through 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. General’s DNA was in the system as a result of an earlier conviction in a case in the District of Columbia. DNA testing confirmed that his blood and semen were on the scene of Ms. McKinney’s attack.

     He was arrested in May of 2010 and is in custody pending his sentencing.

     This case is among a series of successful prosecutions of older homicide cases following investigations by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Working with the MPD and other law enforcement partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has a specially designated Cold Case Unit that prosecutes these older cases. All told, more than 20 defendants have been convicted of older homicides since 2009.

     In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Services. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including former Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Haines; Michael Ambrosino, Special Counsel for DNA and Forensic Evidence Litigation; Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling; Paralegal Specialists Sandra Lane, Mia Beamon, and Paralegal Specialists Jason Manuel and Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie, and Victim/Witness Security Specialists David Foster and Katina Adams. 

     Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharon Donovan and Adrienne Dedjinou, who prosecuted the case.

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WASHINGTON – Christopher Wallace, 30, formerly of Bladensburg, Md., pled guilty today to a charge of attempted first-degree sexual abuse for attempting to sexually assault a woman in a park last spring, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Wallace entered the guilty plea in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  The Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston is to sentence him on Feb. 27, 2015. Wallace faces a statutory maximum of 15 years of imprisonment as well as a potential fine. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

     According to the government’s evidence, on April 1, 2014, at about 7:30 p.m., the victim and Wallace exited a Circulator bus near the Georgetown waterfront in Northwest Washington.  Wallace, whose name was not known to the victim, directed the victim to the Capital Crescent Trail, which they walked along until entering Glover-Archbold Park.  At that point, the victim confronted Wallace over going further into the woods. Wallace grabbed her by her hair and directed her further into the woods.  He then sexually assaulted her. 

     Afterwards, the victim immediately went to a hospital and reported the assault.  She described a distinctive tattoo that her assailant had on his hand, which law enforcement used along with other leads to identify Wallace. He has been in custody since his arrest.

     In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work performed by those who investigated the case from the United States Park Police and Metro Transit Police Departments.  He also expressed appreciation for the assistance of the Metropolitan Police Department. He acknowledged the work of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Tracey Hawkins and Paralegal Specialist Jason Manuel.

     Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff T. Cook, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

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WASHINGTON – Anthony Williams, 18, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 15-year prison term for a murder that took place in November 2013 in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Williams pled guilty in October 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of second-degree murder while armed. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a 15-year prison term. The Honorable John Ramsey Johnson accepted the plea today and sentenced Williams accordingly. Following completion of his prison term, Williams will be placed on five years of supervised release.

     According to the government’s evidence, the victim, James Edward Booker, 24, was walking in the 3200 block of 6th Street SE, in front of Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, at about 9:55 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2013. He was approached from behind by Williams and two unidentified accomplices. Williams had a handgun in his right hand, and stood in front of Mr. Booker, blocking his path. He then pointed the weapon at Mr. Booker, who turned to run away. Williams began firing the gun, shooting Mr. Booker multiple times as he ran up 6th Street. Williams and the others then fled the scene.

     Mr. Booker was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead about two hours after the shooting. Williams has been in custody since his arrest a week after the murder.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Kelly Blakeney; Litigation Technology Specialists William Henderson and Paul Howell; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Worm, who investigated the case. Finally, he thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kendra Briggs, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

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WASHINGTON – Kevin Walker, 39, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury today of two counts of first-degree murder while armed for the killings of siblings Jamie and Jamal Jenkins in July 2013, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     The jury also found Walker guilty of two related firearms offenses. The verdicts followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Russell F. Canan scheduled sentencing for March 12, 2015.

     According to the government’s evidence, on July 20, 2013, at about 4:30 a.m., Walker killed Jamie Jenkins, 28, and her brother, Jamahl Jenkins, 21, in the 5300 block of East Capitol Street NE. Prior to the shootings, Jamie Jenkins had been involved in a fight with Walker’s girlfriend. Jamahl Jenkins was present, but not involved.  After the fight broke up, the siblings left the area, but they came back a few minutes later to look for Jamie Jenkins’s lost cell phone.

     Walker then came outside with a gun and approached the pair. Eyewitnesses screamed at Walker that the fight was over, and that it wasn’t serious. However, words were exchanged, and Walker then fired his gun. According to the government’s evidence, Jamie Jenkins was fatally shot when she jumped in front of the first bullet intended for her brother. Walker then followed Jamahl Jenkins and shot him six times in the back as he tried to run away.

     After the shooting, Walker fled to North Carolina, where he was apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Service in September 2013.

     In announcing the verdicts, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department, which investigated the case. He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Services, and the U.S. Marshals Service. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Litigation Technology Specialists Anisha Bhatia and Leif Hickling; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; and Paralegal Specialists Kwasi Fields and Kendra Johnson. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Magdalena Acevedo and Demian S. Ahn, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

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WASHINGTON – Aniruddha Sherbow, 44, whose last known address was in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for making a series of threats against Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. Representative for the 2nd District of Hawaii.

     The sentencing was announced by Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Kim C. Dine, Chief of the United States Capitol Police, and Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

     Sherbow entered a plea of nolo contendere on Feb. 21, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to two counts of transmission of threats in interstate commerce. Under a nolo contendere plea, a defendant is convicted of the offense, accepts responsibility, and agrees that the government could prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. However, the defendant in such a plea does not admit to the facts of the case.

     The Honorable Reggie B. Walton accepted the plea and sentenced Sherbow today. Following his prison term, Sherbow will be placed on three years of supervised release. During that time, Sherbow is barred from any direct or indirect contact with Congresswoman Gabbard. Judge Walton also ordered Sherbow to pay $538,282 in restitution to the United States government, as reimbursement for security expenses incurred as a result of his threats. Finally, the judge ordered Sherbow to get a mental health evaluation and treatment, if necessary.

     Sherbow was arrested on Aug. 28, 2013, in Tijuana, Mexico, by Policia Estatal Preventiva, Baja California State Police Fugitive Unit, pursuant to a federal arrest warrant issued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  He has been in custody ever since. In addition to New York, Sherbow has lived in California, Mexico, and Hawaii.

     According to the government’s evidence, Sherbow had been harassing Congresswoman Gabbard since approximately February 2011, including making threats via email and telephone. The charges relate to two such threats, made in August of 2013.

     On Aug. 1, 2013, Sherbow left a voicemail message on Congresswoman Gabbard’s phone in which he threatened to kill her. Congresswoman Gabbard was in Washington, D.C., when she received the threatening message. On Aug. 3, 2013, Sherbow, identifying himself by name, sent an e-mail to Congresswoman Gabbard and others, including the FBI.  The subject and body of this e-mail also contained threats directed at Congresswoman Gabbard. 

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Chief Dine, and Assistant Director in Charge McCabe commended the work of those who investigated the case from the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI. They also expressed appreciation for the work of the Policia Estatal Preventiva, Baja California State Police Fugitive Unit; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, San Ysidro, and the San Diego and Honolulu Divisions of the FBI for their crucial work and joint collaboration in apprehending the defendant. Finally, they acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael C. DiLorenzo and Christopher Kavanaugh, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

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WASHINGTON – Donnie Dukes, a former compliance officer for the District of Columbia Public Schools, was sentenced today to a month in jail, to be followed by six months of home confinement, for carrying out a scheme involving more than $460,000 in fraudulent payments to a private transportation company that he owned and controlled.

     The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Daniel W. Lucas, District of Columbia Inspector General, and Christopher Cooper, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General's Mid-Atlantic Regional Office.

     Dukes, 41, of Hyattsville, Md., pled guilty on Jan. 22, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to wire fraud and conflict-of-interest charges. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson. Following his home detention, Dukes will be placed on three years of probation. He also must pay $463,621 in restitution to the District of Columbia.

     According to the government’s evidence, Dukes worked from October 2008 until October 2010 as a compliance officer for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). His duties included making arrangements for transportation for the special needs students who received education services outside of the District of Columbia.

     At the same time, however, Dukes owned and controlled a private company that provided, among other services, transportation to students who needed to travel from the District of Columbia to education centers outside of the District of Columbia for special services.

     While working at DCPS, Dukes personally referred, or caused colleagues of his at DCPS to refer, 86 out-of-state student transports to his company, resulting in the firm receiving $325,000 in payments from the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Of this, the government’s evidence showed, $163,621 involved illegitimate expenses.

     Dukes was terminated from DCPS in October 2010 as part of an overall reduction in the workforce. He then schemed to obtain non-public lists of students needing transportation services from his former colleagues at DCPS. Dukes later used these lists to create false invoices and supporting documentation for payments to his company in the names of the students. Dukes created 60 false invoices and supporting documentation through this scheme, causing the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education to pay his company $300,000 for transportation services that never were provided.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge McCabe, Inspector General Lucas, and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Cooper commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the District of Columbia Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including former Legal Assistant Nicole Wattelet and Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Waxman, who prosecuted the case.

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WASHINGTON – Four Philippine nationals were indicted today on conspiracy, hostage-taking, and weapons charges stemming from the kidnapping in the Philippines of a mother and her then 14-year-old son in July of 2011.  The indictment alleges that the group held the mother for approximately 82 days and the son for approximately 151 days, and forced the family to pay ransom for their return. The victims, both U.S. nationals, were in the Philippines on a family trip.

     The indictment, returned by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced by John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Stephanie Yonekura, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, and Bill L. Lewis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. 

     The four men are identified as John Does, but are also known as Furuji Indama, Radzmil Jannatul, Muadz, and Abu Basim.  Each is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit hostage-taking, two counts of hostage-taking, one count of conspiracy to use, carry, brandish and discharge a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of using, carrying, brandishing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done.  None of the defendants is in custody.

     If extradited to the United States and convicted of these charges, each defendant would face a maximum term of life in prison.

     “While on a family vacation overseas, a Virginia mother and her teenage son were captured, forced into boats at gunpoint, and taken to an island where they were held hostage for ransom,” said U.S. Attorney Machen.  “This indictment charges four Philippine men for their alleged roles in taking these Americans hostage and holding them captive for months in terrifying conditions.  We remain focused on apprehending and extraditing these men so that they can face these charges in a courtroom in our nation’s capital.”

     “The four men indicted are alleged to have been involved in the hostage-taking of two U.S. citizens vacationing in the Philippines more than three years ago,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin.  “Hostage-takers who target our citizens with captivity and violence anywhere in the world should know that we will pursue them and seek to bring them to justice, however long it takes.”

     “The victim family in this case experienced great suffering when a mother and son were violently kidnapped and held by the defendants overseas, while family members in the United States endured for months without knowing the fate of their loved ones,” said Assistant Director Lewis, of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.  “It should be noted that, following the mother’s release, her son was held for months before valiantly escaping his captors.  The charges in this case are the result of a joint investigation by the FBI and law enforcement partners in the Philippines, one of many countries with whom we work to identify those responsible for victimizing American citizens abroad and build cases for potential prosecution.”

     According to the indictment, the defendants and co-conspirators kidnapped the two United States nationals on or about July 12, 2011. The woman, then age 43, and her then 14-year-old son were taken hostage from a beach cottage on Tictabon Island, several miles from the mainland of Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.

     Both hostages were forced into boats at gunpoint, brought to another island, Basilan Island, and forced to march to a camp where they were held until September 2011.  The two were then forced to march to another camp, also on Basilan Island. 

     The indictment alleges that the defendants and their co-conspirators threatened to kill the hostages, and that they used firearms, including handguns, semiautomatic assault weapons, and destructive devices to keep and detain them.  The indictment also alleges that the group demanded ransom from a family member of the hostages and did, in fact, cause a family member to make bank transfers as ransom payments.

     The group released the mother on or about Oct. 2, 2011, but retained her teenage son as a hostage, and demanded that she pay a large ransom for his release.  The son eventually escaped from his captivity on or about Dec. 9, 2011. 

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

     The charges were the result of an investigation led by the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Courtney Spivey Urschel and Thomas A. Gillice of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Grigg of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, and Trial Attorney T. J. Reardon III of the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice.  Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Asuncion and Assistant U.S. Attorney George P. Varghese, now with the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, investigated the case prior to indictment. 

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WASHINGTON - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia collected nearly $180 million in criminal and civil actions and asset forfeitures during the most recent fiscal year, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.

     All told, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has collected nearly $2.3 billion in criminal and civil actions and asset forfeitures over the past five fiscal years.

     The totals for Fiscal Year 2014 include over $160.9 million collected in criminal actions and over $11.9 million in civil actions. Another $7.7 million was collected in criminal and civil asset forfeiture actions. Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect another $1.4 million in civil actions cases pursued jointly with these offices.

     “The $2.3 billion that we have recovered in recent years is a measure of our commitment to taxpayers and victims of crime,” said U.S. Attorney Machen.  “We have restored dollars robbed from the U.S. Treasury by corrupt public officials and shady government contractors, and have deprived drug traffickers and fraudsters of their ill-gotten gains.  We will continue to use the full range of legal tools at our disposal to protect the taxpayer and do justice.”

     Attorney General Eric Holder recently announced that the Justice Department collected $24.7 billionnationwidein civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2014.  The collections in FY 2014 represent nearly eight and a half times the appropriated $2.91 billion budget for the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the main litigating divisions of the Justice Department combined in that same period.

     “Every day, the Justice Department’s prosecutors and trial attorneys work hard to protect our citizens, to safeguard precious taxpayer resources, and to provide a valuable return on investment to the American people,” said Attorney General Holder. “Their diligent efforts are enabling us to achieve justice and recoup losses in virtually every sector of the U.S. economy.”

     Additionally, the U.S. Attorneys’ offices nationwide, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected over $4.5 billion in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2014.

     The U.S. Attorneys offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting criminal and civil debts owed to the United States and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. In the District of Columbia, the Financial Litigation Unit in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office aggressively handles these responsibilities. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss.  While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

Collections in Civil Actions

     The collections in civil actions by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia included more than $1.3 million generated by a settlement with Deloitte Consulting LLP, together with its predecessors and successors. This matter involved billing the government for certain personnel in labor categories for which they did not qualify on work orders under a contract with the Department of Justice. Deloitte management responsible for these tasks orders learned of these inappropriate labor categorizations in May 2012.  Nonetheless, Deloitte continued to bill certain personnel at inappropriate labor categories and rates until October 2012.

     The amount also included $4.2 million, plus interest, paid by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), to resolve allegations that it filed false claims in connection with using federal funds to impermissibly award a contract for a financial management information technology project without using competitive procurement procedures.

     In another case, Alliance Rehabilitation LLC, a Maryland limited liability company with an administrative office in Hanover, Maryland and a billing office in Fairfax, Virginia, paid the United States $2.4 million as part of a settlement of allegations that the firm’s billings to Medicare and the TRICARE health care program violated the False Claims Act. The company operates physical therapy clinics in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Collections in Criminal Actions

     The collections in criminal actions by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia included $886,000 paid by a former senior policy advisor for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency who pled guilty to carrying out a scheme in which he kept collecting pay and benefits even though he was not at work. John C. Beale pled guilty in September 2013 to theft of government property.  Between January 2000 and April 2013, Beale was absent for about 2 ½ years. Among other things, he falsely claimed that he needed to be away while working on a project for the Central Intelligence Agency.

     Beale also paid the government another $507,000 to satisfy a forfeiture money judgment in the same case.

Collections in Forfeiture Cases

     Since taking office in February 2010, U.S. Attorney Machen has emphasized the importance of asset forfeiture to fight crime and criminal organizations and to seek justice for victims. Asset forfeiture is a powerful tool that can deprive criminals and criminal organizations of illegal proceeds and instrumentalities of crimes, recover property that may be used to compensate victims, and deter crime. Federal law provides authority to seize and forfeit the proceeds of virtually all serious federal offenses.  Forfeited assets are deposited into the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund and Department of Treasury Asset Forfeiture Fund and are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

     In addition to the $507,000 judgment involving Beale, other significant collections generated by the Office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit in Fiscal 2014 included over $1.8 million from the sale of forfeited real property of Kerry F. Khan, a former program manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Khan is serving a prison sentence of 19 years and seven months following his guilty plea in an investigation of a ring of corrupt public officials and government contractors that engaged in bribery, kickbacks and other crimes. Participants in the scheme stole over $30 million through inflated and fictitious invoices.

     The total also includes over $2.2 million in real property and funds seized from Min Jung Cho, the former president of Nova Datacom, LLC, a company involved in the scheme. She also pled guilty in the investigation involving Kerry Khan and others and is awaiting sentencing.

     In addition, in a national security case, the government forfeited aviation equipment, valued at more than $90,000.  This equipment was being procured by front companies on behalf of entities in Iran, in violation of U.S. sanctions. The front companies would launder money into the country in an attempt to conceal the true beneficiaries of the transactions. The forfeiture action led to a recovery of the equipment, and ultimately the sale of the equipment for the benefit of the United States. 

     Finally, in another case, the government collected $388,613 in forfeiture from Gezo G. Edwards, formerly of Silver Spring, Md., who was found guilty by a jury of conspiring to distribute large amounts of cocaine in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Edwards was sentenced in February 2014 to a life prison term. The money was seized as proceeds of the drug conspiracy.

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WASHINGTON – Steven Sollera, Jr., 39, of Edgewood, Md., pled guilty today to charges of traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). 

     Sollera entered the guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  The Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan is to sentence him on April 7, 2015.  Sollera faces a statutory maximum of 30 years of imprisonment for traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct and a maximum of 20 years of imprisonment for possession of child pornography, as well as a fine of $250,000 on each count.

     According to the government's evidence, on June 5, 2014, Sollera contacted an undercover officer with the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, through a social network site.  Over the next few days, Sollera engaged in communications with the undercover officer, whom the defendant believed was the father of an under-aged girl. During this time, Sollera arranged with the undercover officer to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with the child. 

     During the course of their communications, Sollera provided links containing 22 still images and 14 videos of child pornography.  On June 10, 2014, he traveled from Maryland to a pre-arranged meeting place in Washington, D.C to have sex with the purported child.  When he arrived at the meeting place, he was arrested. 

     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 guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge McCabe, and Chief Lanier praised the work of the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord, who is prosecuting the case.

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WASHINGTON – Anthony Gray, 36, has been found guilty by a jury of charges stemming from the July 2000 murder of a government witness, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Robert D. MacLean, Acting Chief of the United States Park Police.

     Gray, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty on Dec. 2, 2014, of first-degree premeditated murder while armed, kidnapping, and felony murder while armed, as well as the aggravating circumstances that the murder was committed during the course of a kidnapping and was committed because the victim was a government witness.  The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Gray is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 6, 2015 before the Honorable Rhonda Reid-Winston.

     According to the government’s evidence, Gray was part of a violent crew that operated in the Alabama Avenue SE area, known as “Simple City,” in the mid to late 1990s-2000s.  The crew focused on selling drugs, committing violent crimes, and intimidating witnesses.  Gray played an active role in the crew and committed a number of crimes on its behalf.

     Specifically, in 1999, a murder was committed by two crew members in the area of Texas Avenue SE.  Robert McManus, 20, was a reluctant witness to this murder.  On July 5, 2000, as trial was approaching for the two crew members, Anthony Gray and another crew member kidnapped Mr. McManus from his bicycle for the purpose of preventing him from testifying at the trial.  After kidnapping Mr. McManus, Gray and the other crew member drove him to the 4800 block of E Street SE, marched Mr. McManus into the woods, and shot him one time in the head.  The following day, Mr. McManus’s body was recovered in a wooded area, executed.

     Two other members of the crew pled guilty in recent weeks to charges stemming from other murders. Cedrick Shuler, 38, and Keith Fogle, 42, both formerly of Washington, D.C., pled guilty to charges on Nov. 6, 2014, as they were about to stand trial along with Gray.

     Shuler pled guilty to one count of second-degree murder while armed for the March 1999 murder of Edward Gray and one count of voluntary manslaughter while armed for the February 1999 murder of Kelvin Howard. Fogle pled guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter while armed for his role in the slaying of Mr. Gray. (Edward and Anthony Gray are not related).

     According to the government’s evidence, Mr. Howard, 18, was not part of the feud involving rival crews. He was fatally shot as he was parked at a stop sign in his Chevrolet Tahoe. His car then crashed into a wooded area near 51st and C Streets SE. The jury acquitted Anthony Gray of charges related to Mr. Howard’s murder.

     Like Mr. Howard, Edward Gray, 29, was an innocent victim of retaliatory violence by Shuler, who this time acted along with Fogle. Mr. Gray and his fiancé were attacked by gunfire at 8:45 p.m. on March 22, 1999, as they were in their Chevrolet Tahoe truck in the 4800 block of Alabama Avenue SE. According to the government’s evidence, because the Tahoe was moving so slowly, and circling the area, Shuler and Fogle mistakenly believed the occupants were members of a rival gang. They opened fire, killing Mr. Gray. The fiancé was not injured.

     In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen, Chief Lanier, and Acting Chief MacLean commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Park Police. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including former Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Haines, who indicted the matter; Lead Paralegal Specialist Phil Aronson; Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Sharon Newman; Paralegal Specialists Meridith McGarrity, Fern Rhedrick, and Vanessa Trent-Valentine; Intelligence Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Supervisory Witness Security Specialist Michael Hailey; Witness Security Specialists Debra Cannon and Wanda Queen, and Information Technology Specialist Leif Hickling.

     Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura R. Bach and Shana L. Fulton, who tried the case.

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WASHINGTON - Marc England, 45, was sentenced today to 20 months in prison on a federal charge stemming from his theft of over $960,000 from a Washington, D.C. law firm, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

     England, of Covington, La., pled guilty in September 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of wire fraud.  He was sentenced by the Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan. Upon completion of his prison term, England will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $652,641 in restitution; the firm had earlier received over $308,000 in restitution. 

     According to the government’s evidence, England worked at a small law firm in Washington, D.C., that is identified in court documents as “Company A.” He was the company’s controller.  Beginning in August 2008, England began sending wire payments from the law firm’s bank account directly to various credit card accounts that he himself held. For some of the unauthorized transactions, England used the firm’s electronic accounts system to create fraudulent invoices appearing on their face to justify his unauthorized debits.  Over the course of a four-year period, England caused the firm to execute 126 separate interstate wire transfers of monies from the firm’s checking account to various accounts held by England.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and Assistant Director in Charge McCabe commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Donna Galindo, Corinne Kleinman, and Angela Lawrence; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Catherine K. Connelly and Arvind K. Lal, who handled forfeiture issues, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard DiZinno, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

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WASHINGTON – Harry I. Martin, Jr., the owner, president, and chief executive officer of a Virginia-based information technology company, Intelligent Decisions, Inc., pled guilty this week to a federal charge stemming from gratuities that he and his company provided to a former contracting official with the U.S. Department of the Army in return for preferential treatment and government contracts.  

     In a related action, the company, Intelligent Decisions, Inc., has agreed to pay a $300,000 criminal penalty for its conduct. The company was charged in a criminal information with one count of paying a gratuity to a public official. Intelligent Decisions, Inc. agreed to the filing of the information, and is to make the payment and strengthen its internal controls as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the government. In light of that payment, and the company’s willingness to acknowledge responsibility for its actions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will recommend the dismissal of the information in 24 months, provided Intelligent Decisions, Inc. fully cooperates and abides by the agreement.

     The developments were announced today by Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Peggy E. Gustafson, Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA-OIG); Robert E. Craig, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Mid-Atlantic Field Office of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS),  and Frank Robey, Director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit (MPFU).

     Martin, 56, of Great Falls, Virginia, and Intelligent Decisions, Inc., agreed to fully cooperate in an ongoing federal investigation. Martin entered the guilty plea on Nov. 24, 2014, before the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He is to be sentenced on March 6, 2015.

     Martin is the 20th individual to plead guilty in an investigation into domestic bribery, bid-rigging, and federal contracting. His business colleague, Chae Shim, the Director of Acquisition Accounts, Asia/Pacific, for Intelligent Decisions, pled guilty on Nov. 6, 2014, to the same federal charge as Martin stemming from gratuities that Shim and others at Intelligent Decisions, including Martin, provided to the former Army contracting official in return for preferential treatment and government contracts. Shim, 47, of Reston, Va., is to be sentenced on March 20, 2015.

     In addition to those individuals, one corporation, Nova Datacom, LLC, pled guilty to federal charges. Also, a South Korean-based corporation, Saena Tech Corporation, has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to pay a $500,000 criminal penalty as part of the investigation.

     In the overall investigation, to date, the United States has seized for forfeiture or recovered over $9 million in bank account funds, cash, and repayments, as well as 19 real properties, nine cars, and multiple pieces of fine jewelry.

     The guilty plea and deferred prosecution agreement involve gratuities provided to In Seon Lim, a former contracting official for the U.S. Department of the Army. Lim pled guilty in July 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, to federal charges stemming from a scheme in which he accepted over $490,000 worth of benefits, including cash payments and vacations, from favored contractors, including Intelligent Decisions, Inc. In return, he helped these businesses obtain millions of dollars in federal contracts and subcontracts. Lim, 48, who pled guilty to bribery and two other federal offenses, was sentenced on Oct. 24, 2014 to a four-year prison term.

     “A corporate CEO has now become the 20th person to plead guilty in this bribery and bid-rigging investigation,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “He joins a long list of public officials and government contractors held accountable for corrupting the integrity of the federal contracting system.  This CEO and his company rigged the competition for military contracts by plying an Army official with meals, drinks, entertainment, and golf outings.  The fate of this CEO and his company should encourage other contractors to steer clear of crooked dealings.”   

     “This plea demonstrates that those who engage in illegal gratuities will be held accountable for their actions,” said Assistant Director in Charge McCabe.  “Both the company and the public official benefited when contracts were steered and increased almost $4 million.  The FBI and our partner agencies will continue to investigate those who abuse the American taxpayer’s money and protect federal funds.”

     “The defendant’s actions to pay and authorize the payment of illegal gratuities to a government official are an attack on the integrity of our system of government,” said Inspector General Gustafson of the U.S. Small Business Administration. “With our law enforcement partners, the SBA OIG will guard against such attacks and bring to justice those responsible for such despicable acts.  I want to thank the U.S. Attorney's Office for its dedicated leadership and professionalism in bringing forth this guilty plea.”

     “It is one of the highest priorities of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) to protect the integrity of the government procurement process so that taxpayer money is spent properly,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig. “As this case has again demonstrated, DCIS and our law enforcement partners will work together to uncover and fully prosecute any and all individuals and companies who are not willing to follow government contract and procurement laws.”

     “This case should send a very loud and clear message to all who do business with the Department of the Army that if you intend on committing illegal acts for your own greed and personal gain, especially while our nation is at war, we will surely catch you and help bring you to justice,” said Director Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's Major Procurement Fraud Unit  “We have a very robust group of highly-trained special agents in our fraud unit who are masters at combating and uncovering fraud, deception, bribery and other criminal acts associated with government contracting and purchasing.”

     According to the government’s evidence, Martin, Shim, and the company provided Lim with thousands of dollars in meals, drinks, entertainment, golf outings, and golf equipment, in return for preferential treatment and the direction of Army subcontracts to the firm.

     All told, Intelligent Decisions spent over $10,000 on a variety of expenses, including dinners, golf outings, and other events attended by Lim, who was joined by company officials and others, while one of its employees agreed to pay for a Lexus ES350 automobile worth over $30,000 for Lim.

     At the time of this conduct, Lim was an assistant project manager and product director with the Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems, a part of the Army that provides infrastructure and informational management systems. Working in South Korea, Lim’s primary duties were to oversee and implement communications systems upgrades for the U.S. forces there, which included approximately 10 communications centers and various other special projects at military sites throughout the country. Among other things, Lim coordinated work on a major contract, which, in turn, had numerous sub-contracts.

     According to the government’s evidence, prior to the awarding of the sub-contracts, Martin and Shim traveled to South Korea in January 2009 to meet with Lim. They provided him with a dinner, drinks, and entertainment. They followed up on the meeting with e-mails expressing their desire for Intelligent Decisions, Inc., to work with him.

     Later in January 2009, with Lim’s assistance, the company was awarded two subcontracts. One had an initial value of $525,000, and the other had a value of $67,294.

     Over the ensuing months, Martin, Shim, and the company provided Lim with additional meals, entertainment, golf outings, and other benefits. Meanwhile, modifications were made to the sub-contracts increasing their value. The lengths of the two sub-contracts were expanded, along with their value. The $525,000 contract eventually climbed to a value of $3.2 million, and the $67,294 contract later became worth $1.3 million.

     This investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office; the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; the Inspector General’s Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration; the Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Defense Contract Audit Agency, and the Army Criminal Investigation Command. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael K. Atkinson of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

14-264

WASHINGTON - Diego Alfonso Navarrete Beltran, 42, an accused member of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) terrorist organization, has been extradited from Colombia to face hostage taking and terrorism charges in the United States.

     The extradition was announced by John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Division.

     Navarrete Beltran was extradited from Colombia to the United States this week to face charges in a superseding indictment returned in the District of Columbia on Feb. 22, 2011.  The indictment, which names as defendants 18 members of the FARC, charges Navarrete Beltran specifically with one count of conspiracy to commit hostage taking; three counts of hostage taking; one count of using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence; one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. 

     A second defendant, Alexander Beltran Herrera, 38, a FARC commander, was extradited to the United States from Colombia in March 2012. He pled guilty on March 18, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to three counts of hostage-taking and he was sentenced on Oct. 24, 2014, to a 27-year prison term.

     “Diego Alfonso Navarrete Beltran and his FARC accomplices are alleged to have been involved in the hostage-taking of three Americans in Colombia more than a decade ago,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “Terrorists who target our citizens with violence anywhere in the world should know that we will pursue them and seek to bring them to justice, however long it takes.”

     “In 2003, three U.S. citizens were taken hostage by Colombian terrorists and held captive with choke harnesses and chains for more than five years,” said U.S. Attorney Machen.  “Last month, a commander of that Colombian terrorist organization was sentenced to nearly three decades in prison for his role in the hostage-taking.  We have now extradited a second defendant to face charges for the role he allegedly played in their harrowing ordeal.  These prosecutions are a reminder of our unwavering commitment to hold accountable anyone who harms American citizens abroad, no matter how long it takes.” 

     “Diego Alfonso Navarrete Beltran, a former member of the FARC terrorist organization, was extradited to the United States to face terrorism and hostage taking charges involving three U.S. Citizens,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Piro. “There is a message here for would be terrorist hostage takers; don’t do it, you will be brought to justice.”

     Navarrete Beltran was arraigned today in federal court in the District of Columbia. If convicted of all charges against him, he faces a maximum potential sentence of life in prison.

     According to the indictment, the FARC is an armed, violent organization in Colombia, which since its inception in 1964, has engaged in an armed conflict to overthrow the Republic of Colombia, South America’s longest-standing democracy. The FARC has consistently used hostage taking as a primary technique in extorting demands from the Republic of Colombia.  Hostage taking has been endorsed and commanded by FARC senior leadership.  The FARC has characterized American citizens as “military targets” and has engaged in violent acts against Americans in Colombia, including murders and hostage taking.  The FARC was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. Secretary of State in 1997 and remains so designated.

     The indictment alleges that Navarrete Beltran was a member of the 1st Front in the FARC’s Southern Block.  He was allegedly involved in the hostage taking of three U.S. citizens, Marc D. Gonsalves, Thomas R. Howes and Keith Stansell.  These three individuals, along with Thomas Janis, a U.S. citizen, and Sergeant Luis Alcides Cruz, a Colombian citizen, were seized on Feb. 13, 2003, by the FARC after their single engine aircraft made a crash landing near Florencia, Colombia.  Janis and Cruz were murdered at the crash site by members of the FARC.

     According to the indictment, Mr. Gonsalves, Mr. Howes and Mr. Stansell were held by the FARC at gunpoint and were advised by FARC leadership that they would be used as hostages to increase international pressure on the government of the Republic of Colombia to agree to the FARC’s demands. 

     The FARC at various times marched the hostages from one site to another, placing them in the actual custody of various FARC Fronts.  At the conclusion of one 40-day march, in or about November 2004, the hostages were delivered to members of the FARC’s 27th Front, commanded by Daniel Tamayo Sanchez, who was responsible for the hostages for nearly two years, after which they were delivered to the FARC’s 1st Front.  From approximately October 2006 through July 2008, according to the indictment, Navarrete Beltran and others kept the hostages under the control of the FARC’s 1st Front. In order to prevent the Colombian police and military from rescuing the hostages, he and other conspirators transported the hostages into the Republic of Venezuela.

     Throughout the captivity of the hostages, FARC jailors and guards, including Naverrete Beltran, used choke harnesses, chains, padlocks and wires to restrain the hostages, and used force and threats to continue their detention and prevent their escape.  The indictment also accuses Navarrete Beltran of using and carrying a military-type machine gun during the hostage taking and providing material support and resources to aid in the hostage taking and to aid the FARC. 

     In July 2008, the Colombian military conducted an operation which resulted in the rescue of the hostages. All told, members of the FARC held the Americans hostage for 1,967 days.

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

     This investigation is being led by the FBI’s Miami Field Division.  The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fernando Campoamor-Sanchez from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney David Cora from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. 

     Substantial assistance in the case was provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Department’s Judicial Attachés in Colombia, the FBI’s Office of the Legal Attaché in Colombia, and the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

     The public is reminded that an indictment contains mere allegations and that defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

14-263

WASHINGTON – Maya Moore, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to eight years in prison on a charge of aggravated assault while armed stemming from an attack in which she repeatedly stabbed her girlfriend, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Moore pled guilty in September 2014 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for the eight-year prison term. The Honorable Robert E. Morin accepted the plea and sentenced Moore accordingly. Upon completion of her prison term, Moore will be placed on five years of supervised release.

     According to the government’s proffer of evidence, on Aug. 21, 2014, at approximately 11:30 p.m., Moore had been publicly arguing with her girlfriend in the 4400 block of C Street SE. In the midst of the argument Moore began to stab her girlfriend with a knife.  Moore pursued her girlfriend when she tried to flee and continued to stab her until she fell to the ground.  Moore did not stop stabbing her until police officers arrived on the scene. In total, Moore stabbed her girlfriend 14 times all over her body, including her chest, neck, abdomen, arm, and thigh, which required the application by police of a tourniquet to prevent her from bleeding out.  

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department detectives and officers who investigated the case, particularly the officers whose application of the tourniquet may have saved the victim’s life, and members of the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit who helped coordinate with the victim during the investigation.  He also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocates Meshall Thomas and Elsa Resendiz; Victim/Witness Security Specialist Tonya Via, and Paralegal Specialist D’Yvonne Key. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenechukwu Okocha, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

14-262

WASHINGTON - Sterling Walton, 46, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a seven-year prison term for an armed robbery of a university student that took place earlier this year in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Walton pled guilty in September 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of armed robbery. He was sentenced by the Honorable William M. Jackson. The judge sentenced Walton to six years in prison for the armed robbery and an additional year for committing the crime while having been released earlier on unrelated misdemeanor charges. Upon completion of the prison time, Walton will be placed on five years of supervised release.

     According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 3:45 pm on Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, the 18-year-old victim, then a freshman at George Washington University, was walking to catch a shuttle to class when he was accosted at 22nd and F Streets NW. Walton demanded money, claimed he had a gun, and reached toward the waistband of his shorts as if he had a weapon. The victim gave Walton his wallet and Walton fled with the $25 contained in the wallet.

     Believing Walton had a gun, the victim called 911.   A look-out was broadcast by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and immediately re-broadcast by the U.S. Secret Service, which was in the area. Minutes later, uniformed Secret Service officers stopped Walton.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the excellent work and collaboration of the MPD and the U.S. Secret Service in quickly apprehending Walton.  He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Allison Daniels and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Macchiaroli and Katherine Earnest, of the Felony Major Crimes Trial Section, who prosecuted the matter.

14-261

Washington Gas Energy Systems (WGESystems) has agreed to pay more than $2.5 million in fines and monetary penalties for conspiring to commit fraud on the United States by illegally obtaining contracts that were meant for small, disadvantaged businesses.

The court agreement was announced today by William J. Baer, Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division; Principal Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen Jr. of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia; Robert C. Erickson, Acting Inspector General of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA); Peggy E. Gustafson, Inspector General for the Small Business Administration (SBA), and Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

WGESystems, based in Virginia, is a wholly owned subsidiary of WGL Holdings Inc. (WGL).  WGL is the parent company for all of the corporations within the Washington Gas family.  WGESystems plays no direct role in the delivery of natural gas, and it is not a utility.  It is a design-build firm that specializes in providing energy efficiency and sustainability solutions to clients.

A criminal information was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia charging WGESystems with one count of knowingly and willfully conspiring to commit major fraud on the United States.  WGESystems waived the requirement of being charged by way of federal indictment, agreed to the filing of the information, and has accepted responsibility for its criminal conduct and that of its employees.

In addition, as part of a deferred prosecution agreement reached with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Antitrust Division, WGESystems agreed to pay a fine of $1,560,000 and a monetary penalty of $1,027,261 within five days of the approval of the agreement by the court.

According to court documents filed today, WGESystems conspired with a company that was eligible to receive federal government contracts set aside for small, disadvantaged businesses with the understanding that the business would illegally subcontract all of the work on the projects to WGESystems.  In this way, WGESystems was able to capture a total of eight contracts worth $17,711,405 that should have gone to an eligible company. These contracts, awarded in 2010, were focused on making federal buildings in the Washington, D.C., area more energy efficient.

Under the illegal agreement, the company that was awarded these government contracts was allowed to keep 5.8 percent of the value of the contracts for allowing WGESystems to use the company’s small business status to win these contracts.

“Conspiracies to violate federal procurement laws will not be tolerated,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer for the Antitrust Division.  “Taxpayers deserve to have contracting processes that are fair and competitive, and fully comply with applicable laws and regulations.”

“Time and time again, we have seen government contractors abuse and exploit programs designed to help minority and socially disadvantaged small businesses,” said Principal Assistant U.S. Attorney Cohen.  “This Washington Gas subsidiary obtained millions of dollars in federal contracts by using a small business that had no ability to actually complete the contract as a front company.  Even though the subsidiary lost money on these contracts, it is required to pay $2.5 million in fines and penalties under this agreement.  This resolution should cause other contractors to think twice about playing fast and loose with federal contracting rules.”

“Cases like this are important for us to maintain the integrity of the federal contracting process,” said GSA Acting Inspector General Erickson.  “Companies cannot cheat to win federal contracts and expect to get away with their ill-gotten gains.”

“SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program assists eligible socially and economically disadvantaged individuals in developing and growing their businesses,” said SBA Inspector General Gustafson.  “Large businesses that fraudulently seek to gain access to contracts set aside for small businesses erode the public’s trust in this important program.  I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their professionalism and commitment to justice in this investigation.”

“Federal government contracting laws are in place to create a level playing field for small disadvantaged businesses whose work supports our country's diverse financial infrastructure,” said Assistant Director in Charge McCabe.  “The FBI with our law enforcement partners will investigate those companies who fraudulently abuse federal contracting laws with the purpose of increasing their company's bottom line.”

According to the court documents, until 2010, GSA had an area-wide contract with WGESystems.  This contract enabled GSA, without competition, to enter into contracts with WGESystems so that WGESystems could provide energy management services for federal buildings.

However, starting in 2010, the federal government changed its practices.  The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act appropriated funds to make buildings in the District of Columbia and the surrounding area more energy efficient.  These funds were to be awarded through the 8(a) program, which is administered by the SBA and which was created to help small, disadvantaged businesses access the federal procurement market.

To qualify for the 8(a) program, a business must be at least 51 percent-owned and controlled by a U.S. citizen (or citizens) of good character who meet the SBA’s definition of socially and economically disadvantaged.  The firm also must be a small business (as defined by the SBA) and show a reasonable potential for success.  Participants in the 8(a) program are subject to regulatory and contractual limits on subcontracting work from 8(a) set-aside contracts.  The SBA regulations require, among other things, the 8(a) concern to agree that on construction contracts it “will perform at least 15 percent of the cost of the contract with its own employees (not including the costs of materials).” 

As a result of this change, WGESystems – which was not certified to participate in the 8(a) program – faced the prospect of losing millions of dollars in revenue.

WGESystems, along with an 8(a) company it used to obtain these contracts, and others, engaged in and executed a scheme to defraud the SBA and GSA by, among other things: concealing that WGESystems, which was not eligible for the aforementioned SBA contracting preferences, exercised impermissible control over the 8(a) company’s bidding for and performance on GSA contracts; and misrepresenting that the 8(a) company was in compliance with SBA regulations pertaining to work on these contracts, including that the company’s employees had performed the required percentage of work on these contracts.  Through these unlawful efforts, WGESystems and the 8(a) company with which it conspired obtained, at least, approximately $17,711,405 in U.S. government contracts related to work at eight different federal buildings.  When these contracts were awarded, the 8(a) company’s registered place of business was the president of the company’s home, and the company had no employees who could provide design-build or contracting services.

WGESystems assisted the 8(a) company with identifying a project manager for the work at the eight buildings who was nominally an employee of the 8(a) company, but who, in actuality, took direction from WGESystems employees.  For much of the relevant period, this project manager was the only employee of the 8(a) company performing work for any of the eight projects. 

Under the agreement with WGESystems, the 8(a) company was entitled to 5.8 percent of the $17,711,405 total value of the contracts, which equals $1,027,261.  To date, with all but one of the eight contracts completed or suspended, WGESystems has lost approximately $1,122,581 on the projects.  WGESystems initially anticipated a profit margin that would have equaled about $1,560,000.

Since being informed of this investigation by the Justice Department, WGESystems has taken steps to enhance and optimize its internal controls, policies and procedures.

In light of the company’s remedial actions to date and its willingness to acknowledge responsibility for its actions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Antitrust Division will recommend the dismissal of the Information in two years, provided WGESystems fully cooperates with, and abides by, the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement.

This investigation was conducted by the Inspector General’s Offices of the U.S. General Services Administration and the Small Business Administration and the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Graves of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Assistant Chief Craig Y. Lee and Trial Attorney Diana Kane, both of the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal I Section.

Washington Gas Statement of Offense

Washington Gas DPA

Washington Gas Information

WASHINGTON – Washington Gas Energy Systems (WGESystems) has agreed to pay more than $2.5 million in fines and monetary penalties for conspiring to commit fraud on the United States by illegally obtaining contracts that were meant for small, disadvantaged businesses.  

     The court agreement was announced today by Principal Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr., of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia; William J. Baer, Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division; Robert C. Erickson, Acting Inspector General of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA); Peggy E. Gustafson, Inspector General for the Small Business Administration (SBA); and Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

     WGESystems, based in Virginia, is a wholly owned subsidiary of WGL Holdings, Inc. (WGL). WGL is the parent company for all of the corporations within the Washington Gas family. WGESystems plays no direct role in the delivery of natural gas, and it is not a utility. It is a design-build firm that specializes in providing energy efficiency and sustainability solutions to clients.

     A Criminal Information was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia charging WGESystems with one count of knowingly and willfully conspiring to commit major fraud on the United States. WGESystems waived the requirement of being charged by way of federal indictment, agreed to the filing of the Information, and has accepted responsibility for its criminal conduct and that of its employees.

     In addition, as part of a deferred prosecution agreement reached with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Antitrust Division, WGESystems agreed to pay a fine of $1,560,000 and a monetary penalty of $1,027,261 within five days of the approval of the agreement by the Court.

     According to court documents filed today, WGESystems conspired with a company that was eligible to receive federal government contracts set aside for small, disadvantaged businesses with the understanding that the business would, illegally, subcontract all of the work on the projects to WGESystems.  In this way, WGESystems was able to capture a total of eight contracts worth $17,711,405 that should have gone to an eligible company. These contracts, awarded in 2010, were focused on making federal buildings in the Washington, D.C., area more energy efficient.

     Under the illegal agreement, the company that was awarded these government contracts was allowed to keep 5.8 percent of the value of the contracts for allowing WGESystems to use the company’s small business status to win these contracts.

**

     “Time and time again, we have seen government contractors abuse and exploit programs designed to help minority and socially disadvantaged small businesses,” said Principal Assistant U.S. Attorney Cohen. “This Washington Gas subsidiary obtained millions of dollars in federal contracts by using a small business that had no ability to actually complete the contract as a front company.  Even though the subsidiary lost money on these contracts, it is required to pay $2.5 million in fines and penalties under this agreement. This resolution should cause other contractors to think twice about playing fast and loose with federal contracting rules.”

     “Conspiracies to violate federal procurement laws will not be tolerated,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division Baer. “Taxpayers deserve to have contracting processes that are fair and competitive, and fully comply with applicable laws and regulations.”

     “Cases like this are important for us to maintain the integrity of the federal contracting process,” said GSA Acting Inspector General Erickson.  “Companies cannot cheat to win federal contracts and expect to get away with their ill-gotten gains.”

     “SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program assists eligible socially and economically disadvantaged individuals in developing and growing their businesses,” said SBA Inspector General Gustafson. “Large businesses that fraudulently seek to gain access to contracts set aside for small businesses erode the public’s trust in this important program. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their professionalism and commitment to justice in this investigation.”

     “Federal government contracting laws are in place to create a level playing field for small disadvantaged businesses whose work supports our country's diverse financial infrastructure,” said Assistant Director in Charge McCabe. “The FBI with our law enforcement partners will investigate those companies who fraudulently abuse federal contracting laws with the purpose of increasing their company's bottom line.”

     According to the court documents, until 2010, GSA had an areawide contract with WGESystems. This contract enabled GSA, without competition, to enter into contracts with WGESystems so that WGESystems could provide energy management services for federal buildings.

     However, starting in 2010, the federal government changed its practices. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act appropriated funds to make buildings in the District of Columbia and the surrounding area more energy efficient. These funds were to be awarded through the 8(a) program, which is administered by the SBA and which was created to help small, disadvantaged businesses access the federal procurement market.

     To qualify for the 8(a) program, a business must be at least 51 percent-owned and controlled by a U.S. citizen (or citizens) of good character who meet the SBA’s definition of socially and economically disadvantaged.  The firm also must be a small business (as defined by the SBA) and show a reasonable potential for success.  Participants in the 8(a) program are subject to regulatory and contractual limits on subcontracting work from 8(a) set-aside contracts.  The SBA regulations require, among other things, the 8(a) concern to agree that on construction contracts it “will perform at least 15 percent of the cost of the contract with its own employees (not including the costs of materials).” 

     As a result of this change, WGESystems – which was not certified to participate in the 8(a) program – faced the prospect of losing millions of dollars in revenue.

     WGESystems, along with an 8(a) company it used to obtain these contracts, and others, engaged in and executed a scheme to defraud the SBA and GSA by, among other things: concealing that WGESystems, which was not eligible for the aforementioned SBA contracting preferences, exercised impermissible control over the 8(a) company’s bidding for and performance on GSA contracts; and misrepresenting that the 8(a) company was in compliance with SBA regulations pertaining to work on these contracts, including that the company’s employees had performed the required percentage of work on these contracts.  Through these unlawful efforts, WGESystems and the 8(a) company with which it conspired obtained, at least, approximately $17,711,405 in U.S. government contracts related to work at eight different federal buildings.  When these contracts were awarded, the 8(a) company’s registered place of business was the president of the company’s home, and the company had no employees who could provide design-build or contracting services.

     WGESystems assisted the 8(a) company with identifying a project manager for the work at the eight buildings who was nominally an employee of the 8(a) company, but who, in actuality, took direction from WGESystems employees.  For much of the relevant period, this project manager was the only employee of the 8(a) company performing work for any of the eight projects. 

     Under the agreement with WGESystems the 8(a) company was entitled to 5.8 percent of the $17,711,405 total value of the contracts, which equals $1,027,261. To date, with all but one of the eight contracts completed or suspended, WGESystems has lost approximately $1,122,581 on the projects. WGESystems initially anticipated a profit margin that would have equaled about $1,560,000.

     Since being informed of this investigation by the Justice Department, WGESystems has taken steps to enhance and optimize its internal controls, policies, and procedures.

     In light of the company’s remedial actions to date and its willingness to acknowledge responsibility for its actions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Antitrust Division will recommend the dismissal of the Information in two years, provided WGESystems fully cooperates with, and abides by, the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement.

     This investigation was conducted by the Inspector General’s Offices of the U.S. General Services Administration and the Small Business Administration and the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Graves of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and   Assistant Chief Craig Y. Lee and Trial Attorney Diana Kane, both of the Antitrust Division.

14-259

WASHINGTON – Byron Dunn, 25, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to a seven-year prison term for a carjacking that took place earlier this year at a gas station in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Dunn pled guilty to a carjacking charge in September 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced on Nov. 18, 2014 by the Honorable Anita Josey-Herring. Upon completion of his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.

     According to the government’s evidence, Dunn approached the victim on May 20, 2014, at about 11:15 a.m., at a gas station in the 3700 block of Minnesota Avenue NE. Dunn asked if he could take some photographs of the victim’s car, a silver 2006 Chrysler 300 with 24-inch chrome rims. The victim agreed, rolled up his windows, and went to pay for his fuel. When the victim returned and started pumping gas, Dunn stood next to him. Dunn brandished a handgun and ordered the victim to give up his keys. When the victim ran away from the gas station, Dunn gave chase, and caught up to the victim.  Dunn ordered the victim back to his car, and threatened to shoot him unless he handed over the keys. Moments later, three people pulled into the station in a Chevy Suburban. One confronted Dunn while another urged the victim to drive away.

     The victim managed to escape and he quickly flagged officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Police stopped Dunn a few minutes later and recovered a loaded .45-caliber handgun. Dunn has been in custody ever since.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark, Victim/Witness Security Specialists Michael Hailey and Debra Cannon, and Paralegal Specialist Stephanie Gilbert. Finally he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Eckert, Jr., who investigated and prosecuted the case.

14-260

WASHINGTON – Jekwan Smith, Anthony Hatton, and James L. Harris, all members of a crew that operated in and near 21st Street and Maryland Avenue in Northeast Washington, were sentenced today to prison terms on charges stemming from a series of murders that took place in the area, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Smith, 23, Hatton, 21, and Harris, 22, all of Washington, D.C., pled guilty on Sept. 8, 2014, on the day their trial was to begin in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. According to the government’s evidence, the defendants and other crew members sold drugs and carried guns in the area of 21st and Maryland NE and committed violent crimes, including killing those whose interests were contrary to those of the crew.

     The plea agreements, which were contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for Smith to be sentenced to 17 ½ years in prison, Hatton to be sentenced to 15 years, and Harris to 10 years of incarceration. The Honorable Lynn Leibovitz accepted the pleas today and sentenced the defendants accordingly.

     Smith and Harris pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed for the shooting death of Isaiah Sheffield, which took place at about 1:45 a.m. on Sept. 24, 2011. Mr. Sheffield, 24, was shot in the 1100 block of 21st Street NE.

     Smith also pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed for the shooting death of Michael Pearson, which took place at about 8:20 p.m. on Oct. 29, 2007. Mr. Pearson, 27, was shot in the 2100 block of I Street NE.

     Hatton pled guilty to a charge of second-degree murder while armed for the murder of Tyrell Fogle, which took place at about 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2011. Mr. Fogle, 17, was shot multiple times and collapsed in front of a building in the 1900 block of Bennett Place NE.

     In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the investigative work of the Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Park Police, and the U.S. Marshal Service.  He also expressed appreciation for the work of Dr. Lois Goslinoski and Dr. Marie Pierre-Louis of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Alesha Matthews and Meridith McGarrity; Intelligence Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Criminal Investigator Durand Odom; Witness Security Specialists Debra Cannon, David Foster, Michael Hailey, and Tanya Via; Litigation Services Specialists Ron Royal, William Henderson and Paul Howell; and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker.

     Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura R. Bach and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin O. Lyons, who investigated and prosecuted the cases.

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WASHINGTON – Lamont Terry, 40, formerly of Columbia, S.C., was sentenced today to 20 years in prison after earlier pleading guilty to killing a man during an attempted robbery on Memorial Day of 1992 in East Potomac Park, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.

     Terry pled guilty in September 2014 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Robert E. Morin. The judge sentenced Terry to a prison term of 15 years to life on a charge of second-degree murder and another five to 15 years in prison for attempted robbery while armed. He suspended all but 15 years of the murder sentence and all but five years of the attempted robbery sentence, resulting in a total 20-year prison term.

     According to the government’s evidence, on May 25, 1992, Terry and other individuals drove from Arlington, Va. to the District of Columbia, looking for someone to rob. In preparation for the robbery, Terry retrieved a sawed-off shotgun, which he brought with him. At approximately 11 p.m., Terry and his friends entered the Hains Point area of East Potomac Park in Southwest Washington. At that time, they came upon the victim, Chet Matthews, 27, who was seated in a parked vehicle on Ohio Drive.

     Terry forcibly removed Mr. Matthews from the car, made him get down on his knees, and began demanding money and jewelry from him. Mr. Matthews pleaded that he had nothing and struggled to remove his rings. While his accomplices searched Mr. Matthews’s car for anything of value, Terry suddenly pulled the trigger on the sawed-off shotgun. He shot Mr. Matthews one time through his chest at close range. All of the men then fled the park. Mr. Matthews, an Army veteran who was employed as a postal carrier, was pronounced dead a short time later.

     Terry’s plea is among a series of successful prosecutions of older homicide cases following investigations by the Cold Case Squad of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Working with the MPD and other law enforcement partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has a specially designated Cold Case Unit that prosecutes these older cases. Through these efforts, more than 20 defendants have been convicted of older homicides since 2009.

     In this case, new evidence was obtained that led to the filing of the murder charge against the defendant in January 2012.

     “More than two decades ago, Chet Matthews was killed in a senseless robbery near Hains Point, said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Thanks to the resolve of our office and the Metropolitan Police Department, Lamont Terry today is finally paying the price for that crime. This case represents our commitment to bringing murderers to justice, no matter how much time has passed. The message to criminals and the families of the victims is clear – we will not waver in our commitment to investigate and prosecute cold case homicides.”

     “This case demonstrates the commitment of the Metropolitan Police Department to pursue cases no matter how old and to bring justice to the families who have lost their loved ones to senseless violence,” said Police Chief Lanier. “I commend the Cold Case Squad for their efforts.”

     Terry was arrested in Columbia, S.C., in January 2012 by a fugitive apprehension task force of the U.S. Marshals Service. He has remained in custody ever since. Three other men also have pled guilty to charges in the case as a result of the renewed investigation. Norman Henderson, 41, pled guilty to a charge of voluntary manslaughter while armed. George Booth, 39, and Anthony Orr, 41, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter. All are awaiting sentencing. Like Terry, Henderson, Booth and Orr are formerly from Arlington, Va.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and Chief Lanier commended the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service in the District of South Carolina, as well as the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force in Washington, D.C. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Fern Rhedrick, Debra Joyner, and Alesha Matthews Yette; Victim/Witness Security Specialists David Foster and Katina Adams-Washington; Victim/Witness Advocates Tamara Ince and Marcia Rinker; and Litigation Technology Specialists Joshua Ellen, Kimberly Smith, Thomas Royal, Anisha Bhatia, and Aneela Bhatia.

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

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WASHINGTON – Saleem Elamin, also known as Tariq El-Amin, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for an armed robbery of a woman he attacked and cut with a knife at a Northwest Washington laundromat, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Elamin, 33, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury in September 2014, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. At sentencing, the Honorable William M. Jackson called the defendant’s violence in cutting the victim with the knife “gratuitous.” Following completion of his prison term, Elamin will be placed on five years of supervised release.

     According to the government’s evidence, on May 6, 2014, at about 2:30 p.m., Elamin walked into a laundromat in the 1200 block of Underwood Street NW. The victim, a customer, was sitting and waiting for her clothes to finish washing. Elamin had a box-cutter knife concealed in the sleeve of his jacket. Without saying anything, he cut the victim’s arm, grabbed her purse off her lap, and ran out. A witness followed him out of the laundromat, and chased him as he fled into a nearby alley.

     Officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) later found Elamin in a stairwell off the alley, with the knife and purse at his feet.  The victim and eyewitness identified him at the scene. Elamin also gave a statement to police in which he admitted the crime.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Melissa Milam; Paralegal Specialists Nicole McGhee and Wanda Trice, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher M. Bruckmann, of the Felony Major Crimes Trial Section, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

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WASHINGTON - Lenard Fleming, 34, a former corrections officer who worked for the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), pled guilty today to a bribery charge for accepting  money to smuggle contraband into the District of Columbia’s Correctional Treatment Facility.

     The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Thomas N. Faust, Director of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections.

     Fleming, of District Heights, Md., pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of bribery.  The Honorable Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson scheduled sentencing for Feb. 12, 2015. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Fleming faces a likely range of 24 to 37 months of incarceration, as well as a fine of up to $60,000.  Fleming is subject to forfeiture money judgment for money taken in the bribery scheme.

     According to the government’s evidence, Fleming had worked for the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) as a corrections officer at the Correctional Treatment Facility.  CCA, a private company, has a contract to provide services to the D.C. Jail.

     During the investigation, the FBI recovered contraband from an inmate at the Correctional Treatment Facility in January 2014. Fleming admitted that he smuggled items for the same inmate through that inmate’s contacts outside of the Correctional Treatment Facility. Fleming received cash payments in exchange for smuggling cigarettes and, on one occasion, an iPhone, into the Correctional Treatment Facility for delivery to the inmate. 

     Fleming was terminated by CCA in February 2014 following a complaint that he was smuggling contraband into the facility for another inmate.  CCA was presented with allegations that Fleming met several times with the wife of another inmate.  On each occasion, the inmate’s wife provided Fleming cash in exchange for Fleming smuggling cigarettes and synthetic marijuana into the facility and delivering it to the inmate. Fleming was arrested April 30, 2014.

     In a related investigation, another former corrections officer at the Correctional Treatment Facility, Darren Malry, 52, pled guilty on Oct. 17, 2014, to a bribery charge. According to the government’s evidence, on March 11, 2014, Malry smuggled contraband into the facility for an inmate.  Malry was arrested that day. Malry is to be sentenced Feb. 6, 2015.

     In announcing today’s plea, U.S. Attorney Machen and Assistant Director in Charge McCabe, and Director Faust commended the work of those who jointly worked the case, including agents from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, investigators from the District of Columbia Department of Corrections Office of Investigative Services, and investigators from the Corrections Corporation of America.  They also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Donna Galindo, Corinne Kleinman, and Angela Lawrence; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melinda Williams, Todd Gee, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Dillon, who assisted in the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Catherine K. Connelly, Allessandra Stewart, and Arvind Lal, who assisted with forfeiture issues. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard DiZinno, who prosecuted the case.

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WASHINGTON – David Mario Riley, 38, of Tampa, Fla., was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

     Riley pled guilty to the charge in July 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Christopher R. Cooper. Upon completion of his prison term, Riley will be placed on 10 years of supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender for 15 years.

     According to the government's evidence, on Dec. 10, 2013, Riley contacted an undercover officer with the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, who had posted an ad on a social network site.  Over the next few days, Riley engaged in e-mail and instant message conversations with the undercover officer about child pornography and a shared sexual interest in children. During their communications, Riley sent the undercover officer eight still images of child pornography.

     Pursuant to a search of electronic equipment in Riley’s hotel room in Crystal City, Va., law enforcement recovered about 14 videos and 40 still images of child pornography.

     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 Machen, Assistant Director in Charge McCabe, and Chief Lanier praised the work of the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord, who prosecuted the case.

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WASHINGTON – A 49-year-old man, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to two years in prison for a recent attack in which he shocked his wife with a Taser at their apartment, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     The man, who is not identified here to protect the privacy of the victim, pled guilty in September 2014 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to a charge of aggravated assault. He was sentenced by the Honorable Russell F. Canan. Upon completion of his prison term, the man will be placed on three years of supervised release. During this time, he will be supervised by the Sex Offender Unit of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency.

     According to the government’s evidence, on Aug. 3, 2014, the defendant became angry with his wife and began shocking her with a Taser, knocking her to her knees in the bedroom of their Southeast Washington apartment. He then pushed her onto the floor, sat on her chest and continued shocking her face and head.  When her head began swelling up, the defendant left the room to get ice and a towel.  Upon returning to the bedroom, he discovered that she was trying to crawl away.  He then went to another room, retrieved a baseball bat, and began striking her in the head.  He pulled the victim to her feet and began punching her in the face.  Finally, he ordered the victim onto her bed, where he sexually assaulted her.

     The victim suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured cheek. She pleaded with her husband to call an ambulance. Fearing that she’d report what he’d just done, he refused to do so. After the victim promised not to tell on him, he agreed to drive her to the hospital.  At the hospital, when the defendant stepped away briefly, the victim reported what he had done to her.  An officer with the Metropolitan Police Department, who was at the hospital on another matter, was notified and the defendant was arrested.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of members of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist D’Yvonne Key and Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughan. Finally, he commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter V. Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted this case. 

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WASHINGTON – Tavon Barber, 19, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury today of charges stemming from a pair of home invasions he committed within a roughly 20-hour period in Northeast Washington, including one in which he sexually assaulted a woman, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Barber was found guilty following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia of a total of 21 counts, including first-degree burglary, first-degree burglary while armed, assault with intent to commit first-degree sexual abuse while armed, three counts of third-degree sexual abuse while armed, three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, and related offenses.  The Honorable Russell F. Canan scheduled sentencing for Feb. 5, 2015. 

     According to the government’s evidence at trial, on June 4, 2013, between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., Barber broke into a home in the 1100 block of 6th Street NE through an unlocked kitchen window.  At the time, two people were inside the house asleep. Once inside, Barber stole two laptops, a book bag full of stuff and car keys. He then used the car keys to steal the car, which belonged to one of the residents.

     Approximately 20 hours later, at approximately 4:30 a.m., Barber and an accomplice broke into a home in the 2400 block of Second Street NE, armed with a loaded .40-caliber, semi-automatic pistol.  Wearing something to conceal their faces, they went upstairs to the bedroom where the owners of the home, a husband and wife, were sleeping. 

     Barber turned on the lights and woke the homeowners from sleep. He demanded money, and told them to put their heads under their pillows.  Barber then sexually assaulted the wife, while holding the husband hostage at gunpoint.  As Barber sexually assaulted the wife, the husband lunged at him, enabling his wife to escape.  Barber and the husband struggled from the second floor, down the stairs to the back of the house.  Once there, Barber fired a shot at the husband’s head and then fled, with his accomplice, out the back of the house. 

     Barber was arrested on June 29, 2013 and has been in custody ever since. The second man earlier pled guilty to charges in the case.

     In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Michael Ambrosino, Special Counsel for DNA and Forensic Evidence Litigation; Paralegal Specialists Jason Manuel and Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie; Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughan; Victim/Witness Security Specialists Katina Adams-Washington, David Foster, and Wanda Queen, and Litigation Technology Specialist Thomas R. Royal. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharon Donovan and Lindsay Suttenberg, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

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For Unregistered Possession of Ricin
-Toxin Found Last Winter in His Dorm Room-

     WASHINGTON – Daniel Milzman, 20, was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison on a federal offense stemming from the discovery of a plastic bag of lethal ricin in a dormitory room where he was staying while he was a student at Georgetown University.

     The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

     Milzman, of Bethesda, Md., pled guilty in September 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of unregistered possession of a biological agent or toxin. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson. The plea agreement, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a prison sentence falling somewhere within the range of a year and a day to two years of incarceration.

     Following the prison term, Milzman will be placed on three years of supervised release. Judge Jackson ordered that Milzman complete 400 hours of community service during that time, to be focused on tutoring underprivileged students in math and physics. She also required him to participate in a mental health program.

     According to a statement of offense submitted to the Court at the time of the plea, when law enforcement discovered Milzman’s ricin during the early morning of March 18, 2014, he was a student at Georgetown and shared a dormitory room in McCarthy Hall with a roommate.

     Prior to law enforcement’s recovery of Milzman’s ricin, on the night of March 17, 2014, Milzman contacted a friend, a student Resident Advisor, and asked whether they could meet; subsequently, the two met in the friend’s dormitory room. When meeting with his friend, Milzman asked if they could have a “confidential” conversation. The Resident Advisor agreed.

     During their conversation, Milzman produced a double-wrapped plastic bag containing an off-white powdery substance from his backpack and tossed it on the floor. He told the Resident Advisor that the bag contained ricin, and said that he had made the substance over a period of four days, while on a school break.

     The Resident Advisor directly asked Milzman if he intended to use the ricin on another undergraduate student with whom the defendant had a previous personal relationship. Milzman simply shrugged. After Milzman left his friend’s dormitory room, law enforcement officials were notified of the possible presence of ricin in Milzman’s room.

     In response to receiving information regarding the possible presence of ricin in Milzman’s dormitory room, on March 18, 2014, at about 2:30 a.m., members of the District of Columbia Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services and law enforcement officers went to Milzman’s room.

     Milzman was taken to a lobby on the first floor of the dormitory, where he voluntarily spoke with law enforcement officers. He admitted that he had made ricin and said that he had placed it in a plastic bag inside his desk.  A small plastic bag containing a powdery substance was located in Milzman’s desk drawer, exactly where Milzman had said it would be. When speaking with law enforcement, Milzman claimed that he intended to use the ricin on himself.

     During the investigation, law enforcement confirmed that between Feb. 13 and Feb. 19, 2014, Milzman used key words when searching the Internet that are associated with ricin. Law enforcement also confirmed that from Jan. 1, 2014, through March 18, 2014, Milzman watched various episodes of the television show, “Breaking Bad;” in approximately 13 of the episodes, ricin was used as a weapon to injure or kill someone.”

     According to calculations discussed in the Textbook of Military Medicine, Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare, a publication of the U.S. Army, and in light of the tests performed on the ricin in this case, the ricin toxin produced by Milzman could have been lethal to an average person weighing 220 pounds, if either inhaled or injected.

     Milzman has been in custody since his arrest last March. He will receive credit for his time served as part of the sentence.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and Assistant Director in Charge McCabe commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance that was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the District of Columbia Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences; the Georgetown University Police Department; and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Bioforensic Analysis Center. They acknowledged the work of those who handled the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney David Mudd; Paralegal Specialist Rayneisha Booth; Legal Assistant Donice Adams, and former Summer Law Clerks Ryan Sellinger and Samantha Goldberg-Seder.

     Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maia L. Miller and Frederick W. Yette, of the National Security Section, who prosecuted the matter.

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For Shootings That Left 13 People Wounded
 On North Capitol Street
Shots Fired From Two Cars in Drive-By Shootings; Violence Followed Incident at Nightclub

     WASHINGTON – Three men, all from Washington, D.C., were sentenced today to prison terms for their roles in a drive-by shooting on North Capitol Street early March 11, 2013, that injured a total of 13 people, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.

     Andrew D. Allen, 20, Keith D. Bobb, 22, and Arnell L. Smith, 21, pled guilty on July 3, 2014, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to 13 counts of assault with intent to kill and one count each of conspiracy to commit a crime of violence, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and tampering with physical evidence. Their plea agreements, which were contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for Allen to be sentenced to 25 years of incarceration and for Bobb and Smith each to be sentenced to 20 years in prison.

     The Honorable John Ramsey Johnson accepted the plea agreements today and sentenced the defendants accordingly: Allen, to 25 years, and Bobb and Smith, to 20 years each. Upon completion of their prison terms, the men will be placed on three years of supervised release.

     “These three men will spend decades behind bars for the terror and chaos they unleashed on North Capitol Street,” said U.S. Attorney Machen.  “They left behind 13 victims when they sprayed gunfire into a crowd of innocent people.  These prison sentences are a reminder that purveyors of violence and mayhem will be punished harshly.”

     “This was a senseless act of violence perpetuated by rival crews,” said Police Chief Lanier. “It is our hope that the sentencing today of these criminals will bring some comfort and closure to the numerous victims who were injured.”

     According to the government’s evidence, the violence stemmed from a longstanding conflict between rival groups. The defendants, who had ties to a Northeast Washington neighborhood, were engaged in disputes with a group of individuals associated with the Sursum Corda neighborhood near where the shootings occurred, and also with the area near 10th and G Streets NE. Over the years, various violent crimes between members of the two groups were committed. Specifically, soon before the shootings, a dispute took place at the Fur Nightclub.

     Allen, Smith, and other individuals were among those at the nightclub late March 10, 2013 and early March 11, 2013, when the dispute took place. Afterward, Allen, Smith, and a third individual met with Bobb and, armed, they traveled in two cars to the Sursum Corda neighborhood in search of retaliation. A fifth individual, not responsible for the shootings, also was in one of the cars. 

     Shortly after 2 a.m., driving in caravan-style, one car behind the other, they traveled to the 1200 block of North Capitol Street NW, near the Tyler House Apartments, adjacent to the Sursum Corda neighborhood.  Smith drove one car, Allen’s black 1999 Mercedes Benz, and Allen fired a Taurus 9 mm semi-automatic pistol, with an extended magazine, from the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Bobb drove the other car, a light blue 1999 Mercedes Benz, close behind Smith and Allen, and his passenger likewise opened fire, using a Glock 9 mm semi-automatic pistol, which also had an extended magazine.

     After Allen began to shoot, some individuals, using .40-caliber semi-automatic firearms, shot back at the two cars. The defendants fled the area at a high rate of speed, turning right on H Street NW and running a red light. Red light cameras at the intersection of North Capitol and H Streets NW photographed the license tags of both cars.

The victims included seven men and six women, ranging in age from their late teens to their 30s. One man was shot in the abdomen and back and required multiple surgeries. One woman was shot multiple times in the left side of her body. Another man suffered a graze wound to the chest. Others were shot in the legs, thighs, buttocks and feet.

     On the afternoon of March 11, 2013, Allen grew concerned and agitated about televised news accounts of the shootings. The newscasts had footage from the crime scene in which Allen could recognize his car. He decided that he needed to “torch” his vehicle, which had been damaged by gunfire, because it could be identified by law enforcement. He and other defendants headed to the 3000 block of Stanton Road SE, where the vehicle was set on fire to devalue or destroy it as evidence. Following a series of 9-1-1 calls reporting the blaze, District of Columbia emergency personnel responded to the burning car. The remains of the car were seized by law enforcement, and evidence was recovered that later tied the vehicle to Allen’s family.

     In the late afternoon of March 11, 2013, after the car had been destroyed, Allen, Bobb, and Smith resolved to get rid of the guns used in the shootings on North Capitol Street.  The three received a ride to an apartment complex in Northeast Washington, D.C.  There, Allen and Bobb met with another individual and traded away the Taurus and Glock pistols used in the North Capitol Street shootings in return for two Ruger semi-automatic pistols.

     The defendants have been in custody since their arrests. Bobb and Allen were arrested on May 23, 2013. An arrest warrant also was issued for Smith at that time, but he was in custody to another jurisdiction and was not moved to the District of Columbia until early this year.

     In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Machen and Chief Lanier commended the work of the detectives, mobile crime scene officers, intelligence officers, and others who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Christopher Brophy, Tommy Miller, Derek Starliper, Durand Odom, Steve Cohen, Melissa Matthews, Mark Crawford, John Marsh, Nelson Rhone, Juan Juarez, and Matthew Kutz, all of the Criminal Investigation Unit;  Jelahn Stewart, Michael Hailey, Wanda Queen, Jennifer Clark, and James Brennan, all of the Victim Witness Assistance Unit; former Victim/Witness Advocate Kristina Rose, and Paralegal Specialist Debra Joyner. They also commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Flynn and Jocelyn Ballantine, and former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas A. Bednar and James E. Smith, who assisted in the investigation.

     Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Brittin, who prosecuted the case.

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For Armed Carjacking in Northwest Washington
-Took Scooter at Gunpoint in Broad Daylight –

     WASHINGTON - Donnell Thomas, 19, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for an armed carjacking that took place last year in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Thomas was found guilty by a jury in August 2014 of armed carjacking and unauthorized use of a vehicle. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Thomas was sentenced by the Honorable Ronna L. Beck. Upon completion of his prison term, he will be placed on five years of superviced release. Under District of Columbia law, armed carjacking carries a mandatory minimum of 15 years of incarceration.

     According to the government’s evidence, on Aug. 2, 2013, at about 8 p.m., Thomas and his juvenile accomplice carjacked the victim’s motor scooter at gunpoint at 14th and Belmont Streets NW. The victim got a good look at both of the carjackers, who rode off on the scooter.  Grainy surveillance video also showed the two carjackers walking down the street a couple blocks from the site of the crime shortly before it occurred.

     Over the course of the following 24 hours, Thomas sent texts and Facebook messages, bragging about obtaining a scooter.  Thomas also received a Facebook message from his accomplice concerning their plans to meet on the following day, Aug. 3, 2013. 

     At approximately 6 p.m. on Aug. 3, a U.S. Capitol Police officer spotted both carjackers on the scooter in the 200 block of H Street NW. When the officer went to pull the scooter over, Thomas moved away from the scooter, attempted to walk away from arresting officers, and falsely claimed the scooter was a gift from a relative.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Tamaya Reid and Donville Drummond; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ann Carroll, John Giovannelli, Suzanne Curt, and John Mannarino, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Cannon. Finally, he thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Spence and Christine Macey, of the Felony Major Crimes Trial Section, who prosecuted the matter.

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In Alleged Scam Involving Clients’ Deposits
-Defendant Allegedly Used Clients’ Money for Own Expenses-

     WASHINGTON – Mark Alan Wall, 56, a real estate agent and broker from Washington, D.C., has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges stemming from a scheme in which he allegedly stole over $300,000 from clients who were seeking to purchase homes and other clients who loaned him money for real estate closings and other reasons.

     The indictment, returned on Nov. 4, 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced today by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

     The grand jury indicted Wall on three federal offenses, including one count each of mail fraud, interstate transportation of money taken by fraud, and money laundering. The indictment also includes two counts of first-degree theft, which are District of Columbia offenses. The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation seeking all proceeds from the crimes.

     Wall was arrested today and pled not guilty at a court appearance this afternoon.

     According to the indictment, Wall owned and operated a business by the name of “Woof Real Estate,” and advertised himself as capable in assisting buyers in finding and purchasing residential real estate. As a licensed real estate agent and broker, Wall would from time to time receive clients’ money to be held for them in trust. Brokers must keep such funds in a separate escrow bank account. Typically, when buyers of real estate make offers, they put down some money as a deposit as a show of their earnest interest in purchasing the property. This money, referred to as an “earnest money deposit,” is to go into an escrow account. If the offers are accepted, the money then becomes part of the buyers’ down payments.

     From in or about July 2010 through at least May 2013, according to the indictment, Wall convinced his clients to provide amounts greater than typically used as their earnest money deposits, claiming that he would hold the money in escrow for their benefit to demonstrate that they had sufficient money to close on future sales. At times, he convinced them to make additional deposits, saying that would strengthen their negotiating power for future offers.

     The indictment alleges that Wall did not maintain his clients’ money for their benefit. Instead, the indictment alleges, he spent it on himself and his expenses within a few weeks or months of receiving the funds.

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

     In announcing the indictment, U.S. Attorney Machen and Chief Lanier commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. They also expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Arvind K. Lal, who is assisting with forfeiture issues, Paralegal Specialist Kristy Penny, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Virginia Cheatham, who is prosecuting the case.

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And Traveling to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct With a Minor

     WASHINGTON – Ryan Chord, 35, of Virginia Beach, Va., pled guilty today to federal charges of traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). 

     Chord entered the plea in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  The Honorable Christopher R. Cooper is to sentence him on March 3, 2015. Chord faces a statutory maximum of 30 years of imprisonment for traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct and up to 10 years for possession of child pornography, as well as potential financial penalties.

     According to the government's evidence, on Feb. 21, 2014, Chord contacted an undercover officer with the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, through a social network site.  Over the next few days, Chord engaged in instant messaging with the undercover officer, whom he believed was the father of an under-aged girl. During this period, Chord arranged with the undercover officer to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with that child.

     During the course of their communications, Chord also sent the undercover officer approximately 17 images of child pornography.  On March 7, 2014, Chord traveled from Virginia Beach to a pre-arranged meeting place in Washington, D.C.  When he arrived at the meeting place, he was arrested. 

     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 guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge McCabe, and Chief Lanier praised the work of the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord, who is prosecuting the case.

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Part of Department of Justice Efforts
To Protect the Right to Vote and Prosecute Ballot Fraud

     WASHINGTON - U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. today announced the appointment of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan P. Hooks to lead the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day program for the Nov. 4, 2014 general election.

     Mr. Hooks will serve as the District Election Officer for the District of Columbia. In that capacity, he is responsible for overseeing the handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in the District of Columbia, in consultation with Justice Department headquarters.

      “Over the past several years, we have been aggressive in our efforts to protect the integrity of elections in the District of Columbia,” said U.S. Attorney Machen.  “Ensuring free and fair elections depends on citizens coming forward with information about discrimination or election fraud.  We ask that citizens remain vigilant about protecting the democratic process and immediately make any specific information available to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.”

     The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur.

     The Justice Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations.

     Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.  It also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them.  For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are being done to uncover illegal voting, may violate federal voting rights law.  Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballots or to be assisted by a person of their choice.

     In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, Mr. Hooks will be on duty in the District of Columbia while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at 202-252-6801.

     Nationally, the FBI has Special Agents in each Field Office and Resident Agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses. In the District of Columbia, the FBI’s Washington Field Office can be reached at 202-278-2000.

     Complaints about ballot access problems or discrimination can be made directly to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington. Civil Rights Division staff will be available by phone to receive complaints related to voting rights (1-800-253-3931 toll free or 202-307-2767) or by TTY (202-305-0082).  In addition, individuals may also report complaints, problems, or concerns related to voting by fax to 202-307-3961, by email to [email protected], and, by complaint forms that may be submitted through a link on the Department’s website, at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot.

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On Hostage-Taking Charges in 2003 Capture of U.S. Citizens
Hostages Were Held in Colombia for More Than Five Years

     WASHINGTON – Alexander Beltran Herrera, 38, a commander of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) terrorist organization, was sentenced today to 27 years in prison on federal hostage-taking charges stemming from the 2003 capture of three U.S. citizens in Colombia.  All told, members of the FARC held the Americans hostage for 1,967 days.

     The sentence was announced by John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia  and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Division.

     Beltran Herrera, aka Jhon Alexander Beltrain Herrera, aka Rodrigo Pirinolo, pled guilty on March 18, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to three counts of hostage-taking.  He was sentenced by the Honorable Senior Judge Royce C. Lamberth.

     “In February 2003, the FARC – a Colombian terrorist organization – kidnapped three American citizens and held them captive for nearly 2,000 days,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin.  With the sentence handed down today, Alexander Beltran Herrera is being held accountable for his role in those offenses.  This case underscores our resolve to pursue and bring to justice those who target our citizens with violence anywhere in the world.  I want to thank all of the prosecutors, agents, and analysts who made this result possible.”

     “This Colombian terrorist will spend the next 27 years in an American prison for his role in holding three U.S. citizens captive overseas,” said U.S. Attorney Machen.  “Our fellow citizens were held hostage for more than five years under brutal conditions.  This extradition, prosecution, and incarceration should chasten terrorists who doubt our resolve to serve justice on those who harm American citizens on foreign soil.”

     “Alexander Beltran Herrera, a former terrorist commander for the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), will now be held accountable for his role in holding three U.S. citizens hostage in Colombia for 1,967 days,” said Kelly M. Darden, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Division.  “Essential to bringing Beltran Herrera to justice was our close cooperation with the Colombian National Police.”

     According to the government’s evidence, the FARC is an armed, violent organization in Colombia.  Since its inception in 1964, it has engaged in an armed conflict to overthrow the Republic of Colombia, South America’s longest-standing democracy.  The FARC has consistently used hostage taking as a primary technique in extorting demands from the Republic of Colombia, and hostage taking has been endorsed and commanded by FARC senior leadership.  The FARC has characterized American citizens as “military targets” and has engaged in violent acts against Americans in Colombia, including murders and hostage taking.  The FARC was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. Secretary of State in 1997 and remains so designated.

     Beltran Herrera, a commander in the FARC, was involved in the hostage taking of three United States citizens: Marc D. Gonsalves, Thomas R. Howes, and Keith Stansell.  These three, along with Thomas Janis, a United States citizen, and Sergeant Luis Alcides Cruz, a Colombian citizen, were seized on Feb. 13, 2003, by the FARC, after their single-engine aircraft made a crash landing in the Colombian jungle. 

     Members of the FARC murdered Janis and Cruz near the crash site.  Gonsalves, Howes, and Stansell were held by the FARC at gunpoint and were advised by FARC leadership that they would be used as hostages to increase pressure on the government of Colombia to agree to the FARC’s demands.  At various times, the FARC marched the hostages from one site to another, placing them in the actual custody of various FARC fronts.

     At the conclusion of one 40-day long march, in or about November 2004, the hostages were delivered to members of the FARC’s 27th Front, who imprisoned the hostages for nearly two years.  During part of this period, Beltran Herrera was responsible for moving the hostages and keeping them imprisoned.  Throughout the captivity of these three hostages, FARC jailors and guards used choke harnesses, chains, padlocks and wires to restrain the hostages, and used force and threats to continue their detention and prevent their escape.  In July 2008, the Colombian military conducted a daring operation which resulted in the rescue of the hostages. 

     Beltran Herrera was indicted in February 2011 and was extradited to the United States from Colombia in March 2012.

     This case was investigated by the FBI’s Miami Division.  The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony Asuncion and Fernando Campoamor-Sanchez from the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney David Cora, from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.  The case was indicted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Kohl, of the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  

     The FBI’s Miami Division partnered in the investigation with the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Department’s Judicial Attachés in Colombia, and the FBI’s Office of the Legal Attaché in Bogota, Colombia.  The Directorate of Intelligence (DIPOL) and the Anti-Kidnapping Unit (GAULA) of the Colombian National Police also provided valuable support during the investigation.

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In Bribery and Kickback Scheme
Defendant Accepted Over $490,000 in Benefits
From Companies He Helped Win Favorable Treatment and Government Contracts

     WASHINGTON – In Seon Lim, a former contracting official for the U.S. Department of the Army, was sentenced today to four years in prison for his role in a scheme in which he accepted over $490,000 worth of benefits, including cash payments and vacations, from favored contractors. In return, he helped these businesses obtain millions of dollars in federal contracts.

     The sentencing was announced by Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Peggy E. Gustafson, Inspector General for the Small Business Administration (SBA); Robert E. Craig, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Mid-Atlantic Field Office of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS),  and Frank Robey, Director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit (MPFU).

     Lim, 48, of Fairfax Station, Va., also known as InSeon Lim, pled guilty in July 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to three offenses: conspiracy to commit bribery and honest services wire fraud; bribery; and attempting to interfere with and impede tax laws. He was sentenced by the Honorable Leonie M. Brinkema.

     Upon completion of his prison term, Lim will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also must pay restitution, including $250,000 to the Department of Defense and nearly $125,000 to the IRS. In addition, he must pay a forfeiture money judgment of $490,262.

     Lim is among 18 individuals and one corporation, Nova Datacom, LLC, to plead guilty to federal charges in an investigation that uncovered the largest domestic bribery and bid-rigging scheme in the history of federal contracting cases. Overall, participants in the scheme stole over $30 million in government money through inflated and fictitious invoices.

     According to a statement of offense, signed by Lim as well as the government, Lim was a public official until April 2012. The charges involve his activities as an assistant project manager and product director with the Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems, a part of the Army that provides infrastructure and informational management systems.

     Until June 2010, Lim resided and worked in Seoul, South Korea. While in South Korea, his primary duties were to oversee and implement communications systems upgrades for the U.S. forces there, which included approximately 10 communications centers and various other special projects at military sites throughout the country. Among other things, Lim coordinated work on a major contract, which, in turn, had numerous sub-contracts.

     From June 2010 until his resignation in April 2012, Lim worked as a product director at Fort Belvoir, Va.

     In the statement of offense, Lim admits that he secretly used his official position to enrich himself by soliciting and accepting gifts, payments and other things of value from government contractors – totaling more than $490,000 -- in return for favorable official action. Among other things, the statement of offense notes, Lim received payments personally and to accounts that he controlled; payments for travel, vacation, vehicles, cellphones and cellular service for himself and family members; ownership interests in two companies, and other benefits.

     In exchange, Lim now admits, he provided favorable official action on subcontracts obtained and retained by the favored government contractors as requested and as opportunities arose. He also disclosed confidential bid information to the favored government contractors.

**

     “This Army official sold the public trust for a half-million dollars in bribes,” said U.S. Attorney Machen.  “Lim is now headed to prison along with many other corrupt officials and government contractors brought down in this sweeping investigation.  His fate is a warning shot for other government officials tempted to sell out the American people to line their own pockets that they should think twice.  The prison sentences handed out in this case make clear that government officials and business people who corrupt the contracting process put their own freedom at risk.”

     “In his role as a federal contracting officer, In Seon Lim betrayed the trust that was placed in him by fellow citizens by taking bribes in exchange for providing favorable action on government contracts,” said Assistant Director in Charge McCabe. “The FBI, with our partners, will continue to investigate and expose fraudulent kickback schemes that tarnish the good and ethical work that procurement officers carry out on behalf of the U.S. government each and every day.”     

     “The kickback scheme in which In Seon Lim participated disrespected the hard work and dedication of thousands of government employees who are committed to providing honest services in the federal contracting process,” said Special Agent in Charge Kelly. “IRS-Criminal Investigation stands committed to weeding out individuals, who abuse the privilege of their positions as a public official, for their personal gain.”  

     “Today’s sentencing is a reminder that public servants are accountable for their actions, and individuals who violate the public’s trust will be brought to justice,” said Small Business Administration Inspector General Gustafson. “The actions of In Seon Lim and his conspirators grossly undermine the honest work being done every day by Federal employees and government contractors.  I want to thank the U.S. Attorney's Office for its dedicated leadership and professionalism in pursuit of justice served today.”

     “As a contracting official for the Department of Defense, In Seon Lim disregarded his duty, lived a lie at the expense of the American taxpayers, and completely violated the trust placed in him by his position,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig. “The Defense Criminal Investigative Service and our law enforcement partners are fully committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting this kind of illegal activity within the federal procurement process.”

     “Mr. Lim admitted that he secretly used his official position to 'enrich himself' when committing these selfish criminal acts,” said Director Robey, of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's Major Procurement Fraud Unit. “That attitude and the related criminal actions will not be tolerated in the Department of the Army. Let this again be a warning to all who work with and for the U.S. Army: if you commit contract fraud, we will catch you and do everything within our power to see you brought to justice, just like Mr. Lim.”

**

     The court documents provide details about numerous contracts and payments. For example:

     -Nova Datacom: According to the statement of offense, two former employees of the Northern Virginia company - Alex N. Cho, also known as Young N. Cho, and Nick Park - paid Lim $40,000 in cash in 2007. In addition, Park paid for Lim’s travel, lodging, meals and entertainment during a trip to the Philippines in 2007, and Cho paid for Lim’s lodging, $10,000 cash, and a $1,000 casino chip during a trip later that year to Las Vegas. Lim, meanwhile, agreed to use his official position to recommend the company for a contract valued at nearly $330,000.

     -Avenciatech: According to the statement of offense, former officials of Avenciatech, Inc., a government contractor based in Annandale, Va., provided Lim with cash payments; payments for hotel stays for Lim and family members, including a trip to the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas; payments to finance the purchase of a 2010 Lexus automobile, and payments for other things of value. One of the officials, Oh Sung Kwon, also known as Thomas Kwon, also assisted Lim in obtaining financing for the purchase of a home in Fairfax Station, Va., where Lim resided following his reassignment in 2010 to a position at Fort Belvoir. Lim, meanwhile, assisted the company in obtaining more than $3 million in contracts.

     -UEI:Nick Park left Nova Datacom in 2007 and co-founded another government contractor, Unisource Enterprise Inc. (UEI), based in Annandale, Va. According to the statement of offense, in exchange for favorable treatment, Lim was given a secret ownership in UEI. Among other things, Lim provided Park with sensitive procurement information. He also assisted the company in obtaining a government sub-contract worth over $1.1 million.

     Cho, Park, and Kwon are among those who earlier pled guilty to charges in the case.

     In addition to pleading guilty to the conspiracy and bribery charges, Lim admitted that he failed to report the bribes he received on tax returns for the years 2007 through 2011. He also failed to keep records that would allow him to file accurate records for 2012 and 2013.

**

     In announcing today’s sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, U.S. Attorney Boente, Assistant Director in Charge McCabe, Special Agent in Charge Kelly, Inspector General Gustafson, Special Agent in Charge Craig, and Director Robey thanked those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office; the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Office of the Inspector General for the Small Business Administration; the Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Defense Contract Audit Agency, and the Army Criminal Investigation Command. They also expressed thanks to the U.S. Marshals Service for its assistance on the forfeiture matter.

     They also praised the efforts of those who prosecuted the case, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael K. Atkinson of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Hanly, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

     Finally, they expressed thanks for assistance provided by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Seeley; former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Dana; Forensic Accountant Maria Boodoo; Paralegal Specialists Tasha Harris, Krishawn Graham, and Taryn McLaughlin; and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

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For Death of Her Infant Son
Defendant Admitted Drug Use, Also Pled Guilty to Insurance Fraud

     WASHINGTON – Tisheena Louise Brown, 32, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to four years in prison on a charge of voluntary manslaughter in the death last year of her seven-week-old son, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     In a related matter, Brown was sentenced to three months in prison on a charge of second-degree insurance fraud. That sentence will run concurrently with the manslaughter term.

     Brown pled guilty to both charges in May 2014 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. She was sentenced by the Honorable Lynn Leibovitz. Upon completion of her prison term, Brown will be placed on five years of supervised release. Judge Leibovitz ordered that Brown receive mental health treatment and drug treatment while she is incarcerated and then while she is on supervised release.

     According to a proffer of facts presented at the plea hearing, Brown has a history of prescription drug abuse, which began in 2007 or 2008. Her reported prescription drugs of choice were Percocet (Oxycodone) and Dilaudid (Hydromorphone), both of which are Schedule II controlled prescription drugs. She also used Promethazine (a non-controlled prescription drug).

     Brown admitted frequenting local hospitals in an effort to unlawfully obtain drug prescriptions (including Oxycodone, Dilaudid, and Promethazine) while using fraudulent identifiers.  She would also go to multiple hospitals, using her own name and obtaining prescriptions, which would then be filled and paid by Medicaid. While using her own name, Brown secured prescriptions for drugs without advising the doctor that she had obtained the same prescription on the same date for the same medicine from another doctor and hospital.  When purchasing her drugs, she used Medicaid to pay for the drugs. 

     In a four-month period from September 2013 through December of 2013, Brown had over 1,700 pills prescribed to her from a variety of doctors. 

     On Sept. 17, 2013, Brown was at her home in the 2900 block of Akron Place SE. She reported that, around 10:30 p.m., her seven-week old son, Hakeem, was fussy and so she provided him Promethazine, a drug which had been prescribed for her. She provided the infant with this drug even though the label warned that it was not to be administered to children under the age of two. Sometime after 2 a.m., on Sept. 18, 2013, Brown looked over at her son and noticed that he was “blue and wasn’t breathing.”  She then called 911. The District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department arrived at her home, where they found the infant unconscious and not breathing.  Hakeem was taken by ambulance to a hospital, and pronounced dead at about 3:20 a.m.  Brown initially told police the only thing she gave her son was an “over the counter” gas relief medication, which was not true.  

     On Sept. 19, 2013, the District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy.  The cause of death was ruled a homicide and the manner of death was a lethal dose of Promethazine. In October 2013, the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Forensic Toxicology Unit determined that the autopsy drug screen was positive for Promethazine. Promethazine, commonly referred to by the brand name Phenergan, is a non-controlled prescription medication which is prescribed for allergy, motion sickness, nausea, vomiting, nighttime sedation, pain relief following surgery, and to help certain narcotic pain relievers work better. It is prescribed with the warning that it should not be used in children younger than two years old because it may cause serious (possibly fatal) slow/shallow breathing.

     Brown has been in custody since her arrest in January 2014.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives, officers, and others who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department, as well as an agent from the FBI who assisted with investigation of the insurance fraud.  He also expressed appreciation to the District of Columbia Office of the Medical Examiner and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences for assistance in the investigation. Finally, he acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Kelly Blakeney and Mia Beamon, Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia G. Wright, who prosecuted the case.

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For Attacking Woman Inside Her Northwest Washington Home
-Defendant Approached Victim as She Was Locking Outside Security Gate-

     WASHINGTON – Omar Rimmer, 39, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for an early-morning attack in which he forced his way into a woman’s residence and attempted to sexually assault her, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Rimmer was found guilty by a jury in August 2014 of assault with intent to commit first-degree sexual assault, attempted first-degree sexual assault, first-degree burglary, and kidnapping. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Russell F. Canan. Upon completion of his prison term, Rimmer 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 Feb. 5, 2011, at about 3:15 a.m., the victim was walking home in the 500 block of Florida Avenue NW.  Rimmer approached her from behind and began making small talk.  When she reached her home, Rimmer continued walking.  The victim unlocked the security gate and door. When she turned to close the security gate, Rimmer reappeared and asked the victim if he knew her.  She did not.

     As the victim turned the key to lock the security gate, Rimmer pulled the gate open, breaking the key off in the lock.  Rimmer then forced his way inside the residence and pushed the victim to the floor.  He got on top of the victim and began choking her while trying to remove her clothing.  The victim was able to scream her male roommate’s name, which caused Rimmer to hesitate.  The victim seized that opportunity to escape and lock herself in an upstairs bathroom and call 911. 

     In his haste to flee, Rimmer left behind a cigarette butt and a scarf inside the residence.  These items contained his DNA, which led to his arrest. 

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work performed by those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department.  He also acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Elsa Resendiz; Criminal Investigator Nelson Rhone; Paralegal Specialist Jason Manuel; David Foster and La June Thames, of the Victim/Witness Assistance Unit; and Information Technology Specialist Anisha Bhatia.  Finally, he praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff T. Cook, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

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