District of Columbia
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
District Man Sentenced to 14 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
For Theft of More Than $340,000 in Government Funds
-Defendant Cashed in on Benefits in Name of Deceased Mother-WASHINGTON - Eugene Weatherford, 60, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 14 months incarceration on a federal charge stemming from the theft of more than $340,000 in government money, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Michael McGill, Special Agent in Charge from the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General, and Patrick E. McFarland, Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management.
Weatherford pled guilty in May 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to theft of government funds. He was sentenced by the Honorable Richard W. Roberts. Following his incarceration, Weatherford will be placed on supervised release for 36 months. Weatherford was also ordered to pay $346,522 in restitution and to complete 50 hours of community service.
In connection with the guilty plea, Weatherford admitted that from March 1999 through June 2012, he received and negotiated U.S. Treasury checks issued in the name of his mother, who died in February 1999. These checks included retirement benefits from the U.S. Social Security Administration and annuity benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
According to the government’s evidence, following his mother’s death, Weatherford continued to receive and negotiate the U.S. Treasury checks in her name by depositing them into a joint bank account that they shared. In certain instances, Weatherford signed his own name in endorsing the backs of the checks issued in his mother’s name, and in other instances, he left the endorsement blank, aside from instructions to deposit the money into the joint bank account.
Weatherford admitted that, through this scheme, he obtained approximately $255,038 in Social Security retirement benefits and $91,484 in OPM annuity benefits, for a total illicit gain of approximately $346,522.In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Special Agent in Charge McGill and Inspector General McFarland commended those who investigated the case from the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General and OPM’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 Paralegal Specialists Angela Lawrence and Nicole Wattelet, Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Connelly, who assisted with forfeiture issues, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Last, who prosecuted the case.
13-281
Three Men Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder While Armed and Other Charges for Killing A Man During 2009 Robbery-Second Victim Was Shot and Wounded-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Paul Ashby, 50, Keith Logan, 51, and Merle Watson, Jr., 56, all of Washington, D.C., were found guilty by a jury today of first-degree murder while armed and other charges for killing a man during a kidnapping and robbery. Logan also was found guilty of shooting a potential witness the same night, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
The verdict followed several weeks of trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. All three defendants were found guilty of first-degree murder while armed, with aggravating circumstances, conspiracy, kidnapping while armed, armed robbery, and weapons offenses. Logan also was found guilty of assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault while armed, and mayhem while armed, for the attack on the potential witness.
The Honorable Herbert B. Dixon, Jr. is to sentence the defendants on Oct. 9, 2013. They face mandatory minimums of 30 years in prison and potential sentences of life in prison.
According to the government’s evidence, Ashby, Logan and Watson conspired to kidnap and rob Carnell Bolden, 36. They lured Mr. Bolden into Logan’s residence in the unit block of W Street NW during the early evening hours of Dec. 30, 2009. After beating him unconscious and tying him up, the defendants then went to get Mr. Bolden’s car, which was parked on the block.
Ashby, Logan and Watson then discovered that Mr. Bolden’s girlfriend was sitting in the car. Fearing she would be a witness against them because she might know where Mr. Bolden was going when he left the car, they then decided to kill both of them.
Ashby drove Mr. Bolden, tied up and unconscious, to the 3000 block of Park Drive SE, where he dragged him into a wooded area adjacent to that block. He then shot Mr. Bolden twice at close range with a .38 or .357-caliber handgun, killing him.
While Ashby was on the way to Southeast Washington with Mr. Bolden, Logan approached Mr. Bolden’s girlfriend as she sat in her car. He stood outside the driver’s window and shot her four times with a nine-millimeter handgun. She was rushed to Washington Hospital Center and survived the attack.
In announcing the verdicts, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed appreciation to those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, and the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va.
He also thanked those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocates and Specialists Marcia Rinker, La June Thames, Katina Adams-Washington, and Michael Hailey; Paralegal Specialists Sandra Lane, Kendra Johnson, Kwasi Fields, Anthony Griffith, and Antoinette Sakamsa; Litigation Technology Specialists Paul Howell, William Henderson, and Anisha Bhatia; Law Clerks Lauren Sparks and Ryan Lipes, and Criminal Investigator Derek Starliper. In addition, he acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alessio Evangelista, who led the grand jury investigation, and Reagan Taylor, who helped prepare the case for trial. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael C. Liebman and Erik Kenerson, who tried the case.
13-279ThreeRead the Press Release
MS-13 Leaders Found Guilty of Racketeering
And Additional Charges for Multiple Murders and Attacks
-Twelve Others Have Pled Guilty in the CaseWASHINGTON – Three leaders of MS-13 in Washington, D.C., were found guilty by a federal jury today of conspiring to participate in racketeering activity and other charges stemming from their roles in murders, extortion and other violent crimes in the Washington area.
The verdicts, which followed a month-long trial, were announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge John P. Torres of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) - Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Washington; and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
“After a month-long trial, this jury delivered the message that MS-13 and its brutal brand of violence will not be tolerated in the District of Columbia,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “These three killers now face life in prison for their outrageous crimes, including the stabbing death of a 14-year-old boy in Columbia Heights. I want to thank the prosecutors and our law enforcement partners who have dedicated years to investigating and prosecuting this transnational gang. The District is safer with these murderers behind bars.”
“Today, a jury has found three defendants guilty of committing heinous crimes as part of their membership in a brutal international criminal organization that has terrorized communities throughout the United States and Central America,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman. “As a result of this successful investigation and prosecution, these violent gang members now face substantial prison sentences.”
“This verdict represents the consequences for the decisions made and the lifestyle choices of the three convicted gang members,” said Special Agent in Charge Torres. “Investigating violent crimes committed by trans-national gang members is a priority for HSI.”
“The convictions of these three violent gang leaders should send a clear message to the members of this ruthless, international criminal organization that gang activity will not be tolerated in our communities,” said Police Chief Lanier. “I applaud the hard work and dedication by the members of the Metropolitan Police Department and our law enforcement partners who helped make today’s convictions possible. Our communities will be safer as a result.”
Yester Ayala, 22, aka “Freeway” and “Daddy Yankee,” of Washington; Noe Machado-Erazo, aka “Gallo,” 30, of Wheaton, Md.; and Jose Martinez-Amaya, 26, aka “Crimen,” of Brentwood, Md., were each found guilty in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia. At sentencing, scheduled for Nov. 4, 2013 before the Honorable Senior Judge Royce C. Lamberth, each of the defendants faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Ayala was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity, two counts of murder in aid of racketeering, one count of first-degree premeditated murder and one count of second-degree murder. Machado-Erazo was found guilty of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity, murder in aid of racketeering and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Martinez-Amaya was found guilty of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity, murder in aid of racketeering and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
The government’s evidence showed that MS-13, a large gang that operates in the United States and Central America, engages in racketeering activity including murder, narcotics distribution, extortion, robberies, obstruction of justice and other crimes. The gang has numerous rules, such as enduring a beating of 13 seconds before becoming a member; killing rival gang members; and staying unfailingly loyal.
According to the government’s evidence, Machado-Erazo was a member and Martinez-Amaya was a leader of the Normandie clique, one of a number of smaller MS-13 groups operating in the Washington area. Ayala was a leader of the Sailors, another clique. The local cliques often act together, and evidence showed that Machado-Erazo was the leader of a program of cliques that worked together. According to evidence presented in court, the local MS-13 cliques act in accordance with the international MS-13’s strictures and have frequent contact with MS-13 leadership in El Salvador. The evidence showed that two of the murders were committed on orders from MS-13 leadership in El Salvador.
The three defendants are among numerous people indicted by a grand jury in 2010 following a federal investigation. Twelve others have pleaded guilty to charges in the case.
The range of criminal activity alleged in the indictment includes acts committed from 2008 through 2010 in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and other states.
Ayala was convicted of taking part in two murders in 2008, and Machado-Erazo and Martinez-Amaya were convicted of taking part in the murder of another victim.
The government presented evidence that Ayala helped carry out orders to murder Louis Alberto Membreno-Zelaya, a fellow MS-13 member who had removed his gang tattoos. Membreno-Zelaya, 27, was stabbed at least 20 times, according to evidence presented in court. His body was found on Nov. 6, 2008, in Northwest Washington.
The second murder, according to evidence presented in court, took place in the late afternoon of Dec. 12, 2008. Ayala joined in on an attack against Giovanni Sanchez, 14, near the Columbia Heights Metro station in Washington. Giovanni had 11 stab wounds, and witnesses identified Ayala as one of the assailants.
According to evidence presented at trial, Machado-Erazo and Martinez-Amaya took part in the killing of Felipe Enriquez, 25, whose body was found on March 31, 2010, in Montgomery County, Md. Enriquez, another fellow MS-13 member, was fatally shot. Evidence presented during trial showed that Machado-Erazao provided the gun and Martinez-Amaya committed the shooting.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nihar Mohanty of the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Laura Gwinn of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section. Those providing assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office included Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill O’Malley; Victim/Witness Services Supervisor David Foster; Paralegal Specialists Candace Battle, Catherine O’Neal, and Candice Sisco; Legal Assistant Diane Brashears, and Litigation Technology Specialists Paul Howell, William Henderson, and Kimberly Smith.
The case was investigated by ICE-HSI and the MPD. Assistance was provided by the Montgomery County and the Prince George’s County, Md. Police Departments, the State’s Attorney’s Office for Montgomery County, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Assistance was provided by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
13-278District Man Indicted in $3 Million Embezzlement Scheme-Defendant Allegedly Used Money for A House, Trips, Other Expenses-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Howard E. Person, Jr., 35, of Washington, D.C., has been indicted for mail fraud and other federal offenses stemming from a $3 million embezzlement scheme in which he is accused of illegally obtaining and using his employer’s money for the purchase of a house, trips to Las Vegas and other locations, and other personal expenses.
The indictment, which was unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Kathy A. Michalko, Special Agent in Charge, Washington Field Office, U.S. Secret Service.
Person was named in the 12-count indictment on July 30, 2013, charging him with mail fraud, access device fraud, interstate transportation of money taken by fraud, monetary transactions, and first-degree theft. The indictment also includes forfeiture allegations seeking all proceeds traceable to the scheme. Person pled not guilty to the charges today.
According to the indictment, Person had been the finance director of a small, locally owned company. The indictment alleges that from March 2008 to September 2011 he arranged to divert money from his employer’s bank account to another bank account which he exclusively controlled in order to embezzle money from the company.
The indictment alleges that Person opened this other, secret, bank account without the knowledge and permission of the owner. He also allegedly used false financial statements to conceal his theft from the owner. According to the indictment, Person caused the company’s clients to pay the secret account instead of the authorized account $6 million in money due and owing to the company. The indictment charges that Person then used about $3 million to keep the company afloat, and the other $3 million to pay his personal expenses, including purchasing his home in the 500 block of Florida Avenue NE, in an amount in excess of $340,000; paying for trips to Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Miami, the Dominican Republic, and Hawaii; transferring money into his personal bank account and into his side-line business account; funding parties and shows, and withdrawing over $55,000 in cash from ATMs and over $35,000 in debit card purchases at casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
In announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Machen, Chief Lanier, and Special Agent in Charge Michalko expressed appreciation for the work performed by MPD detectives from the criminal investigation division - financial crimes section as well as by the Special Agents and financial analysts from the U.S. Secret Service. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who are working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Criminal Investigator Juan Juarez, Paralegal Specialist Donna Galindo, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Kavanaugh and Anthony Saler, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Chris Dobbie, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Virginia Cheatham, who is prosecuting the case.
13-277Three Men Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Terms for Conspiring to Distribute Heroin in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan AreaRead the Press Release
-Defendants Conspired to Bring Shipments Here from New York-
WASHINGTON – Three men were sentenced today to lengthy prison terms for conspiring to distribute large quantities of heroin in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. They were arrested in 2012, following a nine-month investigation by law enforcement.
The sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Thaxton Young, Jr., 46, of Columbia, Md., Gerry Duane Burnett, 42, of Washington, D.C., and Jesse McLester Young, Jr., 42, of Mount Vernon, N.Y., were found guilty in May 2013 following a trial in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. In addition to the conspiracy charge, Burnett was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute heroin and marijuana. The Honorable Beryl A. Howell sentenced the defendants today.
Thaxton Young, Jr. was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison. Burnett was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison, and Jesse Young, Jr. was sentenced to 11 years and three months of incarceration. Each defendant also was ordered to pay an $89,000 forfeiture judgment for the gross receipts from the heroin distributed in the conspiracy.
Thaxton Young, Jr., Burnett and Jesse Young, Jr. were indicted in 2012, following an investigation by the DEA into people suspected of acting as wholesale distributors of heroin in the metropolitan area. The investigation determined that from May 2011 through March 2012, the defendants and others maintained a drug trafficking organization that supplied distribution amounts of heroin to dealers in the District of Columbia and Maryland.
The investigation revealed that Thaxton Young, Jr. and another conspirator obtained large quantities of heroin from his cousin and co-defendant Jesse Young, Jr. in the Bronx, New York area, which they transported back to the Washington, D.C. area for redistribution to wholesale traffickers, including Burnett.
Investigators seized over 170 grams of heroin during the investigation, along with over $7,000 in cash, along with jewelry valued at over $25,000.
In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Machen, Special Agent in Charge Colder, and Chief Lanier commended the work of the agents, officers and investigators from the DEA and MPD who investigated the case. They also thanked the Maryland State Police, which provided assistance. They cited the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Paralegal Specialists Jeremy Stoller and Regan Gibson, and Litigation Support Specialist Joshua Ellen.
Finally, they acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Opher Shweiki, Steven B. Wasserman and Magdalena Acevedo, of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, who prosecuted the case.
13-274Maryland Man Sentenced to 17-Year Prison Term for Pair of Robberies of Metro PassengersRead the Press Release
-Second Man Recently Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison For His Role in Crimes-WASHINGTON – Clifton Smith, 21, of Oxon Hill, Md., was sentenced today to 17 years in prison for his role in a series of crimes, including two robberies that took place last year on Metrorail trains, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Smith and a co-defendant, Alazajuan Gray, 20, of Washington, D.C., were found guilty by a jury in May 2013 of armed robbery, robbery, obstruction of justice, threats, contempt of court, carrying a dangerous weapon and other charges. The verdicts followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Gray was sentenced July 23, 2013, to a 14-year prison term. Both defendants were sentenced by the Honorable Herbert B. Dixon, Jr.
Upon completion of their prison terms, both men will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on Sept. 21, 2012, at about 11:30 p.m., Gray and Smith approached several college students who had recently moved to Washington, D.C. as these college students, including the victim, were on a Metrorail train at the Fort Totten station. Gray, who was armed with a handgun, took the victim’s iPhone and money. Smith encouraged Gray to take the victim’s property. The victim did not report the crime at the time; Smith told him not to “snitch” and tell the police or he would be harmed.
One week later, on Sept. 28, 2012, at 8:30 p.m. the same victim, who was returning home from his part-time job he used to pay for community college, was at the Fort Totten Metro station and again encountered Gray and Smith. Gray approached him and flashed a gun. Gray and Smith chased the victim into the station’s kiosk. While inside the kiosk, Smith demanded if he was “snitching” and then assaulted the victim. Gray and Smith fled, but soon were caught by police.
Neither the gun nor the victim’s iPhone were found on either of the defendants. However, police found an iPhone near the location where Smith was stopped that night by the Metro Transit Police. The iPhone was linked to a separate Sept. 28, 2012 robbery. That robbery occurred at 7:30 p.m. on a Metrorail train at the Gallery Place/Chinatown station. In that incident, Gray grabbed an iPhone from a woman who had also recently moved to Washington, D.C. She was studying her graduate school homework as the train arrived at the station. After Gray snatched the iPhone, Smith then blocked the victim’s attempt to chase after Gray.
Cellular tower evidence placed Gray’s cell phone at the scene of the first armed robbery.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation to the Metro Transit Police and the FBI for assisting 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 Todd McClelland, Lynette Briggs, Lynda Randolph, and Kendrell Smith; Litigation Technology Specialists Anisha Bhatia, Thomas Royal, Will Henderson, Josh Ellen, Paul Howell, Claudia Gutierrez, and Leif Hickling; Victim/Witness Advocates Jennifer Clark and James Brennan; interns Ashley P. Foote, Taylor Jones and Chelsea King; former intern Justin Bennett, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Suzanne Curt and Chrisellen Kolb, Deputy Chiefs of the Appellate Division. Finally, he thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Selden, of the Felony Major Crimes Section, who is prosecuting the matter.
13-276District Man Sentenced to 27 Years in Prison for 2011 Slaying in Northwest WashingtonRead the Press Release
-Victim, 19, Was Shot Four Times in an Attempted Robbery-
WASHINGTON – Rashid Caviness-Bey, 20, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 27 years in prison for a murder that took place during an attempted armed robbery in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Caviness-Bey was found guilty in June 2013 by a jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia of charges of second-degree murder while armed and carrying a pistol without a license in the slaying of 19-year old Osman Al-Akbar. He was sentenced by the Honorable Lynn Leibovitz. Upon completion of his prison term, Caviness-Bey will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on Aug. 17, 2011, at about 1:30 a.m., Mr. Al-Akbar bicycled toward his home after visiting his girlfriend’s house. As he was riding home, he talked on his cell phone with his girlfriend. At the same time, Caviness-Bey and two teenagers emerged from Girard Park near the 2600 block of University Place NW. They carried two guns and dressed in a manner to conceal themselves.
Mr. Al-Akbar encountered Caviness-Bey and the two teenagers in the 2600 block of University Place NW, where they tried to rob him. During the encounter, Mr. Al-Akbar was shot three times in the back. After he fell to the street, dying, he was shot a fourth time in the face with a second gun. Mr. Al-Akbar died in the street next to his bicycle and personal belongings, which were scattered around him.
Caviness-Bey and the teenagers fled after the shooting. One of the teenagers and Caviness-Bey fled into a dead-end alley behind an apartment building at the corner of 15th and Fuller Streets NW. Along the way, witnesses saw them discard the clothing they had worn to conceal themselves during the robbery. One of the witnesses also spotted them with a gun. The witness alerted the police to the alley that Caviness-Bey and the teenager ran into. The police found Caviness-Bey and the teenager hiding at the bottom of a basement stairwell. Nearby, the police found the two guns used to kill Mr. Al-Akbar. The police also found the discarded clothing in the alley and in the trash receptacles near the alley.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives of the Criminal Investigations Division, crime scene officers, and the Third Police District of the Metropolitan Police Department, and the U.S. Park Police. He also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Ortwein (now with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan), who secured the indictment in the case; Criminal Investigator Durand Odom; Jelahn Stewart, Michael Hailey, David Foster, Marcia Rinker, Melissa Milam, and Christina Principe, all of the Victim Witness Assistance Unit; Kimberly Smith, William Henderson, and Leif Hickling of the Litigation Technology Unit, Paralegal Specialists Marian Russell and Ethel Noble, and Librarian Lisa Kosow. Finally, he praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana L. Fulton who tried the case.
13-275District Man Sentenced to 52 Years in Prison for First-Degree Felony Murder and Other Charges in Killing of 18-Year-Old Latisha FrazierDefendant Among Seven People Convicted in CaseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Johnnie Sweet, 19, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 52 years in prison for first-degree felony murder and other charges in the August 2010 kidnapping and slaying of 18-year-old Latisha Frazier, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Sweet was found guilty by a jury in April 2013, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of first-degree felony murder with aggravating circumstances; first-degree premeditated murder with aggravating circumstances; kidnapping, and tampering with physical evidence. He was sentenced by the Honorable Russell F. Canan.
According to the government’s evidence, Sweet was one of the leaders of a group of six young men and women who took part in the murder of Ms. Frazier.
Ms. Frazier vanished on Aug. 2, 2010. For months, her family relentlessly sought to find her, passing out flyers and contacting local news stations to publicize her disappearance. In late January 2011, one witness finally stepped forward and contacted the Metropolitan Police Department, revealing the truth of Ms. Frazier’s whereabouts.
On the day of her disappearance, the government’s evidence showed, Ms. Frazier had been brutally murdered by a group of six young men and women (ages 16 to 23), all of whom she believed to be her friends. The group had suspected - with little evidence - that Ms. Frazier had stolen about $900 from Sweet. Sweet recruited others and exacted a plan of revenge in which they would call her over to an apartment where they claimed to be socializing.
When Ms. Frazier arrived at the apartment in the 1700 block of Trenton Place SE, the group took her to a small bedroom where Sweet and others punched, kicked, and stomped her all over her body. Ignoring her pleas for them to stop, they bound her in duct tape, taped a pillowcase over her head so she could not scream, and shoved her in a small, dark closet. When she screamed and moaned, one of the members of the group placed her in a sleeper hold to “put her to sleep.” Later, the group discovered that she had died.
To dispose of the body, Sweet helped carry her to the bathtub, where he and his friends attempted to dismember her. That evening, Ms. Frazier’s body was thrown into a dumpster, and it is now believed to be somewhere in one or two landfills in rural Virginia.
Of a total of seven people charged with various offenses, six former co-defendants have pled guilty. They include Brian Gaither, 25, who has been sentenced to a 32-year prison term after pleading guilty to first-degree murder; Laurence Kamal Hassan, 24, who has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for second-degree murder and kidnapping; Cinthya Proctor, 21, who has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for second-degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit evidence tampering; Anneka Nelson, 19, who pled guilty to second-degree murder and kidnapping; Lanee Bell, 20, who pled guilty to kidnapping, and Antoine McCullough, 27, who pled guilty to conspiracy to commit evidence tampering. Bell, Nelson and McCullough are awaiting sentencing.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and Chief Lanier praised the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), including detectives from the Major Case/Cold Case Squad and the Seventh District.
They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Larry Grasso of the Criminal Intelligence Unit, Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker, and Paralegal Specialists Kwasi Fields, Phaylyn Hunt, and Angela Lawrence. Finally, they thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher R. Kavanaugh and Melinda Williams, who prosecuted the case.
13-273District Man Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Assault and Other Charges in Recent Car Crash in Southeast Washington-Defendant, Eluding Police, Was Traveling More Than 100 MPH-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Noel Warner, 28, of Washington, D.C., has pled guilty to charges in an incident in which he fled from police by driving more than 100 mph before hitting another vehicle and injuring its driver, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.
Warner pled guilty on July 30, 2013, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of aggravated assault, fleeing a law enforcement officer, and unlawful possession with the intent to distribute marijuana. The Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston scheduled sentencing for Oct. 1, 2013.
According to the government’s evidence, just before midnight on June 4, 2013, a U.S. Park Police Officer observed a silver Honda Accord with dark-tinted windows traveling about 45 mph in a 25 mph zone. The officer, driving a marked police vehicle, activated his emergency equipment. Warner, however, accelerated about a quarter-mile before striking an oncoming sedan in the 1300 block of Southern Avenue SE. The driver of the sedan, on his way home from work, was taken to a hospital after suffering a broken arm and injuries to his head and legs.
Warner’s car, which was equipped with a speedometer that would lock on impact, displayed a speed at impact of 85 mph, 60 mph over the posted speed limit. A further review of the black box of the engine revealed that the top speed of the car in the moments before impact was 104 mph - 79 mph over the posted speed limit. Officers found marijuana in Warner’s car, along with a drug grinder, $100 in fraudulent U.S. currency, and open bottles of alcohol.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the U.S. Park Police, as well as the Metropolitan Police Department’s Major Crash Unit, which investigated the case. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Lynette Briggs and Todd McClelland and Investigative Analyst Sharon Johnson. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Selden, of the Felony Major Crimes Section, who is prosecuting the matter.
13-272Two District Men Found Guilty of Armed Kidnapping and Other Charges in Northwest Washington Attack-Defendants Bound Victim and His Friend, Held Them for Hours-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Aaron Thorpe, 33, and Melvin Knight, 36, both of Washington, D.C., were found guilty by a jury today of armed kidnapping and other charges stemming from an attack in which they held a man and woman for hours while searching a house in Northwest Washington for illegal drugs and cash, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
The verdicts followed a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The defendants were found guilty of armed kidnapping, armed burglary, a weapons offense, and related charges. The Honorable Richard J. Leon scheduled sentencing for Oct. 31, 2013. Thorpe and Knight, who are being held without bond pending sentencing, face up to 35 years in prison.
According to the government’s evidence, early Jan. 28, 2013, Thorpe and Knight lay in wait outside the home of the victim, who lived in the 6400 block of Kansas Avenue NW. They were armed with handguns and wearing ski masks and dark clothing. When the victim and his female friend approached the home, Thorpe and Knight emerged from behind a car, forced the victim and his friend against the wall of the home at gunpoint, and handcuffed them.
In the course of trying to handcuff the victim, who was resisting restraint, Knight discharged his firearm. A neighbor, hearing the gunshot, looked out a window and saw three men – the victim, Thorpe, and Knight. The neighbor described Thorpe and Knight as two men in masks and in all black, one with a shirt that had the word “POLICE” written across it. The neighbor saw the men force the victim into his home and clearly saw one of them holding a gun.
After the neighbor’s call to police, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrived on the scene and knocked on the door; no one responded. More units responded over the next few hours, including the department’s Emergency Response Team.
Meanwhile, once inside, Thorpe and Knight had forced the victim and his friend to the floor. The two defendants then bound their legs and mouths with duct tape, and began searching through the home for illegal narcotics and cash. They demanded that the victim tell them where to look, and threatened him and his friend, stating, “We’re not leaving any witnesses.”
While lying face down on the floor, fearing for his life and that of his friend, the victim saw one of the defendants’ guns on the floor. He was able to break his hands free and attempted to reach for the gun. At that point, one of the assailants jumped on him, beat him severely in the head and face with another gun, and threatened to kill the victim’s friend if he did not relent. The male victim complied and the two defendants bound his hands with flexi-cuffs again.
The defendants later hid and/or attempted to destroy evidence of their crimes, unbound the victims, and threatened them to tell a false story to police about what had happened inside the home. Finally, at about 3:40 a.m., Thorpe and both victims walked out of the home; police officers then went in and located Knight upstairs. Both defendants were placed under arrest.
In announcing the verdicts, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the actions of the Metropolitan Police Department officers, detectives, and others who worked on the case. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Candace Battle and Debra McPherson, Legal Assistant Tammy Scott, Intelligence Specialists Francis Morgan and Sharon Johnson, and intern Christopher Kaltsas. Finally, he commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emory V. Cole and Brittain Shaw, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
13-270Former CEO/Owner of Home Health Care Provider Sentenced to Prison for Falsifying Records Involving A Federal Audit-Audit Involved Medicaid/Medicare Payments-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jeannette N. Awasum, the former owner of a health care provider, was sentenced today to eight months of incarceration on a federal charge stemming from falsifying records in connection with a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services audit.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and 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 including the District of Columbia.
Awasum, 49, of Germantown, Md., pled guilty in April 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of falsification of records in connection with a federal investigation. She was sentenced by the Honorable Richard J. Leon. Upon completion of her prison term, Awasum will be placed on two years of supervised release. Four months of that time will be on home detention. She also was ordered to perform 500 hours of community service.
According to a statement of offense, signed by the defendant as well as the government, in early June 2010, Awasum, the Chief Executive Officer and owner of Tri State Home Health and Equipment Service, was informed that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requested the physician-signed plans of care for 130 of its patients. These plans of care are what authorize providers like Tri State to provide home healthcare services to Medicare and D.C. Medicaid beneficiaries.
Awasum knew that Tri State lacked plans of care for 62 of these 130 patients. Tri State received approximately $1,879,853 from Medicare and D.C. Medicaid for treating these 62 patients during the period for which plans of care were missing. Awasum directed her employees to fraudulently create plans of care for the services that these 62 patients received, making it appear as if the documents had been created prior to the services being provided. In total, the employees created 81 plans of care for these 62 patients.
Awasum instructed one of her employees to take the 81 fabricated forms to a doctor whom Awasum knew never examined these patients. Despite the fact that this doctor never examined these patients, he signed the plans of care in June 2010, making it appear as if he authorized these 62 patients receiving home healthcare services prior to the time that Tri State provided these services. The employee, at Awasum’s directions, placed the fraudulent 81 plans of care in Tri State’s file so that the forms would be present when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services audited the services provided to these 62 patients.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave, and Special Agent in Charge DiGiulio commended the efforts of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They also praised those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Legal Assistant Donna Galindo, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney G. Saleski, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Graves, who prosecuted the matter.
13-271District Man Pleads Guilty to Second-Degree Murder, Admits Setting Victim on Fire-Attack Took Place in June 2013 in Southeast Washington-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Shawn Lewis, 41, of Washington D.C., pled guilty today to a charge of second-degree murder for killing a man in June 2013 by setting him on fire at an apartment building in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Lewis pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Under terms of the plea agreement, the parties each agreed to recommend a sentence between 16 years and 24 years in prison. The Honorable Russell F. Canan scheduled sentencing for Oct. 18, 2013.
According to the government’s evidence, at about 6:25 p.m. on June 28, 2013, Lewis returned to the apartment building where he was living in the 1600 block of 21st Place SE. He then went to the back porch of the building, holding a lit piece of newspaper and a container of ignitable liquid. Lewis threw the liquid on the victim, Douglas Farley, 38, who was on the back porch. He ignited the liquid with the lit newspaper, engulfing Mr. Farley in flames. Lewis was arrested on the scene at about 9:25 that evening.
Mr. Farley was taken to the Washington Hospital Center, where he died on July 3, 2013. A post-mortem examination determined that Mr. Farley died as a result of complications from thermal and inhalation injuries sustained by the flames.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the detectives, officers, and crime scene technicians who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Debra Joyner, Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark, and Intelligence Specialist Sharon Johnson. Finally, he recognized the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip Selden, Kathryn Rakoczy, and Jonathan Kravis, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
13-269District Man Pleads Guilty to Second-Degree Murder While Armed in 2011 Strangling at Northeast Washington Park-Victim Was Stabbed, Choked and Robbed in Late-Night Attack-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Mark Coates, 28, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a charge of second-degree murder while armed for the December 2011 slaying of a man at a park in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Coates pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Herbert B. Dixon, Jr. scheduled sentencing for Sept. 23, 2013.
According to the government’s evidence, between 11 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, and 1 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011, Coates and an accomplice forced the victim, Leroy Studevant, 56, into the Marvin Gaye Park in the 4200 block of Hunt Place NE, where they punched and kicked him.
During the assault, Mr. Studevant managed to escape, and he ran across the park. However, Coates and the accomplice chased Mr. Studevant through the park, until Coates ultimately cut off Mr. Studevant’s flight path. Using a knife, Coates and his accomplice then stabbed Mr. Studevant. After forcing Mr. Studevant to the ground, Coates and his accomplice kicked him, and Coates was able to unhook and remove Mr. Studevant’s belt from around his waist. The belt was placed around Mr. Studevant’s neck as a noose, and he was choked with the belt until he no longer resisted. During the altercation, a wallet and cell phone were removed from Mr. Studevant’s pockets. Coates and his accomplice split the money in the wallet.
An autopsy determined that Mr. Studevant died as a result of the strangling and assault in the park. The reason for the attack was because the victim would not share his cigarettes.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the detectives, officers, and crime scene technicians who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Kendra Johnson, Ethel Nobel, Marian Russell, and Sandra Lane; Lead Paralegal Specialist Sharon Newman; Victim/Witness Advocate Tamara Ince; Victim Witness Security Specialist Katina Adams-Washington; Investigator Nelson Rhone; and Intelligence Specialists Lawrence Grasso, Zachary McMenamin, Shannon Alexis, and Sharon Johnson. Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen recognized the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberley Nielsen and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Feitel, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
13-267$17 Million False Claims Act Judgment Entered Against Washington, D.C. Health Care Provider-Government Alleged Double-Billing for Tests and Services-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has entered judgment for more than $17 million against Dr. Ishtiaq Malik and his two companies, Ishtiaq Malik M.D., P.C. and Advanced Nuclear Diagnostics, for submitting false nuclear cardiology claims to federal and state health care programs, the Justice Department announced today. Ishtiaq Malik, a nuclear cardiologist, has practiced in the District of Columbia metropolitan area since 2002.
The government’s allegations focused on Dr. Malik’s inappropriate claims for myocardial perfusion studies, commonly referred to as nuclear stress tests. These diagnostic imaging studies determine whether a patient has heart disease due to inadequate blood flow to the heart muscles. The test is usually performed in two separate phases: stress and rest. The two phases, which can be conducted on the same day or separate days, must be coded and submitted as one test. The government alleged that, contrary to these requirements, Dr. Malik and his companies double-billed for multi-day nuclear stress test studies.
The Honorable Robert L. Wilkins issued the judgment today.
“This doctor fraudulently diverted critical resources from government health care programs, contributing to the rising cost of health care for all Americans,” said Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. “This lawsuit was designed to hold the doctor to account for bilking the taxpayer. We will do everything in our power to obtain every cent of the $17 million this doctor now owes the American people.”
“Physicians who participate in government health care programs must bill for their services accurately and honestly,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to pursuing those physicians who seek financial gain at the expense of taxpayer-funded programs.”
The government alleged that Dr. Malik submitted false claims to Medicare, District of Columbia Medicaid, Maryland Medicaid, TRICARE and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan. In addition, the government alleged that Dr. Malik and his companies billed under codes that did not apply to the nuclear stress test studies he administered and billed for services already included in the payment for nuclear stress test codes, such as intravenous injections, drug infusions, 3D rendering and drug administration. He and his companies also allegedly billed for services not performed.
“Federal employees deserve health care providers who meet the highest standards of ethical and professional behavior,” said Patrick E. McFarland, Inspector General of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. “This judgment reminds health care providers that they must observe those standards and reflects the commitment of federal law enforcement organizations to pursue improper and illegal conduct that places the health care system at risk.”
“Dr. Malik fraudulently charged for his services and taxpayers deserve protection from such scams,” said Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “OIG agents, working with other law enforcement agencies, conducted interviews, gathered records and analyzed data to conclude a successful investigation and bring the doctor to justice.”
The government filed suit against Dr. Malik and his two companies under the False Claims Act, which allows the government to recover three times its damages, plus penalties, from those who submit false claims for federal funds. The state of Maryland and the District of Columbia subsequently joined the lawsuit under their respective state false claims acts.
This civil lawsuit illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $14.7 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $10.7 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
This investigation was a cooperative effort among the Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, Department of Justice; the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia; the Maryland Attorney General’s Office; and the Attorney General’s Office for the District of Columbia. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General, the Office of Personnel Management’s Office of the Inspector General, and the District of Columbia’s Office of the Inspector General, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, assisted in the investigation.
The lawsuit is United States of America et al. v. Malik et al., No. 1:12-01234-RLW (D.D.C.).
13-268Former Human Resources Manager Pleads Guilty in Theft of More Than $400,000 from Employer-Defendant Worked for Non-Profit Organization-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Brenda Isom, the former human resources manager for a non-profit organization, pled guilty today to a federal charge stemming from the theft of more than $400,000 from her employer, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Isom, 47, of Silver Spring, Md., pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of interstate transportation of stolen property. The Honorable Reggie B. Walton scheduled sentencing for Oct. 25, 2013. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison and financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Isom faces a likely range of 30 to 37 months in prison and a fine of up to $60,000. As part of the plea agreement, Isom has agreed to the entry of a forfeiture money judgment against her in the amount of $414,047.
According to a statement of offense signed by the government and the defendant, Isom was hired in January 2006 as human resources manager for the Leadership Conference Education Fund. The fund is a non-profit that works to promote and protect civil and human rights for people in the United States. Among other duties, Isom was in charge of managing the payroll. Those duties included electronically submitting information to a Maryland-based vendor that handled the processing of payroll payments.
Soon after taking the job, Isom began submitting information that led to additional and unauthorized payments to herself, which were well in excess of her salary. She also altered reports to conceal and disguise the fraudulently obtained payroll amounts she was receiving.
From January 2006 through June 2011, Isom received $414,047 in fraudulently obtained payroll amounts from the Leadership Conference Education Fund.
“Brenda Isom stole $400,000 in charitable funds intended to promote civil rights in our country,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Her crime harmed both the charity and the donors who gave their hard-earned money to support its mission. This case is another example of our continued efforts to prosecute thieves who divert charitable funds for personal gain.”
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Criminal Investigators Matthew Kutz and Juan Juarez, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Chris Dobbie, and Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Smith, who is prosecuting the case.
13-266Former Corrections Officer Sentenced to Three Months in Jail and Six Months of Home Detention for Bribery ChargeEmployee Took Cash to Smuggle Items into D.C. JailRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – April Johnston, a former corrections officer, was sentenced today to three months in jail and six months of home detention for accepting money to bring contraband into a District of Columbia correctional facility, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Johnston, 42, pled guilty to a charge of bribery in March 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was sentenced by the Honorable Robert L. Wilkins. Upon completion of her jail time, she will be placed on two years of probation. Judge Wilkins also ordered her to perform 100 hours of community service. Johnston also is subject to a forfeiture judgment of $2,500.
According to the government’s evidence, at the time of the offense, Johnston was employed as a corrections officer for the District of Columbia Jail and had met with individuals inside the jail to discuss the possibility of smuggling contraband to an inmate. In September 2011, she made a telephone call to a person who she believed was an associate of an inmate. In fact, however, that person was an undercover agent with the FBI.
Johnston met the undercover agent on Sept. 28, 2011 at her residence in Maryland. During the meeting, the undercover agent paid her $1,000 and gave her a computer thumb drive to smuggle into the jail. She agreed to use her position as a corrections officer to smuggle the item to the inmate in return for the money, and she later did so.
On Oct. 5, 2011, Johnston again met the undercover agent at her residence. This time, the agent paid her $1,500 along with a thumb drive and mobile USB flash drive to smuggle into the jail. Once again, she smuggled the items into the jail in return for the money.
Johnston is among three corrections employees convicted of bribery since December 2012. In December 2012, Daishawn Goodson, a former corrections officer employed by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), pled guilty to taking money to smuggle contraband into the District’s Correctional Treatment Facility. She was sentenced to eight months of home detention. In March 2013, Jeremiah Moorman, a former corrections officer, was found guilty of bribery and first-degree theft charges for accepting money under the promise of bringing contraband into the District of Columbia Jail. He was sentenced to two years of probation.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and Assistant Director in Charge Parlave commended the work of the agents who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Corrections Office of Investigative Services. Finally, they acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Nicole Wattelet and Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B Waxman, who prosecuted the case.
13-265District Man Found Guilty of First-Degree Felony Murder in 2010 Shooting in Southeast Washington-OnStar Technology Helped Police Locate Victim’s Car and Evidence-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Marlon Williams, 34, Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of first-degree felony murder in the 2010 slaying of a man in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.
Williams was found guilty on July 26, 2013, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Russell F. Canan scheduled sentencing for Sept. 27, 2013.
According to the evidence at trial, at about 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 13, 2010, the victim, Min Soo Kang, was found on the curb in the 3500 block of Croffut Place SE, with multiple gunshot wounds. Detectives found his wallet and contacted his next of kin, who advised them that Mr. Kang, 37, owned a 2010 Cadillac Escalade equipped with OnStar GPS technology. Detectives requested that OnStar assist in tracking the vehicle. At about 5:30 p.m. on that same date, OnStar located the Escalade in the 5200 block of Ames Street NE, and engaged the remote ignition block, which prevented the ignition from re-starting the vehicle once it had been turned off.
Coincidentally, a short time later, a neighborhood resident returned home to find the disabled Escalade stopped in front of her residence. At about 7 p.m., that woman dialed 911 and alerted the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) about the suspicious behavior of a man who, upon hearing sirens approaching in the area, exited the vehicle, quickly slammed the hood, threw something into her yard, and walked away. However, when those sirens went elsewhere, the same man returned, retrieved what he had thrown into her yard, and re-entered the vehicle, making further attempts to get it started.
Once police located Mr. Kang’s vehicle, they had it towed to the Mobile Crime Lab. Technicians lifted a palm print from the hood of the car and several fingerprints from the interior handles of the driver’s door. In addition, a search of the passenger compartment yielded a receipt for the purchase of two cartons of Newport cigarettes by Mr. Kang, in Virginia, less than three hours prior to his body being found. Three unopened packs of Newport cigarettes with Virginia tax stamps remained in the vehicle. The technicians, upon noticing apparent bullet holes in the driver’s seat, recovered three bullets from inside that seat.
Earlier, during the day of Sept.13, 2010, upon performing an autopsy on Mr. Kang, a medical examiner identified three gunshot wounds to the chest with exit wounds from his back. In addition, Mr. Kang suffered a gunshot wound to the face, which exited the left ear, another gunshot wound to the left index finger, exiting the palm of Mr. Kang’s hand, and one gunshot wound perforating his right forearm.
Detectives used the palm-print, lifted from the hood of the Escalade, and identified by the fingerprint examiner, to match that of the defendant, and the description given by the 911 caller, which also matched that of the defendant, to obtain a warrant for a search of Williams’s home. There they found the murder weapon beneath his bed. In that same bedroom, police recovered one empty pack of Newport cigarettes bearing a Virginia tax stamp.
In announcing this verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the MPD detectives, officers, crime scene technicians, and forensic specialists who worked on the case. He also expressed appreciation for the assistance of OnStar. In addition, he praised those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Alesha Matthews Yette, Litigation Technology Specialists Kimberly Smith, Leif Hickling, and Joshua Ellen, and Interns Arielle Barnett and Malini Malhotra.
Finally, he commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Wheeler, who secured the indictment in the case and handled the prosecution at trial.
13-264Former Campaign Official Sentenced to Six Months in Prison for Activities Involving 2010 District of Columbia Mayoral ElectionDefendant Obstructed Justice by Destroying Documents, Making False Statements to FBIRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Thomas W. Gore, the former assistant treasurer for a District of Columbia mayoral campaign, was sentenced today to six months in prison for obstruction of justice and other charges stemming from his activities involving the 2010 election.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Gore, 58, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in May 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of obstructing justice by destroying records in a federal investigation and three counts of making a campaign contribution in the name of another person. He was sentenced by the Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
Upon completion of his prison time, Gore will be placed on three years of supervised release. Judge Kollar-Kotelly ordered that 180 days of that period must be spent on home detention. In addition, Gore must perform 200 hours of community service. Judge Kollar-Kotelly also barred Gore from participating in political campaigns without prior approval of the court.
Gore is among three people, all associated with the same mayoral campaign, to plead guilty to charges in a continuing investigation of campaign activities during the election.
Howard L. Brooks, 65, a member of the campaign’s finance and treasury teams, was sentenced last year to 24 months of probation and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service for making a false statement to the FBI. Business owner Eugenia C. Harris, 76, pled guilty in July 2012 to one count of conspiring to violate federal campaign finance law and to obstruct justice; one count of engaging in fraud and making false statements, and one count of conspiring to violate District of Columbia campaign law. Harris is awaiting sentencing.
According to a statement of offense signed by the government as well as the defendant, Gore worked for one of the candidates challenging incumbent Mayor Adrian M. Fenty in the 2010 campaign. The guilty plea involves activities tied to his work on the campaign of that candidate, who is identified in the court documents as “Candidate A,” and Gore’s dealings with another of Mr. Fenty’s rivals, who is identified in the documents as “Candidate B.”
Gore used his position in “Candidate A’s” campaign to help funnel money illegally from that campaign to the campaign of “Candidate B.” The goal was to keep “Candidate B” in the mayoral race so that “Candidate B” would continue his verbal attacks on Mr. Fenty. Gore later destroyed the record of these payments and lied about it when questioned by the FBI.
**
“Thomas Gore is headed to prison because he lied to the FBI and shredded documents to cover up corruption in the 2010 D.C. mayoral election,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “He will be deprived of his liberty because he tried to deprive the voters of the truth about a secret scheme to funnel money from one mayoral campaign to another. Jail time is a significant consequence that reflects the seriousness of his efforts to obstruct justice and subvert the democratic process.”
“Corruption will not be overlooked or tolerated, no matter the level of government, the complexity of the scheme, or the names of those committing the fraud,” said Assistant Director in Charge Parlave. “The FBI will continue to pursue public corruption cases in order to bring confidence to the citizens of the District of Columbia, who deserve government officials who are elected fairly and without scandal.”
**
Prior to 2010, Gore had experience working with “Candidate A” in other campaigns. He was the official treasurer of “Candidate A’s” campaigns in 2004 and 2006 and was well aware of the dictates of local campaign finance laws. The illegal activities began in or around June 2010. Gore provided Brooks with money orders, which had been purchased with excessive or unattributed cash contributions to the campaign of “Candidate A.” Brooks filled in the names of real persons who had not contributed these funds in the purchaser lines of these money orders.
The statement of offense details a total of five such money orders in June and July of 2010, totaling $660, which Gore provided to Brooks for “Candidate B.”
Gore kept a record of these funds, noting the amounts provided, in a spiral notebook.
“Candidate B” subsequently reported the receipt of the money orders, in the names of the purported purchasers, as individual contributions he received, listing them in reports to the District of Columbia’s Office of Campaign Finance of the Board of Elections and Ethics.
The campaign finance charges stem from Gore’s handling of the money orders.
The obstruction charge involves actions taken by Gore months after the election. On March 6, 2011, allegations by “Candidate B” about the campaign of “Candidate A” appeared in the news media. In these reports, “Candidate B” alleged that, during the 2010 campaign, he had been promised a job in a future “Candidate A” administration. In addition, “Candidate B” said that he received payments from two members of the campaign for “Candidate A” in return for staying in the mayoral race and continuing to attack Mr. Fenty.
On March 9, 2011, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia issued a public statement that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI were assessing the allegations made by “Candidate B.” Throughout the rest of 2011, agents from the FBI interviewed witnesses and collected documents related to the allegations.
Shortly after “Candidate B’s” allegations became public, Gore shredded the spiral notebook in which he had kept a record of payments to “Candidate B.” He did so to prevent law enforcement from finding out about the diversion of funds, which he knew to be illegal.
In addition, during an interview with the FBI on Oct. 13, 2011, Gore made a number of false statements about the spiral notebook and the records that he kept.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and Assistant Director in Charge Parlave commended the work of those who investigated the case for the FBI.
They also expressed appreciation to Criminal Investigators Matthew Kutz, Mark Crawford, and Melissa Matthews; Paralegal Specialists Tasha Harris, Shanna Hays, Sylvester Brown, and Diane Hayes, and former Legal Assistant Jared Forney, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Finally, they acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Chubin Epstein and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Chris Dobbie, who investigated and prosecuted this matter.
13-262District Woman Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Traffic Fatality in Southwest Washington-Impaired Driver Struck Pedestrian, Who Died After She Was Pinned to A Tree-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Maria N. Werts, 49, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to seven years in prison on charges stemming from a traffic fatality last spring in Southwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Werts pled guilty in May 2013 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence. The plea, which was contingent upon the court’s approval, called for the seven-year prison term. The Honorable Herbert B. Dixon, Jr. accepted the plea and sentenced Werts today. Upon completion of her prison term, Werts will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on Sunday afternoon, April 28, 2013, Werts was drinking malt liquor and smoking crack cocaine immediately before getting behind the wheel of a 2010 Toyota Yaris. While driving on First Street SW, at about 2:45 p.m., Werts ran a red light at the intersection of South Capitol Street, making an illegal right turn on red. A southbound driver on South Capitol Street had to swerve to avoid colliding with Werts.
Werts lost control of the Toyota she was driving, and mounted the sidewalk adjacent to the southbound lanes of South Capitol Street. The victim, Emmajean Gainey, 58, was walking on that sidewalk with another pedestrian. Both Ms. Gainey and her companion attempted to avoid being struck by Werts, but Werts struck Ms. Gainey head on, and pinned Ms. Gainey against a tree between the sidewalk and the roadway. Ms. Gainey was killed instantly.
Bystanders immediately called 911, and attempted to push the Toyota from Ms. Gainey’s body. Witnesses saw Werts get out of the Toyota’s driver’s seat and attempt to leave the scene. Werts was stopped by witnesses until police arrived. When police arrived, they administered field sobriety tests, which Werts failed. Werts was arrested and, while at a police station, breath tests indicated that her blood alcohol content was above the legal limit for driving. Werts later admitted to drinking alcohol and smoking cocaine immediately prior to getting into the car. While she denied driving the car, stating that she was merely a passenger, several eyewitnesses identified Werts on the scene as the driver responsible for Ms. Gainey’s death.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department, including members of the Major Crash Unit. He also expressed appreciation for those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Sandra Lane, Shavaka Melvin and Phil Aronson. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward A. O’Connell, who prosecuted the matter.
13-261District Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Assaulting Woman in Attack Following A Gathering at Her Apartment-Victim Was Unconscious at Time of Assault-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Antawon Randall, 28, of Capital Heights, Md., has pled guilty to charges stemming from a sexual assault that he committed against a woman who was unconscious in her own home, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.
Randall pled guilty on July 25, 2013, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to charges of second-degree sexual abuse and fourth-degree sexual abuse. The Honorable Ronna L. Beck scheduled sentencing for Oct. 11, 2013. Randall faces a statutory maximum of 20 years for the charges. He must also register as a sex offender for at least 10 years.
According to the government’s evidence, on Sept. 8, 2012, the victim and her husband hosted a gathering at their apartment in Southeast Washington. At some point during the gathering, the victim became sick from consuming too much alcohol and passed out.
When the victim’s husband went to work, Randall snuck into her bedroom and sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work performed by those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit. He also praised those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist D’Yvonne Key and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mervin A. Bourne, Jr., who investigated and prosecuted the matter.
13-263Virginia Man Sentenced to 50 Months in Prison for Traveling to the District of ColumbiaTo Have Sex with Under-Aged ChildRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – George Ronald Marion, 67, of Fairfax Station, Va., was sentenced today to 50 months in prison for traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Marion, a retired Army officer, pled guilty to the charges in February 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ellen S. Huvelle. Upon completion of his prison term, Marion will be placed on 10 years of supervised release. During that time, he must abide by a number of conditions, including registering as a sex offender, getting sex offender treatment, and following limits on computer/Internet usage and contact with minors. Judge Huvelle also ordered Marion to pay a $3,000 fine.
According to the government’s evidence, between Nov. 28, 2012, and Dec. 8, 2012, Marion communicated online, by text message, and by telephone with an individual regarding Marion’s interest in engaging in sexual contact with an underage girl. Marion and the individual planned to meet on Dec. 8, 2012, to engage in such sexual activity.
The individual actually was acting under law enforcement supervision, working with the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force. On Dec. 8, 2012, Marion traveled from Virginia to the prearranged meeting location in Washington, D.C., where he was arrested. Following Marion’s arrest, law enforcement conducted a search of Marion’s residence and found approximately seven videos and 16 images of child pornography on his computer and electronic storage devices.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave and Chief Lanier praised the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine K. Connelly and Paralegal Specialist Toni Donato of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section. Finally, they commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassidy Kesler Pinegar, who prosecuted the case.
13-259District Man Sentenced to Four-Year Prison Term for Robbery and Theft-Defendant Committed Dozens of Other Thefts from Automobiles-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Antoine Dyson, 42, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to a four-year prison term on charges stemming from a Capitol Hill robbery and a theft from an automobile in a downtown parking lot, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.
Dyson pled guilty in May 2013, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to one count each of robbery and first-degree theft. He was sentenced on July 24, 2013 by the Honorable Robert I. Richter. Upon completion of his prison term, Dyson will be placed on three years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on July 13, 2012 at about 4:10 p.m., Dyson was observed on surveillance video entering the Grand Hyatt hotel parking garage in the 1000 block of G Street NW, carrying a single black briefcase. He went to the corner of the garage and returned several minutes later carrying a second black briefcase. Shortly thereafter, the victim reported that the rear passenger window of his 2005 Lexus sports utility vehicle had been shattered, and that a black briefcase containing an Apple iPad2 tablet computer, an iPod Touch portable music player, and a Nikon Coolpix digital camera, among other items, was missing. The victim viewed the surveillance video and confirmed that the second black briefcase carried by Dyson was the briefcase that had been stolen from his vehicle.
Months later, on Nov. 27, 2012, at about 8:30 p.m., Dyson entered the Matchbox restaurant in the 500 block of 8th Street SE, and was observed by an eyewitness removing a second victim’s wallet from her purse, which was hanging from a hook at the restaurant’s bar. The eyewitness chased Dyson out of the restaurant and confronted him about the robbery. Dyson then fled in a sports utility vehicle and was stopped several blocks away by officers of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The victim’s wallet was recovered near where Dyson’s vehicle had been stopped and the eyewitness positively identified Dyson as the perpetrator.
Dyson also was suspected in approximately 72 break-ins of automobiles located in parking garages throughout downtown Washington from January 2011 to November 2012. The break-ins were primarily focused at the Grand Hyatt and Gallery Place parking garages. Dyson often shattered windows to gain access to automobiles, before fleeing with electronics or other valuables contained within the vehicles. As a result of the government’s investigation, these cases were successfully closed, and the government agreed not to bring any charges in exchange for Dyson’s plea of guilty to robbery and first-degree theft in May.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case for the MPD. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Donville Drummond and Tamaya Reid, Investigative Analyst William Hammon, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Ray and Clare Pozos. Finally, he thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Spence, of the Felony Major Crimes Section, who prosecuted the matter.
13-260District Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Dustin Metz, 30, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a federal charge of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., John P. Torres, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Washington, D.C., and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Metz entered the guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Honorable Senior Judge Royce C. Lamberth is to sentence him on Oct. 17, 2013. Metz faces a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment, as well as a potential fine of $250,000.
According to a statement of offense signed by the defendant as well as the government, between September 2012 and April 2013, Metz possessed child pornography on his personal computer at his residence in Washington, D.C. On various dates during that time-frame, Metz used a peer-to-peer file sharing program to download to his computer numerous images and videos depicting child pornography and at the same time make those images and videos available for other users of the program to download themselves. Metz viewed the images and videos and then deleted them.
On April 17, 2013, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Metz’s home and seized various items, including two laptop computers. Law enforcement subsequently discovered evidence showing that Metz had possessed child pornography on both of the computers, including at least one video depicting child pornography and remnants of additional video and image files indicative of child pornography. Metz was arrested on May 9, 2013.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Special Agent in Charge Torres, and Chief Lanier praised the work of the HSI special agents and MPD detectives who investigated the case. They also commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassidy Kesler Pinegar, who is prosecuting the case.
13-258District Man Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Attempted Sexual Assault-Defendant Lured Victim into His Car by Offering A Ride Home-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Ronnie Moore, 48, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to four years in prison on charges stemming from an incident in which he lured a woman into his car and then tried to sexually assault her, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.
Moore pled guilty in May 2013 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to charges of assault with intent to commit first-degree sexual abuse and felony threats. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ronna L. Beck. As a result of the plea, Moore must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Upon completion of his prison term, Moore will be placed on 10 years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on March 10, 2012, at about 10 a.m., Moore was driving a car at the intersection of Branch and Pennsylvania Avenues SE. The victim, then 19, was standing at a bus stop at that location, and Moore pulled up and offered her a ride. Moore said that he knew the victim’s mother, who he mentioned by name, and the victim accepted the ride.
Once inside his vehicle, Moore began complimenting the victim on her looks and asked her if she would be willing to have sex for money. When the victim refused, Moore threatened to kill her if she did not comply. The victim then punched Moore in the face and attempted to escape. Moore struggled to keep her in his car. The victim was able to escape the car, but left several personal effects in the vehicle. Moore sped away from the area.
On June 20, 2012, the victim saw Moore in a checkout line at a supermarket on Alabama Avenue SE. She and a relative confronted Moore, and then reported the sighting to a police officer working at the supermarket. Moore was then placed under arrest.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work performed by those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sex Crime Investigations Division. He also praised those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim Witness Advocate Lesley Richardson, Paralegal D’Yvonne Key, and Information Technology Specialist Kimberly Smith. Finally, he commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mervin A. Bourne, Jr. and Jeff T. Cook, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.
13-256District Man Sentenced to 14-Year Prison Term for Pair of Robberies of Metro Passengers-Defendant Was Armed with A Handgun in One of the Attacks-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Alazajuan Gray, 20, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 14-year prison term on charges stemming from a series of crimes, including two robberies that took place on Metrorail trains, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Gray and a co-defendant, Clifton Smith, 21, of Oxon Hill, Md., were found guilty by a jury in May 2013 of armed robbery, robbery, obstruction of justice, threats, contempt of court, carrying a dangerous weapon and other charges. The verdicts followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Gray was sentenced by the Honorable Herbert B. Dixon, Jr., and Smith is awaiting sentencing.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Dixon ordered Gray to pay $1,800 in fines and $450 in restitution and to undergo anger management and educational training. Upon completion of his prison term, Gray will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on Sept. 21, 2012, at about 11:30 p.m., Gray and Smith approached several college students who had recently moved to Washington, D.C. as these college students, including the victim, were on a Metrorail train at the Fort Totten station. Gray, who was armed with a handgun, took the victim’s iPhone and money. Smith encouraged Gray to take the victim’s property. The victim did not report the crime at the time; Smith told him not to “snitch” and tell the police or he would be harmed.
One week later, on Sept. 28, 2012, at 8:30 p.m. the same victim, who was returning home from his part-time job he used to pay for community college, was at the Fort Totten Metro station and again encountered Gray and Smith. Gray approached him and flashed a gun. Gray and Smith chased the victim into the station’s kiosk. While inside the kiosk, Smith demanded if he was “snitching” and then assaulted the victim. Gray and Smith fled, but soon were caught by police.
Neither the gun nor the victim’s iPhone were found on either of the defendants. However, police found an iPhone near the location where Smith was stopped that night by the Metro Transit Police. The iPhone was linked to a separate Sept. 28, 2012 robbery. That robbery occurred at 7:30 p.m. on a Metrorail train at the Gallery Place/Chinatown station. In that incident, Gray grabbed an iPhone from a woman who had also recently moved to Washington, D.C. She was studying her graduate school homework as the train arrived at the station. After Gray snatched the iPhone, Smith then blocked the victim’s attempt to chase after Gray.
Cellular tower evidence placed Gray’s cell phone at the scene of the first armed robbery.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation to the Metro Transit Police and the FBI for assisting 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 Todd McClelland, Lynette Briggs, Lynda Randolph, and Kendrell Smith; Litigation Technology Specialists Anisha Bhatia, Thomas Royal, Will Henderson, Josh Ellen, Paul Howell, Claudia Gutierrez, and Leif Hickling; Victim/Witness Advocates Jennifer Clark and James Brennan, former intern Justin Bennett, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Suzanne Curt and Chrisellen Kolb, Deputy Chiefs of the Appellate Division. Finally, he thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Selden, of the Felony Major Crimes Section, who is prosecuting the matter.
13-257Former Background Investigator for Federal Government Pleads Guilty to Making A False StatementRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Lindsay Branson III, 58, a former background investigator for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), pled guilty today to a charge stemming from his falsification of work on background investigations of federal employees and contractors, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Patrick E. McFarland, Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management.
Branson, of Silver Spring, Md., pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to making a false statement. The Honorable Amy Berman Jackson scheduled sentencing for Oct. 10, 2013. The charge carries a statutory penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. As part of his plea agreement, Branson must pay $159,918 in restitution to the federal government.
According to a statement of offense submitted to the Court, Branson worked for Federal Investigative Services, a part of OPM that does federal background investigations.
Between September 2010 and November 2011, in multiple Reports of Investigations on background investigations, Branson represented that he had interviewed a source or reviewed a record regarding the subject of the background investigation. In fact, he had not conducted the interviews or obtained the records of interest. His reports were utilized and relied upon by the agencies requesting the background investigations to determine whether the subjects were suitable for positions having access to classified information, for positions impacting national security, or for receiving or retaining security clearances.
Branson’s false representations have required Federal Investigative Services to reopen and rework numerous background investigations that were assigned to him during the time period of his falsifications, at an estimated cost of at least $159,918 to the U.S. government.
Federal Investigative Services has a robust integrity assurance program which utilizes a variety of methods to ensure the accuracy of reported information. The falsification of investigative case work by the defendant was detected through the program.
This is one of numerous cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia in the last four years involving false representations by background investigators and record checkers working on federal background investigations. In addition to Branson, 16 other background investigators and two record checkers have been convicted of charges.
Federal Investigative Services, through its workforce of approximately 7,600, including 6,100 field investigators, is responsible for conducting background investigations for numerous federal agencies and their contractors, on individuals either employed by or seeking employment with those agencies or contractors. Federal Investigative Services conducted more than 2.1 million investigations during the 2012 fiscal year. More than 770,000 of these investigations involved applicants for access or continued access to classified information.
In performing background investigations, the investigators conduct interviews of individuals who have information about the person who is the subject of the review. In addition, the investigators seek out, obtain, and review documentary evidence, such as employment records, to verify and corroborate information provided by either the subject of the background investigation or by persons interviewed during the investigation. After conducting interviews and obtaining documentary evidence, the investigators prepare a Report of Investigation containing the results of the interviews and document reviews, and electronically submit the material to OPM in Washington, D.C. OPM then provides a copy of the investigative file to the requesting agency, which can use the information to determine an individual’s eligibility for employment or a security clearance.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen and Inspector General McFarland praised the efforts of Special Agent Christopher Sulhoff, OPM, Office of the Inspector General, and Philip Kroop and David Newcomer, OPM, Federal Investigative Services. They also acknowledged the work of Paralegal Specialist Nicole Wattelet and Legal Assistant Angela Lawrence, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen Chubin Epstein and David A. Last, who investigated and prosecuted this matter.
13-254District Man Pleads Guilty to Felony Sex Abuse Charge in Assault at Group Home-Defendant Overpowered Victim in His Own Bed -Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Chaqualo McNeil, 19, of Washington, D.C., has pled guilty to a felony charge stemming from a recent attempt to sexually abuse a fellow occupant of a group home, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.
McNeil entered the plea to a charge of attempted first-degree sexual abuse on July 19, 2013, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable John Ramsey Johnson scheduled sentencing for Sept. 20, 2013. McNeil faces a statutory maximum of 15 years in prison. He also must also register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
According to the government’s evidence, on June 2, 2013, the victim, who is in his 20s, was residing in a group home in Northeast Washington with two other adult males, including the defendant. At about 5:30 a.m., while the group home staff was reportedly asleep downstairs, McNeil entered the victim’s bedroom, overpowered him in his bed, and sexually assaulted him.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work performed by those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist D’Yvonne Key and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mervin A. Bourne, Jr. who investigated and prosecuted the matter.
13-255Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Richard Mark Abbott, 62, of Chesterfield, Va., pled guilty today to a federal charge of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Abbott entered the guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Honorable John D. Bates is to sentence him on Oct. 18, 2013. Abbott faces a maximum sentence of 10 years of imprisonment, as well as a potential fine of $250,000.
According to the government's evidence, on March 15, 2013, Abbott contacted an undercover officer with the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, who had posted an ad on a social network site frequented by individuals with a sexual interest in children. Over the next few days, Abbott engaged in online e-mail and instant messaging with the undercover officer, whom Abbott believed was the father of an under-aged girl.
During the course of their communications, Abbott sent the undercover officer ten images of child pornography. On May 2, 2013, Abbott was arrested at his residence in Virginia. Pursuant to a search warrant for the residence, law enforcement recovered various electronic devices including two computers and various external storage devices. After a forensic review of those items, law enforcement recovered over 600 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 guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director Parlave and
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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.Aide to Former Council Member Harry L. Thomas, Jr. Pleads Guilty to Charge Involving $110,000 Grant That Funded an Inaugural Ball-Sixth Person to Plead Guilty in Investigation of Misuse of Funds-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Ayawna Webster, who was an aide and chief of staff for former District of Columbia Council Member Harry L. Thomas, Jr., pled guilty today to a criminal tax charge for her role in channeling $110,000 in youth grant funds used to pay for an inaugural ball.
The guilty plea, which took place in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.
Webster, 36, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty to attempting to interfere with the administration of the Internal Revenue Service laws. The Honorable John D. Bates scheduled sentencing for Nov. 1, 2013. The charge carries a maximum statutory sentence of three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Under federal sentencing guidelines, the parties have agreed that the likely range is up to six months of incarceration and a fine of $1,000 to $10,000.
Webster is the sixth person to plead guilty to charges in an ongoing investigation into activities involving former Council Member Thomas. Thomas pled guilty last year to charges stemming from a scheme in which he used more than $350,000 in taxpayers’ money that was earmarked for the arts, youth recreation, and summer programs for his own personal benefit, including to pay for vehicles, clothing and trips. He resigned as a condition of his plea agreement and is now serving a 38-month prison sentence.
The others who have pled guilty include James Garvin and Marshall D. Banks, leaders of one of the non-profits used in the scheme. Both men, from the Langston in the 21st Century Foundation, pled guilty to misprision of a felony, a charge holding them accountable for failing to report and concealing the misappropriation of $392,000 in government grants. Additionally, Danita C. Doleman, the president of Youth Technology Institute, pled guilty to filing a false return in connection with her assistance in funneling public money to pay for the 51st State Inaugural Ball. Finally, Millicent D. West, the former director and chief executive officer of a non-profit organization that promotes youth opportunities, pled guilty to a criminal tax charge for her role in channeling the youth grant funds to pay for the ball.
Garvin and Banks were sentenced to three years of supervised probation, 80 hours of community service, and ordered to pay full restitution. Doleman and West are awaiting sentencing.
“Today Ayawna Webster became the sixth person to plead guilty as part of the investigation of her former boss, Council Member Harry Thomas, Jr.,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Her guilty plea is another reminder of the foolishness of going along with criminal schemes to placate corrupt public officials. This investigation is continuing.”
“Ms. Webster failed to report the illegal use of public funds, causing money dedicated to District of Columbia youth to be diverted to a single person for their own benefit,” said Assistant Director in Charge Parlave. “This plea, along with that of others who helped to conceal this scheme, shows that those who commit corruption, as well as those who allow it, will be held accountable for their actions.”
“IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to combat public corruption,” said Special Agent in Charge Kelly. “Ms. Webster's plea today is a reminder to all that any abuse of the public trust is a serious matter and those violating that trust will be held accountable.”
Webster worked from January 2007 until December 2010 as Thomas’s director of constituent services. In January 2011, he promoted her to be his chief of staff. In addition to her work duties, Webster was the president of a local chapter of a political organization.
Thomas, who took office in January 2007 as the Ward 5 representative, served during his first term as Chair of the Council’s Committee on Libraries, Parks, Recreation and Planning, which involved oversight responsibility for the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation. In that role, he worked with a non-profit public-private partnership that provided resources and developed programs to benefit children and youth in the District of Columbia.
The partnership was primarily funded by the District of Columbia government through funds designated by the Mayor and Council for particular youth-related purposes. The partnership provided grants to organizations for programs tailored for children and youth.
The charge against Webster deals mostly with her role in the 51st State Inaugural Ball, held on Jan. 20, 2009 in the Wilson Building. Thomas was closely involved in the planning. He had sought to host the event, but was prohibited from doing so. He then asked Webster if her political organization would serve as the host. She agreed, and she then organized the event, including booking entertainment and contracting with caterers, janitorial services and decoration providers, at Thomas’s direction.
The ball was an adult, formal, black-tie event open to members of the public who had purchased tickets for $51 apiece. Webster tried to get a liquor license for the ball, but the request was denied because of its location at the Wilson Building. Before the event occurred, Webster knew that ticket sales were not generating enough money to cover costs. As the event approached, Thomas assured Webster that she would get the funds to pay for the ball. However, after the event, she was unable to pay vendors. Thomas then directed Webster to contact a staff member, who was director of the Committee on Libraries, Parks, Recreation and Planning.
On Jan. 29, 2009, this staff member submitted budget paperwork to the public-private partnership seeking a grant of $110,000 for Webster’s political organization that would fund a “youth/young adult inauguration celebration.” The public-private partnership requested that Webster’s organization complete a tax form to enable check processing. At the direction of the staff member, Webster subsequently completed a tax form, backdated to Jan. 4, 2009, that falsely listed her organization’s name as “DC Young America.”
The grant recipient eventually was changed to the Youth Technology Institute, another non-profit, and new paperwork was submitted leading to the release of the funds.
In truth, the Youth Technology Institute immediately forwarded nearly the entire amount to Webster’s political organization. In addition to paying expenses for the inaugural ball, Webster received permission from Thomas to use some of the grant funds for other purposes, including expenses she incurred while traveling on behalf of her political organization. Also, funds were used to pay a vendor that supplied services to another of Thomas’s events.
In her plea, Webster also admitted failing to report her organization’s political activity. During a hearing in February 2010 of the District of Columbia Office of Campaign Finance, for example, she testified that the organization did not have any financial activity during the time period in which it actually obtained $104,500 for expenses associated with the inaugural ball.
Also, for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2009, Webster never filed federal or District of Columbia tax returns on behalf of the organization.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave and Special Agent in Charge Kelly praised the work of the investigators from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and IRS-CI who worked on the case. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case form the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Criminal Investigators Matthew Kutz, Mark Crawford and Melissa Matthews; Paralegal Specialists Tasha Harris, Diane Hayes, Shanna Hays, Lenisse Edloe and Monica Johnson; Legal Assistant Krishawn Graham, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Bridget Fitzpatrick. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan W. Haray, David Johnson, and James E. Smith, who are prosecuting the matter.
13-252Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to 12 Felony ChargesRead the Press Release
In Series of Burglaries at University Dormitory
-Took Laptops, Other Items in January 2013 at George Washington University-WASHINGTON - James Dunmore, 39, of Hyattsville, Md., pled guilty today to first-degree burglary and other felony charges stemming from a series of burglaries he committed this year at George Washington University, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Dunmore pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to a total of 12 charges, including first-degree burglary, second-degree burglary, second-degree theft, and unlawful entry. The Honorable Robert I. Richter set sentencing for Sept. 13, 2013. Dunmore faces a potential sentence of more than 20 years in prison.
According to a proffer of evidence, signed by the defendant as well as the government, Dunmore entered a total of five apartments in January 2013 in the Ivory Tower Dormitory at George Washington University in Northwest Washington. Over two separate days, he took various electronic items, including laptops, and other property belonging to seven students.
The series of crimes began on Jan. 25, 2013. That day, Dunmore entered the residence hall and went into a student’s apartment while the student was in the shower. He took a laptop and the student’s wallet, which contained the student’s G-World card, a student ID card that can be used to electronically gain entry to the university’s buildings.
Then, on Jan. 28, 2013, Dunmore entered four more apartments in the same building. He got into the residence hall at about 1:30 p.m. by following another student into the building. First, he went to the sixth floor, where he entered three separate apartments. He took a pillowcase, three laptops, a camera and an iPod from one apartment. In another, a student was asleep in bed when Dunmore entered the room and pretended to be looking for someone he knew; he took an iPod from that apartment. He went into a third apartment on the sixth floor, but left without taking anything after he saw someone there. Dunmore then went to the building’s third floor and entered yet another apartment, taking two laptops, a video game system, and a student’s suitcase, which he used to carry the items away.
One student became suspicious of Dunmore’s activities and alerted campus police, who stopped Dunmore on his way out of the building with the stolen items in his possession.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed his appreciation to the Metropolitan Police Department and the George Washington University Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of Paralegal Specialists Allison Gregory Daniels and Victim/Witness Advocates Kristina Rose and Katina Adams-Washington, as well as Intern Julie Herward. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Sroka, who investigated and indicted the case.
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Maryland Man Found Guilty of Felony ChargesRead the Press Release
In 2012 Shooting in Southeast Washington
-He and Another Man Targeted Victims Who Were in a Car-WASHINGTON - Delonte Smith, 20, of Capitol Heights, Md., was found guilty by a jury today of assault with a dangerous weapon and other charges stemming from a shooting that took place last year in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Smith, also known as “Unc,” was found guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia of one count of conspiracy to commit a crime of violence, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and two counts of simple assault. The verdicts followed a two-week trial. The Honorable Heidi M. Pasichow scheduled sentencing for Sept. 20, 2013.
According to the government’s evidence, at about 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 11, 2012, Smith approached a vehicle that was parked in the 5000 block of H Street SE and told the man in the driver’s seat to get out. When the driver refused, Smith tried to open the car door, which was locked. He then walked around the vehicle to the passenger’s side and told the woman in the front passenger’s seat to get out of the car.
In the meantime, Smith’s best friend and accomplice, Jeffrey Ray Tyson, 20, also known as “Baby Boy,” approached the driver’s side door and produced a handgun. Tyson tapped several times on the driver’s side window with the handgun and ordered the driver out of the car. The driver refused, put the car into drive, and attempted to drive away from the area. Tyson fired six shots at the vehicle, at least two of which hit the car. Although neither of the people in the car was hit, the two rounds that struck the vehicle were in the direction of the driver’s head. The car’s occupants flagged down patrol officers just a few blocks away.
Tyson died as the result of a homicide five days later, in an unrelated incident.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed appreciation for the work of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD,) which investigated the case. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Antoinette Sakamsa and Tony Griffith; Litigation Technology Specialists Leif Hickling and Claudia Gutierrez; Victim/Witness Advocate Jim Brennan, Victim/Witness Supervisor Michael Hailey, Victim/Witness Security Specialist Tanya Via, and Victim/Witness Services Coordinator David Foster. Finally, he praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard E. DiZinno, who prosecuted the case.
13-251Former Teacher Pleads Guilty to Receipt of Child Pornography-Exchanged Sexually Explicit Images with Student-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – John Solano, 30, a former teacher from Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to receiving child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Solano entered the guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Honorable Rosemary M. Collyer is to sentence him on Oct. 2, 2013. Solano faces a sentence of not less than five years and no more than 20 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Solano has been incarcerated since his arrest on March 8, 2013.
According to the government's evidence, Solano, who was then a teacher at McKinley Tech High School in Northeast Washington, engaged in inappropriate sexual communications with several current and former students. Specifically, in December 2012, Solano engaged in inappropriate and sexually explicit text message communications with a 16-year-old student. During the course of that correspondence, at Solano’s request, the student sent and Solano received 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 guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director Parlave 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.
13-247District Man Sentenced to 55 ½ Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
For First-Degree Murder While Armed
And Other Charges in Christmas 2009 Attack
-Gunshots Killed One Man, Wounded Two Others-WASHINGTON – Marlo Garcia, also known as “Lupita,” 24, was sentenced today to a prison term of 55 ½ years following his conviction for first-degree murder while armed and other charges in a shooting on Christmas Day 2009 that killed one man and wounded two others, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Garcia, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury in March 2013, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In addition to the murder charge, the jury found him guilty of three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and related weapons offenses. The Honorable Ronna L. Beck sentenced him this afternoon.
According to the government’s evidence, on Dec. 25, 2009, Garcia was invited by his friend, Miguel Romero, to attend a Christmas party at about 4 a.m. at a rooming house in the 5400 block of Fourth Street NW. Garcia brought a .25-caliber handgun to the location, and while there, he went out in an alley to shoot it. When told to stop, he became agitated.
Garcia then went inside the residence and began dancing and groping his friend’s girlfriend. Mr. Romero’s cousin approached Garcia to calm him, and Garcia shot him in the head. He then shot the girlfriend in the head and shot Mr. Romero in the back, neck and head. Garcia then fired yet another shot but missed a fourth person at the apartment. Mr. Romero, 21, died immediately. The other two shooting victims still have bullets lodged in their brains.
After shooting the victims, Garcia fled the apartment. He was arrested two days later.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the detectives, officers, and mobile crime scene officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) who investigated the case. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Rakoczy, Paralegal Specialist Kelly Blakeney, and Melissa Milam, Iris Vega, Marcia Rinker, Laverne Forrest, Michael Hailey, Katina Adams and David Foster, all of the Victim Witness Assistance Unit. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia G. Wright, who prosecuted the case.
13-25016 People Charged in Drug Conspiracy, Accused of Distributing Heroin and Other Drugs in AreaAnother Person, A Police Officer, Has Been Indicted in A Related Case,Accused of Tampering with InvestigationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON –Seventeen people, including a Prince George’s County, Md., police officer, have been indicted on federal charges in connection with an ongoing investigation by the FBI/Metropolitan Police Department Safe Streets Task Force into a network that distributed heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and prescription pills in the Washington, D.C. area.
The charges were announced today by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The defendants, most of whom were arrested this week, are named in a pair of indictments returned on July 11, 2013, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The indictments were unsealed today.
One indictment charges 16 defendants – 14 men and two women - with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, PCP, marijuana, and methamphetamines. The indictment against these defendants also includes a forfeiture allegation seeking all proceeds derived from the crimes, as well as assets used to commit the offenses.
The police officer, Vanessa Edwards-Hamm, 38, is named in the second indictment. She was charged with one count of tampering with documents or proceedings and one count of unlawful notice of electronic surveillance. According to the indictment, she alerted another person or persons of electronic surveillance in an effort to obstruct, impede and prevent the investigation. Hamm was arrested Monday and appeared in court later that afternoon. She was released on personal recognizance pending further court proceedings.
The drug conspiracy charge carries a statutory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years of incarceration. Edwards-Hamm faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison on the charge of tampering with documents and proceedings and up to five years on the charge of providing unlawful notice of electronic surveillance.
The drug conspiracy indictment alleges that the 16 defendants conspired to carry out the drug operation from December 2011 through July of this year, when it was broken up by law enforcement. According to the government’s evidence, the drugs were distributed in the Potomac Gardens and Hopkins housing complexes in Southeast Washington, as well as in Prince George’s County, Md., and locations in northern Virginia.
“In this case, a police officer sworn to uphold the law is accused of undermining law enforcement by revealing covert electronic surveillance,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “That officer has been charged along with a far-reaching criminal network that distributed heroin, cocaine, and PCP through the D.C. area. This prosecution demonstrates our commitment to holding accountable drug dealers and the people who enable their illicit activities."
“With this week’s arrests, drug dealers who enjoyed a rich network to ply their trade within Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia have been removed from our neighborhoods and taken into custody,” said Assistant Director in Charge Parlave. “Along with our law enforcement partners and through the Safe Streets Task Force, the FBI is focused on stopping the movement and sale of drugs on our streets and bringing those who profit from it to justice.”“This community has been plagued with drugs and violence for quite some time,” said Police Chief Lanier. “The Metropolitan Police Department and our federal law enforcement partners have made significant strides to make our communities safer. This case is an example of our dedication to remove illicit drugs and criminals from our neighborhoods.”
The Prince George’s County, Md. Police Department assisted in Monday’s arrest of Edwards-Hamm. “If these allegations are proven true, they are solely the actions of one person,” said Prince George’s County Police Chief Mark A. Magaw. “They do not represent the good works of the men and women of the Prince George’s County Police Department as a whole.”
All told, eleven defendants were arrested in a series of arrests that began on Monday, including seven who were taken into custody today. They include Edwards-Hamm; her brother, Mark Edwards, 39, of Capitol Heights, Md.; Brian Bauer, 38, of Culpeper, Va.; Joshua Brown, 37, of Culpeper, Va.; Jerome Cobble, 31, of Alexandria, Va., and his father, Roger Cobble, 55, of District Heights, Md.; Sean Douglas, 46, of Washington, D.C.; Alonzo Fields, 51, of Washington, D.C. ; Calvin Stoddard, 35, of Washington, D.C., Melvin Sugg, 68, of Landover, Md. , and Sidney Woodruff, Sr., 58, of Washington, D.C.
Three defendants already were in custody: Donald Jenkins, 32, of Culpeper, Va., Jonathan Marshall, 38, of Brandy Station, Va., and Sandra Settle, 31, of Rixeyville, Va. Two men and a woman are being sought.
Many of the defendants made their first court appearances in the case this afternoon.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
This 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 charges, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director Parlave and Chief Lanier expressed appreciation for those who pursued the investigation from the FBI/MPD Safe Streets Task Force. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Prince George's County, Md., and Culpeper, Va. police departments as well as the U.S. Marshals Service and the Charlottesville Resident Agency of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office.
In addition, they acknowledged the efforts of those who are working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Teesha Tobias and Starla Stolk; Program Specialist Kim Hall, and Legal Assistants Diane Brashears and Jessica Moffatt. Finally, they thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth F. Whitted and David B. Kent of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Arvind K. Lal, Catherine K. Connelly and Zia Faruqui, of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.
13-249Former Security Guard Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Using Identifying Information from Nursing Home Residents in Identity Theft and Tax Fraud Scheme-He Stole Identification Information from Nursing Home Residents-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Derek Johnson, a former security guard at a nursing home, was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for various crimes committed in a far-reaching identity theft and tax fraud scheme. Johnson stole identifying information from current and former residents of the nursing home, which was used to obtain more than $400,000 in fraudulent tax refunds.
Johnson is among nine people who have pled guilty so far in one of the largest prosecutions to date involving the use of stolen identifying information. He is the first of the defendants to be sentenced. All told, the case involves the filing of returns seeking more than $20 million in fraudulent refunds.
The sentence, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Gary R. Barksdale, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Eric M. Thorson, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Treasury; and Kathy A. Michalko, Special Agent in Charge, Washington Field Office, U.S. Secret Service.
Johnson, 34, of District Heights, Md., pled guilty in February 2013 to three charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims; aiding and abetting in the making of false claims for refund, and aiding and abetting in fraud and related activity involving identification information. He was sentenced by the Honorable James E. Boasberg.
Judge Boasberg ordered Johnson to pay a total of $435,764 in restitution to the IRS. Upon completion of his prison term, Johnson will be placed on three years of supervised release.
According to evidence presented to the Court by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Schornstein, Johnson was among participants in a massive identity theft and false tax refund scheme involving an extensive network of more than 100 people, many of whom were receiving public assistance. The scheme also involves bank tellers and postal carriers. From 2006 to date, they allegedly caused the filing of at least 7,000 fraudulent federal income tax returns seeking more than $20 million in refunds. The case remains under investigation.
According to the government’s evidence in this case, the refunds were sought in the names of people whose identities had been stolen, including the elderly, people in assisted living facilities, drug addicts and incarcerated prisoners.
“Derek Johnson was hired to protect the residents of a nursing home, but instead he stole these vulnerable citizens’ identities to file for bogus tax refunds,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “His callous conduct was typical of these criminals who exploit senior citizens, people with disabilities, drug addicts, and prisoners in an effort to fleece the taxpayers. Today Mr. Johnson became the first member of this $20 million tax fraud ring to be sentenced for his crimes, but there are many more to come.”
“Criminal conspiracies involving financial fraud of this magnitude are often described as a house of cards. The underlying structure oftentimes falls apart and exposes the individuals responsible without warning,” said Special Agent in Charge Kelly. “Identity theft is a loathsome, despicable crime that victimizes honest Americans and causes immense hardship to those individuals whose identities were stolen. Today’s sentence is a reminder that the IRS will remain vigilant in our investigation of these schemes and will continue to work with prosecutors to combat this type of criminal conduct.”
“The Treasury Office of Inspector General is proud to be a part of this joint effort to stop those who prey on the most vulnerable and unsuspecting victims,” said Inspector General Thorson.
Johnson worked from August 2009 to January 2010 as a security guard at the Grant Park Nursing Home in Northeast Washington. This facility provides short-term rehabilitation care for residents with conditions such as stroke, fractures, joint replacements, amputations, and circulatory problems, as well as long-term care for dementia and Alzheimer’s patients.
The government’s evidence showed that Johnson provided identifying information about current and former nursing home residents to others in the conspiracy. More than 150 fraudulent federal tax forms were filed in the names of these current and former residents with the IRS, claiming fraudulent tax refunds totaling about $404,832. Some of the refund checks were negotiated by Johnson. Other checks were negotiated by co-conspirators. Johnson endorsed his name on 45 checks totaling $90,809, which included 31 checks totaling $30,932 payable to then current or former nursing home patients, and deposited the funds into his own bank account. He kept a portion of the money and provided the rest to one or more of the others in the scheme.
One resident of the nursing home, who had not worked in many years, was recovering from a stroke. His Social Security benefits were reduced as a result of this crime. The IRS reported the man’s filing to the Social Security Administration, which led to the reduction in benefits. His benefits are being restored.
Johnson also endorsed and deposited another 14 checks in the names of others, totaling $30,923.
At sentencing, the government pointed out that tax fraud is a drain on the U.S. treasury and takes away money that could go to a wide variety of essential programs.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Special Agent in Charge Kelly, Inspector in Charge Barksdale, Inspector General Thorson, and Special Agent in Charge Michalko commended those who investigated the case. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Donna Galindo, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Schornstein, who is prosecuting the case.
13-246District Man Sentenced to 10-Year Prison Term in 1995 Slaying in Northwest Washington-Defendant Admitted Shooting Victim, A Friend, Then Fleeing the Scene-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Maurice Fair, 35, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 10 years in prison on a charge of voluntary manslaughter while armed for a slaying in 1995 at an apartment in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Fair pled guilty in May 2013 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The plea agreement, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a 10-year prison term. The Honorable Herbert B. Dixon, Jr. accepted the plea and sentenced Fair. Upon completion of his prison term, Fair will be placed on five years of supervised release. Judge Dixon ordered that Fair participate in mental health treatment while incarcerated and after his release.
According to the government’s evidence, the victim, James W. Belton, 18, was fatally shot on Oct. 5, 1995. Fair, who was then 17, had gone to Mr. Belton’s apartment, in the 1400 block of Sheridan Street NW, to smoke marijuana. While there, he shot Mr. Belton twice in the head with a .38-caliber revolver, causing Mr. Belton’s death. At the time of the murder, no arrests or leads were developed linking the defendant to the slaying.
On July 4, 2004, Fair approached police and told them he had set his mother’s house on fire. He was transported to a hospital for a mental health evaluation. While at the hospital, the defendant, spontaneously, told hospital staff that he shot and killed a man eight years earlier with a .38-caliber gun. He was not arrested for the homicide at that time.
Fair was arrested and interviewed on Oct. 23, 2007 by detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in relation to the death of Mr. Belton. He told police that while visiting Mr. Belton on Oct. 5, 1995, he became paranoid and thought that Mr. Belton and another individual (who was not present) were going to rob and hurt him. He subsequently shot Mr. Belton in the head. At the time that Mr. Belton was shot, he was seated on a couch, unarmed, and had not done anything to suggest to Fair that he was going to rob or hurt him. After the shooting, Fair left the scene on a bicycle. Fair, who has been incarcerated since 2007, will receive credit for the time he has already served.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the MPD detectives and officers who investigated the case. He also acknowledged the effort of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s office, including Paralegal Specialist Kelly Blakeney, and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker. Finally, he praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ed Burley, who indicted the case, Steve Snyder, who worked on the investigation, and Cynthia G. Wright, who prosecuted the matter.
13-245The Gallup Organization Agrees to Pay $10.5 Million to Settle Allegations That It Improperly Inflated Contract Prices and Engaged in Prohibited Employment Negotiations with FEMA OfficialFEMA Official Also Settles with the United StatesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that the Gallup Organization has agreed to pay $10.5 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act and the Procurement Integrity Act for conduct involving several of its federal government contracts and subcontracts. Gallup is a polling and market research firm headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The settlement announced today resolves allegations in a complaint filed by the United States in November 2012. The United States’ complaint alleged that Gallup knowingly overstated its true estimated labor hours in proposals to the U.S. Mint and State Department for contracts and task orders that were to be awarded without competition. Because of Gallup’s conduct, the complaint alleged, the two federal agencies awarded Gallup contracts and task orders at falsely inflated prices. The settlement also resolves allegations that Gallup engaged in improper employment negotiations with a then Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official, Timothy Cannon, in order to obtain a FEMA subcontract at an inflated price and additional FEMA funding after the subcontract had been awarded.
“Contractors must be honest and straightforward in their contract proposals to the government,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “We will pursue contractors that seek to take advantage of the government by providing estimates that do not reflect their best judgment, or by offering employment to federal officials who have a conflict of interest. This type of misconduct results in inflated contract prices and undermines the integrity of the government’s contracting process.”
Separately, in April 2013, Cannon agreed to pay $40,000 to the United States to resolve allegations that he violated the Procurement Integrity Act by improperly negotiating for and accepting an offer of employment from Gallup while being personally and substantially involved in Gallup’s subcontract with FEMA. In related criminal proceedings, on Jan. 15, 2013, Cannon pled guilty to a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 208, a federal conflict of interest statute, and was subsequently sentenced to probation.
“This case exposed a cozy arrangement between a contractor and a government employee where nobody was looking out for the American taxpayer,” said Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. “With this settlement, we have held the contractor accountable for overbilling the government and returned $10.5 million to the federal treasury. This significant corporate settlement and the related criminal prosecution should send a clear message that contractors and government officials alike must operate with honor and integrity.”
The False Claims Act allegations against Gallup were originally brought in a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provisions of the Act by Michael Lindley, Gallup’s former Director of Client Services. The False Claims Act prohibits the submission of false claims for government money or property and allows the United States to recover treble damages and penalties for a violation. Under the Act’s whistleblower provisions, a private party may file suit on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. The United States may elect to intervene and take over the case, as it did here. As a result of the settlement with Gallup, Lindley will receive $1,929,363 as his share of the government’s recovery.
The settlement announced today is part of a global civil, criminal, and administrative resolution involving the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). After the United States’ civil complaint was filed, DHS, the parent organization of FEMA, suspended Gallup from government contracting. In contemplation of resolving the criminal and civil investigations, Gallup recently entered into an Administrative Agreement with DHS, under which Gallup agreed to enhance its corporate compliance and ethics programs. As a result, DHS lifted the suspension of Gallup. Contemporaneous with the civil settlement, Gallup has entered into a Non-Prosecution Agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia related to the FEMA conflict of interest allegations, in which Gallup has further agreed to strengthen its corporate compliance and ethics programs and to pay a penalty of $50,000.
The criminal investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Inspectors General for DHS and the General Services Administration (GSA).
The Deputy Inspector General for the Department of State, Harold W. Geisel, said, “We are very pleased with the successful resolution of this case, and I commend the dedication of our OIG investigators in these complicated investigations. Our efforts should reinforce our commitment to American taxpayers to recover funds from contractors who have unlawfully claimed them.”
P. Brian Crane, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, Treasury Office of Inspector General, would like to thank the U.S. Department of Justice and all agents involved in this case, and states that his office is committed to investigating contract fraud within Treasury’s bureaus, and is pleased with the outcome of this investigation.
"We are vigilant to protect taxpayers from contractors who overcharge the government," said GSA Inspector General Brian D. Miller.
The claims asserted in the government’s complaint are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability. The case is United States ex rel. Lindley v. The Gallup Organization, No-09-cv-01985 (D.D.C.).
13-244District Man Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder While Armed in 2012 Slaying in Northwest Washington-Defendant Stabbed Victim During Confrontation on Street-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Herbert G. Hayes, 41, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury today of second-degree murder while armed in a slaying that took place last year in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Hayes was found guilty by a jury following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Russell F. Canan scheduled sentencing for Sept. 20, 2013. Hayes faces a statutory maximum of 40 years in prison for the crime.
According to the government’s evidence, on May 18, 2012 at about 9:30 p.m., Hayes chased the victim, John Wesley Griffin, 42, down the sidewalk in the 1200 block of North Capitol Street NW. As the chase continued, Mr. Griffin yelled, “Police, police!” Mr. Griffin ran into the street and Hayes followed him. Mr. Griffin then turned and faced Hayes, putting up his fists to fight. At that point, Hayes stabbed him. Mr. Griffin staggered to the sidewalk and then collapsed. Hayes stood over him, and with knife in hand, shouted an expletive about the police before fleeing the scene. Mr. Griffin died as a result of his wounds.
Hayes was arrested on May 21, 2012, and has been in custody ever since.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the detectives, officers and mobile crime scene technicians who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Mia Beamon, Victim/Witness Advocate Tamara Ince; Litigation Technology Specialists Kimberly Smith and Ron Royal, and Interns Daniel Fletcher and Lauren Sparks. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Melinda Williams and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Chris Dobbie, who secured the indictment in the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrienne Dedjinou, who prosecuted the case.
13-243Former U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Manager Sentenced to More Than 19 Years in Prison for $30 Million Bribery and Kickback SchemeScam Involved Steering of Government Contracts; Defendant Is Among 15 People to Plead GuiltyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Kerry F. Khan, 55, a former program manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was sentenced today to 19 years and seven months in prison on federal charges stemming from his leadership of a ring of corrupt public officials and government contractors that engaged in bribery and kickbacks and that stole over $30 million through inflated and fictitious invoices.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; Valerie Parlave, 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, 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).
To date, a total of 15 people and one company have pled guilty to charges in the largest domestic bribery and bid-rigging scheme in the history of federal contracting cases. Khan was the ninth defendant to be sentenced. According to the government’s evidence, Khan was paid, directly and indirectly, over $12 million through the bribery scheme. The government contracts were awarded from 2007 until 2011 through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of the Army.
The scheme involved six companies, and could have resulted in even more losses for the government. Before his arrest, Khan was attempting to steer a planned $1 billion federal contract to a favored contractor in return for payments.
Among other things, Khan used his share of the stolen proceeds to pay off a mortgage and refurbish his primary residence, and also in connection with the purchase of another dozen pieces of real property. The money also was used for home improvements; flat screen televisions; computer equipment; furniture; two Rolex watches; airlines tickets and luxury international hotel accommodations; high-end liquor, and other major personal expenses.
Khan, formerly of Alexandria, Va., pled guilty in May 2012 to charges of bribery and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced by the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Sullivan ordered Khan to pay $32.5 million in restitution to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The judge also entered a forfeiture money judgment against Khan for $11,082,687, and forfeited to the United States more than $1.3 million in bank account funds, 13 properties in Virginia, Florida, and West Virginia, and a 2011 GMC Yukon Denali truck. Khan has previously forfeited over $700,000 in bank account funds and four luxury automobiles.
All of those sentenced so far have received prison terms. The investigation is continuing.
Kerry Khan was the ringleader of the largest bribery and bid-rigging scheme in the history of federal contracting,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “His corrupt network of public officials and private contractors looted the U.S. Treasury for years. Khan is now headed to prison for more than 19 years, where the friends, family, and colleagues he brought into his criminality will be joining him. His lengthy prison sentence is an appropriately forceful response to this brazen scheme.”“Through a series of deals laced with bribes and kickbacks, Mr. Khan stole more than $30 million from the American taxpayer for his personal benefit. If it had not been for law enforcement intervention, a $780 million federal contract may also have been awarded as part of the scheme,” said Assistant Director in Charge Parlave of the FBI. “Today’s sentencing serves as a reminder that corruption will not be overlooked or downplayed, and those who take part in such activity will pay the price for their crimes.”
“Criminal conspiracies involving financial fraud of this magnitude are frequently described as a house of cards, and the underlying structure oftentimes falls apart and exposes the individuals’ responsible for what they are, greedy criminals,” said Special Agent in Charge Kelly of IRS-CI. “Mr. Khan's contributions to this massive bribery and bid-rigging scheme were extensive and significant. Today's sentence should be a warning to those involved in criminal activities that they, like Mr. Khan, will be held accountable for their actions.”
“The consequence to those who betray the public trust in exchange for bribe payments is evident by today’s announcement,” said Inspector General Gustafson of the SBA. “Kerry Khan served as the ringleader in an extraordinary conspiracy to defraud the government, and his sentence demonstrates there is no tolerance for criminal activity by Federal employees who hold positions of trust in the federal contracting process. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their commitment to seek justice on behalf of the American taxpayer.”
“At a time when Government and taxpayer resources are being stretched to their limits and our service members continue to make sacrifices to protect our national security, it is detestable that officials trusted with the oversight of Department of Defense resources and programs blatantly conspired with contractors to defraud the Government and, eventually, the American warfighter,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig of DCIS. “The sentence imposed in this case sends a clear message to those who may follow in the defendant’s footsteps—the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and our law enforcement partners will take aggressive action to identify and investigate those that endeavor to take advantage of the Department of Defense and the men and women of the uniformed services.”
“Army CID and its law enforcement partners joined together in bringing Mr. Khan and his co-conspirators to justice and we are very pleased with the sentencing handed down today," said Director Robey. “Our highly trained agents are determined to root out cases of bribery and bid-rigging and we will continue to pursue all allegations of fraud perpetrated against the U.S. Army with a great sense of importance and urgency."
***Khan was among four men arrested on Oct. 4, 2011 and, according to the government’s evidence, he was the mastermind of the scheme. The others arrested that day - Michael A. Alexander, a former program manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, businessman Harold F. Babb, and Khan’s son, Lee A. Khan - earlier pled guilty to charges. Khan, Lee Khan, Babb, and Alexander have been in custody since their arrests.
Khan worked for the Army Corps of Engineers from 1994 until the time of his arrest, in October 2011. He was a program manager and contracting officer’s technical representative with the Directorate of Contingency Operations. In that position, Kerry Khan had authority to, among other things, place orders for products and services through federal government contracts. He also had authority to certify that the work on orders had been completed.
According to the government’s evidence, Khan carried out the scheme with others, including Alexander, a colleague, who was then a program manager with the Army Corps of Engineers; Babb, the former director of contracts at Eyak Technology LLC (EyakTek), an Alaska Native-owned small business; Alex N. Cho, the former chief technology officer of Nova Datacom, LLC, a provider of information assurance and security services to federal agencies and commercial companies; Larry G. Corbett, owner of Core Technology LLC and Enterprise Technical Solutions, Inc.; Robert L. McKinney, the president of Alpha Technology Group, Inc., a provider of program management services, James Edward Miller, the owner of Big Surf Construction Management LLC, and Nick Park, a former employee of Nova Datacom who later opened his own business, Unisource Enterprise Inc. (UEI).Also participating in the scheme, according to the government’s evidence, were Khan’s son, Lee, and his youngest brother, Nazim Khan. All have pled guilty to charges.
Nova Datacom, LLC pled guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States. Others who have pled guilty as part of the investigation include Min Jung Cho, the former president of Nova Datacom, LLC; Theodoros Hallas, the former Executive Vice President of Operations for Nova Datacom, LLC; John Han Lee, a co-founder of Unisource Enterprise Inc.; King Everett Johnson, a former employee of Unisource Enterprise Inc. and the founder of Integrated Business and Technology Solutions, LLC, and Oh Sung Kwon, also known as Thomas Kwon, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Avenciatech, Inc.
According to a statement of offense signed by Khan, in or around 2006, he and Alexander agreed to work together to obtain government contracts for corrupt contractors who would reward them with bribes. Among others, Khan and Alexander worked with Babb on a scheme to use EyakTek as a vehicle for channeling contracts awarded by the Army Corps of Engineers. EyakTek, in turn, hired Nova Datacom and other sub-contractors that submitted fraudulently inflated or fictitious quotes for equipment and services. As directed by Khan and Alexander, the sub-contractors kicked back a significant portion of the payments to them, as bribes for keeping the money flowing their way from the Army Corps of Engineers.
Khan and the others attempted to obtain more than $30 million through the bribery scheme primarily through the submission of fraudulently inflated invoices to the government, according to the statement of offense. In most cases, the corrupt companies provided the equipment and services legitimately included in the contracts, but also billed for inflated and fictitious equipment and services. Khan referred to the fraudulently inflated amounts as “overhead.” Khan, Alexander, and the contractors agreed to split the “overhead.”
Khan admitted obtaining, directly and indirectly, more than $12 million from Nova Datacom; Alpha Technology Group; Big Surf Construction; Core Technology LLC and Enterprise Technical Solutions, Inc.; and Ananke, LLC. He also admitted that, at the time of his arrest, he was owed more than $14 million in additional “overhead” payments from the contractors.
***Alexander, Babb, Corbett, McKinney, and Miller have been sentenced to prison terms for their roles in the scheme. Hallas, Lee Khan, and Nazim Khan also were sentenced to prison.
Alex Cho, Min Jung Cho, Kwon, Park, Lee and Johnson are awaiting sentencing.
In the overall investigation, to date, the United States has seized for forfeiture or recovered approximately $7.5 million in bank account funds, cash, and repayments, 20 real properties, eight luxury cars, and multiple pieces of fine jewelry.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave, 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 Office of the Inspector General for the Small Business Administration; the Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Defense Contract Audit Agency; the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, 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 worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael K. Atkinson, Bryan Seeley, and James Smith of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section. Finally, they expressed thanks for assistance provided by Stephanie Brooker, former Chief of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section; former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Dana; Forensic Accountant Maria Boodoo; Paralegal Specialists Tasha Harris, Lenisse Edloe, Shanna Hays, Taryn McLaughlin, Christopher Samson, and Nicole Wattelet, and Legal Assistants Krishawn Graham and Jessica McCormick.
13-242Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Felony Charges in Broad Daylight Kidnapping and Assault-Defendant Abducted Girlfriend After High-Speed Chase-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Christopher Devese, 22, of Capitol Heights, Md., has pled guilty to charges stemming from an incident in which he abducted his pregnant girlfriend from a gas station, robbed her and then assaulted her, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.
Devese pled guilty on July 9, 2013, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of kidnapping, assault with a dangerous weapon, robbery, and felony contempt. The plea is contingent upon the approval of the Honorable John Ramsey Johnson, who scheduled sentencing for Sept. 13, 2013. If the court accepts the plea at the time of sentencing, Devese will be sentenced to a period of incarceration between four and seven years.
According to the government’s evidence, on April 27, 2013, at about 12:30 p.m., Devese chased his girlfriend, the victim, in a car from Capitol Heights, Md., into the District of Columbia, as she sped through red lights trying to get away from him. The victim, who had called 911 for help while being pursued by Devese, was finally cornered in a gas station parking lot in the 4900 block of South Dakota Avenue NE. Devese smashed the car window to get into the car and pulled his girlfriend out. He then put her into his car and drove her to an unknown alley in the District of Columbia, where he repeatedly assaulted her, including beating her in the stomach with his casted fist. During the assault, he also robbed the victim of her cell phone, which police recovered from him when he was arrested. Devese then drove the victim back to Capitol Heights, Md., where he assaulted her again before his mother came to the victim’s aid.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit and the FBI/MPD Violent Crimes Task Force. He also praised those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Lezlie Richardson, Paralegal Specialist D’Yvonne Key, and Intern Lucie Enns. Finally, he commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Mervin A. Bourne, Jr., who investigated and indicted the case.
13-241District Man Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder While Armed in 2011 Slaying in Northwest Washington-Defendant Stabbed Victim in the Neck-Read the Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wedneday, July 3, 2013WASHINGTON Devon Holmes, 30, also known as “Jamaica,” of Washington D.C., was found guilty by a jury today of second-degree murder while armed for the August 2011 slaying of a man 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 Ronna L. Beck scheduled sentencing for Aug. 30, 2013. Holmes faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison
According to the evidence at trial, at about 2:45 a.m. on Aug. 3, 2011, in the area of 8th and Jefferson Streets NW, Holmes slashed the victim, Marcellus T. Bailey, 24, in the neck with a sharp object, causing a gaping wound and loss of blood. Holmes fled the scene. Mr. Bailey died a short while later. The motive for the attack is unknown. Holmes was arrested on Sept. 9, 2011, and has been in custody ever since.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen commended those who worked on the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), including detectives, mobile crime technicians, and others. He also expressed appreciation for the work of Special Agent Kevin R. Horan of the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST). In addition, he acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Fern Rhedrick and Mia Beamon; Litigation Support Services Specialists Jeanie Latimore-Brown, Kimberly Smith, Claudia Gutierrez, Joshua Ellen, and Joseph Calvarese; Victim/Witness Advocates Marcia Rinker and Tamara Ince; Victim/Witness Services Supervisor David Foster; Witness Security Specialists M. Laverne Forrest and Michael Hailey; Criminal Investigators Mark Crawford and Christopher Brophy, and Intelligence Research Specialists Zachary McMenamin, Sharon Johnson, and Shannon Alexis.
Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Feitel and Kathryn L. Rakoczy, who prosecuted the case at trial.
13-240Virginia Man Sentenced to 22Years in Prison and Fined $500,000 for Attempting to Entice Minor to Engage in Illicit Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Paul David Hite, 58, an anesthesiologist from Midlothian, Va., was sentenced today to 22 years in prison and fined $500,000 on two federal charges of attempting to entice a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Joining in the announcement were Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Hite was found guilty by a jury in February 2013 following a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. Upon completion of his prison term, Hite will be placed on 10 years of supervised release.
Evidence presented at trial established that from Feb. 1, 2012 through Feb. 17, 2012, Hite engaged in a series of Internet chats and telephone calls with an undercover police detective in Washington, D.C., who was posing as an adult who was sexually abusing a minor girl and a minor boy. During the course of the communications with the undercover detective, Hite described, in graphic detail, the sexual activity in which he wanted to engage with the purported minors. Hite also discussed plans to travel to Washington, D.C. for the purpose of sexually abusing the purported minors.
Hite was arrested near his residence in Midlothian on Feb. 17, 2012. Law enforcement recovered computer equipment from Hite’s home, which uncovered evidence 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.
“This wealthy doctor trolled the Internet for child pornography and described in shocking detail the sex acts he wanted to perform on a 12-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “We can only be thankful that he was identified and stopped by law enforcement before he had the opportunity to carry out his disturbing plans to drug and rape children. This sentence of more than 20 years behind bars should deter other criminals who are tempted to sexually abuse children.”
“Online predators who attempt to entice minors take advantage of our most precious resource, our children,” said Assistant Director in Charge Parlave. “The FBI is committed to apprehending dangerous offenders who sexually exploit children, and we will continue to work together with our partners to identify these predators and their victims.”
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave and Chief Lanier commended the work of all who participated in the investigation. They especially acknowledged the efforts of the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, as well as the FBI’s Richmond Field Division.
They also acknowledged the efforts of Digital Investigative Analyst Christie Gardner of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, and Criminal Investigator John Marsh of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. They additionally commended the efforts of those who assisted with the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Starla Stolk; Legal Assistants Jessica Moffatt and Charmonique Price; Dawn Tolson-Hightower and David Foster of the Victim Witness Assistant Unit; and Joshua Ellen, Kimberly Smith, and Leif Hickling of the Litigation Services Unit.
Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Wu from the Eastern District of Virginia, Diane Lucas of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and David B. Kent and Julieanne Himelstein of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Darcy Katzin of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
13-239Six Members of Drug Ring Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Sentences Following Guilty Pleas to Narcotics and Money Laundering Charges- Members Operated in Southeast Washington and at Other Locations -Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON Six area men have been sentenced to prison terms on federal narcotics and money laundering charges, stemming from their roles in a ring that distributed significant amounts of cocaine in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) announced today.
The defendants include Robert Savoy, 41, of Fort Washington, Md.; James Brown, 42, of Washington, D.C.; Terrence Hudson, 39, of Oxon Hill, Md.; Jerome Johnson, 41, of Capitol Heights, Md.; Nathan Robinson, 40, of Washington, D.C.; and Eric Scurry, 41, also of Oxon Hill, Md. All previously pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The last of the six defendants was sentenced this morning.
The men were arrested during a long-term investigation by the FBI/MPD Safe Streets Task Force into a criminal organization supplying street-level dealers with significant quantities of powder cocaine and crack cocaine for distribution in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. In particular, members of this organization distributed powder cocaine and crack cocaine in the 4200 and 4300 blocks of Fourth Street SE. They also distributed narcotics in other areas of Washington, D.C., and Maryland.
During the course of the investigation, agents and detectives seized multiple handguns, more than a kilogram of powder cocaine, large quantities of crack cocaine, and over $40,000 in cash. Savoy, Hudson and Robinson were arrested on Nov. 10, 2010; Johnson and Scurry were arrested on Dec. 17, 2010; and Brown was arrested on Sept. 15, 2011. All six defendants were detained following their arrests and have remained in custody since that time.
Johnson and Brown pled guilty on Sept. 7, 2012. Savoy, Hudson and Scurry pled guilty on Sept. 10, 2012, and Robinson pled guilty on Sept. 12, 2012. All of the defendants entered the pleas before the Honorable Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth.
According to evidence presented at the plea hearings, Johnson supplied Savoy with kilograms of cocaine. In turn, Savoy supplied large quantities of cocaine to Brown and Hudson, among others. Savoy also supplied large quantities of cocaine base to other individuals throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
Brown and Hudson supplied these narcotics to others. At times, Hudson coordinated his narcotics sales with Scurry and Robinson, who both distributed large quantities of cocaine base in the 4200 and 4300 blocks of Fourth Street, SE, among other places. Robinson would also coordinate his narcotics sales with Scurry.
Chief Judge Lamberth accepted the terms of the plea agreements and sentenced Savoy to a prison term of 17 years, Scurry to a prison term of 12 years, Hudson to a prison term of 10 years, Johnson and Robinson to prison terms of eight years, and Brown to a prison term of seven years. Hudson was sentenced on Nov. 27, 2012; Robinson was sentenced on Nov. 29, 2012; Brown and Scurry were sentenced on Nov. 30, 2012; Savoy was sentenced on June 4, 2013, and Johnson was sentenced today.
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 Safe Streets Initiative involves more than 150 Safe Streets Task Forces around the country that combat street gangs by combining federal, state and local police resources.
In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave, and Chief Lanier commended the actions of the Special Agents from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, as well as the actions of other MPD members of the Safe Streets Task Force. They also commended the support provided by U.S. Attorney’s Office employees, including Paralegals Regan Gibson and Candace Battle; Legal Assistants Candace Cisco and Diane Brashears; Criminal Intelligence Analyst Frank Morgan, and Information Technology Specialists Kimberly Smith, Paul Howell, and William Henderson.
Finally, they praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Arvind Lal and Opher Shweiki, who investigated and prosecuted the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Zia Faruqui, who assisted with the money laundering and asset forfeiture issues, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Fernando Campoamor-Sanchez and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Les Gross, who assisted in the investigation.
13-237Maryland Man Sentenced to 24 ½-Year Prison Term for Two Attacks, Including A Beating That Led to Serious Injuries-Crimes Took Place Within About Three Hours Last Summer-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Tommy T. Branch, 22, of Fort Washington, Md., was sentenced today to 24 ½ years in prison for a pair of attacks last summer, including one in which a man was severely beaten with a baseball bat, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Branch was found guilty by a jury on May 1, 2013, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of charges of conspiracy, aggravated assault while armed, armed robbery, assault with intent to rob, and attempted credit card fraud. Upon completion of his prison term, Branch will be placed on 11 years of supervised release.
At today’s sentencing, the Honorable Robert I. Richter said that “nothing can undo the violence that Mr. Branch chose to unleash on that night last year,” adding that the defendant’s actions “showed a coldness of heart that all the remorse in the world cannot erase.”
According to the government’s evidence, Branch and two accomplices – Sunny B. Kuti and Michael Moore - decided on Aug. 17, 2012 to commit a robbery together. They drove to the Adams Morgan area of Northwest Washington in Branch’s car. When they could not identify a suitable target, they drove to Capitol Hill and parked down an alley next to Eastern Market.
Shortly after midnight, early in the morning of Aug. 18, 2012, the three men saw the victim, Thomas “T.C.” Maslin. Mr. Maslin was walking home and at the edge of a park near Independence and North Carolina Avenues SE. During the ensuing robbery, Mr. Maslin raised his hands and said that all he had was a phone and bank card. As the robbery continued, Kuti struck Mr. Maslin in the side of the head with a BB gun, temporarily stunning him. Moore pushed Mr. Maslin, and Branch struck him in the side of the head with a baseball bat.
Branch and his accomplices took Mr. Maslin’s iPhone, bank card, and keys. They then drove to a gas station in the 1200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE, a few blocks away from the robbery scene. Branch tried to use Mr. Maslin’s bank card to buy gasoline, but the card was refused because he did not know the cardholder’s zip code.
Following this attack, Branch, Kuti, and Moore drove to the Barry Farm area of Southeast Washington where they met a fourth man, Darrin L. Beal. They then set off for the Adams Morgan area to commit a second robbery. At about 3:20 a.m., while Beal remained in the car, Branch, Moore, and Kuti, while armed with a non-functioning BB gun that resembled a real handgun, targeted three victims in an alley off of the 1800 block of 18th Street NW, violently assaulting one victim and taking a cellphone, wallet, and set of keys from another.
Mr. Maslin was found, unconscious, by police at about 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 18, 2012, on the front porch of a rowhouse in the 700 block of North Carolina Avenue SE. He had a massive fracture to his skull and bleeding throughout the brain cavity due to the blow from the bat.
Moore, 19, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty to charges for his role in the crimes and is awaiting sentencing. Kuti, 18, of Washington, D.C., and Beal, 25, of Washington, D.C., are awaiting trial. Both have pled not guilty to charges.
“Throughout this process, our prosecutors have been overwhelmed by the number of citizens who have come forward to show support for T.C. Maslin and his young family,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “That outpouring of support demonstrates the power of our community to come together and rise above the most brutal acts of violence. I hope that today's sentence will allow Mr. Maslin, his family, and the entire Capitol Hill community -- as well as the other two victims of this defendant's attacks -- to continue the healing process.”
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also praised the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Swanton of the First District Prosecution team.
13-238Maryland Man Sentenced to 26 Years in Prison for August 2011 Slaying in Northeast Washington-Defendant Chased Victim and Shot Him Numerous Times-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Ricardo Mitchell, 33, of Temple Hills, Md., was sentenced today to 26 years in prison on a charge of second-degree murder while armed in a slaying that took place in August 2011 in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Mitchell pled guilty in April 2013 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to the murder charge as well as a charge of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. He was sentenced by the Honorable Lynn Leibovitz. Upon completion of his prison term, Mitchell is to be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, in the early evening of Aug. 21, 2011, Mitchell was outside a residence in the 3900 block of Clay Place NE when he exchanged words with the victim, Wyatt Earp Robinson. Mr. Robinson, 33, walked away. Mr. Robinson headed toward his vehicle, where his girlfriend and four-year-old child were waiting.
Mitchell then ran into the residence. He returned outside and ran from the front porch of the house with a gun in his hand and up the sidewalk, toward Minnesota Avenue, and after Mr. Robinson. He caught up with Mr. Robinson when the victim was approximately five feet from his vehicle. At that point, Mitchell confronted Mr. Robinson and shot him several times.
After shooting Mr. Robinson, who had nothing in his hands but his cellphone, the defendant began to walk away, but turned back toward the victim and fired another shot at him. A total of nine .40-caliber cartridge casings were found on the scene by police, and all were fired from the same firearm. An autopsy revealed nine gunshot wounds to Mr. Robinson’s body.
Following the shooting, Mitchell fled into and through the residence on Clay Street NE. He exited through the residence’s back door and fled the scene on a motorcycle.
After shooting and killing Mr. Robinson, Mitchell fled to a storage facility in Forestville, Md., where he hid the motorcycle that he used to flee the crime scene. The defendant is captured on surveillance footage from that storage facility wearing the same clothes that he was seen wearing at the time of the murder. Mitchell was arrested on Aug. 24, 2011.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives, officers and crime scene technicians who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Criminal Investigators Durand Odom and Zachary McMenamin, Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker, and Paralegal Specialists Mia Beamon, Kendra Johnson, Marian Russell and Phaylyn Hunt. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reagan M. Taylor, Teresa Howie and Stephen J. Gripkey, who prosecuted the matter.
13-234Maryland Man Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder While Armed in 2010 Killing Inside Downtown Office Building-Defendant Later Disposed of Body in Frederick County, Md.-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Marvin Palencia, 38, of Hyattsville, Md., was found guilty by a jury today of first-degree murder while armed and other charges stemming from the slaying of a man in a downtown office building, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In addition to the murder charge, the jury found Palencia guilty of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, carrying a pistol without a license, and tampering with evidence. The Honorable John Ramsey Johnson scheduled sentencing for Oct. 11, 2013.
According to the government’s evidence, on Nov. 11, 2010, Palencia shot the victim, Jacobo Vazquez, 36, in the chest and in the back of the head in the laundry room of a ten-story office building in the 100 block of Constitution Avenue NW, where both of the men worked. Palencia was angry because Mr. Vazquez was in a relationship with the defendant’s wife. Palencia and his wife were separated but he hoped for a reconciliation.
Prior to the murder, Valencia shared with several people how upset he was with Mr. Vazquez. He also threatened Mr. Vazquez about one week before the murder – telling him that he better not see him at work anymore. Over the course of the next week, Palencia purchased a firearm illegally and verified Mr. Vazquez’s work schedule with his superior.
The government’s evidence showed that Palencia carefully planned out the timing and location of the murder by using his knowledge of the building and the various employee schedules. After killing Mr. Vazquez, Palencia put the body in a cardboard box, wrapped the box in duct tape, plastic, and a cord, and then dumped the body on the side of the road on Interstate 70 in Frederick County, Md. However, in his haste to wrap the box, he unknowingly attached his work identification card to the box. Palencia was arrested Nov. 20, 2010 and has been in custody ever since.
“Thanks to the efforts of law enforcement from the District of Columbia and Maryland and a dedicated prosecution team, Marvin Palencia was brought to justice for this calculated killing of a co-worker inside an office building within blocks of the U.S. Capitol,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “We hope this verdict brings some measure of relief to the family of Mr. Vazquez.”
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the detectives, officers and evidence technicians who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Maryland State Police, the Maryland State Highway Department and the Maryland State Medical Examiner’s Office. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case form the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Marian Russell and Kalisha Johnson-Clark; Intern Matt Lamb, and Litigation Technology Specialists Kimberly Smith and Thomas “Ron” Royal. He thanked Assistant U.S Attorney Seth B. Waxman, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Miller, who investigated the case and secured the indictment.
Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Cannon and Kevin Flynn, who prosecuted the case at trial.
13-236District Man Sentenced to 7 ½ Years in Prison for Stabbing Teenager Outside Howard TheatreDefendant Used Anti-Gay Slurs Prior to the Attack; Must Serve Additional Six Months for Separate Assault on A Corrections OfficerRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Ali Jackson, 20, was sentenced today to a 7 ½-year prison term on charges stemming from an attack in which he stabbed a 16-year-old victim after making threatening statements and anti-gay slurs, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Jackson, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in January 2013 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to a charge of assault with intent to kill. The charge carried a bias enhancement. In addition, Jackson pled guilty to a charge of assault on a police officer stemming from a separate incident involving an attack against a corrections officer.
The Honorable Patricia A. Broderick sentenced Jackson to the 7 ½-year prison term for the attack and another six months in prison for the incident involving the officer. After serving the eight years of incarceration, Jackson is to be placed on three years of supervised release.
Two others, also of Washington, D.C., earlier pled guilty and were sentenced for their roles in the events on the night of the stabbing, which took place near the Howard Theatre.
Jackson’s sister, Alvonica Jackson, 26, pled guilty to simple assault and second-degree theft and was sentenced in March 2013 to a total of 360 days of incarceration, with all but 30 days suspended on the condition that she successfully complete two years of probation. Desmond Campbell, 34, the boyfriend of Alvonica Jackson, pled guilty to simple assault and was sentenced in March 2013 to 180 days of incarceration, with all but 30 days suspended on the condition that he successfully complete two years of probation.
“Violence fueled by hate tears at the fabric of our society,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “It harms not only its direct victims, but spreads fear and intimidation throughout our community. As this prison sentence demonstrates, in the District of Columbia, we have zero tolerance for violent crimes driven by ignorant prejudice.”
“With today’s sentence, Ali Jackson must now face the consequences of his violent hate crime,” said Chief Lanier. “We hope that others who might consider committing bias-related offenses will pay attention to today’s sentencing and choose not to follow in Ali Jackson’s footsteps. I applaud the hard-working members of this department for their investigative efforts in helping to make today’s sentencing possible and the support of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their outstanding work in this case.”
According to the government’s evidence, on June 26, 2012, at about 8:25 p.m., Campbell and Alvonica Jackson entered the Howard Theatre, in the 600 block of T Street NW, and headed to the restrooms. Alvonica Jackson stole $2 from the bathroom, and she and Campbell left.
Meanwhile, Ali Jackson had remained outside. He recognized the victim on the street at Georgia and Florida Avenues NW and started a confrontation with the teenager, who was there with a friend. Ali Jackson began using anti-gay slurs and asked a group of men nearby if they had a knife, saying he was about to stab the victim.
As the victim walked away, Ali Jackson ran down the 600 block of T Street and into an alleyway near the theater. He then came from the alley, toward the victim’s back. Once again using anti-gay slurs, he stated, among other things, “I’m going to kill you.”
As Ali Jackson got closer, he produced a knife and the victim sprayed him with pepper spray. Campbell then came behind the victim, choking him. Ali Jackson ran up to the victim and stabbed him with a knife three times – in the left arm, the left side of his back, and the left leg. During the stabbing, the victim was attempting to swing his arms at Ali Jackson, but Alvonica Jackson grabbed his arms. The assault stopped when the attackers heard police sirens.
Campbell and Alvonica Jackson also used slurs during the attack. All three defendants were arrested a short time later.
The second charge against Ali Jackson stemmed from an incident Dec. 15, 2012 at the District of Columbia Jail in which he punched a corrections officer.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and Chief Lanier praised the work of the detectives and officers from the MPD who investigated the case. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Kravis, who provided assistance at sentencing, and Paralegal Specialist Allison Daniels. Finally, they commended the work of former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Chris Dobbie and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jin Park, who prosecuted the case.
13-233District Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Assaulting Woman After Entering Her Apartment-Cellphone and Other Evidence Tied Him to the Crime-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Domingo Martinez, 26, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to charges stemming from a recent home invasion in which he sexually assaulted a woman who had been asleep in her apartment, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Martinez pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count each of second-degree burglary and assault with intent to commit first-degree sexual abuse. The Honorable John Ramsey Johnson scheduled sentencing for Sept. 20, 2013. Each of the charges carries a statutory maximum of 15 years in prison.
According to the government’s evidence, at about 2:30 a.m. on May 16, 2013, Martinez appeared inside a woman’s apartment in the 6700 block of 14th Street NW. The woman woke up to see him, wearing a shirt wrapped around his head that served as a mask. He held what at first appeared to be a gun and sexually accosted her.
Once Martinez was close enough to touch her, the victim realized that the object in his hand was a cellphone, not a gun. At this point, she decided to fight back and she bit him on the shoulder during a struggle. He pushed her, causing her to fall, and then ran away.
The victim pursued Martinez through a hallway and grabbed the shirt from his head. As he continued fleeing, he dropped the cellphone, which the victim also picked up. She then ran back to her apartment, locked the door behind her, and called 911 for help.
Based upon the telephone records for the abandoned cellphone, and its contents, including time-stamped photographs and video, police identified Martinez as a suspect and arrested him on May 21, 2013. He lived in the building where the attack took place. At the time of his arrest, Martinez had a bite mark, not yet fully healed, on his left shoulder.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department. He also praised the efforts of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Criminal Investigator John Marsh, Victim/Witness Advocate Melissa Milam, and Paralegal Specialist D’Yvonne Key. Finally, he acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Heide L. Herrmann, who is prosecuting the matter.
13-235Hundreds of Youths Attend Third Annual Anti-Violence Summit Led by U.S. Attorney’s Office and Community Partners- U.S. Attorney Machen: “Your Future Is Your Responsibility”-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – More than 500 youths gathered at Friendship Collegiate Academy in Northeast Washington today for a summit sponsored by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia that featured presentations about issues facing young people here and nationwide, including bullying, sexual assaults, street gangs, and drug abuse.
U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and other speakers addressed the summit’s theme of “Breaking the Silence on Youth Violence.” The free event also included workshops for older and younger youth, a dance-off, and entertainment from a variety of performers, including nationally known recording artist Marcus Canty.
“You must protect your future at all times,” U.S. Attorney Machen said in his opening remarks. “Your future is your responsibility and no one else’s.”
U.S. Attorney Machen talked about the importance of making good decisions, warning “Never let somebody without a future take yours away.” He urged the youths, ages 8 through 18, to stay out of bad situations, act with integrity, and work hard to achieve long-term goals.
“You have to ask yourself, ‘are you willing to stand up for what you believe in? You can be a voice of positive change,” U.S. Attorney Machen declared.
This was the office’s third annual Youth Summit, which assembles young people from under-served neighborhoods in the District of Columbia to discuss the most pressing public safety challenges facing their communities. Each of the previous summits also drew hundreds of students. For today’s event, youths began arriving in the morning at Friendship Collegiate Academy, 4095 Minnesota Avenue NE, and remained well into the afternoon.
This year’s summit was organized with help from the Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force, the East River Family Strengthening Collaborative, and law enforcement and community partners. The goal of the Youth Summit is to reach out to area youth on current public safety topics in an informative and inspiring way.
Several collaborative partners, including the Columbia Heights Shaw/Family Collaborative, the District of Columbia Department of Health, the D.C. Rape Crisis Center, Street Wize Foundation, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, joined together to present the day’s programs. Assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and other District of Columbia government agencies.
The youth summit is one in a series of community events sponsored by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including town hall meetings, crime prevention presentations, and various outreach programs for people of all ages.
13-231Former CEO of London-Based Company Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for $2.1 Million Fraud Scheme-Defendant Used Nearly $1.7 Million of Proceeds to Buy Home in Great Falls, Va.-Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Kevin Richard Halligen, 51, an Irish citizen, was sentenced today to 41 months in prison for carrying out a scheme in which he defrauded $2.1 million from a Netherlands-based commodities trading company, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Halligen pled guilty in May 2013 to one count of wire fraud, the first of two counts of an indictment that was returned against him in 2009 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. As part of the plea agreement, the government agreed to dismiss the second count of the indictment, which was a money laundering charge stemming from the same scheme. He was sentenced by the Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
Under the plea agreement, Halligen also must pay $2.1 million in restitution to the company that was the victim of his scheme.
Halligen was incarcerated in the United Kingdom from the date of his arrest in November 2009 until his extradition in December 2012. When he was presented for his initial appearance in the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia, in December 2012, he was ordered to be held without bond and he has been incarcerated since that time. He will get credit for the time he has served in the United States and abroad. He has voluntarily requested that he be removed from the United States immediately.
The wire fraud charge stems from actions taken by Halligen in 2006 and 2007, when he was the Chief Executive Officer of Red Defence International (RDI), a London-based security consulting and crisis management firm, which was hired by Trafigura Beheer BV (Trafigura), a Netherlands-based international commodities trading company, and its London-based law firm, Waterson Hicks. Trafigura hired RDI as a consultant in crisis management after two Trafigura executives were captured and imprisoned in the Ivory Coast while visiting there for the purpose of determining the company’s next steps to address an environmental issue caused by the leakage of toxic waste material from Trafigura vessels in an Ivory Coast port.
While employed by Trafigura, Halligen claimed to have incurred $2.1 million in expenses related to pursuing a strategy in the United States aimed at convincing the United States to assist in securing the release of the Trafigura executives; in reality, Halligen spent the money on a home in Great Falls, Va., which was to be his personal residence, as well as other personal expenses, according to the government’s evidence.
According to a Statement of Offense, signed by the defendant as well as the government, at the request of Trafigura, Waterson Hicks hired RDI in October 2006 to help secure the release of two Trafigura executives who were arrested and detained in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The arrests followed an environmental spill off the coast of Abidjan. Under a contract that took effect in October 2006, RDI was to provide security intelligence and public relations services related to Trafigura’s presence in the Ivory Coast and to assist with facilitating the release of the Trafigura executives. Under the contract with RDI, Waterson Hicks paid RDI and then, in turn, the law firm was reimbursed by Trafigura.
During November 2006, after other efforts to secure the executives’ release proved unsuccessful, Halligen suggested that the U.S. government should be involved with facilitating negotiations with the Ivory Coast. His stated strategy was to utilize his contacts in the United States to encourage Ivory Coast officials to release the executives. Halligen said the “American Strategy” would cost an additional $2.1 million, on top of the money RDI already was receiving. In total, Halligen received close to $12 million under this contract.
The $2.1 million supposedly was to be used to pay expenses incurred by Halligen in the United States to hire consultants and lobbyists to influence officials in the United States on Trafigura’s behalf. In December 2006, Halligen was informed that the law firm had received the $2.1 million from Trafigura. Then, in January 2007, Halligen told the law firm to wire $2.1 million from their bank account in London to his personal bank account in the United States.
Between November 2006 and January 2007, Halligen traveled to the United States on numerous occasions, claiming to have met with U.S. officials in Washington, D.C., allegedly in furtherance of the “American Strategy.” While in Washington, D.C., he began dating a woman who resided in the area and subsequently became engaged to her.
Halligen gave his fianceé a $2 million budget to find a suitable house in which they would live after their marriage. Shortly thereafter, she found a six-bedroom, 4 ½-bathroom residence in Great Falls, Va. On Jan. 11, 2007 - the day after $2.1 million was wired to Halligen’s personal bank account for the American strategy - Halligen wired nearly $1.7 million from his account to complete the purchase of the Great Falls residence.
None of the proceeds from the $2.1 million payment from Waterson Hicks to RDI were ever directed toward reimbursement of expenses related to the “American Strategy.” In addition to spending nearly $1.7 million on the purchase of the Great Falls residence, the rest of the money was spent on other personal expenses, including a lavish fake wedding to his Washington, D.C. fiancé which was held at an exclusive location in Georgetown, two purebred dogs, and other luxury personal items.
The Trafigura executives ultimately were released in February 2007.
At the time of his indictment in November 2009, Halligen was no longer residing in the United States. On Nov. 25, 2009, he was arrested at a hotel in Oxford, the United Kingdom, so that he could be extradited to the United States. At the time of his arrest, Halligen was using an alias. Subsequent to his arrest in the United Kingdom, Halligen litigated issues surrounding his extradition to the United States. He ultimately was extradited in December 2012.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and Assistant Director in Charge Parlave commended the work of the Special Agents from the FBI’s Washington Field Office who handled the case. They also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including paralegals Donna Galindo, Tasha Harris, and Krishawn Graham. Finally, they commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maia L. Miller and Matt Graves, who prosecuted the case, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Vasu Muthyala who investigated the matter.
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