District of Delaware
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Registered Child Sex Offender Sentenced to 15 Years for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – William Zimmerman, age 64, of Georgetown, Delaware, was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison for Receipt of Child Pornography, in violation of federal law. Zimmerman also was sentenced to 10 years of supervised release following his prison sentence. He also will be required to continue to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school.
Zimmerman was previously convicted in Delaware of Unlawful Sexual Contact Second Degree in 1988 and Possession of Child Pornography in 1993. He served 4 years in prison for the child pornography offense, and was released from custody in 1997. At the time of the instant offense, he was registered as a sex offender as required by Delaware and federal law.
According to statements made and documents filed in court, Zimmerman came to the attention of the Delaware Child Predator Task Force (the “Task Force”) during its investigation of Roger Cordero and David Pennington, two other registered child sex offenders living in Delaware, who had met while incarcerated at the Smyrna Correctional Institution for other child sexual offenses. In December 2012, the Task Force conducted residential searches at Cordero and Pennington’s residences. They recovered computers containing thousands of images of child pornography and handwritten stories relating to child sexual abuse from Cordero’s residence, and found a cell phone referencing child pornography images at Pennington’s residence.
Pennington, who was then wearing an electronic monitoring device due to a state probation violation, provided the Task Force officers with information about Zimmerman, whom Pennington met in sex offender therapy. In particular, Pennington admitted that he and Zimmerman viewed child pornography together on a computer located at Zimmerman’s residence. They did this at Zimmerman’s residence because Pennington was on active probation and was prohibited from possessing a computer in his residence. Pennington also admitted that Zimmerman had sent him cell phone text messages attaching images of child pornography.
On January 8, 2013, Task Force officers executed a state search warrant at Zimmerman’s Georgetown residence. They recovered several pieces of computer equipment found to contain over 2,300 images of child pornography. The images featured children, mostly boys, ranging in age from infancy to mid-teen, who were posed or engaged in sexual acts with adult males.
In the spring of 2013, the Delaware Attorney General’s Office referred the Cordero and Zimmerman cases to the United States Attorney’s Office for federal prosecution. The Delaware Attorney General’s Office proceeded with a state prosecution of David Pennington, which resulted in Pennington being sentenced to 28 years in prison in October 2013.
Following today’s sentencing hearing, United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III stated: “With the active cooperation of State and Federal authorities, three serious child predators have been taken into custody. Zimmerman and Pennington have pled guilty and received sentences of 15 and 28 years. Cordero is scheduled for trial in June 2014 and faces a mandatory minimum term of 35-60 years of incarceration if convicted. These cases serve as an example of what can be achieved through the mutual cooperation of state and federal law enforcement.”
Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden credited the Delaware Child Predator Task Force with identifying all three defendants after receiving a CyberTip in late 2012 from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“These individuals will never again be a threat to children. After receiving a CyberTip the Child Predator Task Force worked quickly to uncover a child pornography network operating locally in our State and took three dangerous predators off the streets. Thanks to its excellent investigation and to our strong partnership with state and federal law enforcement agencies we’re using the full force of the law to protect children.”
“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents in Wilmington will continue to work tirelessly with our partners of the Delaware Child Predator Task Force and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in bringing child sexual predators to face justice and to ensure that those victims who are identified are rescued from this plight,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge in Philadelphia John P. Kelleghan. “This sentencing is a reminder to those who exploit our most innocent citizens, children: We will identify, investigate and arrest you for committing these horrendous crimes.”
All three cases were brought as part of the United States Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Program, which was launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of online child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue child victims. Under this program, the Delaware Attorney General’s Office, the United States Attorney’s Office, the Delaware State Police and the United States Department of Homeland Security have worked together to investigate and prosecute Zimmerman, Cordero and Pennington.For more information about the Project Safe Childhood Program, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about reporting online child exploitation to the national CyberTipline, visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s website at: www.missingkids.com.
Citizen of Zimbabwe Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. - Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Tendayi Mandere, a citizen of Zimbabwe, pled guilty today to violations of 18 USC § 286 (False Claims Conspiracy) and 18 USC § 1028A(a)(1) (Aggravated Identity Theft). Mandere will be sentenced on August 22, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. by the Honorable Richard G. Andrews, United States District Judge for the District of Delaware. For his violation of 18 USC § 286, Mandere faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and 3 years of supervised release. His violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1) carries a mandatory two year term of imprisonment consecutive to any other term of incarceration, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a maximum of 3 years of supervised release.
According to statements made at the plea hearing and documents filed in court, the defendant participated in a tax fraud conspiracy involving the filing of more than 130 false individual federal income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service. The defendant obtained the names and social security numbers of real individuals from his co-conspirators, and he used them to electronically file false tax returns via the Internet. The defendant fabricated the wage and withholding information on the returns, which sought refunds of more than $600,000. Most of these fraudulent returns were rejected by the Internal Revenue Service. As part of the defendant’s plea agreement, he agreed that he was responsible to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of at least $114,000, the amount obtained by the defendant and his co-conspirators during the course of the scheme.
U.S. Attorney Oberly gave the following comments: “I want to specifically extend thanks to the IRS and its agents who work so diligently ferretting and developing evidence allowing my office to prosecute tax cheats. Tax fraud is a huge problem, and all of us who work and pay our taxes are victims. These cases are of particular interest to me and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.”
“Investigating refund fraud and identity theft is a priority for IRS Criminal Investigation," said Akeia Conner, Special Agent in Charge, Philadelphia Field Office. “Stealing identities and filing false tax returns is a serious crime that hurts innocent taxpayers. Today’s plea should serve as a strong deterrent to those who are considering similar conduct. Law enforcement is serious about investigating these crimes and holding to account those who would defraud the government.”
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Paxton and Jennifer Hall.
Registered Child Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Production and Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Harry K. Roche, age 43, of Millsboro, Delaware, pled guilty today to Production and Transportation of Child Pornography, in violation of federal law. Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced the guilty plea following a hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
Roche was previously convicted in Delaware of Using a Computer to Depict a Child Engaging in a Prohibited Sexual Act and Possession of Child Pornography in 2003, which involved Roche producing sexually explicit images of children in his Magnolia, Delaware apartment. In 1994, Roche had been convicted of sexual harassment of a minor boy. At the time of the instant offense, Roche was registered as a sex offender as required by Delaware and federal law.
As a result of his prior convictions, Roche faces enhanced sentencing penalties under federal law, including a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years, and a maximum sentence of 50 years, in prison. Roche also faces a term of supervised release of five years to life following his prison sentence, and he will be required to continue to register as a sex offender in any U.S. jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school. Roche will be sentenced on a date to be determined by United States District Judge Sue L. Robinson.
According to statements made and documents filed in court, Roche came to the attention of the Delaware Child Predator Task Force after it received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The cybertip reported that an AOL user, subsequently identified as Harry K. Roche, a registered child sex offender from Millsboro, Delaware, had distributed files containing child pornography through an AOL server.
On January 31, 2013, Delaware Child Predator Task Force officers executed a state search warrant at Roche’s apartment, which was located above the Bluewater Grill restaurant, in Millsboro, Delaware. Roche and a roommate were present for the search, during which officers seized numerous computers, cellular phones and external digital storage devices. A subsequent forensic examination of that computer equipment revealed that Roche had collected and distributed hundreds of pictures and movies of child pornography, virtually all of which featured prepubescent boys engaged in sexual acts. In a number of these images and movies, the child victims were bound, gagged or blindfolded as they were violently raped by adult males.
Also during the forensic examination of Roche’s iPhone, a forensic examiner discovered a series of photographs of Roche in the bedroom of his residence engaged in a sexual act with a young boy. Metadata associated with the digital files indicated that the images were saved to the iPhone on January 30, 2013, the day before the residential search occurred. The Delaware Child Predator Task Force and the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, worked together to identify the child victim, who resides in Delaware. The investigation further revealed that Roche met the child victim near the Bluewater Grill and subsequently lured the child into his apartment. Roche subsequently distributed the images that he had produced, along with other images of child pornography, to other child sex offenders.
Following the plea hearing, United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III stated: “By today’s plea, this twice-convicted sexual predator will be removed from society for likely the remainder of his life. Upon his sentencing later this year, the deserved severe sentence, a minimum mandatory of 25 years, should serve as a deterrent to others that a long prison sentence is the price to pay for engaging in such activity.”
“There is a clear and deeply disturbing link between those who possess child pornography and those who commit physical offenses against children,” Attorney General Beau Biden said. “That’s why the work of the Delaware Child Predator Task Force, along with our close cooperation with federal law enforcement partners, is so critical to finding these dangerous predators and taking them off the streets.”
This case was brought as part of the United States Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Program, which was launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of online child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue child victims. As intended by the United States Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Program, federal and state child exploitation prosecutors and investigators have worked together to investigate and prosecute Roche.
For more information about the Project Safe Childhood Program, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about reporting online child exploitation to the national CyberTipline, visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s website at: www.missingkids.com.
This case is being investigated by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force and the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew.
Sussex County Man Sentenced in Illegal Storage and Clean Water Act ViolationsRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Patrick Henry Procino, age 66, of Laurel, Delaware, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Richard G. Andrews to one year probation, a $50,000 fine and a $100 special assessment for one count of illegal storage of hazardous waste without a permit.
On October 15, 2013, as the owner/operator of Procino Plating, Inc. (Procino Plating), Procino entered a guilty plea on behalf of that corporation to one count of violating the Clean Water Act. Procino was also sentenced today on the Clean Water Act violation to five years’ probation, a $400 special assessment.
According to statements made at the plea hearing and documents filed in court, Procino owned and operated Procino Plating, Inc. ("the facility"), at 901 South Market Street in Blades, Delaware. Until the fall of 2007, the facility was utilized for plating and electroplating-related operations.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) defines hazardous waste to include chemical waste which due to its chemical characteristics presents a hazard to human health or the environment. RCRA mandates that producers of hazardous wastes may not store such wastes without first obtaining a storage permit from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). From December 2007 through May 2010, Patrick Procino stored a tank containing approximately 450 gallons of liquid hazardous waste which originally had been used at the facility on its decorative chrome plating line. This chemical waste had a ph. of 0.8 and, therefore, was a corrosive waste under RCRA.
As to Procino Plating, in the course of its operations it produced wastewater, and pursuant to a pretreatment industrial wastewater permit issued by Sussex County, Procino Plating was permitted to discharge its industrial wastewater to the Seaford, Delaware treatment plant which, in turn, discharges into the Nanticoke River. Pursuant to the Clean Water Act, the permit set limits on the amount of various pollutants that Procino Plating could discharge in its industrial waste water to the Seaford treatment plant, including limits on various metals.
On or about June 1, 2009, Sussex County modified Procino Plating’s industrial user permit to specifically prohibit the discharge of waste water generated as a result of electroplating operations, and any waste or bi-products of the electroplating processes then in storage at the facility. This modification was made based upon statements and representations by Procino Plating to Sussex County officials, indicating that the business has ceased electroplating-related operations at the facility. However, from June 2009 through March 2010, Procino Plating processed, through its wastewater treatment plant, stored drums of chemicals which were leftover from its former electroplating operations and, in violation of its Clean Water Act mandated permit, discharged resulting wastewater to the Seaford treatment plant.
Following the sentencing, Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, stated, “Environmental crimes endanger the welfare of our citizens and natural resources, and where appropriate will be prosecuted to ensure the safety of our citizens.”
“For years the defendant knowingly disregarded federal and state environmental laws,” said David G. McLeod, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of EPA's criminal enforcement program for the Middle Atlantic States. "Improperly handling hazardous wastes and industrial pollutants can threaten the environment and put the public at serious risk. Today's sentencing demonstrates our resolve to collaborate with our state and federal counterparts to vigorously investigate and prosecute any credible allegation that a company and its leaders treat our nation's environmental laws with contempt.”
This case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control-Criminal Investigations. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edmond Falgowski and Special Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Lisa.
“Sentencing for Mr. Procino culminates another environmental protection partnership effort between Delaware, EPA and the U.S. Attorney's Office,” said DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara. “Delaware companies demonstrate every day that they can be successful while complying with environmental standards to protect public health, and DNREC works hard to assist the state's businesses in achieving these goals. Mr. Procino continually demonstrated a blatant disregard for the state’s hazardous waste regulations, and we appreciate the great efforts of the EPA and U.S. Attorney’s Office in bringing this case to a close.”Former New Castle Resident Indicted on Bank Robbery ChargesRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Blair Thomas, Jr., 29, formerly of New Castle, Del., was indicted by a federal grand jury today on one count of bank robbery, announced Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware.
According to the indictment, on January 23, 2014, Thomas robbed the M&T Bank located at 4899 Limestone Road in Wilmington, of $17,531. The defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $175,000 and a $100.00 special assessment, if convicted.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania indicted Thomas on similar charges today (go to www.justice.gov/usao/pae for more information).
The case is being investigated by the Wilmington Field Office of the FBI with the assistance of the Delaware State Police and the Philadelphia Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service. Special Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth L. Van Pelt is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
Indictments are only charges and are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.Pennsylvania Middle School Football Coach, School Cook and Summer Camp Counselor Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Attempted Online Enticement of A MinorRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Michael J. Barndt, a/k/a “mikecoach73,” age 40, of Sellersville, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison for Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor, in violation of federal law. Barndt also was sentenced to five years of supervised release following his prison sentence. He also will be required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school.
Prior to his arrest, Barndt had been employed as a chef manager at the Lakeside School in Horsham Township, Pennsylvania since 2009. Barndt also served for six years as the football coach at Springfield Township Middle School, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He last coached in 2012 – the last football season prior to his arrest. During the summer months, Barndt worked as a camp counselor at “Blue Bell Camp,” in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, where his duties including coaching football and driving children home from camp.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Barndt was arrested on June 19, 2013, after he traveled from his Pennsylvania home to the Concord Mall, in Wilmington, Delaware, to meet a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl for sexual activity. Barndt identified this supposed 14-year-old girl, who was actually an undercover federal agent, after he posted an on-line personals ad on www.craigslist.com. In the ad, which he entitled, “Real Teen Fantasy,” Barndt expressed interest in a sexual liaison with a teenage girl. Using the screen name “mikecoach73,” Barndt engaged in a series of explicit online chat conversations with the undercover agent, during which he transmitted explicit photos of himself. Through the chats, Barndt and the “teen” planned to meet at the Concord Mall and then travel to a Wilmington hotel for a sexual encounter on June 19, 2013.
On the morning of June 19, 2013, Barndt drove from his Sellersville residence to Wilmington, Delaware, where he checked into a local hotel. Barndt then drove to the Concord Mall, where he was met by a team of federal agents shortly after purchasing items at Victoria’s Secret. Federal agents seized a smartphone from Barndt, which was later found to contain approximately 15,000 images of teenage females who are either suggestively dressed or partially or completely nude. Most of these images appear to have been self-produced by the teenagers with smartphones.
Following the sentencing hearing, U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III stated: “This case serves as yet another example of the danger that lurks in cyber world. Mr. Brandt was ready, willing, and able to assault an underage child to fulfill his own twisted desires. Fortunately, he was taken off before he could carry out his criminal acts. Every parent should carefully monitor their child's use of the Internet so as to protect him or her from predators looking for vulnerable victims.”
"Predators like Mr, Barndt, stalk and attack the most vulnerable in our society, our children,” said John Kelleghan, special agent in charge of HSI Philadelphia. “As today’s sentencing shows, he will now answer for his despicable actions. HSI will not tolerate such acts, we will relentlessly and aggressively track down child predators to ensure our communities are safe."
This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew.
Former Bank Vice President Pleads Guilty To Attempted Online Enticement of a Minor
WILMINGTON, Del. – Kirk A. Simmons, age 59, of Newark, Delaware, pled guilty today to Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor, in violation of federal law. Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced the guilty plea following a hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, where Simmons will be sentenced by United States District Judge Leonard P. Stark on June 24, 2014.
Simmons faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years, and a maximum sentence of life, in prison. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and a term of supervised release following his prison sentence of at least five years to life. Simmons also will be required to register as a sex offender in any U.S. jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school.At the time of his arrest in this case, Simmons was employed as a Vice President, Market Information Manager II at Bank of America’s Newark, Delaware facility. Bank of America terminated Simmons’s employment following notification of his arrest and criminal conduct. According to his LinkedIn profile, at the time of his arrest, Simmons also was working as a “Professional private tutor” through WyzAnt Tutoring, “providing private in-home tutoring at the high school and college levels.”
According to the indictment and court documents, Simmons was arrested by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force on July 18, 2013, after he arrived at a Newark hotel to engage in sex acts with two persons he believed to be a 13-year-old girl and her biological father. Approximately one month earlier, in June 2013, Simmons responded to a “personals” advertisement for “fam love/taboo” on an adult social networking website. Simmons believed the advertisement had been posted by the father of a 13-year-old girl who the father would make available for sex with adult males. In fact, the “father” was actually an undercover Delaware State Police detective assigned to the Delaware Child Predator Task Force.
Over the course of the next month, Simmons and the undercover detective engaged in numerous online chat conversations in which Simmons indicated and graphically described that he wanted to engage in sexual activity with the purported “father” and his child. After a number of online conversations, Simmons and the “father” agreed to meet at a Newark hotel on July 18, 2013, where they both would engage in sex acts with the “13-year-old daughter.”
Shortly before that meeting, Simmons was under surveillance by the Delaware State Police and was observed driving directly from his workplace to the hotel. He was arrested by Child Predator Task Force members when he arrived in the hotel parking lot. In a recorded interview with a Delaware State Police detective, Simmons admitted that he intended to engage in sexual activity with the fictitious “father” and “13-year-old daughter” at the hotel. Simmons also admitted that he brought a digital camera with him to photograph the sexual activity.Following the plea hearing, United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III stated: “I want to thank the Delaware Child Predator Task Force for its outstanding work in this case. This was a time-intensive, month-long, online undercover investigation that resulted in the capture of a seemingly upstanding and successful businessman who planned to rape a child with her father’s help. I would also like to thank the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for its continued and successful partnership with our State law enforcement partners on this critically important work.”
"Protecting children from predators requires cooperation among law enforcement agencies," said Delaware State Prosecutor Kathleen Jennings. "That's why under Attorney General Biden's leadership the Delaware Child Predator Task Force, which is co-led by the Delaware Department of Justice and the Delaware State Police, regularly works across jurisdictional lines with local, state, and federal partners to track down and stop those who are seeking to hurt our kids."
"This case shows that exploitation of children has severe consequences for those who engage in these depraved activities,” said John Kelleghan, special agent in charge of HSI Philadelphia. “HSI is committed to investigating these cases, working alongside our agency partners to help protect the citizens of our neighboring communities.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew and investigated by the Delaware State Police and the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.
Former Bank Vice President Pleads Guilty to Attempted Online Enticement of A MinorRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Kirk A. Simmons, age 59, of Newark, Delaware, pled guilty today to Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor, in violation of federal law. Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced the guilty plea following a hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, where Simmons will be sentenced by United States District Judge Leonard P. Stark on June 24, 2014.
Simmons faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years, and a maximum sentence of life, in prison. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and a term of supervised release following his prison sentence of at least five years to life. Simmons also will be required to register as a sex offender in any U.S. jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school.
At the time of his arrest in this case, Simmons was employed as a Vice President, Market Information Manager II at Bank of America’s Newark, Delaware facility. Bank of America terminated Simmons’s employment following notification of his arrest and criminal conduct. According to his LinkedIn profile, at the time of his arrest, Simmons also was working as a “Professional private tutor” through WyzAnt Tutoring, “providing private in-home tutoring at the high school and college levels.”
According to the indictment and court documents, Simmons was arrested by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force on July 18, 2013, after he arrived at a Newark hotel to engage in sex acts with two persons he believed to be a 13-year-old girl and her biological father. Approximately one month earlier, in June 2013, Simmons responded to a “personals” advertisement for “fam love/taboo” on an adult social networking website. Simmons believed the advertisement had been posted by the father of a 13-year-old girl who the father would make available for sex with adult males. In fact, the “father” was actually an undercover Delaware State Police detective assigned to the Delaware Child Predator Task Force.
Over the course of the next month, Simmons and the undercover detective engaged in numerous online chat conversations in which Simmons indicated and graphically described that he wanted to engage in sexual activity with the purported “father” and his child. After a number of online conversations, Simmons and the “father” agreed to meet at a Newark hotel on July 18, 2013, where they both would engage in sex acts with the “13-year-old daughter.”
Shortly before that meeting, Simmons was under surveillance by the Delaware State Police and was observed driving directly from his workplace to the hotel. He was arrested by Child Predator Task Force members when he arrived in the hotel parking lot. In a recorded interview with a Delaware State Police detective, Simmons admitted that he intended to engage in sexual activity with the fictitious “father” and “13-year-old daughter” at the hotel. Simmons also admitted that he brought a digital camera with him to photograph the sexual activity.Following the plea hearing, United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III stated: “I want to thank the Delaware Child Predator Task Force for its outstanding work in this case. This was a time-intensive, month-long, online undercover investigation that resulted in the capture of a seemingly upstanding and successful businessman who planned to rape a child with her father’s help. I would also like to thank the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for its continued and successful partnership with our State law enforcement partners on this critically important work.”
"Protecting children from predators requires cooperation among law enforcement agencies," said Delaware State Prosecutor Kathleen Jennings. "That's why under Attorney General Biden's leadership the Delaware Child Predator Task Force, which is co-led by the Delaware Department of Justice and the Delaware State Police, regularly works across jurisdictional lines with local, state, and federal partners to track down and stop those who are seeking to hurt our kids."
"This case shows that exploitation of children has severe consequences for those who engage in these depraved activities,” said John Kelleghan, special agent in charge of HSI Philadelphia. “HSI is committed to investigating these cases, working alongside our agency partners to help protect the citizens of our neighboring communities.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew and investigated by the Delaware State Police and the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.
Four Philadelphia Men Charged in $4.4 Million Dollar Jewelry HeistRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, and Stephen E. Vogt, Special Agent in Charge of the Baltimore Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today that defendants, DARRELL WILLIAMS, a/k/a “Blue,” age 43 of Philadelphia, DAVID STORY, a/k/a “Dawoo,” age 46 of Philadelphia, RUFUS LAWSON, a/k/a “Ru,” “Alonzo Nowell,” age 48 of Philadelphia, and WILLIE HAWKINS SMITH, age 22 of Philadelphia, have been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951; one count of committing Hobbs Act Robbery; and one count of possessing and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c), for their roles in the November 1, 2011, armed robbery of Stuart Kingston Jewelers, located in Wilmington, Delaware. Jackie Howard, an unindicted co-conspirator in this robbery, was separately indicted in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
If convicted, Darrell Williams, David Story, Rufus Lawson, and Willie Hawkins Smith each face a maximum sentence of life in prison. Darrell Williams, David Story, Rufus Lawson, and Willie Hawkins Smith also face a mandatory minimum sentence of 7 years. All defendants also face possible fines, supervised release and special assessments.
According to the Indictment, which was unsealed yesterday in Delaware’s District Court, in the weeks leading up to the robbery, the defendants targeted Stuart Kingston Jewelers. Prior to the robbery, the defendants cased the jewelry store so that they would be familiar with the store’s lay-out. On November 1, 2011, the defendants drove to Stuart Kingston Jewelers in two separate vehicles. One car was a rented white U-Haul cargo van, which displayed a stolen New York State license plate to conceal the U-Haul van’s true license plate. The other car was a rented Nissan Sentra, which was used to conduct counter-surveillance during the armed robbery. Upon arriving at the store, four of the defendants, armed with a handgun, hammers, zip-ties, and duct tape, conducted a take-over style robbery of Stuart Kingston Jewelers. A fifth defendant remained outside the store in the Nissan Sentra acting as a look-out.
At the time of the robbery, surveillance cameras were operating throughout Stuart Kingston Jewelers, and the front door to the store was locked. One of the defendants, however, was able to gain entry by showing his face to the security camera, which caused an employee to unwittingly and remotely unlock the door. Once the front door was unlocked, all of the defendants entered the jewelry store. The remaining defendants wore coats, gloves, and masks to conceal their identities.
Two of the defendants immediately tied up three store employees with zip-ties and duct tape, while the remaining defendants smashed the display cases, removed the jewelry, and placed the jewelry into bags. The defendants robbed the store of hundreds of pieces of jewelry, including valuable earrings, brooches, necklaces, and rings, all of which possessed an estimated retail value of approximately $2,427,216.50. The defendants also forced an employee to open and empty the jewelry store’s vault, which was located in the back of the store. The defendants took possession of, among other items, a piece of jewelry known as the “Liberty Bell Ruby.” The “Liberty Bell Ruby is the largest mined ruby in the world, found in east Africa in the 1950s. It weighs approximately four pounds, is approximately eight and a half thousand carats, and is sculpted into the Liberty Bell. It has approximately fifty diamonds set in it and possessed an estimated retail value of approximately $2,000,000.00.
This case was investigated by the FBI, Wilmington Resident Agency. Assistant United States Attorney Jamie M. McCall is prosecuting this case.
For further information, contact Assistant United States Attorney Jamie M. McCall or United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Wilmington Trust Officer Indicted on Bank Fraud, Bank Bribery, and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Brian D. Bailey, age 51 of Middletown, DE, was charged on February 4, 2014, in a fourteen-count Indictment with the following offenses:
- Count 1 charges the defendant with Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 1349. The maximum penalties for Count 1 are a term of imprisonment of thirty years; a fine of $1,000,000.00; a term of supervised release of five years; a $100 special assessment; and mandatory restitution.
- Count 2 charges the defendant with Conspiracy to Commit Bank Bribery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 215 and 371. The maximum penalties for Count 2 are a term of imprisonment of five years; a fine of $250,000.00; a term of supervised release of two years; a $100.00 special assessment; and mandatory restitution.
- Counts 3 through 11 charge the defendant with Bank Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 2. The maximum penalties for each of Counts 3-11 are a term of imprisonment of thirty years; a fine of $1,000,000.00; a term of supervised release of five years; a $100.00 special assessment; and mandatory restitution.
- Count 12 charges the defendant with receipt of a gift for procuring a loan, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 215(a)(2) and 2. The maximum penalties for Count 12 are a term of imprisonment of 30 years; a fine of $1,000,000.00; a term of supervised release of five years; a $100.00 special assessment; and mandatory restitution.
- Count 13 charges defendant with unlawfully providing a gift with an intent to influence a bank employee, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 215(a)(1) and 2. The maximum penalties for Count 13 are a term of imprisonment of 30 years; a fine of $1,000,000.00; a term of supervised release of five years; a $100.00 special assessment; and mandatory restitution.
- Count 14 charges the defendant with money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957. The maximum penalties for Count 14 are a term of imprisonment of ten years; a fine of $250,000.00; a term of supervised release of three years; and a $100 special assessment.
Mr. Bailey made his initial appearance today before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Mary Pat Thynge. His next court appearance, an arraignment on the charges, is set for Wednesday, February 19, 2014, at 1:00 p.m.
The Indictment alleges that Mr. Bailey, the former head of Commercial Real Estate and Delaware Market Manager of the Wilmington Trust Co., engaged in a twelve-year lending relationship with James A. Ladio, the former Chief Lending Officer at Artisans’ Bank and Chief Executive Officer of MidCoast Community Bank. According to the Indictment, the defendant and Ladio approved approximately twenty-three loans and modifications to each other through their positions at Wilmington Trust, Artisans, and MidCoast, respectively. The loan relationship, as alleged in the Indictment, is summarized in the attached chart. The Indictment further alleges that the aggregate amount of all the loan facilities was in excess of $1.5 million.
United States Attorney Oberly said, “The Indictment alleges that the defendant entered into a long-term scheme with another banker to provide multiple loans to each other on terms not available to the general public, all the while failing to disclose their relationship to their respective banks. This Office remains steadfast in its continuing commitment to combat financial fraud and corruption, and to deter other individuals from similar alleged misconduct.”
“Brian Bailey is the second officer charged with bank fraud conspiracy at Wilmington Trust, a TARP bank that ended up being acquired by another TARP bank,” said Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP). SIGTARP and our law enforcement partners will aggressively investigate allegations of fraud by officers of TARP banks, and perpetrators will be held accountable for their crimes.”
"The indictment of this bank official alleges the misuse of his position of trust within his corporation," said Special Agent in Charge Akeia Conner, IRS Criminal Investigation. "The IRS, along with our law enforcement partners, is committed to investigating individuals who use their position to commit fraud and to abuse public trust.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP); and the Internal Revenue, Service Criminal Investigation Division, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert F. Kravetz, Lesley F. Wolf, and Ilana H. Eisenstein.Members of the public are reminded that an Indictment is only an allegation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
APPENDIX A
Date Recipient Bank/Loan No. Loan Amt. Description
July 9, 2001
Ladio
WTC
(9003)$29,000.00
Interest-only, six-month commercial demand line of credit
Jan. 4, 2002
Bailey
Artisans
$34,000.00
Automobile Loan for Ford F-150 Truck
Jan. 22, 2002
Bailey
Artisans
$40,000.00
Automobile Loan for Mercedes E-Series Sedan
Jan. 30, 2002
Ladio
WTC
(9004)$22,000.00
Interest-only, six -month commercial demand loan
Feb. 6, 2002
Bailey
Artisans
$33,000.00
Automobile Loan for Porsche Boxster
July 3, 2002
Ladio
WTC
(9005)$27,000.00
Interest-only, six month commercial demand loan (extension of Jan. 2002 loan, adding $5,000.00 in additional funds; extended again, at same terms, on Dec. 23, 2002)
Oct. 8, 2003
Bailey
Artisans
$15,000.00
Unsecured consumer demand loan
Nov. 18, 2003
Ladio
WTC
(9006)$69,138.46
Five-year term loan issued to pay- off $29K and $27K loans, set forth above, and for working capital
Date Recipient Bank/Loan No. Loan Amt. Description
June 30, 2004
Bailey
Artisans
$20,000.00
Interest-only commercial working capital line of credit
Aug. 13, 2004
Ladio
WTC
$9,000.00
(1001/1099)Interest-only, commercial working capital demand line of credit
Sept. 29, 2004
Ladio
WTC
$20,000.00
(1101/1199)Interest-only, unsecured working capital line of credit
April 4, 2005
Ladio
WTC
$150,000.00
(1201/1299)Interest-only unsecured commercial demand line of credit
May 3, 2006
Bailey
Artisans
$175,000.00
(3281)Two-year, interest-only, commercial line of credit
May 3, 2006
Ladio
WTC
$165,000.00
(5001)Interest-only, commercial demand line of credit with three-year expiration
March 14, 2007
Ladio
WTC
$225,000.00
(5101)Unsecured, interest-only commercial line of credit
Dec. 4, 2007
Bailey
MidCoast
$200,000.00
(1003)
Five year commercial loan, the proceeds of which were used to pay-off May 2006 Artisans loan.May 30, 2008
Bailey
MidCoast
$33,000.00
(1011)Consumer Loan to refinance a 2007 Mercedes E-Class Sedan
Sept. 9, 2008
Ladio
WTC
$285,000.00
(5101)Increase in March 2007 line, adding $60,000.00 and changing to a demand loan
Date Recipient Bank/Loan No. Loan Amt. Description
Nov. 10, 2008
Bailey
MidCoast
$37,000.00
(1016)Eighteen-month, unsecured consumer term loan
Aug. 7, 2009
Bailey
MidCoast
$70,000.00
(1000)Three-year, interest-only, unsecured consumer line of credit
March 31, 2010
Bailey
MidCoast
$100,000.00
(1000)Increase in Aug. 2009 line of credit by $30,000.00
July 12, 2010
Ladio
WTC
$615,162.13
Forbearance agreement between Ladio and WTC after WTC called four outstanding Ladio demand loans
Oct. 29, 2010
Ladio
MidCoast Cust. A
$650,000.00
Private loan secured by Ladio, in part, to make payments under Forbearance Agreement obligations with WTC
July 14, 2011
Ladio
MidCoast Cust. B
$650,000.00
Private loan secured by Ladio to pay off outstanding balance under Forbearance Agreement to WTC
May 23, 2013
Bailey
MidCoast
$90,000.00
Secured, home equity line of credit, the proceeds of which were used to pay-off $100,000.00 unsecured MidCoast line of credit
Former Wilmington Trust Officer Indicted on Bank Fraud, Bank Bribery, and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Brian D. Bailey, age 51 of Middletown, DE, was charged on February 4, 2014, in a fourteen-count Indictment with the following offenses:
- Count 1 charges the defendant with Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 1349. The maximum penalties for Count 1 are a term of imprisonment of thirty years; a fine of $1,000,000.00; a term of supervised release of five years; a $100 special assessment; and mandatory restitution.
- Count 2 charges the defendant with Conspiracy to Commit Bank Bribery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 215 and 371. The maximum penalties for Count 2 are a term of imprisonment of five years; a fine of $250,000.00; a term of supervised release of two years; a $100.00 special assessment; and mandatory restitution.
- Counts 3 through 11 charge the defendant with Bank Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1344 and 2. The maximum penalties for each of Counts 3-11 are a term of imprisonment of thirty years; a fine of $1,000,000.00; a term of supervised release of five years; a $100.00 special assessment; and mandatory restitution.
- Count 12 charges the defendant with receipt of a gift for procuring a loan, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 215(a)(2) and 2. The maximum penalties for Count 12 are a term of imprisonment of 30 years; a fine of $1,000,000.00; a term of supervised release of five years; a $100.00 special assessment; and mandatory restitution.
- Count 13 charges defendant with unlawfully providing a gift with an intent to influence a bank employee, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 215(a)(1) and 2. The maximum penalties for Count 13 are a term of imprisonment of 30 years; a fine of $1,000,000.00; a term of supervised release of five years; a $100.00 special assessment; and mandatory restitution.
- Count 14 charges the defendant with money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957. The maximum penalties for Count 14 are a term of imprisonment of ten years; a fine of $250,000.00; a term of supervised release of three years; and a $100 special assessment.
Mr. Bailey made his initial appearance today before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Mary Pat Thynge. His next court appearance, an arraignment on the charges, is set for Wednesday, February 19, 2014, at 1:00 p.m.
The Indictment alleges that Mr. Bailey, the former head of Commercial Real Estate and Delaware Market Manager of the Wilmington Trust Co., engaged in a twelve-year lending relationship with James A. Ladio, the former Chief Lending Officer at Artisans’ Bank and Chief Executive Officer of MidCoast Community Bank. According to the Indictment, the defendant and Ladio approved approximately twenty-three loans and modifications to each other through their positions at Wilmington Trust, Artisans, and MidCoast, respectively. The loan relationship, as alleged in the Indictment, is summarized in the attached chart. The Indictment further alleges that the aggregate amount of all the loan facilities was in excess of $1.5 million.
United States Attorney Oberly said, “The Indictment alleges that the defendant entered into a long-term scheme with another banker to provide multiple loans to each other on terms not available to the general public, all the while failing to disclose their relationship to their respective banks. This Office remains steadfast in its continuing commitment to combat financial fraud and corruption, and to deter other individuals from similar alleged misconduct.”
“Brian Bailey is the second officer charged with bank fraud conspiracy at Wilmington Trust, a TARP bank that ended up being acquired by another TARP bank,” said Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP). SIGTARP and our law enforcement partners will aggressively investigate allegations of fraud by officers of TARP banks, and perpetrators will be held accountable for their crimes.”
"The indictment of this bank official alleges the misuse of his position of trust within his corporation," said Special Agent in Charge Akeia Conner, IRS Criminal Investigation. "The IRS, along with our law enforcement partners, is committed to investigating individuals who use their position to commit fraud and to abuse public trust.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP); and the Internal Revenue, Service Criminal Investigation Division, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert F. Kravetz, Lesley F. Wolf, and Ilana H. Eisenstein.Members of the public are reminded that an Indictment is only an allegation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
APPENDIX A
Date Recipient Bank/Loan No. Loan Amt. Description
July 9, 2001
Ladio
WTC
(9003)$29,000.00
Interest-only, six-month commercial demand line of credit
Jan. 4, 2002
Bailey
Artisans
$34,000.00
Automobile Loan for Ford F-150 Truck
Jan. 22, 2002
Bailey
Artisans
$40,000.00
Automobile Loan for Mercedes E-Series Sedan
Jan. 30, 2002
Ladio
WTC
(9004)$22,000.00
Interest-only, six -month commercial demand loan
Feb. 6, 2002
Bailey
Artisans
$33,000.00
Automobile Loan for Porsche Boxster
July 3, 2002
Ladio
WTC
(9005)$27,000.00
Interest-only, six month commercial demand loan (extension of Jan. 2002 loan, adding $5,000.00 in additional funds; extended again, at same terms, on Dec. 23, 2002)
Oct. 8, 2003
Bailey
Artisans
$15,000.00
Unsecured consumer demand loan
Nov. 18, 2003
Ladio
WTC
(9006)$69,138.46
Five-year term loan issued to pay- off $29K and $27K loans, set forth above, and for working capital
Date Recipient Bank/Loan No. Loan Amt. Description
June 30, 2004
Bailey
Artisans
$20,000.00
Interest-only commercial working capital line of credit
Aug. 13, 2004
Ladio
WTC
$9,000.00
(1001/1099)Interest-only, commercial working capital demand line of credit
Sept. 29, 2004
Ladio
WTC
$20,000.00
(1101/1199)Interest-only, unsecured working capital line of credit
April 4, 2005
Ladio
WTC
$150,000.00
(1201/1299)Interest-only unsecured commercial demand line of credit
May 3, 2006
Bailey
Artisans
$175,000.00
(3281)Two-year, interest-only, commercial line of credit
May 3, 2006
Ladio
WTC
$165,000.00
(5001)Interest-only, commercial demand line of credit with three-year expiration
March 14, 2007
Ladio
WTC
$225,000.00
(5101)Unsecured, interest-only commercial line of credit
Dec. 4, 2007
Bailey
MidCoast
$200,000.00
(1003)
Five year commercial loan, the proceeds of which were used to pay-off May 2006 Artisans loan.May 30, 2008
Bailey
MidCoast
$33,000.00
(1011)Consumer Loan to refinance a 2007 Mercedes E-Class Sedan
Sept. 9, 2008
Ladio
WTC
$285,000.00
(5101)Increase in March 2007 line, adding $60,000.00 and changing to a demand loan
Date Recipient Bank/Loan No. Loan Amt. Description
Nov. 10, 2008
Bailey
MidCoast
$37,000.00
(1016)Eighteen-month, unsecured consumer term loan
Aug. 7, 2009
Bailey
MidCoast
$70,000.00
(1000)Three-year, interest-only, unsecured consumer line of credit
March 31, 2010
Bailey
MidCoast
$100,000.00
(1000)Increase in Aug. 2009 line of credit by $30,000.00
July 12, 2010
Ladio
WTC
$615,162.13
Forbearance agreement between Ladio and WTC after WTC called four outstanding Ladio demand loans
Oct. 29, 2010
Ladio
MidCoast Cust. A
$650,000.00
Private loan secured by Ladio, in part, to make payments under Forbearance Agreement obligations with WTC
July 14, 2011
Ladio
MidCoast Cust. B
$650,000.00
Private loan secured by Ladio to pay off outstanding balance under Forbearance Agreement to WTC
May 23, 2013
Bailey
MidCoast
$90,000.00
Secured, home equity line of credit, the proceeds of which were used to pay-off $100,000.00 unsecured MidCoast line of credit
Former Camden Town Manager Sentenced to 24 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – James O. Plumley, the former Town Manager of Camden, Delaware, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Richard G. Andrews to 24 months of imprisonment for his role in a kickback scheme to unlawfully defraud the State of Delaware of over $200,000 dollars in years 2004 through 2008. In addition to the prison term, Judge Andrews ordered Plumley to repay over $204,000 to the State of Delaware.
Prior to his position as the Camden Town Manager, Plumley was employed at Roofing Resources, Inc., and was responsible for assisting the State of Delaware’s Division of Facilities Management select qualified contractors to repair and maintain roofs at state-owned facilities. Plumley used this position to steer roofing contracts to his co-defendant, contractor William P. Mahon. In return and at Plumley’s direction, Mahon inflated his project bids by a specified amount, which he later deposited into Plumley’s checking account as a kickback. Over the course of the scheme, the FBI was able to identify $204,000 in kickbacks that Plumley received from Mahon between 2004 and 2008.
This case was made possible through substantial cooperation by the Camden Police Department, including Chief of Police William E. Bryson and Captain Gary Melvin, who conducted the initial investigation of Plumley and provided the FBI with a strong foundation for its case here.
Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware stated, “This is an example of our commitment to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute individuals who criminally exploit positions of trust within our community. This is especially true when individuals abuse the government’s trust for their own benefit. Hopefully, this prison sentence will serve as a deterrent to others who elevate their own benefit above the duty they owe to the citizens of Delaware.”
“Tax payers trust their tax money will be used wisely, and not stuffed into the pockets of corrupt people. The reason people who serve governments are held to a higher standard is because they have access to incredible power and influence. It can’t be abused, and the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office won’t let it be,” said FBI Baltimore Division Special Agent in Charge Stephen Vogt.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shawn A. Weede and Jennifer L. Hall. For further information, please contact Public Information Officer Kim Reeves at (302) 573-6277, ext. 16287.
See Also: United States v. William P. Mahon, Criminal Action No. 13-33-RGA
Man Charged in Multi-Layered Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme Involving Falsified Credit Applications and Fraudulent LawsuitsRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. - Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Arthur Robinson, age 39, of Frederick, Maryland, has been charged by a federal grand jury with two counts of bank fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1344), one count of social security fraud (42 U.S.C. § 408), one count of wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343), and three counts of aggravated identity theft (18 U.S.C. § 1028A), by Indictment unsealed yesterday. The defendant faces up to 30 years in prison on each count of bank fraud, up to 20 years in prison on the count of wire fraud, up to 5 years in prison the count of social security fraud, and consecutive 2-year terms of imprisonment on each of the aggravated identity theft charges, in addition to possible fines and restitution.
According to the Indictment, from January 2002 through October 2013, the defendant devised a scheme to defraud multiple federally insured financial institutions, including Delaware-based Barclays Bank and Chase Bank. The defendant is alleged to have used multiple identities, including the identity of a minor child, to submit false and fraudulent credit applications to the banks. The Indictment further alleges that the defendant made purchases on the fraudulently obtained lines of credit and did not pay the balances. In addition, the defendant is alleged to have disputed the lines of credit with at least one credit agency, and he filed lawsuits against the lenders to fend off collection efforts. Moreover, the defendant is alleged to have obtained a new social security number, claiming to be an identity theft victim, which he then used on further fraudulent credit applications.
U.S. Attorney Oberly gave the following comments: “This case should send a clear signal that individuals who repeatedly abuse the credit services offered by the federally-backed lenders here in Delaware will be prosecuted, and false statements to the Social Security Administration in furtherance of such abuse will not be tolerated. Specifically, I want to thank officials at Barclays Bank for initially bringing its concerns about Mr. Robinson to the attention of the United States Attorney’s office in Delaware, and I thank the other institutions that cooperated in the investigation.”This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, with cooperation from the State of Maryland. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Paxton, District of Delaware.
The charges in the Indictment are only allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Registered Child Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – William Zimmerman, age 64, of Georgetown, Delaware, pled guilty today to Receipt of Child Pornography, in violation of federal law. Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced the guilty plea following a hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
Zimmerman was previously convicted in Delaware of Unlawful Sexual Contact Second Degree in 1988 and Possession of Child Pornography in 1993. He served 4 years in prison for the child pornography offense, and was released from custody in 1997. At the time of the instant offense, he was registered as a sex offender as required by Delaware and federal law.
As a result of his prior convictions, Zimmerman faces enhanced sentencing penalties under federal law, including a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years, and a maximum sentence of forty years, in prison. Zimmerman also faces a term of supervised release of five years to life following his prison sentence, and he will be required to register as a sex offender in any U.S. jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school. Zimmerman will be sentenced on April 22, 2014 by Chief United States District Judge Gregory M. Sleet.
According to statements made and documents filed in court, Zimmerman came to the attention of the Delaware Child Predator Task Force (the “Task Force”) after it began an investigation into two other registered child sex offenders living in Delaware. That investigation began in October 2012, after the Task Force received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The cybertip reported that an AOL user, subsequently identified as Roger Cordero, a registered child sex offender from New Castle, Delaware, had uploaded files containing child pornography through an AOL server.
On December 20, 2012, Task Force officers executed a state search warrant at Roger Cordero’s New Castle residence, where they found computers containing thousands of images of child pornography featuring mostly prepubescent and adolescent children. They also found that Cordero had been trading child pornography with David Pennington, another registered child sex offender whom Cordero had met while both were incarcerated in the Smyrna Correctional Institution for child sex offenses. The men shared the images of child pornography by mailing digital photographs saved to thumb drives back and forth to one another.Later on the day of December 20, 2012, Task Force officers executed a state search warrant at Pennington’s Georgetown residence. Pennington, who was then wearing an electronic monitoring device due to a state probation violation, was present for the search. During the search, Task Force members recovered evidence relating to the mailing of child pornography and child sexual abuse stories between Pennington and Cordero. A Delaware State Police forensic examiner also recovered from Pennington’s cell phone two images of child pornography and related text messages between Pennington and Zimmerman. The images depicted a prepubescent boy engaged in a sex act with an adult male. During a January 2013 interview with Task Force detectives, Pennington told investigators that he received the two images of child pornography found on his cell phone from Zimmerman, whom Pennington had met in a child sex offender therapy group. Pennington also told investigators that he would go to Zimmerman’s house, where Zimmerman had a computer that they used to access child pornography.
On January 8, 2013, Task Force officers executed a state search warrant at Zimmerman’s Georgetown residence. They recovered several pieces of computer equipment found to contain hundreds of images of child pornography. The images featured children ranging in age from infancy to mid-teen being posed or engaged in sexual acts with adult males.
As intended by the United States Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Program, federal and state child exploitation prosecutors and investigators have worked together to investigate and prosecute Zimmerman, Cordero and Pennington. On October 11, 2013, David Pennington was sentenced to 28 years in prison by Delaware Superior Court Judge T. Henley Graves after pleading guilty to Dealing in Child Pornography, in violation of Delaware law. On June 13, 2013, a federal grand jury indicted Roger Cordero on various child pornography crimes, including production, transportation, receipt and possession of child pornography, in violation of federal law. If convicted of the most serious charges, Cordero faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years in prison, to a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison. Cordero’s case remains pending before the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
All three cases were brought as part of the United States Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Program, which was launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of online child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue child victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about reporting online child exploitation to the national CyberTipline, visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s website at: www.missingkids.com.
This case is being investigated by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force and the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew.Delaware Woman Sentenced to 63 Months for Role in Tax Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. - Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Beverly Newton, age 52, of Middletown, Delaware, was sentenced yesterday by the Honorable Leonard P. Stark, United States District Judge for the District of Delaware, to 63 months imprisonment and full restitution. The defendant pleaded guilty to violations of 18 USC § 286 (False Claims Conspiracy), 18 USC § 1341 (Mail Fraud), and 42 U.S.C. § 408(a)(7)(B) & 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Aiding and Abetting Social Security Fraud), in September 2013.
The defendant participated in a tax fraud conspiracy involving the filing of more than 180 false individual federal income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service, using stolen identities. The returns sought refunds of more than $1.8 million. The defendant and her co-conspirators received more than $800,000 on account of the fraudulent returns. The defendant’s role in the conspiracy involved providing names and social security numbers to another co-conspirator, who used the information to file the fraudulent returns. The defendant received more than $300,000 for her part in the scheme.
U.S. Attorney Oberly gave the following comments: “This case should send a clear signal that individuals who conspire with others to file false claims against the United States Treasury will face significant penalties. My office is committed to working with the Internal Revenue Service to prosecute these cases, and I will seek incarceration wherever possible and appropriate.”
“The sentencing of Beverly Newton again emphasizes that IRS Criminal Investigation, the United States Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners will continue their aggressive pursuit of those who use fraudulent methods in an attempt to corrupt our nation's tax system.” said Akeia Conner, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge. “Ms. Newton is being held accountable for her involvement in this elaborate criminal action.”
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Paxton.District of Delaware U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects $1,725,357.29 in Civil and Criminal Actions for U.S. Taxpayers in Fiscal Year 2013Read the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III announced today that the District of Delaware collected $1,725,357.29 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2013. Of this amount, $448,253.63 was collected in criminal actions and $1,277,103.66 was collected in civil actions.
Additionally, the District of Delaware worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $304,172.89 in cases pursued jointly with these offices. Of this amount, $304,172.89 was collected in civil actions.
Moreover, the District of Delaware, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $3,587,857.00 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2013. Specifically, in the case of United States v. Bruce E. Costa, the district recovered almost $2.5 million. Costa, a former pharmacist and former owner of Renaissance Family Pharmacy in Claymont, Delaware, was found guilty of unlawfully distributing approximately 45,000 oxycodone pills. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.
Attorney General Eric Holder announced on Thursday that the Justice Department collected approximately $8.1 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2013. The more than $8 billion in collections in FY 2013 represents nearly three times the appropriated $2.76 billion budget for the 94 U.S. Attorney’s offices and the main litigating divisions in that same period.“The department’s enforcement actions help to not only ensure justice is served, but also deliver a valuable return to the American people,” said Attorney General Holder. “It is critical that Congress provide the resources necessary to match the department’s mounting caseload. As these figures show, supporting our federal prosecutors is a sound investment.”
“During this time of economic recovery, these collections are more important than ever,” said U.S. Attorney Oberly. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is dedicated to protecting the public and recovering funds for the federal treasury and for victims of federal crime. We will continue to hold accountable those who seek to profit from their illegal activities.”
The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws. In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education.
Twice Convicted Child Sex Offender Sentenced to over 23 Years for Online Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Sean Lawrence, a 40-year-old, twice-convicted child sex offender from Kansas City, Missouri, was sentenced today to over 23 years in prison for transportation of child pornography, in violation of federal law. Lawrence also was sentenced to a life term of supervised release following his prison sentence. He also will be required to continue to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school.
Lawrence was previously convicted in Missouri in 1995 and 2005 of sodomizing two young boys. He was sentenced to five years in prison for each offense and was required to register as a sex offender upon his release. He also was required to participate in sex offender therapy, from which he was twice discharged as non-compliant.
As a result of his prior convictions for child sex offenses, Lawrence faced an enhanced federal sentencing penalty that required imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, to a maximum sentence of 40 years, in prison.
According to statements made and documents filed in court, Lawrence came to the attention of a Wilmington-based Homeland Security Investigations special agent in February 2013, during an online undercover investigation into non-public, peer-to-peer networks being used to distribute child pornography. Lawrence provided the undercover agent, who was posing as a man interested in trading images of child pornography, with access to his non-public, peer-to-peer network. The undercover agent then downloaded 11 video files of child pornography from Lawrence’s computer.
During the investigation, law enforcement agents determined that Lawrence was distributing child pornography from various locations via a wireless mobile device. On February 14, 2013, Special Agents of the Wilmington, Delaware and Philadelphia HSI offices partnered with Kansas City-based agents to apprehend Lawrence while he was actually transmitting and receiving images of child pornography via the Internet. The local agents conducted simultaneous online sessions with Lawrence in an effort to geo-locate him. Data associated with those online sessions indicated that Lawrence was then accessing the Internet from the second floor of Metropolitan Community College Library, in Kansas City, Missouri. The local agents quickly relayed this information to the Kansas City-based HSI Special Agents, who then found Lawrence in the back corner of the campus library. Lawrence had an open laptop in front of him and was downloading a video of child pornography set to music when he was apprehended.
A subsequent forensic examination of computer equipment seized from Lawrence in the library and at his residence resulted in the discovery of over 10,000 still images and 200 videos of child pornography that Lawrence had downloaded to those devices. The depictions of child pornography featured mostly prepubescent boys engaged in sexual acts with adult males or other boys. A number of the files depict violence, sadistic or masochistic abuse or bondage. In addition, forensic evidence established that Lawrence distributed child pornography to over 850 other individuals.
During an interview with law enforcement agents, Lawrence stated that he had traded hundreds of child pornography images and videos via file sharing programs and email each day since 1999, except during his time in prison. Lawrence estimated that he has traded 100-1,000 images of child pornography a day since 1998-1999. He further estimated that he traded child pornography files with an average of about 1-3 people per day via email. Lawrence also told the agents that he went to the Metropolitan Community College campus approximately 3-4 days a week to use the wireless Internet to receive and distribute child pornography. Lawrence said that he also utilized the wireless networks at the public library, and in McDonalds and Burger King locations to distribute and receive child pornography.
After today’s sentencing hearing before United States District Judge Sue L. Robinson, United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III stated, “This two-time offender will now have over 23 years in a federal prison to think about his crimes and children throughout this country will have one less predator stealing their youthful innocence. Again, I strongly urge parents to closely monitor their children’s use of computers. The rapid expansion of social media and the ease at which predators can contact children has never been easier. The best defense is to monitor as closely as possible what your children are doing on their computers and iPads and iPhones.”
"This case is a clear reminder of HSI’s determination to pursue predators who sexually exploit children, wherever they may be," said John Kelleghan, special agent in charge for the HSI Philadelphia. "The defendant expected the shield of anonymity to protect him in cyberspace, he was wrong. HSI and our law enforcement partners will unremittingly investigate these crimes and bring perpetrators to justice."
This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew.Former Bank Founder and President Pleads Guilty to Bank FraudRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that James A. Ladio, entered a guilty plea before the Honorable Richard G. Andrews to a four-count felony information charging him with bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344 (Counts 1 and 3); and money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957 (Counts 2 and 4).
According to the criminal Information and plea agreement, Ladio was the founder and former President and Chief Executive Officer of MidCoast Community Bank, Inc. (“MidCoast”). MidCoast, headquartered in Wilmington, has four branch locations across the State of Delaware. The four-count Information describes two occasions in which Ladio convinced existing MidCoast customers to apply for commercial loans, ostensibly for valid business purposes. The true purpose of the loans, however, was to allow those MidCoast customers to loan money to Ladio.
The first bank customer (Bank Customer A) applied in October 2010 to transform an existing commercial mortgage at MidCoast into a $700,000.00 line of credit. Although the loan package indicated that the purpose of the line of credit was to make capital improvements on a particular building project, the actual purpose of the request was for Bank Customer A to obtain funds which could be used to make a short-term loan to Ladio. After MidCoast’s loan committee approved the request, Bank Customer A drew $650,000.00 from the line, which was deposited into Bank Customer A’s account on or about October 28, 2010. That same day, approximately $629,240.00 was wired from the account controlled by Bank Customer A to Ladio’s personal checking account.
Similarly, the second bank customer (Bank Customer B) applied to MidCoast in July 2011 for a working capital line of credit in the amount of $700,000.00. Although the loan package indicated that the purpose of the loan was for “working capital for Bank Customer B’s various business interests,” the actual purpose of the request was for Bank Customer B to obtain funds which could be used to make a short-term loan to Ladio. After MidCoast’s loan committee approved the request, MidCoast wired $650,000.00 into a bank account held by Bank Customer B at another financial institution. That same day, $639,000 was wired from Bank Customer B’s account to Ladio’s personal bank account.
Because on each occasion the proceeds of the loan fraud activity resulted in more than $10,000.00 being deposited into Ladio’s personal bank account, Ladio also faces two counts of money laundering.
Ladio, age 57, is a resident of Wilmington, Delaware. For the bank fraud charges (Counts 1 and 3), Ladio faces a maximum penalty of 30 years imprisonment; a fine of $1,000,000.00; a term of supervised release of five years; a $100.00 special assessment; and mandatory restitution. For the money laundering charges (Counts 2 and 4), Ladio faces a term of imprisonment of ten years; a fine of $250,000.00; a term of supervised release of three years; and a $100 special assessment. Sentencing has been scheduled for April 17, 2014 at 9:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Oberly said, ?Mr. Ladio’s serious fraudulent conduct betrayed the trust of MidCoast’s shareholders, its employees, and its customers. Our office will continue to vigorously investigate and enforce criminal conduct relating to bank fraud, particularly with respect to Delaware-based financial institutions.”
Ladio’s fraud was uncovered after it was discovered that he had failed to notify his lender, a TARP bank, that he had sold an investment property for which he had taken out a mortgage loan at the bank,” said Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP). “Ladio’s failure to comply with his loan requirements was an initial step in a continued course of misconduct culminating in bank fraud against MidCoast Community Bank, where he was president and CEO. SIGTARP and our law enforcement partners will hold accountable and bring to justice those responsible for fraud related to TARP.”
The FBI works diligently to protect the integrity of the United States banking industry by identifying and securing evidence to prosecute white collar criminals such as Mr. Ladio. This case should serve as a warning to others that such conduct will not be tolerated by the FBI and our law enforcement partners.
"Professionals, including bankers, who promote fraudulent schemes to abuse our financial systems, will be held accountable," said Special Agent in Charge Akeia Conner, IRS Criminal Investigation. “This joint endeavor continues to demonstrate our efforts to ensure that the financial services industry will not be used for personal financial gain and will be challenged to operate in a fair and honest manner to promote the public interest.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert F. Kravetz, Lesley F. Wolf, and Ilana H. Eisenstein.
Delaware Woman Pleads Guilty to $349,000 EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. - Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Kimberly Y. Drummond, age 47, of Middletown, Delaware, pled guilty to one count of embezzlement from a federally insured financial institution. Drummond, who will be sentenced on April 3, 2014, by the Honorable Leonard P. Stark, United States District Judge for the District of Delaware, faces a maximum sentence of thirty years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, and 6 years of supervised release following her prison sentence.
According to statements made at the plea hearing on December 12, 2013, and documents filed in court, Drummond was employed by Discover Financial Services, in New Castle, Delaware, for nearly 20 years. In or around November 2008, Drummond began falsifying entries in Discover’s books and records, resulting in the issuance of duplicate checks from Discover Bank. Drummond deposited the checks into her personal bank accounts and she used the checks to pay her mortgage lender. Drummond embezzled more than $349,000 from Discover from November 2008 through August 2012.U.S. Attorney Oberly lamented, “Yet another breach of trust by someone entrusted to protect financial resources. These cases will be vigorously prosecuted by this office and appropriate punishments will be sought.”
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Paxton.
Brothers Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding Churches, Non-Profit Organizations, and Small BusinessesRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Barrett Staton, 36, of Nokomis, Florida and his brother, Matthew Staton, 37, of Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania, were sentenced on December 13, 2013, in federal court for defrauding numerous Pennsylvania and Florida-based churches, non-profit organizations, and small businesses. Barrett Staton was sentenced to 108 months in prison, five years supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,070,529.74 in restitution. Matthew Staton was sentenced to 60 months in prison, three years supervised release, and ordered to pay $1,967,926.10 in restitution. Following a thirteen-day jury trial in July 2012, the defendants were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as well as various counts of wire and mail fraud. Barrett Staton was also convicted of making a false statement in a loan document. The defendants, led by Barrett Staton, operated businesses that supplied copy machines to churches, non-profit organizations, and other small businesses throughout Harrisburg, Lancaster, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties in Pennsylvania, as well as in and around Sarasota, Florida.
The defendants engaged in a multifaceted scheme to defraud businesses and organizations by: (1) altering signed lease agreements to include additional copy machines or features that the customers did not order and never received, thus increasing the lump sum payment received from the financing companies; (2) enticing customers into agreeing to a new lease by offering to pay off any old copy machine leases and to provide free maintenance and service, and then failing to either pay off the customer’s old lease or to provide free maintenance or service; and (3) inducing existing customers to complete new leasing applications under the guise of “refinancing” the lease on existing copy machines, and then submitting the new leasing application to an entirely different leasing company, thereby collecting a second lump sum payment and obligating the customer to two separate lease payments on the same copy machine.The court found that there were over fifty institutional victims, mostly churches, non-profit organizations, and other small businesses, with losses exceeding $2 million. Evidence introduced at sentencing showed that the defendants operated a sophisticated scheme that employed sham companies, used fictitious names to conceal the defendants’ identities, and relocated the scheme from Pennsylvania to Florida to avoid law enforcement. In total, the defendants ran this fraudulent scheme for over seven years until law enforcement successfully ended their fraud.
U.S. Attorney Oberly congratulated both the FBI and Assistant United States Attorneys Jaime M. McCall and Mark M. Lee for the complex investigation and prosecution of this case, which took several years and the review of thousands of documents. The Staton brothers preyed upon vulnerable churches and non-profits, as well as small businesses in a particularly devious manner in an attempt to enrich themselves. Now both will have years in prison to contemplate their crimes.
The investigation was handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of the case was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Jamie M. McCall and Mark M. Lee.Repeat Child Sex Offender Sentenced to 210 Months in Prison for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
David Kevin Schultz, age 54, of Laurel, Delaware, was sentenced today to 210 months in prison for receipt of child pornography. Schultz also was sentenced to 10 years of supervised release following his prison sentence. He also will be required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school. United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III made the announcement following Schultz’s sentencing hearing before United States District Judge Sue L. Robinson.
Schultz is a previously convicted and registered child sex offender. On October 31, 1995, Schultz was convicted of Unlawful Sexual Intercourse Third Degree and Unlawful Sexual Penetration Third Degree involving a female victim who was 13 years old.
According to the indictment and court documents filed in the current case, the current investigation began when Department of Homeland Security agents received information relating to Schultz’s involvement with child pornography from a man who was arrested in a separate child sexual assault investigation in Maryland. Federal law enforcement agents executed a federal search warrant at Schultz’s Laurel, Delaware residence in April 2012, seizing over 30 computers and other physical evidence. During a forensic examination of the computer equipment, agents found a video of Schultz directing a female minor and a young adult male to engage in various sex acts in his Laurel home. Agents also found other images of a female minor engaged in sex acts, which Schultz had edited into “compilation” videos. The forensic examination also revealed that Schultz had used the computers to receive and possess numerous images of child pornography featuring adolescent and prepubescent females via the Internet.
Following the sentencing hearing, United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III stated: “The pervasiveness of David Schultz’s involvement with child pornography is shocking. His actions over an extended period of time have caused grievous harm to his own family and others. He has single-handedly corrupted his victims to further his own perversions. He deserves every day of the sentence imposed today.”
"HSI is committed to holding child predators accountable for their actions,” said John Kelleghan, special agent in charge of HSI Philadelphia. “These heinous crimes cause irreparable damage to our children and society. HSI will continue to pursue those who commit such crimes until justice is served.”
This case is being investigated by U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrewDelaware Woman Pleads Guilty to $940,000+ Tax Fraud and Identity Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. - Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Dawn Chamberlain, age 36, of Claymont, Delaware, pled guilty today to violations of 18 USC § 286 (False Claims Conspiracy) and 18 USC § 1341 (Mail Fraud). Chamberlain, who will be sentenced on April 3, 2013, by the Honorable Leonard P. Stark, United States District Judge for the District of Delaware, faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and 3 years of supervised release.
According to statements made at the plea hearing and documents filed in court, the defendant acted as a tax preparer in Delaware. From 2009 through 2012, she filed more than 450 false and fraudulent U.S. Individual Federal Income Tax Returns for other people. In the returns, the defendant claimed more than $730,000 in credits to which her clients were not entitled, including the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit.
The defendant directed the taxing authorities to deposit the refunds generated by the fraudulent federal income tax returns into her own bank accounts, and bank accounts of her family members. She returned less than the full amount of the refunds to her clients, converting the remaining proceeds to her personal use.
The defendant also used her client’s names, dates of birth, and social security numbers to file false and fraudulent New York State Resident income tax returns, requesting refunds of more than $210,000.
U.S. Attorney Oberly gave the following comments: “This case should send a clear signal that individuals who file false claims against the United States Treasury will be prosecuted. I find fraud upon the government to be particularly troubling, and I am committed to working with the Internal Revenue Service to prosecute these cases and seek incarceration wherever possible.”
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, with the investigative assistance and cooperation of the State of New York. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Paxton, District of Delaware.Claymont Man Charged with Distributing Child Pornography from Residence Used for In-Home DaycareRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Carl McBride, age 48, of Claymont, Delaware, was arrested earlier today and charged by criminal complaint with transportation of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252A(a). This federal criminal charge results from an online undercover operation in which McBride utilized a non-public, peer-to-peer computer network to distribute child pornography to over 100 individuals from his Claymont home.
If convicted of the charges, McBride faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least five years, and up to twenty years, in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least five years to life following his prison sentence. He also will be required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction in which he resides, works or attends school.
After identifying McBride through computer network records, investigators discovered that another person residing at his Claymont residence has been providing daycare services out of the home for at least three years under the name “Little Tykes Day Care.” The Office of Child Care Licensing suspended the operator’s license today.
Early this morning, law enforcement agents executed a federal search warrant at McBride’s residence, seizing multiple computers, cell phones, cameras and other digital equipment. In particular, agents seized a laptop computer found next to a diaper changing table in a room used for daycare services. A forensic preview of that laptop revealed hundreds of images and movies of child pornography depicting prepubescent females engaged in sex acts. In a number of the images, the young children are bound and violently assaulted by adult males.
McBride was arrested by U.S. Homeland Security special agents, and made his initial appearance in United States District Court this afternoon. McBride waived his rights to a preliminary and detention hearing, and will remain in custody pending further proceedings.
Any person possessing information about this matter are encouraged to contact the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Tip Line at 302-428-0104, extension 3.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew and investigated by the Delaware State Police and the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.
The charge in the Complaint is only an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Pennsylvania Woman Pleads Guilty to $1.8 Million Tax Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. - Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Stephanie Patterson, age 41, of Royersford, Pennsylvania, pled guilty today to violations of 18 USC § 286 (False Claims Conspiracy), 18 USC § 1341 (Mail Fraud), and 42 U.S.C. § 408(a)(7)(B) & 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Aiding and Abetting Social Security Fraud). Patterson, who will be sentenced on March 13, 2014, by the Honorable Leonard P. Stark, United States District Judge for the District of Delaware, faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and 3 years of supervised release.
According to statements made at the plea hearing and documents filed in court, the defendant participated in a tax fraud conspiracy involving the filing of more than 180 false individual federal income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service, using stolen identities. The returns sought refunds of more than $1.8 million. The defendant and her co-conspirators received more than $800,000 on account of the fraudulent returns. The defendant’s role in the conspiracy involved providing names and social security numbers to another co-conspirator, who used the information to file the fraudulent returns. The defendant also acted as a facilitator between the co-conspirators responsible for filing the tax returns, and those who provided additional compromised identities. The defendant received more than $55,000 in fraud proceeds for her part in the scheme.
U.S. Attorney Oberly gave the following comments: “This case should send a clear signal that individuals who conspire with others to file false claims against the United States Treasury will face significant penalties. My office is committed to working with the Internal Revenue Service to prosecute these cases, and I will seek incarceration wherever possible and appropriate.”
“These unscrupulous defendants thought they had figured out a clever scheme to thwart the IRS and steal from American taxpayers,” said Akeia Conner, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge. “The IRS has made investigating refund fraud and identity theft a top priority and we will vigorously pursue those who undermine the integrity of the U.S. tax system. We are obliged to our law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney’s office for their continued support of our endeavors.”
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Paxton.
Pennsylvania Youth Football Coach, School Cook and Summer Camp Counselor Pleads Guilty to Attempted Online Enticement of A MinorRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Michael J. Barndt, a/k/a “mikecoach73,” age 39, of Sellersville, Pennsylvania, pled guilty today to Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor, in violation of federal law. Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced the guilty plea following a hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, where Barndt will be sentenced by United States District Judge Leonard P. Stark on February 25, 2014.
Barndt faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years, and a maximum sentence of life, in prison. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and a term of supervised release following his prison sentence of at least five years to life. Barndt also will be required to register as a sex offender in any U.S. jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school.
Prior to his arrest, Barndt was employed as a cook at the Lakeside School in Horsham Township, Pennsylvania. Barndt also served for a number of years as a youth football coach for the Springfield School District, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He last coached in 2012 – the last football season prior to his arrest. During the summer months, Barndt was employed as a camp counselor at “Blue Bell Camp,” in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, where his duties including coaching football and driving children home from camp.
According to the indictment and court documents, Barndt was arrested on June 19, 2013, after he traveled from his Pennsylvania home to the Concord Mall, in Wilmington, Delaware, to meet a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl for sexual activity. Barndt identified this supposed 14-year-old girl, who was actually an undercover federal agent, after he posted an on-line personals ad on www.craigslist.com. In the ad, which he entitled, “Real Teen Fantasy,” Barndt expressed interest in a sexual liaison with a teenage girl and engaged in a series of online chats with the undercover agent, which involved Barndt transmitting naked pictures of himself.
Barndt drove to the mall, where he was met by a team of federal agents shortly after purchasing items at Victoria’s Secret. Federal agents seized a smartphone from Barndt, which was later found to contain approximately 15,000 images of teenage females who are either suggestively dressed or partially or completely nude. Most of these images appear to have been self-produced by the teenagers with smartphones.
Following the plea hearing, U.S. Attorney Oberly stated: “While Mr. Barndt will be appropriately punished for his crimes, young people must be especially cautious as to the types of images they produce of themselves on their smartphones. Inappropriate pictures, once in cyberspace, live on forever and can have damaging consequences even years later.”
"Homeland Security Investigations is committed to stopping predators in their tracks. This defendant will no longer be a threat to our children" said John P. Kelleghan, special agent in charge of HSI in Philadelphia. "This case is yet another example of the extraordinary collaborative efforts among law enforcement in Delaware, to protect the most vulnerable among us."
This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew.
Real Estate Developer Pleads Guilty to ERISA Fraud and Failure to Pay over TaxesRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware announced that Michael A. Stortini – the managing member of the Frank Robino Companies, LLC, (“FRC”) a real estate development company in Wilmington, Delaware – pleaded guilty yesterday before United States District Court Judge Richard G. Andrews to charges of Theft from an Employee Pension Benefit Plan and Willful Failure to Pay Over Tax. Sentencing has been scheduled for March 11, 2014.
From facts disclosed at the plea hearing, in 2009, Stortini diverted over $600,000 in funds from an employee 401(k) account to pay business expenses associated with the company. Moreover, in 2009 and 2010, Stortini failed to pay over $450,000 in payroll taxes to the Internal Revenue Service for entities related to FRC. Over the same time period, Stortini transferred over $900,000 from company accounts for his personal use.
This case was investigated by IRS, Criminal Investigation and the United States Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn A. Weede. For further information, please contact Public Information Officer Kimberlynn Reeves at (302) 573-6277, ext. 16287.Delaware Woman Sentenced to 81 Months on Fraud and Identity Theft ChargesRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. - Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Carolyn Wall, age 37, of Newark, Delaware, was sentenced yesterday by the Honorable Sue L. Robinson, United States District Judge for the District of Delaware, to 81 months imprisonment and full restitution, after being convicted by a jury of 30 counts of fraud and identity theft. The defendant was convicted of violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1349 (Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud), 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (Wire Fraud); 18 U.S.C. § 1028(a)(7) (Identity Theft), 18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(3) and (c)(1)(a) (Access Device Fraud), 42 U.S.C. § 408(a)(7)(B) (Fraudulent Use of a Social Security Number), and 18 U.S.C. §1028A (Aggravated Identity Theft).
From in or around July 2010 through in or around May 2011, the defendant engaged in a check fraud and identity theft scheme. The defendant used a sophisticated computer software program, specialty check paper, and a particular type of “MICR compliant” check-writing ink to make hundreds of counterfeit checks. The defendant also utilized real bank names and routing numbers, but the account numbers on the checks were fabricated. The defendant and other members of the scheme then presented these fraudulent checks at area retail stores, including Acme, Wal-Mart, Happy Harry’s, Lowe’s, Boscov’s, Target, Safeway, Best Buy and Kohl’s. Checks created by the defendant were presented to retail stores more than 700 times, and more than 250 of the checks were honored, costing the stores more than $100,000 in less than a year.
In order to bypass the stores’ security systems, the defendant and the other members of the scheme amassed more than 200 names and social security numbers of individuals in Delaware and elsewhere. More than 65 social security numbers were used in attempts to cash the fraudulent checks. The defendant also collected a significant amount of driver’s licenses and other identification documents for the members of the scheme to use in cashing the fraudulent checks.
The defendant also used the Social Security number of another person to obtain the lease on her residence, as well as to obtain cable and power service.
The defendant admitted during the trial that she had been involved in creating fraudulent checks for nearly ten years. The defendant was arrested for her role in check fraud activities in 2008, in Stafford County, Virginia. The defendant was convicted of felony forgery and false statement charges in Virginia, and she served nearly two years in prison. The defendant was released and placed on probation in early June 2010. She began making fraudulent checks within a few weeks, in July 2010.
The defendant was convicted of all thirty counts of the Indictment, following a six-day jury trial in April, 2013. The sentence handed down by Judge Robinson yesterday represents a mandatory consecutive 24-month term of imprisonment on the Aggravated Identity Theft charges (18 U.S.C. §1028A), and a 57- month term of imprisonment on the remaining counts.
U.S. Attorney Oberly said of the sentence, “This case should send a clear signal that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware takes this type of persistent, organized, and far-reaching identity theft scheme very seriously. I applaud the commitment of the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, to vigorously investigate identity theft and financial fraud cases that harm innocent citizens. We will seek incarceration where necessary to deter offenders such as Ms. Wall and to protect the community from future harm.”
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, and it was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Paxton.Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to 57 Months Imprisonment in Drug Conspiracy CaseRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Kevin Morris, age 24 of Franklin Township, Pennsylvania (Chester County), was sentenced to 57 months imprisonment for his role in a drug conspiracy centered in Wilmington that involved the importation of cocaine and heroin from Panama and Afghanistan. United States District Judge Richard G. Andrews further imposed a three year term of supervised release and ordered Morris to forfeit the sum of $22,172.00 in drug proceeds.
Morris pleaded guilty on July 25, 2012, to conspiracy to smuggle five kilograms of cocaine and one kilogram of heroin from the Republic of Panama into the United States, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841 and 846; and money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957. According to facts introduced during the plea hearing, Morris admitted that he acted as a recruiter, facilitator, and financier for the organization, and that he was involved on multiple occasions in which couriers smuggled or attempted to smuggle heroin and cocaine from Panama to Delaware. He acknowledged making cocaine and heroin sales to customers based primarily in Pennsylvania, including to confidential informants under the control of the Pennsylvania State Police. Morris further admitted his involvement in purchasing approximately one-half kilogram of cocaine in Washington, D.C., which had been smuggled into the United States through a military contractor based in Afghanistan.
In connection with his plea agreement Morris accepted responsibility for at least five (5) kilograms of cocaine and five (5) kilograms of heroin. He also admitted that he laundered his drug proceeds in part by purchasing two vehicles.
To date, the government has charged twenty-three individuals in the United States with drug trafficking offenses as a result of the investigation. All but four of those defendants – each of whom remain abroad in Panama – have pleaded guilty, or have agreed to plead guilty, to drug-related offenses. A listing of the charged defendants and their current status is set forth in Attachment A.
United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III, stated, “The Court’s sentence appropriately punishes the defendant for his important role in an international drug conspiracy that had a negative impact on Wilmington and its surrounding communities. I applaud the exceptional efforts of our law enforcement partners in dismantling the organization of which Mr. Morris played a significant role.”
The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and the Wilmington Police Department.
Investigators also received invaluable assistance from the Panamanian National Police; the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas; the United States Marshals Service for the District of Delaware; the Newark (Delaware) Police Department; the Delaware State Police; the New Castle County Police Department; the Delaware Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole; the Cecil County (Maryland) Drug Task Force; the Pennsylvania State Police; the Maryland State Police; and the Elkton (Maryland) Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert F. Kravetz. For further information, contact Press Information Officer Kimberlynn Reeves at (302) 573-6277, ext. 16287.
ATTACHMENT A
Status of Defendants Charged in Panama/Afghanistan Drug Investigation
Defendant District Case No. StatusRonaldo Edmund
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Sentenced on September 9, 2013, to 180 months imprisonment
Tissany Buckham
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Sentenced on April 10, 2013, to 22 months imprisonment
Kimberly Fowler
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Completed pretrial diversion on November 6, 2012
Kelvin Cook
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Sentenced on June 20, 2013, to 180 months imprisonment
Julio Archer
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Sentenced on June 11, 2013, to 60 months imprisonment
Roumik Banerjee
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Sentenced on April 3, 2013, to 57 months imprisonment
Mia Poteat
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Sentenced on April 3, 2013, to 37 months imprisonment
Tina Simmons
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Sentenced on May 7, 2013, to three years’ probation and six months home detention
Tessa Snyder
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Pleaded guilty on May 18, 2012; pending sentencing
Dynisha Revel
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Charged defendant, currently incarcerated in Panama
Raabia Munir
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Pleaded guilty on October 16, 2013, pending sentencing
Sharon Butera
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Charged defendant, currently incarcerated in Panama
Efrain Dixon
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Charged defendant, Panamanian national
Benjamin Carpenter
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Charged defendant, Panamanian national
Tara Resto
Delaware
09-102-GMS
Pleaded guilty on April 13, 2010; sentencing hearing to be determined
Kevin Morris
Delaware
12-41-RGA
Sentenced on October 22, 2013 to 57 months imprisonment
Saleem A. Sharif
Delaware
12-53-RGA
Sentenced on September 4, 2013, to 120 months imprisonment
Charles Richardson
Delaware
12-44-RGA
Sentenced on January 29, 2013, to 60 months imprisonment
Darrold Thomas
Delaware
12-65-RGA
Sentenced on August 27, 2013, to 54 months imprisonment
Sayeed A. Behrooz
Delaware
13-93-RGA
Pleaded guilty on October 15, 2013; pending sentencing on February 26, 2014
Neisha Miller
Southern Dist. of TX
5: 11-43-01
Sentenced on September 20, 2011 to 36 months imprisonment
Gloria Miller
Southern Dist. of TX
5: 11-43-02
Sentenced on September 20, 2011 to 36 months imprisonment
Christine A. Blevins
Southern Dist. of TX
5: 09-388-01
Sentenced on March 4, 2010, to 60 months imprisonment
Bridgette Davidson
Southern Dist. of TX
5: 09-388-02
Sentenced on March 12, 2010, to 60 months imprisonment
Cement Contractor Sentenced to Incarceration in Tax CaseRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announces that Jeffrey Justison, age 44, of Elkton, Maryland, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Richard G. Andrews to six months incarceration, followed by six months house arrest, for failure to collect, and pay over to the IRS, federal income taxes from his employees.
According to statements made at the sentencing hearing and documents filed in court, Jeffrey Justison owns Double J Concrete, Inc., which he operates from his Elkton home. From June 2007 through December 2010, Justison performed concrete jobs in Delaware and surrounding states, maintaining approximately 20 workers. Justison paid his employees in cash, failing to collect from them, and to pay over to the IRS, Federal Income Tax and Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) taxes. He further failed to pay to the IRS his matching employer’s portion of FICA taxes, resulting in a total of $184,829 in unpaid taxes.
Following the sentencing, Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, stated, “The criminal tax laws are designed to protect the public interest in preserving the integrity of our nation’s tax system. Today’s sentence should serve as a deterrent to would-be violators.”
"IRS Criminal Investigation realizes the detrimental consequences of employment tax evasion. It results in the loss of tax revenue to the United States government and the loss of future social security or Medicare benefits for the employees," stated Akeia Conner IRS Special Agent in Charge. "Today's sentencing should serve as a deterrent to employers that take lightly their responsibility to collect and pay over employment taxes."
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edmond Falgowski.
Laurel Man Enters Guilty Plea in Environmental CaseRead the Press Release
Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Patrick Henry Procino, age sixty-six, of Laurel, Delaware, pled guilty today before United States District Court Judge Richard G. Andrews to one count of illegal storage of hazardous waste without a permit, punishable by five years incarceration, a $250,000 fine, and three years supervised release. As the owner/operator of Procino Plating, Inc., Patrick Procino also entered a guilty plea on behalf of that corporation to one count of violating the Clean Water Act, which subjects the corporation to a maximum fine of $500,000 and five years probation.
According to statements made at the plea hearing and documents filed in court, Patrick Procino owned and operated Procino Plating, Inc. (Athe facility@), at 901 South Market Street in Blades, Delaware. Until the fall of 2007, the facility was utilized for plating and electroplating-related operations.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) defines hazardous waste to include chemical waste which due to its chemical characteristics presents a hazard to human health or the environment. RCRA mandates that producers of hazardous wastes may not store such wastes without first obtaining a storage permit from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).From December 2007 through May 2010, Patrick Procino stored a tank containing approximately 450 gallons of liquid hazardous waste which originally had been used at the facility on its decorative chrome plating line. This chemical waste had a ph of 0.8 and, therefore, was a corrosive waste under RCRA.
As to Procino Plating, Inc. (Procino Plating), in the course of its operations it produced wastewater, and pursuant to a pretreatment industrial wastewater permit issued by Sussex County, Procino Plating was permitted to discharge its industrial wastewater to the Seaford, Delaware treatment plant which, in turn, discharges into the Nanticoke River. Pursuant to the Clean Water Act, the permit set limits on the amount of various pollutants that Procino Plating could discharge in its industrial waste water to the Seaford treatment plant, including limits on various metals.
On or about June 1, 2009, Sussex County modified Procino Plating=s industrial user permit to specifically prohibit the discharge of waste water generated as a result of electroplating operations, and any waste or bi-products of the electroplating processes then in storage at the facility. This modification was made based upon statements and representations by Procino Plating to Sussex County officials, indicating that the business has ceased electroplating-related operations at the facility. However, from June 2009 through March 2010, Procino Plating processed, through its wastewater treatment plant, stored drums of chemicals which were leftover from its former electroplating operations and, in violation of its Clean Water Act mandated permit, discharged resulting wastewater to the Seaford treatment plant.
United States District Court Judge Richard G. Andrews scheduled sentencing for February 27, 2014.
Following the guilty plea, Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, stated, AMy office will continue to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of those environmental offenses which present a present or potential hazard to human health or the environment.@
"For years the defendant knowingly disregarded federal and state environmental laws,” said David G. McLeod, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of EPA's criminal enforcement program for the Middle Atlantic States. "Improperly handling hazardous wastes and industrial pollutants can threaten the environment and put the public at serious risk. Today's guilty plea demonstrates our resolve to collaborate with our state and federal counterparts to vigorously investigate and prosecute any credible allegation that a company and its leaders treat our nation's environmental laws with contempt.”
“This case is another example of effective partnership between Delaware, EPA and the U.S. Attorney's Office to protect public health and the environment,” said DNREC Secretary Collin O=Mara. ADelaware companies demonstrate every day that they can be successful while complying with environmental standards, and DNREC works hard to assist the state's smaller businesses to achieve these goals. However, we have no tolerance for those who continually demonstrate a blatant disregard for the state’s hazardous waste regulations. We appreciate the great efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and EPA in this matter.This case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control-Criminal Investigations. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edmond Falgowski and Special Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Lisa.
Dover Developer Pleads Guilty to Bank ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Salvatore J. Leone, entered a guilty plea before the Honorable Gregory M. Sleet to a one count felony Information charging him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.
According to the criminal Information and plea agreement, Leone was a project manager for and partner with Michael A. Zimmerman in several limited liability companies formed for the purpose of developing real estate in or around Dover, Delaware.
Between September 24, 2007 and February 27, 2009, Leone and others, including Zimmerman and an employee of Zimmerman’s real estate development company, BBC Enterprises, submitted or caused to be submitted false draw requests to Wilmington Trust Company. In particular, Leone admitted to the following acts during his plea hearing:
- On or about September 24, 2007, Leone agreed to create a bill for Zimmerman for $231,000.00 purportedly for work performed on the Compass Pointe project, with intent to submit the bill to WTC for payment. However, as defendant and Zimmerman knew, the payment was not for work actually performed on Compass Pointe, but was to be used by Leone to fund a capital call on at least one unrelated real estate project.
- On or about October 28, 2008, Leone and Zimmerman submitted to WTC a fraudulent construction draw request for $8,568.00. The conspirators represented that these loan proceeds would be used to fund a change order associated with the Salt Pond project. Instead, Leone and Zimmerman used the loan proceeds for construction costs associated with an unrelated project.
- On or about January 3, 2008, Leone and Zimmerman submitted to WTC a fraudulent construction draw request for approximately $170,000.00. Leone and Zimmerman represented that these loan proceeds would be used to fund construction costs associated with the Compass Pointe project, but $100,000.00 of these proceeds were instead converted into a check made payable to Zimmerman.
- On or about January 15, 2008, Leone and Zimmerman submitted to WTC a fraudulent construction draw request for $375,000.00. Leone and Zimmerman represented that these loan proceeds would be used to fund architectural and engineering costs associated with the Shoppes at Fieldstone project. Instead, Leone and Zimmerman each received a check for $120,000.00, while the project account received only $135,000.00.
- On or about February 27, 2009, Leone and Zimmerman misappropriated approximately $260,000.00 in escalated lease payments received from a lessee for the Shoppes at Fieldstone project. In the loan agreement for the Shoppes at Fieldstone project, it had been represented that the escalated lease payments would be reinvested back into that project. Rather than comply with the terms of the loan agreement, Leone and Zimmerman used the loan proceeds for another purpose, namely the payment of a checks to Leone and Zimmerman, each in the amount of $130,000.00.Leone, age 50, is a resident of Dover, Delaware. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000.00 fine, and mandatory restitution.
Leone, age 50, is a resident of Dover, Delaware. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000.00 fine, and mandatory restitution.
United States Attorney Oberly said, “The charge against Mr. Leone and today’s guilty plea represent another step forward in this Office’s investigation into the demise of the Wilmington Trust Corporation. We, and our investigative partners, remain determined to identify and prosecute abuses like this one that compromise the integrity of Delaware financial institutions.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue
Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset
Relief Program (SIGTARP), and the Office of Inspector General, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert F. Kravetz and Lesley F. Wolf.
Leone Plea Agreement.pdfLeone Felony Information.pdf
- On or about September 24, 2007, Leone agreed to create a bill for Zimmerman for $231,000.00 purportedly for work performed on the Compass Pointe project, with intent to submit the bill to WTC for payment. However, as defendant and Zimmerman knew, the payment was not for work actually performed on Compass Pointe, but was to be used by Leone to fund a capital call on at least one unrelated real estate project.
CEO of Local Company Sentenced to 30 Months Imprisonment for Pocketing Employee Payroll Tax WithholdingsRead the Press Release
Charles Smith, age 54, of Bear, Delaware, was sentenced to thirty months imprisonment by the Honorable Gregory M. Sleet, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware on Friday, October 4th, after pleading guilty to failing to account for and pay over his employees’ payroll taxes. Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced the sentence today. Smith pled guilty to ten counts of Failure to Truthfully Account For and Pay Over Payroll Taxes, in violation of Title 26, United States Code § 7202.
This case was investigated by Jacqueline Zebley of the IRS, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer K. Welsh.
Smith was the Chief Executive Officer of eShowings, a company which provides online and telephone appointment services for real estate professionals. eShowings has offices in Newark, Delaware, North Carolina, and Kansas. As the founder and CEO of eShowings, Smith was responsible for ensuring that employees’ payroll tax withholdings were paid over to the government. Instead, Smith took money deducted from employees’ paychecks and spent it personal items for himself and his family. At the sentencing hearing, the Court noted that Smith had spent the money on vacations, gambling, a pontoon boat, and other personal expenses.
United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly stated of the prosecution, “My office is committed to protecting the hardworking wage earners who think they are meeting their tax obligations from unscrupulous employers who victimize them and fail to pay their share to the government.”
“Business owners have a responsibility to withhold income taxes for their employees and then remit those taxes to the Internal Revenue Service,” said IRS Special Agent in Charge Akeia Conner. “The failure to pay over withheld taxes is a serious offense. Friday’s sentencing shows that IRS Criminal Investigation, the United States Attorney's Office and the District Court of Delaware are all in accord regarding the seriousness of this offense.”Delaware Woman Pleads Guilty to $1.8 Million Tax Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. - Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Beverly Newton, age 52, of Middletown, Delaware, pled guilty today to violations of 18 USC § 286 (False Claims Conspiracy), 18 USC § 1341 (Mail Fraud), and 42 U.S.C. § 408(a)(7)(B) & 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Aiding and Abetting Social Security Fraud). Newton, who will be sentenced on January 14, 2014, by the Honorable Leonard P. Stark, United States District Judge for the District of Delaware, faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and 3 years of supervised release.
According to statements made at the plea hearing and documents filed in court, the defendant participated in a tax fraud conspiracy involving the filing of more than 180 false individual federal income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service, using stolen identities. The returns sought refunds of more than $1.8 million. The defendant and her co-conspirators received more than $800,000 on account of the fraudulent returns. The defendant’s role in the conspiracy involved providing names and social security numbers to another co-conspirator, who used the information to file the fraudulent returns. The defendant received more than $300,000 in refunds for her part in the scheme.
U.S. Attorney Oberly gave the following comments: “This case should send a clear signal that individuals who conspire with others to file false claims against the United States Treasury will face significant penalties. My office is committed to working with the Internal Revenue Service to prosecute these cases, and I will seek incarceration wherever possible and appropriate.”
“Investigating identity theft and refund fraud is a priority for IRS Criminal Investigation,” said Akeia Conner, IRS Special Agent in Charge, Philadelphia Field Office. “Stealing identities and filing false tax returns is a serious crime that hurts innocent taxpayers. Today’s plea signifies a surrendering to the resolve of IRS Criminal Investigation and the United States Attorney’s Office to combat and bring to justice those who dare to abuse our tax system and victimize our innocent taxpayers.”
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Paxton.
North Wilmington Man Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jason Jay Mills, age 36, of Wilmington, Delaware, was sentenced today to six years in prison for receipt of child pornography via a website discovered by Italian law enforcement authorities. Mills also was sentenced to five years of supervised release following his prison sentence. He also will be required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school. United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III made the announcement following Mills’ sentencing hearing before United States District Judge Richard G. Andrews.
According to statements made at today’s hearing and documents filed in court, Mills was a user of a child pornography website discovered by the National Centre for Combating Pedophilia Online (Centro Nazionale per il Contrasto alla Pedopornografia On-line, or C.N.C.P.O.) located within the Italian State Police Postal and Communication Service. After executing a search warrant on the website servers, the C.N.C.P.O. was able to identify over 900 U.S.-based users of the website. The C.N.C.P.O. provided the identities of these users to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, which has been conducting investigations of the identified individuals across the United States.
On November 30, 2012, Wilmington-based Homeland Security Investigations agents arrested Mills and searched his North Wilmington residence, which was located just two blocks from Carrcroft Elementary School. They found computers containing over 40,000 still images and movies of some of the most graphic and violent depictions of child sexual abuse uncovered by investigators who routinely work child pornography cases in Delaware. The images featured mostly infants, toddlers and girls under age 8 being violently raped and assaulted. In some images, the children appear to be deceased following the violent sexual abuse. One image depicts a prepubescent girl with the following words over her naked torso:
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
BEHIND EVERY PICTURE IS
A CHILD HAVING A HELL OF
A GOOD TIME!
In addition to the computers containing extremely violent child pornography featuring girls of elementary school age and younger, federal agents also found various dolls the size of toddlers, some of which had been used as sexual props or mutilated, in Mills’ residence. Located with the computer equipment to which Mills downloaded tens of thousands of images of violent sexual abuse was a cache of assault weapons that Mills legally owned, including AR-15, M-4, and AK-47 assault rifles.
Following the sentencing hearing, United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III thanked the Department of Homeland Security and the Italian State Police Postal and Communication Service for their collaborative efforts to work across an ocean to protect children: “Two weeks before the tragedy that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Connecticut, HSI agents removed Mills from his residence located two blocks from a local elementary school. Mills, who openly expressed his hatred of children to investigators, was fixated on imagery depicting depraved violence inflicted upon school-aged girls and young women, and he was armed with a cache of some of the most fearsome assault weapons legally available for purchase by private citizens, including the same model rifle used in the Sandy Hook tragedy. We are extremely grateful that the excellent work of our Homeland Security agents and our Italian law enforcement partners led to his arrest before he could harm children in ways beyond his online victimization of those depicted in the horrific images that he spent over a decade collecting.”
This case is being investigated by the United States Department of Homeland Security, with assistance from Italy’s Centro Nazionale per il Contrasto alla Pedopornografia On-line, which is part of the Italian State Police Postal and Communication Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew.
For more information about reporting online child exploitation to the national CyberTipline, visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s website at: www.missingkids.com. For more information about the United States Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood program, visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.Twice Convicted Child Rapist Pleads Guilty to Online Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Sean Lawrence, age 40, of Kansas City, Missouri, pled guilty today to Transportation of Child Pornography, in violation of federal law. Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced the guilty plea following a hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
Lawrence was previously convicted in Missouri in 1995 and 2005 of sodomizing two young boys. He was sentenced to five years in prison for each offense and was required to register as a sex offender upon his release.
As a result of his prior convictions for child sex offenses, Lawrence faces enhanced sentencing penalties under federal law, including a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years, and a maximum sentence of forty years, in prison. Lawrence also faces a term of supervised release following his prison sentence of five years to life, and will be required to register as a sex offender in any U.S. jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school. Lawrence will be sentenced on January 6, 2014 by United States District Judge Sue L. Robinson.
According to statements made and documents filed in court, Lawrence came to the attention of a Wilmington-based Homeland Security Investigations special agent in February 2013, during an online undercover investigation into non-public, peer-to-peer networks being used to distribute child pornography. Lawrence provided the undercover agent, who was posing as a man interested in trading images of child pornography, with access to his non-public, peer-to-peer network. The undercover agent then downloaded 11 video files of child pornography from Lawrence’s computer.
During the investigation, law enforcement agents determined that Lawrence was distributing child pornography from various locations via a wireless mobile device. On February 14, 2013, Special Agents of the Wilmington, Delaware and Philadelphia HSI offices partnered with Kansas City-based agents to apprehend Lawrence while he was actually transmitting and receiving images of child pornography via the Internet. The local agents conducted simultaneous online sessions with Lawrence in an effort to geo-locate him. Data associated with those online sessions indicated that Lawrence was then accessing the Internet from the second floor of Metropolitan Community College Library, in Kansas City, Missouri. The local agents quickly relayed this information to the Kansas City-based HSI Special Agents, who then found Lawrence in the back corner of the campus library. Lawrence had an open laptop in front of him and was downloading a video of child pornography set to music when he was apprehended.
A subsequent forensic examination of computer equipment seized from Lawrence in the library and at his residence resulted in the discovery of over 10,000 still images and 200 videos of child pornography that Lawrence had downloaded to those devices. The depictions of child pornography featured mostly prepubescent boys engaged in sexual acts with adult males or other boys. A number of the files depict violence, sadistic or masochistic abuse or bondage.
During an interview with law enforcement agents, Lawrence stated that he had traded hundreds of child pornography images and videos via file sharing programs and email each day since 1999, except during his time in prison. Defendant estimated that he has traded 100-1,000 images of child pornography a day since 1998-1999. He further estimated that he traded child pornography files with an average of about 1-3 people per day via email. Lawrence also told the agents that he went to the Metropolitan Community College campus approximately 3-4 days a week to use the wireless Internet to receive and distribute child pornography. Lawrence said that he also utilized the wireless networks at the public library, and in McDonalds and Burger King locations to distribute and receive child pornography.
This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew.
Leader of International Drug Trafficking Conspiracy Sentenced to 15 Years ImprisonmentRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Ronaldo Edmund, age 38, of Wilmington, Delaware, was sentenced on September 9, 2013, to a term of imprisonment of fifteen (15) years for his role as a leader of an international drug trafficking conspiracy.
According to facts introduced in prior hearings, Edmund was the leader of an organization which recruited multiple drug couriers to travel to Panama in order to smuggle cocaine and heroin into the United States. Edmund, a Panamanian national, facilitated and coordinated the travel of the couriers to Panama, and he maintained and managed contact with the Panamanian sources of supply. Agents identified a total of at least nineteen (19) couriers who took smuggling trips to Panama on behalf of the organization, and who smuggled, or attempted to smuggle, more than thirteen (13) kilograms of cocaine and five kilograms of heroin from Panama to Wilmington.
The investigation also uncovered a separate source of supply, Saleem A. Sharif, a former West Point graduate and Captain in the United States Army, who shipped multiple kilograms of heroin from Kabul, Afghanistan, to the United States. Sharif and three other individuals – Charles Richardson, Darrold Thomas, and Sayeed A. Behrooz – have pleaded, or are scheduled to plead guilty, to offenses relating to the shipment of heroin from Afghanistan.
To date, the government has charged twenty-three individuals in the United States with drug trafficking offenses as a result of the investigation. All but four of those defendants – each of whom remain abroad in Panama – have pleaded guilty, or have agreed to plead guilty, to drug-related offenses. A listing of the charged defendants and their current status is set forth in Attachment A.
United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III, stated, “I commend the hard work and relentless dedication of our law enforcement partners over the past four years in dismantling two major drug trafficking organizations that imported cocaine and heroin from Panama and Afghanistan into the United States. The fact that these drugs made it onto the streets of Wilmington and our surrounding communities demonstrates the reach of international drug trafficking organizations – and the importance of utilizing all necessary resources to stop them. The sentence imposed on Mr. Edmund is significant, reflects his leadership role in the offense, and should serve as a serious deterrent for others in the community who would consider getting involved in international drug smuggling.”
The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and the Wilmington Police Department.
Investigators also received invaluable assistance from the Panamanian National Police; the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas; the United States Marshals Service for the District of Delaware; the Newark (Delaware) Police Department; the Delaware State Police; the New Castle County Police Department; the Delaware Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole; the Cecil County (Maryland) Drug Task Force; the Pennsylvania State Police; the Maryland State Police; and the Elkton (Maryland) Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert F. Kravetz. For further information, contact Press Information Officer Kimberlynn Reeves at (302) 573-6277, ext. 16287.
ATTACHMENT A
Defendant District Case No. Status
Status of Defendants Charged in Panama/Afghanistan Drug InvestigationTissany Buckham
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Sentenced on April 10, 2013, to 22 months imprisonment
Kimberly Fowler
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Completed pretrial diversion on November 6, 2012
Kelvin Cook
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Sentenced on June 20, 2013, to 180 months imprisonment
Julio Archer
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Sentenced on June 11, 2013, to 60 months imprisonment
Roumik Banerjee
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Sentenced on April 3, 2013, to 57 months imprisonment
Mia Poteat
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Sentenced on April 3, 2013, to 37 months imprisonment
Tina Simmons
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Sentenced on May 7, 2013, to three years’ probation and six months home detention
Tessa Snyder
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Pleaded guilty on May 18, 2012; pending sentencing
Dynisha Revel
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Charged defendant, currently incarcerated in Panama
Raabia Munir
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Charged defendant; a plea hearing is scheduled for October 16, 2013
Sharon Butera
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Charged defendant, currently incarcerated in Panama
Efrain Dixon
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Charged defendant, Panamanian national
Benjamin Carpenter
Delaware
11-63-RGA
Charged defendant, Panamanian national
Tara Resto
Delaware
09-102-GMS
Pleaded guilty on April 13, 2010; sentencing hearing scheduled for September 26, 2013
Kevin Morris
Delaware
12-41-RGA
Pleaded guilty on July 25, 2012; sentencing hearing scheduled for October 22, 2013
Saleem A. Sharif
Delaware
12-53-RGA
Sentenced on September 4, 2013, to 120 months imprisonment
Charles Richardson
Delaware
12-44-RGA
Sentenced on January 29, 2013, to 60 months imprisonment
Darrold Thomas
Delaware
12-65-RGA
Sentenced on August 27, 2013, to 54 months imprisonment
Sayeed A. Behrooz
Delaware
13-93-RGA
Charged defendant; plea hearing scheduled for October 15, 2013
Neisha Miller
Southern Dist. of TX
5: 11-43-01
Sentenced on September 20, 2011 to 36 months imprisonment
Gloria Miller
Southern Dist. of TX
5: 11-43-02
Sentenced on September 20, 2011 to 36 months imprisonment
Christine A. Blevins
Southern Dist. of TX
5: 09-388-01
Sentenced on March 4, 2010, to 60 months imprisonment
Bridgette Davidson
Southern Dist. of TX
5: 09-388-02
Sentenced on March 12, 2010, to 60 months imprisonment
South Jersey Man Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison for Multi-Million-Dollar, Internet-Based Tax Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Gary Crawford, age 42, of Bridgeton, New Jersey, was sentenced to 97 months in prison today for his role in a conspiracy to file hundreds of false federal income tax returns seeking First Time Home Buyer Credits for the 2008 tax year. Crawford also was order to pay $1,020,388.00 in restitution to the United States Treasury, and was sentenced to three years of supervised release, which will commence following his prison term.
According to statements made at today’s hearing and documents filed in court, Crawford and his co-conspirators used at least 47 Internet service accounts to file at least 358 fraudulent returns seeking the payment of $3,060,770 in tax refunds which were transferred into at least 30 bank accounts and more than 100 prepaid debit card accounts. All of the Internet service accounts and virtually all of the financial accounts were in names other than Crawford’s. The United States Treasury actually paid out $2,265,254 in refunds on 293 fraudulent returns filed by Crawford and his co-conspirators.
The tax fraud scheme was uncovered in 2009, when the IRS’s Fraud Detection Center flagged a large number of false, electronically filed 2008 personal income tax returns seeking First Time Home Buyer Credits by individuals claiming to have purchased homes in Salem and Penns Grove, New Jersey. The First Time Home Buyer Credit permitted a taxpayer to receive a credit of up to $8,000 if the individual purchased a qualifying home between April 8, 2008 and December 1, 2009. To receive the credit, the taxpayer must have been employed and have owed taxes against which the credit could be applied. The IRS confirmed that the individuals listed in the fraudulent returns had not actually purchased homes and, in many cases, had not been employed by the companies listed in their tax returns during 2008.
Following the sentencing hearing, United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III, stated, Tax frauds, such as that committed by Gary Crawford, hurt all those who pay their taxes and claim legitimate refunds. Fortunately, the IRS has programs in place to flag schemes like Crawford’s. When identified, such criminal activity will be prosecuted by this office and incarceration sought whenever justified.”
IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Akeia Conner said, “Individuals who commit refund fraud and identity theft of this magnitude and with this degree of trickery, dishonesty and deceit, deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. IRS Criminal Investigation and the United States Attorney's Office, remain vigilant in identifying, investigating and prosecuting those individuals who seek to undermine the integrity of the U.S. tax system.”
This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Edward J. McAndrew and Ilana H. Eisenstein.
Former Bank Vice President Charged with Attempted Online Enticement of A MinorRead the Press Release
Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Kirk A. Simmons, age 59, of Newark, Delaware, was arrested earlier today and charged by criminal complaint with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2422(b). This federal criminal charge results from an online sting operation conducted in June and July 2013 by an undercover Delaware State Police detective posing as a father who posted an online advertisement seeking other men to join him for sex with his 13-year-old daughter.
At the time of the sting operation, Simmons was employed as a Vice President, Market Information Manager II at Bank of America’s Newark, Delaware facility. Bank of America terminated Simmons’s employment following notification of his alleged conduct. According to his LinkedIn profile, Simmons also currently works as a “Professional private tutor” through WyzAnt Tutoring, “providing private in-home tutoring at the high school and college levels.”
If convicted of the charges, Simmons faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least ten years of imprisonment and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least five years to life following his prison sentence. He also will be required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction in which he resides, works or attends school.
Simmons began his online relationship with the undercover “father” in June 2013, when Simmons responded to a “personals” advertisement for “fam love/taboo” on an adult social networking website. Through online chats, Simmons indicated and graphically described that he wanted to engage in sexual activity with the purported “father” and his child. After a number of online conversations, the “father” agreed to bring his “13-year-old daughter” to a Newark hotel on July 18, 2013, where Simmons would meet them for sexual activity.
Simmons was arrested by the Delaware State Police Child Predator Task Force on July 18, 2013, after he arrived at a Newark hotel to engage in sex acts with the fictitious “father” and “13-year-old daughter.” Shortly before that meeting, Simmons was under surveillance by Delaware State Police and was observed driving directly from his workplace to the hotel. In a recorded interview with a Delaware State Police detective, Simmons admitted that he intended to engage in sexual activity with the fictitious “father” and “13-year-old daughter” at the hotel. Simmons also admitted that he brought a digital camera with him to photograph the sexual activity.
Simmons was released from state custody after posting bail in July 2013 on a state charge of Attempted Rape Third Degree of a Minor filed in Delaware Superior Court. The Delaware Child Predator Task Force thereafter referred the case to the United States Department of Homeland Security and the United States Attorney’s Office for possible federal prosecution. The state charge remains pending.
Simmons will remain in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for Tuesday, September 3, 2013, at 8:30 a.m., before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Mary Pat Thynge. At that hearing, the court will determine whether to detain Simmons or to release him on bail conditions pending trial.
Any person possessing information about this matter are encouraged to contact the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Tip Line at 302-428-0104, extension 3.Former Camden Town Manager Pleads Guilty to Mail FraudRead the Press Release
Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware and Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt announced that former Camden Town Manager James O. Plumley, III, age 62, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit mail fraud before United States District Court Judge Richard G. Andrews. Plumley’s guilty plea stems from his role in a kickback scheme that he orchestrated to unlawfully defraud the State of Delaware of over $200,000 in years 2004 through 2008. Plumley’s partner in the scheme – William P. Mahon, of W.P. Mahon, Inc., a contractor in Wilmington – also pleaded guilty today.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shawn A. Weede and Jennifer L. Hall. For further information, please contact Public Information Officer Kimberlynn Reeves at (302) 573-6277, ext. 16287.
From facts disclosed at the plea hearing, Plumley was employed at Roofing Resources, Inc., in 2004 through 2008 and was responsible for assisting the State of Delaware’s Division of Facilities Management (“DFM”) select qualified contractors to repair and maintain roofs at state-owned facilities. Plumley used this position to steer roofing contracts to Mahon. In return and at Plumley’s direction, Mahon inflated his project bids by a specified amount, which he later deposited into Plumley’s checking account as a kickback after the DFM paid him for the job. Over the course of the scheme, the FBI was able to identify $204,000 in kickbacks that Plumley received from Mahon – money that Plumley and Mahon agreed to repay to the State of Delaware pursuant to their plea agreements.
This case was made possible through substantial cooperation by the Camden Police Department – including Chief of Police William E. Bryson and Captain Gary Melvin – who conducted the initial investigation of Plumley and provided the FBI with a strong foundation for its case here.
Justice Department Files Lawsuit in Delaware Against Regal Contractors, LLC, Et Al., to Enforce the Employment Rights of Air Force Reserve MemberRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. — The Justice Department and U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware Charles M. Oberly III announced today the filing of a lawsuit alleging that Regal Contractors LLC, Regal Builders LLC and Noble Pond Homes willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by terminating U.S. Air Force Reserve Member Lon Fluman following his return from required military training with his reserve unit.
Fluman is a Senior Airman with the U.S. Air Force Reserve serving with the 712th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Dover Air Force Base. According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for Delaware, Fluman was scheduled for reserve military duty to begin on Sept. 3, 2012 but was rescheduled on short notice to start one day later. Subsequently, Fluman served weekend reserve duty in early December of 2012. Following his second duty, the defendants terminated Fluman from his position as a maintenance technician. Although Fluman satisfied USERRA’s notification requirements before departing for his military leaves, according to the complaint, the defendants terminated Fluman anyway, claiming the notice provided was not sufficient.
USERRA explicitly protects the rights of members of the uniformed services to retain their employment following absences due to military service obligations. “Congress enacted USERRA to protect our men and women in uniform from experiencing this kind of injustice,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously enforcing federal laws that protect the employment rights of our servicemembers.”
“Members of the Air Force Reserve sacrifice time away from their jobs to serve their country,” said U.S. Attorney Oberly. “USERRA ensures that they are not discriminated against and that their employment rights are protected.”
This case stems from a referral by the U.S. Department of Labor following an investigation by the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service. The case is being handled by the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, who work collaboratively with the Department of Labor to protect the jobs and benefits of National Guard and Reserve servicemembers upon their return to civilian life.
Additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice Department website: www.servicemembers.gov and www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp, as well as on the Labor Department’s website at www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/main.htm.
Fluman Complaint
Three Members of Matusiewicz Family Indicted for Federal Stalking Crimes Resulting in Courthouse MurdersRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, Stephen Vogt, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Division, and Nathaniel McQueen, Jr., Colonel, Delaware State Police, announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Delaware returned a four-count indictment on August 6, 2013, charging David T. Matusiewicz, his mother, Lenore Matusiewicz, and his sister, Amy Gonzalez, with one count of conspiring to commit interstate stalking and cyberstalking, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371 and 2261A(1)-(2), two counts of interstate stalking, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2261A(1), and one count of cyberstalking, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2261A(2).
David T. Matusiewicz’s father, Thomas Matusiewicz, was named as a deceased co-conspirator in the indictment, which was unsealed this morning following the arrests of Lenore Matusiewicz and Amy Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas. David T. Matusiewicz has been in federal custody on a supervised release violation since the February 11, 2013 murders of his ex-wife, Christine Belford, and her friend, Laura Mulford, in the lobby of the New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware.
Pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 2261, if convicted of the most serious charges and aggravating factors contained in the indictment, all three defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a 5-year term of supervised release. Additionally, because David T. Matusiewicz and Lenore Matusiewicz were subject to “no contact” orders in place during their alleged criminal conduct, they also face a mandatory minimum term of one year in prison if convicted.
According to the indictment and court documents filed in this case and in prior cases, David T. Matusiewicz and Christine Belford were engaged in divorce and child custody proceedings in the Family Court of Delaware in 2007. In August 2007, David T. Matusiewicz and his mother, Lenore Matusiewicz, kidnapped the three young children born of his marriage to Christine Belford and fled to South America. In March 2009, David and Lenore Matusiewicz and the young children were found living in a motor home in Nicaragua. David and Lenore Matusiewicz were arrested and prosecuted in Delaware, and the children were returned to the care of their mother, Christine Belford.
In September 2009, David and Lenore Matusiewicz both pled guilty to crimes relating to their kidnapping of the children. In December 2009, David T. Matusiewicz was sentenced to 48 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervision by the United States Probation Office.
In the days following his December 2009 sentencing, David T. Matusiewicz began to orchestrate, from a prison cell, a course of conduct designed to stalk, harass, and intimidate Christine Belford and her children. He enlisted his father, mother, sister and various other persons in this effort, which stretched from December 2009 to February 2013.
The Matusiewicz family began their stalking campaign by broadly disseminating -- by mail, email, websites, Internet postings, and other means -- false allegations that Christine Belford had, among other things, abused her children, suffered from mental illness and had attempted to harm Lenore Matusiewicz. They used a website, posted YouTube videos, and sent letters to Christine Belford’s church and her children’s schools repeating their false and defamatory allegations. Christine Belford and her children were well aware of the Matusiewicz family’s widespread, public dissemination of this false and defamatory information.
In August 2011, the Family Court of the State of Delaware terminated David T. Matusiewicz’s parental rights as to his children with Christine Belford. In doing so, the Family Court rejected David T. Matusiewicz’s assertion that Christine Belford was abusing the children, referring to those allegations as “baseless” and “made up.” Following the completion of the Family Court termination of parental rights proceeding, the Matusiewicz family recruited and used a variety of people to conduct physical and online surveillance of Christine Belford and her children.
After his release from federal custody, David T. Matusiewicz resided in southern Texas first with Amy Gonzalez and then with Lenore and Thomas Matusiewicz. Between September and November 2012, the United States Probation Office twice denied David T. Matusiewicz’s requests for permission to travel from Texas to “New Jersey.” On November 9, 2012, David T. Matusiewicz filed a petition to reduce the monthly child support arrearage payments he owed Christine Belford in the Family Court of the State of Delaware. That petition ultimately resulted in the scheduling of the February 11, 2013 court hearing. Christine Belford was ordered to attend that hearing in the New Castle County Courthouse.
On January 8, 2013, David T. Matusiewicz sought and received permission from the United States Probation Office in Texas to travel to Delaware to attend the child support arrearage hearing scheduled for February 11, 2013. David T. Matusiewicz never informed the probation officer that he intended to travel to Delaware with Thomas and Lenore Matusiewicz.
Between February 4 and 7, 2013, David, Lenore and Thomas Matusiewicz traveled from Texas to the Delaware Valley in two vehicles – a Honda Civic and Honda CRV – later found to contain numerous weapons, ammunition, restraints, an electric shock device, several gas cans, a shovel, and numerous pictures of Christine Belford’s children and residence.
On the morning of February 11, 2013, David and Thomas Matusiewicz drove to a hotel parking garage near the New Castle County Courthouse in the Honda CRV, which contained ammunition, a military style knife, three sets of restraints of progressively smaller sizes, a bullet proof vest, an electric shock device, binoculars, and photographs of Christine Belford’s children and residence. After entering the courthouse lobby at approximately 7:30 a.m., David T. Matusiewicz entered and stayed in the security screening line, while Thomas Matusiewicz moved around the lobby, occasionally approaching and talking to David T. Matusiewicz.
Shortly before 8:00 a.m., David T. Matusiewicz passed through courthouse security screening and walked to another floor of the building. Thomas Matusiewicz remained in the lobby, where he shot Christine Belford multiple times as she entered the courthouse lobby, killing her. He then shot Laura Mulford multiple times as she attempted to flee. After a shootout during which he shot and injured two Capitol Police officers, Thomas Matusiewicz died on the sidewalk of the courthouse of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
On February 15, 2013, Amy Gonzalez filed a petition for custody of Christine Belford’s three children in the New Castle County Courthouse, which houses the Family Court of the State of Delaware. The enclosed check written to the Family Court was dated February 12, 2013 – the day after the Courthouse murders.
Acting United States Attorney Weiss stated the following: “From 1976 through 2005 over 64,000 people were killed as a result of domestic violence. These staggering numbers contributed to the enactment of the federal stalking statutes that are part of the Violence Against Women’s Act, passed initially in 1994 and reauthorized on multiple occasions, most recently in February of this year. This Office is staunchly committed to the enforcement of federal domestic violence laws. I want to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Delaware State Police and the Delaware Attorney General’s Office for their extraordinary work on this case.”
This case is being investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Delaware State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jamie M. McCall and Edward J. McAndrew
Matusiewicz Indictment Unsealed Redacted 8-8-13.pdf
Criminal indictments are only charges and are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Wilmington Man Sentenced to 15 Years Imprisonment for Role in International Drug Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Kelvin Cook, age 35 of Wilmington, Delaware, was sentenced on June 20, 2013, to a term of imprisonment of fifteen (15) years for his role as a leader of an international drug trafficking conspiracy.
According to facts introduced in prior hearings, Cook was one of the leaders of an organization that recruited multiple drug couriers to travel to Panama in order to smuggle cocaine and heroin into the United States. Agents identified a total of at least nineteen (19) couriers who took smuggling trips on behalf of the organization, and who smuggled, or attempted to smuggle, more than thirteen (13) kilograms of cocaine and five kilograms of heroin from Panama to Delaware. Cook was also responsible for a significant crack cocaine distribution network on the 500 block of West Sixth Street in Wilmington. In addition, on one occasion Cook obtained more than 100 grams of heroin from a Texas source, who in turn imported heroin directly from the country of Afghanistan.
United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III, stated, “The Court’s sentence appropriately punished Mr. Cook for his involvement in a major drug trafficking organization that had a negative impact on Wilmington and the surrounding communities. It further sends a message that there are significant consequences for engaging in large-scale drug trafficking within the State of Delaware. I commend our law enforcement partners for their hard work and considerable cooperation over the course of a three-year investigation that dismantled the organization and brought over 20 individuals to justice.”
The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and the Wilmington Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert F. Kravetz. For further information, contact Press Information Officer Kimberlynn Reeves at (302) 573-6277, ext. 16287.
For additional information regarding the case, see also:
http://www.justice.gov/usao-de/pr/man-pleads-guilty-panamanian-drug-trafficking-conspiracy
http://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/de/news/2011/Panama%20Press%20Release.html
http://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/de/news/2012/07-27.html
http://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/de/news/2012/07-25.html
http://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/de/news/2012/Banerjee%20Plea%20Release.htmlPennsylvania School Cook and Summer Camp Counselor ChargedRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Michael J. Barndt, a/k/a “mikecoach73,” age 39, of Sellersville, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint on June 19, 2013 with attempted enticement and coercion of a minor and attempted transfer of obscene matter to a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2422(b) and 1470. These charges stem from communications in aid of and travel from Pennsylvania to Delaware to engage in sex acts with an individual whom Barndt believed to be a 14 year old girl. In fact, the defendant was communicating over the internet with a Special Agent employed by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.
If convicted of the charges, Barndt faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least ten years of imprisonment and up to life in prison, fines of up to $250,000 for each offense, and a term of supervised release following any prison sentence of at least five years to life.
According to the Complaint, on or about June 7, 2013, Barndt posted an on-line personals ad on www.craigslist.com, “Real Teen Fantasy,” wherein Barndt expressed interest in a teenaged fantasy liaison. An undercover HSI agent posing as a 14 year old girl responded to the ad. Thereafter, Barndt, using screen name “mikecoach73,” engaged in a series of online chats with the undercover agent wherein Barndt both expressed his interest in engaging in sexual relations with the person whom he believed to be a 14 year old child and transmitted to the undercover agent photographs of his exposed genitalia to entice the “girl” to meet him.
On or about June 19, 2013, Barndt made arrangements to travel from his home in Pennsylvania to Delaware for the purpose of engaging in sexual relations with the person whom he believed to be a 14 year old girl. Barndt checked into a hotel at the corner of Route 202 and Naamans Road in New Castle County, Delaware. Barndt also traveled to the nearby Concord Mall and purchased lingerie for the child. Shortly thereafter, Barndt traveled back to the Concord Shopping Mall to pick up the child as planned, where he arrested.
According to the Complaint, Barndt is employed as a cook at the Lakeside School in Horsham Township, Pennsylvania during the school year. During the summer months, Barndt is employed as a camp counselor at “Blue Bell Camp,” in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 2012, Barndt was also a middle school football coach in the Springfield School District in Montgomery County.
Resident Agent in Charge Jonathan Free, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations noted of the investigation, “HSI will relentlessly pursue those who would try to steal the innocence of Delaware’s children.”
Members of the public with any information about this case are encouraged to contact the Department of Homeland Security’s Wilmington office at (302) 428-0104 x7005.
The charges in the Complaint are only allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. For further information, please contact AUSA McAndrew at 302-573-6277.16 Count Drug Trafficking Indictment ReturnedRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that ten men were indicted by a federal grand jury on drug trafficking charges, including conspiracy to distribute heroin, crack cocaine, cocaine, and marijuana, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 846. The sixteen-count indictment was partially unsealed yesterday.
The charged defendants include Qiydaar Miller, age 33 from Wilmington, Albari Malik Johnson, age 37 from Wilmington, Tamir Collins, age 32 from Wilmington, Keenan Williams, age 55 from Wilmington, Walter Thomas, age 51 from Wilmington, Ibrahim Sesay, age 37 from Wilmington, Andre Cephas, age 42 from Ellendale, Harry Coverdale, age 35 from Wilmington, Corey Pendergrass, age 33 from Wilmington, and Daqwan Riley, age 20 from Wilmington. If convicted of any of the remaining offenses, the defendants charged in those offenses could face either a mandatory minimum sentence of at least five years of imprisonment, and up to forty years in prison, in addition to fines, and supervised release, or up to twenty years in prison, in addition to fines, and supervised release, depending on the amount of drug charged in the offense.
The Indictment alleges that the conspiracy to distribute controlled substances existed between March 2012 and June 2013. Moreover, the prosecution presented information during detention hearings held yesterday in federal court that the defendants were part of a drug-trafficking organization that distributed drugs throughout Wilmington, Delaware, including a residence located at 30th and Madison Streets, which served as the group’s base of operations.
The Indictment and arrests of these individuals was the product of a long-term investigation into the drug-trafficking organization, led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Wilmington Police Department and the State of Delaware Department of Corrections Division of Probation and Parole. Critical support for the investigation and arrests was provided by Delaware State Police, Delaware Division of Gaming Enforcement, New Castle County Police Department, United States Marshals Service, and the United States Department of Agriculture.
Acting United States Attorney David C. Weiss thanked the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies for their participation in this investigation, and stated, “The defendants are charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute substantial quantities of illegal drugs in the city of Wilmington. We are determined to pursue these charges to the fullest extent of the law, and we will continue the investigation into others who had joined with the charged defendants in trafficking illegal drugs here in Delaware.”
The charges in the Indictment are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jamie M. McCall and Ilana Eisenstein, District of Delaware. For further information, please contact AUSA McCall at 302-573-6079 or AUSA Eisenstein at 302-573-6082.
Long-Lost “Rosenberg Diary” RecoveredRead the Press Release
A close confidant of Adolf Hitler, Alfred Rosenberg was one of the most influential members of the “Third Reich” and of the Nazi Party. His tome The Myth of the Twentieth Century articulated the philosophical underpinnings of National Socialist ideology. Rosenberg served as head of the Nazi Party’s foreign affairs department and as the Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories, which included the Baltic States, Ukraine, and parts of Belorussia. As Reich Minister, Rosenberg played a significant role in the mass murder of the Jewish people in the Occupied Eastern Territories, as well as the deportation of civilians to forced labor camps to support the German war effort. Rosenberg also established and headed an organization, Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg, the mission of which was to loot cultural property from all over Europe.
Rosenberg was a defendant at the International Military Tribunal, held at Nuremberg, Germany from 1945 – 1946. He was found guilty on all four counts of the indictment for conspiracy to commit aggressive warfare, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Rosenberg was hanged on October 16, 1946.
Rosenberg was privy to much of the planning for the Nazi racial state, the mass murder of the Jewish people and other civilians, the planning and conduct of the Second World War, and the occupation of Soviet territory. His diary entries are a potential wealth of information, hitherto unknown, regarding the history of this period.
Allied forces advancing through Germany seized documents, books, and other records of strategic or tactical importance. After the surrender of Germany in May 1945, governmental authority for Germany was placed into Allied hands. This authority included ownership of all documents created by the defeated German government or captured by Allied forces. To prepare for war crimes trials after the cessation of hostilities, agencies of the United States Government examined and selected relevant documents as potential evidence.
Among the documents seized by Allied forces was the Rosenberg Diary. On August 10, 1945, the Records Subsection of the Documents Unit of the War Crimes Branch, United States Army, received from the Berlin Documents Control Center, the “…private papers of Alfred Rosenberg, former Reichsminister for the Occupied Eastern Territories.” Among these papers, according to the receipt prepared on August 15, 1945, were “Handwritten diary notes” from the years 1934 – 1944. These included notes, dated 1941, “dealing in the early part of (Apr 41) with the conspiracy to dominate Russia and preparations for this occupation (conferences with HITLER and others).”
Dr. Robert M.W. Kempner was a German lawyer who fled Germany for the United States during the war. At the conclusion of the war, Dr. Kempner served as the Deputy Chief Counsel and was the Chief Prosecutor in the “Ministries Case” in the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal. In this role, Dr. Kempner had access to seized Nazi documents in his official capacity as an employee of the United States Government. At the conclusion of the Nuremberg Tribunals, Dr. Kempner returned to the United States and lived in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. Contrary to law and proper procedure, Dr. Kempner removed various documents, including the Rosenberg Diary, from United States government facilities in Nuremberg and retained them until his death in 1993.
In November, 2012, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware and Homeland Security Investigations agents received information from an art security specialist, who was working for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,as to the Rosenberg Diary. The Rosenberg Diary was subsequently located and seized pursuant to a warrant issued by the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III said, “This seizure is the result of the joint efforts of this office and Homeland Security Investigations. The discovery and return of this long-lost, important historical document to the government of the United States is a significant achievement. Although it is a reminder of a dark time, the Rosenberg Diary is important to our understanding of history. Our hope is that it will provide valuable insight to historians.”
“Thanks to the tireless investigative work of ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents, and years of perseverance by both the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the long-lost Rosenberg Diary has been recovered, not in Germany but in the United States. This important record of the crimes of the Third Reich and the Holocaust is now preserved for all to see, study and learn from,” said ICE Director John Morton. “The work of combating the international theft of cultural heritage is a key part of our work, and no matter how long these items may appear to be lost to history, that hard but important work will continue.”
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is thrilled to have recovered the diary of Alfred Rosenberg, a leading Nazi ideologue. As we build the collection of record on the Holocaust, having material that documents the actions of both perpetrators and victims is crucial to helping scholars understand how and why the Holocaust happened," said Museum Director Sara J. Bloomfield. "The story of this diary demonstrates how much material remains to be collected and why rescuing this evidence is such an important Museum priority."
This case was investigated by David L. Hall and Jamie McCall, Assistant United States Attorneys. For further information, contact Assistant United States Attorney David L. Hall at (302) 573-6118.
View the Immigration and Customs Enforcement press release (contains pictures and video)
Pike Creek Man Sentenced to 220 Months in Prison for Drug Trafficking and Attempted Murder OffensesRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today the sentencing of one man on narcotics trafficking and attempted murder convictions, and the separate conviction of that man’s brother for using Facebook to threaten to kill a government witness during the narcotics trafficking and attempted murder trial.
United States v. William Boney
William Boney, age 39, of Pike Creek, was sentenced to 220 months in prison today for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A), and 846; attempted murder by retaliating against an informant, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1513(a)(1)(B); and soliciting another person to retaliate against an informant by committing murder, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1513(a)(1)(B) and 373. In January 2013, a federal jury returned guilty verdicts against Boney after a one-week trial.
According to statements made at the sentencing hearing and documents filed in court, Boney was initially arrested on November 7, 2010, for attempting to broker a cocaine deal worth approximately $217,000 at his residence. Boney, however, was released to cooperate with the DEA in ongoing drug investigations. While released, Boney discovered the identity of a confidential informant who assisted the DEA with the investigation of the November 7, 2010 drug deal. Boney then began to plot that informant’s murder.
Unbeknownst to Boney, DEA agents uncovered the plot before Boney could find a “hit man” to kill the confidential informant. DEA agents then had a second confidential informant pose as a would-be “hit man” who was willing to kill the first confidential informant. Boney met with the purported “hit man” three times between May 22, 2011 and July 3, 2011. During these meetings, Boney discussed the details of killing the confidential informant, instructing the “hit man” to kill the informant’s young child if the informant was not present when the “hit man” broke into the informant’s home. Boney proposed to pay the “hit man” by having him also conduct home invasion robberies of those whom Boney believed had large amounts of cash or drugs in their residences. Evidence submitted at trial also showed that Boney was a long-time drug dealer, with two prior convictions for trafficking in marijuana.
United States v. John Boney
John Francis Boney, Jr., age 35, of New Castle, pled guilty on June 4, 2013 to Interstate Transportation of Threats, after using Facebook to threaten to kill a government witness who was scheduled to testify at his brother, William Boney’s, federal narcotics trafficking and attempted murder trial. John Boney faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 18, 2013 by United States District Judge Sue L. Robinson, who presided over brother William Boney’s trial and sentenced William Boney to 220 months in prison earlier today.
According to statements made and documents filed in court, during a recorded prison phone call made in the weeks before his January 2013 narcotics trafficking and attempted murder trial, William Boney used an intermediary to inform his brother, John Boney, of the identity of a government witness whom William Boney believed would testify as a government witness during the trial.
John Boney attended the January 2013 trial of William Boney, which was held in the federal courthouse, in Wilmington. During the early days of the trial, John Boney learned that the government planned to call the witness identified by William Boney weeks earlier. On January 23, 2013, John Boney used a smartphone to post a message on Facebook threatening to kill the government witness who his brother, William Boney, had identified if that witness took the stand against William Boney.
On the morning of January 24, 2013, the government witness entered the federal building, but told court security officers that he would not report to Judge Sue L. Robinson’s courtroom to testify until he could speak with the federal agents involved in William Boney’s trial. The agents located the government witness on the lower level of the federal courthouse and learned that John Boney had posted a threat to kill the witness on Facebook the previous day.
The agents then responded to the courtroom in which the trial was occurring and removed John Boney from the audience. The agents also took custody of a smartphone that John Boney brought to the courthouse. On that phone, the agents found the Facebook message in which John Boney threatened to kill the government witness if that witness testified for the government. When confronted by the agents, John Boney admitted to posting the message.
Following the court proceedings, United States Attorney Oberly stated: ?The protection of witnesses who walk into federal courtrooms to aid in the pursuit of criminal justice, as well as the families of those witnesses, is of paramount concern, and accordingly should expect to be prosecuted.”
Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge David G. Dongilli stated, “The sentence imposed by the court reflects the extreme seriousness of Mr. Boney’s efforts to kill a DEA confidential informant who was going to testify against him. I wish to thank all of the law enforcement agencies and prosecutors that, through their dedication and diligence successfully brought Mr. Boney to trial despite his efforts to subvert justice. DEA will not tolerate threats against witnesses and will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners and prosecutors to investigate and prosecute individuals and organizations that threaten witnesses and their families.”
These cases were investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jamie M. McCall, Ilana Eisenstein and Edward J. McAndrew.Chinese Citizen Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Cyber-Theft and Piracy of over $100 Million in Sensitive Software and Proprietary DataRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Xiang Li, age 36, of Chengdu, China, was sentenced to 12 years in prison today for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and criminal copyright infringement based on cyber-theft and online piracy of over $100 million worth of sensitive, industrial-grade software and confidential data stolen from the internal server of a cleared defense contractor. Li will be deported to China pending his release from prison.
According to statements made at the sentencing hearing and documents filed in court, in December 2009, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, identified a website located at www.crack99.com that was advertising thousands of software titles at a fraction of their retail value. The investigation revealed that Xiang Li operated this website and a series of other websites that sold pirated, industrial-grade software in which the access and copy controls had been “cracked,” or circumvented.
Between April 2008 and June 2011, Xiang Li engaged in over 700 transactions through which he distributed over $100 million pirated software to over 400 customers located in at least 28 states and over 60 foreign countries. These software products were owned by approximately 200 different American software manufacturers, ranging from large corporations to small businesses. Xiang Li also sold 20 gigabytes of confidential and proprietary data obtained from the internal computer network of at least one “cleared defense contractor.”
The tightly controlled and very valuable software products that Xiang Li sold and distributed online are industrial-grade, digital tools used to design myriad products essential to the daily life, health and safety of the public, and to U.S. national security. For example, the software is used in a wide range of applications including aerospace simulation and design, defense, electronics, energy, engineering, explosive simulation, intelligence gathering, manufacturing, mining, space exploration, mathematics, storm water management, explosive simulation, and manufacturing plant design.
Xiang Li’s customers included those in embargoed countries in the Middle East, employees of foreign governments, and federal government employees and contractors holding security clearances in the United States. More than one-third of the unlawful purchases were made by individuals within the United States, including small business owners, government contractors, students, inventors, and engineers. For instance, Xiang Li sold twelve cracked software programs worth over $1.2 million to Cosburn Wedderburn, who was then a NASA electronics engineer working at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Maryland. Wedderburn uploaded this cracked software to a NASA computer network and used it to perform on a side contract he negotiated to design a thermal simulation project for China-based Huawei Technologies, Inc.
Xiang Li also sold ten cracked software programs worth over $600,000 to Dr. Wronald Best, the “Chief Scientist” of a Kentucky-based government contractor that services the U.S. and foreign militaries and law enforcement with a variety of applications such as radio transmissions, radar usage, microwave technology, and vacuum tubes used in military helicopters. Dr. Best used the cracked software to design components for Patriot missiles and the radar systems of the “Marine One” Presidential helicopter and the Army’s Black Hawk helicopter.
Between January 2010 and June 2011, undercover agents made a series of purchases of pirated software worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from Xiang Li’s CRACK99 website. The investigation culminated in a face-to-face meeting between Xiang Li and undercover agents on the Island of Saipan, in June 2011. Xiang Li agreed to travel from China to Saipan to deliver pirated software, design packaging, and 20 gigabytes of proprietary data from a U.S. software company (a cleared defense contractor) to undercover agents posing as would-be co-conspirators willing to assist Li with distribution of counterfeit software in the United States. The undercover agents arrested Xiang Li on June 7, 2011, after he delivered the stolen intellectual property to them at a Saipan hotel. Xiang Li was transported to the District of Delaware, where he has remained in custody since June 2011.
The investigation revealed that Xiang Li was part of a larger cybercrime organization based in China. Through emails sent to various customers, Xiang Li described himself as being part of “an international organization created to crack” software. When another customer asked Li who cracked the software, Li replied: “Experts crack, Chinese people Sorry can not reveal more.”
The investigation revealed that Chinese and Russian software “crackers” loosely organize into “Fan Groups” and crack software by disabling the access/dissemination controls. The “Fan Groups” then make the hacked software available on web forums or other online portals. “Middle men,” such as Xiang Li, obtain the cracked software from forums, websites, and file transfer protocol sites. These “middle men” operate websites that advertise the sale of cracked software products and distribute that software through the Internet. The “middle men” specialize in, and guide customers through, the complex technical installation process. Without “middle men” like Xiang Li, complex, industrial-grade software that has been cracked is often inoperable and non-transferable.This case is being investigated by the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David L. Hall and Edward J. McAndrew.
Christiana Mall Armed Robber Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, and Stephen E. Vogt, Special Agent in Charge of the Baltimore Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today that defendant Phillip Collier pled guilty yesterday afternoon to two counts of committing Hobbs Act Robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951, and one count of possessing and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c), for his role in two armed robberies of Zales Jewelry Stores located in the Christiana Mall in Newark, Delaware, and the Owings Mills Mall in Owings, Maryland.
According to facts disclosed at the change of plea hearing, on May 7, 2012, Collier, a forty-year old man from Brooklyn, New York, robbed a Zales Jewelry store in the Owings Mills Mall in Owings Mills, Maryland. During the robbery, Collier pointed a firearm at store employees and directed employees to empty approximately $116,277.82 worth of jewelry into a bag he carried into the store. Collier then ordered the employees into a back room of the store before he fled the mall.
On August 6, 2012, Collier struck again, when he robbed another Zales Jewelry store in the Christiana Mall in Newark, Delaware. Like the prior robbery, Collier pointed a firearm at store employees and directed employees to empty approximately $163,008.08 worth of jewelry into a bag he carried into the store. Collier then ordered the employees into the store’s bathroom before he fled the mall. However, before Collier could escape, Christiana Mall security notified the Delaware State Police about the robbery, and that Collier had entered another car located in the mall parking lot.
Troopers from Delaware State Police-Troop 2 immediately responded to the scene and executed a traffic stop of the car in which Collier was located. Collier was subsequently arrested in the car along with the stolen jewelry and the firearm used during the robbery. Following his arrest, the FBI, along with the Baltimore County Police Department, also linked Collier to the Owings Mills Mall armed robbery through positive fingerprint identification.
United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III, said of the case: "This plea reflects the outstanding work of the Wilmington FBI office, the Delaware State Police, the Baltimore County Police Department, and Jamie McCall, the AUSA handling the prosecution, in the apprehension and conviction of a particularly brazen and dangerous offender, who carried out his crimes in crowded malls, risking the lives of patrons and employees of Zales Jewelry Stores.”
Individuals who commit violent criminal acts with handguns in Delaware and Maryland will always be a priority for the FBI”, said Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt. “Our law enforcement partners in both states, along with security personnel in Delaware, did an outstanding job in investigating and prosecuting this case.”
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled by the District Court for September 19, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. At sentencing, Collier faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each Hobbs Act Robbery offense, and a maximum penalty of up to life imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum sentence of 7 years to be served consecutively to any other sentence for possessing and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
This case was investigated by the FBI, Wilmington Resident Agency, the Delaware State Police, and the Baltimore County Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Jamie M. McCall prosecuted the case.
For further information, contact Assistant United States Attorney Jamie M. McCall or United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, IIIFormer Wilmington Trust Officer Pleads Guilty to Bank ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Joseph Terranova, entered a guilty plea before the Honorable Gregory M. Sleet to a one count felony information charging him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
According to the criminal Information and plea agreement, Terranova, who was employed as Vice President/Division Manager of the Delaware Commercial Real Estate Division of Wilmington Trust Company the “Bank”) conspired to extend credit to customers of the Bank under terms inconsistent with those approved by the Bank’s Loan Committee, or under terms that would not have been approved had they been presented to Loan Committee. These included loans extended to Dover real estate developer, Michael Zimmerman, who has been charged in a separate indictment. Terranova further conspired to conceal the true financial condition of the Bank, in part by extending new loans to clients to enable these clients to keep existing loans current and by causing the Bank to misrepresent its reporting of past due and non-performing loans.
Terranova, age 45, is a resident of Newark, Delaware. He faces a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Oberly said, “Today’s guilty plea is an important step in holding responsible those individuals whose criminal conduct contributed to the failure of Wilmington Trust. The Bank was a Delaware institution and its demise came at significant cost, economically and emotionally, to the citizens of this state. We hope that in bringing these charges and securing a conviction, others will be deterred from engaging in similar conduct.”
“As a senior bank official at TARP recipient Wilmington Trust, Terranova concealed the bank's true financial condition by engaging in ‘extend and pretend’ schemes to keep loans current and to hide past-due loans from regulators and investors,” said Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP). Those responsible for fraud related to TARP will be held accountable and brought to justice by SIGTARP and our law enforcement partners.”
“Bank executives engaged in fraud to deceive regulators and the public must be brought to justice for their actions,” said Mark Bialek, Inspector General of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable any wrongdoers whose actions have a fraudulent impact on the supervision program of financial institutions regulated by the Federal Reserve Board.”
“The FBI is committed to ensuring banks and similar financial institutions are seen as sound and stable, said Stephen Vogt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Wilmington Office. “Those who perpetrate sophisticated fraud schemes threaten the stability of financial institutions and, with the assistance of our law enforcement partners, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Bank fraud, like all financial crimes, adds to the underground economy, erodes the integrity of our tax system and threatens the financial health of our communities,” said Akeia Conner, Special Agent in Charge IRS Criminal Investigation, Philadelphia Field Office. “Pursuing individuals that intentionally abuse our financial systems is a vital component in the collaborative efforts of our Federal law enforcement team.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), and the Office of Inspector General, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Kravetz and Lesley Wolf.
Terranova Information (PACER)
Rare Glass Bottle Returned to Wistar InstituteRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, and Edward J. Hanko, Special Agent in Charge, Philadelphia Field Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced today the return of a rare glass bottle to the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The bottle was made at the first successful glass factory in the American Colonies, established by Caspar Wistar near Alloway, New Jersey, in 1739. The bottle bears the initials of Richard Wistar, the eldest son of Caspar Wistar. It is one of only two known existing Caspar Wistar bottles with the “RW” seal. Caspar Wistar's bottles were made of impure green glass using a formula in use since the Middle Ages. Wistar’s bottles were designed to resemble popular European bottles of the day.
The bottle was granted to the Wistar Institute by General Isaac J. Wistar, great nephew of Caspar Wistar, in 1905. The bottle was taken from the Wistar collection without permission after 1958. Thereafter, the bottle was purchased and sold on several occasions, without actual knowledge that it was stolen. In 2011, the bottle was discovered in a museum exhibit, on loan from its purported owner. The purported owner ultimately agreed to its return to the Wistar Institute. The Caspar Wistar bottle is pictured below.
United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III said, “The return of this rare bottle to the Wistar Institute is the result of the joint efforts of this office and the FBI Art Crime Team. I commend all parties for their efforts in producing this positive outcome. Artifacts like this glass bottle are an important part of American history. Unfortunately, this bottle was stolen and entered the stream of commerce. I am pleased it can be returned to its rightful owner.”This matter was investigated by David L. Hall, Assistant United States Attorney, Special Prosecutor, FBI Art Crime Team. For further information Assistant United States Attorney David L. Hall at (302) 573-6277.
Former Drug Cartel Member Convicted of Drug Trafficking Conspiracy and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Miguel A. Lavenant, age 38, of San Diego, California, was convicted by a federal jury of conspiring to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute five (5) kilograms or more of cocaine. The jury also convicted Lavenant of three counts of money laundering. For his convictions, Lavenant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for August 16, 2013, at 1:00 p.m.
At trial, the United States established that Lavenant shipped over 50 kilograms of cocaine from San Diego to the East Coast. Some of the cocaine for which Lavenant was responsible was later distributed in the State of Delaware. Lavenant’s customers on the East Coast, including in Delaware, paid for their cocaine by making large-scale cash deposits into different bank accounts that Lavenant controlled.
Lavenant is a former enforcer and drug smuggler for the Arellano-Felix Organization (“AFO”) – a drug trafficking cartel based in Tijuana, Mexico. He was featured prominently in a National Geographic Documentary, “Tijuana Drug Lords,” in which he discussed his role in the AFO.
Regarding the convictions, United States Attorney Oberly said, “I commend the DEA offices in Delaware and San Diego, Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigative Division, the Wilmington Police Department, the Newark (DE) Police Department, and the California Department of Justice for their collaborative efforts in dismantling a major drug source whose cocaine made it to the streets of Wilmington. This investigation shows our Office’s commitment to prosecute drug dealers who have a negative impact on Delaware, regardless of where they reside.”
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigative Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert F. Kravetz and Jennifer L. Hall.