Middle District of Florida

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge James S. Moody has sentenced Priscilla Ellis (51, Killeen, Texas) to 65 years in federal prison for murder-for-hire, witness retaliation, and securities counterfeiting. A federal jury found her guilty of these offenses on March 9, 2017. The judge ordered the 65-year sentence to run consecutive to a 40-year sentence previously imposed following a prior federal conviction.

 

According to court documents, following a three-week trial in October 2016, Ellis and her two co-defendants were convicted of conspiracies to commit international money laundering and mail and wire fraud and were remanded to federal custody. After arriving at the Pinellas County Jail, Ellis immediately began soliciting other inmates to assist her in finding a hitman to murder one of the witnesses who had testified during her trial, as well as the mother of a second trial witness. Meanwhile, she directed coconspirators in Nigeria and Texas to create electronic images of counterfeit cashier’s checks with face values totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars that were to be cashed and used to pay for the murders.

 

Over the course of the next week, Ellis “hired” an undercover FBI agent posing as a hitman and provided explicit instructions on how she wanted her targets killed. On October 28, 2016, a family member acting at Ellis’s direction provided a down payment on the murder contracts to the undercover agent posing as the hitman in Texas, with the remainder to be paid only after the intended victims were killed.    

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the City of Austin (Texas) Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Eric K. Gerard and Patrick D. Scruggs, both of whom tried the prior case as well.

Jacksonville, FL – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Albert Jason Miller (46, Jacksonville) today pleaded guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax-related document. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on the fraud count and up to 3 years’ imprisonment on the false filing count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

 

According to the plea agreement, Miller was an employee of CEVA Logistics, a Netherlands–based contract logistics and freight/transportation management company that has offices in Jacksonville. From 2008 through March 2013, he worked in the company’s procurement department. In May 2010, Miller created a fictitious business named “CEVA” and told vendors to make checks payable to CEVA because CEVA Logistics was undergoing a legal name change. He then began diverting those checks and depositing them into a bank account he had opened in the name of CEVA, where he was the sole authorized signor. Miller diverted a total of $162,281.96 and failed to disclose the stolen proceeds as income on his 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 tax returns. Miller used the stolen proceeds to pay for personal expenses.

 

This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as part of the IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Northeast Florida Financial Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Beatriz Gonzalez.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Antonorio Nelson (29, Lakeland) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute furanyl fentanyl resulting in death. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 20 years, up to life, in federal prison.

 

Furanyl fentanyl is a Schedule I controlled substance that is used in the same manner as fentanyl. Because of its potency, a small amount of furanyl fentanyl is potentially lethal.

 

According to the plea agreement, between February 2 and 6, 2017, Nelson conspired to distribute furanyl fentanyl that resulted in the death of “T.C.,” who died from furanyl fentanyl intoxication. The investigation of “T.C.’s” death identified Nelson as the supplier. “T.C.” had purchased baggies of furanyl fentanyl with green dragon stamps on them from Nelson on February 3, 2017. The next morning, “T.C.” was found unresponsive and later pronounced dead.

 

On February 6, 2017, detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Nelson’s residence. Inside the home, detectives found 73 baggies of furanyl fentanyl and a loaded .38 caliber revolver. Several of the furanyl fentanyl baggies recovered during the search had a green dragon stamp consistent with the bags “T.C.” had purchased from Nelson before dying.

 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Baeza.

Tampa, FL – Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO-MDFL) last year charged 84 individuals as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative. Since 2006, this nationwide initiative has collectively marshaled federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, and to identify and rescue victims of abuse. Since the inception of the program, the Middle District of Florida has charged more than 1,000 individuals with child exploitation offenses.

 

“Child predators are using more cunning and persuasive techniques and technologies to lure and exploit innocent children,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “The individuals who prey upon children are becoming bolder and more violent and must be stopped. As a community, we also must educate ourselves and raise awareness on how to best protect our children against these threats. We are thankful to the men and women who investigate, prosecute, and seek justice for these victims.”

In 2017, the USAO-MDFL, in partnership with numerous federal, state, and local agencies, brought charges against various individuals for traveling to engage in sexual conduct with minors, and for producing, advertising, distributing, receiving, possessing, soliciting, and accessing child pornography. In addition, the Office has prosecuted cases involving human trafficking where individuals, including minors, have been forced to commit commercial sex acts and engage in sex tourism. MDFL prosecutors also charged cases involving convicted sex offenders who failed to register with authorities as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

 

2017 MDFL PSC Case Highlights January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017

 

Fort Myers Division

 

U.S. v. William Lee – Lee produced a video of himself engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a child. On September 16, 2016, deputies responded to the victim’s residence in Lehigh Acres and made contact with the girl and her mother. The child’s mother provided Lee’s deactivated phone to the deputies. Pursuant to a search warrant, a forensic examination of the phone revealed two videos capturing Lee engaging in explicit conduct with the girl. Lee pleaded guilty to production and possession charges. On October 2, 2017, he was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.

 

U.S. v. Jorge Guerrero-Torres – While residing with a family in Fort Myers, including four children, Guerrero-Torres used his cellphone to take sexually explicit photos of one of the children. Shortly after moving out, he became a person of interest in the disappearance of the child that he had photographed and attempted to flee the area. He was apprehended by law enforcement and the images were recovered from his discarded phone. A federal jury found Guerrero-Torres guilty of producing and possessing child pornography and, on August 14, 2017, he was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison.

 

U.S. v. Brian Author Thomas – During an FBI Task Force investigation, agents were able to download images and videos of child pornography from Thomas’s computer using a file sharing program. Agents executed a search warrant at his home and seized his laptop computer and cellphone. Forensic analyses of the electronic media revealed that from at least July 18, 2012, through March 30, 2016, Thomas had collected more than 6,000 images and 35 videos depicting young children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. His cellphone also contained videos that he had produced of a child engaging in sexually explicit conduct. On February 23, 2017, Thomas pleaded guilty to producing child pornography. On August 7, 2017, he was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.

 

U.S. v. Joseph Spradlin – An FBI Task Force officer was able to download images and videos of child pornography from Spradlin’s computer using a file-sharing network. A search warrant was executed at his residence and agents located more than 65,000 images and 668 videos of child pornography on four separate thumb drives. Further investigation revealed that Spradlin had produced child pornography images and videos of an 8-year-old girl on at least two occasions. He pleaded guilty to producing and possessing child pornography, and on March 20, 2017, he was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.

 

Jacksonville Division

 

U.S. v. Chad Theodore Dillon – As part of an undercover investigation to identify users of an app who were attempting to entice and sexually exploit children, an agent from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement published a post purporting to be from a 13-year-old child. Within a few minutes, the agent received a private message from “Ice Whale,” that initiated a conversation between the two. “Ice Whale,” later identified as Dillon, repeatedly solicited the “child” for sexual acts. He also offered to have sex with the “child’s” 12-year-old “friend,” who he believed to be sleeping over at the “child’s” house. Dillon claimed that he had had sex with 12-year-olds a “couple times,” and he provided his cellphone number to the “child.” Dillon ultimately declined to meet the “child” for the sexual encounter they had previously discussed. However, further investigation revealed that Dillon had previously solicited a 13-year-old girl online to produce nude images of herself. During the execution of a search warrant, agents found chat messages revealing that Dillon had traveled to Georgia to have sex with a child, and had enticed another child to produce child pornography and to meet him for sex. Dillon pleaded guilty to coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. On September 6, 2017, he was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison.

 

U.S. v. Justin Laurence McKinley – McKinley, a Jacksonville resident, communicated online via a video streaming program with individuals in eastern Europe who molested young children for broadcast over the Internet. This sexual abuse was live-streamed to McKinley and others in the United States. Over a two-year period, McKinley paid the abusers more than $31,000 for these live “sex shows.” FBI agents executed a search warrant at McKinley’s home and seized computer media that contained, among other things, videos depicting the child sexual abuse that he had commissioned and paid for. The victims depicted in the videos ranged in age from a newborn to an 8-year-old child. Forensic analyses of McKinley’s computer media revealed that his external hard drive contained at least 613 videos and 6,846 images depicting the sexual abuse of children. McKinley pleaded guilty to advertising for child pornography and was sentenced on July 20, 2017, to 30 years federal in prison.

 

U.S. v. Wilfrido C. Baldera – In March 2016, detectives from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office began investigating possible child exploitation offenses after they had identified an IP address that was a prolific sharer of child pornography. Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) obtained a search warrant for the address associated with the IP address, Baldera’s residence. Baldera admitted that he had viewed and downloaded child pornography and acknowledged his attraction to young girls. He told agents that he had visited Walmart to look at girls between the ages of 8 and 16 who “put it out there” for sexual arousal, before going home to his wife and described it as being better than going to a strip club. A forensic review of Baldera’s devices revealed videos and photographs that he had produced depicting him raping a 10-year-old girl. Baldera pleaded guilty to producing child pornography and, on October 4, 2017, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. He also faces capital sexual battery charges filed by the State Attorney’s Office in Jacksonville.

 

U.S. v. Andrew Ryan Leslie – Leslie was an information technology specialist and part-time babysitter in Middleburg, Florida. During an investigation by ICE-HSI into websites known to host images and videos depicting child pornography, Leslie was identified as a member of one of the sites. When law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at his residence, Leslie had a two-year-old child in bed with him, who the agents then rescued. A digital camera located next to Leslie’s bed had an SD card containing a series of images depicting Leslie engaged in sexual acts with two different children. Several of the images were of the child that had been in bed with Leslie that morning. Other images depicted a different child, who was less than a year old, being sexually abused by Leslie. Forensic analyses of Leslie’s other digital media items revealed that he had produced, received, distributed, and possessed numerous images and videos depicting child pornography. Leslie pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child pornography. His sentencing is set for January 30, 2018, where he faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, up to 60 years, in federal prison.

 

U.S. v. Kyle Adam Kirby – Kirby was a sergeant with the Live Oak Police Department (LOPD). Following an undercover online child exploitation investigation, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Kirby’s home. They also consensually obtained his patrol car computer and an LOPD desktop computer that he had used. During the investigation, Kirby unsuccessfully solicited another officer to delete evidence from the desktop computer. A forensic examiner recovered several deleted thumbnail images of child pornography from the computers, including images of two children that Kirby had produced using hidden cameras. After using his patrol car computer to access and share videos of child pornography, Kirby used a wiping program in an attempt to delete the evidence. On December 7, 2017, a federal jury found Kirby guilty of producing, attempting to produce, possessing, and accessing child pornography. His sentencing is scheduled for March 21, 2018. He faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years, up to 120 years, in federal prison.

 

Ocala Division

 

U.S. v. Thomas Edward Abney, Jr. – Abney used his cellphone to produce pornographic images of a two-year-old relative, which he then traded online for other child pornography images. In June 2017, Abney communicated with an undercover agent using an Internet messaging service and claimed that he had performed oral sex on the same child. He sent the agent a link to an 11-minute video depicting child pornography. After his arrest, Abney admitted that he had used his cellphone to produce, distribute, receive, and possess child pornography, including the images of a relative. Abney pleaded guilty to producing and transporting child pornography and will be sentenced in January 2018. Due to his prior state convictions for qualifying child sex offenses, he faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years, up to 90 years, in federal prison.

 

Orlando Division

 

U.S. v. Meinrad Kopp – Between April and June 2017, Kopp communicated via the “dark web” with a law enforcement officer, posing as the father of a 13-year-old child, about engaging in sadistic sexual activities with the child. He stated that he wanted to humiliate and inflict severe pain on the child for his sexual gratification by treating her like a dog and torturing her with certain instruments he intended to bring with him. According to Kopp, he had previously beaten an 11-year-old child using a leather belt. On June 16, 2017, Kopp flew to Orlando and was arrested. Inside his luggage, he had packed weights, clamps, rope, tape, a bottle brush, and a flashlight that he intended to use on the minor, along with a camera to record his activities. Kopp pleaded guilty to attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and was sentenced on December 13, 2017, to life in federal prison.

 

U.S. v. Billy Leon Dyer – Between June 2016 and February 2017, Dyer induced at least three teenage girls to engage in sexually explicit conduct so that he could produce child pornography. He paid the girls, who were between 14 and 15 years old, $140-$200 each time he had sex with them. Sometimes, he gave them drugs in exchange for sex. Agents discovered Dyer’s conduct after he discussed the details during jail calls that he made to adult inmates at the Brevard County Jail. In March 2017, law enforcement officers conducted an undercover operation using an undercover officer posing as an adult woman online. The “woman” said that she was unable to have sex with Dyer, but referred her 15-year-old cousin. Dyer told the “woman” that he would pay her a $40 finder’s fee for referring her “cousin,” and that he would pay her “cousin” $150 to have sex with him. When Dyer arrived to meet the “cousin,” agents arrested him. On his phone, computer, and thumb drive, agents located more than 170 images depicting the teen girls that Dyer had engaged in sex with at his house. Dyer pleaded guilty to producing images depicting child pornography and on December 20, 2017, he was sentenced to 24 years in federal prison. He was also ordered to forfeit his residence and the vehicle that he had used during the offense. 

 

U.S. v. Jamie P. Esposito – Esposito sexually abused a 7-year-old child once or twice a month over an 18 to 24 month period and chronicled it with photos and videos that he then shared with several individuals online. When agents executed a search warrant at Esposito’s home, they found more than 2,700 images of child pornography, including the images and videos that he had produced. In July 2016, Esposito brought the child to Tampa to be sexually abused by Richmond McDonald and Shauna Boselli, who were later separately charged in Tampa. Esposito took photos and video of the abuse. On August 15, 2017, Esposito was sentenced to 75 years in federal prison for producing child pornography.

 

U.S. v. Michael Michalak – During the course of several months, Michalak sent links to thousands of images and videos depicting child pornography to an FBI agent who was acting in an undercover capacity on social media. The victims in the images and videos included infants, toddlers, and other young children. Michalak had also sexually assaulted several children, including a preschooler, prior to the commission of these offenses. Michalak pleaded guilty to transporting and distributing child pornography. On February 23, 2017, he was sentenced to 36 years and 8 months in federal prison.

 

Tampa Division

 

U.S. v. Richmond McDonald and Shauna Boselli – This couple engaged in abusive sexual activity with a 7-year-old child, with the consent and in the presence of the child’s relative. McDonald and Boselli met the relative, Jamie P. Esposito online and engaged in explicit conversations regarding sexual acts with the child. Esposito brought the child to Tampa to meet McDonald and Boselli. After spending time at the zoo and taking the child for ice cream, McDonald and Boselli sexually abused the child at their Tampa home while Esposito watched. Two days later, McDonald and Boselli met Esposito and the child at their hotel, where the couple continued the sexual abuse. A search of McDonald and Boselli’s residence revealed more than 1,300 images and videos of child pornography, including some with the child victim that Esposito had taken. McDonald and Boselli pleaded guilty to enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct. They were sentenced to life imprisonment and 40 years in federal prison, respectively. Esposito was charged with producing child pornography in the Orlando Division and was sentenced to 75 years in federal prison (see above). 

U.S. v. Nathan Madsen – Madsen requested and negotiated a price to have sex with a 14-year-old girl, took steps to verify the minor’s existence, and met with and paid an undercover agent to have sex with her. During a search of Madsen’s electronic devices following his arrest, agents discovered that he had persuaded a 16-year-old girl to produce and transmit explicit images and videos, some of which depicted violent, sadistic, or masochistic conduct, for him. Madsen pleaded guilty to enticing a child to produce child pornography and possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison.  

U.S. v. David Paul Lynch – According to evidence presented during trial, Lynch traveled to the Philippines regularly between 2005 and 2016 to have sex with children and make recordings of the abuse. Prior to his trips, he communicated online with “facilitators” in the Philippines to locate children to exploit. He produced child pornography of at least three Filipino children on these visits, and he solicited child pornography via email of a fourth. In December 2016, Lynch was arrested in San Francisco while attempting to board a flight to the Philippines. Simultaneously, FBI agents executed a search at his home in Venice, Florida, and located dozens of self-produced images and videos of child pornography accumulated during his trips abroad. In October 2017, a federal jury found Lynch guilty of eight counts of production of child pornography, two counts of sex tourism, one count of receiving child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 14, 2018. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, up to 30 years, in federal prison for each production count, up to 30 years’ imprisonment for each travel count, a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years, up to 20 years, for receiving child pornography, and up to 10 years in prison for possessing child pornography.

 

U.S. v. Robert Ware – According to court documents, in December 2011, Ware produced three images of child pornography depicting “E.F.,” who was 18 months old at the time, and sent them to an individual in New York. The investigation of Ware began after law enforcement agents in New York discovered the images of “E.F.” on another defendant’s phone and traced them to Ware. “E.F.’s” mother reported that Ware, a relative, had babysat for the victim during the time the photos were taken. She also recognized the bedding in two of the images as matching that in Ware’s bedroom. Ware pleaded guilty on December 20, 2017, to producing child pornography. His sentencing date has not yet been set. He faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years, up to 30 years, in federal prison.

 

U.S. v. Paul Fabrizio Solis – In February 2017, undercover FBI agents located a user, later identified as Solis, who was sharing numerous images of child pornography on a file-sharing network. During the execution of a search warrant, agents learned that Solis had taken explicit photographs of a 5-year-old that had been entrusted to Solis’s care by a longtime family friend. Solis kept the photos on a thumb drive in a locked safe in his home. In addition to these images, Solis had more than 4,000 videos and images of child pornography on his laptop computer. Solis pleaded guilty in November 2017 and will be sentenced in February 2018. He faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years, up to 40 years, in federal prison for producing and possessing child pornography. 

Tampa, FL – Attorney General Jeff Sessions today announced the appointment of Maria Chapa Lopez as Interim United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 546, which provides that “the Attorney General may appoint a United States Attorney for the district in which the office of United States Attorney is vacant.”  This appointment will take effect on January 5, 2018.

 

“With one American dying of a drug overdose every nine minutes, we are facing the deadliest drug crisis in American history,” said Attorney General Sessions.  “I am appointing today, as Interim U.S. Attorney, someone with a lot of experience taking dangerous drugs off of our streets. Maria Chapa Lopez has secured convictions of Columbian cocaine smugglers, Tampa crack dealers, and doctors and pharmacists overprescribing and illegally dispensing opioids.  This is incredible work and I am convinced it has saved lives.  She will undoubtedly keep up this good work as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.”

 

Ms. Chapa Lopez has worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the MDFL for the past 16 years, from April 2000 to April 2016, prosecuting transnational drug trafficking organizations, complex domestic narcotics trafficking cases, large-scale money laundering cases, and complex opioid cases. From April 2016 to the present, Ms. Chapa Lopez has been the DOJ Deputy Attaché in the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she served in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

 

Ms. Chapa Lopez received her B.A. from the University of Texas, her J.D. from South Texas College of Law, and her L.L.M. from the Judge Advocate General’s School, in Charlottesville, Virginia.

 

Upon the appointment of Ms. Chapa Lopez as Interim United States Attorney, Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow will resume his role as First Assistant United States Attorney.

 

Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announced today the results of the first phase of the Violent Crime Reduction Initiative in the Middle District of Florida. Over the past three months, 125 individuals have been charged with firearm and violent crime offenses, and 227 firearms and assorted ammunition have been removed from the streets. 

 

Since 2001, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO/MDFL) has participated in “Project Safe Neighborhoods,” a national strategy to reduce gun violence in communities through coordination and cooperation with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners. To increase the prosecutorial resources dedicated to firearm and violent crime cases across the District, multiple initiatives have been implemented. These initiatives include:

 

• In Orlando, the District established a “Gun Unit.”

 

• In Jacksonville, the District launched a joint initiative with the State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to locate and seize unlawfully possessed guns and then swiftly prosecute the offenders using both federal and state gun laws.

 

• In Brevard County, State Attorney Phil Archer is calling the initiative "Operation Cease Fire."

 

• In Tampa, the District collaborates with law enforcement agencies in eight counties, including the State Attorneys’ Offices for the Sixth, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Judicial Circuits, to investigate and prosecute violent crime and firearm cases.

 

• In Ft. Myers, the District works in concert with the State Attorney’s Office for the Twentieth Circuit to identify and prosecute violent crime and firearm cases.

 

• District-wide, in an effort to prevent and decrease future gun-related incidents, the USAO-MDFL employs a proactive community outreach strategy, including, but not limited to, outreach to youth. In 2017, more than 2,500 youths have been engaged and administered the National Gun Pledge to reduce violence.

 

To support these efforts, beginning on August 23, 2017, Acting U.S. Attorney Muldrow directed every prosecutor in each of the District’s five offices to prosecute firearm or violent crime cases. Of the 125 individuals charged so far, offenses include possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime or a crime of violence, possession of a stolen firearm, robbery, and bank robbery. A chart containing the details for each case is below.

 

“In August 2017, I directed every prosecutor in the Criminal Division to assist in the prosecution of firearm and violent crime cases,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “Over the past three months, we have dedicated additional resources to the prosecution of violent crime and firearm cases. I would like to commend our local, state, and federal partners that have investigated these cases. Our community is safer because of their tremendous efforts. We pledge to continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively prosecute these cases.”

 

The cases identified in the attached chart were investigated by the Apopka Police Department, the Bradenton Police Department, the Cocoa Beach Police Department, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the Fort Myers Police Department, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Lake Mary Police Department, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Orlando Police Department, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, the Palm Bay Police Department, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Sanford Police Department, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, the Sarasota Police Department, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Petersburg Police Department, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, the Tampa Police Department, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the Winter Haven Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Enforcement and Removal Operations, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.   

                     

An indictment or criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has violated one or more federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

 

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Natalie Hirt Adams, Callan Albritton, Daniel Baeza, Robert E. Bodnar, Jr., E. Jackson Boggs Jr., Chauncey A. Bratt, D. Rodney Brown, Dale Campion, Vincent S. Chiu, Charlie Connally, Michael J. Coolican, Arnold B. Corsmeier, Christina R. Downes, Kristen Fiore, Kevin C. Frein, Carlton Gammons, Daniel George, Eric Gerard, Beatriz Gonzalez, Michael Gordon, Shauna Hale, Nathan W. Hill, Rachel Jones, Kelly S. Karase, Embry J. Kidd, Michael Leeman, Robert Mosakowski, Ilianys Rivera Miranda, Frank Murray, Shawn P. Napier, Gregory Nolan, Diego Novaes, Kaitlin O’Donnell, Thomas Palermo, Matthew Perry, Christopher Poor, James Preston, Mandy Riedel, Alejandro J. Salicrup, Charles Schmitz, Sean Shecter, Taylor Stout, Jay Taylor, Laura Cofer Taylor, Frank Talbot, Lisa Thelwell, Josie Thomas, Ashley Washington, Kara M. Wick, and Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow.

 

 

Fort Myers

Month of Indictment/ Information

Defendant, Age, City of Residence

Status

Number of Firearms Seized/Recovered

8/2017

Herman Fleming, 25, Lehigh Acres

Pending*; charged with one count of making a false statement in required information kept by a firearms dealer and one count of receipt of a firearm by a person under felony indictment or information; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

3

8/2017

Sondrejah Wilbon, 23, Fort Myers

Pending*; charged with one count of making a false statement in required information kept by a firearms dealer; facing up to 5 years in federal prison

Included in total for Fleming

8/2017

Oliver Rocher, 33, Alva

Pending*; charged with two counts of distribution of heroin, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, and heroin, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to life

1

10/2017

Javier M. Rascon, 32, Perry

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

10/2017

Christopher Jones, 29, Indiantown

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

Included in the total for Rascon

10/2017

Reginald Lakeith Hodge, 24, Fort Myers

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

10/2017

Alejo Guerrero, 36, Lehigh Acres

Pending*; charged with eight counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felone; facing a minimum mandatory of 30 years, up to life, in federal prison

3

11/2017

Robert E. Clifton, 35, Immokolee

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prisonPending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

Jacksonville

9/2017

Johnnie Spydale Thomas, Jr., 24, Bunnell

Pending*; charged with one count of distribution of cocaine base and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 40 years in federal prison

2

9/2017

Serome Bell, 27, Palm Coast

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, facing up to 10 years in federal prison

Included in total for Spydale

9/2017

Jason Dixon, 31, Palm Coast

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and three counts of distribution of cocaine base; facing up to 70 years in federal prison

1

9/2017

Bruquanna Griffin, 21 Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to steal a firearm from a federally-licensed firearms dealer and two counts of stealing a firearm from a federally-licensed firearms dealer; facing up to 30 years in federal prison

2

9/2017

Gregory Greer, 35, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to ten years in federal prison.

1

9/2017

Brandon Oxendine, 39, St. Augustine

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 20 years in federal prison up to life

4

9/2017

Derek Hatcher, 35, Tallahassee

Pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 30 years in federal prison

1

9/2017

Michael Anthony Deyton, 59, Sanderson

Pleaded guilty to one count of possession of firearms by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

20

10/2017

Tantai Vo, 27, Jacksonville

Pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marihuana, one count of possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance, and one count of structuring; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to 40 years

4

10/2017

James Edward Moultrie, 42, Jacksonville

Pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

10/2017

John Robert Horner, 29, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

2

10/2017

Michael A. Crider, 37, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

11/2017

Derrick Burney, 40, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two counts of distribution of marijuana; facing up to 20 years in federal prison

5

11/2017

Daniel Francesco Vidal, 27, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

3

11/2017

Ronald Andrews, 33, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of possession with intent to distribute MDMA; facing up to 30 years in federal prison

1

11/2017

Nathaniel Harrison, 33, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

5

11/2017

Charles Robert Alexander, 47, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

11/2017

John Stevenson Jordan, 51, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

11/2017

Sheldon Tarence Wright, 27, Savannah, Georgia

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

11/2017

Andrew James Ward, 29, Middleburg

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

11/2017

Edward Lamont Thomas, 44, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, one count of distribution of 28 grams or more of cocaine base, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 25 years in federal prison up to life

5

11/2017

Joseph Arnold Thomas, 47, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

1

11/2017

Darrick Flozell Stafford, 41, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, two counts of distribution of 28 grams or more of cocaine base, and one count of distribution of cocaine; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to 130 years

8

11/2017

Daryl D. Shack, 27, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

12/2017

Bernandino G. Bolatete, 69, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of an unregistered silencer; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

11

12/2017

Maurice Sanders, 27, Jacksonville

Pending*, charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to life

1

12/2017

James Robert Cotton, 33, Jacksonville

Pending*, charged with one count of manufacturing (cultivation) of marijuana and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 20 years in federal prison

 5

12/2017

Dorothy Pearl Smith, 49, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two counts of distribution of crack cocaine; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

1

12/2017

William Charles Nolan, 50, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

12/2017

Daniel Dwain Lundeby, 42, Jacksonville Beach

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

12/2017

Walter John Smith, 31, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison

1

12/2017

Rashann Lamont Bennet, 31, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison

1

12/2017

Sauvier Addorinn Wright, 35, Jacksonville

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

Ocala

8/2017

Anthony Michele Decotis, Jr., 29, Eustis

Pending*; charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 10 years in federal prison up to life

3

10/2017

Devion-tae Wess, 25, Ocala

Pending*; charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to life

1

Orlando

8/2017

William Matthew Tex Price, 31, Cocoa

Pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two counts of marriage fraud; facing up to 20 years in federal prison

2

8/2017

James Arthur Van Meerten, 35, Palm Bay

Sentenced to 210 months for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

1

8/2017

Aniceto Aguirre- Cardenas, 56, San Pedro, Michoacan, Mexico

Pending*; charged with one count of illegal alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and ammunition, and one count of illegal reentry after removal as an aggravated felon; facing up to 40 years in federal prison

1

8/2017

Chad Wycoff, 40, Kissimmee

Pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 20 years in federal prison up to life

1

8/2017

Arkee Vernard Howard, 27, Orlando

Pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin and marijuana and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 30 years in federal prison

1

9/2017

Tyrondrick Madry, 32, Orlando

Pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

9/2017

Eric Jean Gilles, 36, Orlando

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 280 grams or more of cocaine base, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; facing a minimum mandatory of 25 years in federal prison up to life

6

9/2017

Edson Gelin, 39, Orlando

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 280 grams or more of cocaine base, six counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base, and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; facing a minimum mandatory of 50 years in federal prison up to life

Included in total for Gilles

9/2017

Jimmy Remy Fernetus, 30, Miami

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 280 grams or more of cocaine base, seven counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; facing a minimum mandatory of 50 years in federal prison up to life

Included in total for Gilles

9/2017

Silky Johnson, 35, Orlando

Pending*; charged with one count of carjacking, one count of using and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 7 years in federal prison up to life

1

9/2017

Jeffrey Noel, 24, Orlando

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to commit carjacking, one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of carjacking, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, and marijuana, three counts of carjacking, one count of attempted carjacking, and three counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of carjacking; facing a minimum mandatory of 32 years in federal prison up to life

2

9/2017

Herichie Paul, 20, Orlando

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to commit carjacking, one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of carjacking, two counts of carjacking, one count of attempted carjacking, and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of carjacking; facing a minimum mandatory of 32 years in federal prison up to life

Included in total for Noel

 9/2017

 Awetu Megersa, 22, Orlando

 Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to commit carjacking, one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of carjacking, two counts of carjacking, one count of attempted carjacking, and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of carjacking; facing a minimum mandatory of 32 years in federal prison up to life

 Included in total for Noel

9/2017

Jose Luis Sanchez-Rosado, 43, Volusia County

Pending*, charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

1

10/2017

Bakari McCant, 26, Orlando

Pending*; charged with one count of attempted Hobbs Act robbery, one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, two counts of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 30 years in federal prison up to life

3

10/2017

Deandre Brewer, 25, Orlando

Pending*; charged with one count of attempted Hobbs Act robbery, one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to life

Included in total for McCant

 10/2017

 Jarvis Wingster, 27, Ocoee

Pending*; charged with one count of attempted Hobbs Act robbery, one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to life

 Included in total for McCant

10/2017

Rodolfo Luna Fernandez, 42 Mexico

Pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

11/2017

Frederick Hankins, Jr., 30, New Symrna

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

1

11/2017

Thomas Porter, 39, Daytona Beach

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

11/2017

Hector Luis Santiago-Jorge, 47, Kissimmee

Pending*; charged with one count of dealing in and manufacturing firearms without a license and one count of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

10

11/2017

Jamus Dixon, 35, Orlando

Pending*; charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and 28 grams or more of cocaine base and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to 50 years

1

11/2017

Windesthon Junior Pierre, 22, Kissimmee

Pending*; charged with one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; facing a minimum mandatory of 7 years in federal prison up to life

1

11/2017

Stephon Te’vonta Johnson, 22, Kissimmee

Pending*; charged with one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; facing a minimum mandatory of 7 years in federal prison up to life

Included in total for Pierre

11/2017

Bernard Henry, 27

Pending*; charged with one count of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; facing a minimum mandatory of 7 years in federal prison up to life

1

11/2017

Joshua Franceschi, 22, Kissimmee

Pending*; charged with one count of stealing a firearm from a federally licensed firearms dealer; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

11/2017

Harold Omar Vargas-Delgado, 32, Orlando

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, one count of possession with intent to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

11

11/2017

Theodore Vazquez, 43, Orlando

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

0

11/2017

Michael Gordon Watson, 41, Melbourne

Pending*; charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute MDMA, marijuana, and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

2

11/2017

Taylor John Creevy, 23, Orlando

Pending*; charged with three counts of bank robbery; facing up to 20 years in federal prison

0

12/2017

Cedrick Antwain Gant, 27, Orlando

Pending*; charged with one count of carjacking, one count of attempted carjacking, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; facing a minimum mandatory of 30 years in federal prison up to life

1

12/2017

Tariq Malik Cherry, 20, Orlando

Pending*; charged with attempted bank robbery; facing up to 20 years in federal prison.

4

12/2017

Lamarcus Demane Harvey, 40, Orlando

Pending*; charged with attempted bank robbery; facing up to 20 years in federal prison

Included in total for Cherry

12/2017

Coryell Demond Robinson, 30, Orlando

Pending*; charged with attempted bank robbery; facing up to 20 years in federal prison

Included in total for Cherry

12/2017

Walter Lee Jones, 39, Mt. Dora

Pending* charged with attempted bank robbery; facing up to 20 years in federal prison

Included in total for Cherry

12/2017

Raymond Lee Kelly, 50, Cocoa

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

1

12/2017

Prince Toburas Jermaine Rolle, 31, Orlando

Pending*; charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon; facing up to 30 years in federal prison

1

Tampa

8/2017

Keagan Williams, 27, Winter Haven

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

8/2017

Thomas Paul Stephens, 49, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; facing a minimum mandatory of 10 years in federal prison up to life

6

8/2017

Devante Moreno Smith, 26, Clearwater

Pending*; charged with two counts of distribution of crack cocaine, one count of distribution of marijuana, one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and cocaine, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to life

2

8/2017

Kevin Lopez Duerte, 19 Bradenton

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

8/2017

Jonathon James Dryburgh, 23, Ellenton

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

9/2017

Woodrow Pressey, 46, Bradenton

Pending*; charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 30 years in federal prison

5

9/2017

Tramel Ronsha Middleton, 25, Tampa

Pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

9/2017

Miguel Angel Algarin, 41, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; facing a minimum mandatory of 10 years in federal prison up to life

1

9/2017

Chauncey Gregory, 33, St. Petersburg

Pending*; charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ecstasy, one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 10 years in federal prison up to life

1

9/2017

Demario Cornelius Buckner, 25, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

9/2017

Edward Lamont Dash, 29, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

9/2017

Dallan Bolden, 23, St.

Petersburg

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

9/2017

Lawrence Xavier Freeman, 34, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

3

9/2017

Rakim Jamal Philon, 27, Tampa

Pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

Included in total for Freeman

9/2017

Richard Deandre Walton, 23, Tampa

Pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

Included in total for Freeman

9/2017

Zane Coraderell Brassfield, 23, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

10/2017

Antwan Williams, 34, Bradenton

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, three counts of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of attempted Hobbs Act robbery, two counts of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 47 years in federal prison up to life

1

10/2017

Tronesh Sparkels Akerman, 24, Palmetto

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, three counts of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of attempted Hobbs Act robbery, and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; facing a minimum mandatory of 7 years in federal prison up to life

1

10/2017

Cedrick Lee Taylor, 31, Sarasota

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

1

10/2017

Jason Michael Trigger, 34, Port Richey

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

1

10/2017

Tracy Lee Williams, 37, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of pure methamphetamine, one count distribution of methamphetamine, one count of distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

2

10/2017

Joshua Christian Cantrell, 24, Dade City

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of pure methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

Included in total for Williams

10/2017

Arvester Lamonica Anderson, 46, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

1

10/2017

Devan DI’Andre Bristol, 29, Spring Hill

Pending*; charged with seven counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, codeine, and marijuana, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to life

1

10/2017

Lecardo Renard Albury, 32, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

1

10/2017

Doga Kuyon Yuoh, 25, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

10/2017

Jodarin Marquis Whitfield, 27, Sarasota

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to attempt to damage and destroy by means of fire and explosive and one count of attempt to damage and destroy by means of fire and explosive; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to 20 years

0

10/2017

Herbert Adelphus Pinckney, 39, Sarasota

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to attempt to damage and destroy by means of fire and explosive and one count of attempt to damage and destroy by means of fire and explosive; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to 20 years

0

10/2017

Rashica Shaguana Ford, 39, Palmetto

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to attempt to damage and destroy by means of fire and explosive and one count of attempt to damage and destroy by means of fire and explosive; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to 20 years

0

11/2017

Raheem Davis, 46, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

1

11/2017

Steven Garcia, 22, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

7

11/2017

David Valentin, 27, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

11/2017

Jeremy Dwayne Simmons, 36, Brandon

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years in federal prison up to life

1

11/2017

Joshua Dekoyer, 30, Sarasota

Pending*; charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, one count of possession with intent to distribute U-47700, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine; facing a minimum mandatory of 10 years in federal prison up to life

1

11/2017

Pierre Rashawn Walker, 31, Sarasota

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 80 years in federal prison

3

11/2017

Ashanti Roundtree, 42 Bradenton

Pending*; charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to life

1

11/2017

Kurt Gell, 36, Bartow

Pending*; charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and one count of felon in possession of a short- barreled shotgun; facing a minimum mandatory of 5 years in federal prison up to 100 years

2

11/2017

Ian Brook Weigant, 44, Bradenton

Pending*; charged with two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 20 years in federal prison

2

11/2017

Clifford Etheridge, 28, St. Petersburg

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

11/2017

Edgar Delgado, 26, Plant City

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

11/2017

Steven Lawrence Moore, 41, Lakeland

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

12/2017

Juan Carlos Ramrez-Arcos, 32, Mexico

Pending*; charged with one count of illegal alien in possession of a firearm; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

12/2017

Rico Remon Washington, 44, New Port Richey

Pending*; charged with one count of Hobbs Act robbery, on count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing a minimum mandatory of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison.

 

12/2017

Madio Morris, 36, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 10 years in federal prison

1

12/2017

Reginald Hollie, 35, Tampa

Pending*; charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; facing up to 15 years, up to life in federal prison

1

*An indictment or criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has violated one or more federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Elizabeth M. Jordan (52), and her daughter, Dolores A. Youmans  (30), both of Jacksonville, have pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting others with the filing of fraudulent tax returns. Each faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

 

According to the plea agreements, Jordan had been working as a tax preparer since approximately 1990. Since 2011, she was the owner and operator of a business that offered tax return preparation services. At the business, Jordan, Youmans, and others prepared individual income tax returns, with accompanying forms and schedules, on behalf of clients. In doing so, they reported false information, including false deductions, false claims for education and other credits, and false claims of business expenses. These false representations reduced the amount owed by, or increased the amount refunded to, the taxpayers.

 

Jordan pleaded guilty to preparing and filing a fraudulent 2011 tax return in which she represented that the taxpayer owned a business with no income and $34,755 in expenses. She also represented on the return that the taxpayer had $4,000 in education expenses and was entitled to an education credit of $1,000. In fact, the taxpayer was a wage-earning employee of a corporation who had not operated a business in 2011, and had not incurred any education expenses that year.

 

After Jordan filed the return, the IRS issued a refund of $10,021 to the taxpayer.  In the absence of the false statements and other improperly claimed deductions and credits, the taxpayer would have been entitled to a refund of $533. The tax loss to the IRS was $9,488.

 

Youmans pleaded guilty to preparing and filing a fraudulent 2012 tax return.  On the return, she represented that the taxpayer had a business with no income and $36,895 in expenses. She also represented on the return that the taxpayer had $4,000 in education expenses and was entitled to an education credit of $1,500. In fact, the taxpayer was a wage-earning employee of a corporation, had not operated a business in 2012, and did not incur any education expenses during that year. She further represented that the taxpayer had bought 5,255 gallons of gasoline and was entitled to a $962 fuel tax credit.  Although the taxpayer was a truck driver, the employer had paid for all of the fuel and the taxpayer was not entitled to the credit. After Youmans filed the return, the IRS issued a refund to the taxpayer of $16,469.  In the absence of the false statements and other improperly claimed deductions and credits, the taxpayer would have been entitled to a refund of $5,182. The tax loss to the IRS was $11,287.

 

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.

Orlando, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury has found Oniel Christopher Russell (40, Jamaica), a/k/a OG Russel, guilty of possessing firearms and ammunition as an illegal alien and felony assault on a federal officer. He faces a maximum penalty of 18 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 9, 2018.

 

Russell was indicted in May 2017.

 

According to evidence presented at trial, Russell last entered the United States on October 29, 2008, as a non-immigrant visitor with authorization to remain in the country until January 3, 2009. He failed to depart and remained without any lawful immigration status thereafter. On August 24, 2013, deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office pulled Russell over for a traffic violation and subsequently conducted a search of his vehicle. They located a loaded firearm in the glove compartment and another loaded firearm, with one round in the chamber, under the passenger seat where a female passenger had been sitting prior to the traffic stop. Russell gave a written confession to the gun recovered from the glove compartment, but denied knowledge of the other firearm. During the trial, the female passenger testified that Russell had handed her the gun right before the deputy pulled them over, and told her to put it under the seat and say it was hers. Neither were arrested that night on firearms charges.

 

In October 2016, deportation officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) received a lead as to Russell’s whereabouts and attempted to locate him for six months. On April 25, 2017, the officers located Russell and attempted to execute an administrative warrant for his arrest. While trying to handcuff him, Russell dragged one of the officers 6 to 10 feet, slamming him against the house in an attempt to flee back into the home. Only when another officer pulled his firearm out and ordered Russell to stop resisting, did he allow himself to be handcuffed and taken into custody. 

 

This case was investigated by ICE, Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Federal Protective Service.  It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Christina R. Downes, on assignment from ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor.

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Haven Hospice (Haven), a hospice company headquartered in Gainesville, Florida, has agreed to pay $5,085,024 to resolve allegations that Haven violated the False Claims Act by knowingly billing the government for medically unnecessary and undocumented hospice services. 

 

The government alleges that Haven knowingly submitted false claims to the Medicare and Medicaid programs for medically unnecessary hospice care for certain patients who had lengths of stays greater than three years. Typically, federal health care programs only pay for hospice care when patients are in a terminal condition and have a life expectancy of less than six months.

 

Since June 1, 2011, Haven treated at least 63 patients with lengths of stay exceeding three years. The government contends that for those 63 patients, Haven either knowingly or recklessly failed to document a valid basis for the initial start of hospice care and/or subsequent hospice coverage. Haven’s diagnoses were not adequately supported, or were supported only with inconsistent practitioner information. Many patients failed to demonstrate objective indications of decline throughout their time in the company’s care, despite some being in hospice for nearly six years. Some patients had their hospice diagnoses changed after several years when they did not show decline under their original “terminal” diagnosis. The government has agreed to accept $5,085,024 to resolve these allegations based on Haven’s ability to pay.

 

“Unfortunately, some healthcare providers seek to defraud Medicare by billing for unnecessary hospice services,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “Left unchecked, this misconduct would deplete funds available for terminally ill patients desperately in need of the relief that hospice care provides. This settlement should serve as notice to others who consider similar practices that we will vigorously pursue them.”

 

“Charging taxpayers for unnecessary health care services such as hospice care is intolerable,” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.  “Working closely with our law enforcement partners, we will vigorously protect the integrity of our Federal health care programs and hold health care companies accountable.”

 

The settlement concludes a lawsuit originally filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida by a former employee of Haven Hospice, Dr. John Simons. The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act that permits private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. The Act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action. Dr. Simons will receive roughly $900,000 of the proceeds from the settlement with Haven.

 

The government’s action in this matter illustrates the emphasis on combating health care fraud, and one of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

 

This settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, SafeGuard Services LLC (Medicare’s Zone Program Integrity Contractor), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General. It was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Shea Gibbons.

 

The case is captioned United States ex rel. Simons v. North Central Florida Hospice, Inc. d/b/a Haven Hospice, Case No. 3:16-cv-330-J-32JRK. The settlement resolves the United States’ claims in that case. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

 

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore today sentenced Michael O. Johnson (28, Tampa) to 10 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He pleaded guilty on August 10, 2017.

 

According to court documents, Johnson sold undercover agents six firearms over a period of several months, including a Russian model SKS 7.62x39-caliber rifle with an extended magazine. He sold the guns to agents even after they told him that the guns would be resold illegally in other markets within the United States, including in New York City.

 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Murray.

 

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety — one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

 

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza today sentenced Jeremy Craig Traylor (32, St. Cloud) to 60 years in federal prison for producing child pornography. He pleaded guilty on October 6, 2017.

 

According to court documents, on September 1, 2016, a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) led law enforcement officers to identify Traylor as a suspect involved in the distribution of child pornography.  During the execution of a search warrant at Traylor’s residence, agents found several items of computer media containing thousands of images of infants, toddlers, and young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. During an interview, Traylor admitted that he had used file sharing software to search for, download, and view child pornography for at least the past six years. Forensic analyses of his computer media revealed images and a video that depicted Traylor sexually assaulting an infant girl and sexually explicit images of a minor boy that he had also produced. Traylor shared these images with others via text messaging and other applications on his phone.

 

"Two young lives are forever impacted by these incomprehensible crimes," said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. "Nothing will return the innocence of these children, but we hope putting this criminal behind bars will help them in their recovery.”

 

This case was investigated by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda.

 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore sentenced Natasha Pierre (46, Davenport), a/k/a Elsie Petitfrere, to six months in federal prison for obtaining U.S. citizenship through false and misleading representations to U.S. immigration authorities. She pleaded guilty on August 30, 2017. The Court also entered an order denaturalizing Pierre and stripping her of her United States citizenship; she is now subject to deportation to Haiti.

 

According to her plea agreement and evidence presented in Court, Pierre first applied for asylum protection to remain in the United States in 1993, claiming that she had entered the United States from Haiti and feared persecution and arrest if she returned there. In June 1995, the INS rejected her application and ordered her to appear before an immigration judge for possible deportation proceedings. In July 1995, she failed to appear as directed and the court ordered her removal from the United States. The immigration judge also entered a warrant for her arrest and deportation.

 

While her case was still pending before the immigration court, Pierre assumed the new identity of Elsie Petitfrere and filed for legal protection and permanent resident status in the United States using this new identity and a different set of biographical data. In 2012, she applied for U.S. citizenship, and Petitfrere ultimately became a U.S. citizen on September 11, 2012.

 

In her immigration paperwork and application for citizenship, Petitfrere denied the use of prior names, denied having been subject to an order of deportation, and denied lying to immigration authorities. Photographic and fingerprint evidence later established that Pierre and Petitfrere were the same person and that Pierre had lied on several keys parts of her citizenship application.

 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This investigation was a part of “Operation Second Look,” a nationwide initiative of the Department of Homeland Security to review the files of hundreds of persons who were ordered deported from the United States but have not left the country as directed. The Pierre case is one of four similar investigations in the Tampa Bay area. These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.

 

Tampa, Florida – United States District Judge James D. Whittemore has sentenced Latronda Brooks to three years and six months in federal prison for theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft in connection with income tax fraud. She was taken into custody immediately following the pronouncement of her sentence today. In addition, she was ordered to pay $327,521 in restitution, representing the proceeds of the tax fraud. She pleaded guilty on June 30, 2017.

 

According to court documents, Brooks opened an Urban Trust Bank account in her name, doing business as Magnificent Tax Services, and used it to deposit more than $327,000 in fraudulent tax refund checks. These fraudulent checks were falsely endorsed with the taxpayer signatures and deposited with a falsely-endorsed “permission” form that purportedly gave Brooks permission to deposit third-party tax refund checks into her bank account. Brooks spent the money on personal expenditures, including paying others involved in the tax fraud, and did not provide any of the funds to the taxpayers.

 

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelley Howard-Allen.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich has sentenced Terrance F. Taylor (52, Bradenton) to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The Court also ordered him to pay $3,341,500 in restitution to the victims of the fraud.

 

Taylor pleaded guilty on September 9, 2015.

 

According to court documents, in 2010, Taylor and Timothy Roberts founded Savtira Corporation Inc., a technology company headquartered in Ybor City. Savtira purported to offer a centralized, cloud-based shopping cart platform for online and traditional retailers to sell products, regardless of the device used by the online purchaser. Roberts and Taylor marketed Savtira stock to investors by making false claims about the company, including that Savtira was profitable and that the company had entered into executed agreements with nationally recognized technology firms. They also falsely claimed that Savtira owned patents and/or that the company was valued between $450 and $540 million. Roberts and Taylor then misused and misappropriated some of the investors’ funds for personal expenses and cash withdrawals without the investors’ consent or knowledge. They also failed to disclose that Roberts had entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2008 that required Roberts to pay a fine and banned him from selling unregistered securities.

 

Roberts previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 16, 2018.

 

This case was investigated by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation’s Bureau of Financial Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mandy Riedel and Rachel Jones.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Billy Leon Dyer (78, Melbourne) to 24 years in federal prison for producing child pornography. The Court also ordered him to forfeit his residence located at 7664 Candlewick Drive and a vehicle that he used during the offense. 

 

Dyer pleaded guilty on September 20, 2017.

 

According to court documents, between June 22, 2016, and February 9, 2017, Dyer induced at least three teen girls to engage in sexually explicit conduct so that he could produce child pornography. Dyer paid the girls, who were between 14 and 15 years old, $140-$200 each time he had sex with them. Sometimes he gave them drugs in exchange for sex. Agents discovered Dyer’s conduct after he discussed the details of his explicit activity during jail calls that he made to adult inmates at the Brevard County Jail.           

 

In March 2017, law enforcement officers conducted an undercover operation using an undercover officer posing as an adult woman online. Dyer began a conversation with the “woman” and asked to “meet her soon.” The “woman” said that she was unable to have sex with him, but referred her 15-year-old cousin. Dyer told the “woman” that he would pay her a $40 finder’s fee for referring her “cousin,” and that he would pay her “cousin” $150 to have sex with him. During their conversation, Dyer admitted that he liked young girls and arranged a time to meet the “cousin” for sex. When he arrived at the predetermined location, agents arrested him. On his phone, computer, and thumb drive, agents located more than 170 images depicting the teen girls that Dyer had sex with at his house. 

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Christina R. Downes, on assignment from the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE.

 

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Ft. Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Brown Laster, Jr. (37, Tampa), Jerry Browdy (44, Riverview, FL), and Wesley Petiphar (30, Davenport) each to life in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. The Court also ordered Browdy to forfeit $106,060 and Petiphar to forfeit $22,400, which are traceable to the proceeds of the offense. As part of their sentences, the Court imposed a fine of $1 million for Laster and $500,000 each for Browdy and Petiphar.

 

A federal jury found the individuals guilty on July 28, 2017. 

 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Laster, Browdy, and Petiphar were part of a conspiracy to ship kilograms of methamphetamine from Sacramento, California to various hotels in Florida and Georgia via Federal Express.

 

The evidence showed that, throughout 2015, the men had sent approximately 40 packages of methamphetamine through the mail per week. The packages were delivered to co-conspirators who had been recruited to wait at the hotels for the packages of methamphetamine to arrive. The packages were then delivered to local drug traffickers. In addition, witness testimony revealed that the men enforced the conspiracy through violence, including one incident where a cooperating witness had a gun placed in his mouth with such force that the gun knocked out some of his front teeth.

 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office (Georgia), the Placer County Sheriff’s Office (California), the Lakeland Police Department, and the Miami-Dade Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Baeza and Mike Leeman.

Ocala, Florida – United States District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. today sentenced Connie Moorman Willis (52, Morriston) to six years and three months in federal prison for mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, embezzlement by a bank employee, and access device (credit card) fraud. She pleaded guilty on July 14, 2017.

 

According to the plea agreement, Willis worked at SunTrust Bank as a business banker with wide-ranging authority over customer accounts. Beginning in February 2013, she stole the identities of two customers by using their personal information to create a fraudulent bank account. She had all written correspondence for this account mailed to her home address in order to keep the customers from learning of her activities. Willis subsequently transferred large amounts of money from other customers, without their permission, into this fraudulent account. She then used the stolen funds to pay for her personal expenses.    

 

Willis’s victims included customers who were elderly or in poor health. In one instance, investigators learned that Willis had opened two fraudulent credit card accounts and had taken out a $140,000 mortgage in the name of an elderly relative. She then used stolen funds to pay off the mortgage and to make payments on the fraudulent credit cards. 

 

Once Willis’s fraud was discovered, she texted one of her customers and admitted that she had “made a big mistake.” In total, Willis stole $591,545.33. 

 

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the City of Ocala Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Joshua Ryne Goldberg (22, Orange Park) today waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with attempted malicious damage and destruction by an explosive of a building. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, with a 5-year mandatory minimum term of imprisonment. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

 

According to the

plea agreement , in the summer of 2015, the FBI and law enforcement officers from Australia began investigating the online name “AusWitness” and determined that it was Goldberg. He had come to the attention of law enforcement due in part to his postings concerning the May 3, 2015, attack by two gunman at the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest in Garland, Texas. Prior to the attack, Goldberg posted a map of the location of the contest and urged anyone in the area to attack the event. Goldberg’s posting was copied by gunman Elton Simpson, one of the two individuals killed during the May 3, 2015, attack. The FBI later located an online posting in which Goldberg took responsibility for inspiring the Garland attack, as well as two other planned attacks.

 

In late July 2015, an FBI confidential human source (CHS) began exchanging messages with Goldberg as “AusWitness” on social media. Between July and mid-August 2015, Goldberg discussed getting an individual in Melbourne, Australia to carry out a terrorist attack and to having the CHS commit a bombing in the United States. During portions of those conversations, Goldberg sent the CHS five website links containing instructions for making an explosive device, including pipe bombs and other incendiary devices. On August 20, 2015, Goldberg stated that he was thinking of pipe bombs at a large public event and later said that a pressure cooker bomb may be better. Later that month, Goldberg told the CHS that he had found the “perfect place” to target on September 11, 2015, and sent the CHS a link to a Kansas City, Missouri firefighter’s event that memorialized first responders that had been killed in the September 11th attacks. On August 27, 2015, Goldberg instructed the CHS to place the bomb near the crowd at the memorial event and to ensure it was very well hidden.

 

The following day, Goldberg provided the CHS with a list of items to use in the pressure cooker bomb, including shards of metal, nails, and broken glass. He then instructed the CHS to dip screws and other shrapnel in rat poison before putting them in the pressure cooker bomb in order to inflict more casualties. Goldberg stated he would post a video of the bombing. A forensic analysis of the bomb making information determined that it could have been used to make explosives that would cause property damage, personal injury, and/or death. 

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. Members of the Jacksonville JTTF include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Highway Patrol, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin C. Frein of the Middle District of Florida, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Mara Kohn of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury has found Alfonzo Lee Churchwell, a/k/a Boo Boo  (30, Bradenton), guilty of possessing with the intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

         

Churchwell was indicted on October 3, 2017.

 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, two days after Churchwell, who had no source of legitimate income, was released from a prior 10-year prison sentence, he posted photographs of himself with large amounts of cash. Text messages sent from his phone advertised various controlled substances for sale. At the time of his arrest, he had fentanyl in his pocket.

 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Natalie Hirt Adams.

Bradenton, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow, Special Agent in Charge Adolphus P. Wright of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells announce drug trafficking charges against 34 individuals as a result of “Operation Hot Batch.” This joint law enforcement effort began in November 2016, to target drug trafficking organizations engaged in the illicit distribution of fentantyl, carfentanil, and other controlled substances. The chart below outlines the charges against each individual. 

 

“The Department of Justice is committed to combatting the opioid epidemic,” said Acting United States Attorney Muldrow. “The charges announced today demonstrate that commitment, as well as the strength of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships. Together, we will continue to use all available law enforcement tools to dismantle drug trafficking organizations.”

 

“Our goal for this investigation is to find drug traffickers who are destroying lives in this community, and hold them accountable,” said Sheriff Wells.

As a result of a committed collaboration between the DEA and its law enforcement partners, a criminal and dangerous drug trafficking organization that distributed deadly drugs such as fentanyl has been successfully dismantled,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Wright.  “Along with our partners at all levels of government, we will continue to stay committed and dedicate all our efforts and all our resources to ridding communities of this poison so that they are better able to live safe and drug free lives.”

 

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

 

These cases were investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradenton Police Department, and the Sarasota Police Department as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation known as Operation Hot Batch. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply. 

 

These cases will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Natalie Adams, Callan Albritton, Dan Baeza, Carlton Gammons, Michael Gordon, Shauna Hale, Frank Murray, James Preston, Michael Sinacore, and Taylor Stout. 

 

Operation Hot Batch

 

Name

Age, Residence

Status

Traveous Anderson

31, Palmetto

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

George Calhoun

41, Bradenton

Charged with 3 counts of distribution of carfentanil.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Manvel L. Canady

26, Palmetto

Charged with 2 counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute carfentanil.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Michael Bernard Code

36, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Gavino Corona

24, Bradenton

Charged with 2 counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute carfentanil.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Shane Daniels

26, Manatee County

Pleaded guilty to 3 counts of distribution of crack; 2 counts of distribution of carfentanil; 1 count of distribution of heroin and carfentanil; 1 count of distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanil; and 1 count of distribution of heroin.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.

Tanikous Daughtry

39, Bradenton

Charged with 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine.

Faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

Ever Marie Davis

46, Bradenton

Charged with possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Kwame Henri

26, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Jamey Michael Hardy

44, Bradenton

Charged with 4 counts of distribution of methamphetamine and 1 count of distribution of heroin.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.

Carla Marie Hendrickson

38, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Shaunquez S. Houston

26, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to distribution of crack cocaine, heroin, carfentanil, and methamphetamine.

Sentenced to 5 years’ probation.

Jerrell Jackson

 

29, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute carfentanil and 1 count distribution and possession with intent to distribute carfentanil; sentenced to 18 months’ probation.

David E. Johnson

36, Bradenton

Charged with 1 count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and 1 count of distribution of fentanyl.

Faces 20 years, up to life, in federal prison on count 1 and up to 20 years in federal prison on count 2.

Tony Marvin Johnson

34, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Andrew Aaron Kutt

46, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison.

Corey Matthews

29, Bradenton

Charged with 1 count of possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute and 1 count of possession of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute. Faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

Jarvis McCants

29, Lecanto

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl.

Sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in federal prison.

Kevon Melendez

22, Bradenton

Charged with 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute carfentanil and 1 count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Shavon Montgomery

37, Bradenton

Charged with 2 counts of distribution of crack cocaine; 1 count of distribution of heroin and fentanyl; and 1 count distribution of heroin, carfentanil, and fentanyl.

Faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

Troy J. Perkins

35, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl.

Sentenced to 46 months in federal prison.

Woodrow Pressey

46, Bradenton

Charged with 1 count of possession of cocaine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute and 1 count of possessing firearms as a convicted felon.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison on the narcotics charge and up to 10 years’ imprisonment on the firearm charge.

Brandon J. Randolph

29, Bradenton;

Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, carfentanil, and fentanyl.

Faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

Davion Rivers

22, Bradenton

Charged with 1 count of distribution of hydromorphone; 1 count of distribution of heroin, carfentanil, methamphetamine, and furanyl fentanyl; 1 count of distribution of furanyl fentanyl; and 1 count of distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and furanyl fentanyl.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.

Bryan Luis Lopez Rosario

27, Bradenton

Charged with 2 counts of distribution of heroin and morphine and 4 counts distribution of heroin.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.

Anthony Sanchez

25, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of distributing carfentanil and 1 count of possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.

Sentenced to 11 years in federal prison.

Skyler C. Sanders

32, Bradenton

Charged with 1 count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, carfentanil, and fentanyl; 1 count of distribution of crack cocaine; 1 count of distribution of crack cocaine, heroin, cocaine, carfentanil, and fentanyl; 1 count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and carfentanil; and 1 count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.

Faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

Jateria Simmons

28, Palmetto

Charged with 2 counts of distribution of heroin and fentanyl.

Faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

Jonathan Solomon

29, Bradenton

Charged with 5 counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute heroin.

Faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

Michael Taylor, Sr.

46, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute.

Sentenced to 27 months in federal prison.

Latessa Timmons

35, Bradenton

Charged with 4 counts of possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.

Jennifer Lynn Varvel

35, Bradenton

Charged with possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin.

Faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Sergio Viera

26, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

Sentenced to six years and one month in federal prison.

Rakim Waters

 

 

 

 

 

27, Bradenton

Pleaded guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute carfentanil; 2 counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute heroin and carfentanil; 2 counts of distribution and possession with the intent to distribute carfentanil; and 1 count distribution and possession with the intent to distribute heroin.

Sentenced to 48 months’ probation.

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that 13 individuals have been sentenced in connection with their involvement in an international heroin distribution conspiracy. During this investigation, investigators seized approximately 6.5 kilograms of heroin, 9 firearms, and approximately $600,000 in drug proceeds.

According to court documents, during the course of the conspiracy, Felix Mejia Lagunas oversaw the importation of at least 30 kilograms of heroin into the United States from Mexico, and the subsequent transportation of the narcotics to Jesus Alberto Bermudez Caraballo in Orlando. Bermudez Caraballo provided a portion of the heroin to Jose Carlos Polanco Vasquez, Raul Vicente Espada Ortiz, and Deyvis Lee Echevarria for redistribution in the Orlando area. Angel Alexis Alicea transported the remaining amount of the heroin from Orlando to the Tampa Bay area where Jose Leonardo Jimenez, Jose Leonardo Jimenez, and Jose Antonio Crespo Negron mixed the narcotics with cutting agents, packaged it for distribution, and then provided the drugs to street level distributors Freddie, Resto, Juan Carlos Lopez, Robert Kelly, and Rachel Augustine Thomas. These street level distributors then sold the heroin in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and elsewhere.

Special Agent in Charge Eric W. Sporre of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office." “By combining federal, state and local resources, a major heroin trafficking ring was dismantled; removing large quantities of a dangerous drug off the streets.”

FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen said, “The hard work of our partners at the federal, state and local level helped to bring these violent offenders to justice and get them off our streets. The sentences handed down should send a clear message to traffickers and help to make Florida safer.”         

 

“This is a perfect example of the kind of multi-agency teamwork necessary to dismantle these complex conspiracies and bring criminals to justice,” said Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan. “Our communities are safer today as a result of the work of this task force."

 

Name

Age, Residence

Term of Imprisonment

Felix Mejia Lagunas

42, California

27 years

Jose Leonardo Jimenez

29, Tampa

21 years, 10 months

Jose Carlos Polanco Vasquez

29, Orlando

12 years, 7 months

Jesus Alberto Bermudez Caraballo

29, Orlando

11 years, 3 months

Raul Vicente Espada Ortiz

40, Orlando

11 years, 3 months

Freddie Resto

59, Tampa

11 years, 3 months

Deyvis Lee Echevarria

30, Orlando

10 years, 1 month

Angel Alexis Alicea

29, Tampa

10 years, 1 month

Jose Angel Jimenez Villa

27, Tampa

10 years

Jose Antonio Crespo Negron

30, Tampa

10 years

Juan Carlos Lopez

34, Tampa

7 years

Robert Kelly

56, Tampa

4 years, 9 months

Rachel Augustine Thomas

56, St. Petersburg

2 years

These cases were investigated by a multi-agency task force through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. Agencies involved in this OCDETF operation include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tampa Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. They were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Sunshine Marie McEwen (43, Atlantic Beach) has pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender. She faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a lifetime term of supervised release. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

 

According to court documents, on August 20, 1998, McEwen was convicted of sexual battery on a minor child in Jacksonville. After her release from state prison in September 2013, she resided in Atlantic Beach. On May 15, 2015, McEwen sold drugs to an individual in Atlantic Beach and later fled to California without updating her sex offender registration. She also failed to register in California as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. On November 28, 2015, McEwen was arrested in Palm Springs and extradited to Florida to face her drug charges. On July 6, 2016, she was convicted for selling cocaine within 1,000 feet of a church and was sentenced to 78 months in state prison.    

 

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Adam Walsh Act provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the United States Marshals Service, to assist state and local authorities in locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders.

 

This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Atlantic Beach (Florida) Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Palm Springs (California) Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

 

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Orlando, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury found Jeanine Jeanty guilty of one count of conspiracy to steal tax refunds, five counts of theft of tax refunds, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge, up to 10 years’ imprisonment on each of the theft charges, and a mandatory minimum of two years in federal prison for the aggravated identity theft charges. The sentencing hearing will take place on March 16, 2018.

 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Jeanty conspired with others to steal federal tax refunds by filing false tax returns using stolen personal identifying information. She also purchased fraudulently-obtained tax refund checks from others for half of the face value of the checks. In less than two years, Jeanty and her co-conspirators stole more than $2.7 million in tax refunds from the Department of the Treasury.

 

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen L. Gable.

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury has found Gustavo Enrique Llanos Miranda (62) and Jair Mendoza Montoya (49), both of Colombia, South America, guilty of conspiring to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and possessing with the intent to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Llanos Miranda faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years, up to life, in federal prison. Mendoza Montoya faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. The sentencing hearings are scheduled for March 20, 2018. They were indicted on September 19, 2017.

 

According to evidence presented at trial, Llanos Miranda and Mendoza Montoya participated in a plan to smuggle more than 1,500 kilograms of cocaine on board a large oil tanker named FAT CROW. In August 2017, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) interdicted the vessel in international waters in the Caribbean Sea. After conducting an exhaustive search of the ship, the USCG found 1,504 kilograms of cocaine in a hidden compartment that the crew had constructed in the ship’s bow. Llanos Miranda and Mendoza Montoya, along with several other FAT CROW crewmembers, had participated in extensive negotiations with a drug cartel representative concerning their compensation for smuggling the cocaine and participated in loading the cocaine onto the ship. Five other crewmembers pleaded guilty to the conspiracy prior to trial. The wholesale value of the cocaine exceeds $45 million.

 

This case was investigated by agents of the Panama Express Strike Force, an OCDETF Strike Force comprised of agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force South. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Taylor G. Stout and Carlton C. Gammons.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Prince George Kelly (36, Apollo Beach) to 5 years and 10 months in federal prison for possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. The Court also ordered him to serve three years of supervised release and to forfeit the ammunition seized in the offense.

 

Kelly pleaded guilty on September 28, 2017.

 

According to court documents, on December 16, 2016, officers with the Tampa Police Department responded to a domestic violence call. When the officers arrived at the home, Kelly was standing outside. He informed the officers that he did not have any weapons on his person and invited the officers to pat him down. When Kelly raised his arms, the officers observed the bottom of a Glock magazine sticking out of his front pants pocket. The magazine was loaded with .45 caliber ammunition. As a previously convicted felon, Kelly is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

 

This case was jointly investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kaitlin R. O’Donnell.

 

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety — one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. 

Tampa, Florida – United States District Judge James D. Whittemore today sentenced Ingrid McBride Rich to four years in prison for presenting a false claim to an agency of the United States, and for obstructing and impeding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the collection of taxes. As part of her sentence, the Court also ordered her to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $510,222.

 

Rich was found guilty by a federal jury on August 17, 2017.

 

According to evidence presented at trial, in March 2009, Rich submitted a fraudulent tax return to the IRS for tax year 2008, which resulted in her obtaining a refund check in the amount of $510,222. After obtaining the check, she deposited it into a brand new bank account, then immediately began transferring the money into various accounts, in her name and in the names of entities she owned. In an attempt to prevent the IRS from recouping the funds, Rich used cashier’s checks and at least 10 bank accounts and 4 banking institutions to hide the money. She bought nearly 100 cashier’s checks and engaged in hundreds of financial transactions over a period of nearly three years. The evidence also showed that Rich incorporated two companies in order to hide the tax refund, and hid additional money in accounts of corporations she had previously controlled.

 

Rich also sent the IRS various frivolous correspondence, including bogus money orders and tax documents, with the intent that it would impede the collection of the funds. Because of this obstruction, the IRS was only able to recoup a nominal amount of the fraudulently obtained funds.

 

This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rachel Jones and Adam Saltzman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington today sentenced Isidro Diaz-Sanchez (31), a Mexican national, to 30 months in federal prison for illegally reentering into the United States after deportation, and for failing to register as a sex offender. He pleaded guilty on September 28, 2017.

 

According to court documents, Diaz-Sanchez was previously deported from the United States as an aggravated felon on October 8, 2015. At the time of his deportation, he had been convicted of taking indecent liberties with a child in North Carolina, after having engaged in sexual activity and impregnating a minor child. As a result of his conviction, Diaz-Sanchez was required to register as a sex-offender and maintain his sex offender registration for a period of 30 years.

 

In January 2017, Diaz-Sanchez reentered the United States illegally and was subsequently found in the Hardee County Jail pending charges of resisting without violence and attempting to use the identification of another person. A review of the Florida Sex Offender Registry revealed that Diaz-Sanchez had failed to register as a sex offender.

 

“This criminal alien was a dangerous threat to our youth and ICE is proud to increase community safety by putting him behind bars,” said Michael W. Meade, acting field office director for the Miami Field Office of ERO.

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.

Ocala, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury in Orlando today found Susan J. Gissy (54, Crystal River) guilty of one count of theft of government funds and two counts of concealing a material fact in connection with the receipt of workers compensation benefits.  She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the theft charge, and up to five years on each of the concealment offenses. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 5, 2017.

 

A superseding indictment was returned against Gissy on June 14, 2017.

 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Gissy was employed as a rural mail carrier with the United States Postal Service. In 2011, she filed a federal workers’ compensation disability claim in connection with a lower back injury. In 2014, based in part on her misrepresentations to her treating physician regarding her back injury, Gissy received a permanent disability impairment rating.  In 2016, federal agents observed Gissy engaging in strenuous physical activity, including scuba diving, boating, and riding 12-meter-tall waterslides. Further investigation revealed that Gissy had systematically misrepresented the extent of her recovery. As a consequence, she had received over $112,000 in workers’ compensation disability benefits to which she was not entitled. Gissy had also knowingly concealed and covered up her recovery by twice filing false documentation in support of her claim.

 

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service - Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys William S. Hamilton and Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.

Tampa, FL – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury today found Chris J. McDonald, Sr. (53, Riverview) guilty of conspiracy to commit theft of government property and nine related substantive counts of theft. He faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison for the conspiracy count and up to 10 years’ imprisonment on each theft count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.  

 

This case is related to the earlier federal prosecution of Jeanette Hevel, a former Tampa Police Department (TPD) corporal with more than 20 years’ experience who stole 13 United States Treasury tax refund checks, money orders, and a refund anticipation loan check from various locations inside TPD, including its secure evidence property room. Her unlawful conduct occurred over an approximately 9-month period beginning in September 2011. In April 2015, Hevel pleaded guilty for her conduct pursuant to a plea agreement in which she agreed to cooperate in the government’s ongoing investigation of those responsible for cashing the stolen tax refund checks. (See United States v. Jeanette Hevel, Case No. 8:15-cr-59-T-33MAP).

 

On December 9, 2015, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against McDonald and Joseph Lugo for their roles in the criminal conduct. According to the indictment and other court records, Hevel provided 9 of the 13 stolen tax refund checks to Lugo who then delivered them to Robert Sanders and McDonald. McDonald deposited the checks into one of his bank accounts and then typically returned to the bank the next business day and withdrew the funds and shared them amongst the conspirators, including Hevel. None of the conspirators knew any of the payees listed on the tax refund checks nor did they have permission from any of the payees to possess or deposit the checks.

 

In June 2017, Lugo pleaded guilty for his role in this case. Sanders pleaded guilty in 2014 and testified for the government during the trial. (See United States v. Robert Sanders, Case No. 8:14-cr-411-T-23AEP).

 

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the Tampa Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jay G. Trezevant and Frank Murray.

Jacksonville, FL – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis today sentenced Humberto Nunez-Ocampo (38, Mexico) to 21 months in federal prison for illegally reentering the United States after he had been deported. He pleaded guilty to the offense on September 28, 2017.

 

According to court documents and information presented at sentencing, Nunez-Ocampo was encountered by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officer in July 2017, following Nunez-Ocampo’s arrest in Suwannee County for domestic battery. Further investigation revealed that Nunez-Ocampo had previously been deported in 2008, 2010, and 2012. In 2012, he received a felony conviction for leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury. Additional criminal convictions after his initial deportation included domestic battery, third-degree burglary, and fourth-degree assault.        

 

“This case highlights ICE’s commitment to getting criminal illegal aliens out of our communities,” said Michael W. Meade, acting field office director for the Miami Field Office of ERO.

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, with assistance from the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor.

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal judge yesterday found Noe Blas-Jahuey (30, Mexico) guilty of illegal reentry of a deported alien. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 9, 2018.

 

Blas-Jahuey was indicted on May 19, 2016.   

 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Blas-Jahuey was deported twice, once in August 2013, and again in December 2013. He reentered the United States illegally after his December 2013 deportation without receiving permission to return. Immigration authorities found Blas-Jahuey in the United States after he was arrested by local law-enforcement officers in Pinellas County for aggravated assault. He has a prior conviction for illegal reentry into the United States.

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron yesterday sentenced Meinrad Kopp (55), a German citizen and resident of Switzerland, to life in federal prison and a life term of supervision for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. The Court also imposed a special assessment of $5,000, and ordered him to pay a fine of $250,000 and forfeit a cellphone, laptop computer, and camera that had been used to facilitate the offense. 

 

Kopp entered a guilty plea on September 22, 2017. 

 

According to court documents, from on or about April 26, 2017, to on or about June 16, 2017, Kopp engaged in communications via the Internet, with an undercover agent, about engaging a minor in a range of sadistic sexual activities. Kopp disclosed his intent to humiliate and inflict severe pain on the child for his sexual gratification by treating her like a dog and torturing her with certain instruments he intended to bring with him. According to Kopp, he previously had beaten an 11-year-old child using a leather belt. 

 

On June 16, 2017, Kopp traveled to Orlando and was arrested by agents working with Homeland Security Investigations. Inside his luggage, Kopp had weights, clamps, rope, tape, a bottlebrush, and a flashlight that he intended to use with the minor. He had a digital camera that he intended to use to record the acts with the child. During an interview with agents, Kopp admitted that he had traveled to Orlando for the purpose of engaging a minor in sexual activity. 

 

At sentencing, Judge Byron remarked that this was a heinous and atrocious crime, and noted that he could not imagine anything more extreme than hurting a child for an individual’s sexual gratification. He also noted that the sentence imposed was intended to deter sex tourism.

 

"Crimes against children are some of the most loathsome our HSI special agents investigate," said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. "This case should serve as warning to other child predators. We will find you, arrest you and make sure that you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda.

 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit  www.justice.gov/psc .

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Munia Parvin, a/k/a Zarrin Hoque (46, Sarasota), to 6 months in federal prison for obtaining U.S. citizenship through false and misleading representations to U.S. immigration authorities. She pleaded guilty on September 26, 2017. The Court also entered an order denaturalizing Parvin and stripping her of her United States citizenship; she is now subject to deportation to Bangladesh.

 

According to her plea agreement and evidence presented in court, Parvin first applied for asylum protection to remain in the United States in 1993, claiming that she had entered the United States from Bangladesh and feared persecution and arrest if she returned there. In November 1996, the INS rejected her application and ordered her to appear before an immigration judge for possible deportation proceedings. In December 1997, the immigration court allowed Parvin to depart from the United States by a set date and when she failed to do so, entered a warrant for her arrest and removal from the country.

 

While her case was still pending before the immigration court, Parvin assumed the new identity of Zarrin Hoque and filed for legal protection and permanent resident status in the United States using this new name and a different set of biographical data. In 2012, she applied for U.S. citizenship and ultimately became a U.S. citizen on June 4, 2012. In her paperwork and application for citizenship, Hoque denied the use of prior names, denied having been subject to an order of deportation, and denied lying to immigration authorities. Photographic and fingerprint evidence later established that Hoque and Parvin were the same person and that Parvin had lied on several parts of her citizenship application.

 

“When individuals lie on immigration documents, the system is severely undermined and the security of our nation is put at risk,” said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. “Working with our USCIS partners, HSI special agents will continue to protect our immigration systems.”

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This investigation was a part of “Operation Second Look,” a nationwide initiative of the Department of Homeland Security to review the files of hundreds of persons who have been ordered deported from the United States but have not left the country as directed. The Parvin case is one of four similar investigations initiated in the Tampa Bay area. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.

 

Orlando, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces the filing of an indictment charging William Matthew Tex Price (31,  Cocoa), April Coleen Moore (24, Satellite Beach), Khagan Mushfig Oglu Nabili (24, Azerbaijan), Zafar Bakhramovich Yadigarov (26, Uzbekistan), Valriy Tsoy (33,  Kazakhstan), Maria Rogacheva (28, Russia), and Svetlana Vladimirovna Shakhramanyan (28, Azerbaijan) for their involvement in a marriage fraud ring operating out of Brevard County from 2015 to 2016. Each faces up to five years in federal prison. Price has also been charged in a separate indictment with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and faces up to 10 years in federal prison for that offense. Denis Yakovlev (40, Russia) and Meghan Toole (28, Cocoa) were previously charged and pleaded guilty for their involvement in this conspiracy.

 

According to court documents, in October 2015, agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations worked with the Brevard County Clerk of the Court to investigate a significant surge in the number of aliens from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and other former Soviet countries marrying U.S. citizens in Brevard County. This led to the arrest of Yakovlev and Toole on July 13, 2016. After his arrest, Yakovlev admitted to introducing approximately 100 individuals to each other over an 18-month period for the purpose of them entering into sham marriages for immigration benefits. Yakovlev claimed that his payment typically ranged from $1,000 to $2,000 per sham marriage, and that the American citizens were paid between $10,000 and $20,000 each.

 

“These criminals conspired to circumvent and exploit our nation's immigration laws for personal financial gain,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. “This undermines the very objectives of our immigration laws and services, which are based on the honesty of the people who apply for immigration benefits.”

 

Last month, Nabili and Rogacheva each pleaded guilty to one count of marriage fraud. Price pleaded guilty to two counts of marriage fraud and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Yadigarov, Tsoy, and Shakhramanyan were arrested on December 7, 2017, in the Eastern District of New York. Moore was arrested on October 15, 2016, and her trial date has been set for January 2, 2018.

 

In November 2016, Yakovlev was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for encouraging or inducing an alien to reside in the United States, and Toole was sentenced to 4 months’ imprisonment for marriage fraud.

 

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with assistance from the Brevard County Clerk of the Court. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina R. Downes on assignment from the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Robert F. Stout (51) and Kasey N. Riley, a/k/a Kasey Stout (33), to 18 months’ imprisonment and 12 months of home detention, respectively, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and copyright infringement relating to the sale of illegal activation keys for Microsoft products. As a part of their sentences, the Court also ordered them to pay $1,480,227, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct.

 

Stout and Riley pleaded guilty on August 8, 2017.

 

According to court documents, Stout and Riley advertised Microsoft software products for sale online, using a variety of sham business names. They purchased unauthorized activation keys from various websites and then provided them, in exchange for PayPal payments, to at least 13,000 customers throughout the United States. They received at least $1.4 million from customers in exchange for the unauthorized, and often invalid, activation keys. Even after receiving customer complaints that specific activation keys were not functioning properly, Stout and Riley continued to sell them. For example, between September 2013 and June 2014, they sold one specific activation key approximately 880 times. 

 

“This investigation involved years of hard work by HSI special agents and our partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. “We have stopped these criminals from using intellectual property for their own illegal profit.”

 

The Better Business Bureau received at least 140 complaints from customers who had purchased the unauthorized software from the sham businesses. Over the course of two years, Stout and Riley also received - and ignored - at least four warnings from Microsoft to cease in their practices. 

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Christina R. Downes, on assignment from the Office of Principal Legal Advisor (ICE) in the Middle District of Florida, and Assistant United States Attorney Wayne A. Myers from the Northern District of New York.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced LaJoyce Caldwell Houston (51, Riverview) to two years and nine months in federal prison for receiving stolen tax refunds. The Court also ordered her to pay $61,660.52 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. Houston pleaded guilty on August 23, 2017.

 

According to court documents, in 2011 and 2012, while working at the Tampa Police Department, Houston received goods, services, money orders, and cash that were obtained with debit cards tied to accounts that had been loaded with fraudulently obtained tax refunds. The fraudulent refunds deposited in these accounts were the result of fraudulent federal income tax returns that had been filed by co-conspirator Rita Girven. Items received as a result of the fraud included a pool pump system for Houston’s home, computers, appliances, purses, jewelry, money orders, and cash, among other things. The Court also found that fraudulent tax returns were filed from Houston’s home and that online purchases were made from her residence with debit cards that had been loaded with fraudulent tax refunds.

 

In addition, in January 2012, Houston used her position at the Tampa Police Department to obtain the personally identifiable information (PII) of five individuals that Houston then provided to Girven to file fraudulent tax returns and/or obtain and access reloadable debit cards.

 

The Court ruled that the fraudulently obtained tax refunds deposited into the accounts from which LaJoyce Houston benefited totaled $284,490.41 and that Houston received more than $150,000 in goods, services, and cash from these accounts. 

 

LaJoyce Houston’s co-defendant and husband, Eric Houston, pleaded guilty on March 31, 2017, to receiving stolen government property. He was sentenced on October 25, 2017, to six months in federal prison. In a related case (8:15-cr-58-T-17EAJ), Rita Girven pleaded guilty on March 16, 2015, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. She was sentenced on November 20, 2015, to 12 years in federal prison.

 

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mandy Riedel and Megan Kistler.

 

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich has sentenced Joseph James Belmont (28, Tampa) to seven years and eight months in federal prison for possessing firearms as a convicted felon. The Court also ordered him to forfeit the guns and ammunition used in the offense. 

 

Belmont pleaded guilty on August 22, 2017.

 

According to court documents, in November 2016, officers from the Tampa Police Department (TPD) stopped Belmont for a traffic violation that led to the discovery of a loaded handgun. Approximately three months later, TPD officers found Belmont passed out behind the wheel of a car, parked on the wrong side of the street, with the engine running. They knocked on the car door, and when Belmont opened it, officers saw another loaded handgun. 

 

Belmont’s prior convictions include robbery with a weapon and delivery of a controlled substance. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory T. Nolan.

 

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety — one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that James Edward Langford, IV (30, Jacksonville) today pleaded guilty to manufacturing and possessing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes. He faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison, forfeiture of the computer media used to manufacture the counterfeit notes, and payment of restitution to any victims he defrauded.

 

According to court documents, in late July 2017, law enforcement officers received information that Langford was manufacturing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes at a hotel in Jacksonville. On July 25, 2017, U.S. Secret Service agents surveilled the hotel room and observed Langford and two others leave the room. Langford and one of the individuals discarded full trash bags by the hotel’s trash area. A search of the bags revealed several uncut sheets of wadded paper with printed images of counterfeit $20 bills.

Later that day, agents observed Langford leave the room and exit the hotel parking lot. Surveillance teams observed him driving erratically, cutting across three lanes of traffic, speeding, entering an intersection, and then making a sudden U-turn. Law enforcement initiated a traffic stop and during a search of Langford, multiple counterfeit $20 Federal Reserve notes were recovered from his wallet. A subsequent search of Langford’s hotel room revealed numerous counterfeit notes and the computer media used to manufacture them, along with chemicals commonly used to remove the ink from genuine bills during the counterfeiting process.

 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service - Jacksonville Field Office and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

 

21st Century Oncology Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates have agreed to pay $26 million to the government to resolve a self-disclosure relating to the submission of false attestations regarding the company’s use of electronic health records software and separate allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting, or causing the submission of, claims for certain services provided pursuant to referrals from physicians with whom they had improper financial relationships.

 

“The Justice Department is committed to zealously investigating improper financial relationships that have the potential to compromise physicians’ medical judgment,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “However, we will work with companies that accept responsibility for their past compliance failures and promptly take corrective action.”

 

21st Century Oncology, which is headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, owns and operates subsidiaries and affiliates throughout the United States that provide integrated cancer care.  As part of its business, 21st Century Oncology’s subsidiaries and affiliates employ physicians in specialty fields such as radiation oncology, medical oncology, and urology. 

 

The settlement announced today resolves conduct that was self-disclosed by the company regarding payments made by the government as part of the Medicare Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program.  Under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program, physicians who attest to their meaningful use of certified EHR technology may receive incentive payments and avoid downward adjustments to certain Medicare claims.  As part of its self-disclosure, 21st Century Oncology reported that it knowingly submitted, or caused the submission of, false attestations to CMS concerning employed physicians’ use of EHR software.  The company further reported that, in support of the attestations, its employees falsified data regarding the company’s use of EHR software, fabricated software utilization reports, and superimposed EHR vendor logos onto the reports to make them look legitimate. 

 

“This settlement represents our office’s continued commitment to ensuring compliance with important federal health care laws,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow of the Middle District of Florida.  “We appreciate that 21st Century Oncology self-reported a major fraud affecting Medicare, and we are also pleased that the company has agreed to accept financial responsibility for past compliance failures.”

 

The settlement also resolves the government’s allegations regarding violations of the physician self-referral law (commonly referred to as the “Stark Law.”)  The Stark Law prohibits an entity from submitting claims to Medicare for designated health services performed pursuant to referrals from physicians with whom the entity has a financial relationship unless certain designated exceptions apply.  The government alleged that 21st Century Oncology and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates violated the FCA by submitting, or causing the submission of, claims for services performed pursuant to referrals from physicians whose compensation did not satisfy any exception to the Stark Law.

 

The Stark Law allegations were originally brought in a lawsuit filed by Matthew Moore, 21st Century Oncology’s former Interim Vice President of Financial Planning, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Under the Act, private parties may bring suit on behalf of the government and share in any recovery.  Mr. Moore will receive $2,000,000 as his share of the recovery associated with the Stark Law allegations.

 

In addition to the civil settlement, 21st Century Oncology has entered into a new five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG), which obligates 21st Century Oncology to undertake substantial internal compliance reforms, including hiring independent review organizations to conduct annual claims and arrangements reviews. 

 

“21st Century Oncology admitted to causing violation of the meaningful use regulations in order to fund an electronic health records system, as well as falsifying records to cover up those actions,” said Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  “Separately, the government alleged that same company, through its affiliates and subsidiaries, caused certain physicians to enter into illegal financial arrangements.  Providers engaging in similar behavior should expect attention from OIG.”   

 

The government’s resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud.  Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 900-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

 

The investigation was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the Fort Myers Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and HHS-OIG.  The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.  The case is captioned United States ex rel. Moore v. 21st Century Oncology, LLC, No. 2:16-cv-99 (M.D. Fl.).

Fort Myers, FL – 21st Century Oncology Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates have agreed to pay $26 million to the government to resolve a self-disclosure relating to the submission of false attestations regarding the company’s use of electronic health records software and separate allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting, or causing the submission of, claims for certain services provided pursuant to referrals from physicians with whom they had improper financial relationships.

 

“The Justice Department is committed to zealously investigating improper financial relationships that have the potential to compromise physicians’ medical judgment,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “However, we will work with companies that accept responsibility for their past compliance failures and promptly take corrective action.”

 

21st Century Oncology, which is headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, owns and operates subsidiaries and affiliates throughout the United States that provide integrated cancer care.  As part of its business, 21st Century Oncology’s subsidiaries and affiliates employ physicians in specialty fields such as radiation oncology, medical oncology, and urology. 

 

The settlement announced today resolves conduct that was self-disclosed by the company regarding payments made by the government as part of the Medicare Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program.  Under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program, physicians who attest to their meaningful use of certified EHR technology may receive incentive payments and avoid downward adjustments to certain Medicare claims.  As part of its self-disclosure, 21st Century Oncology reported that it knowingly submitted, or caused the submission of, false attestations to CMS concerning employed physicians’ use of EHR software.  The company further reported that, in support of the attestations, its employees falsified data regarding the company’s use of EHR software, fabricated software utilization reports, and superimposed EHR vendor logos onto the reports to make them look legitimate. 

 

“This settlement represents our office’s continued commitment to ensuring compliance with important federal health care laws,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Muldrow.  “We appreciate that 21st Century Oncology self-reported a major fraud affecting Medicare, and we are also pleased that the company has agreed to accept financial responsibility for past compliance failures.”

 

The settlement also resolves the government’s allegations regarding violations of the physician self-referral law (commonly referred to as the “Stark Law.”)  The Stark Law prohibits an entity from submitting claims to Medicare for designated health services performed pursuant to referrals from physicians with whom the entity has a financial relationship unless certain designated exceptions apply.  The government alleged that 21st Century Oncology and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates violated the FCA by submitting, or causing the submission of, claims for services performed pursuant to referrals from physicians whose compensation did not satisfy any exception to the Stark Law.

 

The Stark Law allegations were originally brought in a lawsuit filed by Matthew Moore, 21st Century Oncology’s former Interim Vice President of Financial Planning, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Under the Act, private parties may bring suit on behalf of the government and share in any recovery.  Mr. Moore will receive $2,000,000 as his share of the recovery associated with the Stark Law allegations.

 

In addition to the civil settlement, 21st Century Oncology has entered into a new five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG), which obligates 21st Century Oncology to undertake substantial internal compliance reforms, including hiring independent review organizations to conduct annual claims and arrangements reviews. 

 

“21st Century Oncology admitted to causing violation of the meaningful use regulations in order to fund an electronic health records system, as well as falsifying records to cover up those actions,” said Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  “Separately, the government alleged that same company, through its affiliates and subsidiaries, caused certain physicians to enter into illegal financial arrangements.  Providers engaging in similar behavior should expect attention from OIG.”   

 

The government’s resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud.  Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 900-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

 

The investigation was handled by Trial Attorney Kristen Murphy from the Department of Justice Civil Division's Commercial Litigation Branch and Assistant United States Attorney Kyle S. Cohen from the Fort Myers Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, with assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.  The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.  The case is captioned United States ex rel. Moore v. 21st Century Oncology, LLC, No. 2:16-cv-99 (M.D. Fl.).

 

 

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury has found Michael Moore (36, Sarasota) guilty of possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. He faces a minimum mandatory term of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 7, 2018.

         

Moore was indicted on July 18, 2017.

 

According to evidence presented at trial, on May 28, 2017, Moore had an altercation with his girlfriend during which he removed her loaded firearm from underneath the driver’s seat of her car. When Moore’s girlfriend reported him to the police for stealing her loaded firearm, he hid the weapon at a friend’s house. After his girlfriend agreed to drop the gun report against him, Moore retrieved the loaded firearm and returned it to her. As a previously convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Sarasota Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kaitlin R. O’Donnell and Michael Baggé-Hernández.

 

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety — one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

 

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza today sentenced former Florida House of Representatives member Dwayne L. Taylor (50, Daytona Beach) to 13 months in federal prison for wire fraud. The Court also ordered him to pay $62,834.55 in restitution and to serve 18 months of supervised release.

 

On August 31, 2017, a federal jury found Taylor guilty of nine counts of wire fraud. 

 

According to evidence presented at trial, during Taylor’s 2012 and 2014 re-election campaigns, he falsely reported thousands of dollars of expenditures to the State of Florida in order to conceal his misappropriation of over $60,000 in campaign funds through a series of unreported cash withdrawals, checks written to himself, and checks written to petty cash. Taylor then used the misappropriated funds for personal expenditures unrelated to his re-election campaigns. 

 

According to Florida law, all campaign contributions and expenditures must be reported to the State of Florida, and neither a candidate nor the spouse of any candidate may use funds deposited in a campaign account to defray normal living expenses for the candidate or the candidate’s family, other than expenses actually incurred for transportation, meals, and lodging during travel in the course of the campaign.

 

"Corrupt public officials undermine the integrity of our government and violate the public’s trust," said Charles P. Spencer, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division.  "This case is another example of the FBI's commitment to rooting out public corruption for the people of Florida."

 

 This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Embry J. Kidd and Roger B. Handberg.

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury has found Kyle Adam Kirby (37, Live Oak) guilty of producing, attempting to produce, possessing, and accessing child pornography.  He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, up to 120 years, in federal prison and a potential life term of supervised release. Kirby was arrested on October 28, 2015, and has remained in custody since that time. A sentencing hearing has not yet been set. 

 

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on October 22, 2015, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Kirby’s residence as a result of an online child exploitation investigation. At that time, Kirby was a police sergeant with the Live Oak Police Department (LOPD). That same morning, the LOPD police chief authorized the agents to inspect and search the computer located inside Kirby’s patrol car. A forensic examination of this computer revealed that it contained images depicting young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Kirby had used the patrol car computer to download, access, and possess child pornography from as early as December 24, 2014.

 

A subsequent search of an LOPD desktop computer used by Kirby revealed images depicting nude and partially undressed children in at least three different bathrooms. Kirby had used one or more concealed cameras to surreptitiously film the unsuspecting minors. He then transferred these images to the LOPD desktop computer, and later unsuccessfully attempted to delete them. Agents were able to locate folders on the computer named for several of his victims.

 

Chief Alton “Buddy” Williams from the Live Oak Police Department stated, “I have been in law enforcement for 30 years, and this has been the most difficult situation I have faced. A trusted friend, officer and protector of the public betrayed all facets of the job he swore to do. I realize that mistakes happen, but this was no mistake it was a choice, a choice that has impacted not only his agency, but his trusted friends, family, and community to include all brothers and sisters of the badge. I am appreciative of the F.B.I, the U.S Attorney’s Office and all others involved. Justice did prevail.”

 

"This case is another example of the relentless efforts of the FBI and our law enforcement partners to identify those who prey on our children," said Charles P. Spencer, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. "It is made even more egregious having been committed by someone who swore to uphold the law and protect the community. Let it be known that the FBI will stop at nothing to protect innocent victims, and seek justice for the heinous acts committed against them."

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, with the full cooperation of the Live Oak Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

 

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza has sentenced James Arthur Van Meerten (35, Palm Bay) to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He pleaded guilty on September 7, 2017.

 

According to court documents, from February 2016 through his arrest on April 27, 2017, Van Meerten entered into an agreement with several individuals whereby he would purchase large amounts of crystal methamphetamine from an out-of-state supplier and then resell the drugs. Some of the individuals who purchased the drugs resold them to their own customers for profit. As part of this investigation, law enforcement seized more than 1.8 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine containing an average purity of 99.5%. At the time of his arrest, Van Meerten possessed a firearm while attempting to distribute a large amount of the drugs.

 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Palm Bay Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean P. Shecter.

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Rany Smith (48, Tampa), a/k/a “Abdelmajid Wahbi,” has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.  He faces a maximum penalty of 22 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. As part of his plea agreement, Smith is required to pay restitution to his victims and forfeit at least $93,586.65 in ill-gotten gains traceable to the offenses.   

 

According to the

plea agreement , Smith, originally from Morocco, stole the identities of other immigrants and used them to carry out a variety of fraud schemes throughout Florida. In 2016, Smith was convicted of public benefits fraud in federal court (Boston, MA) and was sentenced to probation. He then moved to Tampa and obtained employment as a manager of a local franchise using the name of another North African immigrant to hide his felony record. As a manager of the franchise, Smith put several fictitious employees on the business’s payroll and collected their wages for months. 

 

Smith pursued a similar scheme in south Florida where he was hired as a manager of a business in Delray Beach, again using a stolen identity to hide his criminal past. He then hired multiple co-conspirators who, while real employees, fraudulently received extra wages due to Smith regularly inflating their hours in the business’s time clock management system.

 

In separate scheme, Smith used a variety of other identities stolen from North African immigrants to take out lines of credit from various Florida retailers and online merchants. He then financed tens of thousands of dollars in purchases from these vendors and had the merchandise shipped to his Tampa address and to those of his co-conspirators. Smith never repaid any of these debts.

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations’ National Security Division, the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric K. Gerard.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Fred Joseph Turner (60, Sarasota) and Rosetta Valerie Cannata (61, Osprey) to 12 years and 7 months in federal prison for conspiring to dispense controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of medical practice, dispensing controlled substances, and conspiring to smuggle an alien into the United States. As part of the sentences, the Court also entered a $232,020 money judgment against Turner, and a $73,148 money judgment against Cannata, representing the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct. A federal jury found them guilty on July 20, 2017.

 

According to court documents, from March 2011 through July 2015, Turner, an orthopedist, and Cannata, a former anesthesiologist, operated Gulfshore Pain and Wellness Centre, a pain management clinic with offices in Tampa and Punta Gorda. Turner and Cannata rarely conducted physical or diagnostic examinations of their patients and ignored results of patient drug screens when they prescribed excessive amounts of opiates, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, and morphine.

 

During the investigation, several law enforcement officers entered the clinic in undercover capacities as patients. On one occasion, Turner and Cannata asked the undercover agent to smuggle a Hungarian national into the United States. In return, Turner prescribed the agent an increased amount of oxycodone and hydromorphone, and Cannata paid him $5,000 in cash. To justify the increase in prescribed medication, Turner and Cannata instructed the agent to fabricate an injury and walked him through the process of falsifying his patient history.

 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Carlton C. Gammons and Taylor G. Stout.

 

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces the arrest and filing of a criminal complaint charging Bernandino Gawala Bolatete (69, Jacksonville) with knowingly receiving and possessing a silencer not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.

 

According to the

criminal complaint , on November 27, 2017, Bolatete asked for assistance in purchasing a firearm silencer from an undercover detective from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Bolatete specified that, to avoid government scrutiny, he did not want any paperwork associated with the sale. On December 1, 2017, Bolatete took possession of a silencer after the undercover detective sold it to him for $100 and he was subsequently arrested.

 

A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

 

This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Substantial assistance was provided by the Office of the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican and Trial Attorney Maura White of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. 

Former U.S. Congresswoman Corrine Brown was sentenced to five years in prison today in federal court in Jacksonville, Florida for her role in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving a sham scholarship charity.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the Middle District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Charles P. Spencer of the FBI’s Jacksonville, Florida Division and Chief Don Fort of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

“Corrine Brown abused her position as a Member of Congress by defrauding charitable donors who wanted to help underprivileged young men and women receive a quality education,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan.  “Instead of helping those deserving students, Brown used the contributions she solicited to finance a personal slush fund to support her lavish lifestyle.  The Criminal Division is committed to helping root out such fraud wherever we find it.”

“I am proud of the exceptional work of the special agents, analysts and support personnel who spent countless hours following the money trail in this case,” said Special Agent in Charge Spencer.  “Their work is some of the most complex, tedious, and significant work we do for the American public.  Rooting out public corruption is a priority for which the FBI will continue to dedicate the resources necessary to investigate, because the impact on everyday people is real.  We thank our law enforcement partners at the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, IRS-CI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for their efforts to hold Brown and her associates accountable for their inexcusable actions.”

“For years Corrine Brown banked on the slogan ‘Corrine Delivers’,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Shawn Batsch of IRS-CI.  “In this case, that’s precisely what she did: she banked entirely on herself when she delivered charitable donations to her own pockets.  Having built a lifelong reputation of helping others, she ultimately failed her constituents by fraudulently helping herself to contributions meant for underprivileged children.  She also let them down by selfishly neglecting her duty to pay an honest tax.”

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Corrigan sentenced Brown to serve 60 months in prison; Brown’s long-time Chief of Staff Elias “Ronnie” Simmons to serve 48 months in prison; and Carla Wiley, the president of the fraudulent charity, to serve 21 months in prison.

Brown, 71, of Jacksonville, was convicted by a federal jury on May 11, on 18 counts of an indictment charging her with participating in a mail and wire fraud conspiracy and scheme, concealing material facts on required financial disclosure forms, obstructing the due administration of the internal revenue laws and filing false tax returns.

Brown’s co-conspirators — Simmons, 51, of Laurel, Maryland and Wiley, 55, of Leesburg, Virginia — previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the education charity scheme on Feb. 8, and March 3, 2016, respectively.  Brown and Wiley were ordered by Judge Corrigan to forfeit $654,292.39, and Simmons was ordered to forfeit $727,964.90.  All three defendants were ordered to pay total restitution of $452,515.87 to victims of the fraud scheme.  Brown was ordered to pay an additional $62,650.99 in restitution to the IRS, and Simmons was ordered to pay an additional $91,621.38 in restitution to the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Evidence at trial showed that between late 2012 and early 2016, Brown, Simmons and Wiley participated in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving One Door for Education – Amy Anderson Scholarship Fund (One Door) in which the defendants and others acting on their behalf solicited more than $800,000 in charitable donations based on false representations that the donations would be used for college scholarships and school computer drives, among other charitable causes.  Testimony by One Door donors established that Brown and her coconspirators solicited donations from individuals and corporate entities that Brown knew by virtue of her position in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Many of the donors were led to believe that One Door was a properly registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, when, in fact, it was not.

Contrary to Brown’s representations, Brown, Simmons, Wiley and others used the vast majority of One Door donations for their personal and professional benefit, including tens of thousands of dollars in cash deposits that Simmons made to Brown’s personal bank accounts, according to trial evidence.  In one instance, Simmons deposited $2,100 of One Door funds into Brown’s personal bank account the same day that Brown paid $2,057 to the IRS for taxes she owed.  In another instance, Brown and a close relative used the proceeds of a $3,000 One Door check referencing “children summer camps” in the memo line for their personal benefit.  Likewise, trial evidence showed Brown and Simmons used the outside consulting company of one of Brown’s employees to funnel One Door funds to Brown and others for their personal use.

Trial evidence also showed that more than $300,000 in One Door funds were used to pay for events hosted by Brown or held in her honor, including a golf tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; lavish receptions during an annual conference in Washington, D.C.; the use of a luxury box during a Beyoncé concert in Washington, D.C.; and the use of a luxury box during an NFL game in the Washington, D.C., area.  According to trial evidence, despite raising over $800,000 in donations, One Door was associated with only two scholarships totaling $1,200 that were awarded to students to cover expenses related to attending a college or university.

Additionally, trial evidence established that Brown engaged in a scheme to conceal reportable income she received from One Door, and from other sources, on annual financial disclosure forms she was required to file with the U.S. House of Representatives.  Evidence at trial further showed that Brown failed to report on her personal tax returns for tax years 2009 through 2014 income derived from over $160,000 in cash deposited into her bank accounts, and claimed false deductions for purported charitable donations to One Door, as well as to local churches and non-profit organizations in the Jacksonville area, that Brown never made.

As part of his earlier guilty plea, Simmons separately admitted that he misused his position as Brown’s chief of staff to obtain congressional employment for a close relative, who received over $735,000 in government salary payments between 2001 and early 2016 despite performing no known work for the U.S. House of Representatives.  Between 2009 and late 2015, Simmons admitted that he diverted over $80,000 of the relative’s government salary for his personal benefit, including through transfers to his personal bank accounts, payments on his personal credit cards and loan payments on his boat.

The FBI and IRS-CI investigated the case.  Former Deputy Chief Eric G. Olshan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys A. Tysen Duva and Michael J. Coolican of the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case.

Jacksonville, FL – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan today sentenced former U.S. Congresswoman Corrine Brown (71, Jacksonville) to 5 years in federal prison for her role in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving a fraudulent scholarship charity. She also was ordered to serve 3 years of supervised release and to pay $515,166.86 in restitution to her victims, including $62,650.99 in tax restitution.

 

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the Middle District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Charles P. Spencer of the FBI’s Jacksonville, Florida, Division, and Chief Don Fort of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

 

On May 11, 2017, Brown was convicted by a federal jury on 18 counts of an indictment charging her with participating in a conspiracy involving a fraudulent education charity, concealing material facts in required financial disclosure forms, obstructing the due administration of internal revenue laws, and filing false tax returns. The jury also found her guilty of violating the Ethics in Government Act by concealing certain income in required annual financial disclosure forms she had submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives. 

 

Brown’s co-conspirators, Elias “Ronnie” Simmons (51, Laurel, Maryland), Brown’s long-time Chief of Staff, and Carla Wiley (55, Leesburg, Virginia), the president of the fraudulent charity, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the education charity scheme and were also sentenced today. Simmons was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and 3 years of supervised release. Wiley was sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment. Simmons and Wiley were ordered to pay $544,137.25 and $452,515.87 in restitution, respectively.

 

Evidence at trial showed that between late 2012 and early 2016, Brown participated in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving One Door for Education – Amy Anderson Scholarship Fund (One Door) in which the Brown, Simmons, Wiley, and others acting on their behalf solicited more than $800,000 in charitable donations based on false representations that the donations would be used for college scholarships and school computer drives, among other charitable causes. Testimony by One Door donors showed that Brown and her coconspirators had solicited donations from individuals and corporate entities that Brown knew by virtue of her position in the U.S. House of Representatives. Many of the donors were led to believe that One Door was a properly registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization when, in fact, it was not.

 

Contrary to Brown’s representations, Brown, Simmons, Wiley, and others used the vast majority of One Door donations for their personal and professional benefit, including tens of thousands of dollars in cash deposits that Simmons made to Brown’s personal bank accounts, according to trial evidence. Likewise, trial evidence showed that Brown and Simmons had used the outside consulting company of one of Brown’s employees to funnel One Door funds to Brown and others for their personal use. 

 

Trial evidence also showed that more than $300,000 in One Door funds had been used to pay for events hosted by Brown or held in her honor, including a golf tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; lavish receptions during an annual conference in Washington, D.C.; the use of a luxury box during a concert in Washington, D.C.; and the use of a luxury box during an NFL game in the Washington, D.C. area. According to trial evidence, despite raising over $800,000 in donations, One Door granted only two scholarships totaling $1,200 to cover expenses related to attending a college or university.

 

Additionally, trial evidence demonstrated that Brown had failed to disclose, among other things, the reportable income she had received from One Door and had claimed deductions on her tax returns based on false statements that she had made certain donations to One Door, as well as to local churches and non-profit organizations in the Jacksonville area.

 

The FBI and IRS-CI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys A. Tysen Duva and Michael J. Coolican of the Middle District of Florida and former Deputy Chief Eric G. Olshan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section  prosecuted the case.

Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Jose Carlos Terra Izquierdo (23, Amarillo, TX) has pleaded guilty to credit card fraud. He faces an enhanced penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison and has agreed to forfeit his computer media and to pay restitution to his victims. A sentencing date has not yet been set. 

 

According to court documents, in 2016, Izquierdo was convicted of credit card fraud in the District of Nebraska. He was scheduled to turn himself in and begin his prison sentence in March 2017, but instead traveled to Florida in violation of his conditions of release. Federal authorities in Nebraska subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest. On March 2, 2017, Izquierdo was pulled over in Columbia County by the Florida Highway Patrol for an expired Texas tag. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, troopers located a credit card reader and stolen credit card information belonging to more than 50 victims. He faces the enhanced penalty as a result of his prior fraud conviction.

 

This case was investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol and the U.S. Secret Service - Jacksonville Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.