Middle District of Florida
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Ocoee Man Sentenced to 42 Years in Federal Prison for Production and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton today sentenced Timothy Michael Sedlak (43, Ocoee) to 42 years in federal prison for production and possession of child pornography. The Court also ordered him to forfeit the computers and electronic equipment used in the offenses. A federal jury found Sedlak guilty on May 26, 2016.
According to court documents, on two occasions, Sedlak took photographs of himself sexually abusing a small child. The first incident took place in September 2009, when the victim was a year old, and the second incident took place in April 2011, when the child was three. The images of Sedlak abusing the child were discovered when United States Secret Service agents executed a search warrant on Sedlak’s home as part of an unrelated computer intrusion investigation. In addition to the images of the victim, agents discovered hundreds of images of child pornography on Sedlak’s computers that had been downloaded from the Internet.
"The horrible victimization this young child has survived cannot be erased, but we can ensure this criminal cannot harm another child," said Susan L. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of the Tampa Division of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), who assisted with the investigation of the case. "HSI and our law enforcement partners will continue to make our communities safer and hold monsters like this accountable for their actions."
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.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Vincent S. Chiu.
Alabama Man Sentenced to More Than Six Years for Access Device Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday today sentenced Terrell Tramone Brown (48, Alabama) to six years and eight months in federal prison for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. The Court also ordered him to forfeit $102,024.15, which is traceable to proceeds of the offense. Brown pleaded guilty on June 6, 2016.
According to court documents, on August 28, 2015, Brown, identifying himself as C.W., went to Dimmitt Cadillac in Clearwater, Florida and obtained a line of credit to purchase a 2015 Cadillac Escalade for $102,024.15. He provided the dealership with a counterfeit Kentucky driver’s license featuring C.W.’s name, but with Brown’s photograph. Brown also gave the dealership C.W.’s date of birth, Social Security number, and home address to secure the financing for the vehicle.
On February 19, 2016, investigators interviewed C.W., who currently resides in Texas. He stated that he does not know Brown, nor did he give him authorization to use his information to secure a loan. C.W. provided a copy of his credit report that lists the loan for the 2015 Cadillac Escalade as one of C.W.’s current obligations. According to that credit report, no payments have been made towards the loan balance since the inception of the loan on August 29, 2015. A representative from the Kentucky State Police confirmed that the Kentucky driver’s license used by Brown was counterfeit.
On February 23, 2016, law enforcement officers stopped and arrested Brown as he was driving the 2015 Cadillac Escalade in Hernando County, Florida. At the time, Brown was a fugitive from his term of supervised release related to an earlier federal conviction for counterfeiting. A search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of counterfeit checks, blank check stock, miscellaneous mail addressed to C.W. in Tampa, numerous counterfeit Florida and Kentucky driver’s licenses with Brown’s photo on them, numerous counterfeit Veterans Affairs ID’s with Brown’s picture on them, bank account documents matching the names on the counterfeit driver’s licenses and ID’s, miscellaneous personal identifiable information in the form of names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, counterfeit and re-encoded credit cards, a credit card skimmer, and numerous computers, devices, and smart phones. A search of Brown’s devices revealed that he had previously attempted to purchase a 2015 Dodge Charger for $49,169.14, and a 2014 Range Rover for $93,679.89, using stolen identities.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mandy Riedel.
Serial Convenience Store Armed Robber Sentenced to 46 YearsRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell yesterday sentenced Joshua Anthony Rivera (29, Orlando) to 46 years in federal prison for interfering with interstate commerce by robbery, brandishing a short-barreled shotgun in the course of committing those robberies, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
Rivera was found guilty by a jury on March 10, 2016.
According to evidence presented at trial, between June 7 and June 17, 2015, Rivera robbed three convenience stores and a grocery store using a short-barreled shotgun. During the trial, victims of those robberies testified about their terrifying experiences, including one father whose young daughter had been with him during the robbery. In addition, surveillance videos revealed that the robber had worn some of the same articles of clothing during multiple robberies, particularly the same pair of athletic shoes. Trial evidence also showed that Rivera had used the same short-barreled shotgun during each robbery, and also had used the same Ford Expedition during at least two of the robberies.
When law enforcement officers arrested Rivera at his hotel, shortly after the last robbery, they found articles of clothing, the short-barreled shotgun, the Ford Expedition, and several other items matching those used during the robberies.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Plant City Police Department, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shauna S. Hale and Taylor G. Stout.
Lehigh Acres Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Gun and Drug CrimesRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that James Thomas Bissell (32, Lehigh Acres) today pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, hydrocodone, marijuana, alprazolam and morphine, and possession of firearms as a convicted felon. The drug offenses are each punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and the firearms offense is punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.
According to the plea agreement, on October 23, 2015, Bissell sold cocaine and heroin to an undercover Lee County Sheriff’s detective at the defendant’s home in Lehigh Acres. On December 3, 2015, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Bissell’s residence and recovered six types of controlled substances that he was holding for distribution, along with 34 firearms and cash. As a convicted felon, Bissell was prohibited from possessing the firearms, two of which had been previously reported stolen.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David G. Lazarus.
Former Licensed Physician Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Medicare of More Than $1 MillionRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that John Peter Christensen (64, West Palm Beach) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has been set for November 21, 2016.
According to the plea agreement, Christensen was a licensed medical doctor in the State of Florida who practiced medicine in Palm Beach County and elsewhere in Florida. Christensen was also an enrolled Medicare provider and had a provider identification number that allowed him to submit reimbursement claims to Medicare for services that he provided to Medicare eligible patients. At some point between 2006 and 2011, Christensen authorized a chiropractor who operated a clinic in Volusia County, Florida, to use his name and Medicare provider number to submit false and fraudulent reimbursement claims to Medicare. As a result, Christensen caused over $1 million in loss to the Medicare program. Christensen used some of this fraudulently obtained money for personal expenditures, including an investment in a company and a payment towards the purchase of a Mercedes Benz vehicle.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew C. Searle and Shawn P. Napier.
Okaloosa County Man Arrested and Charged with Online Enticement of A Child, Traveling with Intent to Engage in Sex with A Child, and Other Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return of an indictment charging Chad Theodore Dillon (44, Okaloosa County) with 11 counts related to the sexual abuse of children. These charges include coercion and enticement of a minor, traveling with the intent to engage in sexual conduct with a minor, production of child pornography, transportation of child pornography, advertising for child pornography, and receipt of child pornography. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in federal prison on four of the counts, and a maximum of life in federal prison on two of the counts.
On August 3, 2016, Dillon was arrested in Jacksonville pursuant to a criminal complaint. He is being held in federal custody.
According to court documents, between July 6 and July 13, 2016, Dillon engaged in a series of graphic online conversations with a 15-year-old child. During the course of these conversations, he discussed his desire and intention to travel to Georgia to have sex with the child, which he later did. Dillon took a photo of himself engaged in sexual activity with the child and sent it to her. He also sent the child explicit photos of himself.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has violated one or more federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Karase.
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.
Former Pharmacy Technician Indicted for Attempting to Entice A Minor Online and Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces today the return of a superseding indictment charging Matthew Bryan Caniff (33, Gainesville) with attempted online enticement of a minor, advertising for child pornography, and attempted production of child pornography. If convicted, he faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison on the attempted enticement charge. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, up to 30 years, in prison for each of the enticement, advertising, and attempted production charges.
According to court documents, between March 31 and April 1, 2016, Caniff engaged in a series of online text conversations with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old child. This "child" was actually an undercover FBI agent. During the course of these conversations, Caniff discussed in graphic detail his desire to have sex with the “child” at “her” home. He also sent several explicit photos of himself to the “child,” and told “her” that he would bring prescription drugs with him to share with “her.” During the early morning hours on April 1, 2016, Caniff drove from Gainesville to a home in St. Johns County to meet the “child” for sex. He was arrested by deputes from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, and several prescription pills were found in his possession.
This case was investigated by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 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.
Duval County Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison on Counterfeit Currency and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis today sentenced Deryck Dean Barcous (27, Jacksonville) to 46 months in federal prison for selling counterfeit Federal Reserve notes and for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. In a companion case, Judge Davis sentenced Barcous to 14 months’ imprisonment for violating his federal supervised release. At the time Barcous committed these new criminal offenses, he was on federal supervised release for passing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes.
According to court documents, on October 20, 2015, Barcous sold $3,640 in counterfeit currency to a confidential source (CS) working on behalf of law enforcement. During that transaction, Barcous displayed a firearm and offered to sell it to the CS. In a follow-up meeting two days later, Barcous sold the CS $5,600 in counterfeit currency and a loaded firearm and ammunition. He was subsequently arrested. Further investigation revealed that Barcous had four prior felony convictions. 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, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Secret Service -Jacksonville Field Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.
Fort Myers Urologist Agrees to Pay $250,000 for Ordering Unnecessary Medical TestsRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Robert A. Scappa, D.O. has agreed to pay $250,000 to the government to resolve allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by causing claims to be submitted to federal health care programs for laboratory tests that were not medically necessary.
During the relevant time period, Scappa was a urologist practicing as part of Scappa Urology, which was a division of 21st Century Oncology, LLC. 21st Century is a nationwide provider of integrated cancer care services that is headquartered in Fort Myers. As part of its business, 21st Century employs and affiliates with physicians in specialty fields such as radiation oncology, medical oncology, and urology.
The settlement announced today resolves allegations that Scappa caused to be submitted claims to Medicare and Tricare for fluorescence in situ hybridization, or “FISH,” tests that were not medically necessary. FISH tests are laboratory tests performed on urine that can detect genetic abnormalities associated with bladder cancer. Medicare does not consider a FISH test reasonable or necessary unless it’s used to monitor for tumor reoccurrence in a patient previously diagnosed with bladder cancer or unless, after performing a full urologic workup, the physician has reason to suspect that a patient with hematuria (i.e., blood in the urine) may have bladder cancer.
In January 2009, Scappa began referring all of the FISH testing ordered by him to a laboratory owned and operated by 21st Century. He was paid bonuses by the company based, in part, on the number of FISH tests he referred to 21st Century laboratory. The settlement is based on Scappa’s ability to pay.
The allegations that doctors affiliated with 21st Century were ordering unnecessary FISH tests were originally brought in a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to bring suit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. The whistleblower, a former medical assistant who worked for David Spellberg, M.D. at Naples Urology Associates, which was also a division of 21st Century Oncology, will receive $37,500 as her share of this recovery. This amount is in addition to a $3.2 million share she will receive as the result of the $19.75 million settlement previously reached with 21st Century Oncology.
“In fighting health care fraud, it is important that individual physicians, as well as their employers, be held accountable,” stated U.S. Attorney Bentley. “Doctors should not be able to escape personal liability for health care fraud.”
"This settlement is yet another example of the continuing commitment of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and its law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the Department of Defense (DoD) health care program," said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office. "As one of our top priorities, DCIS aggressively investigates health care fraud that harms the DoD, to ensure the best use of precious taxpayer dollars needed to provide critical care for our Warfighters, their family members, and military retirees."
“Tests ordered to increase profits rather than improve the healthcare of patients are an attack on Medicare and the American taxpayer,” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “This settlement demonstrates that such practices have consequences.”
The investigation was handled by Trial Attorney Arthur Di Dio from the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle S. Cohen from the Fort Myers Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, with assistance from DCIS, FBI, and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
This civil settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $30 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $18.3 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
The lawsuit is captioned United States, State of Florida, ex rel. Mariela Barnes v. Dr. David Spellberg, 21st Century Oncology and Naples Urology Associates, Civil Action No. 2:13-cv-228-FtM-38DNF (M.D. Fla.).
St. Johns County I.T. Specialist Sentenced to More Than 17 Years for Attempting to Meet A Child to Engage in Sadomasochistic Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Jon Christopher Stoune (45, St. Johns County) to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for the attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, advertising for child pornography, and attempted production of child pornography. He was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervision and to register as a sex offender upon his release. Stoune was found guilty by a federal jury in March 2016.
According to evidence presented at trial, during March and April 2015, Stoune engaged in a series of online conversations with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old child. The "child" was actually a detective from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. During the course of these conversations, Stoune discussed in detail his desire to have sex with and obtain pornographic pictures of the “child.” On April 21, 2015, Stoune drove to St. Augustine Beach to meet the “child” for sex and was subsequently arrested. Officers recovered a digital camera, several sex toys, and condoms from Stoune’s pants pocket. A search of his vehicle revealed, among other things, a backpack containing a leather whip, a wooden paddle, a billy club, nylon restraints, and other devices designed for use in sadomasochistic activity.
This case was investigated by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Augustine Beach Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was 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.
Cape Coral Man Sentenced to Three Years for Credit Card Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell today sentenced Henry Alberto Fernandez Gomez (30, Cape Coral) to three years in federal prison for access device (credit card) fraud and aggravated identity theft. The Court also ordered him to repay $8,070.45 in restitution to his victims and an additional $8,070.45 to the United States in the form of a forfeiture money judgment representing the proceeds he obtained as a result of the offenses.
According to the plea agreement, between December 30, 2014, and April 13, 2015, Fernandez Gomez used stolen and unauthorized credit card information 27 times at retail establishments throughout the Florida to purchase various items, including $3,500 of furniture. He also used another person’s means of identification to make a retail purchase.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Economic Crimes Unit, and the Cape Coral Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David G. Lazarus.
Jury Finds Tampa Man Guilty for Role in Theft of More Than $569,000 of Social Security Benefit ChecksRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury has found Darius Vashon Tolbert (38, Tampa) guilty of receipt of stolen government property and possession of stolen mail. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to evidence presented at trial, Tolbert purchased approximately $569,000 of stolen Social Security benefit checks between April and July 2012. The checks, belonging to more than 400 beneficiaries, were all destined for addresses in Pinellas County and had been stolen from the St. Petersburg Processing and Distribution Center by a postal mail handler. They were part of a larger theft of more than $2 million in checks by the same mail handler. The checks that Tolbert purchased were later cashed at a money services business in Live Oak, Florida. The mail handler, Stacy Darnell Mitchell, was indicted in March 2016.
This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Department of the Treasury, and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Scruggs.
Jacksonville Man on Federal Supervised Release Indicted on Aggravated Identity Theft and Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return of an indictment charging Anthony Johnson (52, Jacksonville) with three counts of aggravated identity theft and three counts of false representation of a Social Security number. Each aggravated identity theft count carries a two-year mandatory term of prison. He also faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison on each false representation count. Johnson is currently on federal supervised release for separate fraud and identity theft-related charges. He faces a final violation of supervised release hearing. A date has not yet been set for his arraignment or the final violation of supervised release hearing. He is currently in federal custody.
According to the indictment, Johnson used the Social Security numbers of multiple victims to deceive the Duval County Tax Collector, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle – Division of Motorist Services, and an apartment complex in Jacksonville.
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 the Florida Highway Patrol – Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Secret Service Jacksonville Field Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.
Eleventh Circuit Affirms All Convictions for Former WellCare ExecutivesRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has affirmed the convictions for all four defendants who stood trial in 2013 in the case of United States v. Peter Clay et al., commonly known as “The WellCare case.”
In June 2013, a federal jury in the Middle District of Florida found former WellCare Chief Executive Officer Todd S. Farha guilty of two counts of health care fraud; former WellCare Chief Financial Officer Paul L. Behrens guilty of two counts of making false statements relating to health care matters and two counts of health care fraud; William L. Kale, former Vice President of Harmony Behavioral Health, Inc. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of WellCare), guilty of two counts of health care fraud; and Peter E. Clay, former WellCare Vice President of Medical Economics, guilty of making false statements to a law enforcement officer.
In May 2014, the district court sentenced Farha to 36 months in prison, Behrens to 24 months, and Kale to one year and one day, and also sentenced Clay to five years’ probation (and no imprisonment). Clay then began serving his probation, but Farha, Behrens, and Kale have remained free pending the outcome of their appeal.
In a 124-page opinion and “[a]fter reviewing the extensive trial record and with the benefit of oral argument,” the Eleventh Circuit has now affirmed the jury’s verdicts against all four defendants.
As the Court summarized the case against Farha, Behrens, Kale, and Clay: “At trial, the government proved that together the defendants participated in a fraudulent scheme to file false Medicaid expense reports that misrepresented and overstated the amounts [that WellCare subsidiaries Staywell Health Plan of Florida and HealthEase of Florida, Inc.] spent on medical services for Medicaid patients, specifically outpatient behavioral health care services. By overstating these expenses, the defendants helped Staywell and HealthEase retain millions of dollars in tax-subsidized Medicaid funds that they should have refunded to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (‘AHCA’). This, in turn, inflated the profits of Staywell, HealthEase, and WellCare and earned the defendants financial rewards.”
The Court of Appeals characterized the evidence of criminal intent in this case as “overwhelming” and rejected the defendants’ characterization of their convictions as “the improper criminalization of routine contractual and regulatory disagreements.” Specifically, the Court declined to credit the defendants’ argument that their false reports of expenditures on mental healthcare for the poor, which were designed to retain publicly-funded Medicaid monies as profit, were “reasonable” interpretations of their statutory and contractual obligations, stating that it “need not further analyze the defendants’ post-hoc interpretation” because the defendants “did not believe it, knew what was required, and knew their answers were false.”
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Florida Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The case was handled on appeal by Assistant United States Attorney Karin B. Hoppmann. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay Trezevant, Assistant United States Attorney Cherie Krigsman, Senior Trial Attorney John Michelich of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Special Assistant United States Attorney John Bowers of the Middle District of Florida.
Brevard County Elementary School Principal Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Ricky Delano Sheppard (59, Brevard County) has pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography. He faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court records, on June 3, 2016, agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Sheppard’s residence. At the time, Sheppard was working as a principal at Spessard L. Holland Elementary School. During a forensic examination of Sheppard’s computer media, thousands of images depicting child pornography were located, the majority of which depicted young boys, including toddlers, engaging in explicit sexual acts.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. It is being 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 the 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 Man Sentenced for Disposing Human Waste into A StreamRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew yesterday sentenced Merlando Corlis (48, Tampa) to three years of probation for unlawful discharge of a pollutant. The Court also ordered him to pay a fine of $25,000 and to make a community service payment of $25,000 to the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation.
Corlis pleaded guilty on May 4, 2016.
According to court documents, from at least June 2012 through December 2013, at a property that he owned located at 4509 Orient Road in Tampa, Corlis and others acting at his direction used a vacuum tank to remove human waste from a septic tank and then unlawfully discharged the sewage into a stream, which ran from the East Lake to the Palm River.
“Our nation’s environmental laws are designed to protect public health and safety,” said Andy Castro, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal enforcement program in Florida. “Untreated sewage contains bacteria, parasites, and viruses. These pathogens can cause a wide variety of acute illnesses in both humans and animals. Today’s sentencing demonstrates that the EPA and its law enforcement partners will take action to protect communities and their local water supplies from pollution.”
This case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Megan K. Kistler.
Eight Individuals Charged in Multimillion-Dollar Compounding Pharmacy Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Eight Florida residents were charged in an indictment that was unsealed today for their alleged participation in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme involving prescription compounding pharmacies located in the Tampa Bay, Florida, area and in Miami.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Paul Wysopal of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office and Special Agent in Charge George Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.
Nicholas A. Borgesano Jr., 43, of New Port Richey, Florida; Bradley Sirkin, 54, of Boca Raton, Florida; Scott D. Piccininni, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Edwin Patrick Young, 48, of New Port Richey; Wayne M. Kreisberg, 39, of Parkland, Florida; Matthew N. Sterner, 47, of New Port Richey; Peter D. Williams, 55, of New Port Richey; and Joseph Degregorio, 71, of New Port Richey, were each charged in a 12-count indictment returned on Aug. 3, 2016, with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Borgesano, Sirkin, Piccininni, Kreisberg and Sterner were each also charged with three money laundering counts. Several defendants were arrested today and will have their initial appearances in federal courts in the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida.
According to the indictment, from approximately October 2012 through December 2015, the co-conspirators allegedly used A to Z Pharmacy Inc., located in New Port Richey, and several Miami-area pharmacies to cause the submission of false and fraudulent reimbursement claims for prescription compounded medications to private insurance companies, Medicare and Tricare. These reimbursement claims were allegedly based on prescriptions generated as a result of illegal kickbacks and bribes, prescriptions that were not based on legitimate provider/patient relationships and misuse of patient information. Additionally, the reimbursement claims allegedly represented that medications contained certain pharmaceutical ingredients when they did not. In addition to A to Z Pharmacy, the defendants used Medplus/New Life Pharmacy, Metropolitan Pharmacy, Havana Pharmacy, Jaimy Pharmacy and Prestige Pharmacy to submit the reimbursement claims, according to the indictment.
The pharmacies submitted approximately $633 million in claims for prescription compounded medications and received approximately $157 million in reimbursement based on the claims, the indictment alleges. The conspirators allegedly used shell companies to transfer and disburse the money and to conceal the conspirators’ activities in the fraud scheme.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida. Senior Trial Attorney Christopher J. Hunter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $10 billion. In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS Office of Inspector General, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Eight Individuals Charged in Multimillion-Dollar Compounding Pharmacy Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – Eight Florida residents were charged in an indictment that was unsealed today for their alleged participation in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme involving prescription compounding pharmacies located in the Tampa Bay area and in Miami.
U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Paul Wysopal of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge George Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.
Nicholas A. Borgesano Jr., 43, of New Port Richey; Bradley Sirkin, 54, of Boca Raton; Scott D. Piccininni, 47, of Fort Lauderdale; Edwin Patrick Young, 48, of New Port Richey; Wayne M. Kreisberg, 39, of Parkland; Matthew N. Sterner, 47, of New Port Richey; Peter D. Williams, 55, of New Port Richey, and Joseph Degregorio, 71, of New Port Richey, were each charged in a 12-count indictment returned on Aug. 3, 2016, with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Borgesano, Sirkin, Piccininni, Kreisberg and Sterner were each also charged with three money laundering counts. Several defendants were arrested today and will have their initial appearances in federal courts in the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida.
According to the indictment, from approximately October 2012 through December 2015, the co-conspirators allegedly used A to Z Pharmacy Inc., located in New Port Richey, and several Miami-area pharmacies to cause the submission of false and fraudulent reimbursement claims for prescription compounded medications to private insurance companies, Medicare and Tricare. These reimbursement claims were allegedly based on prescriptions generated as a result of illegal kickbacks and bribes, prescriptions that were not based on legitimate provider/patient relationships and misuse of patient information. Additionally, the reimbursement claims allegedly represented that medications contained certain pharmaceutical ingredients when they did not. In addition to A to Z Pharmacy, the defendants used Medplus/New Life Pharmacy, Metropolitan Pharmacy, Havana Pharmacy, Jaimy Pharmacy and Prestige Pharmacy to submit the reimbursement claims, according to the indictment.
The pharmacies submitted approximately $633 million in claims for prescription compounded medications and received approximately $157 million in reimbursement based on the claims, the indictment alleges. The conspirators allegedly used shell companies to transfer and disburse the money and to conceal the conspirators’ activities in the fraud scheme.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida. Senior Trial Attorney Christopher J. Hunter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $10 billion. In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS Office of Inspector General, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Winter Haven Man Convicted of Assaulting Federal Officers and Drug OffensesRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal yesterday today found Altius Willix (47, Winter Haven) guilty of conspiracy, attempted possession of methamphetamine, and assaulting federal officers, inflicting bodily injury. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of life imprisonment. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 28, 2016.
Willix was indicted on May 11, 2016.
According to evidence presented at trial, Willix arranged for four pounds of pure methamphetamine to be mailed from Tempe, Arizona to Winter Haven, Florida. After Willix attempted to retrieve the parcel, three federal agents approached him. Willix fled and ultimately collided with one of the agents, causing him to fall to the ground. Willix continued to resist arrest, as agents attempted to detain him, resulting in their injury. During the struggle, Willix tried to remove holstered firearms from two of those agents. When told to let go, Willix responded, “You’re gonna have to kill me.” Willix was ultimately handcuffed and taken into custody.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Winter Haven Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.
Armed Heroin Dealer IndictedRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Matthew Barker (33, Jacksonville) with distribution of heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of that crime. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Barker that the United States intends to forfeit any firearms or ammunition involved in the offense.
According to the indictment, Barker distributed heroin in February and July 2016. He used a gun to further his drug distribution activity on one of those occasions.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more of the federal criminal laws, 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 and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Talbot.
Former Tampa-Area Hospital Employee Sentenced for Stealing Patient Information and Filing Fraudulent Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew today sentenced Shanakia Benton to three years in federal prison for wrongful disclosure of individual identifiable health information and wire fraud. As part of her sentence, the Court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $77,239, the proceeds of the wire fraud. Benton pleaded guilty on May 2, 2016.
According to court documents, Benton was an employee at Tampa General Hospital (TGH) and had access to the personal health information of thousands of patients. She regularly received training regarding the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which prevents the unauthorized disclosure of personal health information. Despite her training, between June 2011 and December 2012, Benton illegally accessed the personal information of more than 600 TGH patients. Benton and her accomplices then used that information to file at least 29 false tax returns seeking refunds totaling $226,000.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Timothy Loper.
Two Orlando Men Plead Guilty to Robbing Publix SupermarketsRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Cecil Dante Buckner (36) and Jarmen Lindell Sharp (34), both of Orlando, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery, and two substantive counts of interference with interstate commerce by robbery. Buckner also pleaded guilty to two counts of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to the robberies. Sharp faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment. Buckner faces a minimum penalty of 32 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, beginning no later than February 28, 2014, and continuing through on or about April 23, 2014, Buckner, Sharp and another individual conspired to rob Publix supermarkets in Orange and Volusia Counties. Specifically, on February 28, 2014, the two and their co-conspirator robbed the Publix located at 2295 Aloma Avenue, in Winter Park; on March 16, 2014, robbed the Publix located at 7640 West Sand Lake Road, in Orlando; and on March 30, 2014, robbed the Publix located at 2410 South Woodland Boulevard, in DeLand. During each of the robberies, Buckner and a co-conspirator wore masks and gloves to conceal their identities. Buckner held store customers and employees at gunpoint at the front of the stores, while the co-conspirator forced store employees into the cashier room at gunpoint and stole cash. Sharp acted as the “lookout” during each of the robberies, waiting in the parking lot of the stores to alert Buckner and the co-conspirator in the event law enforcement arrived. In total, Buckner, Sharp, and their co-conspirator stole over $24,000 from Publix as a result of these robberies.
Additionally, on May 4, 2016, Buckner and another individual robbed the Publix supermarket located at 2515 Thonotosassa Road, in Plant City. During that robbery, Buckner held store customers and employees at gunpoint while the other individual forced a store employee into the cashier room, at gunpoint. As a result of this robbery, Buckner and the other individual stole over $18,000 from Publix.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Winter Park Police Department, and the Deland Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kara M. Wick.
Lehigh Acres Resident Charged with Firearms Offenses Related to Investigation of Club Blu Mass ShootingRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the arrest and charging by criminal complaint of Jazmin Challana Barron (33, Lehigh Acres) with making false statements during the purchase of a firearm and making false statements in records kept by a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL). If convicted on all counts, she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for making the false statement during the purchase of a firearm and 5 years’ imprisonment for making a false statement in records kept by a FFL. Barron made her initial appearance in federal court today and was released on a $25,000 bond.
According to the complaint affidavit, on February 20, 2015, Barron purchased a MasterPiece Arms pistol (Model: MPA57SST; 5.7 caliber; SN: V9101) from Gunsmoke and Lead, a licensed federal firearms dealer, in Lehigh Acres, Florida. Barron completed an ATF Form 4473 as required to purchase the firearm; however, she provided a false address where she had not, and was not, residing at the time of the purchase. The firearm was recovered by the Fort Myers Police Department near the scene of the mass shooting at the Club Blu Bar and Grill on July 25, 2016.
A complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of one or more federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Fort Myers Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It will be prosecuted by Chief Assistant United States Attorney Jesus M. Casas.
This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Daryl R. McCrary, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is also a part of ATF’s Frontline strategy to reduce violent crime in our communities.
Lakeland Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Fentanyl, Causing Two DeathsRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Wilson Angelo Graham, Jr., a/k/a “Noony” (34, Lakeland) pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, resulting in two deaths. He faces a minimum penalty of 20 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Fentanyl is a Schedule II controlled substance that is used in the same manner as heroin. Because of its potency, a small amount of fentanyl is potentially lethal.
According to the plea agreement, from at least October 3, 2015, through his arrest on October 28, 2015, Graham distributed fentanyl and cocaine in Lakeland. Beginning on October 3rd, Graham sent messages to “D.G.” about fentanyl that Graham had available to sell. Graham also advised “D.G.” that the fentanyl was too strong to use more than half a baggie at once. Between October 3rd and October 16, 2015, “D.G.” made multiple trips to Graham’s residence.
On the evening of October 16, 2015, the body of “B.S.,” the girlfriend of “D.G.,” was found slumped over a coffee table in her parents’ guest cottage in Lakeland. During a search of the guest cottage, detectives with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) located syringes, spoons with burned residue, and an empty package with drug residue. The empty package was light blue; stamped on the package were the words “Face to Face” and a silhouette of two heads facing each other. Laboratory testing of the residues from the spoons and package revealed the presence of fentanyl. A lethal amount of fentanyl was found in “B.S.’s” body.
On the morning of October 22, 2015, the Lakeland Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit responded to an apartment in Lakeland, where they found the body of “D.G.” on the kitchen floor. Near the body, detectives located numerous pieces of drug paraphernalia, including spoons with burned residue and an empty package with drug residue resembling the empty package found near the body of “B.S.” Light blue wax paper, with the words “Face to Face,” and a silhouette of two heads facing each other, were also found. Laboratory testing of the spoon and package residues revealed the presence of fentanyl and one of the spoons revealed the presence of cocaine. A lethal amount of fentanyl was found in “D.G.’s” body and evidence revealed that “D.G.” was at Graham’s residence the night before he died.
On October 28, 2015, PCSO detectives executed a search warrant at Graham’s residence. During the search, detectives found eight baggies containing fentanyl. At least one of the baggies resembled the baggies found near the bodies of “B.S.” and “D.G.”
This case was investigated by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Lakeland Police Department, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Baeza.
Gibsonton Couple Sentenced to More That Five Years on Stolen Identity Refund Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich today sentenced Ynessa Brown and Thelonius Robertson, both of Gibsonton, to 61 months in federal prison for conspiring to commit tax fraud and aggravated identity theft. At sentencing, Robertson and Brown were ordered to make restitution to the IRS in the amount of $673,398. In addition, a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $767,398 was entered, representing the total proceeds of their fraud conspiracy.
According to court documents, from January 2012 through June 2013, Brown and Robertson possessed and used stolen identities, including those of deceased persons, to electronically file fraudulent tax returns with the IRS through an Internet service provider in Brown’s name. Many of the false tax returns were filed jointly, and in many cases, one or both of the victims were deceased. Items related to these false returns and refunds, including $94,000 in cash, was seized during a search of Brown’s residence in June 2013.
From these fraudulently filed tax returns, Brown and Robertson directed the tax refunds onto unauthorized debit cards, many in other people’s names, and often to H & R Block Emerald cards, which were sent to either their address, the addresses of friends and family, and/or to vacant addresses. Brown and Robertson used these refunds to purchase merchandise or to make cash withdrawals, mostly from Fifth Third bank ATMs.
This case was brought as part of an initiative dedicated to combating the growing problem of identity theft and the fraudulent filing of electronic tax claims. It was investigated by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelley C. Howard-Allen.
Tampa Woman Sentenced for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr. today sentenced Latosha Strong to 15 months in federal prison for filing false federal income tax returns in the names of deceased individuals. The Court also ordered her to pay $52,735.71 in restitution to the U.S. Treasury, which are traceable to proceeds of the offense. Strong pleaded guilty on December 11, 2015.
According to court documents, Strong, and others working with her, prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns using the stolen identities of at least 10 deceased individuals for the 2010 and 2011 tax years. The resulting tax refunds were directed to at least five different bank accounts in Strong’s name. The amount of false claims totaled $85,814, but due to federal seizure warrants and financial institution reclamations, the actual tax loss amounted to $52,735.71.
Analysis of information from the 10 deceased individuals’ returns shows that these conspirators used similar “formulas” to generate the fraudulent returns, including income, tax withholding, and interest income. In addition, several of the false returns claimed identical refund amounts.
Strong and others shared in the proceeds from the scheme. The monies were spent on a variety of retail items and services, and in transactions at a local casino.
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mandy Riedel.
Operation Cease Fire Yields Multiple Federal and State Arrests on Firearms and Drug OffensesRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley III, along with Daytona Beach Police Chief Michael Chitwood, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Trevor A. Velinor of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and State Attorney R.J. Larizza, announces the arrest of 20 individuals (link to summary chart) as part of a joint law enforcement operation named “Operation Ceasefire.” As part of this operation, 11 individuals have been federally charged with firearms-related offenses. Penalties for the various offenses range from 5 years, up to life, in federal prison. Nine individuals have also been charged by the state with drug and firearms-related offenses. These cumulative arrests are the result of a violent crime initiative jointly undertaken by the United States Attorney’s Office, ATF, the Daytona Beach Police Department, and the State Attorney’s Office for the Seventh Judicial Circuit.
"Fighting violent crime is a top priority of my Office," said U.S. Attorney Lee Bentley. "We’re doing that by prosecuting felons possessing firearms and drug traffickers in areas most victimized by violent crime. We are very grateful for the hard work and dedication of ATF and our local partners, the Daytona Beach Police Department, and the State Attorney’s Office."
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has violated one or more of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
Additional cases have already been prosecuted as part of this joint violent crime initiative, including five federal cases and two state cases.
These cases were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Daytona Beach Police Department. The federal cases will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jackson Boggs, Chauncey Bratt, Emily Chang, Vince Chiu, Tiffany Cummins, Embry Kidd, Shawn Napier, Ilianys Rivera-Miranda, and Sean Shecter.
These cases are prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. United States Attorney Bentley, along with Daryl R. McCrary, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is also a part of ATF’s Frontline strategy to combat violent crime in our communities.
Media Advisory: Press Conference on Wednesday at Daytona Beach Police DepartmentRead the Press Release
WHO:
United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III
ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Trevor A. Velinor
Daytona Beach Police Chief Michael Chitwood
State Attorney R.J. Larizza
WHAT:
Press conference to announce the unsealing of indictments and arrests of multiple individuals involved in firearms and drug trafficking.
WHEN:
Wednesday, July 27, 2016, 11:00 A.M. EST
WHERE:
Daytona Beach Police Department
129 Valor Boulevard (Second Floor)
Daytona Beach, Florida 32114
OPEN PRESS
NOTE: All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver’s license).
Media may begin arriving at 10:15 A.M.
Please RSVP to [email protected] by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 25, 2016.
Clermont Woman Pleads Guilty to Theft of over $650,000Read the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Robin C. Briere (53, Clermont) has pleaded guilty to wire fraud for her theft of more than $650,000 from the American Legion Auxiliary Department of Florida. She faces up to 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, Briere used her position as Secretary-Treasurer of the American Legion Auxiliary to steal approximately $657,441 from the organization over a seven-year period from 2007 to 2014. Briere accomplished her scheme by creating more than 200 fraudulent transactions, most of which involved Briere writing checks to herself on the American Legion Auxiliary account and then inputting false entries to the organization’s accounting system. She also wrote checks from the American Legion Auxiliary account to pay her personal credit card bills. In some instances, Briere used the American Legion Auxiliary credit card to pay her personal expenses.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Roger B. Handberg and Nathan W. Hill.
New Port Richey Man to Pay over $50,000 for Failing to Disclose Employment While Collecting Federal Unemployment BenefitsRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Kenneth Joseph Skelly (64, New Port Richey) will pay $52,608.86 to settle allegations that he failed to disclose his employment by, and participation in, a business while he was collecting federal workers’ compensation benefits.
The Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) is the workers’ compensation program for federal employees. Like many workers’ compensation programs, FECA pays disability, survivors, and medical benefits, without fault, to employees who are injured or become ill in the course of their federal employment and to the survivors of employees killed on the job. Federal workers who receive such benefits are required to file reports every 15 months disclosing, among other things, whether they have been employed, have had any involvement in the operations of a business, or done any volunteer work. This information allows the Government to determine whether it is appropriate to adjust the amount of compensation being paid.
Skelly was employed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a safety engineer when he suffered an injury during his employment. Since December 1989, and continuing today, Skelly has received compensation for total disability. During the last decade, he engaged in various activities that he did not disclose on his regular reports, including: starting and helping to run a business that sold safety information to first responders; playing in a band that was paid for its performances; and recording and offering the band’s music for sale. Many of these endeavors netted little income, but all were required to be disclosed on his regular reports.
The most egregious omission was work that Skelly and his company performed between early 2005 and early 2006, after hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast area. For example, Skelly worked nearly four months in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. He contended that all of his work was on a volunteer basis for which he received no reimbursement, however, he regularly filled out time cards and submitted expenses. Further, the monies that his company was paid for his work went into a bank account linked to a debit card that he used for personal and other expenses, thus effectively drawing a paycheck.
Had Skelly disclosed his work on the hurricane recovery efforts, he would not have been entitled to the $35,072.57 in worker’s compensation benefits that he was paid between 2005 and 2006.
“Federal employees receiving worker’ compensation must truthfully report income earned from other sources” said U.S. Attorney Bentley. “Here, Mr. Skelly failed to do so and was paid over $35,000 to which he was not entitled. Such dishonesty, which threatens the viability of an important program, warrants a payment by Mr. Skelly in excess of the amount fraudulently obtained.”
"I commend Special Agent Ryan Sims and the USAO for the Middle District of Florida for their outstanding efforts in safeguarding the integrity of FECA," said Michael W. Sonntag, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Investigations, NASA Office of Inspector General.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by the United States against Skelly, which was scheduled for trial in September. That suit was filed as a result of proactive investigative efforts by the NASA Office of the Inspector General.
This case was investigated jointly by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Harden of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and the NASA Office of Inspector General.
The lawsuit was filed in the Middle District of Florida, and is captioned United States v. Skelly, Case No. 8:14-cv-2470-T-35-MAP (M.D. Fla.).
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
Marion County Convicted Felon Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Possessing A Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges today sentenced Kenneth Everette Robinson, Jr. (31, Marion County) to 15 years in federal prison for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. The Court also ordered him to forfeit the semi-automatic firearm and ammunition involved in the offense. Robinson previously pleaded guilty on January 19, 2016.
According to court documents, an Ocala police officer stopped Robinson for speeding on March 10, 2015. Robinson, who had no driver’s license, provided conflicting answers about the identity of the vehicle’s owner. He also admitted that he had marijuana inside the vehicle. During a subsequent search, the officer recovered Robinson’s wallet, marijuana, a digital scale, and a loaded .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. When Robinson denied any knowledge of the firearm, law enforcement obtained a DNA sample from Robinson and submitted the firearm for further testing. Results of the test subsequently confirmed the presence of Robinson’s DNA on the firearm. Robinson later admitted that the loaded firearm belonged to him.
Robinson has nine prior state felony convictions, including multiple convictions for drug distribution, qualifying him for a sentencing enhancement as an Armed Career Criminal. Moreover, 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 City of Ocala Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.
This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Daryl R. McCrary, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.
Former HARC CEO Indicted for Conspiracy to Defraud and Make Materially False Statements to the Social Security AdministrationRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today the return of an indictment charging Richard Lilliston (69, Brooksville) with conspiracy to defraud two Social Security Administration (“SSA”) programs, and to make false statements to the SSA programs. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
Three former Hillsborough Achievement and Resource Centers (HARC) employees have previously pleaded guilty to related charges. HARC CFO Frank Pannullo pleaded guilty to conspiracy on June 6, 2016, for his role in the criminal conduct at HARC (Case No. 8:16-cr-222-T-35JSS). Marsha Weisse, a former HARC controller and CFO, pleaded guilty on December 10, 2015, to submitting a false statement to the SSA and is awaiting sentencing (Case No. 8:15-cr-486-T-26JSS). Sandra Shepherd, a former HARC client finance manager, also pleaded guilty to submitting a false statement to the SSA. Shepherd was sentenced on March 24, 2016 (Case No. 8:15-cr-400-T-36TBM).
According to Lilliston’s indictment and other related court documents, HARC, formerly the Hillsborough Association for Retarded Citizens, was established in 1953 to positively impact the future for people living with developmental disabilities, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome. HARC opened and operated group homes that served its target client population and also spearheaded various community programs for its clients, focused on inclusion activities for youths, adults, and seniors with disabilities.
Many of the HARC clients received SSA benefits from the Supplemental Security Income and the Old Age, Survivors’ and Disability Insurance programs due to various developmental disabilities. For certain HARC clients who lacked the capacity to manage their own SSA program benefits, SSA approved one or more HARC officials to act as a “Representative Payee” to receive the client’s benefits and to use them exclusively for that client’s benefit. As a Representative Payee, the HARC official was required to complete and submit to the SSA a “Representative Payee Report” (or “Form SSA-6234”). The SSA Form SSA-6234 required that basic financial information relating to each HARC client who was an SSA program beneficiary be submitted annually to the SSA. The required financial information included, among other information: (1) how much had been spent for the beneficiary's food and housing during the relevant period; (2) how much had been spent on other items and services—such as clothing, education, medical and dental expenses, recreation, or personal items—directly for the beneficiary; and (3) how much, if any, had been saved for the beneficiary as of the end of the relevant period.
The indictment alleges that in or about January 2001, through November 2011, the conspirators engaged in a scheme to defraud the SSA. Specifically, in January 2001, HARC opened an account at SunTrust bank, commonly referred to within HARC as the "Endowment Account." That account was purportedly established to maintain and safeguard the HARC clients' funds for each client’s relevant needs. However, shortly after the creation of the account, Lilliston and Pannullo, HARC’s CEO and CFO, respectively, began wrongfully diverting HARC clients’ funds from the Endowment Account into the HARC operating account, to cover various expenditures unrelated to any particular HARC client's personal needs or use. As a result of the diversion of client funds, substantially all of the Form SSA-6234s submitted to the SSA for the affected HARC clients contained false and fraudulent information. Also, early in the conspiracy, CFO Pannullo and one or more conspirators developed an "Endowment Account Worksheet" that purportedly tracked each HARC client's balance within the Endowment Account. In other words, a HARC client's Endowment Account worksheet balance was to be increased whenever funds were transferred into the account from that client's personal bank account (or from any other source) and correspondingly decreased when funds were extracted to pay for that client's personal needs and use. However, the wrongful diversions by the conspirators from the Endowment Account to the operating account were not recorded in any manner on the Endowment Account worksheet. Thus, while the worksheet made it appear as if funds in the Endowment Account were being maintained and safeguarded—and readily available—for the HARC clients' personal needs and use, such was not the case.
In another effort to conceal that HARC client funds had been, and were being, wrongfully diverted from the Endowment Account, and to make it appear as if the account had been properly established and maintained since at least 2007, Lilliston directed others at HARC to secure signatures from the developmentally disabled HARC clients on a document titled "Pooled Trust Joinder Agreement." Many, if not most of, the developmentally disabled clients who signed the document did not have the necessary capacity to understand the full import of the document. Lilliston and others at HARC signed and dated the documents as if they had been executed in April 2007, when in truth they were actually executed in late November 2009.
In June 2013, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a Verified Complaint for Forfeiture In Rem in a related case (Case No. 8:13-Cv-1601-T-17TBM), seeking the forfeiture of $87,000 held in a Synovus Bank account. That complaint raised like allegations—that HARC clients’ SSA benefits had been wrongfully diverted from the clients and used by HARC for other purposes—and was supported by facts contained in the sworn affidavit of a special agent with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General. On September 30, 2013, the district court entered a Default Judgment of Forfeiture in which the Court ordered the forfeiture of the $87,000 to the United States.
This case is being investigated by the Social Security Administration - Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of the Inspector General, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, along with the State of Florida’s Department of Financial Services - Office of Fiscal Integrity. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay G. Trezevant.
Department of Justice Awards over $12 Million to Florida Law Enforcement AgenciesRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces today that the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has awarded a total of $12,351,298 to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. This amount includes $1 million previously announced by Attorney General Loretta Lynch on June 21, 2016, in response to the shootings at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. These funds will be used to reimburse state and local governments, and law enforcement agencies, for personnel and overtime costs related to the shootings.
“In the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub tragedy, over 1,500 law enforcement officers worked tirelessly around the clock for weeks, and many are continuing to do so. Our Office owes a great debt to the Orlando Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the other state and local law enforcement agencies that did much of this important work,” said U.S. Attorney Bentley. “It is appropriate that these funds will be used to offset some of the extraordinary costs incurred by our state and local law enforcement partners.”
The remaining $11,351,298 is the FY 2016 formula JAG grant awarded to the State of Florida. The goal of Florida's JAG program is to enable local governments and state criminal justice agencies to receive the assistance needed to help fund and improve their own programs in an effort to improve law enforcement and criminal justice within their respective communities and jurisdictions. FDLE will use administrative funds for personnel services, including salaries and benefits, travel expenses, supplies, consultants and contracts, equipment, other costs, and indirect costs necessary to administer JAG funds.
Additionally, BJA will award a total $589,686 to both Orange County ($405,024) and the City of Orlando ($184,662) through the JAG program. Orange County will utilize this award to support a variety of law enforcement related initiatives that will enhance essential county services. The City of Orlando will use its funds to purchase new portable radios for the Orlando Police Department's communications system.
The JAG program is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. The program provides states and local governments with critical funding necessary to support a range of program areas, including law enforcement; prosecution and court programs; prevention and education programs; corrections and community corrections; drug treatment and crime victim and witness initiatives; and planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs.
Information about the Office of Justice Programs can be found at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov.
Former Bosnian Army Prison Guard Pleads Guilty to Fraudulently Procuring U.S. CitizenshipRead the Press Release
A Jacksonville, Florida, man pleaded guilty today for unlawfully procuring U.S. citizenship by failing to disclose during his naturalization process his membership in the Bosnian Army and crimes that he committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian Conflict in the 1990s, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida.
Slobo Maric, 56, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge James R. Klindt of the Middle District of Florida. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
According to the plea agreement, in 1993, Maric served as a shift leader, the second in command to the warden, of a detention facility in Bosnia that housed captured Bosnian-Croat soldiers. Many of the guards in the facility routinely subjected detainees to serious physical abuse and humiliation, including by referring to them with ethnic slurs and spitting on them. According to the plea agreement, Maric selected detainees for other guards to abuse; directly participated in abusing several prisoners; and sent prisoners on dangerous and deadly work details on the front line of the conflict. The Bosnian government charged Maric for his criminal conduct and, after Maric immigrated to the United States, Bosnia indicted and convicted Maric in absentia for war crimes against prisoners. According to the plea agreement, Maric knew about the Bosnian court proceedings, yet he failed to disclose the proceedings and lied about his conduct on his application for U.S. citizenship. Maric became a naturalized U.S. citizen on Oct. 31, 2002.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Jacksonville Field Office investigated the case under the supervision of the HSI Tampa Field Office with support from ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center.
Trial Attorneys Clayton O’Connor, Sasha Rutizer and Christina Giffin and Historian David Rich of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dale Campion of the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Former Bosnian Army Prison Guard Pleads Guilty to Fraudulently Procuring U.S. CitizenshipRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, FL – A Jacksonville, Florida, man pleaded guilty today for unlawfully procuring U.S. citizenship by failing to disclose during his naturalization process his membership in the Bosnian Army and crimes that he committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian Conflict in the 1990s, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida.
Slobo Maric (56, Jacksonville) pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge James R. Klindt of the Middle District of Florida. He faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. Additionally, he faces a mandatory revocation of his certificate of naturalization, and cancellation of his U.S. citizenship. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
According to the plea agreement, in 1993, Maric served as a shift leader, the second in command to the warden of a detention facility in Bosnia that housed captured Bosnian-Croat soldiers. Many of the guards in the facility routinely subjected detainees to serious physical abuse and humiliation, including by referring to them with ethnic slurs and spitting on them. According to the plea agreement Maric selected detainees for other guards to abuse; directly participated in abusing several prisoners; and sent prisoners on dangerous and deadly work details on the front line of the conflict. The Bosnian government charged Maric for his criminal conduct and, after Maric immigrated to the United States, Bosnia indicted and convicted Maric in absentia for war crimes against prisoners. According to the plea agreement, Maric knew about the Bosnian court proceedings, yet he failed to disclose the proceedings and lied about his conduct on his application for U.S. citizenship. Maric became a naturalized U.S. citizen on Oct. 31, 2002.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Jacksonville Field Office investigated the case under the supervision of the HSI Tampa Field Office with support from ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center.
Trial Attorneys Clayton O’Connor, Sasha Rutizer and Christina Giffin and Historian David Rich of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dale Campion of the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Tampa Man Pleads Guilty to Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Steven Headden Young has pleaded guilty to tax evasion. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and has agreed to pay full restitution, penalties, and taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service.
According to court documents, Young evaded a substantial portion of his personal federal income taxes for the years 2007 through 2011 by falsifying expenses to negate his income. Young, who prepared and filed his own tax returns, created bogus business expenditures and deducted them from his Schedule C income. He also falsely filed as head-of-household (HOH) to take advantage of the tax benefits of HOH filing status when he was married. This status provides for lower taxes and higher credits than filing single, married filing jointly, or married filing separately. Taking into account payments made by and tax refunds paid to Young, he owes more than $250,000, but less than $550,000, in taxes for the years 2007 through 2011.
Young also made false statements to the IRS about his marital status, claiming that he was single, when he was married and living with his wife. Further, Young interfered with the IRS audit and tax assessment of his personal federal income taxes in an attempt to intercept third party records the IRS had subpoenaed by the IRS from Bank of America (BOA) by fabricating a letter from the IRS to BOA in an attempt to redirect these bank records.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelley C. Howard-Allen.
Orange County Man Pleads Guilty to Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Thomas Samborski, II (39, Orange County) has pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor to produce child pornography. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a life term of supervision. In addition, Samborski has agreed to pay restitution to the minor victim. The sentencing hearing has been scheduled for October 6, 2016, before United States District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza.
According to court records, Samborski made sexually suggestive advertisements regarding photographs of three minor children, including “minor victim 1,” on a file sharing website. As a result, a preliminary investigation eventually resulted in a federal search warrant being executed at his residence. During the execution of the warrant, Samborski’s cell phone was searched and found to contain child pornography depicting “minor victim 1,” which had been produced at his apartment on March 1, 2015, and March 3, 2015. The Internet history on the cell phone included searches and websites pertaining to rape; making chloroform; how to have sex with a virgin; spy and hidden cameras; and other similarly offensive searches. Samborski held a position of custody, care, or supervisory control over “minor victim 1,” a 9-year-old child.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It is being 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.
Jacksonville Man Pleads Guilty to Enticement of A Minor to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Gernain Jackson (33, Duval County) has pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 28, 2016, before United States District Judge Paul G. Byron.
According to court records, from August 2015 to September 2015, Jackson engaged a 13-year-old boy from Orlando in chats over Facebook, KIK messenger, Skype, and the telephone, through which Jackson enticed the minor to produce child pornography. Through the online contact, Jackson enticed the minor to send him sexually explicit images. On or about September 6th and 13th, 2015, Jackson met the minor in person while attending church functions in Jacksonville. During that time, Jackson met the minor in the bathroom several times throughout the day and fondled him.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being 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.
Jacksonville Man Arrested and Charged with Receiving and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that William Marion Patterson, III (47, Jacksonville) has been charged with receiving child pornography over the Internet and possessing it on his computer media. If convicted of any one of the three receipt counts, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison, and a life term of supervised release. If convicted of either of the two possession charges, he faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment, and a potential life term of supervision. Patterson was arrested on July 15, 2016. His arraignment and detention hearing is scheduled for July 19, 2016, at 2:30 p.m.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has violated one or more federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. 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.
COPS Office to Conduct After-Action Review of Police Response to Orlando Nightclub Mass ShootingRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced it will conduct a comprehensive after-action assessment of the Orlando Police Department’s (OPD) response to the mass shooting that took place on June 12 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
Statement from U.S. Attorney Bentley:
“Chief Mina has proven to be a tremendous leader of the Orlando Police Department. His decision to seek an independent review of the law enforcement response to the Pulse nightclub shootings is another example of his effective leadership. The results of this review should help not only the Orlando Police Department, but also other law enforcement agencies forced to deal with terrorist attacks.”
Click this link to view the COPS Office press release in its entirety.
Former Corrections Deputy Charged in Bank HeistRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the filing of a criminal complaint charging Elizabeth Brooks Perkins (46, Brooksville) with bank robbery and a related firearms offense. If convicted on all counts, she faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. Perkins was arrested on July 7, 2016.
According to the complaint, at 4:30 p.m. on February 10, 2016, Perkins visited the Sunshine Bank in Plant City and met with the Branch Manager to discuss a purported land purchase. When the bank closed, she brandished a semi-automatic pistol and held two employees at gunpoint. After stealing $110,000, Perkins duct-taped the employees and fled.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Plant City Police Department, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.
Former Bank Officer Pleads Guilty to EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Michael L. Johnson (56, Odessa) today pleaded guilty to misappropriation of bank funds and embezzlement. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.
According to the plea agreement and court proceedings, Johnson was employed as a Senior Vice President/Special Assets Officer at American Momentum Bank. In his capacity as a Special Assets Officer, Johnson was responsible for marketing and selling bank-owned properties to investors in order to remove these troubled assets from the bank’s balance sheet. Johnson signed the closing documents, including the HUD-1 Settlement Statement, on behalf of American Momentum Bank.
Beginning around June 2012, and continuing through November 2014, Johnson devised a scheme to misapply and embezzle funds provided by American Momentum Bank. After the sale of bank-owned properties had been approved by the bank, Johnson set up closings with real estate settlement agents. He then contacted the agents and ordered additions and/or changes to the disbursement side of the HUD-1. After closing, funds provided by American Momentum Bank were directed to bank accounts controlled by Johnson’s family members.
This case was investigated by the Unites States Secret Service, the Tampa Police Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor.
Congresswoman Corrine Brown and Chief of Staff Charged with Fraud Scheme Involving Bogus Non-Profit Scholarship EntityRead the Press Release
Congresswoman Corrine Brown and her chief of staff were indicted today for their roles in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving a fraudulent education charity.
Brown, 69, of Jacksonville, Florida, and her chief of staff, Elias “Ronnie” Simmons, 50, of Laurel, Maryland, were charged today in a 24-count indictment with participating in a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, multiple counts of mail and wire fraud, concealing material facts on required financial disclosure forms, theft of government property, obstruction of the due administration of the internal revenue laws and filing false tax returns.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Michelle S. Klimt of the FBI’s Jacksonville Division and Chief Richard Weber of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.
“Congresswoman Brown and her chief of staff are alleged to have used the Congresswoman’s official position to solicit over $800,000 in donations to a supposed charitable organization, only to use that organization as a personal slush fund,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Corruption erodes the public’s trust in our entire system of representative government. One of the department’s most important responsibilities is to root out corruption at all levels of government and to bring wrongdoers to justice.”
“Our office is committed to ferreting out and prosecuting all forms of corruption and fraud, regardless of who the offender is,” said U.S. Attorney Bentley. “In our nation, no one is above the law.”
“Corrupt public officials undermine the integrity of our government and violate the public’s trust,” said Special Agent in Charge Klimt. “That is why public corruption is the FBI’s top criminal priority. It is incredibly disappointing that an elected official, who took an oath year after year to serve others, would exploit the needs of children and abuse the charitable hearts of constituents to advance her own personal and political agendas and deliver them with virtually nothing.”
“The defendants are alleged to have committed a multitude of criminal violations, including fraudulently receiving and using hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions meant for a nonprofit organization for their own personal and professional benefit,” said Special Agent in Charge Lappin. “The American public expects and deserves equitable enforcement of our tax laws.”
The indictment alleges that between late 2012 and early 2016, Brown and Simmons 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 things. According to the indictment, Brown and Simmons allegedly solicited donations from individuals and corporate entities that Brown knew by virtue of her position in the U.S. House of Representatives, many of whom the defendants led to believe that One Door was a properly-registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, when, in fact, it was not.
Contrary to the defendants’ representations, the indictment alleges that Brown, Simmons and Carla Wiley, the president of One Door, among 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. In one instance, Simmons is alleged to have deposited $2,100 in One Door funds into Brown’s personal bank account the same day that Brown wrote a check for a similar amount to pay taxes she owed. Likewise, the indictment alleges that 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. According to the indictment, more than $200,000 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 concert in Washington, D.C.; and the use of a luxury box during an NFL game in the Washington, D.C., area.
Despite raising over $800,000 in donations, the indictment alleges that 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.
Simmons is also charged with theft of government property based on the misuse of his position as Brown’s chief of staff to obtain congressional employment for a close relative. Between 2001 and early 2016, Simmons’ relative allegedly received approximately $735,000 in government salary payments despite performing no known work for the U.S. House of Representatives. The indictment alleges that between 2009 and late 2015, Simmons diverted over $80,000 of his 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.
Simmons and Brown are also charged with failing to disclose, among other things, the reportable income they received from One Door and the salary payments that Simmons diverted from his relative’s government employment on required financial disclosure forms submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives and made available to the general public.
Brown is also charged with engaging in tax obstruction between 2008 and 2014 and, in certain years, filing false returns based on her repeated failure to report income from substantial cash deposits to her personal bank accounts and her repeated deduction of inflated and fabricated charitable donations. According to the indictment, in various years, Brown claimed deductions on her tax returns based on false donations she claimed she made to One Door, as well as to local churches and non-profit organizations in the Jacksonville area.
Wiley, the president of One Door, pleaded guilty for her involvement in the scheme on March 3, 2016.
The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The FBI and IRS-CI are investigating the case. 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 are prosecuting the case.
Congresswoman Corrine Brown and Chief of Staff Charged with Fraud Scheme Involving Bogus Non-Profit Scholarship EntityRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, FL – Congresswoman Corrine Brown and her chief of staff were indicted today for their roles in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving a fraudulent education charity.
Brown, 69, of Jacksonville, Florida, and her chief of staff, Elias “Ronnie” Simmons, 50, of Laurel, Maryland, were charged today in a 24-count indictment with participating in a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, multiple counts of mail and wire fraud, concealing material facts on required financial disclosure forms, theft of government property, obstruction of the due administration of the internal revenue laws, and filing false tax returns.
U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Michelle Klimt of the FBI’s Jacksonville Division, and Special Agent in Charge Kim Lappin of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Tampa Field Office made the announcement.
“Our Office is committed to ferreting out and prosecuting all forms of corruption and fraud, regardless of who the offender is,” said U.S. Attorney Bentley. “In our nation, no one is above the law.”
"Congresswoman Brown and her chief of staff are alleged to have used the Congresswoman's official position to solicit over $800,000 in donations to a supposed charitable organization, only to use that organization as a personal slush fund," said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. "Corruption erodes the public's trust in our entire system of representative government. One of the department's most important responsibilites is to root out corruption at all levels of government and to bring wrongdoers to justice."
“Corrupt public officials undermine the integrity of our government and violate the public’s trust,” said Michelle S. Klimt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. “That is why public corruption is the FBI’s top criminal priority. It is incredibly disappointing that an elected official, who took an oath year after year to serve others, would exploit the needs of children and abuse the charitable hearts of constituents to advance her own personal and political agendas and deliver them with virtually nothing.”
"The defendants are alleged to have committed a multitude of criminal violations, including fraudulently receiving and using hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions meant for a nonprofit organization for their own personal and professional benefit,” said Richard Weber, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. “The American public expects and deserves equitable enforcement of our tax laws.”
The indictment alleges that between late 2012 and early 2016, Brown and Simmons 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 things. According to the indictment, Brown and Simmons allegedly solicited donations from individuals and corporate entities that Brown knew by virtue of her position in the U.S. House of Representatives, many of whom the defendants led to believe that One Door was a properly-registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, when, in fact, it was not.
Contrary to the defendants’ representations, the indictment alleges that Brown, Simmons and Carla Wiley, the president of One Door, among 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. In one instance, Simmons is alleged to have deposited $2,100 in One Door funds into Brown’s personal bank account the same day that Brown wrote a check for a similar amount to pay taxes she owed. Likewise, the indictment alleges that 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. According to the indictment, more than $200,000 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 concert in Washington, D.C.; and the use of a luxury box during an NFL game in the Washington, D.C., area.
Despite raising over $800,000 in donations, the indictment alleges that 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.
Simmons is also charged with theft of government property based on the misuse of his position as Brown’s chief of staff to obtain congressional employment for a close relative. Between 2001 and early 2016, Simmons’ relative allegedly received approximately $735,000 in government salary payments despite performing no known work for the U.S. House of Representatives. The indictment alleges that between 2009 and late 2015, Simmons diverted over $80,000 of his 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.
Simmons and Brown are also charged with failing to disclose, among other things, the reportable income they received from One Door and the salary payments that Simmons diverted from his relative’s government employment on required financial disclosure forms submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives and made available to the general public.
Brown is also charged with engaging in tax obstruction between 2008 and 2014 and, in certain years, filing false returns based on her repeated failure to report income from substantial cash deposits to her personal bank accounts and her repeated deduction of inflated and fabricated charitable donations. According to the indictment, in various years, Brown claimed deductions on her tax returns based on false donations she claimed she made to One Door, as well as to local churches and non-profit organizations in the Jacksonville area.
Wiley, the president of One Door, pleaded guilty for her involvement in the scheme on March 3, 2016.
The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The FBI and IRS-CI are investigating the case. 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 are prosecuting the case.
UPDATE: Brown and Simmons will make their initial appearances in Jacksonville today before United States Magistrate Judge James R. Klindt at 1:00 p.m. (Courtroom 5-D).
Six Charged with Trafficking Heroin in South TampaRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of a twelve-count indictment charging Edward McKenzie (39, Tampa), George Perdigon, a/k/a “Lee” (48, Tampa), Gregory Phelps (61, Tampa), Michael Regan (40, Sun City Center), James Dunn, a/k/a “Wiggy” (34, New York City), and Jesse Greer, a/k/a “Alex” (40, Tampa) with distribution of heroin and/or conspiracy to traffic heroin. If convicted, each faces up to 40 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States intends to forfeit the property located at 3608 West Oklahoma Avenue in Tampa, which the defendants allegedly used to facilitate and further the conspiracy.
According to the indictment, from August 2015 through April 2016, McKenzie, Perdigon, Phelps, Regan, Dunn, and Greer participated in a conspiracy to distribute heroin in and around South Tampa.
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 jointly investigated by the Tampa Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Baeza.
Merritt Island Man Convicted of Multiple Federal Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. has found Joshua Adam Tatro (24, Merritt Island) guilty of 9 counts of producing child pornography, 3 counts of receiving child pornography, and 1 count of possessing child pornography. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, up to 30 years, in federal prison for each of the production offenses. In addition, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years, up to 20 years’ imprisonment, for each receipt offense, and up to 20 years in federal prison for the possession charge. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 3, 2016.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on nine separate occasions between October 2014 and March 2015, Tatro produced images and videos depicting him sexually abusing a three year-old child. He also used a messaging app on his phone to send and receive images depicting child pornography, and he uploaded images of child pornography onto an online account that he maintained. Law enforcement began investigating Tatro after they learned of his online activity from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
On March 17, 2015, agents from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Tatro’s residence, where he and the child victim were living. During the execution of the warrant, cellphones were recovered from Tatro’s pocket and his bedroom. A forensic examination of those phones led to the recovery of the explicit images and videos that Tatro had produced. During an interview with agents, Tatro admitted to producing the images and videos, and to sending them to others using the messenger app.
In total, Tatro possessed 76 videos and 692 photographs of child pornography on his cellphones. A search of his online drive account revealed more than 1,000 stored images of child pornography. Several of the images in Tatro’s possession depicted children under the age of 12 being sexually abused and exploited.
This case was investigated by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Searle.
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.
Jacksonville Man Pleads Guilty to Advertising for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Chad Jason Lansford (31, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to advertising for child pornography. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, up to 30 years, in federal prison. Lansford has been in federal custody since his arrest on March 12, 2015.
According to court documents, in January 2015, law enforcement officers responded to a complaint involving the mother of a nine-year-old girl who had found several sexually explicit images on her daughter’s social media account, including two images of her daughter. A review of the child’s iPod revealed online conversations between the girl and an individual later identified as Lansford. Further investigation revealed that on January 2, 2015, Lansford had sent the child images of his genitalia. During an online conversation that day, Lansford was advised that the child was nine years old. Despite this knowledge, he repeatedly requested that she take pornographic pictures of herself and send them to him. Eventually, the child complied with Lansford’s demands and produced and sent pornographic pictures of herself to him.
On March 12, 2015, law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Lansford’s apartment. He was at the residence and admitted that he was the person who had engaged in the online conversations with the child.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. 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.
Career Criminal Pleads Guilty to Drug and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Derrick Bernard Farmer (40, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to possessing with the intent to distribute crack cocaine and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He faces a minimum mandatory term of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, during January 2016, Farmer served as the crack cocaine source for two individuals who then sold the drugs to an undercover detective. On February 3, 2016, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Farmer’s apartment in Tampa and found crack cocaine, drug paraphernalia, and three firearms. Farmer had multiple prior felony drug convictions and therefore 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 Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Taylor G. Stout.
This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative (CAGI). The program’s objective is to reduce criminal gangs, violent crime, illegal drugs, and guns through combined enforcement, prosecution, prevention, and re-entry efforts.
Tampa Man Sentenced to 50 Years for Child Sexual Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore has sentenced Donald Daniel Robinson (30, Tampa) to 50 years in federal prison for producing, possessing, and distributing child pornography. He pleaded guilty on February 16, 2016.
According to court documents, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) began an investigation after receiving numerous tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children concerning an Internet user at Robinson’s residence who had distributed files containing child pornography through various social networking websites. On July 8, 2015, agents from FDLE and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant at Robinson’s home. Multiple images of child pornography, including images of local children, were found during the search.
According to victims and evidence obtained from Robinson’s phone, Robinson had posed as a female online to coerce children to produce and send the explicit images to him. The images included minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Additionally, two victims told agents that Robinson had persuaded them to perform sex acts on him.
"This lengthy prison sentence is reflective of the heinous nature of the crime committed and a result of the hard work of our HSI special agents and FDLE," said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. "This criminal stole the innocence of young children and HSI will do everything in our power to protect our children and bring to justice those involved in these despicable crimes.”
“This case puts into perspective that crimes like this begin with live victims who are children,” said Tom Foy, FDLE Tampa’s Special Agent in Charge. “The suspect in this case manipulated children for his benefit. FDLE and HSI will continue this effort to protect our children from those who would use their innocence and youth for their advantage and criminal activity.”
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda C. Kaiser.
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 the 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.
Jacksonville Woman Indicted for Sex Trafficking by Force, Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine, and Possession of Multiple FirearmsRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return of a superseding indictment charging Shaquana Quenella Brookins (31, Jacksonville) with two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; one count of conspiracy to distribute “crack” cocaine; on count of maintaining a drug-involved premise; and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. If convicted on all counts, she faces up to life in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Brookins that the United States intends to forfeit any assets alleged to be traceable proceeds of the offense.
According to the indictment, at various times in 2014 and 2015, Brookins used force, threats of force, fraud, and coercion to cause her victims to engage in commercial sex acts; conspired with others to manufacture and distribute cocaine base, commonly known as “crack” cocaine; maintained a place for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, and using controlled substances, including cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin; and unlawfully possessed three firearms after being previously convicted of felonies.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of one or more federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor.