Middle District of Florida

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger has sentenced Derek Morales-Figueroa (26, Orlando) to 19 years and 7 months years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Morales-Figueroa had pleaded guilty on May 10, 2022.

According to the plea agreement and other court documents, beginning on September 11, 2020, Morales-Figueroa and a co-conspirator, Jacob Luis Bonilla-Rivera, engaged in a series of phone calls with individuals they believed to be cocaine dealers but who were, in fact, undercover agents working on behalf of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). These discussions culminated in an agreement to purchase 20 kilograms of cocaine in Orlando. On September 16, 2020, HSI agents met with Bonilla-Rivera and Juan Omar Rodriguez, Jr. (21, Auburndale, Florida, where the conspirators showed HSI agents the $600,000 in cash they had brought to the deal in a hidden compartment in one of their vehicles. After doing so, Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez proceeded to a location where HSI agents had arranged to show them the 20 kilograms of cocaine to be purchased. Morales-Figueroa participated in inspecting the cocaine by video conferencing on one of the conspirator’s phones. After inspecting the cocaine, Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez returned to their car to retrieve the cash from the hidden compartment when they were arrested. Upon searching both vehicles, HSI agents found that both Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez had loaded firearms in their possession in the vehicles they had driven to the meeting, along with a total of $639,325 cash.

On September 17, 2020, Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez were charged for their roles in the conspiracy. Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possessing firearms in furtherance of that offense, and on March 12, 2021, each defendant was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.  

Morales-Figueroa was not located at the time of the initial arrest. On March 10, 2021, Morales-Figueroa was identified in a traffic stop in Flagler County on Interstate-95. During the traffic stop, Morales-Figueroa was asked to get out of the vehicle and, instead, got out of the passenger’s seat and into the driver’s seat of the vehicle and fled from officers with an uninvolved minor in the back seat of the vehicle. On January 3, 2022, Morales-Figueroa was arrested at a Jacksonville residence in connection with a search of that residence and the seizure of nine kilograms of cocaine and significant quantities of U.S. currency. 

“This investigation was based on the due diligence of hard working HSI special agents and task force officers who ultimately brought to justice these international narcotics traffickers," said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Orlando Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Pezzutti. "Our agency, along with our partners, work tirelessly to bring to justice those who attempt to poison our communities."

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the Seminole County Sherriff’s Office, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.

Tampa, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Dr. Sean Patrick O’Rourke (56, Lakeland) has pleaded guilty to soliciting and receiving remuneration (kickbacks and bribes) in return for ordering medical services and items paid for by a federal health care program. O’Rourke faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The defendant also agreed to forfeit $31,075, traceable to proceeds of the offense. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, O’Rourke, a licensed medical doctor, entered into an illegal agreement in 2018 with Company #1 in which Company #1 would make available to O’Rourke completed doctors’ orders for Medicare and CHAMPVA patient-beneficiaries via an internet-based platform. O’Rourke would then access the platform, open the completed orders, and electronically sign the orders, in exchange for a payment of $25 per patient-beneficiary. Notably, the system platform did not permit O’Rourke to add or modify any information in the already completed orders other than to input his authorizing electronic signature.          

As just one example, in or around May 2019, O’Rourke received a payment of $5,500 from an entity associated with Company #1 for electronically signing and ordering cancer genomic tests and durable medical equipment for multiple Medicare beneficiaries. O’Rourke had no interaction with any of the Medicare beneficiaries prior to ordering the tests and equipment. In all, from September 2018 through March 2020, pursuant to the illegal agreement, O’Rourke ordered tests and equipment for approximately 1,243 Medicare and CHAMPVA beneficiaries for which he was paid approximately $31,075. Consequently, the Medicare program paid approximately $2,702,150 to various Medicare providers for the tests and equipment ordered by O’Rourke.   

This case was investigated by the U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay G. Trezevant. Assistant United States Attorney James A. Muench is handling the asset forfeiture aspect of this case.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Andre Maurice Lewis (37, Orlando) to life in federal prison for enticement of a minor. The court also ordered Lewis to forfeit the cellphone he used to commit the offense. Lewis had pleaded guilty on August 15, 2022.

According to court documents and information presented in court, in January 2021, Lewis initiated a Snapchat conversation with a 12-year-old child, the daughter of an acquaintance. Lewis did not reveal his true identity to the child and claimed to be 20 years old. 

Even though the child told Lewis how old she was, Lewis expressed an interest in meeting with her for sex. The child repeatedly rebuffed Lewis’s sexual advances, telling him that he was making her uncomfortable and that she was “just a little girl.” As Lewis persisted, the child sent Lewis a series of text-based and audio messages that made it clear that she was very scared and distressed. In those messages, the child pleaded with Lewis to leave her alone, because she did not want to do the things he asked her to do. Nevertheless, Lewis continued to press the child and threatened to tell the child’s parent about their Snapchat conversation unless the child did as Lewis said. Lewis provided evidence that he knew the child’s parent, to underscore his ability to carry out his threats. Later in the evening, out of fear, the child livestreamed a sexually explicit video of herself at Lewis’s behest.

The investigation revealed that Lewis had previously communicated about sex with dozens of individuals who told him they were minors – and the investigation confirmed that many of these individuals were indeed minors. With respect to seven individuals who specifically told Lewis to leave them alone, Lewis responded by threatening to kidnap, rape, and kill them if they did not cooperate. In other instances, Lewis accompanied such threats to minors with a picture of a handgun and magazines, and a map of the minors’ location, to prove that he actually knew where they were. Lewis also has a prior conviction for issuing written threats to kill or do bodily injury.

This case was investigated by the Orlando Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily C. L. Chang.

This 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, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return by a grand jury of an indictment charging Paul Steven Hulbert (26, Middleburg) with unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, unlawful possession of a firearm by a person subject to a domestic violence injunction, and two counts of possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle and short-barreled shotgun. Hulbert faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison on each count. The indictment also notifies Hulbert that the United States intends to forfeit multiple firearms which are traceable to the offenses. Hulbert made his initial appearance in federal court today and was ordered detained.

According to the indictment and public records, in August 2021, Hulbert was convicted of the misdemeanor crime of domestic battery, in Clay County, Florida. During this timeframe the Clay County Court also issued a “Temporary Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence with Minor Children” against Hulbert, which specifically prohibited him from possessing firearms and directed him to surrender any firearms in his possession to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. After the domestic battery conviction and issuance of the domestic violence injunction, both of which prohibited him from possessing firearms, Hulbert obtained seven firearms that included rifles, pistols, and a shotgun. The barrel of the shotgun and one rifle were illegally modified to shorten their length.

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 Clay County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (Jacksonville Office). It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger today sentenced Justin Dwayne Johnson, Sr. (48, Sanford) to 170 years in federal prison for four counts of production of child sexual abuse material, one count of production and attempted production of child sexual abuse material, and one count of possession of child sex abuse material. Johnson had pleaded guilty on July 7, 2022.

According to court documents, in January 2022, an investigation was initiated into Johnson after Child Protection Services was alerted that Johnson was secretly recording his foster children. Johnson disclosed to an acquaintance that he had cameras in his home to record the children in the nude and that he had videos of him touching the children. During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized several devices belonging to Johnson. Forensic examinations of Johnson’s cellphone and other electronic devices revealed numerous images and videos of child sex abuse material. Specifically, the evidence showed that Johnson used the children under his care to produce depictions of sexually explicit conduct. Johnson’s cellphone also contained numerous visual depictions of child sex abuse material depicting young children. So far, the FBI has identified at least 18 victims that were sexually exploited by Johnson.

“Protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation is one of the highest priorities of my office,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg. “This defendant victimized children who were especially vulnerable because they needed the protection of the foster care system. I am proud of the outstanding work by our local and federal law enforcement partners and my office that brought this predator to justice.”

“Instead of offering a haven for foster children, this predator betrayed the children with a home of horrific abuse,” said FBI Tampa Special Agent in Charge David Walker. “The FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force is committed to identifying, locating, and recovering the innocent victims of sexual abuse and ensuring their abusers are brought to justice.

“Johnson’s crimes are particularly disturbing, in that he was in a position that is expected to provide protection and care to already vulnerable children, and he exploited that role and further victimized these young children,” said Chief Cecil Smith of the Sanford Police Department. “I hope his sentence brings some comfort to those who he has abused.”          

“As you can imagine, investigations of this nature can present overwhelming challenges,” stated Seminole County Sheriff Dennis M. Lemma. “However, the dedication of our teams, their diligence, and the collaborative efforts of the law enforcement professionals assigned to this case resulted in a successful prosecution and a sentence that sends a strong message that there are severe consequences for those who prey upon and exploit the most precious members of our community.”         

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Sanford Police Department and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Courtney Richardson-Jones and Ilianys Rivera Miranda.

This 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, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Ge Tang (41, St. Augustine) and Yanshen Huang (36, St. Johns) have pleaded guilty to harboring undocumented aliens for commercial advantage and private financial gain. Each faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. As part of their plea agreements, Tang and Huang have agreed to forfeit to the United States a residence in St. Augustine and a residence in St. Johns, which were used to house undocumented aliens, along with a 2021 Toyota Sienna van that was used to transport the aliens between the residences and the restaurants and $35,720 in cash.

Their sentencing hearings have been scheduled for January 24, 2023.

According to their plea agreements, Tang and Huang owned and operated Tanks Sushi Bistro Seafood & Steaks in St. Augustine and Tanks Sushi Bistro in Ponte Vedra. At the restaurants, they employed aliens who were unlawfully present in the United States and who were not legally authorized to work in the United States. Contrary to federal law, Tang and Huang did not require the workers to provide documents to establish that they could legally work in the United States.

Tang and Huang also owned two residences, each of which was near one of the restaurants, at which they provided housing to the undocumented workers. They also provided the workers with transportation between the houses and the restaurants at the beginning and end of each workday.

Tang and Huang paid the workers in cash, did not withhold taxes and other payments from the workers’ wages, and did not pay the employer’s portion of these taxes to government authorities. They also did not report the workers to state revenue authorities as required under Florida law to ensure the collection of the proper amount of unemployment compensation tax.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier. Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran is handling forfeiture of the residences, van, and cash.

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Daniel Stephen King (28, Kissimmee) guilty of possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon. King faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 23, 2023.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on April 23, 2022, the Osceola County Sherriff’s Office was called to King’s residence due to a domestic disturbance. When the deputies arrived, a resident of the house frantically ran out with her four-year old daughter. The deputies were informed that King had a large number of firearms and ammunition in the house and that King had strapped on a bullet proof vest. At the time, King was a convicted felon who was on probation and prohibited from possessing guns or ammunition. The deputies surrounded the house, and after about two hours, they were able to persuade King to come out and surrender. A warrant was obtained to search the residence and nine firearms were recovered, including three rifles, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and a ballistic vest. A rifle safe, multiple gun lockboxes, magazines, and an ammunition can were also recovered from inside of the house.

King will have to forfeit all of the firearms and ammunition which were part of the offense.

This case was investigated by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John M. Gardella.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

 

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge John Condon, and FBI Special Agent in Charge David Walker announce that the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office has been presented with a Child Protection Award for its role in investigating more than 100 cases that have resulted in successful federal prosecutions of child exploitation offenses, as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative.

For approximately 15 years, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office has partnered with either Homeland Security Investigations or the FBI by providing Task Force Officers and other investigators to work on child exploitation cases. The investigators from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office have served as the lead case agents, undercover officers, and forensic examiners on more than 100 child exploitation cases that have been successfully prosecuted in federal court.

“Protecting our children from those who would seek to do them harm is a top priority of the United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners,” said U.S. Attorney Handberg. “For 15 years we have had an excellent partner in the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. The investigators with the Sheriff’s Office are skilled and dedicated professionals who are committed to using their lawful authority to protect children from sexual exploitation. It is an incredible achievement for one office to have successfully worked on over 100 successful federal prosecutions.  Those prosecutions have served to protect children in Brevard County and across the United States. We look forward to many more successes working together with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office on these important cases.”

“It takes an incredible team to protect our children from predators who seek to steal their innocence and destroy their futures,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa Special Agent in Charge John Condon. “Our partnership with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office makes Project Safe Childhood a stronger program. The investigators with Brevard County are passionate and skilled professionals who work side-by-side with our special agents to protect our children from sexual exploitation.” 

“We value our partnership with Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and the knowledge and commitment the investigators bring to the table in these difficult investigations,” said FBI Tampa Division Special Agent in Charge David Walker. “The FBI welcomes a continued partnership in successfully deterring individuals and criminal networks exploiting children.”

Some significant cases investigated by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office include: 

• United States v. Roberto Oquendo and Rose Litzky – In September 2016, Oquendo was the subject of a traffic stop. During the traffic stop, Brevard County Sheriff’s Office deputies received a tip that Oquendo was in possession of child pornography. During an ensuing interview, Oquendo admitted that for several years, he had used a cellphone to search for and view child pornography. He also disclosed that while residing in Brevard County, he used a cellphone to take explicit pictures of two female children under his custody for his sexual gratification. Computer media seized from Oquendo’s residence was found to contain thousands of images and videos of the two minor victims (toddlers at the time), as well as images of other children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The evidence further showed that Oquendo used a social media application to engage in live chats with Litzky, during which Litzky engaged two female children in sexually explicit conduct for Oquendo’s viewing and sexual gratification. Oquendo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce child pornography and production of child pornography. On August 26, 2019, he was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison. After trial, a federal jury found Litzky guilty of conspiracy to produce child pornography, production of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. On February 6, 2020, she was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. 

 

• United States v. Michael Glascock – An undercover agent responded to an online advertisement which Glascock had posted on Craigslist and engaged in communications with Glascock. In these communications, Glascock described his sexual abuse of a three-year-old victim and offered to allow the undercover agent to engage in sexual activity with the minor victim. After Glascock agreed to meet the undercover agent, agents went to Glascock’s home on Merritt Island, where they met Glascock and located the minor victim. Glascock admitted to sexually abusing and producing child sex abuse images of the minor victim. Glascock pleaded guilty to attempted sexual enticement of a minor and production of child sex abuse images. On February 6, 2015, he was sentenced to life in federal prison.

 

• United States v. Matthew Howard – Howard created a sexually explicit advertisement on Craigslist that made reference to a minor female. An undercover agent posing as a 14-year-old girl engaged Howard in online communications. During the online communications, Howard told the “minor” that he wanted to engage with her in sexual conduct. Howard then traveled to Rockledge to meet the “minor” for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct, at which time he was arrested. After trial, a federal jury found Howard guilty of attempted sexual enticement of a minor. On September 10, 2014, he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

 

These cases were 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.

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg and FBI Special Agent in Charge David Walker announce that the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office has been presented with a Child Protection Award for its role in investigating more than 100 cases that have resulted in successful federal prosecutions of child exploitation offenses as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative.

For more than 10 years, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office has partnered with the FBI by providing Task Force Officers and other investigators to work on child exploitation cases. The investigators from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office have served as the lead case agents, undercover officers, and forensic examiners on over 100 child exploitation cases that have been successfully prosecuted in federal court.

“Protecting our children from those who would seek to do them harm is a top priority of the United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners,” said United States Attorney Handberg. “For over 10 years, we have had an excellent partner in the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. The investigators with the Sheriff’s Office are skilled and dedicated professionals who are committed to using their lawful authority to protect children from sexual exploitation. It is an incredible achievement for one office to have successfully worked on over 100 successful federal prosecutions. Those prosecutions have served to protect children in Seminole County and across the United States. We look forward to many more successes working together with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office on these important cases.”

“We recognize the value of working alongside Seminole County Sheriff’s Office in recovering child exploitation victims,” said FBI Tampa Division Special Agent in Charge David Walker. “The FBI appreciates our partnership with Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and looks forward to many more years of working together to identify, locate, and recover the innocent victims.”      

Some significant cases investigated by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office include: 

• United States v. Jonathan and Sarah Aldeta – Jonathan Adleta conspired with his ex-wife, Sarah Adleta, to transport a three-year-old child with the intent of sexually abusing the child. In December 2012, Sarah Adleta flew with the child from Orlando to Oklahoma, where Jonathan Adleta lived. Jonathan Adleta sexually abused the child during the child’s week-long stay at his home. Both before and after the trip, Sarah Adleta also sexually abused the child and sent pictures of the abuse to Jonathan Adleta and others. Sarah Adleta pleaded guilty to producing child sex abuse material. On October 28, 2013, she was sentenced to 54 years in federal prison. After trial, Jonathan Adleta was found guilty of conspiring to transport and transporting a minor in interstate commerce with intent to engage in sexual activity. On June 6, 2014, he was sentenced to life in federal prison.

 

• United States v. George Adrien Brooks – In September 2015, Brooks initiated online communications with the purported father of a 10-year-old boy about engaging the child in sexual conduct. He then traveled to Seminole County to engage in sexual activity with the child. At that time, Brooks was placed under arrest by an FBI agent who had been communicating with the Brooks in an undercover capacity. During trial, the government presented the above evidence, as well as evidence that 44 years ago Brooks had sexually abused another minor. After trial, the jury found Brooks guilty of attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual conduct. On June 27, 2016, he was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison.

 

• United States v. Lewis Chadwick Walker –Walker spent time in state prison from 2011 to 2013 for possession of child sex abuse material. Following his release from state prison in 2013, he was placed on 20 years of sex offender probation. In 2017, he violated the terms of his probation and was ordered not to access the internet. Walker continued to access the internet and conducted searches for images of child sex abuse material. He then took screenshots of the images of child sex abuse and emailed those to himself. Walker pleaded guilty to transporting child sex abuse material. On February 23, 2022, he was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.

 

These cases were 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.

 

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Gabriel Acosta, Jr. (28, Lehigh Acres) to 3 years and 1 month in federal prison for falsifying records relating to firearms purchases. Acosta had pleaded guilty on May 25, 2022.

According to court records, between December 2018 and March 2019, Acosta purchased multiple high-powered rifles from licensed gun dealers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral at the request of a Mexican drug cartel. For each purchase, Acosta falsely certified in ATF paperwork that he was purchasing the firearms for himself, when in truth he knew he was straw-purchasing them for a Mexican drug cartel in exchange for cash kickbacks. After the firearms were purchased, Acosta would travel to Laredo, Texas to offload the guns to a cartel associate. Since late-2019, three firearms straw-purchased by Acosta in Florida have been recovered by Mexican military personnel following firefights with suspected cartel members.   

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

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Otis Marchman IV (28, Fort Myers) to 3 years and 5 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon.  The court also ordered Marchman to forfeit the firearm and ammunition used in the offense.  Marchman had pleaded guilty on August 12, 2022.

According to court records, on December 26, 2020, officers from the Fort Myers Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Marchman on South Street in Fort Myers.  Instead of stopping his vehicle, Marchman accelerated away from officers until his vehicle became disabled several blocks away.  Marchman then ran from his vehicle and hid in nearby bushes before he was apprehended and arrested by the officers.  Inside his vehicle, officers located Marchman’s loaded Glock .45 caliber handgun.  As a convicted felon, Marchman is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law. At the time of this incident, Marchman was on federal supervised release for an unrelated case, and the court ordered Marchman’s prison sentence in this case to run consecutively to a two-year prison sentence imposed in connection with his supervised release violation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case was investigated by the Fort Myers Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Ricky Gonzales to 48 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States. The court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $500,731.13, the proceeds of the wire-fraud conspiracy. Gonzales had pleaded guilty to the charges on August 9, 2022.

According to court documents, Gonzales owned and managed a construction company that purported to supply construction services and labor for construction contractors and subcontractors. In order to comply with Florida law, the company that Gonzales operated was required to secure and maintain adequate worker’s compensation insurance coverage. Gonzales’ company had agreements with contractors and subcontractors to use workers purported to be Gonzales’ employees at construction sites and these workers were often undocumented aliens who were actually working for and under the daily supervision and direction of the contractors. Gonzales or others would then regularly receive “payroll checks” from contractors that were cashed at various financial institutions to pay Gonzales’ purported “employees” and other related expenses.

During the time period charged, Gonzales falsely and fraudulently represented in insurance applications that his company had a very limited payroll and a very limited number of employees who worked on construction jobsites. Gonzales also falsely and fraudulently sent wire communications to numerous contractors representing that his company’s employees had full worker’s compensation coverage.

In reality, Gonzales’ company received and cashed more than $7,150,000 in checks from various construction contractors for these purported “employees”. These payroll figures far exceeded the very limited payroll figures that Gonzales had reported to his worker’s compensation insurance company. As a result, these employees, in reality the employees of other entities, performed work on jobsites without adequate insurance coverage. In addition, the insurers lost premiums they would have charged had they been aware of the true number of workers their policies were thus being manipulated to cover.

As a result of these misrepresentations, Gonzales’ company also disclaimed responsibility for ensuring that jobsite workers were legally authorized to work in the United States and that required state and federal payroll taxes were being paid for these workers. The contractors who actually paid these workers’ wages and used their services were thus also able to avoid responsibility for those duties as well. As a result of this conspiracy, the IRS was unable to collect over $1,094,000 in employment taxes on these workers’’ wages.

“This criminal defrauded insurance companies out of thousands in premiums through undervalued workers’ compensation insurance policies, then profited off the backs of hundreds of non-citizen workers by renting those policies for a fee from their pay checks,” said HSI Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Dumas. “HSI special agents, alongside the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, are committed to ensuring that all workers have the safety net of proper workman’s compensation insurance policy.”

“Gonzales and his conspirators used a shell of lies to evade their tax obligations and skirt workers’ compensation expenses. They short-changed not only the U.S. government but also honest hard-working construction companies,” said Brian Payne, IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge. “Employment tax and workers’ compensation schemes are rampant in Florida’s construction industry and will continue to be a top priority of IRS-CI.”

This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations, the State of Florida Department of Financial Services, and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. It is part of a lengthy investigation by those agencies into the use of shell companies and “ghost” employees in the construction industry. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging David Wayne Hogle, Jr. (29, Cherry Point, North Carolina) with one count of attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, one count of online transportation of depictions involving the sexual abuse of children, and two counts of attempted production of child sexual abuse materials. If convicted of attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, Hogle faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. If convicted of online transportation of depictions involving the sexual abuse of children, Hogle faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison. If convicted of attempted production of child sexual abuse materials, Hogles faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, up to 30 years, in federal prison on each count.  

According to court documents, Hogle committed the charged criminal offenses between July 13 and July 27, 2022. He was arrested in Cherry Point, North Carolina by FBI agents and had his initial appearance in federal court in Greenville, North Carolina. He was subsequently transported to Jacksonville by the United States Marshals Service for prosecution in this case. His detention hearing is scheduled for November 14, 2022, at 3:30 p.m. in Jacksonville.    

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville and Greenville, North Carolina, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

This 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.

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.

Tampa, FL - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest and filing of a criminal complaint charging James John Hall (34, Zephyrhills) with one count of unlicensed distribution of explosive materials, one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device, and one count of unlawful making of a destructive device. If convicted, Hall faces up to 10 years in federal prison on each count.

According to the complaint, on November 1 and 2, 2022, Hall conducted telephone communications with a man to whom he had sold firearms in the past. In these conversations Hall offered to sell the man a “pipe bomb” that Hall had built. Hall shared with the man that he had contemplated using the “pipe bomb” to target an individual with whom he was angry. The man with whom Hall was communicating is a confidential informant with the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. The informant reached out to the sheriff’s office, who then coordinated further investigation with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Later in the evening on November 2, the confidential informant and a Pasco Sheriff’s detective (acting undercover) met with Hall, where the detective purchased the “pipe bomb” as well as a Glock 17 pistol Hall offered to sell him. When asked about future purchases, Hall indicated he “had enough to build six more now.” Hall also indicated that the device he was selling to the undercover detective had a magnet on the bottom because it was “meant for somebody else.”

The suspected destructive device was then disassembled by ATF bomb technicians. The disassembly and examination of the device revealed a metal pipe that was sealed at both ends (with end caps) and filled with suspected pyrotechnic powder, with a suspected pyrotechnic fuse inserted into one of the end caps. The pipe was taped to suspected mixed explosive materials. ATF found no records for Hall in the National Firearm Registration and Transfer Record, indicating he was unlawfully in possession of the device.

This case was investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Pasco Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Tampa Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Samantha Newman.

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

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Demetrius Sanchez Mitchell (38, Tampa) with illegally possessing a firearm. If convicted, Mitchell faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years, and up to life, in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Mitchell that the United States intends to forfeit the firearm traceable to his offense.

According to the indictment, on July 2, 2022, Mitchell possessed a firearm. At the time of the incident, Mitchell had multiple prior felony convictions, including two convictions for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. As a previously convicted felon, Mitchell is prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law.

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 Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tampa Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David P. Sullivan. The forfeiture will be handled by Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne C. Nebesky.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced William Earl Siebert (47, Cape Coral) to 5 years and 10 months in federal prison for unlawfully possessing an unregistered destructive device.  Siebert had pleaded guilty on June 16, 2022.

According to court documents, on August 27, 2019, Siebert was arrested for driving under the influence following a single-vehicle traffic accident on Del Prado Boulevard in Cape Coral.  Later, when his vehicle was searched, officers found a pipe bomb attached to a yard-stake timer, which contained a quantity of explosive powder and an assortment of shrapnel.  Court records showed that Siebert had previously been convicted of second-degree murder and served a 25-year state prison sentence in connection with that case. 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cape Coral Police Department.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Hugo Espinosa Chavez (59, Tampa) to 21 years and 10 months’ imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for using a minor child to produce images depicting sexual abuse, traveling to Colombia to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a child, and possessing images of this child being sexually abused. Espinosa Chavez is a dual citizen of both Colombia and the United States. He is also required to pay restitution to the victim in the amount of $3,000. Espinosa Chavez had pleaded guilty on July 6, 2022.

According to court documents, from May through December 2020, Espinosa Chavez coerced, persuaded, and used a 15-year-old indigent child who lived in Colombia to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing photos of this conduct. In return, Espinosa Chavez gave the child money and other gifts. Espinosa Chavez located the 15-year-old child victim on Facebook and began communicating with the child via Facebook Messenger. Espinosa Chavez demanded nude photos of the child, offering money in exchange for photos of the child’s buttocks and genitals.

On December 12, 2020, Espinosa Chavez traveled from the United States to the Republic of Colombia for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with the child. Espinosa Chavez ultimately sexually abused the child victim, again offering money and gifts in exchange for sex. On other occasions, Espinosa Chavez took sexually explicit pictures of the child on his personal cellphone. In return, the child victim was given 60,000 Colombian pesos (about $17 in U.S. currency) for the initial pictures the victim had sent. When the pictures were taken in person, Espinosa Chavez paid the child a small amount of cash in exchange for taking pictures and enduring the sexual abuse perpetrated by Espinosa Chavez. Espinosa Chavez continued to demand more sexual acts from the child and would only pay the child if the specific requests were met. When the child victim resisted and did not fully cooperate, Espinosa Chavez said, “I feel cheated.”

On October 2, 2021, Espinosa Chavez was arrested on these federal child sex charges. During an interview with law enforcement, he admitted that he had paid the child money in exchange for sexually explicit photos, he knew the child was a minor, and he had sexually abused the child while in Colombia.

“This predator used social media as a weapon to manipulate a minor into engaging in the creation of illicit sexual material, then traveled internationally to sexually abuse the child in person,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kristopher Pagitt. “Children today are more vulnerable than ever, but thanks to the diligence of our special agents here in Tampa, with the substantial assistance of HSI Bogota special agents, the Colombian National Police, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, another child predator has been put behind bars.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Tampa, with substantial assistance from HSI Bogota and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance in the investigation. The United States thanks Colombian authorities for their valuable assistance. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin Claire Favorit.

This 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.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found David Alan Quarles (51, Odessa) guilty of conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, threats, fraud, and coercion; importation of an alien for the purpose of prostitution; transportation of an individual in interstate commerce for the purpose of prostitution; and using a facility of interstate commerce in aid of prostitution. Quarles faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years, and up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 24, 2023. Quarles was indicted on January 13, 2021.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, for decades, Quarles recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, obtained, advertised, and maintained young women and forced them to have sex with men in exchange for money. Quarles used physical violence, threats of violence, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and financial abuse to force and coerce the victims to engage in commercial sex across the United States and throughout the Middle District of Florida. The evidence revealed Quarles frequented strip clubs and bikini bars to target and recruit young vulnerable women who were in difficult financial situations. Many of the victims lacked a stable home and had recently aged out of the foster care system. Quarles promised the victims he would provide everything they had been desiring – financial security, love and affection, and a family. Quarles and his conspirators directed the victims to engage in prostitution, posted advertisements featuring these victims, and arranged for the victims to travel across the United States to work. In addition to recruiting and obtaining women from the United States, Quarles also imported non-United States citizens into the country for the purposes of prostitution.

Quarles required that his victims send him the money that they earned or seek his permission to spend funds on necessities. The evidence demonstrated that while Quarles lacked any legitimate source of income, he benefited financially from the victims. He used their earnings to rent large homes, buy luxury clothing items, and purchase high-end cars, including a Range Rover and a Porsche Panamera. At trial, Quarles testified he had been working as a “pimp” since at least 1994 but denied needing to force or coerce the victims to engage in commercial sex.

As a result of his conviction, the United States is forfeiting multiple electronic devices that facilitated these offenses.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell and former Assistant United States Attorney Colin McDonell. Assistant United States Suzanne Nebesky is handling the forfeiture.

This case resulted from the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s efforts to collaborate with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to detect, investigate, and prosecute coercive human trafficking in the Tampa area. This includes the trafficking of minors, forced labor, transnational sex trafficking, and sex trafficking of adults by force, fraud, or coercion. Information on the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Christopher Alholm (39, Clearwater) to five years and six months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. As part of his sentence, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $5,000, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct. Alholm had pleaded guilty plea on August 4, 2022.

According to court documents, in March 2019, Alholm conspired with others to defraud a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured bank (“Bank 1”) with branches located throughout the Middle District of Florida. Bank 1 was a member institution of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta. Alholm received a victim bank customer’s (“Customer 1’s”) stolen Home Equity Line of Credit (“HELOC”) account number and personally identifying information (“PII”), including Customer 1’s name, signature, date of birth and Social Security number from a co-conspirator. Alholm then used the stolen PII to impersonate Customer 1 at a Bank 1 branch located in Spring Hill, to conduct a fraudulent $495,000 advance of funds from the Customer 1’s HELOC account to an intermediary account at Bank 1. After Alholm completed the fraudulent advance of funds, another co-conspirator wired the stolen HELOC funds from the intermediary account to offshore bank accounts.

This case was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor. The forfeiture is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne C. Nebesky.

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Cornelius “Neal” Singleton (60, Miramar) to 13 years and 9 months in federal prison for international money laundering. The court also ordered Singleton to serve a 3-year term of supervised release following his prison term. Singleton had been found guilty after a week-long jury trial, which concluded on April 15, 2022. Singleton was indicted on July 13, 2021.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on March 28, 2020, Singleton delivered over $600,000 in cash to a confidential witness in a grocery store parking lot, which was intended to be sent to individuals in Colombia. In cooperation with the Colombian National Police, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in Tampa arranged to have the funds delivered to the intended recipients in Colombia, who were members of a group suspected of large-scale narcotics trafficking, in order to identify the recipients. After the successful delivery was made in June 2020, during an undercover operation in Bogota, Colombia, negotiations began with Singleton for additional deliveries of cash to be made to Colombia.  In June 2021, Singleton brought over $1,000,000 in cash to downtown St. Petersburg to be delivered to the same individuals in Colombia. HSI agents arrested him at that time.

Singleton committed the money laundering offense while he was on supervised release in the Southern District of Florida, after having served nearly 17 years in federal prison for cocaine trafficking in Miami.

“This career criminal, even after spending more than 17 years in federal prison for cocaine trafficking, worked as a money laundering mule for Colombia drug lords, supporting the peddling of their poison,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa Special Agent in Charge John Condon. “Thanks to the diligence of our dedicated special agents, with assistance from the Colombian National Police, the Hialeah (Florida) Police Department, and the St. Petersburg (Florida) Police Department, we were able to return him to prison for another 13 years.”    

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa), with the assistance from the Colombian National Police, the Hialeah (Florida) Police Department, and the St. Petersburg (Florida) Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney E. Jackson Boggs, Jr.

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Matthew Garrett Mink (38, Naples) to four years and three months in federal prison for possessing an illegal machinegun, possessing an unregistered firearm silencer, possessing a stolen firearm silencer, and possessing an un-serialized firearm silencer. The court also ordered Mink to pay a $20,000 fine and to forfeit the firearms and silencers involved in his crimes. Mink had pleaded guilty on May 2, 2022.

According to court records, Mink is the former manager of a Naples-based licensed gun dealer, who came to the attention of federal agents after his employment at the gun shop was terminated. An investigation revealed that Mink had engaged in various illegal firearms-related activities both during and after his employment at the gun shop, including falsifying paperwork relating to the acquisition and disposition of firearms in the gun shop’s inventory, possessing illegal modified machineguns, possessing illegal un-serialized and unregistered firearm silencers, and possessing a stolen firearm silencer and a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

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

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Brown Dimas III (27, Lehigh Acres) to three years and one month in federal prison for falsifying records relating to firearms purchases. Dimas had pleaded guilty on August 4, 2022.

According to court records, between November 2018 and March 2019, Dimas purchased several high-powered rifles from licensed gun dealers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral at the request of a Mexican drug cartel. Such an act is often referred to as “straw purchasing.” For each purchase, Dimas falsely certified in ATF paperwork that he was purchasing the firearms for himself, when in truth he knew he was purchasing them for a Mexican drug cartel in exchange for cash kickbacks. After the firearms were purchased, Dimas would travel to Laredo, Texas to offload the guns to a cartel associate. Since late 2019, four firearms straw-purchased by Dimas in southwest Florida have been recovered by Mexican military personnel in or near Tamaulipas, Mexico, following firefights with suspected cartel members.   

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

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Tampa, FL – Jordan Patrick Leahy, 29, was sentenced today in federal court in the Middle District of Florida to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his racially-motivated attack against a Black man who was traveling down a public roadway with his family in Seminole, Florida. 

Leahy was convicted of willfully intimidating and interfering with J.T., and attempting to injure, intimidate and interfere with J.T. through the use of a dangerous weapon (Leahy’s vehicle), because of J.T.’s race and color, and because J.T. was traveling on a public roadway in Seminole, Florida. Specifically, the government introduced evidence at trial that, when Leahy, while driving, came upon J.T. driving on a public road, Leahy shouted racial slurs at J.T. and attempted to force J.T.’s car off the road. J.T.’s girlfriend and four-year-old daughter were in the car at the time. When officers from the Pinellas County Sherriff’s Office arrived on the scene, Leahy made numerous statements evidencing his bias motive, including telling the officers that Black people need to be kept “in their areas.”

“This federal court has sentenced Jordan Leahy to prison for his decision to weaponize his vehicle in a racist attack on J.T.’s family,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The department will continue to aggressively prosecute those who seek to threaten and intimidate our community members because of their race. All persons should be free to travel on the public roadways without fear of being harmed because of who they are.”

“Today’s sentence sends a clear message that racially-motivated criminal behavior is especially repugnant and unacceptable,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg of the Middle District of Florida. “We will continue to work with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to enforce our nation’s civil rights laws.”

“We will not allow hate motivated crimes to infiltrate our communities and threaten our citizens,” said Special Agent in Charge David Walker for the FBI Tampa Field Division. “Investigating civil rights violations is among the FBI’s highest priorities and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect communities from hateful acts of bias.”

Assistant Attorney General Clarke, U.S. Attorney Handberg and Special Agent in Charge Walker made the announcement.

The FBI Tampa Field Office, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlton Gammons for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorneys David Reese and Laura-Kate Bernstein of the Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

Tampa, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest of Matthew Walker Meredith (39, St. Petersburg) for false claims against the government, theft of government property, and money laundering. If convicted on all counts, Meredith faces a maximum penalty of 75 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Meredith that the United States intends to forfeit six Mercedes Benz vehicles and real property, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense.

In 2016, Meredith was convicted of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute Ethylone and sentenced to three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The Bureau of Prisons released Meredith in October 2017, and he began serving his term of supervised release. While on supervised release, Meredith began to submit claims for tax refunds to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the names of entities under his control. According to the indictment, between August 2019 and February 2020, Meredith submitted five claims to the IRS requesting more than $170 million in refunds. Each claim was false and fraudulent, in that Meredith falsified both his income and withholdings.

On or about November 23, 2019, the IRS issued Meredith a refund check in the amount of $6,374,576.92, which Meredith deposited into his bank account. In the weeks that followed, Meredith laundered the illicit proceeds by purchasing luxury vehicles and a waterfront home. Specifically, he purchased six new Mercedes Benz vehicles totaling $843,269.32.

Date of Purchase

Type of Vehicle

Cost

11.30.19

2020 Mercedes Benz S63AMG3

$187,327.68

11.30.19

2019 Mercedes Benz SL63

$156,404.27

11.30.19

2020 Mercedes Benz C63WS

$103,547.17

12.6.19

2020 Mercedes Benz GLE350W

$72,707.55

12.6.19

2020 Mercedes Benz AMG GTR

$232,368.12

12.7.19

2019 Mercedes Benz C63WS

$90,914.53

Additionally, on December 5, 2019, Meredith paid $2,625,000 in cash to purchase a 6,500 square-foot waterfront mansion in St. Petersburg.

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 Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.

Orlando, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found LaTavis Deyonta Mackroy (29, Orlando) guilty of three counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted bank robbery. He faces a maximum penalty of 80 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 25, 2023, before U.S. District Court Judge Paul G. Byron.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Mackroy was a federal prisoner residing at a halfway house in Orlando and was scheduled to be released soon. After staying at the halfway house for over a month, Mackroy was given a home pass which allowed him to spend the weekend with his family. The following day, Saturday, April 16, 2022, Mackroy robbed the Fairwinds Credit Union in Winter Park by passing a demand note and threatening the teller. Mackroy left the credit union with $3,231 and returned back to the halfway house the following day.

The next weekend, Mackroy was again given a home pass, and he robbed one bank on Friday, one bank on Saturday, and attempted to rob another bank on Saturday, which was not successful. In the robbery on Friday, April 22, 2022, Mackroy took $4,000 from a teller at Chase Bank in Kissimmee, after passing her a threatening demand note. On Saturday, April 23, 2022, he robbed the TD Bank in Winter Park and took $2,820. In the final robbery, of a Regions Bank in Orange City, Mackroy was surprised when the teller walked away from his station after reading the demand note, which caused Mackroy the flee the bank empty-handed. The next day, Mackroy returned to the halfway house.

Although he wore a face mask and sunglasses to conceal his identity in all four robberies, Mackroy forgot to retrieve the demand note after the final, attempted robbery. That note was processed for fingerprints and contained four fingerprints matching the defendant’s known prints, which were on file with the FBI.

After learning that Mackroy had been released on a pass during the robberies, law enforcement conducted an investigation that ultimately confirmed that Mackroy was the disguised robber at all four banks. The FBI collected Mackroy’s cellphone, which later revealed his phone’s location at the banks at the time they were robbed.

The FBI also recovered clothing from the halfway house that matched clothing worn by Mackroy during the robberies, as depicted below.

 

One of the ways in which Mackroy was identified was a distinctive floral tattoo on his neck, which was noticed by one of the tellers and caught on surveillance video from one of robberies, and is depicted below:

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Winter Park Police Department, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Orange City Police Department, and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill and Michael P. Felicetta.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew has sentenced Dominique Dragan (29, Tampa) to three years and one month in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release, for cyberstalking two victims. Dragan had pleaded guilty on May 25, 2022.

According to court documents, from approximately January 2020 through July 2021, Dragan engaged in a course of conduct with the intent to harass and intimidate multiple victims. Using Instagram, Dragan cyberstalked, harassed, and threatened the victims with a series of continuous messages. He made specific threats to kill the victims, including by stating, “I can’t wait to hear the bones in your neck break,” “I’m gonna put a bullet in your forehead,” and “I can’t wait to murder you.” Dragan also included racially charged language and warned the victims not to report his threats to law enforcement. Dragan’s conduct placed the victims in reasonable fear of serious injury and death.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilyssa M. Spergel.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Patrick Brian Hines has pleaded guilty to willful evasion of the payment of taxes. Hines faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison and has agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $1,927,077.90.

According to the plea agreement, Hines owned and operated telecommunication companies from 2004 through 2011. In April 2011, after several lawsuits against the entities and Hines, the entities filed for bankruptcy. In 2012, a new telecommunication company was established in Hines’s wife’s name. Hines operated the company through nominees for his personal benefit from 2012 through 2018, during which time the company generated more than $4 million in revenue. The Federal Communications Commission issued a forfeiture order for the previous entities and Hines to pay $1.6 million. In addition, in 2016, the California

Public Utilities Commission filed a complaint against Hines and his companies, which resulted in a finding that Hines was responsible for $9.8 million plus interest, which remains outstanding. Hines used multiple nominee owners for the new company in an attempt to distance himself from the company, and to evade and defeat the payment of income taxes and other obligations.

From 2012 through 2018, Hines arranged for $2.5 million to be spent on personal expenses from nominee accounts, to include $38,000 in personal training sessions, dues for two private clubs, $275,000 in mortgage payments for a multimillion-dollar residence, and tuition for his children’s private schooling.

Hines and his spouse continued to reside in a house on Ponte Vedra Boulevard until it was sold in May 2016 for $5.3 million. Hines and his spouse personally benefitted over $1.79 million through the sale of the residence. Hines had outstanding taxes due to the IRS for tax years 2010, 2011, and 2014. Beginning as early as November 28, 2011, the IRS sent Hines collection notices of his unpaid taxes, yet Hines failed to pay. Despite advice from his accountant to pay his taxes, Hines claimed to be “broke” and living off of the proceeds from the sale of the house. On June 29, 2016, Hines filed an IRS Form 433-A, in which he falsely claimed to have no income, but was supported by his spouse who gave him $3,479 per month, even though he knew that he had received the personal benefit of at least $2 million from 2012 through 2018. Hines has accrued penalties and interest as a result of his delinquent taxes, resulting in total outstanding balance of $1,927,077.90.

“Spending money on personal trainers, private schools and private clubs instead of fulfilling legal tax obligations is a disgrace and a theft from the American public," said Brian Payne, IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge. “Hines’ plea should help reassure honest taxpayers that those who are not paying their fair share will be held responsible.”

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Karase.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington today sentenced Ali Hussein Salamey (40, Dearborn, Michigan) to two years in federal prison for passport fraud and aggravated identity theft. Salamey had pleaded guilty on June 7, 2022.

According to court documents, Salamey and R.S. had a child together, D.S., who was born in September 2014. Despite court orders prohibiting either parent from obtaining a passport for D.S. or taking the child out of state without leave of the court, Salamey applied for Lebanese travel documents from the Lebanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. for D.S. To do so, Salamey submitted a fraudulent maternal consent form on which he had forged R.S.’s signature. The embassy denied the application. Salamey then attempted to obtain travel documents from the Lebanese Consulate in Michigan. This time, Salamey submitted a fraudulent judgment of paternity that he had altered to make it appear as if the court had awarded him (rather than R.S.) sole parental responsibility. This time, the Lebanese consulate issued a Lebanese passport for D.S.

On August 25, 2018, Salamey used the fraudulently acquired passport to take D.S. to Beirut, Lebanon. Lebanon is not a party to the Hague Convention, which obligates member countries to return children abducted abroad; nor does it have an extradition treaty with the United States. Salamey and D.S. remained in Lebanon for the next 10 months. Eventually, the Lebanese government agreed to help return the child to the United States. D.S. and Salamey returned to the United States on June 21, 2019, at which time the child was returned to R.S. and Salamey was arrested.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger has sentenced Milton Guillermo Segarra-Bartolomei (44, Kissimmee) to three years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for passport fraud and aggravated identity theft. Segarra-Bartolomei had pleaded guilty on June 28, 2022.

According to court documents, Segarra-Bartolomei assumed a stolen identity and used it to obtain a U.S. Passport, and then to apply for his minor son’s passport. Segarra-Bartolomei assumed the stolen identity to avoid apprehension in Puerto Rico, where a warrant had been issued for his arrest for an attempted murder that occurred in 2006.    

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shannon Laurie.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Anthony Jermaine Robinson (31, Covington, Georgia) with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, seven counts of bank fraud, five counts of false representation of a Social Security number (SSN), and five counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, Robinson faces up to 30 years in federal prison for each count of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, a consecutive mandatory minimum penalty of 2 years’ imprisonment for each aggravated identity theft count, up to 5 years in prison on each false SSN representation count and payment of restitution to the victims he and his co-defendant, Kiana Fina Alphonse, defrauded. 

According to court documents and public records, Robinson appeared in federal court today pursuant to a writ bringing him to Jacksonville from Georgia State Prison where he is serving a prison sentence for violating parole on a fraud related crime. The Court ordered Robinson detained pending trial. His trial is set for January 2023. Robinson’s co-defendant, Kiana Fina Alphonse (28, Covington, Georgia) appeared in federal court on September 27, 2022. Her trial is set for February 2023.

According to the indictment, Robinson and Alphonse obtained the personally identifiable information (PII) of multiple victims. They then obtained counterfeit driver licenses purportedly from Washington state and Delaware. The counterfeit driver licenses contained the PII of victims, but a picture of Alphonse. Using the PII, to include the SSN of victims, the counterfeit driver licenses, and documents created for fictitious businesses, Alphonse went to multiple banks and opened up business bank accounts in the name of various victims. These bank accounts were then utilized, as part of a scheme to defraud multiple victims with Robinson and Alphonse, among others, receiving the illicit proceeds.

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 Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Secret Service, Jacksonville Field Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan today sentenced Ali Akhenaten, formerly known as Darryl Oliver, to three months in federal prison for tax fraud. Akhenaten had been found guilty by a jury on April 14, 2022.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Akhenaten owned and operated a tax preparation business in Jacksonville called Florida Financial Solutions, at which he prepared tax returns for others. On the 2014, 2015, and 2016 tax returns Akhenaten prepared for the business, he underreported his business income and overstated the rent paid for his business property. On the tax returns he filed on his own behalf for 2014 and 2015, he underreported the income he earned from the business.

“Mr. Akhenaten chose to disregard the rules he himself taught to his tax and accounting students and instead prepare fraudulent returns to pad his own pockets,” said Brian Payne, IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge. “Tax return preparers have a duty to prepare tax returns that comply with the law and we will continue to hold them true to that obligation.”

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

Jacksonville, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Brandon Corey Skeith (40, Jacksonville) today pleaded guilty to possessing fentanyl and cocaine base with the intent to distribute it and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Skeith faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, and up to life, in federal prison. 

According to the plea agreement and court documents, Skeith sold drugs out of a motel near Dunn Avenue in Jacksonville. In April 2022, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit observed Skeith selling fentanyl from the motel and obtained a search warrant for his room. During the execution of the search warrant, officers seized fentanyl packaged for sale, cocaine base, scales, beakers, and a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm pistol. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement analyzed the pistol and found Skeith’s DNA on the firearm.    

This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Talbot. Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran is handling forfeiture of the firearm and ammunition.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Orlando, Florida – United States District Judge Wendy W. Berger has sentenced Dennis Lee Line (53, Winter Springs) to 10 years in federal prison for attempting to coerce or entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. A federal jury had found him guilty on August 11, 2022.

According to evidence admitted during trial, Line, who most recently taught at Oviedo High School for 18 years (ending in 2019), met who he believed to be a 15-year-old girl on a dating application on February 9, 2022. Later that day, the 15-year-old girl and Line began sending text messages to each other. In the text messages, Line initiated a discussion about sex and meeting later that night so that he could teach her about sex and perform oral sex on her. 

Line agreed to meet the 15-year-old girl in Orange County after he left his job at a theme park. Unbeknownst to Line, the 15-year-old girl was actually an undercover law enforcement officer. Line was arrested when he arrived at the meeting location.

This case was investigated by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Orlando Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn P. Napier.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Kimyada Latoya Knight (41, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to credit card fraud. Knight faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison and payment of restitution to Home Depot.  

According to court documents, Knight worked in a specialized area of Home Depot (HD) business operations that primarily handled business and customer credit card accounts. Her area of responsibility included resolving charge disputes and requests for refunds from customers with credit card accounts and other accounts at HD. An initial review by HD, with follow up investigation by the United States Secret Service, determined that Knight had initiated a large number of fraudulent customer and business refunds between approximately January and August 2019 involving credit card accounts and other accounts at HD. After processing the fraudulent transactions, Knight then transferred the payments to accounts that she controlled and subsequently used the proceeds.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service – Jacksonville Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Mark Manuel Angeles Marino (27, Jacksonville) to 55 years in federal prison for child sex trafficking and the production, receipt, and possession of child sexual abuse material. The court also ordered Marino serve a life term of supervised release and pay $163,500 to victims of his offenses. Marino had been found guilty after a bench trial on November 16, 2021.

According to court documents, in March 2019, Marino began communicating with a particular email user in response to an advertisement on the dark web offering child sexual abuse material for sale. Marino responded to the ad and specifically inquired about an 11-year-old girl, requesting to see a video of the sexual assault of that child. After asking several times for depictions of specific sexual abuse of the child, the supplier requested Marino “go elsewhere.” Six months later, Marino contacted the individual again, requesting a specific video of the rape of a child wearing a diaper. The next month, Marino sent a message requesting a video of the sexual assault of a 9-year-old and requested the child’s face not be covered as he wanted to see the child’s reaction while the assault took place. On October 23, 2019, Marino sent $172.09 in bitcoin to the supplier, and the following day he received a 2-minute and 34-second video of a young child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The next day, Marino requested a 30-minute video of a child being raped by an adult and sent the supplier $909.07 in bitcoin in payment for the video. Marino continued to request the 30-minute video, but complained, in a later interview with law enforcement, that he only received a 4-minute video in exchange for the payment. Marino admitted to using bitcoin to pay for child sexual abuse material.

During the execution of a search warrant, agents seized Marino’s electronic devices and discovered thousands of files of child sexual abuse material. Further, the investigation revealed that Marino had produced child sex abuse files of a 12-year-old child known to him, using threats and coercion.     

“Child predators feel they can target and victimize children and remain hidden behind the anonymity of the Dark Web,” said HSI Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips. “HSI special agents in Jacksonville, New York, and the Philippines, utilizing cutting-edge techniques, ensured that this predator was identified and held accountable for his crimes.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Karase.

This 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.

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the partial unsealing of an indictment charging Andi Jacques (41, Greenacres), Monika Shauntel Jenkins (33, Hollywood), Louis Noel Michel (28, Hollywood), Jeff Jordan Propht-Francisque (28, Pompano Beach), Dickenson Elan (39, Clearwater), Michael Jean Poix (31, West Palm Beach), Vladimyr Cherelus (33, Lauderdale Lakes), and Louisaint Jolteus (37, West Palm Beach) with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy.[1] Jacques, Poix, Jenkins, and Michel have also been charged with wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for the RICO conspiracy count. Jacques, Poix, Jenkins, and Michel also face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud conspiracy count and a consecutive 2 years’ imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft count.

According to the indictment and information shared in court, from 2015 through 2019, the defendants and numerous other conspirators—including a now-deceased conspirator who is referenced in the indictment as RICH4EVER4430—banded together to engage in a sophisticated cybercrime and tax fraud scheme. 

Jenkins, Michel, Propht-Francisque, Cherelus, and RICH4EVER4430 purchased on the dark web server credentials for the computer servers of Certified Public Accounting (CPA) and tax preparation firms across the country. They used those server credentials to remotely and covertly commit computer intrusions and exfiltrate the tax returns of thousands of taxpayers who were clients of those CPA and tax preparation firms. Those tax returns included the clients’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and financial information.

Jenkins, Michel, Propht-Francisque, Cherelus, RICH4EVER4430, and other conspirators then partnered with Jacques, Elan, Poix, Jolteus, and others to form an enterprise through which they filed thousands of false tax returns in the names of more than 9,000 identity theft victims. 

Members of the enterprise created and operated at least six fraudulent tax preparation businesses in south Florida, and used those businesses to file many of these false tax returns. The conspirators directed the resulting tax refunds to debit cards and bank accounts that they controlled. Also, to make the businesses appear more legitimate, members of the enterprise opened bank accounts in the names of these fraudulent tax businesses to receive fake “tax preparer fees.” Members of the enterprise also registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) preparer tax identification numbers using the names and information of identity theft victims, to make it appear that those victims were the individuals who were filing false returns in bulk. 

In other iterations of the charged RICO conspiracy, members of the enterprise “hijacked” the IRS-issued identification numbers of CPA and tax preparation firms and used those identification numbers to file scores of additional false tax returns.  Members of the enterprise filed false self-prepared tax returns using stolen identities as well.

To obfuscate their cybercriminal conduct, the conspirators routinely used pseudonyms, opened business entities and bank accounts in the names of nominees and identity theft victims, and conducted their illicit business using dozens of different email addresses. Altogether, the enterprise claimed more than $36 million in false tax refunds over the course of approximately four years. The actual loss amount is still being calculated but is at least $4 million.

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 Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation in Orlando, with assistance from the FBI in Miami and IRS-CI in Minnesota. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily C. L. Chang.

 

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[1] A ninth conspirator was charged, and the indictment will be fully unsealed when that conspirator is arrested.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Cody Dillon Hogan (27, Leachville, Arkansas) to 20 years in federal prison for using the internet to solicit and pay an individual to molest a 9-year-old child and to create a video recording depicting this sexual abuse. Hogan was also ordered to serve a life term of supervised release, pay $71,000 in restitution to child victims, and register as a sex offender. Hogan was arrested on November 9, 2020 and has been detained awaiting sentencing. Hogan had pleaded guilty on June 15, 2021.    

According to court documents, in December 2019, an undercover FBI agent in Jacksonville, who was posing as a parent of a 9-year-old child, made contact with Hogan in an online social media application (app). During an online conversation, Hogan, using the user name “stonetelephone,” sent the undercover agent a photo of his genitalia and asked for “naughty” photos of the purported 9-year-old “child.” Hogan offered to pay the “parent” to create and send him a video of the “child” being sexually abused by the “parent.” Hogan gave instructions as to exactly how he wanted to see the “child” being molested in the requested video, and he sent the undercover agent a $50 gift card in prepayment for the video. For over a month, Hogan continued to solicit the undercover agent to produce and send him a video of the 9-year-old “child” being molested, and he provided instructions on alternate ways to send it to him using group sharing accounts and online cloud storage. During one online conversation, Hogan stated, “After I see this video there could be all kinds of money and requests coming your way lol.”

Later, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Hogan’s residence in Arkansas and arrested him. During an interview, Hogan admitted that he had engaged in online conversations with the parent of a 9-year-old child about producing and sending him a pornographic video of the child. He also stated that he had solicited three other children over the internet to produce and send him sexually explicit photos of themselves. Hogan stated that he has viewed pornographic images depicting infants. Forensic examination of Hogan’s iPhone and his custom-built computer revealed that these devices contained more than 1,000 videos and 5,000 images, some of which were arranged and categorized in user-created folders and all of which depicted the sexual abuse of young children, including sadistic conduct.      

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville, Florida, and Jonesboro, Arkansas, together with the Jonesboro (Arkansas) Police Department. 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 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, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Scott Andrew Hollington, M.D. (57, St. Augustine) with 10 counts of distribution of controlled substances and 1 count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. If convicted, Hollington faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each distribution count and up to 5 years’ imprisonment for the conspiracy count. The indictment also notifies Hollington that the United States intends to forfeit his medical license, which is alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense. Hollington was arrested on October 28, 2022.  He was released on bond pending trial.

According to the indictment, Hollington knowingly distributed and dispensed Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substances—that is, amphetamine, buprenorphine, benzodiazepine, and alprazolam. The indictment noted that Hollington issued prescriptions for controlled substances not for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of professional practice.

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 Drug Enforcement Administration, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kirwinn Mike.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle has sentenced Leslie Reio (25, St. Petersburg) to 8 years in federal prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for engaging in the sex trafficking of minor children. Reio was also ordered to register as a sex offender and to pay restitution to the victims. Reio had pleaded guilty on November 16, 2021.

According to court documents, between March 6 and March 14, 2021, Reio and her co-defendant, Julius Arline, obtained, enticed, and housed two child victims in a St. Petersburg hotel room, forcing them to commit commercial sex acts. The child victims—14 and 15 years old—were rescued after being forced to take sexually explicit photographs of themselves that were used as online advertisements for commercial sex with strangers. The two children were kept in the hotel room where they were provided illegal drugs and forced to participate in a number of sex dates over the eight-day period. After being forced to engage in the sex acts and receiving payment, the child victims were required to give money to Arline and Reio.

Arline, the leader of the organization, was sentenced on June 8, 2022, to 40 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

“Predators who hold children captive in hotels and force them to commit commercial sex acts are some of the most vile traffickers,” said HSI Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kristopher Pagitt. “HSI, alongside the St. Petersburg Police Department, are committed to rescuing child victims from these truly disturbed individuals. We will not rest until predators like her are put behind bars and held responsible for their heinous crimes.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Tampa Bay Human Trafficking Task Force, with substantial assistance from St. Petersburg Police Department and the United States Marshals Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin Claire Favorit.

This case was brought as part of the Tampa Bay Human Trafficking Task Force of the Middle District of Florida, which is one of 13 task forces in the country to receive grant funding from the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Task Force is a collaboration of local, state, and federal law enforcement agents working together with organizations to detect, investigate, and prosecute human trafficking in the Tampa Bay area. This includes trafficking of minors, forced labor, transnational sex trafficking, and sex trafficking of adults by force, fraud, or coercion. More information about the Tampa Bay Human Trafficking Task Force can be found at www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/humantrafficking. Information on the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Mario Lenard Elbert (33, Jacksonville) with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a machine gun. If convicted of the drug offense, Elbert faces a maximum term of 20 years in federal prison. If convicted of the firearms offenses, he faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, and up to life, in federal prison for carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and up to 15 years’ imprisonment for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The indictment also notifies Elbert that the United States intends to forfeit the firearms and ammunition traceable to the offense.

According to the indictment, on May 11, 2022, Elbert possessed fentanyl with the intent to distribute it, during which time he had a firearm and ammunition in his possession. On September 7, 2022, Elbert was in possession of a machinegun. At the time of the incident, Elbert was a convicted felon. As a previously convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.  

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 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Jacksonville Sherriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Cannizzaro. The forfeiture will be handled by Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran.           

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Seth Estes Vanover (50, Diana, Texas) with attempting to entice an 11-year-old child to engage in sexual activity. Vanover faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, and up to life, imprisonment, and a potential life term of supervised release. Vanover was arrested on October 12, 2022, at the Longview Police Department in Longview, Texas, where he was at the time employed as a Lieutenant with that department. Vanover’s arraignment in Jacksonville has not yet been scheduled.    

According to court documents, on July 25, 2022, an undercover FBI agent in Jacksonville began conducting an online undercover operation designed to identify and target adults who were seeking to make contact with and engage in illegal sexual activity with minor children. The undercover agent, who was posing as the parent of an 11-year-old child, posted a notice in a public chat room of an online social messaging app. That day, an individual with the user name “jattleson,” subsequently identified as Vanover, contacted the undercover agent using a private messaging feature on the app. User “jattleson” confirmed that he was “into yung” and sent the undercover agent several photos depicting child erotica and a photo of a nude adult male displaying his genitalia. User “jattleson” and the undercover agent discussed the sexual experience of the 11-year-old “child,” and user “jattleson” stated that he would “love to” meet them in Florida, would “love to be naked with” the “child,” and further used explicit language. User “jattleson” and the undercover agent engaged in more online conversations on August 8, August 10, and September 19, 2022, during which the two discussed, among other things, meeting in Florida so that user “jattleson” could engage in sexual activity with the 11-year-old “child.” User “jattleson” confirmed that the “child” was “open to have sex,” discussed details of the sexual acts that he intended to perform on the “child,” and directed the undercover agent to “[t]alk to [the “child”] about [the intended sexual activity].”

Further investigation by the FBI revealed that the user name “jattleson” had used certain internet protocol (IP) addresses on the social media app during relevant time periods that were assigned to a telephone number subscribed to by the “City of Longview,” with the physical address of the Longview Police Department and the contact name “Seth Vanover.” Other IP addresses used by user “jattleson” on the app during the relevant time period resolved to a hotel in Waco, Texas, where Vanover was a registered guest at that time, Vanover’s residence in Diana, Texas, and a telephone number listed as belonging to “Set E. Vanover” at Vanover’s residential address. This telephone number was the same number used by Vanover on a website for his fishing tour guide business.     

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 Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville and Tyler, Texas, with the assistance and cooperation of the Longview (Texas) Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

This 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, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Derrick Kamran Collins (31, Spring Hill) has been found guilty of manufacturing counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes (FRN), aiding and abetting the passing of counterfeit FRN, and possession of counterfeit FRN. Collins faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count and forfeiture of funds that represents the illicit proceeds from the offenses.

According to court documents, from 2017 to March 2019, Collins acted as the source of supply for counterfeit FRN for various individuals throughout the Middle District of Florida. Collins was part of a scheme to pass the counterfeit FRN in order to defraud businesses. After successfully passing counterfeit FRN at businesses, individuals would pay Collins a portion of the proceeds. On March 26, 2019, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that contained multiple people, including Collins, at the River City Marketplace shopping center for suspicion of passing counterfeit FRN. During a search of the vehicle, officers recovered multiple counterfeit $100 FRN throughout the vehicle and in the glove box. Subsequently, law enforcement was able to determine Collins as the source of supply for the counterfeit FRN that were passed by various individuals in the North Florida area, including at the River City Marketplace.

On November 21, 2019, the New Port Richey Police Department (NPRPD)

conducted a traffic stop at approximately 1:00 a.m. on a Dodge Charger driven by the registered owner, Collins. Upon making contact with Collins, law enforcement observed signs of impairment. During a subsequent DUI investigation, Collins refused to participate in field sobriety exercises and was arrested for DUI. During an inventory search in order to tow the vehicle from the area, the NPRPD located several sheets of counterfeit $100 bills in various stages of manufacturing in the trunk of the vehicle, and computer media. In the vehicle’s glove box, officers located completed counterfeit FRN and illicit proceeds from the passing of counterfeit FRN, bundled together. 

This prosecution was part of a long-term investigation into counterfeit FRN being passed in the areas of New Port Richey and North Florida. To date, Collins is the fourth individual prosecuted in connection with this activity. In February 2020, Charles Alexander Coriaty, III (Tampa) was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for passing counterfeit FRN supplied by Collins and was ordered to pay restitution to the businesses that he defrauded. In June 2020, Brett Lawrence Rozenburgh (Tampa) was sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment for passing counterfeit FRN supplied by Collins and was ordered to pay restitution to the businesses that he defrauded. In September 2020, Samantha Jade Falcone (Tampa) was sentenced to 2 years’ federal supervision for passing counterfeit FRN supplied by Collins and was ordered to pay restitution to the businesses that she defrauded.   

This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the New Port Richey Police Department, and the United States Secret Service - Jacksonville Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein. The forfeiture is being handled by Assistant United States Mai Tran.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judges Thomas Barber and Virginia Covington have sentenced Marvin “MJ” Mitchell (36, St. Petersburg) to 15 years in federal prison, Christopher Hughes (44, Clearwater) to 8 years in federal prison, and Emma Leifer (26, Clearwater) to 6 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and crack cocaine.

According to court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, between April and June 2019, Mitchell rented and operated several rooms at the Express Inn motel in Clearwater. Mitchell then directed his conspirators, Hughes and Leifer, to sell fentanyl, heroin, and crack cocaine out of those rooms around the clock. The sale of these narcotics led to dozens of drug overdoses at the Express Inn and the surrounding area. On June 17, 2019, law enforcement executed search warrants at the Express Inn and discovered fentanyl, heroin, crack cocaine, used syringes, cash, and a drug ledger.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pinellas Park Police Department, with assistance from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and the Pasco and Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.  

Tampa, FL – Three defendants were sentenced today for their roles in a federal racketeering conspiracy that victimized over a dozen Mexican H-2A workers who had worked in the United States harvesting fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products between 2015 and 2017.

U.S. District Court Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell for the Middle District of Florida sentenced Christina Gamez, 43, to 37 months in prison; Efrain Cabrera Rodas, 32, a citizen of Mexico, to 41 months in prison; and Guadalupe Mendes Mendoza, 45, to eight months home detention and a $5,500 fine to be paid over 24 months supervised release. Judge Honeywell also ordered Cabrera to pay nearly $25,000 and Gamez to pay over $9,000 in restitution to the victims.

“These defendants exploited their victims’ vulnerabilities and immigration status, promising them access to the American dream but then turning around and confiscating their passports and threatening arrest and deportation if they did not endlessly toil away for their profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting those who use deception, isolation, intimidation, coercion and control to exploit their victims for compelled labor, and to ensuring that they are stripped of any profits so that the victims can rightfully use restitution proceeds to rebuild their lives.”

“Using coercive, deceptive, and fraudulent practices to exploit individuals’ immigration status to engage in a pattern of forced labor for financial gain is appalling,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Thanks to the diligent work by our human trafficking task force partners, this criminal enterprise was stopped in its tracks.”

“For their own personal enrichment, Christina Gamez and her co-defendants illegally conspired to victimize Mexican H-2A workers who came to the United States to participate in the harvest of fruits and vegetables,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert M. DeWitt of the FBI Miami Field Office. “Their actions are unconscionable. The FBI and our partners will continue to pursue those in the agricultural industry who exploit vulnerable workers.”

According to court documents, the defendants each conspired to operate and manage Los Villatoros Harvesting LLC (LVH) –  a farm labor contracting company that brought large numbers of temporary, seasonal Mexican workers into the United States on H-2A agricultural visas – as a criminal enterprise engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity. The enterprise’s racketeering activity included subjecting LVH’s H-2A workers to forced labor, harboring many of LVH’s H-2A workers for financial gain, committing fraud in foreign labor contracting and submitting fraudulent visa related documents to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor.

Cabrera worked as a recruiter, manager and part-time supervisor for LVH. Cabrera successfully recruited approximately 40 workers to work for the criminal enterprise. He charged them fees of between $1,000 to $2,000 prior to coming to the United States to work for LVH, lied to them by telling them that LVH would reimburse them after their arrival in the United States, and misrepresented how much money LVH would pay them for their harvesting work. Cabrera understood that the workers had gone into heavy debt to pay the fees he had charged them, and that he and his coconspirators could use those debts to coerce the workers into continuing to work for LVH. Cabrera also understood that coconspirators in the enterprise confiscated workers’ passports for the purpose of discouraging the workers from fleeing so that they would continue laboring for LVH. Cabrera also threatened workers with arrest and deportation if they attempted to escape from the company.

Gamez worked as a bookkeeper, manager and supervisor for LVH. Gamez committed several overt acts in furtherance of the criminal enterprise. She confiscated the workers’ passports and knowingly submitted fraudulent payroll documents to LVH’s payroll company to make it possible for LVH to pay its workers only a very small fraction of the pay they were entitled to under their contracts for the many hours of physically demanding work they had done. She threatened workers with deportation if they did not continue to labor for LVH. Later, in an effort to mislead Department of Labor employees, she falsified payroll records and participated in preparing falsified reimbursement receipts and distributing them to H-2A workers.

Mendes worked as a supervisor and manager for LVH. In order to conceal aspects of the criminal enterprise from investigators, Mendes made false statements to federal investigators.

Earlier this year, the defendants pleaded guilty for their roles in the enterprise. Gamez and Cabrera each pleaded guilty to conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and Mendes pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct a federal investigation.

The owner of LVH, co-defendant Bladimir Moreno, 55, also pleaded guilty last month to his role in the scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 28. Moreno faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The court will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. As part of his plea agreement, Moreno has agreed to pay more than $173,000 in restitution to the victims.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.

The Palm Beach County Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, investigated the case. The Task Force received assistance from the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Colorado Legal Services Migrant Farm Worker Division, Legal Aid Services of Oregon Farmworker Program and Indiana Legal Services Worker Rights and Protection Project.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilyssa Spergel for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Avner Shapiro, Maryam Zhuravitsky and Matthew Thiman of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case. 

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

Three defendants were sentenced today for their roles in a federal racketeering conspiracy that victimized over a dozen Mexican H-2A workers who had worked in the United States harvesting fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products between 2015 and 2017.

U.S. District Court Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell for the Middle District of Florida sentenced Christina Gamez, 43, to 37 months in prison; Efrain Cabrera Rodas, 32, a citizen of Mexico, to 41 months in prison; and Guadalupe Mendes Mendoza, 45, to eight months of home detention and a $5,500 fine to be paid over 24 months of supervised release. Judge Honeywell also ordered Cabrera to pay nearly $25,000 and Gamez to pay over $9,000 in restitution to the victims.

“These defendants exploited their victims’ vulnerabilities and immigration status, promising them access to the American dream but then turning around and confiscating their passports and threatening arrest and deportation if they did not endlessly toil away for their profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting those who use deception, isolation, intimidation, coercion and control to exploit their victims for compelled labor, and to ensuring that they are stripped of any profits so that the victims can rightfully use restitution proceeds to rebuild their lives.”

“Using coercive, deceptive and fraudulent practices to exploit individuals’ immigration status to engage in a pattern of forced labor for financial gain is appalling,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Thanks to the diligent work by our human trafficking task force partners, this criminal enterprise was stopped in its tracks.”

“For their own personal enrichment, Christina Gamez and her co-defendants illegally conspired to victimize Mexican H-2A workers who came to the United States to participate in the harvest of fruits and vegetables,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert M. DeWitt of the FBI Miami Field Office. “Their actions are unconscionable. The FBI and our partners will continue to pursue those in the agricultural industry who exploit vulnerable workers.”

According to court documents, the defendants each conspired to operate and manage Los Villatoros Harvesting LLC (LVH) –  a farm labor contracting company that brought large numbers of temporary, seasonal Mexican workers into the United States on H-2A agricultural visas – as a criminal enterprise engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity. The enterprise’s racketeering activity included subjecting LVH’s H-2A workers to forced labor, harboring many of LVH’s H-2A workers for financial gain, committing fraud in foreign labor contracting and submitting fraudulent visa related documents to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor.

Cabrera worked as a recruiter, manager and part-time supervisor for LVH. Cabrera successfully recruited approximately 40 workers to work for the criminal enterprise. He charged them fees of between $1,000 to $2,000 prior to coming to the United States to work for LVH, lied to them by telling them that LVH would reimburse them after their arrival in the United States, and misrepresented how much money LVH would pay them for their harvesting work. Cabrera understood that the workers had gone into heavy debt to pay the fees he had charged them, and that he and his co-conspirators could use those debts to coerce the workers into continuing to work for LVH. Cabrera also understood that co-conspirators in the enterprise confiscated workers’ passports for the purpose of discouraging the workers from fleeing so that they would continue laboring for LVH. Cabrera also threatened workers with arrest and deportation if they attempted to escape from the company.

Gamez worked as a bookkeeper, manager and supervisor for LVH. Gamez committed several overt acts in furtherance of the criminal enterprise. She confiscated the workers’ passports and knowingly submitted fraudulent payroll documents to LVH’s payroll company to make it possible for LVH to pay its workers only a very small fraction of the pay they were entitled to under their contracts for the many hours of physically demanding work they had done. She threatened workers with deportation if they did not continue to labor for LVH. Later, in an effort to mislead Department of Labor employees, she falsified payroll records and participated in preparing falsified reimbursement receipts and distributing them to H-2A workers.

Mendes worked as a supervisor and manager for LVH. In order to conceal aspects of the criminal enterprise from investigators, Mendes made false statements to federal investigators.

Earlier this year, the defendants pleaded guilty for their roles in the enterprise. Gamez and Cabrera each pleaded guilty to conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and Mendes pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct a federal investigation.

The owner of LVH, co-defendant Bladimir Moreno, 55, also pleaded guilty last month to his role in the scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 28. Moreno faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The court will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. As part of his plea agreement, Moreno has agreed to pay more than $173,000 in restitution to the victims.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.

The Palm Beach County Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, investigated the case. The Task Force received assistance from the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Colorado Legal Services Migrant Farm Worker Division, Legal Aid Services of Oregon Farmworker Program and Indiana Legal Services Worker Rights and Protection Project.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilyssa Spergel for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Avner Shapiro, Maryam Zhuravitsky and Matthew Thiman of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case. 

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Alexander Leszczynski (24, North Redington Beach) with one count of murder-for-hire and one count of obstruction of justice. If convicted, Leszczynski faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison on each count. The indictment also notifies Leszczynski that the United States intends to forfeit any facilitating property or assets that are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense.

According to the indictment, in approximately August and September 2022, Leszczynski, while using a facility of interstate or foreign commerce, promised to pay an individual to kill two people, identified as Victim 1 and Victim Two. The indictment also alleges that, during that same time period, Leszczynski corruptly endeavored to influence, obstruct, and impede the due administration of justice in a judicial proceeding pending before United States District Court: namely, the trial of the criminal case of United States of America v. Alexander Leszczynski, Case Number 8:22-cr-155-MSS-SPF, in the Tampa Division of the Middle District of Florida.

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 Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shauna S. Hale.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Thomas Zayas (46, Orlando) to 35 years in federal prison for enticing a minor child to produce sexually explicit videos and for possessing that material. Zayas was also ordered to serve a 15-year term of supervised release, register as a sex offender, and forfeit his smartphones. Zayas had pleaded guilty on July 26, 2022.

According to court documents and evidence presented during the sentencing hearing, in approximately July 2021, Zayas, posing as a teenage boy, used a messaging application to contact a 12-year-old child. After the child grew tired of Zayas’s romantic advances, she stopped communicating with Zayas. Zayas then contacted the child again, this time posing as the sister of the teenage boy. Zayas threatened to physically hurt the child for ending the “relationship” with the fictional brother, and as a result, the child agreed to continue a friendship with the original persona. In order to scare the child and prove that Zayas knew who the child was, where she lived, and where she went to school, Zayas sent the child a photo of the child’s apartment complex and a yearbook photo of the child from the child’s middle school. Zayas then requested several nude images and videos of the child performing sexual acts, and he instructed the child on what to do in the images and videos. Initially the child refused, afraid that Zayas would post the photos on the internet to harm the child. After promising not to use the images to harm the child, the child eventually sent Zayas sexually explicit videos and photos. The demands from Zayas continued, and when the child did not comply with Zayas’s requests, Zayas became hostile, and threatened to expose the child with the nude videos and images the child had previously sent.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) was made aware of Zayas when a school resource officer was contacted by a parent who received via text message a collage depicting sexually explicit photos of the child. OSCO investigators were able to trace the aliases to Zayas through phone records, and with the help of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General, also discovered evidence of an order for flowers, which Zayas had delivered to the child’s middle school, from his work-issued laptop.

“It’s heartbreaking to learn about the repeated abuse and trauma these young victims endure at the hands of sexual predators like Mr. Zayas,” said FBI Tampa Division Special Agent in Charge David Walker. “The FBI Child Exploitation Task Forces are steadfastly committed to protecting the innocent and making sure child sexual abusers are brought to justice.”

“The sentence imposed today serves as a stark warning to all VA employees that you will be held accountable for using government resources to further crimes and that the full force of the VA OIG will be employed to bring to justice anyone who preys on children,” said Special Agent in Charge David Spilker with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Southeast Field Office. “The VA OIG thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners with whom we will continue to work to safeguard our communities from such predators.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the United States Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer M. Harrington.

This 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.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Tevin OBrian Oliver (29, Homestead), Jameal Kaia Phillip (30, Trinidad and Tobago), and Edward Soloman King III (31, Tampa) with conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.

According to the indictment, Oliver, Phillip, and King were part of a ring that unlawfully exported firearms, firearms components (including upper/lower receivers and gun parts kits), and related items from Florida to Trinidad and Tobago between 2019 and 2022. Oliver and Phillip are both nationals of Trinidad. The firearms, which included pistols and rifles, and related equipment were concealed within boxing/fight equipment, speakers, and other household items to avoid detection by law enforcement and customs authorities. Conspirators also acquired firearms in the Tampa area from different sellers through straw purchases, falsely representing the identities of the actual purchasers and recipients of the firearms, as well as their ultimate destination.

On April 7, 2021, Oliver shipped a package concealing and containing various firearms and related equipment, including a Taurus G2C 9mm pistol, a SAR Arms SAR-9 9mm pistol, a Taurus G3 9mm pistol, and a Ruger Security-9 9mm pistol, from Miami to Trinidad and Tobago. On April 22, 2021, authorities at the Piarco International Airport in Trinidad seized those firearms and other related items that had been concealed in the shipment.

King was arrested and made his initial appearance in federal court in the Middle District of Florida on October 25, 2022. Phillip was arrested and made his initial appearance in federal court in the Southern District of Florida on October 25, 2022. Oliver was arrested and made his initial appearance in federal court in the Southern District of Florida on October 26, 2022.

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 Homeland Security Investigations, including HSI’s Attaché, Caribbean, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance provided by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (Transnational Organized Crime Unit and Special Investigations Unit), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and United States Customs and Border Protection. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Scruggs. 

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.  

Tampa – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced today the fourth quarter results of the Middle District of Florida’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) strategy.  Over the last fiscal year, ending September 30, 2022, the United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted more than 325 defendants and seized approximately 685 firearms, 9 silencers, and 1,813 autosears. During the last quarter in particular, prosecutors in the Middle District of Florida have prosecuted 120 defendants for federal firearms and violent crime offenses, removing more than 192 firearms from our streets in the process. (See chart below for case details) The U.S. Attorney’s Office has also engaged in community outreach efforts aimed at violent crime prevention throughout the year. Those efforts in the fourth quarter involved more than 800 people. 

“Our office is committed to reducing violent crime throughout the Middle District of Florida,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg. “We will continue working with our law enforcement partners and community stakeholders as part of our joint effort to make our communities safer.”

PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. This evidence-based program has proven to be effective at reducing violent crime by engaging a broad spectrum of stakeholders working together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in communities and developing comprehensive solutions that reduce crime. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses on prevention and intervention efforts through community engagement and problem-solving partnerships, strategic enforcement of the most violent offenders, and locally based reentry programs to reduce recidivism.

Q4 PSN case highlights:

United States v. Harris et al (Fort Myers)

Marvin Harris, Jr., and Latrel Jackson have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder for hire and murder for hire as a result of murder that was committed in Fort Myers in November 2019. According to court records, Harris, Jr. was the leader of a drug trafficking organization operating in Lee County. As a result of the conspiracy between Harris, Jr., and Jackson, “K.U.” was murdered on November 2, 2019, in Fort Myers. Harris, Jr. caused Jackson to travel from Illinois to commit the murder in exchange for a promise and agreement to pay money. The trial is currently scheduled for December 2022.

United States v. Christopher Dozier (Jacksonville)

In September 2022, Christopher Dozier was sentenced to 18 years and 8 months in federal prison for two violent armed robberies of Jacksonville businesses. In the first robbery, Dozier physically struck an employee before binding the employee’s hands with wire. During the second robbery, Dozier disarmed a security guard, stealing his firearm and almost $2,000 from the business. Dozer fled to Massachusetts where he was arrested and eventually returned to Jacksonville. Dozier’s girlfriend acted as his driver in both robberies. She was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for her role in the robberies.

United States v. Tyree Townsel (Ocala)

On August 29, 2022, Benjamin Tyree Townsel (22, Ocala) was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for possessing of firearms as a convicted felon and for possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. According to court records, between August 2020 and February 2021, officers from the Ocala Police Department discovered Townsel near firearms during three separate traffic stops. In each instance, Townsel had been linked to other criminal activity, including a shooting and a high-speed chase with law enforcement. An FBI DNA comparison conclusively showed Townsel’s DNA on all the recovered firearms, one of which also had an obliterated serial number. Townsel, a member of the “Bloods” street gang, had four prior state felony convictions, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

United States v. Raul Reyes Vazquez (Orlando)

In July 2022, Raul Reyes Vazquez was sentenced to 27 years and 3 months in federal prison for committing bank robberies while on federal supervised release related to a bank robbery he had committed in New York in 2008. According to court documents, in July 2008, Reyes Vazquez robbed a Chase Bank in Manhattan and was later convicted and sentenced for that offense in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He also committed a series of bank robberies in 2006 in Hialeah and Miami for which he was sentenced in 2019. On February 16, 2022, Reyes Vazquez robbed a Trustco Bank branch in Orlando. Six days later, Reyes Vazquez robbed a Wells Fargo bank branch in Orlando. At sentencing, Reyes-Vazquez was determined to be a career offender under federal sentencing rules.

United States vs. Ma’at Malik Darius Lee (Tampa)

In August 2022, a federal grand jury returned a seven-count indictment charging Ma’at Lee with carjacking, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, two counts of aggravated identity theft, two counts of attempted wire fraud, and possessing a stolen firearm. The indictment alleges that from July 9 to October 27, 2021, Lee robbed three individuals at gunpoint and carjacked a fourth. When a deputy from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office located Lee in the stolen vehicle and attempted to make a traffic stop, Lee responded by firing at least eight rounds and fleeing the scene. If convicted, Lee faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The trial is scheduled for January 2023.

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

These cases are being prosecuted by the Assistant United States Attorneys in all five divisions throughout the Middle District of Florida. For additional information on Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit our website: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/project-safe-neighborhoods-0.   

Project Safe Neighborhoods Update

(July 1, 2022 – September 30, 2022)

Charged Cases

Defendant(s)

(Age)

Charges

Minimum/Maximum Terms of Imprisonment

Firearms Seized

Fort Myers Division

4th Quarter

Marvin Harris, Jr. (24)

 

Latrel Jackson (25)

Conspiracy to commit murder for hire

Maximum Prison Term: Life

 

Murder for hire

Maximum Prison Term: Life

0

James Blanks (26)

Possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Jontavious Griffin (33)

Possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon

Maximum Prison Term: 15 years

1

Doumy Joseph (26)

Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: life

2

Giovanni Francois (23)

Possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

These PSN cases from the Fort Myers Division are being handled by AUSAs Simon Eth, Mike Leeman, Trent Reichling, and Mark Morgan

Jacksonville Division

4th Quarter

Ronald Bernard Thomas, Jr. (45)

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

2

Paul Bryan McCorkle (54)

 

Felon in possession of an explosive

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

0

Cory Lee Kelly (34)

 

Possession of a machine gun

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Felon in possession of a firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 15 years

1

Derrick Irving Gordon (47)

 

Material false statements related to purchase of a firearm

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

0

Sule Pedro (46)

 

Distribution of methamphetamine

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: 40 years

0

These PSN cases from the Jacksonville Division are being handled by AUSAs Laura Taylor, Michael Coolican, Tysen Duva, and David Mesrobian

Ocala Division

4th Quarter

Michael Latrelle Simpson (21)

Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Ralph Fontil, Jr. (24)

 

Making a materially false statement in connection with the purchase of firearms

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Causing a Federal firearms licensee to maintain false information

Maximum Prison Term: 5 years

3

Alexander Timothy Rosa (30)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Justin Heath Griffin (34)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Timothy James Roberts (28)

Possession of an unregistered firearm/destructive device

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 15 years

1

Lewis Tinson, Jr. (29)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

4

Brandon Jamal Alex Grant (22)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 15 years

2

These PSN cases from the Ocala Division are being handled by AUSAs William Hamilton, Sarah Swartzberg, Hannah Nowalk, and Robert Bodnar, Jr.

Orlando Division

4th Quarter

Curtis Tyrone Johnson (34)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 10 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Daniel Steven King (28)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

9

Ramondo Zavious Williams (41)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Anthony Quantarius Brooks (21)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Bobby H. Bridges (48)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Jonathan J. Pilgrim (28)

Possession with intent to distribute control substance

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Possession of firearm by previously convicted Felon

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Possession of Machine gun

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Use or Carry firearm during drug trafficking offense

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

These PSN cases from the Orlando Division are being handled by AUSAs Betty Gonzalez, John M. Gardella, Shannon R. Laurie, Courtney D. Richardson-Jones, and Terry B. Livanos

Tampa Division

4th Quarter

Marques Howard (31)

 

Conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Hobbs Act Robbery

Maximum Prison Term:10 years

Discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 10 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term:10 years

1

Robert Frascella (55)

 

Bank Robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

0

Ma’at Darius Lee (21)

 

Carjacking

Maximum Prison Term: 15 years

Brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 7 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Attempted wire fraud

Maximum Prison term: 20 years

Aggravated Identity Theft

Maximum Prison term: 2 years

Possession of a stolen firearm

Maximum Prison term: 10 years

1

 

Johnny Flores  (44)

 

Interference with commerce by robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 7 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

0

Donald Robert Smith (27)

 

Interference with Commerce by robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Brandishing of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 7 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Discharging of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 10 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Felon in Possession of a Firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Dempsey Gilmore (31)

 

Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: 40 years

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term:10 years

0

Dyonnie Alvarez (24)

 

Christopher Alvarez (18)

 

Enrique Marquez (26)

 

Conspiracy to Interfere with Commerce by Robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Interference with Commerce by Robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Brandishing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 7 years

Maximum Prison Term:10 years

0

James Junior Williams (44)

 

Bank Robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

0

Thaddeus Howard (29)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Reggie Harris, Jr. (30)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Cedrick Durham (21)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Adam Saed (31)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Patraic Setzer (28)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Stephen Sherlock (58)

 

Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 10 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: 40 years

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Isaac Bautista Gonzalez (20)

 

Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 10 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Eddie Winman Thomas, III (32)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Jonathan Anton Williams (38)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Kenneth Lorenzo Jackson (47)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 15 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Meccos Donta Allen (38)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Mandatory Minimum Prison Term: 15 years

1

These PSN cases from the Tampa Division are being handled by AUSAs Samantha Newman, Samantha Beckman, Maria Guzman, Diego Novaes, David P. Sullivan, David Chee, and Michael Kenneth

Adjudicated Cases

 

Defendant(s)

(Age)

Charges

Minimum/Maximum Terms of Imprisonment

Firearms Seized

Fort Myers Division

4th Quarter

Ronald Perkins (44)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Distribution of a controlled substance

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

1

Otis Marchman IV (28)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Brown Dimas III (27)

Making a false statement in records required to be kept by a firearms dealer

Maximum Prison Term: 5 years

4

These PSN cases from the Fort Myers Division are being handled by AUSAs Simon Eth and Mark Morgan

Jacksonville Division

4th Quarter

Dontae Edwards (30)

Making a materially false statement in connection with the purchase of firearms

Maximum Prison Term: 5 years

0

Raymond Samuel Reeves (22)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

2

Stephan Leon Marshall (22)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Brandon Bayne (25)

Conspiracy to commit robbery affecting interstate commerce

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 7 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Michael Lajaune Smith (44)

Distribution of a controlled substance

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

0

Hinduwah Sama (18)

Possession of a stolen firearm

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

James Robert Lewis (54)

Making a materially false statement in connection with the purchase of firearms

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Darnell Rice, Jr. (28)

Possession and transfer of a combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Making a materially false statement related to the purchase of a firearm

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

0

These PSN cases from the Jacksonville Division are being handled by AUSAs Frank Talbot, John Cannizzaro, Laura Taylor, Julie Hackenberry, Chip Corsmeier, and Michael Coolican

Ocala Division

 

                   4th Quarter

 

Aaron Haa (42)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 15 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

3

Demuntray Cox (39)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Rey Daniel Facio-Garcia (29)

Illegal alien in possession of a firearm

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Keo Ibua Mike (29)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

2

James Clay Bexley (34)

Possession of an unregistered firearm/destructive device

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Possession of a firearm in violation of a domestic violence injunction

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

18

Troy Nix (29)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Michael Tyrone Young (32)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

These PSN cases from the Ocala Division are being handled by AUSAs Robert Bodnar, Jr, Tyrie K. Boyer, and Will S. Hamilton

Orlando Division

4th Quarter

Mandel Lamont Stewart (23)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

2

Rossonno Borders, Jr. (25)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Isaac Millan Sepulveda (21)

Conspiracy to distribute Fentanyl

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: 40 years

7

Charles Palmatier (74)

Unlawful distribution and dealing of firearms

Maximum Prison Term: 5 years

18

These PSN cases from the Orlando Division are being handled by AUSAs Ranganath Manthripragada, Terry B. Livanos, and Betty Gonzalez

Tampa Division

4th Quarter

Deoin Rashaud Brown (26)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 15 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

1

Uriah Waggerby (24)

Sylvanis Brice (30)

Johan Holder (25)

Conspiracy to interfere with Commerce by robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

0

Raequan Nelson (24)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

William Shumaker (38)

Possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Troy Dollman (45)

Conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 10 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 5 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

2

Delon Adams (50)

Interference with commerce by robbery

Maximum Prison Term: 20 years

Brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence

Minimum Mandatory Prison Term: 7 years

Maximum Prison Term: Life

Possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

Mailing a threatening communication

Maximum Prison Term: 2 years

0

Antwan Brown (22)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

Damien Boatwright (23)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Maximum Prison Term: 10 years

1

 

These PSN cases from the Tampa Division are being handled by AUSAs Risha Asokan, Mike Sinacore, Michael Kenneth, David Chee, Samantha Beckman, Diego Novaes, and Chris Murray

Sentenced Cases

Defendant(s)

(Age)

Charges

Sentence Imposed

Firearms Seized

Fort Myers Division

4th Quarter

Romeo Lenell Battle (25)

 

Felon in possession of firearm

Sentence imposed: 57 months

1

Eric Maurice Brown (32)

Possession with intent to distribute 40 or more Grams of Fentanyl, Cocaine, and Cocaine Base

Sentence imposed: 164 months

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence imposed: 120 months

2

Serdarryel Dave English, Jr. (39)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence imposed: 72 months

1

Robert Reese Lyons (24)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence imposed: 46 months

1

Herman Fleming (29)

Felon in possession of firearm

Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

Possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

Sentence imposed: 120 months

1

Nickolas Rock (56)

Possession of an unregistered destructive device

Sentence imposed: 6 months

1

These PSN cases from the Fort Myers Division were handled by AUSAs Simon Eth, Michael Leeman, and Trent Reichling

Jacksonville Division

4th Quarter

Vershaun Lamar Puzie (34)

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking

Sentence Imposed: 10 years

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking

Sentence Imposed: 10 years

2

                         

Jeromy Washington (25)

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 70 months

1

Edrick Jackson (28)

Distribution of a controlled substance

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence imposed: 5 years

2

Brett Amante (39)

Bank Robbery

Sentence imposed: 30 months

Using, Carrying, and Brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence

Sentence imposed: 84 months

3

Christopher Dozier (41)

Interference with commerce by robbery

Sentence imposed: 140 months

Using, Carrying, and Brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence

Sentence imposed: 84 months

2

Johnny Davis (46)

Making a materially false statement in connection with the purchase of firearms

Sentence imposed: 3 months

0

These PSN cases from the Jacksonville Division were handled by AUSAs Laura Taylor, John Cannizzaro, Michael Coolican, David Mesrobian, and Cyrus Zomorodian

Ocala Division

4th Quarter

D’Andra Miller (21)

Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

Sentence imposed: 32 months

1

Benjamin Townsel(22)

Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

Possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number

Sentence imposed: 144 months

3

Jonathan Jermaine Thomas (33)

Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Sentence imposed: 460 months

1

Nathanael Santiago (28)

Possession of a firearm/ammunition by a convicted felon

Sentenced imposed: 84

1

Miguel Vargas-Narez (44)

Possession of a firearm by an illegal alien

Sentenced imposed: 180 months

1

Roddrick Anthony (33)

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Sentence imposed: 460 months

1

Timothy Ivory (44)

Possession of a firearm/ammunition by a convicted felon

Sentenced imposed: 90 months

2

Tevaughn Johnson (28)

Possession of a firearm/ammunition by a convicted felon

Forcibly assaulting a federal officer with injury

Sentence imposed: 100 months

1

Samuel Alexander Glover (30)

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Sentence imposed: 420 months

2

Dean Dumont (23)

Possession of an unregistered NFA weapon

Sentenced imposed: 24 months

1

Ronrico Lionel Farmer (33)

Possession of a firearm/ammunition by a convicted felon

Sentenced imposed: 64 months

1

Marty Eugene Days (33)

Possession of a firearm/ammunition by a convicted felon

Sentenced imposed: 27 months

1

These PSN cases from the Ocala Division were handled by AUSAs Michael P. Felicetta, Robert Bodnar, Jr., William S. Hamilton, Hannah Nowalk and Tyrie K. Boyer.

Orlando Division

4th Quarter

Raul Reyes-Vazquez (50)

Bank Robbery

Sentence Imposed: 240 months

Bank Robbery with forced accompaniment

Sentence Imposed: 300 months

0

       

Yunis Isaac Mejia (28)

Possession of an unregistered firearm

Sentence Imposed: 21 months

1

       

Jarvis Jackson (31)

Hobbs Act Robbery

Sentence Imposed: 6 months

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence Sentence Imposed: 60 months

Aggravated identity theft

Sentence Imposed: 24 months

1

Zachary Nichols (28)

Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

Sentence Imposed: 84 months

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Sentence Imposed: 60 months

2

Christopher DaSilva (25)

Possession of a firearm/ammunition by a convicted felon

Sentenced imposed: 57 months

1

These PSN cases from the Orlando Division were handled by Dana Hill, Shawn Napier, Chauncey Bratt, Jennifer M. Harrington, and Ranganath Manthripragada.

Tampa Division

4th Quarter

Devin Kelly (27)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentenced imposed: 46 months

1

 

Malachi Deloch (23)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentenced imposed: 4 years 7 months

4

Elijah Howard (23)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 96 months

1

Wilbur B. Simpson IV (23)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: Time served

15

Hector Kirkland (40)

 

Interference with commerce by robbery

Sentence imposed: 57 months

Brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence

Sentence imposed: 84 months

0

Devontae Hunter (24)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 57 months

1

Xavier Jones (27)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 120 months

1

Chris Boone (25)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 120 months

3

Derek Owens (34)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 51 months

Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Sentence imposed: 60 months

2

Timothy Mills II (38)

 

Conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance

Sentence imposed: 151 months

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 120 months

0

Cecil Hickox (46)

 

Conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 120 months

0

Javeon Jacobs (22)

 

Brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence

Sentence Imposed: 21 years

1

Reginald Wester, Jr. (23)

 

Felon in possession of ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 15 months

1

Ryland Hicks (41)

 

Felon in possession of firearm/ammunition

Sentence Imposed: 84 months

1

                       

These PSN cases from the Tampa Division were handled by AUSAs Daniel Marcet, Samantha Beckman, Jim Preston, David Chee, Craig Gestring, Charlie Connally, and Mike Sinacore

Outreach Activities

4th Quarter

Date

Event

Number of Attendees

Division

July 7, 2022

Boys & Girls Club at Marshall Middle School

84

Tampa

July 7, 2022

Boys & Girls Club at

Shields Middle School

66

Tampa

July 7, 2022

Association of Florida Colleges’ Campus Safety Symposium

10

Orlando

July 16, 2022

Orange Sheriff’s Office Back-to-School Resource Fair

600

Orlando

August 2, 2022

Fort Myers Success Academy

31

Fort Myers

September 26, 2022

Westbrooke Elementary Rising Stars Mentoring Group

27

Orlando

Total Number of Events for 4th Quarter: 6

Total Number of Attendees for 4th Quarter: 818

 

 

 

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Nathan Joel Arledge (29, Melbourne) has pleaded guilty to a two-count Information. Count One charged Arledge with possession of two machine guns, an unregistered short-barrel rifle, and three unregistered silencers. Count Two charged Arledge with possession of child sexual abuse material. Arledge faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison on the firearms offenses, and up to 20 years’ imprisonment on the possession of child sexual abuse material offense. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, an investigation was initiated into Arledge after law enforcement received a cypertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that matched Arledge’s Internet Protocol (IP) address. During the investigation, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Arledge’s residence where they found electronics, multiple firearms, ammunition, silencers, flash bangs, potassium nitrate, magnesium flakes, gun powder, tactical clothing, body armor, law enforcement insignia, and counterfeit credentials for Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A forensic examination of Arledge’s cellphone uncovered numerous visual depictions of child sexual abuse material depicting young children. During an interview with law enforcement, Arledge admitted that he had made the machine guns, multiple silencers, and downloaded the child sexual abuse material despite knowing both were illegal.

Arledge agreed to forfeit his cellphone, an AR-10 style firearm, a .308 caliber firearm; a 9mm Luger firearm utilizing a Polymer80 brand kit, Glock-type firearm parts, a FAB Defense pistol-to-rifle conversion kit; and three firearm silencers, which were used to commit the charged offenses.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Courtney D. Richardson-Jones.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This is also 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.