Middle District of Florida
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
St. Augustine Repeat-Offender Pleads Guilty to Distributing MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Carleigh Michelle Wilson (27, St. Augustine) today pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine. Wilson faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, at the direction of law enforcement, a confidential informant (CI) arranged via a social media messaging application to purchase a half ounce of methamphetamine from Wilson for $290. The pair met as arranged on September 13, 2021, in a parking lot in Macclenny. The CI joined Wilson in an SUV that she was driving. After the CI paid Wilson, Wilson passed the CI a plastic bag containing approximately 15 grams of crystal methamphetamine. As the CI started to exit the SUV, Wilson stated that she could get more and that, hopefully, they could get the price down in the future.
Before Wilson could leave the parking lot, a Baker County Sheriff’s Office patrol unit stopped and arrested her. She was still in possession of the $290 the CI had paid her.
According to court documents, Wilson committed this new offense while serving a term of supervised release that had originally been imposed in connection with her prior federal conviction in 2020 for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute hydrocodone.
This case was investigated by the Baker County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.
Clearwater Man Sentenced to 22 Years in Federal Prison for Filming His Sexual Assault of A 12-Year-Old ChildRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell has sentenced Sergio Lohan (25, Clearwater) to 22 years in federal prison for filming his sexual assault of a minor child using a cellphone. Lohan was also ordered to serve a 20-year term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender. Lohan had pleaded guilty on August 17, 2021.
According to the court documents, Lohan and the child victim, who was 12 years old, met online on a social media application. Over time, Lohan engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the child, solicited and received sexually explicit images from her, and sent her a video showing himself masturbating. Within a few months of meeting, Lohan drove to the child victim’s home, picked her up in his car, sexually assaulted her, and video-recorded the assault using his cellphone. Later, Lohan sent this video to the child using the internet.
The FBI, while investigating this offense, executed a search warrant at Lohan’s residence and seized his computer. On the computer, they recovered evidence of Lohan’s sexual abuse and exploitation of this child victim, as well as sexually explicit communications with other individuals who had identified themselves as minor children.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the North Port Police Department. It 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 Accountant Pleads Guilty to Plotting A Murder-For-HireRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that DeAnna Marie Stinson (50, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire. She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, on June 24, 2021, Stinson created an account on a dark web website (“The Website”) that purported to provide murder-for-hire services to its customers. The following day, Stinson submitted an “order” requesting that a hitman be assigned to complete a “quick hit in southern Florida” to kill the spouse of Stinson’s former significant other. In the order, Stinson provided the victim’s name, address, and a photograph of the victim. Between June and July 2021, Stinson sent four additional orders and more than $12,000 in Bitcoin to effectuate the hit. During this time, Stinson repeatedly messaged administrators of The Website and purported hitmen requesting that the “job” be completed as soon as possible and even offered a “bonus” if the hit was completed by a specific date. When Stinson had not received a status update from the administrators of The Website, on July 31, 2021, Stinson requested that the administrators “reassign the job to someone who has a history of getting jobs done” because she “need[ed] th[e] job done ASAP.”
Law enforcement agents received information regarding Stinson’s criminal activity and obtained records from her virtual currency exchange account. The records showed that Stinson had paid Bitcoin to The Website. An agent contacted Stinson while acting in an undercover capacity as a hitman for The Website. In a recorded phone call, Stinson confirmed that she wanted the victim killed and agreed to send additional money to the undercover agent via Bitcoin so that the transaction could not be traced. On September 13, 2021, Stinson sent $350 in Bitcoin to the undercover agent so that the agent could purchase a revolver to commit the murder.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.
Leader of Complex International Fraud and Money Laundering Ring Sentenced to 14 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge James Moody has sentenced Mary Kathryn Marr (42, Miami) to 14 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. The Court also ordered Marr to forfeit various assets, which are traceable to proceeds of the offense and, as part of her sentence, entered a money judgment in the amount of $1.5 million, representing proceeds Marr received as a result of the charged criminal conduct. In addition, the Court ordered Marr to pay restitution to victims in the amount of $14,511,754.05. Marr pleaded guilty in June 2021.
According to court documents, Marr was the leader of a large, international fraud and money laundering ring that operated out of the United States and abroad. Marr contracted with various international “boiler rooms” to launder fraud proceeds that she and other conspirators had obtained from foreign victims, primarily by selling worthless investments. Marr and her conspirators employed a mass-marketing scam in which high-pressure sales techniques originating out of the boiler rooms were used to defraud individuals who believed that they were investing substantial amounts of money in regulated financial products or markets, particularly shares of stocks. In reality, the investments were a sham and the victims received nothing. The majority of the victims that Marr and her conspirators targeted were located in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and countries in Asia.
Marr and her co-conspirator, Michel Marc Chateau, who was charged in the same case, operated a network of funnel bank accounts in the United States in the names of shell companies into which the boiler room agents instructed victims to send their money. In some instances, Marr, using fake personas, spoke with the victims herself to convince the victims to send additional funds based on fraudulent representations and high-pressure tactics. The victims’ funds were then laundered through more bank accounts and sent overseas. Marr and Chateau recruited various individuals to open and operate funnel bank accounts in Florida and other states.
Electronic communications obtained during the investigation revealed that Marr had received a set percentage of each victim’s wire transfer that had been sent to the bank accounts in the United States. Once the victims’ funds had been laundered through Marr’s network of bank accounts in the United States, Marr would arrange for most of the funds to be sent back to the boiler rooms and their employees overseas.
In total, Marr and her co-conspirators unlawfully obtained approximately $14.5 million from victims through various boiler room fraud schemes between 2015 and 2018. Including funds that had originated from other funnel accounts, the accounts engaged in money laundering transactions totaling more than $20 million.
On November 1, 2018, Serbian authorities arrested Marr in Belgrade, Serbia pursuant to an INTERPOL Red Notice that had been issued by the U.S. Department of Justice. Marr was extradited to Tampa in April 2019.
“Thanks to a collaborative investigative effort between HSI and the IRS-Criminal Investigation, this sophisticated transnational money laundering organization was dismantled,” said HSI Tampa acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Westlove.
“This sentence should stand as a warning to those who engage in nefarious activities,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne. “As proven by this partnership with HSI, we will continue to work together to bring criminals to justice. Marr's sentencing is the final chapter in this complex international scam, which will hopefully pave the way to the healing process for all of those impacted by these heinous crimes.”
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Scruggs. Assistant United States Attorneys James Muench and Suzanne Nebesky handled the forfeiture. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Serbia to secure the arrest of Marr in Serbia and her extradition to the United States.
St. Petersburg Man Sentenced to More Than Three Years in Prison for Covid-19 Program FraudRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew has sentenced Louis Thornton III (63, St. Petersburg) to three years and six months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining money through various Covid-19 relief programs, including the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) program. As part of his sentence, the Court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $814,632.50, the proceeds of the wire fraud scheme.
Thornton had pleaded guilty on September 13, 2021.
According to court documents, from April through July 2020, Thornton submitted fraudulent applications for EIDL and PPP loans through the SBA’s online EIDL portal on behalf of several defunct companies. Thornton’s applications fraudulently claimed, among other material misrepresentations, that these companies were operational and had suffered economic injury due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Based on the false and fraudulent representations Thornton made, he obtained a total of $814,632.50 in EIDL and PPP loans to which he was not entitled. Thornton used the money obtained through the SBA’s EIDL and PPP programs to invest in stocks, futures, and commodities.
This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel K. Jones.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Palm Bay Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for COVID Relief Fraud and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida –U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway today sentenced Johnson W. Eustache to five years in federal prison for wire fraud and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. The court also ordered Eustache to forfeit approximately $700,000 seized from several bank accounts, as well as real properties in Palm Bay and Poinciana, which are traceable to proceeds of the offense.
Eustache had pleaded guilty on August 3, 2021.
According to court documents, beginning in March 2020 and continuing through April 2021, Eustache submitted 13 different fraudulent applications seeking a total of more than $2.1 million in pandemic-related emergency benefits. The fraudulent applications consisted of either Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) or Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and PPP loan servicers and lenders. Eustache submitted some of these applications in his own name and others in the names of unwitting associates or relatives. Eustache included false statements in each of the applications regarding the applicant’s criminal history, number of employees, and/or total payroll.
Eustache’s materially false, fraudulent, and misleading representations caused the SBA and PPP lenders to approve and fund four PPP loans and four EIDL loans, totaling $1,343,029.50. Eustache did not use these funds for payroll or other qualifying business expenses as promised in the loan applications. Rather, he used the funds to make personal financial investments, to purchase real estate, and to construct residential properties.
In addition, between 2017 and 2021, Eustache worked as a tax return preparer, during which time he filed 28 returns for taxpayers; those returns contained false adjustments, false income amounts, or false deductions. Eustache included these false items fraudulently to inflate the amount of the taxpayers’ refunds. The false items included bogus Schedule C losses from businesses, false Schedule 1 Adjustment to Income deductions, false Household Employee income, and false W-2 wages. The total loss to the IRS as a result of the false tax returns filed by Eustache was $87,044.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted March 2020. It is designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act is the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.
The PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of one percent. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if the business spends the proceeds on these expenses within a set time period and uses at least a certain percentage of the loan toward payroll expenses.
The EIDL program is designed to provide economic relief to small businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. EIDL proceeds can be used to cover a wide array of working capital and normal operating expenses, such as continuation of health care benefits, rent, utilities, and fixed debt payments. If an applicant also obtains a loan under the PPP, the EIDL funds cannot be used for the same purpose as the PPP funds.
“Not only did Eustache fraudulently file tax returns on behalf of his clients through his tax preparation business, but he also stole vital PPP loan money intended to support struggling businesses during the COVID 19 pandemic,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne. “This sentence shows that stopping PPP fraudsters and unscrupulous tax preparers is a top priority for IRS-CI. With tax season starting up, taxpayers looking to avoid shady preparers and find tips on how to select a tax preparer are encouraged to visit IRS.gov.”
“This case demonstrates the swift and decisive action taken by the FBI and its federal partners to protect the Payment Protection Program.”, said Special Agent in Charge of FBI Tampa Michael McPherson. “We’re taking tremendous investigative steps to ensure fraudsters don’t profit from the pandemic.”
“Using any SBA program fraudulently undermines the spirit and true intent of bolstering the backbone of the nation’s economy—small businesses,” said SBA OIG’s Eastern Region Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite. “Our Office will remain relentless in the pursuit of fraudsters who seek to exploit SBA’s vital economic programs. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and commitment to seeing justice served.”
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Office of Inspector General for the Small Business Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Chauncey A. Bratt and Amanda Daniels. The forfeiture and restitution were handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Andrejko and Julie Simonsen.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Former Owner of Latitude 360 Indicted for Payroll Tax FraudRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Brent Brown with 17 counts of failing to remit to the IRS payroll taxes withheld from employees of four businesses that he operated under the umbrella of Latitude 360. If convicted, Brown faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison on each count.
According to the indictment, Brown incorporated Latitude 360 in Jacksonville around January 2014. He also operated four subsidiaries – Latitude 360 Jacksonville LLC, Latitude 360 Indianapolis LLC, Latitude 360 Pittsburgh LLC, and Latitude 360 Albany LLC, over which he exercised exclusive authority to determine the use of business funds. Those subsidiaries each withheld taxes from employee wages, including federal income taxes and Federal Insurance Contributions Act (“FICA”) taxes, which the subsidiaries were required to remit to the Internal Revenue Service periodically. Brown filed quarterly tax returns for each of the subsidiaries accurately reflecting the payroll taxes due for each of the subsidiaries but he caused those subsidiaries to fail to remit to the IRS the full amounts due. The taxes owed are alleged to total more than $1 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 Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor.
Bradenton Man Pleads Guilty to Manufacturing Counterfeit CurrencyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Anthony Wayne Smith (58, Bradenton) has pleaded guilty to manufacturing counterfeit currency. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 6, 2022.
According to the plea agreement, Smith manufactured U.S. Federal Reserve notes at his home in Bradenton. During the execution of a search warrant on Smith’s residence, law enforcement officers recovered, among other things, a large quantity of counterfeit notes hidden throughout the residence, texturized printing paper, and printers. Additionally, Smith’s laptop computer contained digital images of U.S. Federal Reserve notes that had been used in the production and manufacture of counterfeit currency.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David W.A. Chee.
Fentanyl Dealers Sentenced to 12 and 8 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Bolivar Anibal Cordova, Jr. (42, Windermere) and Luis Manuel Cordero (40, Orlando) to 12 years and 7 months and 8 years and 6 months in federal prison, respectively, for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl-laced heroin. Cordova and Cordero had pleaded guilty in October 2021. A third individual, Jose Armando Delgado-Martinez (34, Orlando), previously pleaded guilty to his role in this conspiracy. Delgado-Martinez is scheduled to be sentenced on January 26, 2022.
According to court documents, between August 2019 and April 1, 2021, Cordova, Cordero, and Delgado-Martinez worked together to distribute fentanyl-laced heroin to, and collect drug proceeds from, a DEA cooperating source and undercover officers on 15 occasions. In addition to distributing approximately 680 grams of fentanyl-laced heroin to the DEA for approximately $35,000, the conspirators also maintained a storage locker that contained more than 611 grams of pure fentanyl. The conspirators also produced Spanish-language rap videos depicting drug dealing, proceeds, and guns along with the torture, mutilation, and murder of government informants. Cordova’s sentence was enhanced due to his leadership role in the organization and his possession of a firearm when he was arrested. Cordero’s sentence was enhanced as a result of his role in maintaining the storage locker where the 600 grams of fentanyl was stored.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Florida Highway Patrol and the Winter Park Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.
Colombian National Extradited to the United States Pleads Guilty to Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Oscar Marsiglia Barrios (54, Colombia) today pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine knowing and intending it to be imported into the United States. Marsiglia Barrios faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, beginning in approximately February 2015 and continuing through on or about October 26, 2017, Marsiglia Barrios
was part of a transnational criminal conspiracy that transported cocaine from Colombia to the United States. Specifically, Marsiglia Barrios operated out of the Puerto Nuevo region of Colombia and was responsible for recruiting, hiring, and paying individuals to transport cocaine out of Colombia and into the United States in cargo ships.
Marsiglia Barrios was arrested in Colombia in August 2019 and extradited to the Middle District of Florida in March 2021.
This case was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.
The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance with the defendant’s extradition. The U.S. Marshals Service also provided critical assistance by extraditing Oscar Marsiglia Barrios from Colombia to the Middle District of Florida.
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.
Colombian National Extradited from Panama Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges in the United StatesRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Gerardo Gomez-Lubo, a/k/a Francisco Niño (42, Colombia), has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine knowing and intending it to be imported into the United States. Gomez-Lubo faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, beginning in approximately September 2017 and continuing through 2019, Gomez-Lubo was part of a transnational criminal conspiracy that transported cocaine from Colombia, through Central America and the Caribbean, directly to the United States, including Texas, California, Hawaii, and Florida. The cocaine distributed by Gomez-Lubo and others displayed identifying symbols and marks. Those marks were found in kilograms of cocaine recovered by law enforcement in New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
Gomez-Lubo’s co-defendant, Piero Antonio Lubo-Barros, was also indicted.
Lubo-Barros was arrested in Costa Rica in January 2021, living under an assumed identity. He was extradited to the United States in March 2021 and is currently pending trial in Tampa.
This case was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.
The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance with the defendant’s extradition. The U.S. Marshals Service also provided critical assistance in Gerardo Gomez-Lubo’s extradition from Panama to the Middle District of Florida.
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.
Ten-Time Convicted Felon Who Trafficked Fentanyl Causing Deaths Sentenced to over 15 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew today sentenced Derrick Hutchins (36, Tampa) to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Hutchins had pleaded guilty on October 13, 2021.
According to court documents, on April 26, 2020, Hutchins distributed fentanyl to an individual, causing a fatal overdose in the victim’s home. On May 21, 2020, Hutchins again distributed fentanyl, this time to a law enforcement confidential source. Detectives with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office then arrested Hutchins on state trafficking charges. Hutchins later bonded out of jail, and on July 1, 2020, again distributed fentanyl, causing another fatal overdose.
“Our country is currently in the midst of a crippling opioid epidemic, and every loss of life is devastating to our communities,” said DEA Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter. “The Miami Field Division remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to bring drug dealers like Derrick Hutchins to justice and keep our Florida communities safe and healthy.”
This case was investigated by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.
Five Members of Pinellas County Drug Trafficking Conspiracy Charged and ArrestedRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Jovante Raschod Thomas, a/k/a “Wood,” a/k/a “Tae” (40, Pinellas Park), Troy Lydell Mctier Jr. (29, St. Petersburg), Adrian Fulton Ashby, (50, St. Petersburg) Marquesha Dequaila Leseon Isaac a/k/a “Auntie,” a/k/a “Angie” (36, St. Peterburg), and Santino Eduardo Jimenez (39, Clearwater) with conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. If convicted on all counts, Jovante Thomas faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years, and up to, life in federal prison. Troy Mctier and Santino Jimenez each face a minimum mandatory sentence of 5 years, and a maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment. Adrian Ashby and Marquesha Isaac each face up to 20 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States intends to forfeit any assets which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense.
According to the indictment, from at least October 2020, through January 4, 2022, the defendants conspired to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl throughout 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 is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office as part of operation “Clean Up” – an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States, using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.
Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Temple Terrace Woman Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud Involving COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program LoansRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Bridgitte Keim (52, Temple Terrace) has pleaded guilty to bank fraud. Keim faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
According to the
plea agreement , between April and May 2021, Keim executed a scheme to defraud a federally insured financial institution (“Bank 1”) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) by submitting false and fraudulent loan applications and supporting documentation for federally guaranteed Payment Protection Program (“PPP”) loans that were designed to assist businesses suffering adverse economic effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. In furtherance of her bank fraud scheme, Keim recruited family members to provide their personal information in exchange for free “COVID money.” Keim prepared and submitted false and fraudulent PPP loan applications to Bank 1 on behalf of her relatives in the names of fictitious businesses, knowing that her relatives did not have existing businesses, did not have employees, had no business income, and no payroll expenses as required by the SBA to qualify for PPP loans. To further deceive Bank 1, Keim created email addresses in the names of her relatives and communicated with bank employees by impersonating her relatives to convince loan officers that they were communicating with the actual prospective borrowers. Additionally, Keim sent text messages, which contained the fictitious business names, false financial information, and the email addresses she created, to her relatives so that her relatives could answer questions from loan officers about the loan applications.Specifically, on March 21, 2021, Keim submitted to Bank 1 a PPP loan application in the name of a relative she had recruited. The application contained a fictitious business name, fictitious number of employees, falsified business income, and fraudulently represented that the PPP loan funds would be used for payroll. Based on these false statements, Bank 1 approved and funded a $20,833 PPP loan in the name of Keim’s relative. Keim subsequently diverted $7,500 in loan proceeds to her personal bank account.
The intended losses associated with Keim’s bank fraud scheme are at least $588,693.14.
This case was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor.
Serial Tax Fraudster Sentenced to More Than 19 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. today sentenced Michael Dexter Little to 19 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. The Court also ordered Little to forfeit at least $12.3 million, which are traceable to proceeds of the offense.
Little had pleaded guilty on October 20, 2021.
According to court documents, from 2019 to 2021, Little filed a series of false tax returns claiming massive, bogus fuel tax credits. He filed the false returns in his own name and in the names of co-conspirators and identity theft victims. As a result of this scheme, Little and his co-conspirators obtained at least $12.3 million in fraudulent tax refunds and attempted to obtain at least $27 million more. Little and his co-conspirators also conspired to launder their ill-gotten gains and used significant portions of the fraudulent tax refunds to purchase real estate and other assets.
Little was previously convicted of tax fraud twice, in 1999 and 2003.
“Identity theft schemes often leave their victim’s financial lives in ruin,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Brian Payne. “These crimes are a high priority for IRS-CI, especially when the stolen identities are used to file false tax returns. Today’s sentencing makes it clear that we will vigorously pursue those who steal personally identifiable information and use it to undermine the integrity of the U.S. tax system.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily C. L. Chang.
North Port Man Pleads Guilty to Dealing in Firearms Without A LicenseRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – Larry Alan Goldman (63, North Port) has pleaded guilty to dealing in firearms without a license. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. Goldman has also agreed to forfeit the 29 firearms that he had possessed or acquired during the commission of the offense, and to pay a fine of $25,000. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
According to the
plea agreement , between February 2020 and August 2021, undercover agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and a confidential informant purchased approximately 14 firearms from Goldman’s vendor booth at a flea market in North Fort Myers. During this time period, Goldman did not have a Federal Firearms License (FFL) authorizing him to lawfully engage in the business of dealing in firearms. In September of 2021, ATF agents visited Goldman at his home in North Port and served him with a Notice of Unlicensed Firearms Dealing Violation, and Goldman agreed to stop selling firearms.Following ATF’s meeting with Goldman, undercover ATF agents purchased two additional firearms from Goldman at the flea market in September and October 2021. On October 19, 2021, ATF agents executed a federal search warrant on Goldman’s residence and a truck and trailer that Goldman used to facilitate the sale of firearms. Agents seized approximately 29 firearms and approximately $36,828 in cash. Authorities determined that, between January 2020 and September 2021, Goldman had purchased approximately 313 firearms.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Trent Reichling.
Citrus County Convicted Felon Arrested for Falsifying Federal Firearm PaperworkRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Darrell Pierre Hopkins (54, Dunnellon) with making a materially false statement in connection with the purchase of firearms and knowingly causing a licensed gun dealer to maintain false information in its official records. If convicted on both counts, Hopkins faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.
According to court documents and evidence introduced in court, on or about November 23, 2021, Hopkins attempted to purchase two handguns from a federally licensed firearm dealer in Crystal River. While completing the mandatory firearm transaction paperwork, Hopkins certified that he had not previously been convicted of a felony. A criminal background check, however, revealed that Hopkins had prior felony convictions under an alias for robbery and conspiracy to deal cocaine. As a convicted felon, Hopkins is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law. When subsequently confronted by law enforcement, Hopkins admitted that he was the person who had attempted to purchase the firearms.
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 Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Postal Employee Arrested for Theft of MailRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the filing of a
criminal complaint and arrest of Miranda Delee Farleigh (25, Ocklawaha) for theft of mail matter by a postal employee. If convicted, Farleigh faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.According to court documents, Farleigh worked as a contract employee of the United States Postal Service (USPS) delivering mail for the Lady Lake Post Office. Farleigh’s route included mail delivery services to postal stations in The Villages. On or about November 23, 2021, Farleigh’s supervisor discovered several tubs and bags of U.S Mail in Farleigh’s possession that had been rifled (unlawfully opened).
A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.
Middle District of Florida U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects More Than $160 Million in Civil and Criminal Actions in Fiscal Year 2021Read the Press Release
Tampa ― U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced today that the Middle District of Florida (MDFL) collected $160,946,371.39 related to criminal and civil matters in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021 (FY 2021), during the tenure of his predecessors, Maria Chapa Lopez and Karin Hoppmann. Of that amount, $109,846,390.39 represents total collections in criminal and civil actions. Included in this amount is $60,443,168.31 recovered in its locally handled cases; $21,450,090.69 in criminal cases and $38,993,077.62 in civil cases.
The MDFL’s Civil Division, led by Civil Chief Randy Harwell, recovered a total of $88,396,299.70 on behalf of federal agencies and programs in affirmative civil enforcement cases during the last fiscal year. This amount has two components. In addition to its efforts in local civil cases noted above, the district’s Civil Division also joins forces with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and with the Department of Justice Civil Frauds Section to address fraud schemes and illegal practices extending beyond district boundaries. The MDFL’s Civil Division recovered an additional $49,403,222.08 in these jointly handled cases.
Additionally, the district’s Asset Recovery Division, led by Chief Anita Cream, working with partner agencies, forfeited $51,099,981 from criminal and civil asset forfeiture actions completed in fiscal year 2021. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes. For instance, in FY 2021, more than $6.5 million forfeited in the MDFL in this and prior years was returned to victims of the criminal offenses upon which the forfeitures were based, and more than $2.4 million was shared with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The district anticipates that the vast majority of the more than $51 million forfeited in FY 2021 will be returned to crime victims.
“The commitment of my predecessors, continued leadership by our office’s civil division and asset recovery division chiefs, and great coordination with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners has resulted in the collection and recovery of millions of dollars from those who have sought to benefit from fraud and other illegal activities,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg. “These collected funds will assist victims in their recovery process and aid law enforcement as they continue to hold criminals accountable for their crimes.”
U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes the funds collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights, or environmental laws. In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Defense Health Agency, the Internal Revenue Service, the Small Business Administration, and the Department of Education. See below for MDFL significant civil case highlights.
Significant Affirmative Civil Enforcement Cases
United States and the State of Florida ex rel. Albright v. Regency, Inc., et al.
Case no. 8:19-cv-686-T-30AEP (M.D. Fla.)
“Operation Brace Yourself,” a national takedown staged in April 2019, addressed a major fraud scheme directed at the sale of medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME) to Medicare beneficiaries. A qui tam relator filed a lawsuit in the Middle District of Florida that alleged that Regency Inc., a company owned and operated by Kelly Wolfe, fraudulently established DME companies (by providing false information regarding the true owners’ identities, among other misrepresentations on Medicare applications). Regency then sold those companies to other individuals, who used the companies to fraudulently bill Medicare for medically unnecessary DME that resulted from kickbacks or other inappropriate marketing practices. In 2019, the United States Attorney’s Office secured a major asset freeze that reached more than $30 million in cash and luxury items pending the resolution of a number of criminal prosecutions. In February 2021, the qui tam allegations were resolved through an ability-to-pay civil settlement for $20.3 million.
Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/florida-businesswoman-pleads-guilty-criminal-health-care-and-tax-fraud-charges-and-agrees-203
United States v. AAR Corp.; U.S. ex rel. Harvey v. AAR Corp., et al.
Case no. 3:15-cv-00390 (S.D. Ill.)
This civil investigation focused on allegations that a military contractor, AAR Corporation, and its Melbourne, Florida based subsidiary, AAR Airlift Group, Inc., had defrauded the United States while performing under contracts established to maintain military helicopters. A qui tam case was filed in the Southern District of Illinois that alleged the defendants owned and maintained helicopters for use in transporting Department of Defense cargo and personnel in support of missions in Afghanistan and Africa. The qui tam relator contended that the contractor knowingly failed to maintain nine aircraft in accordance with contract requirements, and that consequently, the helicopters were not airworthy and should not have been certified as “fully mission capable.” Separately, the Federal Aviation Authority asked the United States Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida to pursue civil penalties to address overlapping allegations of misconduct by the contractor. In July 2021, the defendants agreed to resolve the qui tam allegations for $11,088,000, and an additional payment of $429,273.69 to resolve the FAA penalty claim.
Press release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/aar-corp-agrees-pay-11-million-settle-false-claims-act-allegations-aircraft-maintenance
United States v. Ashish Pal, MD (M.D. Fla.)
This civil investigation resolved allegations that an Orlando-area cardiologist, Dr. Ashish Pal, had performed medically unnecessary ablations and stent procedures on veins that did not qualify for treatment under accepted standards of medical practice. Additionally, the government alleged that Dr. Pal had falsified patient medical records to justify the procedures by overstating the degree of reflux and diameter of veins, and by falsely documenting patient symptoms. The United States also alleged that, in many instances, the ablations had been performed by ultrasound technicians outside their permitted scope of practice. In September 2021, Dr. Pal paid the United States $6.75 million in a civil settlement that resolved these allegations.
Press release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/orlando-cardiologist-pays-675-million-resolve-allegations-performing-unnecessary-medical
United States ex rel. Thompson v. Surgical Care Affiliates, LLC
Case no. 6:15-civ-2189-41LRH (M.D. Fla.)
The United States intervened in this qui tam case in January 2020 and pursued civil claims alleging that a former Orlando urologist and a local surgery practice group had defrauded federal payors through false claims for medically unnecessary lithotripsy services. In January 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced a settlement of the claims with the estate of the individual physician (who had passed away after the filing of the law suit) for $1.75 million. In February 2021, the United States settled in principal with the remaining defendants for $3.4 million.
Press releases: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/estate-deceased-urologist-agrees-pay-more-17-million-settle-false-claims-act-liability
https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/surgical-care-affiliates-and-orlando-surgery-center-agree-pay-34-million-settle-false
United States ex rel. Herbold v. Doctor’s Choice Home Care Inc., et al.
Case no. 8:15- cv-01044 (M.D. Fla.)
United States ex rel. Billings, Sykes, and Eschoyez-Quiroga v. Doctor’s Choice Home Care Inc.
Case no. 8:16-cv-3112 (M.D. Fla.)
Two qui tam relators filed lawsuits in the Middle District of Florida and alleged that a Sarasota-based home health company, Doctor’s Choice Home Care, had defrauded Medicare in claims for home health services. The relators contended that the defendants offered improper financial inducements to referring physicians in the form of sham medical director agreements and bonuses to physicians’ spouses who were Doctor’s Choice employees and, additionally, that the company pressured clinical personnel to increase home visits to allow Doctor’s Choice to avoid a payment reduction (LUPA) by Medicare. Timothy Beach and Stuart Christensen founded Doctor’s Choice and formerly served as its top executives. These allegations were resolved in November 2020 for $5.158 million paid by Doctor’s Choice related to the inducement and LUPA allegations, and an additional $647,000 paid by Beach and Christensen related to the inducement allegations.
United States ex rel. Thornton v. National Compounding Co. et al.
Case No. 8:15-cv-2647 (M.D. Fla.)
This case alleged that the two owners of telemarketing entities based in the Fort Lauderdale area had defrauded the TRICARE health program through kickback practices designed to incentivize the issuance of compounded medication prescriptions. Jack Lee Stapleton and Jack Hunter Stapleton formerly owned a marketing business which operated under various names including CV McDowell LLC, and J&J Tel Marketing LLC. The United States alleged that these marketing firms used telemarketing to solicit prospective patients to accept compounded medications regardless of patient need, procured prescriptions for those patients, and then sent those prescriptions to compounding pharmacies that had agreed to pay the marketing companies half of the amount TRICARE reimbursed for each prescription. The Stapletons and their companies conspired with pharmacies to identify compounded drug formulas that maximized the level of reimbursement for the drugs, regardless of the medical need for the chosen formula. They then sought to procure large volumes of prescriptions for those formulas. In many cases, the marketers procured prescriptions by paying telemedicine providers who prescribed expensive compounded drugs without ever seeing the patients or conducting any meaningful medical examination. In March 2021, these allegations were resolved through a civil settlement that paid the United States $4 million.
Press release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-owners-telemarketing-company-agree-pay-least-4-million-resolve-false-claims-act
United States v. Isaacson
Case no. 2:17-cv-352-TPB-NPM (M.D. Fla.)
In this case, the United States alleged that a Fort Myers pain clinic, Collier Anesthesia Pain, LLC, and Tampa Pain Relief Center, had engaged in an illegal kickback scheme by causing affiliated surgery centers to waive copayments for surgical facility fees in order to induce patients to receive injection procedures. Additionally, the United States contended that Collier Anesthesia and Tampa Pain knowingly submitted false claims by improperly billing for evaluation and management services and psychological testing services. In February 2021, the defendants agreed to resolve these allegations in a civil settlement that paid $1.6 million.
Press release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/pain-clinic-pays-more-16-million-settle-false-claims-act-and-kickback-allegations
United States ex rel. Heyck v. Mori, Bean and Brooks, P.A
Case No. 3:18-cv-590-J-39PDB (M.D. Fla.)
A qui tam relator filed a lawsuit alleging that a Jacksonville radiology practice, Mori Bean & Brooks, PA, had billed healthcare programs for radiological images that had been interpreted outside of the United States. Medicare requires that for tele-radiology services to be eligible for reimbursement, they must be performed within the United States. The United States also contended that the practice group billed for radiology services that were initially performed overseas but were re-interpreted by another radiologist in the United States and billed to the second, domestic radiologist as if the latter doctor had performed the original read. The practice group cooperated with the government’s investigation and in November 2020, agreed to resolve the allegations in return for $1.4 million.
Press release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/jacksonville-radiology-practice-agrees-pay-14-million-resolve-health-care-fraud
Pain Clinic Doctor and Staff Member Charged with Unlawful Distribution of OpioidsRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Dr. Qing McGaha (55, Tampa) with conspiracy to commit unlawful distribution of controlled substances and unlawful distribution of controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice, as well as monetary transactions in criminally derived property. The indictment also charges Camille Mohammed (52, Tampa) with conspiracy to commit unlawful distribution of controlled substances. If convicted of the drug conspiracy count, McGaha and Mohammed each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. McGaha also faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each unlawful distribution count (15 counts) and 10 years in federal prison for each money laundering count (4 counts). If convicted on all counts, McGaha and Mohammed each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies McGaha that the United States intends to forfeit $774,216.12 in U.S. currency, $170,482.34 seized from bank accounts, and two real properties located in the Tampa Bay area, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense or used to facilitate the crimes.
According to the
indictment , McGaha was a Florida-licensed medical doctor who owned and operated MD Care Clinic, a pain management clinic in Hillsborough County. McGaha employed Mohammed, who served as the clinic’s receptionist and scheduled patient appointments, collected patient fees, and recorded vital measurements. Mohammed also falsified urine screen results, managed the overcrowded waiting room and parking lot, and fielded calls from pharmacists concerned about McGaha’s controlled substance prescriptions.Over a 20-month period, undercover agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted numerous appointments with McGaha and at each appointment received an opioid controlled substance (hydrocodone, hydromorphone, or oxycodone), not for a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice.
In addition, McGaha engaged in multiple monetary transactions over $10,000, which monies she criminally derived from the operation of her clinic and which she used to purchase a piece of real property located in Clearwater or deposited into her bank account.
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—Tampa District Office and by the Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Unit at the United States Attorney’s Office, which focuses on opioid-related fraud and abuse by medical and health care professionals who have contributed to the prescription opioid epidemic. This case was also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Greg Pizzo.
South Florida Bookkeeper for International Enterprise That Operated Sexually Exploitive “Child Modeling” Websites Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Tatiana Power (41, Weston) today pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy related to a Florida-based international enterprise that operated subscription-based sexually exploitative “child modeling” websites. Power faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, Tatiana Power (also known as “Tanya Power”) helped run the financial affairs of the Newstar Enterprise—an internet-based business aimed at for-profit sexual exploitation of vulnerable children under the guise of “child modeling,” through a collection of websites called the Newstar Websites. Power did so as Vice President and part owner of Power Trading, Inc., a Florida corporation used to control, operate, and conceal the true nature of the Newstar Enterprise. From as early as 2009 through November 2019, Power served as Power Trading’s (and thus the Newstar Enterprise’s) “bookkeeper.” She oversaw Power Trading’s QuickBooks, filed its annual corporate registration documents, managed its bank accounts, paid salaries, helped wire money to foreign co-conspirators, and advised co-conspirators on how to evade law enforcement and conceal the true nature of monetary transactions. She routinely assisted in transferring money and making payments for the Newstar Enterprise. From January 2009 until November 2019, Power and her now deceased husband, Kenneth Power, made $2,211,651.89 in profit from the Newstar Websites.
The Newstar Enterprise and Status of Other Defendants
According to court documents, founded around 2005, the Newstar Enterprise built, maintained, hosted, and operated the Newstar Websites on servers in the United States and abroad. To populate the Newstar Websites with content, Newstar Enterprise members sourced, enticed, solicited and recruited males and females under the age of 18, some of whom were prepubescent, to use as “child models” for the Newstar Websites. Using the recruited child-victims, the Newstar Enterprise produced more than 4.6 million sexualized images and videos to distribute and sell on the Newstar Websites. Some of those images and videos, though non-nude, depicted minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. For example, images and videos sold on the Newstar Websites depicted children as young as 6 years old in sexual and provocative poses, wearing police and cheerleader costumes, thong underwear, transparent underwear, revealing swimsuits, pantyhose, and miniskirts. Most of the child-victims—recruited from Ukraine, Moldova, and other nations in Eastern Europe—were particularly vulnerable due to their age, family dynamics and poverty. Law enforcement officers have disabled the servers hosting the Newstar Websites.
The Newstar Enterprise maintained a membership list for subscribers and customers of the Newstar Websites, who originated from 101 nations across the world. Images in the websites’ galleries were freely available to the public to preview, but greater access and more content required purchasing a subscription. The sale of purported “child modeling” content on the Newstar Websites generated more than $9.4 million during the course of the conspiracy. To process, receive and distribute this money, Newstar Enterprise members fraudulently opened merchant and bank accounts in the United States and laundered proceeds using a bogus jewelry company.
To date, six members of the Newstar Enterprise have been charged in connection with the Newstar Websites. The chart below shows the status of each case.
Name
Case Number
Charge(s)
Status
Maximum Penalty
Tatiana Power
8:21-cr-244-MSS-AAS
Conspiracy to commit money laundering
Pleaded guilty, sentence pending
20 years’ imprisonment
Kenneth Power
8:21-cr-00032-SDM-AAS
Conspiracy to advertise child pornography; conspiracy to distribute child pornography
Defendant deceased; case dismissed
60 years’ imprisonment
Plamen Velinov
8:21-cr-342-VMC-SPF
Conspiracy to advertise child pornography; conspiracy to distribute child pornography
Indicted
50 years’ imprisonment
Patrice Wilowski-Mevorah
8:21-cr-00206-MSS-TGW
Conspiracy to commit money laundering
Pleaded guilty, sentenced to 5+ years in prison
Anthony Lee Kendall
8:21-cr-358-SCB-TGW
Conspiracy to commit money laundering; promotion money laundering; concealment money laundering
Defendant deceased
100 years’ imprisonment
Mary Lou
Bjorkman
8:21-cr-00227-SDM-AAS
Conspiracy to commit money laundering
Pleaded guilty, sentence pending
20 years’ imprisonment
The defendants have also been notified that the United States intends to forfeit a total of $9.4 million, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offenses, in addition to real property located in Florida.
These cases were investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in Tampa and the High Technology Investigative Unit of the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), with substantial assistance provided by Homeland Security Investigations offices in Fort Lauderdale, Athens, and the Hague, U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Sofia, Bulgaria, as well as the IRS Criminal Investigation in Tampa.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Murray of the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Kyle Reynolds of the CEOS are prosecuting these cases.
This investigation benefited from foreign law enforcement cooperation and substantial assistance by the Republic of Bulgaria, Supreme Cassation Prosecution Office and National Investigation Service; International Legal Assistance Center (IRC), North-Holland Unit; and the Czech Republic, Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, Czech Police. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided investigative assistance and its Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) provided capacity building assistance and mentoring.
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.
North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Promoting Nationwide Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL – A North Carolina man pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to defraud the United States by promoting a nationwide tax fraud scheme and assisting in the preparation and filing of false tax returns for the scheme’s participants.
According to court documents, Mehef Bey, also known as Arthur Daniels, of Charlotte, promoted a scheme that involved recruiting clients and preparing false tax returns on their behalf by convincing them that their mortgages and other debts entitled them to tax refunds. Between 2014 and 2016, Bey and his co-conspirators held seminars across the country to publicize the scheme. As part of the scheme, Bey and his co-conspirators helped prepare and file tax returns for the participants, which collectively sought more than $64 million in refunds from the IRS. These tax returns falsely claimed that banks and other financial institutions had withheld large amounts of income tax from the participants, thereby entitling the clients to a refund. In reality, the financial institutions had not paid any income to or withheld any taxes from these individuals. To make the refund claims appear legitimate, however, Bey and his co-conspirators filed tax documents with the IRS that matched the withholding information listed on the tax returns, making it seem as if they had been issued by the banks.
As part of his plea, Bey admitted he and his co-conspirators charged their clients approximately $10,000 to $15,000 in preparation fees for each tax return. Although Bey personally received more than $1 million for his role in the scheme, he did not file tax returns for the years 2015 and 2016 to report this income. For 2014, Bey filed a false income tax return on which he claimed a tax refund that he was not entitled to receive. On this return, he also did not report his income from promoting the scheme.
Bey also admitted he and his co-conspirators concealed their roles in the scheme by, among other things, indicating the false tax returns had been “self-prepared” and coaching the participants how to conceal the scheme from the IRS.
Bey’s sentencing will be scheduled for a later date. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and three years in prison for each of the two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false tax return. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Three of Bey’s co-conspirators – Iran Backstrom, Aaron Aqueron and Yomarie Febres – pleaded guilty last month for their roles in the same scheme.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind, Kavitha Bondada, and Isaiah Boyd III of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Central Medical Systems, LLC, Alan Trent Harley and Joan Harley Agree to Pay $600K to Settle False Claims Act LiabilityRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces today that Central Medical Systems, LLC, Joan Harley, and Alan Trent Harley have agreed to pay the United States $600,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by participating in a scheme to defraud Medicare.
The United States previously intervened in a civil whistleblower lawsuit against Central Medical Systems and Alan Trent Harley on January 18, 2018, and later filed an amended complaint adding Joan Harley, Arthur Wright, and Meddex Solutions, LLC, as defendants, alleging the defendants conspired to make false claims to the United States in violation of the False Claims Act.
The civil lawsuit and settlement relate to the submission of claims for wound care supplies sold by Central Medical Systems. According to the lawsuit, Alan Trent Harley would routinely change quantities of items while billing and manipulated orders in Central Medical Systems’ billing software. This allegedly resulted in Central Medical Systems seeking and receiving inflated Medicare payments for more expensive products than were provided to patients or for products that were never provided at all.
The government’s suit also alleges that, after the United States intervened in the lawsuit, Central Medical Systems and Alan Trent Harley conspired with Joan Harley (his wife), Arthur Wright, and Meddex Solutions to fraudulently submit Central Medical Systems’ claims through Meddex Solutions in an attempt to bypass Medicare’s suspension of payments to Central Medical Systems.
Alan Trent Harley pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on November 30, 2020, and was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment. According to court documents in that criminal case, Harley co-founded Central Medical Systems in 1986. As president and sole active owner of the business, Harley was responsible for submitting claims to Medicare on behalf of Central Medical Systems. From at least 2011 through 2015, Harley knowingly defrauded the government of more than $870,000 by submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare. Although his employees provided him with accurate data about which wound care supplies were sent, and in what quantities, Harley frequently changed that data (with respect to both product type and quantities) before submitting claims to Medicare, in order to obtain fraudulently higher reimbursements from Medicare.
The United States previously entered into a civil settlement agreement with Arthur Wright and Meddex Solutions, effective June 1, 2021, under which they agreed to pay the United States $77,741.93, to resolve the False Claims Act allegations against them in this case.
“This is another example of our office’s commitment to prosecute those – individual or corporate – who seek to exploit Medicare for their personal gain, and at the expense to taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “We will continue to use all available resources at our disposal to pursue those who defraud our nation’s federal healthcare programs.”
“Health care professionals are required to follow Medicare rules and accurately bill for services provided. Fraudulently billing Medicare for personal gain cheats millions of people who fund the program and contributes to the soaring cost of health care,” stated Omar Perez Aybar, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “Working closely with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to pursue those who exploit government health care programs.”
The settlement resulted from a lawsuit originally filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida by Relator Jael Cancel. Ms. Cancel sued under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act that permit a private citizen to sue on behalf of the United States for false claims and to share in the recovery. The Act also allows the United States to intervene and prosecute the action. The United States intervened in this matter and litigated the case. Ms. Cancel will receive $144,000 of the proceeds from the civil settlement with Central Medical Systems, Alan Trent Harley, and Joan Harley.
The United States’ intervention in and settlement of this matter illustrates its emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
This settlement resulted from a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and the HHS Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy R. Bloor led the investigation.
The case is captioned United States ex rel. Cancel v. Central Medical Systems, LLC et al., Case No. 6:14-cv-512-ORL-28TBS. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Fort Myers Fentanyl Dealer Sentenced to Thirteen Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber has sentenced Bobby Louis Lesane, Jr. (37, Fort Myers) to 13 years in federal prison for possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Lesane had pleaded guilty on September 10, 2021.
According to court documents, after Lesane was pulled over for a routine traffic stop in Fort Myers on October 29, 2020, a trained drug-detection police dog alerted to the scent of narcotics in Lesane’s car. When officers searched Lesane’s car, they located a small hidden area underneath the driver’s floorboard that contained several bags of drugs, including more than 20 grams of a substance containing fentanyl. Lesane was the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Fort Myers Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth.
Tampa Woman Convicted in Cocaine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – A federal jury has found Nicole Diaz (35, Tampa) guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 2022.
Diaz had been indicted on September 4, 2019.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, as part of the conspiracy, in 2018 Diaz’s co-conspirators used the U.S. Postal Service to ship multiple kilograms of high purity cocaine from various locations in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to the Middle District of Florida and elsewhere. Knowing the unlawful purpose of the plan, Diaz allowed kilogram quantities of cocaine to be delivered to her address in Tampa, where she received those packages for further distribution on to various destinations in the United States.
This case was investigated by the Tampa Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John Cannizzaro, David W.A. Chee, and Jim Preston.
Jacksonville Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Meet 13-Year-Old Child for SexRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Timothy Wade Veres III (25, Jacksonville) to 10 years in federal prison for attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Veres has also been ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender. The Court ordered Veres to pay $5,000 in restitution to a child victim depicted in sexually explicit images he had possessed, which Veres agreed to pay as part of his plea agreement.
Veres had pleaded guilty on August 19, 2021.
According to court documents, in January 2020 federal and local law enforcement conducted a joint undercover operation targeting individuals who were seeking to meet minor children on the internet for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. On January 26, 2020, Veres used a particular chat application to make contact with an undercover federal agent who had assumed the online persona of a 13-year-old girl. During their online conversations, the “child” informed Veres of her age, and he discussed his desire to engage in sexual activity with the “child” when they met in person. Within five hours of first conversing with the “child” online, Veres traveled to meet the “child” for sex, where state and federal officers arrested him and found him in possession of condoms he had purchased on the way to the planned meeting location.
This case was investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.
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 Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Sex Abuse Videos over the InternetRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Michael Lee Aurandt (50, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing materials depicting the sexual abuse of children over the internet. He faces a minimum mandatory term of 5 years, and up to, 20 years in federal prison on each count and a potential lifetime term of supervised release. Aurandt was arrested on August 27, 2021, and was ordered detained pending trial. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
According to court documents, several different offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation began investigating Aurandt for uploading child sexual abuse materials to a chat application over the internet, including his October 2020 posting of videos and images, and his November 2020 uploading of more videos. FBI agents identified Aurandt as the source of these distributions through the internet protocol (IP) addresses from which he uploaded the materials.
On August 27, 2021, FBI agents executed a federal search warrant at Aurandt’s residence and arrested him later that day. During an interview, Aurandt admitted viewing and distributing child sex abuse materials using the chat app accounts previously identified by FBI. He stated he would create new accounts after his existing accounts were shut down for violating the chat app’s terms of service.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.
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.
Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Orchestrating Nationwide Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Georgia man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the United States by promoting a nationwide tax fraud scheme to more than 200 participants in at least 19 states. He also pleaded guilty to helping others prepare and file false tax returns for individuals recruited to the scheme.
According to court documents, Iran V. Backstrom, also known as Shariyf Noble, of Milledgeville, was the main promoter of the scheme, which involved recruiting clients and preparing false tax returns on their behalf by convincing them that their mortgages and other debts entitled them to tax refunds. Between 2014 and 2016, Backstrom and his co-conspirators held seminars across the county to publicize the scheme. As part of the scheme, Backstrom helped prepare and file tax returns for the participants, which collectively sought more than $25 million in refunds from the IRS. These tax returns falsely claimed that banks and other financial institutions had withheld large amounts of income tax from the participants, thereby entitling the clients to a refund. In reality, the financial institutions had not paid any income to or withheld any taxes from these individuals. To make the refund claims appear legitimate, however, Backstrom and his co-conspirators filed tax documents with the IRS that matched the withholding information listed on the tax returns, making them appear as if they had been issued by the banks.
As part of his plea, Backstrom admitted he gave orders to others as part of the scheme. Several of his co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme. Backstrom also admitted that he and his co-conspirators concealed their roles in the scheme by, among other things, indicating the false tax returns had been “self-prepared,” submitting false IRS forms designed to appear as if they were created by the participants’ financial institutions and coaching the participants how to conceal the scheme from the IRS. Backstrom further admitted he and his co-conspirators charged participants approximately $10,000 to $15,000 in fees for preparation of each tax return. Although Backstrom personally received approximately $1 million for his role in the scheme, he did not file tax returns for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 to report this income.
Backstrom’s sentencing will be scheduled for a later date. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and three years in prison for each of the seven counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false tax return. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Karin Hoppmann for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind, Kavitha Bondada and Isaiah Boyd III of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Georgia Man Pleads Guilty to Orchestrating Nationwide Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Georgia man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the United States by promoting a nationwide tax fraud scheme to more than 200 participants in at least 19 states. He also pleaded guilty to helping others prepare and file false tax returns for individuals recruited to the scheme.
According to court documents, Iran V. Backstrom, also known as Shariyf Noble, of Milledgeville, was the main promoter of the scheme, which involved recruiting clients and preparing false tax returns on their behalf by convincing them that their mortgages and other debts entitled them to tax refunds. Between 2014 and 2016, Backstrom and his co-conspirators held seminars across the county to publicize the scheme. As part of the scheme, Backstrom helped prepare and file tax returns for the participants, which collectively sought more than $25 million in refunds from the IRS. These tax returns falsely claimed that banks and other financial institutions had withheld large amounts of income tax from the participants, thereby entitling the clients to a refund. In reality, the financial institutions had not paid any income to or withheld any taxes from these individuals. To make the refund claims appear legitimate, however, Backstrom and his co-conspirators filed tax documents with the IRS that matched the withholding information listed on the tax returns, making them appear as if they had been issued by the banks.
As part of his plea, Backstrom admitted he gave orders to others as part of the scheme. Several of his co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme. Backstrom also admitted that he and his co-conspirators concealed their roles in the scheme by, among other things, indicating the false tax returns had been “self-prepared,” submitting false IRS forms designed to appear as if they were created by the participants’ financial institutions and coaching the participants how to conceal the scheme from the IRS. Backstrom further admitted he and his co-conspirators charged participants approximately $10,000 to $15,000 in fees for preparation of each tax return. Although Backstrom personally received approximately $1 million for his role in the scheme, he did not file tax returns for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 to report this income.
Backstrom’s sentencing will be scheduled for a later date. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and three years in prison for each of the seven counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false tax return. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Karin Hoppmann for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind, Kavitha Bondada and Isaiah Boyd III of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Fentanyl Distributor Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza has sentenced Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Gonzalez (49, Kissimmee) to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute one kilogram of fentanyl. The Court also ordered Gonzalez-Gonzalez to forfeit a vehicle used to facilitate the offense.
Gonzalez-Gonzalez had pleaded guilty on October 7, 2021.
According to court documents, from November 2020 through February 2021, Gonzalez-Gonzalez communicated with a source working with the Drug Enforcement Administration. In November 2020, Gonzalez-Gonzalez agreed to sell two kilograms of heroin to the source, but that transaction was not consummated because he demanded a photograph of the $116,000 the source had agreed to provide. In February 2021, Gonzalez-Gonzalez again arranged to sell two kilograms of heroin to the source, this time agreeing to deliver the first of two kilograms before receiving $58,000 in payment. On February 2, 2021, Gonzalez-Gonzalez arranged for a conspirator, Miguel Angel Ramirez-Laboy (41 Kissimmee), to drive separately to Haines City to meet with the purported buyer with the kilogram of drugs in his vehicle. During that trip, law enforcement stopped Ramirez-Laboy and found him to be transporting 1004.9 grams of fentanyl. Fentanyl is added to heroin to increase its potency or to disguise it as highly potent heroin.
Ramirez-Laboy pleaded guilty on August 16, 2021 and was sentenced to 24 months’ incarceration on October 19, 2021.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Osceola County Investigative Bureau. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.
Orlando Felon Sentenced to over Seven Years for Possessing A Short-Barreled Rifle and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Jacquavius Smith (21, Orlando), a/k/a 9lokkNine and GlokkNine, to seven years and three months in federal prison for illegally possessing a short barreled semi-automatic rifle, possessing a handgun and ammunition as a convicted felon, and aggravated identity theft. The Court also ordered Smith to serve a three-year term of supervised release and to forfeit the firearms and ammunition related to the offenses.
Smith had pleaded guilty on July 13, 2021.
According to court documents, the Orlando Police Department executed a search warrant at a residence where Smith was known to stay. During the search, officers found a short-barreled semi-automatic rifle with a large capacity magazine, a handgun with an extended magazine, and approximately 70 rounds of ammunition, all belonging to Smith. Because he had previously been convicted of multiple felony offenses, including burglary, grand theft, criminal mischief, and narcotics possession, federal law prohibits Smith from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
While awaiting trial on those charges, Smith stole a victim’s personal identification information and used it to obtain a fraudulent loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a component of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) passed to provide assistance to businesses and individuals affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
After obtaining another search warrant, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office searched the residence where Smith was reportedly staying pending his trial. During that search, Smith was again found with a semi-automatic handgun and several rounds of ammunition. Smith also had in his possession 13 auto sears – devices capable of converting a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic firearm.
This case was investigated by the Orlando Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John Gardella and Amanda Daniels.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
The PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of 1%. PPP loan proceeds must be used by businesses on payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within eight weeks of receipt and use at least 75 percent of the forgiven amount for payroll. Anyone with information about allegations of fraud related to COVID-19, including the PPP or the CARES Act, can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Tampa Woman Sentenced to 15 Months in Federal Prison for Embezzling over $900,000 from Her EmployerRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced Alicia Sheri Morgan (43, Tampa) to 15 months in federal prison for conspiracy to embezzle $906,109 from her employer. The Court also ordered Morgan to forfeit $373,126, which is traceable to proceeds of the offense.
Morgan had pleaded guilty on August 23, 2021.
According to court documents, between May 2015 and May 2019, Morgan served as a finance supervisor for her employer. She exploited that role to embezzle $906,109 from the employer by causing the employer to issue approximately 300 checks to Morgan’s co-conspirators, whom Morgan falsely and fraudulently represented were vendors that had provided services to the employer and were, therefore, due payment. Specifically, Morgan drafted false and fraudulent invoices, check requests, and medical claim forms, indicating that the fake vendors (co-conspirators) had performed services and even met with medical patients. Through creation and submission of these false and fraudulent documents to her employer, Morgan caused the employer to issue payments to her co-conspirators. Morgan then diverted many of these payments into her personal bank account and a bank account she shared with one of the co-conspirators. Morgan used much of the ill-gotten money for her personal expenses.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Clearwater Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.
Seven-Time Felon Convicted in Connection with Armed Robbery at Labelle PawnshopRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL – A federal jury has found Raynaldo Ray Quiroga (37, LaBelle) guilty of Hobbs Act robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, possessing stolen firearms, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, related to an armed robbery of a pawnshop in LaBelle in May 2021. As a result, Quiroga faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 21, 2022.
Quiroga had been indicted on July 14, 2021.
According to evidence presented at trial, Quiroga, a seven-time convicted felon, entered Capital Pawn in LaBelle on the morning of May 19, 2021, falsely impersonating a law enforcement officer by wearing a green sheriff’s deputy uniform, a black tactical vest, a badge, and a duty belt equipped with a firearm. While in the shop, Quiroga brandished his firearm and zip-tied the store’s two employees before stealing six guns and fleeing the scene. Law enforcement agents quickly identified Quiroga as a suspect and later found multiple pieces of evidence at his residence and in his car connecting him to the robbery.
This case was investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted Assistant United States Attorneys Jesus M. Casas and Simon Eth.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Nassau County Repeat Offender Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug OffenseRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Shawn Andrew Wilson (47, Fernandina Beach) has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Wilson faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, and up to, 40 years in federal prison.
According to the plea agreement, on September 2, 2021, at approximately 2:00 a.m., in Jacksonville, Florida, Wilson was riding a motorcycle with the license plate folded up and not visible – a traffic violation. When a police officer signaled him to stop, Wilson made a U-turn and appeared to pull over but then accelerated and fled, racing through a red traffic light and then crashing. Officers then arrested Wilson and, during a subsequent search, found in his backpack a jacket, the linings of which concealed four plastic bags containing over 100 grams of methamphetamine.
Wilson committed this offense while serving a term of supervised release for a previous federal offense. Specifically, in July 2019, a federal court convicted Wilson of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and sentenced him to 40 months’ imprisonment followed by a three-year term of supervised release, which term he began serving in April 2021.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.
Jury Finds Convicted Felon Guilty of Possessing AmmunitionRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – A federal jury has found Victor Ricardo Grant (39, Brandon) guilty of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. Grant faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years, and up to, life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 4, 2022.
Grant was initially indicted on February 4, 2020, and a superseding indictment was filed on September 28, 2021.
According to testimony presented at trial, federal agents, along with Florida local law enforcement agencies, investigated a series of credit union robberies and carjackings committed in Hillsborough County and Pinellas County in 2019. As part of the investigation, the FBI obtained a search warrant for Grant’s residence in Brandon, Florida. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and federal investigators searched Grant’s home on January 22, 2020, and found approximately 400 rounds of 7.62 caliber ammunition inside backpacks in Grant’s bedroom closet and in the attic. All of the ammunition in the backpack in the attic was loaded in magazine clips for an AK-47 assault rifle; that backpack also contained ammunition drum magazines for that type of rifle. Because of his several prior felony offense convictions, federal law prohibits Grant from possessing ammunition.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the Pinellas Park Police Department, the St. Petersburg Police Department, and the Clearwater Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Sinacore and Diego Novaes.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Former Federal Corrections Officer Sentenced to 20 Months in for Plan to Smuggle Drugs into PrisonRead the Press Release
Ocala, FL – Senior United States District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced Wayne Grant, Jr. (28, Orlando) to 20 months in federal prison for receipt of a bribe by a public official. Grant had pleaded guilty on September 7, 2021.
According to court documents, Grant worked as a corrections officer at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Coleman) in Sumter County. In December 2020, Grant agreed to smuggle methamphetamine into the prison for an inmate in exchange for money. Once federal authorities were notified, Grant unwittingly began communicating with an undercover agent to complete the transaction. Federal agents mailed approximately 70 grams of fake methamphetamine and $2,000 in money orders to Grant. Agents observed Grant retrieving the package from his post office box, and he subsequently deposited the money orders into his bank account. During his assigned shift on February 4, 2021, Grant smuggled the contraband into FCC Coleman and provided it to an inmate.
This case was investigated by the Department of Justice – Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tyrie Boyer.
Federal Jury Convicts Jacksonville Sexual Predator of Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Images That He Produced Using A Hidden CameraRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – A federal jury has found James Thomas Butler II (41, Jacksonville) guilty of production, attempted production, and possession of child sexual abuse materials. In 2001, Butler was convicted of attempted capital sexual battery and lascivious molestation of a minor, and he has since been registered and designated as a sexual predator. Because of his prior child sex convictions, Butler now faces enhanced penalties of not less than 25 years, and up to 70 years, in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervised release. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
According to court documents as well as evidence and testimony during the trial, on May 2, 2018, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at a residence in north Jacksonville where several sex offenders and sexual predators resided, including Butler. During an interview with law enforcement, FBI agents obtained a smart phone from Butler. A forensic examination of Butler’s phone revealed pornographic videos and images of a minor child that appeared to have been filmed using a camera concealed in the child’s bedroom. Through further investigation, law enforcement identified the child and the residence in Jacksonville where Butler had concealed the camera. On October 2, 2018, FBI agents and personnel executed a federal search warrant at this residence and also arrested Butler.
A search of the residence revealed that Butler had installed a tiny internet-enabled camera device in an air vent in the child’s bedroom and had wired the camera into the house’s electrical system through the attic. Butler was able to control this camera remotely using his smart phone, collecting videos and creating customized screenshots of the child. Butler’s smart phone contained at least 65 videos and 35 screenshots that depicted the child in the child’s bedroom.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Duval County School 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.
Serial Arsonist Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Setting Fires to Publix StoreRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven has sentenced Robert Timon Lovett (50, Bradenton) to five years in federal prison for arson.
Lovett had pleaded guilty on September 29, 2021.
According to court documents, on three consecutive dates in 2020 (December 25, 26, and 27), Lovett started a fire at a Publix store in Bradenton, Florida. On December 26 and 27, Lovett actually entered the store and purchased the lighter fluid he used to start the fires, both of which he set while the store was open for business. The fire he set on December 26 caused significant heat damage to the back of the store.
Law enforcement officers apprehended Lovett on December 28, 2020, when he returned to the same Publix and again purchased lighter fluid. In a statement to law enforcement, Lovett admitted to starting the fires on each of the three preceding days.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charlie D. Connally.
Vero Beach Woman Sentenced to over 10 Years for Possessing More Than 500 Grams of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Orlando Florida –U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced
Amanda Gailene Paul (38, Vero Beach) to 10 years and 10 months in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.
Paul had pleaded guilty on September 14, 2021.
According to the plea agreement, on or about November 3, 2020, at the direction of federal agents, a confidential source contacted Paul to purchase three pounds of methamphetamine. Prior to the delivery, investigators located Paul in her vehicle. A subsequent search of Paul’s vehicle revealed three individually packaged plastic bags containing approximately three pounds of methamphetamine.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Palm Bay Police Department, the City of Cocoa Police Department, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Terry B. Livanos.
Orlando Man Sentenced to 50 Years for Sexually Exploiting Children via the InternetRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Todd Engles (33, Orlando) to 50 years in federal prison for producing, distributing, and possessing child sexual abuse material. The Court also ordered Engles to serve a 15-year term of supervised release, register as a sex offender, and forfeit his smartphone.
Engles had pleaded guilty on September 8, 2021.
According to court documents and evidence presented during the sentencing hearing, Engles posed as a 15-year-old boy and contacted multiple young girls (usually between the ages of 9 and 13) on social media applications. Using this persona, Engles persuaded and enticed the child victims to engage in sexual conduct via live video stream and video recordings. Engles also participated in chat rooms dedicated to the sharing of child sexual abuse material and rape, where he often bragged about and instructed others on how to exploit young girls via the internet. During these chats, Engles distributed numerous videos and images of children, as young as infants, being sexually abused, and expressed in detail his desire to drug and rape children. Authorities conducted a forensic review of his smartphone and discovered more than 455 images and 148 videos depicting the sexual abuse of infants, toddlers, and prepubescent and pubescent children.
This case was investigated by the Orlando Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 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.
Court Permanently Enjoins Three Vietnamese Residents from Continuing to Operate a Pandemic-Related Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal court in Florida permanently enjoined on Friday three residents of Vietnam from operating a pandemic-related scam that targeted American consumers, the Department of Justice announced.
In a complaint filed in August 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the government alleged that Thu Phan Dinh, Tran Khanh and Nguyen Duy Toan engaged in a wire fraud scheme designed to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the complaint, the defendants operated more than 300 websites that fraudulently purported to sell products in the United States that became scarce during the pandemic, including hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. Thousands of victims in all 50 states paid for items marketed through the websites, but received nothing. The complaint alleged that the defendants set up hundreds of email accounts and accounts with a U.S.-based payment processor to carry out the scheme and keep it hidden from law enforcement. The defendants also allegedly listed fraudulent contact addresses and phone numbers on the websites, which caused unaffiliated individuals and businesses in the United States to receive numerous complaint calls from victims who had been defrauded by the scheme.
After receiving information from American law enforcement, Vietnamese authorities conducted an investigation and arrested the defendants on local charges.
“Scams that take advantage of the global pandemic to prey on American consumers are particularly egregious,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to working with law enforcement partners in the United States and around the globe to stop anyone who would try to profit through this kind of conduct.”
“The final injunction entered in this civil case sends a strong message of our district’s commitment to ensuring that fraudulent, predatory practices will be confronted in this critically important area,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Karin Hoppmann of the Middle District of Florida. “We thank our partners at the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch, the Department of Homeland Security and Vietnamese law enforcement who assisted us throughout this effort.”
“HSI works tirelessly to disrupt and dismantle criminal networks around the world who are exploiting the global pandemic for their own personal financial gain,” said Special Agent in Charge John A. Condon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa. “This permanent injunction is the final step in ensuring these defendants can no longer take advantage of people.”
The civil enforcement action, filed in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Florida, is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to detect, investigate, and prosecute illegal conduct related to the pandemic. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle granted the government’s motion for a default judgment and issued the permanent injunction, which extends a preliminary injunction that halted defendants’ scam and shut down the fraudulent websites.
The action was brought based on an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s HSI, in coordination with the Vietnam Ministry of Public Security, Department of Foreign Relations and Hanoi Police.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn B. Tapie for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Kathryn A. Schmidt of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic and efforts to stop COVID-19 fraud, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, visit its website at www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl.
Court Permanently Enjoins Three Vietnamese Residents from Continuing to Operate a Pandemic-Related Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – A federal court in Florida permanently enjoined on Friday three residents of Vietnam from operating a pandemic-related scam that targeted American consumers, the Department of Justice announced.
In a complaint filed in August 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the government alleged that Thu Phan Dinh, Tran Khanh and Nguyen Duy Toan engaged in a wire fraud scheme designed to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the complaint, the defendants operated more than 300 websites that fraudulently purported to sell products in the United States that became scarce during the pandemic, including hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. Thousands of victims in all 50 states paid for items marketed through the websites, but received nothing. The complaint alleged that the defendants set up hundreds of email accounts and accounts with a U.S.-based payment processor to carry out the scheme and keep it hidden from law enforcement. The defendants also allegedly listed fraudulent contact addresses and phone numbers on the websites, which caused unaffiliated individuals and businesses in the United States to receive numerous complaint calls from victims who had been defrauded by the scheme.
After receiving information from American law enforcement, Vietnamese authorities conducted an investigation and arrested the defendants on local charges.
“Scams that take advantage of the global pandemic to prey on American consumers are particularly egregious,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to working with law enforcement partners in the United States and around the globe to stop anyone who would try to profit through this kind of conduct.”
“The final injunction entered in this civil case sends a strong message of our district’s commitment to ensuring that fraudulent, predatory practices will be confronted in this critically important area,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Karin Hoppmann of the Middle District of Florida. “We thank our partners at the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch, the Department of Homeland Security and Vietnamese law enforcement who assisted us throughout this effort.”
“HSI works tirelessly to disrupt and dismantle criminal networks around the world who are exploiting the global pandemic for their own personal financial gain,” said Special Agent in Charge John A. Condon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa. “This permanent injunction is the final step in ensuring these defendants can no longer take advantage of people.”
The civil enforcement action, filed in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Florida, is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to detect, investigate, and prosecute illegal conduct related to the pandemic. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle granted the government’s motion for a default judgment and issued the permanent injunction, which extends a preliminary injunction that halted Defendants’ scam and shut down the fraudulent websites.
The action was brought based on an investigation conducted by HSI, in coordination with the Vietnam Ministry of Public Security, Department of Foreign Relations and Hanoi Police.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn B. Tapie of the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Kathryn A. Schmidt of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic and efforts to stop COVID-19 fraud, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, visit its website at www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl.
Tampa Men Sentenced for Fraud and Identity Theft in COVID Benefits ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Kathryn Mizelle has sentenced Kary Stevenson (47) and Corey Quinn (35), both of Tampa, for conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft related to COVID unemployment insurance benefits. Stevenson was sentenced to 5 years and 10 months in federal prison and Quinn was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison. As part of their sentence, the court also ordered Stevenson and Quinn to pay $87,046 in restitution to the various state workforce agencies they defrauded.
Stevenson and Quinn had pleaded guilty on September 21, 2021.
According to court documents, from approximately May 2020 and continuing until August 12, 2020, Stevenson and Quinn obtained the personal identifying information of others and used that information to submit, or cause the submission of, false and fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) claims to various state workforce agencies, in order to obtain UI benefits to which they were not entitled. These UI benefits were then transferred to bank accounts or loaded onto debits cards issued in the names of other persons. Stevenson and Quinn then used, or attempted to use, the fraudulently obtained debit cards to withdraw money from ATMs and to purchase items from retail establishments. The U.S. Department of Labor determined that Stevenson and Quinn submitted fraudulent UI claims seeking a total of over $1,000,000, but they only obtained $87,046 before they were caught.
In March 2020, the President signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which expanded states’ ability to provide UI for many workers impacted by COVID-19, including for workers who were not ordinarily eligible for benefits.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
This case was investigated by the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the United States Secret Service, and the Tampa Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory D. Pizzo and John Cannizzaro.
Georgia Woman Pleads Guilty to Promoting Nationwide Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL – A Georgia woman pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the United States by promoting a nationwide tax fraud scheme and preparing false tax returns for the scheme’s participants.
According to court documents, Yomarie Febres, 47, of Covington, prepared 77 false income tax returns that collectively sought more than $23.8 million in tax refunds from the IRS. Between 2014 and 2016, Febres’s co-conspirators held seminars throughout the country where they promoted the scheme and recruited clients to file false tax returns with the IRS by convincing them that their mortgages and other debts entitled them to tax refunds. Information was then collected from clients and provided to Febres for use in the preparation of false tax returns. The tax returns Febres prepared falsely claimed that banks and other financial institutions had withheld large amounts of income taxes from the clients, which entitled the clients to refunds. In reality, the financial institutions had not paid any income to or withheld any taxes from the clients. The false tax returns Febres prepared caused the IRS to pay out more than $15 million in fraudulent refunds to scheme participants. Febres concealed her role in the scheme by falsely reporting that all of the returns were “self-prepared,” when, in fact, she had created them.
As part of her plea, Febres admitted that her co-conspirators charged clients approximately $10,000 to $15,000 in fees to participate in the scheme. A portion of the fee – typically $500 per client – was paid to Febres for each tax return she prepared. Febres further admitted that she did not report on her 2014 and 2015 income tax returns the income she received for preparing these false returns. She also admitted to claiming false business losses on her personal tax returns.
Febres is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and three years in prison for aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. Febres also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Two of Febres’s co-conspirators are scheduled to go to trial in January 2022.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Karin Hoppmann for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind, Kavitha Bondada and Isaiah Boyd III of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Brevard County Man Sentenced to 13 Years for Receiving Child Sexual Abuse Videos over the InternetRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – United States District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Fred Lee White (41, Titusville) to 13 years in federal prison for receiving images over the internet that depicted child sexual abuse. White was also ordered to serve a 15-year term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.
White had pleaded guilty in September 2021.
According to court documents, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office arrested White on May 28, 2020, for exposing himself to a 10-year-old child who lived in his neighborhood. Later, a neighbor found an unlocked electronic tablet that belonged to White and reported to law enforcement that the tablet contained several images that appeared to depict the sexual abuse of children.
A forensic examination of White’s tablet revealed several videos White had recorded from an application on the tablet. The app was a social network service on which account holders can post livestream broadcasts of material recorded on electronic devices. Other users with accounts could choose to watch the broadcast and send real time comments and rewards to the broadcaster.
Approximately 114 video recordings of the app were found on White’s tablet. The videos depicted children taking selfie-style videos of themselves, in various stages of undress, while White and other users were viewing the live broadcasts. Some of the videos depicted minor girls exposing and sexually abusing themselves in return for rewards offered by those like White who were viewing the broadcasts.
“Every time a predator shares child pornography it re-victimizes a young child,” said HSI Orlando Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Pezzutti. “Thanks to HSI and our law enforcement partnership with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, he will be held accountable for his crimes.”
This case was investigated by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Gardella.
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.
Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Promoting Nationwide Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL - A Florida man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the United States by promoting a tax fraud scheme to more than 200 individuals in at least 19 states. He also pleaded guilty to attempting to obstruct the IRS.
According to court documents, Aaron Aqueron of Clermont recruited clients to a nationwide tax fraud scheme by convincing them that their mortgages and other debts entitled them to tax refunds. Aqueron collected tax and financial information from these clients to send to co-conspirators, who prepared tax returns and other tax documents to submit to the IRS. These tax returns falsely claimed that banks and other financial institutions had withheld large amounts of income taxes from the clients, and that the clients were entitled to a refund. In reality, the financial institutions had not paid any income to or withheld any taxes from the clients. In total, the tax returns filed by the clients sought more than $14.6 million in tax refunds and caused the IRS to actually pay out more than $7.6 million in refunds.
As part of his plea, Aqueron admitted he and his co-conspirators received fees from his clients ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 each. Aqueron further admitted he did not report on his 2015 individual income tax return the income he received from the scheme. Aqueron also personally filed false tax returns on which he fraudulently claimed that he was entitled to tax refunds. In response to one of these false tax returns, the IRS issued Aqueron a refund of $193,347.97.
Aqueron further admitted that he attempted to obstruct the IRS’s efforts to collect the tax refunds it issued to his clients, pursuant to the fraud scheme. Aqueron and his conspirators coached clients on ways to obstruct IRS collection efforts. For example, after learning one client had begun to receive letters from the IRS about collections, Aqueron instructed the client: “Make sure you move money out of your name and out of the banking institutions and be smart.” Aqueron also attempted to obstruct IRS efforts to collect his own fraudulently-obtained refund, including by transferring money into a trust.
Aqueron is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and three years in prison for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct or impede the IRS. Aqueron also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Aqueron’s conspirators are scheduled to go to trial in January 2022.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Karin Hoppmann for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind, Kavitha Bondada, and Isaiah Boyd, III of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Tampa Bay Area Man Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Sebastian Visicaro (62, Trinity) today pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Visicaro used his real estate company, two shell companies, and bank accounts in the companies’ names to launder the proceeds of an international boiler room fraud scheme, which defrauded foreign victims via the sale of worthless investments. Visicaro used the companies and bank accounts to receive fraud proceeds, some of which victims wired directly into these accounts from overseas. More often, fraud proceeds from the victims were wired to United States-based accounts controlled by other conspirators and then later wired to accounts controlled by Visicaro. In such instances, Visicaro’s accounts served as “buffer” accounts, that is, secondary bank accounts used to transfer and conceal foreign victims’ money and avoid detection by banks.
In total, at least $500,000, and potentially as much as $1.5 million, in victims’ funds flowed into Visicaro-controlled accounts. Thereafter, at the direction of other conspirators, Visicaro wired most of the funds to accounts held by boiler room sales agents and co-conspirators at other financial institutions—thereby promoting the scheme, concealing the source of the proceeds, and hindering efforts to locate those proceeds. For his role in the conspiracy, Visicaro received a percentage of the amount of funds he helped to launder.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rachelle DesVaux Bedke and David W.A. Chee.
Leader of Fort Myers Drug Trafficking Organization Pleads Guilty to ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL - Marvin Harris, Jr., aka “Mesh” (23, Fort Myers), has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute fentanyl, cocaine base, and cocaine. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, and up to 40 years, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, Harris led a drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating in neighborhoods off of Palm Beach Boulevard in Fort Myers. Harris recruited dealers to work for him and provided them with housing, which served as the main distribution points for the DTO.
On August 14, 2020, Harris was jailed for contempt of court in connection with a homicide investigation. He continued to run his organization while behind bars, enlisting his girlfriend, co-defendant Destiny Molina, to supply his dealers with drugs and collect the revenue generated by the business. Recorded phone calls between Harris and Molina captured him teaching her how to mix fentanyl with adulterants to increase the profit potential of his product along with other instructions necessary to keep his illegal enterprise afloat.
On October 15, 2020, the FBI executed simultaneous search warrants at Molina’s residence and Harris’s main drug house located on New York Drive in Fort Myers. Inside Molina’s residence, law enforcement recovered nearly $55,000 in cash, multiple pieces of expensive jewelry, more than 100 grams of fentanyl and cocaine, and a firearm. At the drug house, law enforcement found nearly $5,000 in cash, additional fentanyl and cocaine, and another firearm.
In connection with his guilty plea, Harris has agreed to forfeit his Mercedes-Benz automobile, $59,056 in seized cash, an 18k gold Datejust Rolex, and multiple gold “Cuban link” chains, all of which were traced to the proceeds of his DTO. Four other members of the conspiracy had previously pleaded guilty in connection with his case and are awaiting sentencing:
Name
Charge
Maximum Penalty
Destiny Molina
(20, Fort Myers)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances
5-40 years in prison
Bradly Griffin, aka “Jit”
(19, Fort Myers)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances
5-40 years in prison
Robert Rosado, aka “Drew”
(24, Fort Myers)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; distribution of a controlled substance
5-40 years in prison
Fabian Kelly, aka “Bob”
(20, Fort Myers)
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense
Up to 20 years in prison, plus a consecutive 5 years in prison for firearms charge
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Myers Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael V. Leeman.
Justice Department Awards More Than $17.5 Million to Support Project Safe NeighborhoodsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today that it has awarded more than $17.5 million in grants to support the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program. Funding will support efforts across the country to address violent crime, including the gun violence that is often at its core. In the Middle District of Florida, $546,480 was awarded to fund initiatives throughout the district.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance, part of the department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), will administer the 88 grant awards, which are being made to designated fiscal agents to support local PSN projects that work in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.
“This latest Project Safe Neighborhoods grant is critical to addressing the violent crime threatening cities and towns all across our country,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Ensuring the safety of all Americans is the highest priority for the Department of Justice, but when it comes to violent crime, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. We have to work closely with local public safety agencies as well as community organizations to craft individual strategies unique to each community’s needs. Programs like Project Safe Neighborhoods and the funding it provides allow us to do just that.”
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office continues its work with our excellent law enforcement and community partners, using a proven multi-faceted approach to reduce violent crime,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Karin Hoppmann. “The awards announced today will greatly assist as we all strive to keep our communities safe.”
“Investing in our communities, supporting victims and building a justice system that both keeps people safe and earns their trust – these are mutually reinforcing goals that stand at the heart of Project Safe Neighborhoods,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon for OJP. “The Office of Justice Programs is pleased to join with our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and with jurisdictions across the country, as we work together to meet the challenges of crime and violence and achieve our shared aspirations of public safety and community trust.”
In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced a new effort to reduce violent crime, including the gun violence that is often at its core. Integral to that effort was the reinvigoration of PSN, a two-decade old evidence-based and community-oriented program focused on reducing violent crime. The updated PSN approach, outlined in the department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime issued by Deputy Attorney General Monaco, is guided by four key principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results of our efforts. The fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions.
This fall, U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country have enhanced their violent crime reduction efforts to ensure alignment with the department’s comprehensive violent crime reduction strategy. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices have engaged in outreach to law enforcement and other agencies and organizations serving communities to identify the most significant drivers of violence in their districts. Working together with a broad coalition of stakeholders, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are addressing the most pressing violent crime issues in their district to make our neighborhoods safer for all.
PSN programs are led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in collaboration with local public safety agencies, community stakeholders and other agencies and organizations that work to reduce violent crime.
For a list of all grantees, please visit: FY21-Project-Safe-Neighborhoods-Awards.pdf
The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
Juries Return Guilty Verdicts Against Couple for Murdering Government WitnessRead the Press Release
Ocala, Florida – Following eight days of trial in federal court, David Chappell Fey (57, Belleview) and Shari Lynn Gunter (58, Ocklawaha) have each been found guilty as charged for the murder of a government witness. The trial required special accommodations: a separate jury heard evidence for each defendant. In the end, each jury returned a guilty verdict on all four counts charged -- distribution of methamphetamine, conspiracy to murder a government witness, murder of a government witness, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl causing death.
Prior to the start of trial, Fey pleaded guilty to an additional seven counts of distributing methamphetamine.
Fey and Gunter each face a mandatory penalty of life in federal prison. Sentencing is scheduled for April 22, 2022.
According to the evidence produced at trial, Fey and Gunter lived together in Summerfield, Florida, where they routinely distributed methamphetamine and other drugs. The 31-year-old victim, who was the mother of three children, was one of their customers. She had agreed to cooperate with law enforcement and conducted a controlled buy of $40 worth of methamphetamine on January 19, 2016. After discovering that the victim was helping authorities, Fey and Gunter conspired to murder her to prevent her from acting as a witness against them.
Specifically, on April 5, 2016, Fey and Gunter made up a “hot shot”—a syringe containing a lethal amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine and provided it to the victim. When the victim injected herself, she immediately collapsed. Gunter then dragged the victim outside, kicked her in the head, and placed her in the passenger seat of her car. As the victim sat helpless in the vehicle, Fey and Gunter administered a second, fatal dose of fentanyl and methamphetamine, causing her death. They then drove her to a cemetery in Oxford, Florida, and staged the scene to look like an accidental overdose.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with support from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael P. Felicetta and Tyrie K. Boyer.