Northern District of Georgia
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Twenty-three Ghost Face Gangsters federally indicted on RICO and other chargesRead the Press Release
ROME, Ga. -- Federal and state agents have arrested 23 members and associates of the Ghostface Gangsters prison gang, which originated in the Cobb County, Georgia jail in 2000, and has since spread through Georgia jails, prisons, and beyond. A federal grand jury returned a 21-count indictment on Feb. 8, 2018, which was recently unsealed. The crimes alleged in the indictment range from wire fraud to murder.
“An attack on our law enforcement officers is an attack on all of us and can never be tolerated,” said Attorney General Sessions. “Law enforcement officers are the thin blue line standing between law abiding people and the violent gangs and criminals who peddle poison to our young people, terrorize our communities, and attempt to impose a false sovereignty over our neighborhoods. President Trump has ordered us to improve the safety of our law enforcement officers, and at the Department of Justice, we are carrying out that order. I want to thank everyone who helped make today’s arrests possible, including ATF and the FBI, as well as more than a dozen state and local law enforcement agencies across Georgia and Alabama. Today’s arrests will help us achieve justice for the officers who have sacrificed so much and to follow President Trump’s order to back the men and women in blue.”
“The Ghostface Gangsters gang is very violent and their members will not hesitate to shoot at anyone,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Members have allegedly committed drug trafficking crimes inside and outside of prisons to make money, while committing violent crimes against each other, innocent citizens, and police officers. We are partnering with local and state law enforcement agencies, including the Georgia Department of Corrections, to stop this criminal enterprise. If convicted, the defendants will be removed to federal facilities all across the United States.”
“As a result of this operation, ATF has disrupted a dangerous and pervasive threat to the local community,” said ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge John Schmidt. “The Ghostface Gangsters gang flourished through recruitment, intimidation, and perpetration of heinous crimes, and it is critical that law enforcement agencies take aggressive actions against these criminals. This investigation is an example of ATF remaining on the frontline of preventing violent crime through excellent cooperation with our law enforcement partners.”
“The recent federal indictments of this dangerous gang demonstrates how effective and important interagency collaboration is between federal, state, and local partners, and also demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement entities at every level to keep the communities across this nation as safe as possible,” said Chief Michael Register, Cobb County Police Department.
“As part of our commitment to ridding our prisons of criminal activity, we maintain a robust plan for identifying and managing those participating in gang activity,” said Corrections Commissioner Gregory C. Dozier. “The use of contraband cell phones by these individuals as a tool to carry out their crimes, is a fight we continue to battle. We appreciate the support and assistance of our law enforcement partners on every level, in our efforts to see that justice is being served on those who pose a threat to the safety of the public and the operations of our facilities.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Beginning in the year 2000, the defendants named in the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) conspiracy charge allegedly plotted to commit murders, kidnapping, firearm crimes, drug trafficking, assault, witness tampering, wire fraud and other crimes in furtherance of the Ghostface Gangsters criminal enterprise. Other members and associates are charged in a drug conspiracy, and with separate counts of Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering, including carjacking, attempted murder, kidnapping, assault with serious bodily injury and maiming.
Ghostface Gangsters are organized into different positions of leadership, including the founding pillars, those having a “seat at the table,” “First Lady,” state-wide positions consisting of security, violator, structure board, education coordinator, living coordinator, communications coordinator, investigator, enforcement coordinator, recruiter, planning and strategy, treasurer, legal coordinator, meeting coordinator and event coordinator.
Members within the prisons used contraband cell phones to continue their drug sales both within and outside the prison, and used the phones to communicate regularly with other gang members one-on-one and even conducted video conferences with multiple members about decisions to be made by the gang.
Since the early 2000’s, Ghostface Gangsters and their associates have trafficked methamphetamine, marijuana and illegal pills, both inside and outside prisons throughout Georgia. Some of the defendants in this case have committed multiple violent acts to include:
On July 5, 2016, defendant Victor Manuel Dejesus allegedly violently carjacked a citizen using a firearm and threatened to kill her. He took the car, then picked up defendant Christopher Marlow, and together they fled from a Cobb County Deputy Sheriff. Dejesus shot at the deputy from inside the car and later threw the gun out the window. The gun was later turned over to police after a citizen found it lying on the side of the road.
- On December 2, 2016, defendant Cody Ryan Todd, upon receiving an order from defendant David Gene Powell, allegedly joined other GFG members to kidnap one of their own members for violating gang rules. Todd and the other members of the GFG beat the victim badly, including trying to pull out his teeth with pliers. They videotaped the incident, which showed the victim lying down and pleading for help because he could not breathe.
- In December of 2016, defendants Christopher Jarman Davis and Jonathan Stubbs, under the orders of defendant Jeffrey Alan Bourassa, allegedly kidnapped another GFG member, held him at gunpoint and cut off his tattoo with a knife.
- On March 8, 2017, defendant William J. Goodman allegedly stabbed another GFG member in the neck and back for violating gang rules, causing severe blood loss, serious bodily injury, and a collapsed lung.
- On October 29, 2016, defendant Richard B. Sosebee shot a man in the eye during a drug deal, causing him to lose his eye.
- On December 11, 2017, defendant Kevin Scott Sosebee was a passenger in a car pulled over in a traffic stop. The Cobb County Police officer who pulled the car over was alone. Before the officer could exit his car, Sosebee allegedly shot at him several times and then fled from the officer.
The RICO conspiracy charge names the following defendants:
- Jeffrey Alan Bourassa, a/k/a “J.B.,” “Babyface,” and “Kid,” 35, of Cobb County, Georgia, is a founding pillar of GFG. Bourassa is also charged with aiding and abetting another person by kidnapping and maiming a fellow GFG member;
- Kevin Scott Sosebee, a/k/a “Sosa,” 27, of Cobb County, Georgia, is also charged with the attempted murder of a Cobb County Police Officer;
- David Gene Powell, a/k/a “Davo,” of Cobb County, Georgia, 40, is a founding pillar of GFG. He is also charged with aiding and abetting another person by kidnapping and assaulting a fellow GFG member;
- Victor Manuel Dejesus, a/k/a “VG Vic,” 36, of Gwinnett County, Georgia. Dejesus is also charged with carjacking, attempted murder of a Cobb County deputy sheriff, and using a firearm during a crime of violence;
- Richard Brian Sosebee, a/k/a “Dirty,” 42, of Hall County, Georgia, is also charged with attempted murder and other firearms charges;
- Jonathan Stubbs, 29, of Hamilton County, Tennessee, is also charged with aiding and abetting one other by kidnapping and maiming a fellow GFG member;
- Cody Ryan Todd, 28, of Carroll County, Georgia. He is also charged with aiding and abetting another person by kidnapping and assaulting a fellow GFG member;
- Toby James Ogletree, 42, of Spalding County, Georgia;
- Cheri Lea Rau, 59, of Cobb County, Georgia.
The following defendants are also named in the drug conspiracy:
- Joseph M. Propps, a/k/a “JP,” 39, of Cobb County, Georgia;
- Marc Avon Lefevre, Jr, a/k/a “Ghost,” 32, of Cobb County, Georgia;
- Christopher Lasher, a/k/a/ “Retta,” 35, of Marietta, Georgia;
- Genevieve Waits, 35, of Cleveland, Ohio;
- Christopher Steven Jones, a/k/a “Red,” 34, of Cherokee County, Georgia;
- Samantha Miller, 26, of Cobb County, Georgia;
- Hailey Danielle Sizemore, 27, of Douglas County, Georgia;
- Kayli Brewer, 26, of Cobb County, Georgia;
- Brittany Nicole Jones, 30, of Rockdale County, Georgia;
- David Gene Powell, a/k/a “Davo;”
- Jeffrey Alan Bourassa, a/k/a “J.B.,” “Babyface;”
- Cheri Lea Rau; and
- Toby James Ogletree.
Additional defendants and their charges are as follows:
- Christopher Marlow a/k/a “Loko,” 28, of Cobb County, Georgia, is charged with attempted murder of the Cobb County deputy sheriff and firearm charge.
- Christopher Jarman Davis, 27, of Walker County, Georgia, along with Jonathan Stubbs and Jeffrey Bourassa, is charged with aiding and abetting one other by kidnapping and maiming a fellow GFG member.
- William J. Goodman, aka “JBeenlivin’good” and “JGood,” 24, of Paulding County, Georgia, is charged with attempted murder of a fellow GFG member.
- Kelly Ray Shiflett, 30, of Floyd County, Georgia, is charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm; and
- Randall Arthur Lee Chumley, 36, of Pickens County, Georgia, is charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and other drug and firearm charges.
Several defendants in the indictment were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Walter E. Johnson. Twenty gang members were already in custody on state or local charges and will be arraigned in the next few days. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges, and that the defendants are presumed innocent of the charges. It will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Cobb County Police Department with the assistance of the Georgia Department of Corrections and the following agencies: Marietta Cobb Smyrna/Cobb Anti-Gang Enforcement (CAGE), Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, Marietta Police Department, Cobb District Attorney’s Office, Criminal Investigations Division and Criminal Intelligence Unit of the Georgia Department of Corrections, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Ball Ground Police Department, Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office/Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Douglasville Police Department, Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, FBI, Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, Floyd County Police Department, Rome/Floyd Metro Task Force, Floyd County District Attorney’s Office, Carrollton Police Department, Carroll County District Attorney’s Office/Coweta Judicial Circuit, Gainesville Police Department, Hall County District Attorney’s Office, Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, Pickens County District Attorney’s Office/Appalachian Judicial Circuit, Jefferson County, Alabama Sheriff’s Office, Metro Area Crime Center, Jefferson County, Alabama District Attorney’s Office/Alabama Tenth Judicial Circuit, Georgia Department of Community Supervision, Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Newton County Sheriff’s Office, Covington Police Department, Walton/Newton County District Attorney’s Office/Alcovy Judicial Circuit, Drug Enforcement Administration – Chattanooga Field Office, Murray County Sheriff’s Office, and the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine M. Hoffer and Trial Attorney John Hanley of the Department of Justice Criminal Division.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.- On December 2, 2016, defendant Cody Ryan Todd, upon receiving an order from defendant David Gene Powell, allegedly joined other GFG members to kidnap one of their own members for violating gang rules. Todd and the other members of the GFG beat the victim badly, including trying to pull out his teeth with pliers. They videotaped the incident, which showed the victim lying down and pleading for help because he could not breathe.
23 Ghostface Gangsters Federally Indicted on Racketeering Conspiracy and Other ChargesRead the Press Release
Federal and state agents arrested 23 leaders, members and associates of the Ghostface Gangsters prison gang pursuant to a 21-count indictment returned on Feb. 8 and unsealed today. The crimes alleged in the indictment include conspiracy to commit racketeering, conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, carjacking, four counts of attempted murder, kidnapping, maiming, assault, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and firearms offenses.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions; U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak for the Northern District of Georgia; Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Schmidt of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Chief Michael J. Register of the Cobb County Police Department and Commissioner Gregory C. Dozier of the Georgia Department of Corrections made the announcement.
“An attack on our law enforcement officers is an attack on all of us and can never be tolerated,” said Attorney General Sessions. “Law enforcement officers are the thin blue line standing between law abiding people and the violent gangs and criminals who peddle poison to our young people, terrorize our communities, and attempt to impose a false sovereignty over our neighborhoods. President Trump has ordered us to improve the safety of our law enforcement officers, and at the Department of Justice, we are carrying out that order. I want to thank everyone who helped make today’s arrests possible, including ATF and the FBI, as well as more than a dozen state and local law enforcement agencies across Georgia and Alabama. Today’s arrests will help us achieve justice for the officers who have sacrificed so much and to follow President Trump’s order to back the men and women in blue.”
“The Ghostface Gangsters gang is very violent and their members will not hesitate to shoot at anyone,” said U.S. Attorney Pak. “Members have allegedly committed drug trafficking crimes inside and outside of prisons to make money, while committing violent crimes against each other, innocent citizens, and police officers. We are partnering with local and state law enforcement agencies, including the Georgia Department of Corrections, to stop this criminal enterprise. If convicted, the defendants will be removed to federal facilities all across the United States.”
“As a result of this operation, ATF has eliminated a dangerous and pervasive threat to the local community,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Schmidt. “The Ghostface Gangsters gang flourished through recruitment, intimidation and perpetration of heinous crimes, and it is critical that law enforcement agencies take aggressive actions against these criminals. This investigation is an example of ATF remaining on the frontline of preventing violent crime through excellent cooperation with our law enforcement partners.”
“The recent federal indictments of this dangerous gang demonstrates how effective and important interagency collaboration is between federal, state, and local partners, and also demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement entities at every level to keep the communities across this nation as safe as possible,” said Chief Register.
“As part of our commitment to ridding our prisons of criminal activity, we maintain a robust plan for identifying and managing those participating in gang activity,” said Corrections Commissioner Dozier. “The use of contraband cell phones by these individuals as a tool to carry out their crimes, is a fight we continue to battle. We appreciate the support and assistance of our law enforcement partners on every level, in our efforts to see that justice is being served on those who pose a threat to the safety of the public and the operations of our facilities.”
According to the indictment, the Ghostface Gangsters is a whites-only prison gang formed in the year 2000 in the Cobb County, Georgia jail system. The gang has since expanded outside the prison system, and its membership is now estimated to include thousands of members throughout Georgia. The gang is highly organized into different positions of leadership, including, for example, the founding “Pillars” of the gang, those having a “seat at the table,” “First Lady” and numerous state-wide positions of governance. Members follow written gang literature, use violence to enforce gang rules, and facilitated the gang’s criminal activities from within prisons using contraband cell phones.
Nine Ghostface Gangsters are charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering in furtherance of the gang’s criminal enterprise, including two of the gang’s founding “Pillars.” According to the indictment, these gang members murdered two correctional officers and a Polk County detective and also committed multiple attempted murders, kidnapping, firearm crimes, drug trafficking, assaults, witness tampering, wire fraud and other crimes in furtherance of the gang’s activities. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act conspiracy charge names the following defendants:
- Jeffrey Alan Bourassa, aka J.B., Babyface and Kid, 35, of Cobb County, Georgia. Bourassa is alleged to be a founding Pillar of the Ghostface Gangsters. He is also charged with aiding and abetting another person by kidnapping and maiming a fellow Ghostface Gangsters member;
- David Gene Powell, aka Davo, 40, of Cobb County, Georgia. Powell is alleged to be a founding Pillar of the Ghostface Gangsters. He is also charged with aiding and abetting another person by kidnapping and assaulting a fellow Ghostface Gangsters member;
- Victor Manuel Dejesus, aka VG Vic, 36, of Gwinnett County, Georgia. Dejesus is also charged with carjacking, attempted murder of a Cobb County deputy sheriff, and using a firearm during a crime of violence;
- Richard Brian Sosebee, aka Dirty, 42, of Hall County, Georgia. Sosebee is also charged with attempted murder and other firearms charges;
- Jonathan Stubbs, 29, of Hamilton County, Tennessee. Stubbs is also charged with aiding and abetting another by kidnapping and maiming a fellow Ghostface Gangsters member;
- Cody Ryan Todd, 28, of Carroll County, Georgia. Todd is also charged with aiding and abetting another person by kidnapping and assaulting a fellow Ghostface Gangsters member;
- Kevin Scott Sosebee, aka Sosa, 27, of Cobb County, Georgia, is also charged with the attempted murder of a Cobb County Police Officer;
- Toby James Ogletree, 42, of Spalding County, Georgia; and
- Cheri Lea Rau, 59, of Cobb County, Georgia.
Thirteen Ghostface Gangsters members and associates—including three founding “Pillars” and four female gang leaders who held the position of “First Lady”—are charged in a drug conspiracy involving distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and illegal pills. The following defendants are named in the drug conspiracy:
- Joseph M. Propps Jr., aka P, 39, of Cobb County, Georgia;
- Marc Avon Lefevre, aka Ghost, 32, of Cobb County, Georgia;
- Christopher Lasher, aka Retta, 35, of Marietta, Georgia;
- Genevieve Waits, 35, of Cleveland, Ohio;
- Christopher Steven Jones, aka Red, 34, of Cherokee County, Georgia;
- Samantha Miller, 26, of Cobb County, Georgia;
- Hailey Danielle Sizemore, 27, of Douglas County, Georgia;
- Kayli Brewer, 26, of Cobb County, Georgia;
- Brittany Nicole Jones, 30, of Rockdale County, Georgia;
- Powell;
- Bourassa;
- Rau; and
- Ogletree.
Other gang members are charged with separate counts of violent crimes in aid of racketeering, including carjacking; four attempted murders, including the attempted murders of a Deputy Sheriff and a Cobb County police officer; kidnapping; assault with serious bodily injury; and maiming. Specifically, the indictment alleges:
- On July 5, 2016, Dejesus violently carjacked a citizen using a firearm and threatened to kill her. He took the car, then picked up defendant Christopher Marlow, aka Loko, 28, of Cobb County, Georgia, and together they fled from a Cobb County Deputy Sheriff. Dejesus shot at the deputy from inside the car and later threw the gun out the window;
- On Oct. 29, 2016, Richard Brian Sosebee shot a victim in the eye during a drug deal, causing the victim serious bodily injury;
- On Dec. 2, 2016, Todd, upon receiving an order from Powell, joined other Ghostface Gangster members to kidnap one of their own members for violating gang rules. Todd and the other members of the Ghostface Gangsters beat the victim badly and tried to pull out his teeth with pliers;
- In December 2016, Stubbs and Christopher Jarman Davis, 27, of Walker County, Georgia, under the orders of Bourassa, allegedly kidnapped another Ghostface Gangsters member, held the victim at gunpoint and cut off his tattoo with a knife, causing serious bodily harm;
- On March 8, 2017, William J. Goodman, aka JBeenlivin’good and JGood, 24, of Paulding County, Georgia, stabbed another Ghostface Gangsters member in the neck and back for violating gang rules, causing serious bodily injury;
- In December 2017, Kevin Scott Sosebee shot at a Cobb County police officer who pulled over a car in which Sosebee was a passenger.
In addition, Kelly Ray Shiflett, 30, of Floyd County, Georgia, is charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and Randall Arthur Lee Chumley, 36, of Pickens County, Georgia, is charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and other drug and firearm charges.
Twenty-two indicted gang members are already in custody on state or local charges and will be arraigned in federal court in the next few days before U.S. Magistrate Judge Walter E. Johnson.
An indictment merely contains allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
This case is being investigated by the ATF; the Cobb County Police Department with the assistance of the FBI; the Georgia Department of Corrections; and the following federal, state and local agencies: Marietta Cobb Smyrna/Cobb Anti-Gang Enforcement (CAGE), Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, Marietta Police Department, Cobb District Attorney’s Office, Criminal Investigations Division and Criminal Intelligence Unit of the Georgia Department of Corrections, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Ball Ground Police Department, Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office/Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Douglasville Police Department, Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, Floyd County Police Department, Rome/Floyd Metro Task Force, Floyd County District Attorney’s Office, Carrollton Police Department, Carroll County District Attorney’s Office/Coweta Judicial Circuit, Gainesville Police Department, Hall County District Attorney’s Office, Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, Pickens County District Attorney’s Office/Appalachian Judicial Circuit, Jefferson County, Alabama Sheriff’s Office, Metro Area Crime Center, Jefferson County, Alabama District Attorney’s Office/Alabama Tenth Judicial Circuit, Georgia Department of Community Supervision, Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Newton County Sheriff’s Office, Covington Police Department, Walton/Newton County District Attorney’s Office/Alcovy Judicial Circuit, Drug Enforcement Administration – Chattanooga Field Office, Murray County Sheriff’s Office and the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney John Hanley of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine M. Hoffer and Jolee Porter.
Serial robber sentenced for role as organizer in commercial armed robbery spree spanning five countiesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Kesia Quinette Jackson has been sentenced for her role as an organizer in an armed robbery spree that spanned five counties, and target seven Wal-Mart Stores.
“Jackson led a robbery crew that terrorized business employees, shoppers, and citizens during a crime spree,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Jackson and her crew calculated their robberies and helped drive violence and fear in multiple counties. The defendant’s conviction and lengthy sentence resulted from the collaboration of multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies determined to apprehend and aggressively prosecute every member of this robbery crew.”
"For nearly two years Jackson led a robbing crew that rained terror on innocent victims, who just by chance, were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta. “The FBI, working together with several local law enforcement agencies and the US Attorney’s Office have put an end to their reign of terror so that the victims can take solace in the fact they won’t be able to traumatize any more innocent people.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Between February 3, 2014, and October 26, 2015, Kesia Quinette Jackson, along with others committed 11 armed robberies throughout the metro-Atlanta area. Jackson was the organizer of the robberies. Seven of the robberies targeted Wal-Mart Stores.
Jackson and her co-defendants researched store locations in DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, Clayton and Forsyth Counties, and then surveilled the businesses before and during the robberies, usually between 10:00 pm and midnight. Jackson was captured on surveillance video prior to the robberies while she talked on her cell phone and cased the locations. During each robbery, co-defendant Deanthony Foster was also captured on video surveillance entering the stores wearing a surgical mask, brandishing a firearm, and proceeded to force store employees to empty their cash registers. During the final robbery, Foster fired a shot near store employees when they failed to immediately give him cash.
In addition to the Wal-Mart store robberies, Jackson also targeted gas stations and convenience stores. On February 3, 2014, Jackson and her crew robbed a gas station in Gwinnett County. Jackson was inside the business casing the establishment immediately prior to the armed robbery. Within 24 hours after the robbery, proceeds from the robbery were deposited into Jackson’s personal bank account. On June 2, 2014, Jackson and her crew robbed another gas station in DeKalb County, during which a co-defendant shot an employee in the leg. Like the other robberies, Jackson entered the business and cased the business immediately before the robbery.
Jackson’s sentence also involves conduct related to her role in three gas station armed robberies, one on August 27, 2015, one on September 21, 2015, and the third on October 26, 2015, in Cobb and DeKalb counties. During one of the robberies a co-defendant shot a victim employee.
Kesia Quinette Jackson, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been sentenced to 21 years, three months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $62,315.95. Jackson pleaded guilty on November 10, 2016.
Co-defendants Deanthony Foster and Eric Lamar Ross were previously sentenced for their respective roles in the robberies. Foster, a gunman, received a sentence of 32 years in prison. Ross, who acted as a lookout during two of the robberies, received a sentence of five years in prison.
This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the following law enforcement agencies: Cobb County Police Department, DeKalb County Police Department, Gwinnett County Police Department, Hapeville Police Department, Roswell Police Department, Riverdale Police Department, Dunwoody Police Department, and the Forsyth County Sherriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine M. Hoffer and Jessica C. Morris prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In keeping with the Attorney General’s mission to reduce violent crime, the Northern District of Georgia’s PSN program focuses on prosecuting those individuals who most significantly drive violence in our communities, and supports and fosters partnerships between law enforcement and schools, the faith community, and local community leaders to prevent and deter future criminal conduct.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Former Employee of U.S. Government Contractor in Afghanistan Pleads Guilty to Accepting Kickbacks from SubcontractorRead the Press Release
A former employee of a U.S. government contractor in Afghanistan pleaded guilty today to accepting illegal kickbacks from an Afghan subcontractor in return for his assistance in obtaining subcontracts on U.S. government contracts.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak of the Northern District of Georgia; Special Agent in Charge John Khin of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Southeast Field Office, Atlanta Resident Agency; Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko; Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit (MPFU); Special Agent in Charge David J. LeValley of the FBI Atlanta Resident Agency and Special Agent in Charge Wendell W. Palmer of Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), made the announcement.
Christopher McCray, 55, of Jonesboro, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to one count of accepting illegal kickbacks before U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen of the Northern District of Georgia. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Cohen on June 14 at 10:00 a.m. EST. McCray was charged in an indictment filed on April 25, 2017 in the Northern District of Georgia with one count of conspiracy to accept kickbacks and 14 counts of accepting illegal kickbacks.
As part of his plea, McCray admitted that he was employed as the country manager for a subcontractor of an American company that was moving cargo for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service from Bagram Airfield to military bases through Afghanistan. When the prime contractor needed McCray’s employer to take a much bigger role in the distribution, McCray had the chance to influence the choice of the necessary Afghan trucking company as a subcontractor to his employer. McCray’s employer entered into a subcontract with an Afghan company but before the choice of the subcontractor was made, the Afghan trucking company secretly agreed to kick back to McCray 15 percent of the revenues it would receive on the contract, he admitted. McCray thereafter remained as the only representative of his employer in Afghanistan for the duration of the subcontract and was responsible for checking the accuracy of the invoices submitted to McCray’s employer and the quality of the Afghan company’s work, all while secretly receiving the kickbacks, he admitted.
McCray received the secret payments from December 2012 to May 2014. He and the Afghan trucking company also maintained a separate set of invoices, which showed the amounts charged to McCray’s employer and the amounts kept by the Afghan company and the amounts sent to McCray. McCray was first paid in cash, then by wires sent to his bank in Atlanta and then by Western Union payments sent to his mother, who would deposit the funds, mostly in cash, into McCray’s bank accounts, he admitted.
DCIS, SIGAR, Army CID-MPFU, the FBI and Air Force OSI investigated this matter. Trial Attorney James Gelber of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Pearce of the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.
Former Cartersville police officer pleads guilty to obstructing an FBI wiretap investigationRead the Press Release
ROME, Ga. – Former Cartersville police officer Bryson-Taylor Wayne Banks, who notified drug traffickers that the FBI was conducting a court-authorized wiretap, has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of Unlawful Notification of Electronic Surveillance.
“The defendant made a decision to side with the drug dealers and sabotage an FBI investigation,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “He placed his fellow law enforcement officers in imminent danger, and sold out his oath to uphold the law.”
“It is disheartening to learn that one of our own decided to take the side of law breakers, putting fellow officers and agents in danger while violating the trust of law abiding citizens in his community,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta. “It is only fitting that Banks will now have time to reflect on his decision, as he more than likely will spend time in prison, alongside the drug dealers he chose to side with.”
“Mr. Banks actions do not reflect the values or culture of the Cartersville Police Department,” said Lieutenant Michael Bettikofer, Cartersville Police Department.
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: In 2015, Banks, then an officer with the Cartersville Police Department and member of the Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force, was investigating a number of drug traffickers operating in the Cartersville area, including Tomas Pineda Mendoza, using a female confidential source (“CS”) to obtain information about the network. In cultivating his relationship with the CS, Banks improperly gave her information from law enforcement databases and illegally sent her a picture of another cooperating source.
Separately, the FBI was investigating an inmate in a Georgia state prison, Francisco Palacios Baras, also known as “Shorty,” who was using contraband cell phones to coordinate methamphetamine transactions outside of the prison. Using a court-authorized wiretap on two of Shorty’s cell phones, the FBI learned that Mendoza was one of Shorty’s associates, and that Mendoza was scheduled to pick up two kilograms of methamphetamine. The FBI planned to arrest Mendoza after he picked up those drugs.
The morning of the planned arrest, in the interest of sharing information and coordinating operations with fellow law enforcement agencies, an FBI agent informed Banks of the wiretap investigation and the plan to arrest Mendoza. Banks, knowing that the drug trafficker he had been investigating was about to be arrested by a different agency, contacted his CS and instructed her to tell Mendoza to not pick up drugs that day because the FBI planned to arrest him. Banks also told the CS that the FBI knew about Mendoza because they were wiretapping Shorty’s phones.
Mendoza did not pick up the methamphetamine as planned, but was intercepted over the wiretap calling Shorty and telling him that “one of the girls” had warned Mendoza not to pick up the drugs. He said that he had identified the agents watching his apartment, as “the girl” had warned, and that law enforcement was listening to Shorty’s phones. Following this, Shorty stopped using the phones being wiretapped by the FBI.
With the arrest plan compromised, the surveillance team identified, and the wiretap exposed, the FBI agents had to take precautions for agents’ personal safety and try to rebuild the investigation. However, the renewed investigation was ultimately successful, resulting in Shorty and Mendoza being arrested and sentenced to 9 years, seven months, and 10 years, 10 months imprisonment, respectively, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Sentencing for Bryson-Taylor Wayne Banks, 31, of Cartersville, Georgia, is scheduled for May 11, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Herskowitz and Garrett Bradford are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Former Georgia Medical Examiner and seven others federally indicted for opioid distributionRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Dr. Joseph L. Burton, a former county medical examiner and forensic pathologist, has been indicted along with seven other individuals by a federal grand jury on charges of illegal distribution of opioid painkillers and other drugs as part of Operation SCOPE (Strategically Combatting Opioids through Prosecution and Enforcement). Multiple individuals have also been arrested on charges related to the unlawful distribution of opioids prescribed by Burton.
“Burton traded away his responsibility as a licensed doctor and respected pathologist by allegedly writing unnecessary prescriptions in exchange for sex and romantic companionship,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “His associates sought to profit by having those prescriptions filled, and then selling those drugs which included opioid painkillers like oxycodone. The DEA and local law enforcement have halted this unlawful distribution of opioids into our community, and we are committed to prosecuting those who sought to profit.”
“When powerful and addictive opioids are illegally prescribed or distributed, they can become weapons of mass destruction,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. Many of these dangerous substances are the catalyst behind the current opiate crises that this country is now experiencing. DEA, its many law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s office are firmly committed to extricating such criminals like Dr. Burton from perpetuating the vicious cycle of opioid addiction.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other information presented in court: Joseph Burton, a licensed physician, operated as a consulting pathologist, meaning that he determined the medical causes of diseases and death. Federal agents began investigating him after the Georgia Drug & Narcotics Agency visited Burton in early 2017 and discovered that he was prescribing painkillers to a large number of patients despite not operating a medical clinic or regularly seeing patients. Over a roughly two-year period beginning in July 2015, Dr. Burton allegedly issued over 1,100 opioid prescriptions, which amounted to over 108,000 individuals doses, including over 66,000 30mg oxycodone pills. The indictment alleges that Burton prescribed opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone, irrespective of any legitimate medical purpose and outside the normal course of professional practice, in exchange for sexual favors and romantic affection.
For example, Burton prescribed opioids to individuals without thoroughly examining them, and on occasion, without ever meeting them at all. Codefendants Jennifer Hunter, Rhonda Haugland, and Tiffany Willis each engaged in a romantic relationship with Burton in exchange for prescriptions in their names as well as the names of others. As part of the conspiracy, Hunter, Haugland, and Willis would fill their prescriptions and sell the pills, and then obtain more prescriptions from Burton for other people, who paid them for getting the prescriptions.
Burton and the seven other individuals are charged in the federal indictment with conspiring to distribute and dispense controlled substances—outside of the normal course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose—from July 2015 to February 2018. Burton is also charged with ten individual counts of illegal drug distribution for specific prescriptions. Six of Burton’s alleged conspirators were also charged in several of these counts. Burton was previously arrested on October 11, 2017, on a federal criminal complaint and indicted on a narrower set of charges.
The following individuals are charged in this superseding indictment:
- Joseph Lawson Burton, 76, of Milton, Georgia,
- Jennifer Hunter, 29, of Acworth, Georgia,
- Tiffany Willis, 26, of Cartersville, Georgia,
- Rhonda Haugland, 59, of Flowery Branch, Georgia,
- Michelle Danner, 45, of Acworth, Georgia,
- Cheryl Truelove, 50, of Hiram, Georgia,
- Jerry Stephens, Jr., 29, of Cartersville, Georgia, and
Rodney Kennedy, 63, of Cartersville, Georgia.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the DEA. The case is part of a coordinated effort with the Acworth Police Department, Barrow County Sheriff’s Office, Bartow County District Attorney’s Office, Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, Cartersville Police Department, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office, Clayton County Police Department, Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, Cobb County District Attorney’s Office, Cobb County Police Department, Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Floyd County District Attorney’s Office, Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Department of Community Supervision, Georgia Composite Medical Board, Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency, Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office, Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Jonesboro Police Department, Oakwood Police Department, Paulding County Sheriff’s Office, and the Rome Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. DeGenova and C. Brock Brockington are prosecuting the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.gov. Citizens can also contact the Georgia Crisis and Access Line at 1-800-715-4225.For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga
Georgians sentenced to prison for scheme to purchase luxury vehicles using stolen identitiesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Nadir Anwar Jabbar and Scarlett Capri King have been sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to defraud various car dealerships and car loan financing institutions by using stolen identities to purchase luxury vehicles.
“The five victims in this case never knew their personal information had been compromised, nor did they know of the potential damage to their credit,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Jabber and King sought over a million dollars in riches on the backs, and credit, of the victims. They thought, as all thieves do, that they would get away undetected. Fortunately, they were discovered and will now serve time in a federal prison. As criminals get more creative, encourage every citizen to regularly check their credit and closely monitor their accounts for any suspicious activity.”
“Through no fault of their own, five unknowing victims personal lives have been disrupted for years as they try to recover their identities and financial security,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “That is why the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are determined to prosecute suspects like Jabbar and King, and any others who will try steal the identities of innocent persons.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: From October 2013 to May 2014, Jabbar and King ran a scheme to defraud car dealerships and car loan financing institutions by using stolen identities to purchase luxury vehicles. The defendants targeted out-of-state dealerships and carried out their scheme without visiting dealerships by using the Internet, e-mail, phone and mail to submit fraudulent information.
They directed car dealerships to mail paperwork to various addresses in Georgia and Florida and provided forged documents to support the loan applications. The defendants also arranged for the delivery of the vehicles to various addresses in metro Atlanta. Jabbar used a network of runners to pick up the stolen vehicles. King fraudulently notarized documents to support the fraudulent loan applications and assisted with picking up vehicles. In total, 14 cars were purchased using stolen identities, with a total loss of approximately $1.1 million dollars.
Nadir Anwar Jabbar, 44, of Ellenwood, Georgia, has been sentenced to seven years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $209,734.13 in restitution. Jabbar was convicted on November 8, 2017, after he pleaded guilty.
Scarlett Capri King, 40, Stone Mountain, Georgia, has been sentenced to two years, seven months in prison, one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $6,000. King was convicted on November 8, 2017, after she pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bernita B. Malloy and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Schulman prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Federal prisoner sentenced for running a taxi service for escaped inmatesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – U.S. Penitentiary inmate Deldrick D. Jackson has been sentenced to an additional one year, six months in federal prison for running an inmate taxi service and a contraband smuggling operation and with his fiancée Kelly Bass.
“Inmates who escape from prison threaten the safety of our communities and undermine our criminal justice system,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “In this case, Jackson not only escaped from prison, but shockingly ran a contraband smuggling scheme and a for-profit taxi service for escaped inmates. To those inmates tempted to escape, when you are caught, the consequences will be severe.”
“Not only did Jackson escape from custody and smuggle contraband into a federal prison, but he and his fiancée facilitated the escape of other prisoners while profiting from it,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “This kind of audacity cannot be tolerated and this additional sentence should send a message to anyone inclined to attempt an escape.”
“Prison is where criminals go to be punished, not a place to take joyrides and commit even more crimes,” said Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields. “I’m proud that our team worked closely with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure this activity was put to a stop.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia, (“USP Atlanta”) is a medium-security federal prison for male inmates operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. USP Atlanta also has a detention center for pre-trial inmates and a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male inmates.
In May 2013, Jackson was convicted in federal court of conspiring to distribute cocaine and conspiring to launder money. From July 2016 to April 2017, Jackson was assigned to USP Atlanta. Prison visitation records showed that Bass is Jackson’s fiancée.
From approximately November 2016 to April 2017, Jackson and Bass provided escaped inmates with transportation from USP Atlanta to nearby restaurants, hotels, or residences. For example, on January 28, 2017, Bass picked up Jackson and other escaped inmates from outside USP Atlanta, drove them to a nearby hotel, and hours later, returned Jackson and the other inmates to USP Atlanta. During the course of the conspiracy, Jackson and Bass also smuggled contraband into USP Atlanta to be sold to other prison inmate.
Finally, on April 13, 2017, Bass drove Jackson from USP Atlanta to a local fast food restaurant. Shortly thereafter, law enforcement officers stopped Bass’s vehicle and arrested Bass and Jackson. Upon searching the SUV, officers recovered two cell phones, 83 packs of cigarettes, and eight bottles of whiskey. In total, Jackson and Bass provided escaped inmates with transportation from USP Atlanta and/or smuggled contraband into the prison on approximately 15 occasions. Jackson and Bass received approximately $4,000 from the escaped inmates or their families in exchange for rides and from the purchase of contraband.
Deldrick D. Jackson, 41, of DeKalb County, Georgia, was sentenced to an additional one year and six months in prison – to be served after he completes his current ten years, eight month sentence for conspiring to distribute cocaine and conspiring to launder money. On May 16 and November 14, 2017, Jackson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to escape from custody and to escape from custody, respectively. He was indicted on April 25, 2017, on conspiratorial and substantive escape charges.
On September 13, 2017, Kelly M. Bass, 38, of DeKalb County, Georgia, was sentenced to six months in prison followed by eight months of home confinement. Bass pleaded guilty to conspiratorial and substantive escape charges on June 5, 2017. She was also indicted on April 25, 2017, on conspiratorial and substantive escape charges.
The FBI and Atlanta Police Department investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis and Timothy H. Lee prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Atlanta businessmen convicted of market manipulation and investment fraudRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Marc E. Bercoon and William A. Goldstein have been convicted by a jury on federal charges that they manipulated the market for shares of MedCareers Group, Inc., a publicly traded company, and that they carried out a second investment fraud scheme using a new business corporation that they organized as the bait for investors. A third defendant in the market manipulation scheme, Peter P. Veugeler, previously pleaded guilty and testified at trial.
“These defendants manipulated the stock of a publicly traded company by carrying out two schemes,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “The defendants made over $2.5 million off the backs of many unwitting investors who bought while the stock price was artificially high due to the defendants’ rigging the market. At the same time, Bercoon and Goldstein ripped off investors in a separate, private company, by selling them shares based on lies and false pretenses. The jury’s verdict vindicates the victims and emphasizes the seriousness of securities fraud involving publicly traded companies.”
“Hopefully these convictions will give the many people, who unknowingly invested in the fraudulent stock, some solace,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “It’s easy to dismiss financial fraud cases like this as benign, but there is a real victimization and lives are changed because of it.”
According to U.S Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: From July 2009 through September 2011, Bercoon and Goldstein conspired with Veugeler and others to manipulate the market for shares of MedCareers Group, Inc., a publicly traded company quoted on the over the counter bulletin board under the ticker symbol MCGI.
The conspiracy culminated in two “pump and dump” schemes carried out in March and May 2010. To carry out these schemes, Bercoon and Goldstein arranged for MedCareers Group, Inc. to issue a series of misleading press releases and SEC filings, at the same time as co-conspirators sent out mass emails touting the stock. While the price of MCGI and the demand for the stock were both artificially high because of these efforts, the defendants orchestrated a sell-off of their stock, coordinating activity in multiple “nominee” accounts, which were titled in the names of other people and entities to hide the defendants’ involvement.
Around the same time, from May 2009 through June 2010, Bercoon and Goldstein also carried out a second investment fraud concerning a privately held company. Specifically, Bercoon and Goldstein organized a private corporation, Find.com Acquisition, Inc., and then solicited investments from dozens of individuals. Bercoon and Goldstein told investors, and induced brokers working for them to tell investors, that their funds would be used to develop an internet search engine named Find.com. Bercoon and Goldstein used the bulk of the over $1.5 million raised from investors for unrelated purposes, such as subsidizing their other business ventures and making payments to themselves and their family members. In fact, over $550,000 of the $1.5 million invested in Find.com Acquisition, Inc. was simply withdrawn from the bank in cash shortly after being invested.
As part of the scheme, investors were provided with written offering materials. In addition to stating that the investments would be used to develop the Find.com internet search engine business, the written materials stated that investors were being offered the opportunity to buy stock at a price of $1.00/share, and that no more than 12.5% of investments would go toward commissions. Despite these representations in the written offering materials, Bercoon and Goldstein sold stock to some investors at heavily discounted prices, without informing other investors, and paid commissions of 30% to 40% to brokers on some investments.
These charges flow from a securities fraud investigation conducted by the FBI, in which court-authorized wiretaps were used to intercept telephone conversations.
Marc E. Bercoon, 57, of Atlanta, Georgia, and William A. Goldstein, 54, of Alpharetta, Georgia, were convicted on 12 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and securities fraud in connection with the two fraudulent schemes. Both defendants were remanded into custody after the verdict. Peter P. Veugeler, 49, of Windermere, Florida, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud and testified at trial. Bercoon and Goldstein are scheduled to be sentenced on May 30th and 31st, at 9:00 a.m. The sentencing for Veugeler has not yet been scheduled.
This case is being investigated by the FBI. The Atlanta Regional Office of the SEC, the Los Angeles Regional Office of the SEC, and the Criminal Prosecution Assistance Group of FINRA have provided valuable contributions in the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alana R. Black, Stephen H. McClain, and Kamal Ghali are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Oregon man pleads guilty to failing to register as a sex offender after moving to GeorgiaRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Timothy Chenault, who traveled from Oregon to Georgia but then did not register as a sex offender here, has pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to update or maintain his status on the Sex Offender Registry.
“Citizens have a right to know if they live or work near a sex offender,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “This is a matter of public safety. Sex offenders who do not believe they must register any longer will be found and held accountable for their willful failure to comply with the law.”
“The enforcement of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is a priority of the U.S. Marshals Service and we will continue to monitor and seek out those who are under the requirements of the Act to ensure compliance. We will move and take actions against individuals when we find noncompliance,” said Beverly Harvard, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Georgia.
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act requires people who commit certain sex crimes to register as sex offenders regardless of what state they live in or what state they move to. In this case, in June 1992, Timothy Chenault lured a 14-year-old girl to a field in Oregon, where he sexually assaulted her and threatened to harm her if she told anyone what he did. He was convicted in November 1992 of attempt to commit rape and sexual abuse. This conviction required him to register as a sex offender, and, indeed, he did register in Oregon when he was released from prison in 1994. He continued to register through December 2013.
However, by February 13, 2015, Chenault had moved to Georgia. He never informed law enforcement in Oregon that he was leaving that state, nor did he ever registered as a sex offender while living in Georgia.
Sentencing for Timothy Chenault, 48, of Atlanta, Georgia, is scheduled for May 15, 2018, at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey Jr.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul R. Jones is prosecuting the case.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Phony entertainment booking agent charged in fraud schemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Octaveon Woods has been arraigned on wire fraud and money laundering charges for his scheme to defraud colleges, universities, and others by falsely claiming that he was a booking agent for famous musicians such as Migos, Lil Yachty, and Lil Uzi Vert.
“Woods allegedly convinced others to pay him thousands of dollars to ‘book’ these artists for concerts and festivals—when he had no relationship with the artists at all,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Woods immediately laundered the money to try and conceal his fraud.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Woods owned and operated several companies, including Global Talent Agency, GTA Bookings, and National Artist Agency, that claimed to be booking agencies in the entertainment industry. Woods advertised that these agencies represented dozens of famous musicians, comedians and other artists, including hip-hop and rap artists Migos, Lil Yachty, and Lil Uzi Vert.
Student groups at Emory University, the University of Missouri, and other victims hired Woods’ companies to book these artists for concerts and festivals. In reality, neither Woods nor his companies had any relationship with these artists. As soon as his victims would wire him money to book the concerts, Woods drained the funds by transferring them to other accounts and withdrawing them as cash.
Octaveon Woods, 26, of Decatur, Illinois, was arraigned this week before U.S. Magistrate Judge John K. Larkins, III. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 6, 2018.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynsey M. Barron is prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Former sergeant sentenced to federal prison for abusing inmate at Dekalb County JailRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Dwight Hamilton has been sentenced to one year in prison for abusing a female inmate by tasing her without any legitimate justification. Leonard Dreyer, Hamilton's former supervisor at the jail, was sentenced on Tuesday February 6, 2018, to 21 days of confinement in a halfway house for attempting to obstruct the federal investigation into Hamilton's use of excessive force by making false statements to the FBI.
“Abuse of power by any law enforcement officer is always unacceptable,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Law enforcement officers stand in the gap every day to keep us safe, whether they are patrolling a beat, or a correctional officer working in a jail or prison. Hamilton’s conduct is not reflective of how we expect officers to conduct themselves. In this country, even those incarcerated have the right to fair treatment and decency.”
“Hamilton’s unjustified violent actions grossly violated the civil rights of an inmate whom he had a sworn duty to protect,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “Any unlawful act of violence or malice by an officer against an inmate will not be tolerated by this Department of Justice.”
“It is a corrections officer’s duty to protect the constitutional rights of everyone in his or her custody,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office. “This sentence reaffirms the FBI’s commitment to hold those who fail to do so accountable. However, it should not obscure the fact that the majority of men and women working in correctional facilities conduct themselves admirably under challenging conditions.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Hamilton, who worked as a sergeant at the DeKalb County Jail, admitted during his guilty plea that on November 1, 2011, he responded to the medical floor of the jail when an inmate asked to speak to a supervisor because her family visitation had been unexpectedly cancelled by jail staff. Rather than explain the situation to the inmate, Hamilton tased the inmate until she defecated on herself. Hamilton, who had been trained on proper Taser usage, admitted that he knew that tasing the inmate under these circumstances was wrong but did it anyway. As a result of the tasing, the inmate suffered permanent scarring to her breast.
Dwight Hamilton, 54, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been sentenced to one year in federal prison. When Hamilton is released from prison, he will be under federal supervision for three years. Hamilton pleaded guilty to his charge on November 20, 2017.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Alan Gray and Trial Attorney Christopher Perras of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Former Jail Sergeant Sentenced to Federal Prison for Abusing Inmate at DeKalb County JailRead the Press Release
Dwight Hamilton, 54, of Atlanta, Georgia, was today sentenced to one year in prison, three years’ supervised release, and a $100 special assessment for abusing a female inmate by tasing her without any legitimate justification. Leonard Dreyer, Hamilton’s former supervisor at the jail, was sentenced on Tuesday to one year of probation conditioned upon his serving 21 days in a halfway house for attempting to obstruct the federal investigation into Hamilton’s use of excessive force by making false statements to the FBI.
At the sentencing, Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia said Mr. Hamilton’s actions showed an “extraordinary absence of empathy,” and that Hamilton “was out of control and a lot of people suffered because of it.”
“Hamilton’s unjustified violent actions grossly violated the civil rights of an inmate whom he had a sworn duty to protect,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “Any unlawful act of violence or malice by an officer against an inmate will not be tolerated by this Department of Justice.”
“Abuse of power by any law enforcement officer is always unacceptable,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Law enforcement officers stand in the gap every day to keep us safe, whether they are patrolling a beat, or a correctional officer working in a jail or prison. Hamilton’s conduct is not reflective of how we expect officers to conduct themselves. In this country, even those incarcerated have the right to fair treatment and decency.”
Hamilton, who worked as a sergeant at the DeKalb County Jail, admitted during his guilty plea that on Nov. 1, 2011, he responded to the medical floor of the jail when an inmate asked to speak to a supervisor because her family visitation had been unexpectedly cancelled by jail staff. Rather than explain the situation to the inmate, Hamilton tased the inmate until she defecated on herself. Hamilton, who had been trained on proper Taser usage, admitted that he knew that tasing the inmate under these circumstances was wrong but did it anyway. As a result of the tasing, the inmate suffered permanent scarring to her breast.
When Hamilton is released from prison, he will be under federal supervision for three years. Hamilton pleaded guilty to his charge on Nov. 20, 2017.
This case was investigated by the Atlanta Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brent Alan Gray and Trial Attorney Christopher Perras of the Civil Rights Division.
Fayetteville man sentenced on federal child pornography chargesRead the Press Release
NEWNAN, Ga. - Lloyd Christopher Young has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for receipt and possession of child pornography. Most of the images were of children between five to twelve years old, but Young collected pictures of infants as well.
“The defendant downloaded and viewed disgusting videos and pictures of young children being sexually abused,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “His conduct helped further the sexual exploitation of children and cause irreparable harm to these young victims, all for his personal pleasure.”
“Each time Young viewed the unconscionable images of innocent young children, they were re-victimized,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “We strive every day to protect our children and will continue to use every law enforcement resource available to identify and prosecute individuals who exploit them in such a manner.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: In 2015, the FBI discovered that Young was accessing an underground child pornography website. They then executed a search warrant at Young’s home in Fayetteville, Georgia, and seized Young’s computer and USB drive, which contained over 950 videos and images of child pornography. The majority of the children depicted in these images were between five to twelve years old. Some of the images, however, were of infants. When interviewed by law enforcement, Young admitted that he had specifically searched for and downloaded child pornography.
Lloyd Christopher Young, 32, of Fayetteville, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr., to 10 years in prison, to be followed by lifetime supervised release. He must also register as a sex offender as a condition of his supervised release. Young was found guilty by a jury on November 7, 2017.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolee Porter prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Georgia man sentenced to prison for involvement in stolen identity tax refund fraud schemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Jahmir Antoine Robinson has been sentenced to four years, six months in federal prison for running a stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF) scheme after he stole the identities of 153 people, and caused a tax loss of approximately $409,000.
“Thieves never stop looking for ways to take what is not theirs, no matter the harm they cause to people whose identity they stole,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Robinson’s theft affect’s not only the 153 who were targeted, it touches all taxpayers.”
“With the filing season just starting this week, it is important that taxpayer’s keep their identities protected and notify the IRS immediately when someone files their tax return without authorization, “ said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation “We will continue to utilize our resources and work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in holding those accountable who use stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: From April 2011 through April 2012, Jahmir Robinson ran a scheme to defraud the United States by filing false federal income tax returns using stolen identities. Robinson obtained personal identity information, including names, social security numbers, and dates of birth, of true individuals to file federal tax returns without their authorizations. To circumvent IRS checks and balances, Robinson obtained Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) from the IRS for 17 individual corporations and filed fictitious Forms 944 so that the IRS database would automatically match employer income tax withholdings against the individual returns.
In total, Robinson used the stolen identities and EINs to file 153 fraudulent individual tax returns with the IRS for tax years 2010 and 2011. Robinson caused the IRS to disburse refunds to an account he controlled. As a result of the scheme, Robinson caused a tax loss totaling $409,114.27.
Jahmir Antoine Robinson, 35, of Lithonia, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May to four years, six months in prison in federal prison, four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $240,033.33 in restitution. Robinson was convicted on these charges on November 8, 2017, after he pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bernita B. Malloy prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016 or the IRS-Criminal investigation Public Information Officer at [email protected] or (216) 407-9614. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Georgia man sentenced to prison for involvement in stolen identity tax refund fraud schemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Jahmir Antoine Robinson has been sentenced to four years, six months in federal prison for running a stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF) scheme after he stole the identities of 153 people, and caused a tax loss of approximately $409,000.
“Thieves never stop looking for ways to take what is not theirs, no matter the harm they cause to people whose identity they stole,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Robinson’s theft affect’s not only the 153 who were targeted, it touches all taxpayers.”
“With the filing season just starting this week, it is important that taxpayer’s keep their identities protected and notify the IRS immediately when someone files their tax return without authorization, “ said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation “We will continue to utilize our resources and work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in holding those accountable who use stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: From April 2011 through April 2012, Jahmir Robinson ran a scheme to defraud the United States by filing false federal income tax returns using stolen identities. Robinson obtained personal identity information, including names, social security numbers, and dates of birth, of true individuals to file federal tax returns without their authorizations. To circumvent IRS checks and balances, Robinson obtained Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) from the IRS for 17 individual corporations and filed fictitious Forms 944 so that the IRS database would automatically match employer income tax withholdings against the individual returns.
In total, Robinson used the stolen identities and EINs to file 153 fraudulent individual tax returns with the IRS for tax years 2010 and 2011. Robinson caused the IRS to disburse refunds to an account he controlled. As a result of the scheme, Robinson caused a tax loss totaling $409,114.27.
Jahmir Antoine Robinson, 35, of Lithonia, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May to four years, six months in prison in federal prison, four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $240,033.33 in restitution. Robinson was convicted on these charges on November 8, 2017, after he pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bernita B. Malloy prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016 or the IRS-Criminal investigation Public Information Officer at [email protected] or (216) 407-9614. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Fraudster sentenced for perpetrating $20 Million investment fraud schemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Franklin B. Trell has been sentenced for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. For over seven years, Trell used myriad corporate entities, complex financial arrangements, doctored financial statements, and false statements to defraud multiple financial institutions and one of Trell’s largest investors out of approximately $20 million dollars.
“Fraud undermines investor confidence and eats at the fabric of our economy,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “We and our law enforcement partners will continue to aggressively root-out and prosecute even the most complicated of investment fraud schemes, while securing convictions and strong sentences that will deter others from ever engaging in similar conduct.”
“Individuals who commit this type of fraud should be punished to the fullest extent of the law as a way of deterring this from happening in the future,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in protecting the sanctity and integrity of legitimate investment ventures.”
“The sentencing of Trell is very little solace for the many victims who have suffered from his criminal activities,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office. “Even though the defendant has been ordered to pay restitution the victims may never be financially whole again. Hopefully, the punishment will deter others from preying on other unsuspecting investors.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: During the timeframe of the conspiracy, Trell and co-defendant Cynthia P. Vinson, on behalf of numerous corporate entities they created, obtained multi-million dollar loans by submitting false statements and invoices to financial institutions about how the money would be spent. During that time period, Trell and Vinson repeatedly lied to their largest investor for years by falsely representing that Trell was putting up half of the working capital into the various business entities, most of which were in the medical imaging business. In reality, Trell failed to put in half of the capital and spent much of the investment funds on himself and his family, including spending over $80,000 of the funds on his daughter’s wedding, and over $1.7 million to settle past lawsuits alleging fraud and other misconduct.
From 2007 to 2010, Trell used investor funds and loan proceeds to settle four lawsuits then pending in Fulton County, Georgia, Superior Court. He also authorized Vinson to withdraw millions of dollars from the corporate entities, which she used for her personal benefit. When confronted by his largest investor about the financial state of the corporate entities, Trell presented doctored accounting records and skillfully moved money from one corporate account to another to create the appearance that he was investing money into the businesses as well. The largest investor gave over $20 million to Trell based on the misrepresentation that Trell was contributing the same amount to the ventures. In truth, the evidence showed that Trell and Vinson personally profited over $9 million from the scheme.
From 2006 to 2013, Trell and Vinson used a number of corporate entities to perpetrate their scheme, including MTC Development, LLC; Sunbelt Construction Management, Inc.; Medical Development Group, LLC; Project Personnel Leasing, LLC; MD Office Solutions, LLC; Medical Facility Development Group, LLC; Imaging Center Development Services, LLC; Medical Property Holding, LLC; Medical Software Holding, LLC; Citrus Tower Boulevard Imaging Center, LLC; Palisades at West Paces Imaging Center, LLC: Southcrest Medical Plaza Imaging Center; the Palisades at West Paces Imaging Center, LLC; Southcrest Medical Plaza Imaging Center; Vinson Holdings, Inc.; Vinson Partners, LLLP; and the Palisades at W. Paces Condo Association, Inc.
Franklin B. Trell, 71, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by United States District Judge Orinda D. Evans to five years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $20,100,408.25. Trell was convicted on June 22, 2017, after he pleaded guilty.
Cynthia P. Vinson, 66, of Gay, Georgia, will be sentenced by Judge Evans on March 7, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. Vinson was convicted on August 3, 2016, after she pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of IRS Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen H. McClain, Chief of the Complex Frauds Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kamal Ghali, Deputy Chief of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Section, prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
U.S. Attorney announces office changesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Byung J. “BJay” Pak, has announced leadership changes designed to address Department of Justice priorities, critical issues in the district, and the vision for the priorities of this Office, to enhance the mission of the office, and better serve the citizens of this district.
“As the U.S. Attorney I am grateful for the opportunity to lead an office with so many talented and dedicated professionals,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “It is my sincere belief that these changes will energize the office and help us focus on the matters that are the most impactful to the citizens of our district.”
These changes became effective on January 16, 2018. The Assistant U.S. Attorney (“AUSA”) and administrative leadership announcements are as follows:
- First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine will continue to serve in his current position.
- AUSA Gentry Shelnutt will become the Deputy U.S. Attorney.
- AUSA Yonette Buchanan is the new Criminal Division Chief. AUSAs Glenn Baker and Jill Steinberg are the new Deputy Criminal Division Chiefs.
- AUSA Lori Beranek is the new Chief of our Civil Division. Additionally, AUSAs Neeli Ben-David and Darcy Coty will serve as Deputy Civil Division Chiefs.
- AUSA Larry Sommerfeld is our new Appeals & Legal Advice Division Chief.
- Greg Marshall will continue to serve in his current position as our Administrative Officer.
- AUSA Richard Moultrie is the new Chief of the Violent Crime & National Security Section (VCNS). AUSAs Katherine Hoffer and Ryan Buchannan will serve as Deputy Chiefs of the VCNS Section.
- AUSA Kim Dammers is the new Chief of our new Organized Crime & Gang Section, and AUSA Mike Herskowitz will serve as the Deputy Chief.
- AUSA Beth Hathaway will continue to serve as Chief of the Transnational Organized Crime Section. AUSAs Lisa Tarvin and Brock Brockington will continue their service as Deputy Chiefs of this section.
- AUSA Doug Gilfillan has been selected to serve as the Chief of the Cyber & Intellectual Property Section. AUSAs Nathan Kitchens and Kamal Ghali will serve as the Deputy Chiefs of C&IPS.
- AUSA Steve McClain has been selected as the new Chief of the Complex Frauds Section. AUSAs Jeffrey Brown and Chris Huber will serve as the Deputy Chiefs of the section.
- AUSA Jeffrey Davis is the new Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section. AUSA Brent Gray will serve as the Deputy Chief of this section.
- AUSA William Toliver is the Chief the new General Crimes Section.
- AUSA Dahil Goss will continue to as the Chief of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section (AFML). AUSA Michael Brown will serve as the Deputy Chief.
- AUSA Tommy Krepp is the new Chief of our Data Analytics Unit in the Criminal Division.
- AUSA Randy Chartash is the new lead criminal division attorney for our Health Care Fraud Unit.
- AUSA Lena Amati is the new lead civil division attorney for our Health Care Fraud Unit.
- AUSA Tom Devlin will continue in his role as Senior Trial Counsel.
- AUSA Charysse Alexander is also transitioning to a Senior Litigation Counsel.
- AUSA Bill McKinnon, a Senior Litigation Counsel who serves as our Gainesville Division Coordinator, will continue in his leadership role in Gainesville.
- In addition to her role as a Deputy Chief of the VCNS section, AUSA Katherine Hoffer will be the new Rome Division Coordinator.
- AUSA Angela Munson will serve as our Newnan Division Coordinator.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Couple charged with illegally selling prescription medical devicesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Kimverlee Aderhold and Eric E. Ramey, Jr., have been arraigned on federal charges of unlawfully selling stolen medical devices that require a prescription without an actual prescription. Aderhold and Ramey were indicted by a federal grand jury on January 23, 2018.
“The medical products the defendants allegedly stole can only be obtained with a prescription from a medical provider,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “They sold them to unsuspecting consumers without determining whether the products were safe for the consumers to use and without instructing the consumers on how to use the products safely. In doing so, the consumers’ health and safety were placed in jeopardy.”
“When prescription devices are stolen and diverted from the legal supply chain, there is no longer any assurance that the products are safe and effective for their intended uses,” said Peter Kuehl, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations' Miami Field Office. “This announcement should serve as a reminder of the FDA's continued focus on individuals that put profits ahead of the health and safety of U.S. consumers.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Aderhold was employed as the Retail Manager in Georgia for Advanced Home Care, a durable medical device company that has retail locations in Marietta and Norcross. Advanced Home Care is a retail distributor of CPap and BiPap machines and portable oxygen concentrators. The use of these medical products is not safe except when used under the supervision of a medical practitioner licensed by law to oversee their use. Federal law requires that CPap and BiPap machines and portable oxygen concentrators be purchased only with a prescription issued by a licensed medical practitioner.
Aderhold allegedly stole CPap and BiPap machines and portable oxygen concentrators from the inventory of the Advanced Home Care stores she managed. She and Ramey would advertise the stolen products for sale, primarily on Craigslist. Once a buyer responded to their advertisement, Ramey or Aderhold allegedly would meet with the buyer and sell the stolen medical equipment for cash only. The defendants did not ask the buyers to produce prescriptions for the devices. Ramey and Aderhold did not provide instructions to the buyers regarding the safe use of the stolen medical devices.
Kimverlee Aderhold, 27, and Eric E. Ramey, Jr., 31, both of Grayson, Georgia, were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Catherine M. Salinas, and are charged with conspiring to steal medical products that can be obtained only with a prescription and possession of the same stolen medical products. They are also charged with multiple counts of theft of such medical products and possession of stolen medical products. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William L. McKinnon, Jr., is prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Northern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office collects $135,962,250.57 in civil and criminal actions for U.S. taxpayers in fiscal year 2017Read the Press Release
ATLANTA – U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak announced that the Northern District of Georgia collected $135,962,250.57 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2017. Of this amount, $11,426,485.99 was collected in criminal actions and $124,535,764.58 was collected in civil actions.
Additionally, the Northern District of Georgia worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $196,384,969.10 in cases pursued jointly with these offices. Of this amount, $16,593.18 was collected in criminal actions and $196,368,375.92 was collected in civil actions.
Overall, the Justice Department collected just over $15 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2017.
“Each day we strive, along with our law enforcement partners, to hold wrongdoers financially responsible for their actions in order to make victims whole, and to safeguard taxpayer dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.
The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws. In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education.
For example, this past year, Northern District of Georgia resolved civil mortgage fraud claims against Prospect Mortgage Company for $4.157 million stemming from Prospect’s failure to adhere to underwriting and quality control requirements on FHA loans. It resolved a False Claims Act qui tam case against Compassionate Care Hospice for $2.4 million involving alleged kickbacks to its medical director and associate medical directors to induce referrals for hospice services. And, the office received $5.3 million to resolve allegations against Genesis Healthcare, Inc. for the knowing submission of false claims to Medicare for unnecessary or unskilled outpatient therapy services.
Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Northern District of Georgia working with partner agencies and divisions, deposited $154,081,713 obtained as a result of asset forfeiture actions in FY 2017. 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 further information, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga
Credit card theft ringleader sentencedRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Quentin Pickett has been sentenced for operating a credit card theft ring that stole hundreds of credit cards that were being mailed to accountholders. Pickett and his co-conspirators stole credit cards from the secured baggage loading area of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and a private mail sorting facility. After stealing the credit cards, Pickett and his co-conspirators used them at ATMs and elsewhere, attempting over $2.3M in fraudulent transactions and succeeding in extracting approximately $1.7M in funds.
“The harm caused to the citizens and financial institutions affected by this ring is substantial,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “People expect their mail to be handled securely, especially within the protected areas of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Pickett led a ring of thieves that circumvented the protocols for secure handling of mail, with no care for those affected by this theft. Citizens must be diligent and continually monitor their own accounts as criminals look for new ways to victimize the public.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure the U.S. Mails are not utilized as a tool to defraud victims in these types of schemes. This investigation is an excellent example of a partnership between law enforcement agencies working together and I fully commend the hard work and countless hours put forth by all the law enforcement agencies involved, which resulted in bringing these individuals to justice,” said David M. McGinnis, Inspector in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
“The United States Secret Service and our law enforcement partners will continue to take an aggressive approach to arrest individuals who violate their positions of trust to illegally enrich themselves,” said Kenneth Cronin, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office. “This sentence should be a warning to Pickett, Herring, and other like-minded criminals that when they steal from the American people they will be punished for their wrongdoings.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: From December of 2015 until April of 2017, the defendants stole credit cards from the secured baggage loading areas of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and a private mail sorting facility. The stolen credit cards were being shipped via the U.S. Postal Service to the rightful accountholders, who were located throughout the United States.
Pickett was involved in almost every aspect of the scheme, interfacing with co-conspirators who stole credit cards and those who were involved in extracting value from the stolen credit cards. Cornelius Henderson, through his employment at the airport, had access to the airport’s secured baggage loading areas, where he stole mail that contained credit cards. Treveyon Herring worked at a private mail sorting facility where he also stole mail containing credit cards. LaSuhn Turner and Brandon Foster participated in the scheme by assisting Pickett in obtaining cash from the stolen credit cards. Turner used stolen credit cards at ATMs to obtain cash advances. Foster, through his employment as a bank teller, executed fraudulent transactions at the bank when presented with stolen credit cards by other co-conspirators.
Quentin Pickett, 25, of Jonesboro, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross, to six years, nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,758,476.67. Pickett’s co-defendants have also been sentenced:
- On January 9, 2018, Cornelius Henderson, 23, of Riverdale, Georgia, was sentenced to serve five years and five months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $478,222.97.
- On January 10, 2018, Treveyon Herring, 22, of Forest Park, Georgia, was sentenced to serve two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,329,334.41.
- On December 7, 2017, LaSuhn Turner, 25 of Stockbridge, Georgia, was sentenced to three years’ probation, with eight months’ home confinement. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $70,483.50.
- On January 16, 2018, Brandon Foster, 25, of Stockbridge, Georgia, was sentenced to three years’ probation, with eight months’ home confinement. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $14,831.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Secret Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Samir Kaushal prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Senior MARTA executive sentenced to federal prison for causing MARTA to pay $500,000 for work never performedRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Former MARTA Senior Director of Operations Joseph J. Erves has been sentenced to two years, nine months in federal prison for orchestrating a false invoicing scheme that resulted in MARTA paying more than $500,000 for maintenance work that was never performed and for then funneling most of that money into his personal bank accounts.
“Given his executive management position, it is clear that MARTA placed great trust and faith in Erves,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Unfortunately, instead of serving the public interest and taking his civic duty seriously, Erves chose to indulge his desire for money and a fancy car. His quest for personal enrichment has earned him this sentence and time to reflect on his dishonesty.”
“The vast majority of public servants are honest and dedicated people who strive to do the right thing for their constituents and their communities. Unfortunately there are a few, like Mr. Erves, who are only concerned about themselves,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “His actions hit at the heart of government and erode public confidence. That’s why the FBI makes public corruption our top criminal priority.”
“Mr. Erves dishonored his position and violated the trust of the Authority and the communities we serve,” said MARTA Police Chief Wanda Dunham. “This sentence is proof that no one is above the law. The MARTA Police Department continues to take these types of crimes seriously and we will aggressively pursue criminal prosecution.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (“MARTA”) is the principal public transportation operator in the Atlanta metropolitan area, providing fixed rail and bus service to more than 500,000 passengers per weekday. Formed in 1965, MARTA is a multi-county governmental agency with a 2016 annual budget of more than $880 million.
From 1993 to 2017, Erves worked for MARTA, ultimately serving as its Senior Director of Operations. In that position, Erves oversaw the maintenance of all MARTA buses and rail cars and had the authority to approve payments of up to $10,000 to vendors for work performed on behalf of MARTA.
Beginning in 2010, Erves retained three different vendors purportedly to perform maintenance projects for MARTA, including repairing brake testing equipment and fixing various MARTA tools and equipment. From approximately June 2010 to December 2016, Erves had fake invoices prepared on behalf of the three vendors for more than 40 maintenance projects for which no work was performed.
Erves then used the false invoices as bases to authorize payments to the three vendors. In many cases, Erves personally approved payments to the vendors knowing that the vendors had not performed any work for MARTA.
After receiving payment, the three vendors funneled most of the money they received from MARTA into Erves’s personal bank accounts. Subsequently, Erves used the money deposited into his accounts to pay personal expenses, such as multiple purchases at high-end department stores and the purchase of a Porsche 911. Based on Erves’s authority and representations, MARTA paid the three vendors more than $500,000 for maintenance projects where no work was actually performed.
Joseph J. Erves, 53, of Lithonia, Georgia, has been sentenced to two years, nine months in federal prison, and ordered to pay $522,825.45 in restitution. On August 24, 2017, Erves pleaded guilty to one count of Federal Program Theft.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the MARTA Police Department are investigating this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis and Alison Prout are prosecuting the case.
For further information, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Palmetto man sentenced to prison for running methamphetamine “superlab” out of homeRead the Press Release
NEWNAN, Ga. - Ramiro Hermosillo-Salazar has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for violations of federal drug and firearm laws. Law enforcement uncovered a methamphetamine “superlab” containing approximately 400 pounds of crystal and liquid methamphetamine at Hermosillo’s residence in Palmetto, Georgia, along with several loaded firearms.
“Methamphetamine is the most trafficked illegal drug in Georgia, and it has devastated the lives of many of our fellow citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Hermosillo produced hundreds of pounds of the drug in a ‘superlab’ in his home where his young children resided. Thanks to the efforts of the DEA and local law enforcement partners, this cache of drugs is off our streets. Our effort to aggressively confront the methamphetamine problem continues, and we will seek lengthy sentences for those who peddle this poison.”
“The dangers associated with meth remain one of the most significant drug threats facing our community,” said DEA Atlanta Field Division Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Murphy. “In that regard, DEA Atlanta will continue to work with our law enforcement partners fighting drug trafficking organizations such as this to keep this poison off our streets.”
“The dangers this lab presented to those children that had to live in this and also to the surrounding community was without a doubt a senseless, selfish
criminal act by someone who has no conscious for anyone and flaunts the law. I am proud of the officers, both local and federal, for the tremendous job they did getting this person and the poison he produced off the streets and out of our neighborhoods. Our job is to provide security and safety to our citizens and this was a job done well,” said Coweta County Sheriff Mike Yeager.
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Following a multi-month DEA investigation, agents identified Ramiro Hermosillo-Salazar as a likely member of a methamphetamine trafficking organization. On June 15, 2017, DEA agents, aided by the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office S.W.A.T. team, executed a federal search warrant at Hermosillo’s residence in Palmetto. Law enforcement encountered the defendant in the residence and arrested him. They discovered that Hermosillo was also living at the residence with his three minor children, ages five, eight, and nine.
During the search, agents discovered a methamphetamine “superlab” in a separate building several yards from the house. The lab contained approximately 300 pounds of highly pure crystal methamphetamine, as well as several gallons of liquid methamphetamine that, if converted to its crystal form, would have yielded an additional 100 pounds of the drug.
Inside the residence, agents also found a second, smaller methamphetamine lab in a room next to the kitchen. There they discovered several more kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, and over $12,000 in U.S. currency. Hermosillo had placed three loaded rifles at points throughout the home, one of which was equipped with a high-capacity magazine.
Other evidence of Hermosillo’s drug trafficking included a bulletproof vest and a video surveillance system to monitor the property. A search of the stored surveillance video revealed that Hermosillo had been operating the “superlab” for at least several months.
On October 4, 2017, Hermosillo pleaded guilty to the following charges: conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute; possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute; possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on premises where minor children resided; and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.
U.S District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr., sentenced Ramiro Hermosillo-Salazar, 30, of Palmetto, Georgia, to 30 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Hermosillo was also ordered to pay restitution to the government for the cost of dismantling the superlab. Following his term of imprisonment, Hermosillo, a citizen of Mexico, will be deported from the United States.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor C. Wilmot prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Eye care provider convicted of Medicare and Medicaid fraudRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, Ga. - Matilda Lynn Prince has been convicted by a federal jury of twenty-nine counts of health care fraud for filing fraudulent claims with Medicare and the Georgia Medicaid program for optometry and ophthalmology services that were never provided to patients.
“Prince stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Medicare and Medicaid programs by submitting fraudulent claims for services that were not performed,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Through our partnership with the Georgia Attorney General’s office, we will continue to fight the costly effects of healthcare fraud in this state that divert critical resources away from citizens who truly need these services.”
“When Matilda Lynn Prince launched her audacious million-dollar fraud scheme by billing Medicare and Medicaid for services she and her associates never provided, she threatened the integrity of these important health care programs and fraudulently pocketed taxpayer funds,” said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of the HHS Office of Inspector General. “Along with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to hold such fraudsters accountable for their scams.”
“The Medicaid Program is designed to provide benefits to some of the most vulnerable members of our community and depends on the integrity and honesty of those providers who bill Medicaid. When a provider bills Medicaid for services they did not provide, they victimize and take advantage of the people who need it the most. Our office will continue to work hand-in-hand with our federal and state partners to investigate these kinds of egregious cases,” said Georgia Attorney General Christopher M. Carr.
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Prince owned Pickens Eye Clinic in Jasper, Georgia, and operated Eye Gallery 20/20 in Calhoun, Georgia. From September 2011 to February 2014, Prince submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for optometry and ophthalmology services that were never provided to patients.
Despite being previously excluded from the Medicare and Medicaid programs in September 2011, and informed of her ineligibility to be employed or involved with any entity that receives Medicare or Medicaid funds, Prince operated under a new eye service company named Eye Gallery 20/20 to bill Medicare and Medicaid for services that were not rendered. As part of the scheme, Prince targeted her advertising towards senior citizens and disabled populations in housing complexes and community centers, offering on-site eye exams and prescription glasses at no charge to patients on Medicare and Medicaid. Prince contracted with two licensed optometrists to provide basic eye exams. The optometrists would sometimes travel with Prince to perform these exams.
Although the patients received only basic eye exams and measurements for prescription glasses, Prince often billed for complex ophthalmological procedures involving the surgical insertion of medical devices called “punctal plugs” into patients' tear ducts to treat dry eye conditions. Prince then used the identities of these two optometrists to bill Medicare and Medicaid repeatedly for this procedure. On some occasions, she billed for the same patient as many as seven times on the same claimed date of service, even though the procedures were never performed. Prince fraudulently submitted over $1.2 million in insurance claims to Medicare and Medicaid for services never rendered.
On January 9, 2018, after a jury trial, Matilda Lynn Prince, 41, of Mineral Bluff, Georgia, was convicted of twenty-nine counts of health care fraud. A sentencing date for Prince has not yet been set.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General and the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bernita B. Malloy and Nekia S. Hackworth prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
City of Atlanta’s former Chief Procurement Officer Adam Smith sentenced to federal prison for taking bribesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Adam L. Smith, the former Chief Procurement Officer for the City of Atlanta, has been sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to accept more than $40,000 in bribe payments from a vendor who obtained millions of dollars in city contracts.
“As the City of Atlanta’s Chief Procurement Officer, Smith was given great trust and power by its citizens. He chose to serve his own financial interests rather than use that trust to serve the public,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “His prison sentence is a strong reminder to those tempted to trade their public positions and authority for money – the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will not stand idly by. To the contrary, we are committed to the investigation and prosecution of public corruption offenses to combat the corrosion of people’s trust in their government.”
“Let this sentence serve as a further reminder of the FBI’s commitment to hold public officials accountable by exposing those who engage in criminal conduct,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “We ask that anyone who has information regarding similar actions by any public official to contact their nearest FBI field office.”
“Smith abused his position of authority for financial gain, and made a decision to accept bribes and award contracts which were not in the best interest of the public he was hired to serve,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “Smith is being held accountable and the sentence given today should be a deterrence to those individuals who think that they can accept bribes without legal consequences.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: From 2003 to February 21, 2017, Smith served as the Chief Procurement Officer for the City of Atlanta, Georgia. As the Chief Procurement Officer, Smith oversaw the City of Atlanta’s purchasing activities and its expenditure of billions of dollars in public money for projects.
During Smith’s tenure as the Chief Procurement Officer, Atlanta awarded contracts worth millions of dollars to a particular vendor’s construction firm and joint venture projects of which the same vendor was a partner (the information does not identify the vendor by name).
From at least 2015 to January 2017, Smith met privately with the vendor on multiple occasions, frequently at local restaurants. During these meetings, Smith and the vendor discussed Atlanta procurement projects, bids, and solicitations. Often at the time of these meetings, the vendor was actively seeking contracts, projects, and work with Atlanta.
After most of these meetings, the vendor and Smith met in the restaurant’s bathroom, where the vendor paid Smith approximately $1,000 in cash. In return for the bribe payments, the vendor expected Smith to use his position and power to assist the vendor with contracting/procurement with Atlanta and to furnish the vendor with future benefits and favors when needed.
Given his position, Smith was annually required to sign a financial disclosure statement certifying that he had not received more than $5,000 in annual income from any corporation, partnership, proprietorship, other business entity, other than Atlanta. Additionally, under Atlanta’s Procurement Code, Smith also had to “make a written determination as to the existence” of any “personal or organizational conflicts of interests exist” between vendors and Atlanta before awarding a vendor a solicited contract. Similarly, Atlanta’s Procurement Code mandated that Smith “certify to the city council” that the winning vendors had disclosed to Atlanta any “organizational and personal relationships” and that the “award of the contract [was] appropriate.”
Furthermore, in exchange for those cash payments:
- Smith met with the vendor on a regular basis;
- Smith provided the vendor with information and counsel regarding Atlanta’s procurement processes (among other information);
- When the vendor’s firm or joint venture became the successful bidder on an Atlanta contract or Request for Proposal, Smith approved and submitted the award of such procurement projects or bids to Atlanta’s mayor and city council for final authorization;
- Smith never disclosed his ongoing financial relationship with the vendor and/or the vendor’s firm on his Financial Disclosure Statements to Atlanta; and
- Smith never advised Atlanta’s City Council that the vendor’s firm or joint venture had failed to disclose its organizational and personal relationships with him.
From 2015 to January 2017, the vendor paid Smith more than $40,000 in cash.
On September 25, 2017, Smith, 53, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiratorial bribery. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven Jones to two years, three months in prison, three years of supervised release, ordered to pay $44,000 in restitution, and a $25,000 fine.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey W. Davis, Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg, Deputy Criminal Division Chief, and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Textile importer resolves False Claims Act allegationsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia has reached a settlement agreement with textile importer American Dawn, Inc. and its executives Habib Rawjee, Mahmud Rawjee, and Adnan Rawjee (collectively, “American Dawn”) to resolve False Claims Act allegations that American Dawn intentionally misclassified goods imported into the United States in order to pay lower tariff rates. American Dawn agreed to pay $2,338,879 to resolve these allegations.
“Importers have an obligation to correctly classify imported goods for tariff purposes,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “American Dawn falsely classified goods which gave them an unfair advantage over other similarly situated importers. Their actions caused them to pay high damages and penalties under the False Claims Act.”
“Trying to profit by falsely claiming imported products are of a lower value than they are is a costly risk,” said ICE HSI Atlanta Acting Special Agent in Charge Gregory Wiest. “Companies are required to properly identify imports and pay the appropriate tariffs.”
“This settlement agreement is another example of CBP’s day to day collaborative efforts between U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers at ports of entry, Import Specialists with the Centers of Excellence and Expertise, and Immigration & Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations to protect the American public and the U.S. economy.” said Donald F. Yando, Director, Atlanta Field Office U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office initiated an investigation after a former employee of American Dawn filed a qui tam, or whistleblower, complaint in the Northern District of Georgia under the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act permits a private individual, called a relator, to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery.
The relator in this case alleged that American Dawn intentionally misclassified certain textiles, such as bath towels and shop towels, as polishing cloths in order to pay a lower tariff rate. The U.S Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with agents from the Atlanta offices of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security, investigated the allegations and determined that American Dawn had misclassified several categories of goods. These misclassifications resulted in American Dawn paying lower than appropriate tariffs on numerous imports. As a result of the whistleblower suit and the government’s investigation, American Dawn has agreed to pay $2,338,879. The relator will receive approximately 17% of this settlement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Shingler is representing the United States in this matter. The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Nine have been sentenced in a Mexico-based methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking operationRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Elmer Uriel Moreno-Armas, Leonardo Garcia Castro, Guillermo Rios, Jorge Alberto Barajas Govea, Pedro Oseguera Ramirez, Hugo Leon-Mendez a/k/a Guero, Warren Ferguson, Stephan Sessoms, and Tyler Owens have been sentenced for their respective roles in trafficking more than 58 gallons of liquid methamphetamine, 28 kilograms of methamphetamine, or “ice,” and 5 kilograms of cocaine. All nine were active participants in a Mexico-based drug trafficking operation.
“These defendants are responsible for a significant amount of dangerous narcotics hitting the streets. Their actions undoubtedly fueled addictions which have ravaged many families and communities of this district,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Through the dedicated work of law enforcement, these defendants were stopped before they could manufacture any more of this poison destined for our streets.”
“Methamphetamine continues to wreak havoc in our communities. Rest assured DEA and our federal, state and local partners along with our U.S Attorney’s Office are committed to ensuring drug traffickers like these face well deserved justice,” said Atlanta Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Murphy.
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Defendants Elmer Uriel Moreno-Armas, Leonardo Garcia Castro, Guillermo Rios, Jorge Alberto Barajas Govea, Pedro Oseguera Ramirez, Hugo Leon-Mendez a/k/a Guero, Warren Ferguson, Stephan Sessoms, and Tyler Owens participated in a drug trafficking operation that involved converting liquid methamphetamine to crystal methamphetamine at various residences throughout the metropolitan Atlanta area and also distributing methamphetamine and cocaine.
In particular, Elmer Uriel Moreno-Armas worked at a residence used by this drug trafficking operation to convert liquid methamphetamine to crystal methamphetamine. On March 25, 2015, law enforcement was executed a search warrant at the residence where approximately 16 kilograms of methamphetamine and approximately 27 gallons of liquid methamphetamine was seized. Later that same day law enforcement executed a search warrant at a second residence on the same street. The traffickers used the home to store liquid methamphetamine and distribute methamphetamine.
At the second residence, law enforcement seized more than 3.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, approximately 27 gallons of liquid methamphetamine, $34,914, as well as a firearm. Surveillance footage from a security camera at that residence showed Moreno-Armas assisting with the transport of five-gallon buckets full of liquid methamphetamine in the two weeks leading up to March 25, 2015 search warrant execution. In addition, Moreno-Armas sold approximately one kilogram of methamphetamine to a customer in the parking lot of a retail store in Norcross, Georgia, on May 26, 2015.
Leonardo Garcia Castro and Guillermo Rios lived at a College Park, Georgia, residence that this trafficking operation used to convert liquid methamphetamine to crystal methamphetamine. On November 29, 2016, law enforcement executed a search warrant at this residence. While there, they noted both Garcia and Rios were covered in methamphetamine residue. Law enforcement seized approximately six kilograms of methamphetamine that had not been destroyed by Garcia and Castro prior to law enforcement’s entry into the residence.
Jorge Alberto Barajas Govea and Pedro Oseguera Ramirez lived at a Jonesboro, Georgia, property that was being used by the traffickers to convert liquid methamphetamine to crystal methamphetamine. On November 29, 2016, law enforcement executed a search warrant at this property and seized just over five kilograms of methamphetamine, approximately 4.5 gallons of liquid methamphetamine, approximately one kilogram of cocaine, and $12,284 in cash.
Hugo Leon-Mendez a/k/a Guero routinely visited each of the residences the traffickers used to convert liquid methamphetamine and bought supplies to assist in the methamphetamine conversion process. He also met at least one of the tractor-trailers that traveled from Texas, likely transporting liquid methamphetamine for conversion at the Jonesboro property. Leon-Mendez also used his Atlanta residence to store narcotics and conduct narcotics transactions.
On July 23, 2015, Leon-Mendez sold one kilogram of methamphetamine to an undercover agent, half of which he retrieved from his Atlanta residence. Then in November 2016, he distributed at least five kilograms of methamphetamine to various customers from his residence. On November 29, 2016, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Leon-Mendez’s Palmetto, Georgia, residence and seized four firearms and $11,178 in cash.
Warren Ferguson, Stephan Sessoms, and Tyler Owens, together, distributed methamphetamine and cocaine for this drug trafficking operation. Through traffic stops and an undercover operation, law enforcement seized approximately 25 kilograms of methamphetamine and five kilograms of cocaine between April 2015 and March 2016.
During a traffic stop on March 15, 2016, in particular, law enforcement seized approximately ten kilograms of methamphetamine and a loaded firearm from Sessoms. Just prior to the stop, Sessoms and Owens had met with other participants of this drug trafficking operation.
All nine defendants were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. to the following sentences:
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- Elmer Uriel Moreno-Armas, 31, of Mexico, was sentenced to seven years and seven months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. In addition, the Court ordered Moreno-Armas to be turned over to Immigration officials for removal proceedings after serving his custodial sentence. Moreno-Armas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on June 14, 2017.
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- Leonardo Garcia Castro, 27, of College Park, Georgia, was sentenced to seven years and seven months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Garcia Castro pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine on May 16, 2017.
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- Guillermo Rios, 28, of Mexico, was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. In addition, the Court ordered Rios to be turned over to Immigration officials for removal proceedings after serving his custodial sentence. Rios pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine on May 19, 2017.
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- Jorge Alberto Barajas Govea, 37, of Mexico, was sentenced to seven years and seven months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. In addition, the Court ordered Barajas Govea to be turned over to Immigration officials for removal proceedings after serving his custodial sentence. Barajas Govea pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on June 14, 2017.
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- Pedro Oseguera Ramirez, 28, of Mexico, was sentenced to eight years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. In addition, the Court ordered Oseguera Ramirez to be turned over to Immigration officials for removal proceedings after serving his custodial sentence. Oseguera Ramirez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine on July 7, 2017.
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- Hugo Leon-Mendez, a/k/a Guero, 28, of Mexico, was sentenced to 19 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. In addition, the Court ordered Leon-Mendez to be turned over to Immigration officials for removal proceedings after serving his custodial sentence. Leon-Mendez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine on May 16, 2017.
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- Warren Ferguson, a/k/a Weezy, 37, of Lithonia, Georgia, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Ferguson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine on April 28, 2017.
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- Stephan Sessoms, 36, of Decatur, Georgia, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Sessoms pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense on May 19, 2017.
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- Tyler Owens, a/k/a Unc, 43, of East Point, Georgia, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Owens pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense on August 9, 2017.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney DeLana Jones prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
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Roswell City Councilman convicted of producing child pornographyRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Former Roswell, Georgia, city council member Kent Igleheart has pleaded guilty to four counts of producing child pornography, one count of receiving child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography.
“By persuading his minor victims to create and share graphic images of themselves online, Igleheart has caused these children to suffer ongoing and irreparable harm,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “No one expects to see a community leader behave in this kind of heinous manner, and this betrayal of public trust underscores the need for parents to remain aware of how their children are using the internet and social media.”
“There is no sentence that can lessen the harm that has been caused to these young children, but at least this suspect will be stopped from pursuing his egregious acts,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Unfortunately, this is another stark reminder to parents to be extremely vigilant when their children go online and use social media.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and evidence presented at court: In October 2016, E.B. then 17 years old, contacted the DeKalb County Internet Crimes Against Children Unit to report that she had been communicating online since she was 13 years old with someone who had portrayed himself to be 17 years old. E.B. reported that she had exchanged sexually graphic photographs and had sexually explicit conversations with the individual. E.B. later discovered that the person with whom she was communicating was Igleheart – not the teenage boy depicted in Igleheart’s profile photograph.
Igleheart acknowledged that he and E.B. had exchanged sexually graphic photographs beginning when she was 13 years old. He had also booked a hotel and made plans to meet with E.B. on October 20, 2016, to engage in sexual activity with her. Investigators arrested him when he arrived at the Northlake Mall, the pre-arranged location. DeKalb County investigators and the FBI conducted searches of Igleheart’s phones and computers and found some of the images that E.B. had produced and sent to the defendant at his request.
Searches of Igleheart’s phones and computers also revealed that he posed online as “Kent Allen.” He presented himself as a teenage boy between the ages of 14 and 17 years and engaged in sexually graphic communications with numerous teenage girls, some of whom were as young as 13 years old. During these conversations, Igleheart persuaded and enticed the girls to take photographs of their genitalia and videos of themselves engaging in sexual conduct and transmit the images to him via the Internet.
Kent Igleheart, 54, of Roswell, Georgia, was convicted of four counts of producing child pornography, one count of receiving child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 26, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the DeKalb County, Georgia, Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Yonette Sam Buchanan and Richard S. Moultrie, Jr., prosecuted the case.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
For further information, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.
Jonesboro man sentenced to prison for distributing child pornographyRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Kenneth Shipp has been sentenced to eight years, one month in prison for distributing child pornography. The defendant had hundreds of thousands of photographs and thousands of videos at his residence, which he shared on peer-to-peer websites.
“Kenneth Shipp’s collection of child pornography is the largest of anyone ever prosecuted in this district,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “It is abhorrent that someone could derive gratification from the sexual abuse of children, and the amount that Shipp possessed is staggering. We will continue to work with federal and state law enforcement partners to find those who trade and collect child pornography and bring them to justice.”
“The outcome of this case should serve as a warning to others we will aggressively investigate and bring to justice those who would prey on our most vulnerable population,” said ICE HSI Atlanta Acting Special Agent in Charge Gregory Wiest. “HSI continues working closely with our federal and state partners to ensure we identify and arrest the perpetrators of these vile crimes.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: in February 2016, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“ICE-HSI”) and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (“GBI”) were investigating persons who were using peer-to-peer programs to trade images and videos of child pornography. The agents were able to download a video from a computer that showed young boys being sexually abused. Information that they obtained while downloading the video revealed that it came from a computer at a house in Jonesboro, Georgia.
Agents with ICE-HSI obtained a federal search warrant for a house in Jonesboro, and carried out a search on May 9, 2016. There, agents found numerous computers, laptops, television monitors, thumb drives and other electronic devices, all containing child pornography. A subsequent examination of those devices showed that Shipp had 447,268 images and 19,395 videos. Specifically, he had more than 60 terabytes of child pornography.
Kenneth Shipp, 58, of Jonesboro, Georgia, has been sentenced to eight years, one months in prison to be followed by 15 years of supervised release. Shipp was convicted of these charges on October 5, 2017, after he pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul R. Jones prosecuted the case.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
For further information, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Feds charge Cobb County man with murder for hireRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Michael McEarchern has been arraigned on federal charges for attempting to use the U.S. mail and telephone communications to hire someone to kill his ex-wife. McEarchern was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 3, 2018.
“This defendant’s alleged actions indicate that he was serious about having his ex-wife murdered,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “By providing an address and up-front money for the would-be assassin, McEarchern left little doubt that if the threat had not been discovered he may have found someone to carry out the heinous deed.”
“This case is another example of the lengths the FBI will go, to protect the citizens of this country,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The arrest demonstrates how law enforcement, working together with concerned citizens, can hold criminals accountable and prevent violence from happening in our communities.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: McEarchern was an inmate at the jail in Bartow County, Georgia, having been arrested on drugs charges in October 2017. While incarcerated, McEarchern reached out to several individuals trying to find someone who could arrange for the murder of his ex-wife, who lived in Cobb County. One individual told a friend of McEarchern’s desire to kill his ex-wife, and that person reported the crime to the FBI. To ensure that McEarchern was serious about seeking someone to carry out the murder, the FBI waited for McEarchern to reach out to the informant, which he did.
Believing that he was setting up the killing of his ex-wife, McEarchern agreed to pay $10,000 in cash and two tickets to an Atlanta Hawks basketball game in payment. Additionally, to show that he was serious, he had $800 in cash mailed to the assassin. Jail recordings captured McEarchern providing the address to the person who he asked to mail the money for him. The FBI retrieved an envelope containing the $800 with a return address of the person who sent the money on McEarchern’s instruction. The defendant also provided an address where the assassin could find the ex-wife.
Michael McEarchern, 29, of Acworth, Ga., was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Walter E. Johnson. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with help from the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim S. Dammers is prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Sex traffickers will target Atlanta during National Championship game weekendRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, along with our law enforcement partners, are encouraging both citizens and visitors to be aware of the possibility of sex trafficking during the festivities happening in and around Atlanta this weekend and into next week. In short, if you believe it might be, tell someone.
“Sex traffickers are despicable people, and they use events like the National Championship game to ply their trade,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “These types of events draw large crowds of revelers, and sex traffickers often seek to exploit these types of opportunities. We need everyone’s help in identifying those being trafficked for sex, and in bringing the traffickers to justice.”
Many times those who are being trafficked are homeless, runaway, or abandoned children, but it is not limited to these groups. Traffickers also seek out at-risk individuals, i.e. those individuals suffering from sexual/physical abuse, or dependency, while also exploiting women and children from other countries – typically from impoverished nations.
There are some signs that people should be aware of which may indicate someone is being held against their will and trafficked for sex:
- They do not hold their own identity or travel documents;
- They appear to suffer from verbal or psychological abuse designed to intimidate, degrade and frighten the individual;
- They have a trafficker or pimp who controls all their money – the victim will have very little or no pocket money;
- They are extremely nervous, especially if the victim’s “translator” is their trafficker; and
- They are not allowed to move about by themselves and have little understanding of where they are.
Victims may also lack personal items, possessions, or luggage. They may not have a cell phone or calling card. Most may also lack private space – a trafficker or an enforcer is always present. They most likely will not possess financial records or identification documents, or have any knowledge about how to get around in a community.The penalties for sex-trafficking are substantial, but can only be enforced with the help of aware citizens. If you wish to report a potential sex-trafficking incident please contact the FBI at (770) 216-3000.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Former recruiters sentenced for defrauding the Panda Express restaurant chainRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Derek Cyrus and Chuck Sandford have been sentenced for running a false invoicing scheme that defrauded the Panda Express restaurant chain of nearly $1.5 million.
“These defendants’ calculated lies and fraud were driven by simple greed,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “They not only stole from this corporation, Cyrus and Sandford also lied in a state court, which demonstrated their lack of respect for the law. Now they have years to reflect on those actions while serving their federal sentences.”
“As a result of hard work and determination by Special Agents of the FBI, Derek Cyrus and Chuck Sandford are no longer able to deceive an innocent company,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will continue to dedicate significant investigative resources to prosecute those who allow their good judgement to be clouded by greed.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Derek Cyrus and Chuck Sandford both owned companies that ostensibly provided recruitment services to corporations. Cyrus’s company was named “Diversified Recruiters,” and Sandford’s recruitment company was named “Chuck Sandford Consultants” (CSC). Cyrus also worked as an in-house recruiter for Panda Express in 2012 and early 2013.
Beginning in about January 2013, Cyrus and Sandford submitted fraudulent Diversified Recruiters and CSC invoices to the Panda Express accounts payable department that falsely claimed that they had found qualified job candidates for positions at Panda Express restaurants throughout the United States. In actuality, the vast majority of the job candidates were either fictitious or had never been recruited by Cyrus or Sandford. Cyrus also did not tell the accounts payable department that Diversified Recruiters was actually his own company, which allowed him to collect twice for the same recruit. Based upon these misrepresentations, the accounts payable department issued payments to Diversified Recruiters and CSC, which Cyrus and Sandford used for their own personal benefit.
After Cyrus stopped working for Panda Express in March 2013, he continued to send fraudulent Diversified Recruiters and CSC invoices to the accounts payable department. Cyrus falsely told the accounts payable department that he was still a Panda Express employee and was therefore authorized to submit these invoices. Sandford paid Cyrus a kickback after the accounts payable department issued payments for the fraudulent CSC invoices. All told, Cyrus and Sandford netted nearly $1.5 million dollars during the course of this scheme.
Once Panda Express discovered the fraud, they sued Cyrus and Sandford in Cobb County, Georgia. During the course of that litigation, Cyrus further attempted to cover his tracks by submitting false recruit resumes through his attorney to Panda Express’s corporate counsel. Additionally, both defendants repeatedly lied under oath during their sworn depositions about their involvement in the fraud scheme.
Derek Cyrus, 53, of Lithonia, Georgia, was sentenced to four years, five months in federal prison. Chuck Sandford, 74, of Marietta, Georgia, was sentenced to one year, three months in federal prison. Both defendants had previously pleaded guilty to fraud charges for their role in this scheme.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas J. Krepp and Timothy H. Lee prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Chinese and Malaysian nationals sentenced in interstate prostitution and money laundering schemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Xiaohong Huang, also known as “Michelle,” Chan Kong Chow, and Biyun Gong, have been sentenced for conspiring to operate a brothel in Doraville, Georgia, which lured sex-workers to Atlanta from across the U.S.
“Interstate prostitution is a serious crime that exploits women and harms our community,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Brothels remain a blight in segments of our communities. The prosecution of these defendants, the seizure of significant assets, and the dedication of law enforcement resources in targeting this long-running criminal scheme are a warning for others engaged in this conduct.”
“The FBI and its law enforcement partners will not tolerate the ongoing exploitation of disadvantaged people for the profit of a few,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “While we are working vigorously to identify victims of exploitation, we are also sending a message to anyone who engages in these illegal activities that they will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charge, and evidence presented in court: Xiaohong Huang operated a brothel at a large apartment complex in Doraville from approximately December 2005 through May 2017. Chan Kong Chow and Biyun Gong assisted Huang by managing the day-to-day operations of the business. The defendants induced women of Asian descent to travel to Georgia from across the U.S., including California and New York, for work at the brothel as commercial sex workers. Huang advertised her business online and by word-of-mouth.
The defendants regularly used cellular phones to communicate with women who worked as sex workers at the brothel, and with their male clients. The defendants arranged for sex workers to travel to the brothel on commercial flights into Atlanta approximately every 10 days on a rotating basis.
Additionally, as a part of the conspiracy, Huang utilized checking accounts at Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, and Metro City Bank, to deposit proceeds derived from the brothel. Huang then used proceeds of the business to pay expenses related to the operation of the brothel. In this way, Huang laundered more than $150,000 in criminally derived proceeds during the conspiracy.
- Xiaohong Huang, a/k/a “Michelle,” 45, of China, was sentenced to two years, nine months in federal prison. As part of her sentence, Huang was required to forfeit a large residence in Johns Creek, Georgia, cash, jewelry, and other expensive items.
- Chan Kong Chow, 59, of China, was sentenced to one year, nine months in federal prison.
- Biyun Gong, 54, of China, was sentenced to one year, three months in federal prison.
Huang, Chow, and Gong, pleaded guilty on July 27, 2017, to conspiring to operate an interstate prostitution scheme involving money laundering.
Upon completion of their sentences, the Defendants will be immediately transferred to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE), for deportation proceedings and removal from the United States.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Department of Homeland Security.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. and Bret R. Hobson prosecuted the case.
For further information, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Norcross business owners sentenced for defrauding the CDCRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Cesar Arbelaez Tabares and Juan Carlos Bazantes, who owned and operated IWES Contractors, Inc., a drywall labor supply company in Norcross, Georgia, have been sentenced to each serve eight years in prison and pay a $75,000 fine following their trial and convictions for submitting false certified payroll forms to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in connection with a construction project at the federal facility.
“Federal contractors and subcontractors are not immune from rules and laws that apply to any company with employees,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “The jury’s verdict and the court’s sentence in this case reinforce that if you want to compete and obtain a federal contract work, you must abide by the law and truthfully report your payroll and employment tax withholdings.”
“Cesar Arbelaez Tabares and Juan Carlos Bazantes, as owners and operators of IWES Contractors Inc., had a known legal duty to withhold employment taxes from their employee wages” said James E. Dorsey, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “Tabares and Bazantes’ willful failure to withhold employment taxes was a deliberate attempt to undermine the tax system. IRS Criminal Investigation will remain committed to investigating and prosecuting employment tax fraud.”
“Cesar Arbelaez-Tabares and Juan Carlos Bazantes, principals of IWES Contractors, Inc., a drywall contracting company, submitted fraudulent certified payrolls in violation of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. We will continue to investigate those who undermine the U.S. Department of Labor’s ability to ensure that American workers are paid proper wages and that employers make the required payroll deductions and benefit contributions,” stated Rafiq Ahmad, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Atlanta Regional Office, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor.
“By not withholding employment taxes from their wages, Cesar Arbelaez-Tabares and Juan Carlos of IWES Contractors willfully attempted to defraud the federal government,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “This verdict and sentence demonstrates OIG’s commitment to hold accountable those who commit fraud against HHS agencies and departmental programs.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Cesar Arbelaez Tabares was the Chief Executive Officer and Juan Carlos Bazantes was the Chief Financial Officer of IWES, a Norcross-based business that supplied drywall laborers to contractors and subcontractors for construction projects. Beginning in 2012, IWES supplied drywall laborers for a construction project with the CDC.
Under the direction of Tabares and Bazantes, IWES maintained a double payroll system for its workers on the CDC project, which internally classified those workers as either “W2.REAL” or “W2.F.2CHK”. Those workers who were classified as “W2.REAL” received one paycheck each pay period with employment taxes withheld, received an IRS Form W-2 at the end of the calendar year, and were reported on quarterly employment taxes filed by IWES with the IRS.
Those workers who were classified as “W2.F.2CHK” received two paychecks simultaneously each pay period. The first paycheck totaled the worker’s net pay (gross wages minus employment taxes withheld), while the second paycheck received by the worker totaled the employment taxes withheld from the first paycheck so that the worker, in reality, was receiving his or her gross wages with no tax withholdings. Workers classified as “W2.F.2CHK” performed many of the same job duties as those who were classified as “W2.REAL,” but they did not receive an IRS Form W-2 at the end of the calendar year and were not reported on quarterly employment taxes filed by IWES with the IRS.
In connection with its subcontracting work on the CDC project, Tabares and Bazantes caused IWES to submit fraudulent certified payroll forms to the CDC, signed under penalty of perjury, which falsely represented that employment taxes had been withheld for all of the IWES workers on the CDC project, including those whom IWES had internally classified as “W2.F.2CHK” and whose employment tax withholdings were being returned to the employee in the form of a simultaneous second paycheck.
Cesar Arbelaez Tabares, 37, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, and Juan Carlos Bazantes, 45, of Miami, Florida, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Steve C. Jones to eight years in federal prison. Tabares and Bazantes were each ordered to pay a $75,000 fine, and also serve three years of supervised release following completion of their prison sentence.
Tabares and Bazantes were found guilty by a jury following a one-week trial in August and September 2017, on one count of conspiracy and six counts of submitting false certified payroll forms to the CDC. They were acquitted of related tax charges.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven D. Grimberg and Ryan J. Huschka prosecuted the case. The U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division provided valuable assistance.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Jury convicts operator of National Vocation Group job-staffing company of wire fraudRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – A federal jury in Atlanta has convicted Erick Powell, a former operator and co-owner of the National Vocation Group job-staffing company, of wire fraud. A second defendant and co-owner, Ahmad McCormick, pleaded guilty to wire fraud on August 31, 2017.
“Powell and his co-defendant used their company to dupe hundreds of job-seekers into paying high fees for unnecessary training with the expectation of placement in jobs that did not exist,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “The jury’s verdict is a strong message to other criminals that law enforcement will find and prosecute any person or company seeking to take advantage of the hard-working citizens of this district.”
“Erick Powell deceived victims into believing they were applying for legitimate jobs that required certain Occupational Safety and Health Administration certifications when, in fact, they were not. Powell and his co-conspirators used phony online job postings to lure unsuspecting applicants into fraudulently paying their company for unnecessary OSHA training certifications. We will continue to work with OSHA and our law enforcement partners to investigate those who prey on legitimate job seekers,” stated Rafiq Ahmad, Special Agent in Charge, Atlanta Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Powell and Ahmad McCormick operated a fraudulent job-staffing company in Atlanta called National Vocation Group (NVG) from August 2015 through October 2015. Powell and McCormick used Indeed.com and ZipRecruiter.com to advertise open and available jobs in the housekeeping and maintenance industries that paid above-average wages. These advertisements falsely represented that NVG had existing contracts with commercial cleaning companies throughout the Atlanta area; that the jobs paid above-average wages of up to $17/hour; and that NVG could place its clients in these high-paying jobs.
When NVG’s job applicant clients were interviewed by Powell, McCormick, and other employees of NVG, the applicants were told that, to be hired for the advertised jobs, they would have to pay $349 for certain OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) training. The applicants were falsely told that federal law required housecleaning and maintenance workers to take the OSHA General Industries Course before starting work in the advertised jobs. Hundreds of applicants paid the $349 fee based on NVG’s false representations, and took the OSHA course as required, but none of those applicants received the high-paying jobs they were promised.
Several victims complained to law enforcement, and some notified local media outlets. NVG relocated its offices from downtown Atlanta to East Point, Georgia, where the company continued its fraudulent activities. The company eventually disbanded in mid-October 2015, although both McCormick and Powell continued operating other similar, fraudulent job-staffing companies after NVG ceased operating.
On October 25, 2016, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging McCormick and Powell for wire fraud conspiracy and ten substantive wire fraud counts. On August 31, 2017, McCormick pled guilty to wire fraud conspiracy pursuant to a guilty plea agreement. On September 14, 2017, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Powell with wire fraud conspiracy and three substantive counts of wire fraud. On December 11, 2017, after a four-day trial, a federal jury returned a verdict convicting Powell on one count of substantive wire fraud. The jury acquitted Powell on the other counts.
Erick Powell, 29, of New Windsor, New York, and Ahmad McCormick, 31, of Brooklyn, New York, will be sentenced in early 2018. Both defendants face a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment.
This case is being investigated by the U.S Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General. The East Point Police Department also provided assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys John S. Ghose and Lynsey M. Barron are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
German national is the latest cyber-criminal sentenced for conspiring to launder proceeds from fraudulent affiliate marketing websitesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Sven Franssen, a German national residing in the Netherlands, has been sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison for his role in conspiring to launder the proceeds of fraudulent affiliate marketing websites. The fraudulent sites received increased internet traffic due to a massive computer hacking and illegal spam campaign brought on by a pair of Vietnamese nationals.
“Franssen’s sentencing concludes the methodical takedown of a cyber-criminal syndicate,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “As cyber-criminals continue to look for ways to commit theft and fraud, law enforcement agencies are continuing their work to neutralize their efforts, and bring them to prosecution.”
“The takedown of this criminal organization is an example of how determined and persistent FBI investigators and our federal partners are, no matter where in the world the investigation leads,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “We will vigorously continue to investigate, prosecute and impose stiff penalties on any criminal who believes they can hide in cyber space and prey on the American people with impunity.”
“Sven Franssen’s sentencing should be a warning to all operating illegally in the cyber world. Consumers have an expectation of trust when purchasing good and services through the internet,” said James Dorsey, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those laundering ill-gotten gains at the expense of consumer trust.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: In March 2015, a 29-count indictment from the Northern District of Georgia was unsealed against Vietnamese nationals Viet Quoc Nguyen and Giang Hoang Vu, both of whom lived for a period of time in the Netherlands. The indictment was in connection with their alleged computer hacks of at least eight E-mail Service Providers (“ESPs”) all over the United States, including two ESPs based in the Northern District of Georgia.
Email Service Providers are companies that generally offer legitimate email marketing or bulk email services to their clients. Clients hire ESPs to assist with sending bulk emails to customers or potential customers who have opted to receive such emails. “Spam,” by contrast, is a commonly-used term for unsolicited email. ESPs generally take affirmative steps to ensure that their email campaigns are not blocked or classified as “spam” by the recipients’ email programs.
Nguyen and Vu allegedly stole confidential information from the ESPs, including proprietary marketing data containing over one billion email addresses. Nguyen and Vu then allegedly used their unauthorized access to launch spam attacks on tens of millions of email recipients, which helped drive internet traffic to affiliate marketing websites associated with Marketbay.com, which included Nguyen’s own website.
Affiliate marketing is a type of business in which persons or companies, known as “affiliates,” enter into formal or informal marketing agreements with companies to generate sales of the companies’ products. In the internet context, affiliates earn commissions on sales to customers who purchase the companies’ products from websites associated with the affiliate.
Giang Hoang Vu was arrested by Dutch law enforcement in Deventer, Netherlands, in 2012 and extradited to the United States in March 2014. On February 5, 2015, Vu pled guilty to conspiracy to commit computer fraud, and on July 27, 2015, he was sentenced to two years in prison. Nguyen is not in custody and remains a fugitive.
David-Manuel Santos Da Silva, a Canadian national and a co-owner of the affiliate marketing website Marketbay.com, was also previously charged and convicted in connection with his role in the offense. As the owner and operator of Marketbay.com, Da Silva entered into an affiliate marketing arrangement with Nguyen, which allowed Nguyen to receive commissions on sales generated from internet traffic that he directed to websites promoting specific products. Da Silva knew that Nguyen was spamming to stolen email addresses in order to direct high volumes of internet traffic to his affiliate marketing websites with Marketbay.com. Da Silva conspired with Nguyen and others to promote Nguyen’s hacking and spamming activities by providing him with a platform, through Marketbay.com, to generate sales commissions from his computer hacks.
On March 4, 2015, Da Silva was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia for conspiracy to commit money laundering with Nguyen and others. Da Silva was arrested while traveling in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 2015. He pleaded guilty on November 2, 2015, and on June 14, 2017, he was sentenced to four years, three months in prison.
On December 11, 2017, Sven Franssen was sentenced in connection with his role in the offense. Franssen owned and operated Certo Business Solutions B.V. (“Certo”), also known as Multibill, which processed payments for products purchased through affiliate marketing websites associated with Marketbay.com. Franssen knew that affiliates working through Marketbay.com were promoting and selling products through false and fraudulent means. Franssen knew that certain software products sold by affiliates could be publicly downloaded elsewhere for free, and that certain products being promoted for sale were not actually available to sell, or were being sold in violation of a copyright or trademark. For example, Nguyen promoted a product for sale on his website called “Adobe Reader 10” that prominently featured the Adobe logo. In fact, the product that was for sale on Nguyen’s affiliate marketing website with Marketbay.com was not an Adobe-branded product, and was not authorized for sale by Adobe.
The products promoted by Marketbay.com affiliates through false and fraudulent means were sold to customers in the Northern District of Georgia and to customers around the world. Franssen received warnings that his company was processing payments from the sale of fraudulent products. Despite these warnings, and on occasion directly in response to them, Franssen advised and encouraged Da Silva and his business partner to conceal and disguise the false and fraudulent nature of the product sales generated by affiliates working through Marketbay.com.
During the period of the conspiracy, Franssen’s company processed over $1.5 million in revenue generated from the sale of products that were falsely and fraudulently promoted through Marketbay.com.
Sven Franssen, 53, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. to two years, six months in prison, following his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was also ordered to forfeit real property in Cape Coral, Florida, and a 24-foot watercraft vessel.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven D. Grimberg and Kelly K. Connors prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Atlanta man convicted of assaulting Federal Marshals with a motor vehicleRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Shusta Traverse Gumbs has been convicted of two counts of using a motor vehicle to assault members of the U.S. Marshals Services’ Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force (SERTF) after he attempted to flee arrest in his vehicle, pinning a Deputy U.S. Marshal with his car in the process.
“Gumbs used his vehicle to pin one of the Deputy Marshals between two cars, resulting in serious injury to the officer,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “He also jeopardized the lives of the remaining arresting officers who were near the defendant’s car during the assault. We are committed to backing our men and women in law enforcement, and will use all of our resources to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law those who seek to injure our law enforcement partners who work hard to protect us.”
“Assaulting a federal officer shows a disregard for law and order. We appreciate the hard work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring Gumbs to justice. He was held accountable for this assault by a jury of his peers,” said Keith D. Booker, Chief Inspector, Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, U.S. Marshals Service.
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and evidence presented at trial: On October 21, 2016, the SERFTF sought Gumbs for an active warrant issued by Douglas County, Georgia, Superior Court for failure to appear for the offenses of theft by receiving stolen property, felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of marijuana. SERFTF members saw Gumbs stopped in a black car in a parking lot of a store in the West End neighborhood of Atlanta.
A deputy entered the parking lot in a car, with another deputy as his passenger. A third deputy arrived in a van, with two more deputies as his passengers. Two separate deputies each arrived in separate vehicles. All the officers then converged on Gumbs’ vehicle with the sirens and blue lights of their vehicles engaged and firearms drawn. Gumbs was ordered to turn off and exit his vehicle. Gumbs suddenly placed his vehicle in reverse and backed up approximately 10 to 15 feet.
One of the deputies then ran to his vehicle to retrieve an expandable baton should it become necessary to break any of the windows of Gumbs’ vehicle. As that deputy approached Gumbs’ vehicle a second time, Gumbs accelerated his vehicle to force his way past one of the officers’ parked vehicles. As Gumbs did so, he pinned the deputy between the two vehicles, crushing his left thigh, knee, foot, and ankle. Gumbs then fled the West End area at a high rate of speed during heavy traffic, striking a motorist’s vehicle, and running a stop sign and a red traffic light. He eventually abandoned the vehicle and eluded capture until four days later, on October 25, 2016.
Shusta Traverse Gumbs, 39, of the U.S. Virgin Islands, was convicted of two counts of forcibly assaulting, impeding, opposing, resisting, or interfering with four federal officers during the performance of their official duties.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Services’ Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, with assistance from the Atlanta Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Advanced Plastic Surgery Solutions agrees to resolve alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities ActRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia has reached a settlement with Advanced Plastic Surgery Solutions (“APSS”) to resolve an investigation into allegations that it violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) by refusing to accept a new patient because of her HIV status.
“The ADA prohibits healthcare providers from denying services on the basis of a disability or perceived disability,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “When a person is denied service because of a disability, it can be emotionally painful and, in this case, deprive a person of the medical care she desires. Our office remains committed to eradicating this type of discrimination wherever it may occur."According to the complaint, the complainant attempted to schedule an initial appointment with APSS to discuss cosmetic surgery. Complainant’s initial call was answered by a third party call center retained by APSS to handle large volumes of telephone calls from prospective patients. Upon revealing that she had HIV, the call center employee told the complainant that APSS doctors would not perform the procedure. Complainant called back and spoke with an employee of APSS who also told complainant that under those circumstances, APSS would not perform surgery.
The settlement requires APSS to draft new policies and procedures indicating that it does not discriminate against persons with disabilities, including persons who have HIV or AIDS. APSS will also conduct training for its employees, with a focus on HIV-related discrimination. APSS has agreed to pay $25,000 to compensate the complainant for her emotional distress, and pay a $10,000 civil penalty to the United States.
The ADA prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities by health care professionals. Denying people with disabilities access to medical services based solely upon the individual's disability, including HIV status, violates the ADA.This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aileen Bell Hughes, who is the Civil Rights Enforcement Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Jury Convicts Former Atlanta Police Sergeant for Using Excessive Force to Break Walmart Customer’s LegRead the Press Release
A federal jury has convicted former Atlanta Police Department Sergeant Trevor King, of Stockbridge, Georgia, of using unreasonable force when he arrested a Walmart shopper who the officer wrongfully suspected of shoplifting a tomato. King beat the victim with his police-issue baton, breaking two bones in the victim’s leg. The jury also convicted King of writing a false incident report in an attempt to cover up his wrongdoing.
“Law enforcement officers all over the country work tirelessly every day to protect the public from violence,” said Acting Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Department. “This defendant violated the law and his oath as a police officer when he unjustifiably beat a man with a baton, breaking the man’s leg, because he wrongly believed that the man had stolen a tomato. The Department of Justice will continue to protect all citizens from violations of their constitutional right to safety and security.”
“It is extremely disheartening when a law enforcement officer abuses his or her authority and the public’s trust,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The actions of this officer are especially insulting to the vast majority of those in law enforcement who work so hard with integrity and commitment within the criminal justice system. The FBI will continue to dedicate significant resources to investigate allegations of public corruption involving police officers.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other evidence presented during the trial, Former Sergeant King was working off-duty as a security officer at a Walmart store near downtown Atlanta when he observed a shopper weigh a tomato and walk toward the store’s exit. King stopped the victim near the door and, within seconds, began to strike the victim with an ASP baton. King struck the victim seven times, breaking two bones in the victim’s right leg.
As the victim lay on the Walmart floor bleeding from his injuries, King searched the victim and found a receipt for the tomato in the victim’s bag. The receipt showed that the victim paid for the tomato only minutes before King’s attack. King then wrote a false report to cover up his unjustified assault. Additionally, King charged the victim with obstructing a shoplifting investigation and with assaulting a police officer.
Following emergency surgery at Grady Hospital, the victim was transported to the Fulton County Jail to be held on King’s bogus charges. The victim’s criminal charges were ultimately dismissed by a state prosecutor.
Russian cyber-criminal sentenced to 14 years in prison for role in massive online identity theft and bank fraud conspiracyRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Russian cyber-criminal Roman Valeryevich Seleznev has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role in a $50 million cyberfraud ring and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme.
“Cybercriminals have victimized our citizens from half-way around the world,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “As Seleznev learned, this office has committed resources designed to target cyber-crime and we will pursue these criminals no matter where they reside. The safety of our citizens is our priority, and we are committed to ending the damage they cause.”
“Modern-day hackers can often be considered project managers who oversee complex criminal schemes, and offer their services for hire to other cyber criminals. Additionally, they rarely limit themselves to a single victim or to a single criminal scheme. Seleznev was involved in at least three schemes, one of which was a scheme targeting an Atlanta-based company that resulted in the highly coordinated withdrawal of millions of dollars from ATMs throughout the world in under twelve hours. Seleznev's multiple sentences ensure he will no longer be a threat to American financial institutions and citizens for quite some time, and act as a strong deterrent to other cyber criminals offering their services for hire,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
“The Secret Service worked closely with our law enforcement partners to share information and resources that ultimately brought Seleznev and his conspirators to justice,” said Kenneth Cronin, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office. “Our longstanding role in transnational cyber investigations and network intrusions was crucial in combatting this complex hacking ring. This sentence illustrates that there is no such thing as anonymity for those engaging in fraudulent schemes and cyber-criminals will not go unpunished.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Seleznev, in connection with his guilty plea in the Northern District of Georgia case, admitted that he acted as a “casher” who worked with hackers to coordinate a scheme to defraud an Atlanta-based company that processed credit and debit card transactions on behalf of financial institutions. Seleznev admitted that pursuant to the scheme, in November 2008, hackers infiltrated the company’s computer systems and accessed 45.5 million debit card numbers, certain of which they used to fraudulently withdraw over $9.4 million from 2,100 ATMs in 280 cities around the world in less than 12 hours.
To date, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia has charged 14 individuals involved in the hack and cashout, including Russian nationals Viktor Pleschuk, Evgeniy Anikin, and Roman Seleznev; Estonian nationals Sergei Tsurikov, Igor Grudijev, Ronald Tsoi, Eveilyn Tsoi, and Mikhail Jevgenov; Moldovan national Oleg Covelin; Ukranian nationals Vladimir Valeyrich Tailar and Evgeny Levitskyy; Nigerian national Ezenwa Chukukere; American national Sonya Martin; and Vladislav Horohorin, who is a citizen of Russia, Israel, and Ukraine.
In connection with his guilty plea in the Nevada case, Seleznev admitted that he became associated with the Carder.su organization in January 2009. According to Seleznev’s admissions in his plea agreement, Carder.su was an Internet-based, international criminal enterprise whose members trafficked in compromised credit card account data and counterfeit identifications and committed identity theft, bank fraud and computer crimes. Seleznev admitted that the group tried to protect the anonymity and the security of the enterprise from both rival organizations and law enforcement. For example, members communicated through various secure and encrypted forums, such as chatrooms, private messaging systems, encrypted email, proxies and encrypted virtual private networks. Gaining membership in the group required the recommendation of two current members in good standing.
Seleznev further admitted that he sold compromised credit card account data and other personal identifying information to fellow Carder.su members. The defendant sold members such a large volume of product that he created an automated website, which he advertised on the Carder.su organization’s websites. His automated website allowed members to log into and purchase stolen credit card account data. The defendant’s website had a simple interface that allowed members to search for the particular type of credit card information they wanted to buy, add the number of accounts they wished to purchase to their “shopping cart” and upon check out, download the purchased credit card information. Payment of funds was automatically deducted from an established account funded through L.R., an online digital currency payment system.
Seleznev further admitted that he sold each account number for approximately $20. The Carder.su organization’s criminal activities resulted in loss to its victims of at least $50,983,166.35.
Roman Valeryevich Seleznev aka Track2, Bulba and Ncux, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones of the Northern District of Georgia to serve 14 years in prison for one count of participation in a racketeering enterprise pursuant to an indictment returned in the District of Nevada, and to 14 years in prison for one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud pursuant to an indictment returned in the Northern District of Georgia, with sentences to run concurrent to one another. In both cases, Seleznev was ordered three years of supervised release to run concurrently. He was also ordered restitution in the amount of $50,893,166.35 in the Nevada case and $2,178,349 in the Georgia case. Seleznev pleaded guilty to the charges on Sept. 7.
Seleznev is also a defendant in a wire fraud and computer hacking case brought by the Department of Justice in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. On Aug. 25, 2016, a federal jury convicted Seleznev of 38 counts related to his role in a scheme to hack into point-of-sale computers to steal and sell credit card numbers to the criminal underworld. On April 21, 2017, Seleznev was sentenced to 27 years in prison for those crimes, which will run concurrent to his sentences.
The cases were investigated by the FBI, HSI, and the U.S. Secret Service.
The Northern District of Georgia case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kamal Ghali of the Northern District of Georgia. The Nevada case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Catherine K. Dick of the DOJ Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly M. Frayn of the District of Nevada.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Russian Cyber-Criminal Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Role in Organized Cybercrime Ring Responsible for $50 Million in Online Identity Theft and $9 Million Bank Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A Russian cyber-criminal was sentenced today to 14 years in prison for his role in a $50 million cyberfraud ring and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre of the District of Nevada, U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak of the Northern District of Georgia, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Harris of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI), Special Agent in Charge Brian Spellacy of the U.S. Secret Service in Las Vegas, and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. LeValley in Atlanta made the announcement.
Roman Valeryevich Seleznev aka Track2, Bulba and Ncux, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones of the Northern District of Georgia to serve 168 months in prison for one count of participation in a racketeering enterprise pursuant to an indictment returned in the District of Nevada, and to 168 months in prisonfor one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud pursuant to an indictment returned in the Northern District of Georgia, with the sentences to run concurrent to one another. In both cases, Seleznev was ordered three years of supervised release to run concurrently. He was also ordered restitution in the amount of $50,893,166.35 in the Nevada case and $2,178,349 in the Georgia case. Seleznev pleaded guilty to the charges on Sept. 7.
In connection with his guilty plea in the Nevada case, Seleznev admitted that he became associated with the Carder.su organization, an identify theft and credit card fraud ring, in January 2009. According to Seleznev’s admissions in his plea agreement, Carder.su was an Internet-based, international criminal enterprise whose members trafficked in compromised credit card account data and counterfeit identifications and committed identity theft, bank fraud, and computer crimes. Seleznev admitted that the group tried to protect the anonymity and the security of the enterprise from both rival organizations and law enforcement. For example, members communicated through various secure and encrypted forums, such as chatrooms, private messaging systems, encrypted email, proxies and encrypted virtual private networks. Gaining membership in the group required the recommendation of two current members in good standing.
Seleznev further admitted that he sold compromised credit card account data and other personal identifying information to fellow Carder.su members. The defendant sold members such a large volume of product that he created an automated website, which he advertised on the Carder.su organization’s websites. His automated website allowed members to log into and purchase stolen credit card account data. The defendant’s website had a simple interface that allowed members to search for the particular type of credit card information they wanted to buy, add the number of accounts they wished to purchase to their “shopping cart” and upon check out, download the purchased credit card information. Payment of funds was automatically deducted from an established account funded through L.R., an online digital currency payment system.
Seleznev further admitted that he sold each account number for approximately $20. The Carder.su organization’s criminal activities resulted in loss to its victims of at least $50,893,166.35.
In connection with his guilty plea in the Northern District of Georgia case, Seleznev admitted that he acted as a “casher” who worked with hackers to coordinate a scheme to defraud an Atlanta-based company that processed credit and debit card transactions on behalf of financial institutions. Seleznev admitted that pursuant to the scheme, in November 2008, hackers infiltrated the company’s computer systems and accessed 45.5 million debit card numbers, certain of which they used to fraudulently withdraw over $9.4 million from 2,100 ATMs in 280 cities around the world in less than 12 hours.
Fifty-five individuals were charged in four separate indictments in Operation Open Market, which targeted the Carder.su organization. To date, 33 individuals have been convicted and the rest are either fugitives or are pending trial.
The cases were investigated by HSI, the U.S. Secret Service, and FBI. The Nevada case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Catherine K. Dick of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly M. Frayn of the District of Nevada. The Northern District of Georgia case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kamal Ghali of the Northern District of Georgia.
Seleznev is also a defendant in a wire fraud and computer hacking case brought by the Department of Justice in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. On Aug. 25, 2016, a federal jury convicted Seleznev of 38 counts related to his role in a scheme to hack into point-of-sale computers to steal and sell credit card numbers to the criminal underworld. On April 21, Seleznev was sentenced to 27 years in prison for those crimes, which will run concurrent to his sentences today.
Former Employee of U.S. Government contractor in Afghanistan sentenced to prison for accepting $250,000 in kickbacks from subcontractorRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - A former employee of a U.S. government contractor in Afghanistan was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for accepting over $250,000 in illegal kickbacks from an Afghan subcontractor in return for his assistance in obtaining subcontracts on U.S. government contracts.
U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak of the Northern District of Georgia, Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge John Khin of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Southeast Field Office- Atlanta Resident Agency, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko and Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit (MPFU) made the announcement.
Nebraska McAlpine, 57, of Smyrna, Georgia, was sentenced in Atlanta by U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen of the Northern District of Georgia. McAlpine previously pleaded guilty to a one-count Information charging him with one count of accepting illegal kickbacks. The defendant’s prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release and 100 hours of community service.
As part of his guilty plea, McAlpine admitted that while he was employed as a project manager for an American defense contractor (the Prime Contractor) in Kabul, Afghanistan, he and an Afghan executive agreed that in exchange for illicit kickbacks, McAlpine would ensure that the Prime Contractor awarded lucrative subcontracts to the executive’s companies. McAlpine admitted that he repeatedly told his supervisors that these companies should be awarded “sole source” subcontracts, which allowed them to supply services to the Prime Contractor without having to competitively bid on them. As a result of the kickback scheme, the Prime Contractor paid over $1.6 million to the subcontractor to assist with maintaining the Afghanistan Ministry of the Interior Ultra-High Frequency radio communications system in Kabul, McAlpine admitted.
McAlpine further admitted that the executive agreed to pay kickbacks to McAlpine totaling approximately 15 percent of the value of the subcontracts, and that in 2015 and 2016, he accepted over $250,000 in kickbacks from the executive. McAlpine also admitted that he hid the kickbacks from his employer by storing the cash payments in his personal effects and by physically transporting the cash to the United States. McAlpine then deposited the majority of these funds into his bank accounts at bank branches in the Atlanta metropolitan area, he admitted.
DCIS, SIGAR and Army CID-MPFU investigated the case. Trial Attorney Daniel Butler of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Krepp of the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case.
Former Employee of U.S. Government Contractor in Afghanistan Sentenced to Prison for Accepting $250,000 in Kickbacks from SubcontractorRead the Press Release
A former employee of a U.S. government contractor in Afghanistan was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for accepting over $250,000 in illegal kickbacks from an Afghan subcontractor in return for his assistance in obtaining subcontracts on U.S. government contracts.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak of the Northern District of Georgia, Special Agent in Charge John Khin of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Southeast Field Office- Atlanta Resident Agency, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko and Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit (MPFU) made the announcement.
Nebraska McAlpine, 57, of Smyrna, Georgia, was sentenced in Atlanta by U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen of the Northern District of Georgia. McAlpine previously pleaded guilty to a one-count Information charging him with one count of accepting illegal kickbacks. The defendant’s prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release and 100 hours of community service.
As part of his guilty plea, McAlpine admitted that while he was employed as a project manager for an American defense contractor (the Prime Contractor) in Kabul, Afghanistan, he and an Afghan executive agreed that in exchange for illicit kickbacks, McAlpine would ensure that the Prime Contractor awarded lucrative subcontracts to the executive’s companies. McAlpine admitted that he repeatedly told his supervisors that these companies should be awarded “sole source” subcontracts, which allowed them to supply services to the Prime Contractor without having to competitively bid on them. As a result of the kickback scheme, the Prime Contractor paid over $1.6 million to the subcontractor to assist with maintaining the Afghanistan Ministry of the Interior Ultra-High Frequency radio communications system in Kabul, McAlpine admitted.
McAlpine further admitted that the executive agreed to pay kickbacks to McAlpine totaling approximately 15 percent of the value of the subcontracts, and that in 2015 and 2016, he accepted over $250,000 in kickbacks from the executive. McAlpine also admitted that he hid the kickbacks from his employer by storing the cash payments in his personal effects and by physically transporting the cash to the United States. McAlpine then deposited the majority of these funds into his bank accounts at bank branches in the Atlanta metropolitan area, he admitted.
DCIS, SIGAR and Army CID-MPFU investigated the case. Trial Attorney Daniel Butler of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Krepp of the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case.
Former jail Sergeant pleads guilty to abusing inmate at DeKalb County JailRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Former DeKalb County corrections officer Dwight Hamilton has pleaded guilty to abusing a female inmate by tasing her without justification. Leonard Dreyer, Hamilton’s former supervisor at the jail, previously pleaded guilty to attempting to obstruct the federal investigation into Hamilton’s use of excessive force by making false statements to the FBI.
“Officers who have sworn to maintain security and protect the inmates inside our county jails have a difficult job but despite challenges, most do their work in a professional manner,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “However, Hamilton ignored that oath and unlawfully punished an inmate by inflicting severe pain and causing a permanent injury. Hamilton’s conduct was clearly a violation of the inmate’s constitutional rights that warranted this criminal prosecution.”
“Any correctional officer who violates an individual’s right to due process and protection from unreasonable force will be held accountable under the law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work to ensure that the civil rights of all individuals will be protected.”
“This guilty plea in federal court will clearly begin the process of holding former Dekalb County Corrections Officer Hamilton responsible for his criminal conduct involving the tasing of a female inmate. The FBI continues to play a significant role in investigating credible allegations of law enforcement misconduct, to include those occurring within a correctional facility, and presenting them, when appropriate, for federal prosecution as was the case with Mr. Hamilton,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Dwight Hamilton worked as a sergeant at the DeKalb County Jail, and on November 1, 2011, he responded to the medical floor of the jail when a female inmate, T.P., asked to speak to a supervisor because her family visitation had been unexpectedly cancelled. Rather than explain the situation, Hamilton tased T.P. until she defecated on herself.
Hamilton, who had been trained on proper taser usage, admitted he knew that what he was doing was wrong and continued anyway. As a result of the tasing, Inmate T. P. suffered permanent taser burns to her breast.
Sentencing for Dwight Hamilton, 53, of Atlanta, Georgia, will be February 8, 2018, before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy C. Batten.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Alan Gray and Trial Attorney Christopher Perras of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Former Federal Penitentiary Lieutenant pleads guilty to abusing inmate and attempting to cover it upRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Gregory McLeod, a former correctional officer with the rank of lieutenant at the U. S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, has pleaded guilty to abusing an inmate by punching him in his face without justification. McLeod also admitted that he intentionally obstructed a federal investigation into the matter by writing a false incident report.
“Working in a correctional facility is stressful and often dangerous work,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “However, McLeod made an unnecessary and unconstitutional assault on an inmate, and then filed a false report to cover it up. An abuse of the power by any law enforcement officer is unacceptable.”
“A correctional officer should never resort to violence or violate an inmate’s constitutional right to protection from unreasonable force, no matter the circumstance,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will not tolerate any abuse of an individual’s civil rights under the law, or any effort to obstruct justice.”
“No correctional officer is above the law,” stated James F. Boyersmith, Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) Miami Field Office. “The DOJ OIG takes allegations of civil rights violations and false statements very seriously. We appreciate the diligent efforts of our fellow law enforcement partners that assisted us in investigating this matter.”
“This guilty plea of former U.S. Bureau of Prisons Lieutenant McLeod was triggered by key and credible allegations of inmate abuse by prison staff. While the FBI would like to remind the public that the vast majority of those working within our nation’s correctional facilities consistently conduct themselves admirably under often harsh conditions, the FBI does have a duty to investigate and present for prosecution those corrections officers or staff members who abuse their authority and positions,” David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: McLeod, who worked as a supervisor at the prison, strip-searched an inmate in the McLeod’s office in front of three other correctional officers. McLeod admitted that after the inmate complained that the strip-search was taking too long, he punched the inmate in his face without justification. McLeod also admitted that after the assault, he wrote an incident report and a separate memorandum about the encounter in which he falsely claimed that the inmate swung a closed fist at him and attempted to assault other officers before the inmate was restrained.
Sentencing for Gregory McLeod, 44, of Atlanta, Georgia, will be on February 20, 2018, before U.S. District Court Judge Steve C. Jones.
This case is being investigated by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Alan Gray and Trial Attorney Mary J. Hahn of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga
Illegal immigrant charged with kidnapping minor and bringing her to Georgia for sexRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Andres Castaneda-Guzman has been arraigned on charges for taking a 14-year-old girl against her will from Texas to Stockbridge, Georgia, and allegedly engaging in unlawful sexual activity. Castaneda-Guzman, who is in the United States illegally, lived in Jonesboro, Georgia, until August 2017, when he moved to Terrell, Texas. He was indicted on November 14, 2017.
“This kidnapping and sexual assault of a minor is stunning,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Prosecuting violent crime, including child exploitation, is an important priority for the Department of Justice. We are fully engaged in combatting child exploitation and will prosecute anyone who believes they can pursues this vile practice.”
“Child exploitation in any form is dreadful, but the kidnapping a child for sexual purposes is an atrocity of the worst kind,” said ICE HSI Atlanta Acting Special Agent in Charge Gregory Wiest. “HSI will continue to prioritize child exploitation investigations and utilize all that we bear to bring those accused to justice”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other information presented in court: On the evening of September 3, 2017, in Terrell, Castaneda-Guzman allegedly persuaded the minor female to get into his vehicle. He then drove her Georgia, where he eventually took her to a hotel in Stockbridge and allegedly forced her to have sexual intercourse with him. The girl was recovered after Castaneda-Guzman’s former in-laws in Jonesboro notified him that Clayton County law enforcement officers were seeking her return.
The indictment alleges that Andres Castaneda-Guzman, 24, formerly of Jonesboro, Georgia, now of Terrell, Texas, kidnapped a minor and transported a minor across state lines for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual activity.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Traynor is prosecuting the case.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Multiple guilty pleas expose ability of drug cartels to launder drug proceeds through money remittersRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – The last of nine Atlanta-based defendants charged with laundering drug money to Mexico through metro-Atlanta area money remitters has pleaded guilty, concluding a three-year long federal investigation targeting professional money launderers that exposed the ability of drug cartels to launder their illicit proceeds through money remittance companies.
“This investigation revealed how drug cartels use remittance companies to fuel their criminal enterprises,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Money remitters have strict rules to follow. When employees make a decision to ignore those rules, both the employee and money remitter businesses can face prosecution.”
“This case demonstrates the commitment of HSI and our law enforcement partners to dismantle and bring to justice those involved with trying to circumvent our financial laws and help launder illegal drug proceeds,” said ICE HSI Atlanta Acting Special Gregory Wiest.
“Drug Cartels are constantly looking for conduits like money service businesses to launder their illicit drug proceeds back to Mexico. We work to dismantle drug organizations by cutting off the money flow back to Mexico, this makes it harder for the drug cartels to operate,” said James Dorsey, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to target these money laundering experts by working jointly with our law enforcement partners.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: In 2014, federal law enforcement agents began investigating individuals in the metro-Atlanta area that were suspected of laundering drug proceeds to Mexico. Federal agents utilized cooperating sources to infiltrate these individuals’ networks and determined that the money launderers were frequently using small businesses to send drug proceeds to Mexico. These small businesses offered “money remittance services,” which allow customers to wire funds to individuals in other countries without using traditional bank accounts.
Investigators determined that managers and employees of a number of metro-Atlanta remitters were knowingly helping the money launderers send drug proceeds to Mexico. During the course of this investigation, cooperating sources and an undercover law enforcement officer brought drug proceeds or money that was represented as coming from drug sales to different remitters. In exchange for a kickback, managers and employees of nine different remitters agreed to launder the funds to Mexico by breaking the transactions into smaller amounts and by listing fake sender names, addresses, and telephone numbers. The investigation revealed that nine metro-Atlanta remitters transmitted more than $40 million over a roughly four-year timeframe. The resulting guilty pleas in this case made clear that the bulk of this money came from the sale of illegal narcotics.
Several of the defendants who pleaded guilty actually served as the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (“BSA/AML”) compliance officers for their respective stores and were responsible for detecting and reporting these types of illicit financial transactions. Instead, these defendants used their anti-money laundering training to help the drug proceeds flow to Mexico undetected.
The recorded undercover transactions that took place during the operation exposed how willing many remitters were to help their customers secretly send drug proceeds to Mexico. One defendant, who served as a store manager and BSA/AML compliance officer, even gave an undercover officer tips on where to sell drugs in Atlanta. Another defendant, who also served as a store manager and BSA/AML compliance officer, offered to provide a cooperating source help on obtaining fake identifications so that drug proceeds could be transmitted to Mexico undetected.
The following individuals have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering and are awaiting sentencing:
- Oscar Gustavo Perez-Bernal, 35, of Atlanta, Georgia, was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at La Tienda and Cocina Linda Vista, which were both located in Chamblee, Georgia.
- Itzayana Guadalupe Perez-Bernal, a/k/a Lupe, 24, of Norcross, Georgia, was an employee at La Tienda.
- Norma Dominguez, 57, of Atlanta, Georgia, was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at La Veracruzana, which was located in Chamblee, Georgia.
- Norma Carrera, 39, of Atlanta, Georgia, was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at Hilos y Estambres Teresita, which was located in Chamblee, Georgia.
- Victor Perez, 31, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at Intercargo, which had offices in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and Marietta, Georgia.
- Merli Sandy Tejeda-Bermudez, a/k/a Jorhley Adadlay-Bermudez, 30, of Duluth, Georgia, was the manager and BSA/compliance officer at Mundo Cargo and RR Latinas, which were both located in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
- Daniel Castaneda-Garcia, 32, of Atlanta, Georgia, was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at Taqueria el Dany, which was located in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
- Lidia Pineda-Altamarino, a/k/a Lily, 33, of Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Additionally, Susan Fiorella Ayala-Chavez, a/k/a Pitus, 30, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering and has been sentenced to three years, one month in federal prison. Ayala-Chavez was an employee at the Rainforest Chevron gas station in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department, Georgia State Patrol, and Powder Springs Police Department provided valuable assistance throughout the course of the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas J. Krepp and Alison B. Prout are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section provided significant assistance.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
- Oscar Gustavo Perez-Bernal, 35, of Atlanta, Georgia, was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at La Tienda and Cocina Linda Vista, which were both located in Chamblee, Georgia.
Two men sentenced for thefts targeting Southwire Copper Company in Carrollton, GeorgiaRead the Press Release
ROME, Ga. - Yosvani Castillo and Rodolfo Arteaga Oliva have been sentenced after pleading guilty to hijacking truckloads of valuable copper wire and other copper products. The Southwire Copper Company, based in Carrollton, Georgia, was one of the pair's primary targets.
“Interstate cargo theft is an extremely serious offense that strains the local economy,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “These thieves went out of their way to avoid detection and brazenly stole whole trucks filled with copper products. The financial impact not only affected customers all over the country who buy these products, but they impacted the employees and communities where these companies operate.”
“This conviction demonstrates the great work of law enforcement at all levels to investigate and prosecute major cargo theft affecting Georgia and our surrounding states. The GBI remains committed to working with our local and federal partners to address these types of crimes,” said Vernon Keenan, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: On several occasions, defendants Castillo and Oliva drove up from Miami to Carrollton, and conducted surveillance on tractor-trailers as they left the Southwire facility to deliver copper products to customers across the country. In addition to Southwire, the defendants also targeted truckloads leaving the Hussey Copper company in Pennsylvania.
The defendants followed the unsuspecting truck until the driver pulled over for a stop, often after hundreds of miles of driving. They would then steal the entire truck and trailer, sometimes transferring the copper into a different trailer they brought with them to avoid detection, and drove the load back to Miami where Castillo arranged to sell the copper for below-market value to a metal recycler.
After stealing the trucks, they removed Global Positioning System (“GPS”) trackers from the trucks and installed “jammers,” which are illegal signal-blocking devices that prevent any tracking of GPS devices or cellular phones. The victims, which include not only Southwire and Hussey, but also the transportation companies whose trucks were stolen, sustained over $1.3 million in losses.
Rodolfo Arteaga Oliva, 40, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced by Judge Harold Murphy to four years, nine months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Yosvani Castillo, 38, also of Miami, Florida, was sentenced on May 10, 2017 to five years, three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Oliva and Castillo were ordered to pay restitution, jointly and severally, in the amount of $1,107,575.58. Castillo is separately responsible for paying an additional $276,142.68 in restitution.
This case was investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, with substantial assistance provided by Miami-Dade Police Cargo Theft Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynsey M. Barron prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga
Gunman sentenced to 32 years in prison for serial commercial robbery spreeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Deanthony Foster has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for participating in armed robberies of seven commercial businesses in the Atlanta area, including Wal-Mart Stores and Citgo Stores. Foster carried a gun in all of the robberies, pointed the gun at employees, and actually shot into the floor at one of the Wal-Mart robberies while demanding money. He coordinated with other individuals who acted as lookouts by cell phone.
“Foster cared nothing for people or their safety while he sought to enrich himself at the end of a gun,” said U. S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “He seriously injured one individual and terrorized many others, including employees and members of the public by displaying a firearm, and in one instance, discharging a firearm. His sentence is lengthy and reflective of the seriousness of his crime.”
“Mr. Foster was responsible for a violent crime spree where others were seriously hurt. As a result of much hard work by many law enforcement agencies working together with federal prosecutors, this sentencing in federal court to a lengthy prison sentence will not only hold him accountable but will make our community a safer place for all,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: From May 15, 2015 to October 26, 2015, Deanthony Foster and others carried out a series of armed robberies before they were identified by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. Six of the robberies targeted Wal-Mart Stores. The defendants researched the locations of the stores in Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Cobb Counties, and then conducted surveillance before and during the robberies. They communicated by cell phone before and after each robbery, always with one or two of them acting as getaway drivers waiting in the parking lot. The lookouts were captured on in-store videos while talking on their cell phones and casing the stores.
In each robbery, Foster, also captured on video, entered the stores wearing a surgical mask, with a gun in his hand, and demanded money from employees who were emptying cash registers. In the last robbery of this series, Foster discharged his gun into the floor near the employees when they did not immediately meet his demands for money.
After the indictment, law enforcement agents found that the defendant had participated in another commercial robbery in Cobb County where he shot an employee in the leg when the victim struggled with him.
Deanthony Foster, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been sentenced to 32 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $24,791.00, and a special assessment of $200. Foster was convicted on these charges on August 11, 2017, after he pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Police Departments of Cobb County, DeKalb County, Gwinnett County, Hapeville, Roswell, Riverdale, Dunwoody, and the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine M. Hoffer and Jessica C. Morris prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Four charged in multi-state health care fraud conspiracyRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Matthew Harrell, Nikki Richardson, Tomeka Howard and Andrea Barrett have been indicted on multiple counts of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and aggravated identify theft related to fraudulent claims filed with the Georgia, Florida and Louisiana Medicaid programs.
“Through their scheme, the defendants are alleged to have fraudulently billed over $3 million to Medicaid,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Their greed knew no bounds of decency, as they left a number of victims in their wake.”
“The FBI continues to play a key and critical role in protecting federally funded health care based programs, to include Medicaid and Medicare, from those individuals who would, through fraud, attempt to divert those funds to their own accounts and away from those who desperately need the services that they provide. The federal investigation and resulting federal indictments of these four defendants illustrates not only the problems of healthcare fraud but the aggressive efforts underway by law enforcement to combat it,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
“The defendants allegedly ripped off programs meant to provide critical mental health services for children and adults. This type of criminal behavior will not be tolerated,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge for HHS OIG. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to uncover these fraudulent schemes and bring criminals to justice.”
“The Medicaid Program is not an endless source of money, and those who victimize the program take valuable resources away from the people that need them,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “The Georgia Attorney General's Office will continue to collaborate with our federal and state partners to investigate these kinds of egregious cases.”
“This multi-millon dollar Medicaid scheme spanned several states and involved the stolen identities of medical professionals and children—but through coordinated investigative efforts with our federal partners and Medicaid Fraud Control Units in Georgia and Tennessee this scheme was thwarted and arrests have been made,” said Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Medicaid fraud essentially steals from our taxpayers and we will not tolerate anyone manipulating the program to get rich.”
“Medicaid welfare fraud steals money from the taxpayers and jeopardizes care for the needy,” said Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. “We are grateful to have law enforcement partners throughout the country who are committed to investigating, arresting, and prosecuting criminals who defraud our State and its people.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: The defendants owned or worked with companies that purportedly provided mental health counseling and treatment to children and adults. These companies included, Revive Athletics, Inc., R.A. Florida, Inc., Jode Counseling Treatment and Training Services, LLC, 118 Management and Consulting, Inc., A Brighter Day, LLC, and Lillie Cares Health Services, LLC. These companies billed over $3.7 million in Medicaid claims, and received approximately $2.5 million based on the fraud.
According to the indictment, the defendants stole the identities of mental health service providers, including a psychologist and licensed clinical social workers, in Georgia and Florida. The defendants’ companies then used the stolen identities to submit fraudulent Medicaid claims seeking payment for mental health services that were never provided. The defendants attempted to conceal the fraud scheme by directing employees and contractors to create fraudulent documentation and forge provider signatures to support the fraudulent billing.
Matthew Harrell, 42, of Atlanta, Georgia, Nikki Richardson, 42, of Fairburn, Ga., Tomeka Howard, 42, of Decatur, Georgia, and Andrea Barrett, 42, of Virginia Beach, Virginia were indicted on November 7, 2017.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
The case is being investigated by the Georgia State Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Medicaid Fraud Control Units for Florida and Louisiana. Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Brown and Georgia Assistant Attorney General Robin Daitch are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.