Northern District of Georgia
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Idaho Man Pleads Guilty to Hacking Computers of the City of Newnan and a Griffin Medical ClinicRead the Press Release
NEWNAN, Ga. - Robert Purbeck, also known as “Lifelock,” and “Studmaster,” who hacked into the computer servers of the City of Newnan and a Griffin medical clinic, and then targeted at least 17 other victims across the United States – in the process stealing personal information of more than 132,000 individuals – has pleaded guilty today to federal charges of computer fraud and abuse.
“Purbeck breached computer systems in our district and across the country, stole vast amounts of personal information, and aggravated his crimes by weaponizing sensitive data in an egregious attempt to extort his victims,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Cyber-attacks on health care facilities and local governments pose a grave risk to the security of personal information. Our office is committed to tirelessly coordinating with our law enforcement partners to help safeguard the sensitive information of citizens by combatting cybercrime threats from within and outside this district.”
“FBI Atlanta continues to be unrelenting in bringing cybercriminals to justice and determined to defeat and disrupt campaigns targeting critical infrastructure,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Keri Farley. “Helping victims of crime is the FBI’s highest priority. The FBI will continue to aggressively pursue these criminal actors wherever they attempt to hide and ensure they are held accountable under the law.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: in June 2017, Purbeck purchased access to the computer server of a Griffin, Georgia medical clinic on a darknet marketplace. He then used the stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access into computers of the medical clinic and stole medical records and other documents, which contained sensitive personal information of over 43,000 individuals, including names, addresses, birthdates, and social security numbers.
Subsequently, in February 2018, Purbeck purchased access to a City of Newnan, Georgia Police Department server on a darknet marketplace. Purbeck then used these stolen credentials to hack into the city’s computer systems and steal records consisting of police reports and documents, which included personal information of more than 14,000 people.
On August 31, 2019, as part of an FBI investigation, agents executed a federal search warrant on Purbeck’s home in Meridian, Idaho. During the search, the FBI seized multiple computers and devices, which contained personal information of over 132,000 individuals obtained through numerous data breaches, including the City of Newnan, the Griffin medical clinic, and at least 17 other victims throughout the United States. As part of his plea agreement, Purbeck agreed to pay more than $1 million in restitution to these victims.
Sentencing for Purbeck, 44, of Meridian, Idaho, is scheduled for June 18, 2024, 2024, at 10:30 am before Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. in the United States Courthouse in Newnan, Georgia.
This case is being investigated by the FBI Atlanta Field Office, with valuable assistance provided by the FBI Boise, Idaho Resident Agency.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Herskowitz, Nathan Kitchens, Alex Sistla, and Nicholas Evert, and Trial Attorney Brian Mund of the U.S. Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho has also provided valuable assistance in this case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Atlanta Meat Market Owner Sentenced to Federal Prison in $10 Million Food Stamp Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Uttam Halder has been sentenced to federal prison for a $10 million scheme to purchase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from low-income recipients. After his arrest, Halder became a fugitive, fled to Mexico, and attempted to flee to Istanbul, where he was apprehended by foreign authorities with a counterfeit Mexican passport.
“The federal government trusted Halder to safeguard precious SNAP funds designed to alleviate hunger but he abused that trust to fuel his greed by profiting from a multimillion-dollar scheme to fraudulently redeem SNAP benefits,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Despite Halder’s attempt to flee, the coordinated response from multiple agencies and foreign law enforcement returned him to the United States to face justice for his crimes.”
“Today’s sentence serves not only as just punishment for this defendant but also as a notice to others who seek to prey on defrauding the taxpayer through SNAP,” said Miles Davis, Special Agent-in-Charge, USDA-Office of Inspector General. “Purchasing those benefits for cash and sharing Point-of-Sale terminals will be vigorously investigated. This collaborative effort with our state and federal partners demonstrates that wherever you are, we will find you and fully hold you accountable for the law.”
“Halder’s attempt to defraud the government and evade prosecution was thwarted due to the diligence of HSI and its law enforcement partners,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Atlanta Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Patrone, who oversees HSI operations in Georgia and Alabama. “For those contemplating similar crimes, HSI will tirelessly pursue those engaged in fraud schemes that violate the public trust.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Uttam Halder owned and operated a small meat market in Atlanta called Big Daddy’s Discount Meat (“Big Daddy’s”). Halder enrolled Big Daddy’s as a retailer for the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”) in 2014. SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is designed to alleviate hunger among low-income families by providing benefits on Electronic Benefit Transfer (“EBT”) cards that can be exchanged for eligible food items. USDA regulations state that SNAP benefits may not be purchased or sold in exchange for cash.
Between 2015 and 2020, Halder loaned his EBT terminals to two stores, Food World and Big Brother Mini Supermarket, contrary to SNAP rules. Co-conspirator Paltu Roy, the operator of Big Brother Mini Supermarket, and another co-conspirator who operated Food World, agreed to share profits with Halder from Big Daddy’s terminals used illegally at those stores. After receiving Big Daddy’s EBT terminals, both stores made cash payments to customers in return for redeeming their SNAP benefits at the rate of roughly 50 cents on the dollar. During this six-year period, Big Daddy’s terminals collected more than $10 million in fraudulent redemptions of SNAP benefits, and Halder shared a substantial portion of the profits.
Following his arrest in January 2021, Halder was released on bond. Contrary to his bond conditions, Halder fled and became a fugitive in late 2022. In June 2023, foreign authorities in Turkey located Halder when he attempted to enter Istanbul from Cancun, Mexico with a fake passport. Halder was returned to the United States and placed into custody.
Uttam Halder, 43, of Decatur, Georgia, has been sentenced to 68 months of incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $10,340,986. On September 19, 2023, Halder pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of failure to appear.
His co-conspirator, Paltu Roy, 51, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on December 9, 2021. Roy was sentenced on April 20, 2022, to three years and one month in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay $3,071,235 in restitution to the USDA.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General and Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan P. Kitchens prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Cincinnati Man Sentenced for Brandishing a Weapon on Frontier Airlines FlightRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - William Allen Liebisch, 43, of Cincinnati, Ohio, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for interfering with the performance of the duties of a flight crew. Liebisch carried a box cutter on an airplane en route to Tampa, Florida, and told a fellow passenger that he wanted to stab someone aboard the flight, causing the pilot to make an emergency landing in Atlanta.
“The flying public deserves to travel in peace without fear that a fellow passenger will create a violent disturbance,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Liebisch’s conduct created panic among the flight crew and his fellow travelers. His prosecution and sentence hopefully provide a message of deterrence to others.”
“We would like to thank the passengers who took action to prevent the violence Liebisch threatened in the air. No one should face harm while flying,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Keri Farley. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will do everything we can to prevent violence, intimidation, and threats of violence that endanger passenger and flight crew safety on commercial flights.”
“Safety is paramount to everyone aboard commercial aircraft, including flight crew at their workplace,” said Joseph Harris, Special Agent-in-Charge, Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Southern Region. “As illustrated by today’s sentencing, we will continue working diligently with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to hold accountable unruly passengers who disrupt airline operations.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charge and other information presented in court: on November 11, 2022, William Allen Liebisch arrived at the Cincinnati airport with a ticket for Frontier Airlines Flight 1761, which was traveling from Cincinnati to Tampa. Liebisch entered the TSA security checkpoint where TSA officers confiscated a box cutter within his possession that the officials mistakenly believed they had disabled by removing the blade.
But once the flight departed, Liebisch inserted a spare blade that was stored in the handle of the box cutter. A passenger saw Liebisch use the box cutter to clean his nails. Another passenger reported to flight attendants that Liebisch said that he was going to stab someone. This information was passed on to the captain and the other flight attendants. Because there were no law enforcement officers on the flight, one attendant asked two male passengers to assist in keeping Liebisch confined in his seat. One passenger stood in the back nearby while the other took the seat of the passenger who made the report to the flight attendants. Both men and a flight attendant tried to keep Liebisch calm and under control for the remainder of the flight.
In the meantime, the captain made the decision to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport, which was Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Once the plane landed, the passengers were instructed to deplane immediately and to leave their belongings on the plane. Atlanta Police Department (APD) officers had positioned themselves at the gate and, in effort to maintain calm, chose not to board the plane, but instead to wait for Liebisch to exit.
As the final remaining passengers neared the exit of the plane, Liebisch charged forward towards a flight attendant while wielding the box cutter. A passenger then tackled Liebisch from behind as the APD officers rushed on the plane to subdue and arrest him. Liebisch’s disturbance on the flight, his arrest, and TSA’s baggage re-inspection protocols forced Frontier Airlines to delay the flight to Tampa until the following morning, due to safety regulations that limit the number of hours a flight crew may be on duty in one day.
Liebisch has been sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Liebisch was convicted of the charge on December 14, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Transportation.
Assistant United States Attorney Paul R. Jones prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Cartersville Sex Offender Sentenced for Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ROME, Ga. - Jerry Joseph Southern, a convicted sex offender, was sentenced today to ten years of imprisonment for possessing thousands of digital images and videos depicting the rape and sexual abuse of children, including prepubescent minors under the age of 12.
“This office remains committed to working with our state and local partners to identify and prosecute individuals who commit heinous crimes against minors,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Southern’s sentence of imprisonment reflects the seriousness of his recidivist conduct and the need to prevent him from facilitating the exploitation of more children.”
“Stopping those like Southern that victimize children by viewing and sharing these horrific images of children is one of our highest priorities,” said Acting Special Agent in charge Anthony J. Patrone who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Thanks to the great work done by our agents, along with our state, local and federal partners, we were able to remove a serious threat from our community and we will continue to pursue those who commit these evil acts.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charge and other information presented in court: in July 2023, after receiving information that someone was using a cellular telephone associated with Southern to share videos and images of child sexual abuse, federal agents and local law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Southern’s Cartersville home. During the search, agents found a cellular phone that Southern had hidden in an air vent. A search of the device revealed that Southern received, collected, and distributed a vast quantity of child sex abuse materials.
In 2013, Southern had been convicted of multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a child in state court after he pleaded guilty to the offenses. He was placed on probation and required to register as a sex offender after serving a prison term. But he repeatedly violated the terms of his probation, resulting in additional terms of incarceration in 2014, 2019, and 2020.
Southern has been sentenced to ten years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $28,500.00. Southern pleaded guilty to possession of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct on December 19, 2023.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Murray County, Georgia Sheriff's Office and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Assistant United States Attorneys Calvin A. Leipold, III and Theodore S. Hertzberg 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) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Drug Traffickers Sentenced for Importing Fentanyl and Methamphetamine from Mexico to Metro-AtlantaRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Alba Ordoñez-Ordoñez has been sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to transport and distribute fentanyl disguised as oxycodone pills and methamphetamine, in Metro-Atlanta. Jose Guadalupe Canizales-Rivera was also sentenced for his role in assisting Ordoñez-Ordoñez with her methamphetamine operation.
“These sentences reflect the grave risks to public safety created by drug traffickers who disguise dangerous narcotics as legitimate medication,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “We are grateful to our federal and local law enforcement partners for their collaboration in helping to keep our communities safer from deadly drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine.”
“Together, we were able to prevent very dangerous drugs from reaching the streets. I’m proud to stand alongside our partner agencies as we work to stop these criminal enterprises that pollute our neighborhoods with their poison,” said Acting Special Agent in charge Anthony J. Patrone who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “HSI will continue to work with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to disrupt and dismantle these drug trafficking organizations and prevent them from flooding our communities with illicit drugs.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: on February 17, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Erlanger, Kentucky conducted a border search of a shipment bound for Georgia. The shipment, which contained an air conditioning unit, entered the United States from Mexico. The search revealed more than two kilograms of a white powder hidden inside the compressor of the air conditioner, which tested positive for methamphetamine.
Homeland Security Investigations special agents and task force officers in Atlanta made a controlled delivery of the drugs to the shipment’s intended destination, a residence in Norcross, Georgia. Alba Ordoñez-Ordoñez, who was accompanied by Jose Guadalupe Canizales-Rivera, arrived at the location and signed for the package. Ordoñez-Ordoñez and Canizales-Rivera were disassembling the air conditioner at the same time agents executed a search warrant at the residence. Inside the residence, agents discovered over 700 grams of crystal methamphetamine, a mailed package containing more than 4,000 pills with markings like oxycodone that actually contained lethal amounts of fentanyl, and drug trafficking paraphernalia.
Further investigation revealed that Ordoñez-Ordoñez had previously traveled to Texas to obtain and transport to her residence approximately 16 kilograms of methamphetamine. She then manufactured and crystalized this methamphetamine in her kitchen. During this process, she exposed her six-year-old daughter to the drug fumes, causing the child to become ill.Alba Ordoñez-Ordoñez, 43, of Honduras, was sentenced on March 12, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Steven C. Jones, to 138 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release.
Jose Guadalupe Canizales-Rivera, 33, of Mexico, was previously sentenced on August 9, 2022, to five years, three months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with invaluable assistance provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.Assistant U.S. Attorneys Calvin A. Leipold, III and Rebeca M. Ojeda prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the Atlanta Strike Force is to disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute the highest-level members of international drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations that have operations in metro Atlanta and throughout the United States.
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.
Disbarred Real Estate Attorney Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stealing Millions from ClientsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Matthew Allen Dickason, a disbarred attorney who was previously licensed to practice law in the State of Georgia, has been sentenced to federal prison for embezzling more than $3 million from his clients. Dickason used the money for personal purposes and created phony accounting records to cover up his theft.
“Dickason engaged in a long-running and shameful practice of abusing the trust placed in him by his clients and will now serve a prison sentence as a result of his crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “This office will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners to protect the public from attorneys who steal money from their clients.”
“As a lawyer, Dickason swore an oath to uphold the law and represent his clients with integrity. Instead, he violated their trust and defrauded innocent victims,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Hopefully, this sentence sends the message that the FBI will doggedly work to protect American citizens and the real estate market from predators who drag down our economy by deception for their own personal gain.”
“Closing attorneys serve a vital role for all real estate transactions in Georgia. They are entrusted with protecting their clients during the real estate transaction process. Dickason’s actions violated that trust and put many taxpayer-insured FHA mortgages at risk of default. HUD-OIG and our law enforcement partners consider this conduct egregious and hope that today’s sentence will deter anyone who contemplates engaging in this conduct,” said Tyrone Hardy, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Southeast Region.
“As a mortgage industry insider and attorney, Dickason had a fiduciary duty to his clients and the banks funding the mortgage transactions, but instead he illegally siphoned funds for himself and his mortgage-closing company,” said Edwin Bonano, Special Agent-in-Charge of FHFA-OIG’s Southeast Region. “Today, justice was served. We are proud to have worked alongside our partner agencies on this case to arrive at today’s conclusion.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Matthew Allen Dickason was an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Georgia and was the owner of Matthew A. Dickason, P.A., a law firm located in Atlanta, Georgia. Dickason specialized in real estate law and was responsible for overseeing hundreds of real estate sales transactions totaling tens of millions of dollars.
While employed as an attorney, Dickason knowingly devised and conducted a scheme to defraud and obtain money from clients under false pretenses. Specifically, Dickason misappropriated millions of dollars belonging to clients who trusted him to handle their real estate transactions. To conceal his scheme, Dickason took one client’s money and used it to pay his own or another client’s expenses. He used this deceptive practice again and again. This allowed the scheme to go undetected for years. Dickason also hid his fraud by causing false and misleading information to be entered into his law firm’s accounting system to make it appear that the firm had paid a client’s mortgage when, in fact, Dickason had used the money for fraudulent purposes.
Dickason, 48, formerly of Atlanta, Georgia, and now living in Wellington, Ohio, was sentenced to 27 months of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,005,159.19. Dickason was convicted on these charges on October 16, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Phillips prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Human Rights Violator Sentenced for Immigration Fraud and U.S. Citizenship RevokedRead the Press Release
A Georgia man was sentenced today to three years in prison for unlawfully obtaining U.S. citizenship by lying about his role in persecuting teenagers in Ethiopia in the 1970s for their political opinions.
According to court documents, Mezemr Abebe Belayneh, also known as Mezmur Amare Belayneh, 68, of Snellville, unlawfully obtained U.S. citizenship in 2008 by lying about and concealing that he persecuted and committed acts of violence against perceived political opponents during a period known as “the Red Terror” in Ethiopia. The Red Terror was a campaign of brutal violence in the late 1970s in which Ethiopia’s ruling military council and its supporters detained, interrogated, tortured, and executed civilians.
“Mezemr Belayneh violently beat political opponents in Ethiopia and lied about it to U.S. immigration authorities. Through this deception, he unlawfully entered this country and obtained U.S. citizenship,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Individuals who persecuted people in their home countries should take note: if you seek refuge unlawfully in the United States, we will investigate and prosecute you.”
During the Red Terror, Belayneh served as a civilian interrogator at a makeshift prison housed in a hotel known as Menafesha in Dilla, Ethiopia. According to witness testimony, Belayneh interrogated victims about their political beliefs, and directed and participated in severe beatings in which they were whipped or hit with sticks while imprisoned in Dilla. Belayneh concealed this conduct when he obtained a visa to enter the United States in 2001 and when he applied to become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2008.
“Belayneh obtained U.S. citizenship by concealing from immigration authorities the abuse he inflicted on teenagers in Ethiopia during the Red Terror in the late 1970s,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “We hope that today’s sentencing brings a measure of peace and closure to the defendant’s courageous victims — some of whom testified at trial — and sends a clear message to others that we will continue to investigate and prosecute human rights abusers who fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship.”
“When a person attempts to become a U.S. citizen under false pretenses, it jeopardizes our naturalization process and we will not stand idly by for war criminals and human rights violators to use our nation as a safe haven,” said Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Simply put, those who knowingly and willfully misrepresent themselves to obtain U.S. citizenship status will be held accountable for their deceitful actions.”
A federal jury convicted Belayneh in July 2023 of one count of procuring citizenship contrary to law and one count of procuring citizenship to which he was not entitled. In addition to his prison sentence, Belayneh’s U.S. citizenship was also revoked.
HSI Atlanta investigated the case, with coordination provided by the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC). Established in 2009, the HRVWCC furthers the government’s efforts to identify, locate, and prosecute human rights abusers in the United States, including those who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, female mutilation, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers.
Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tal C. Chaiken for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case, with assistance from HRSP Senior Historian Dr. Christopher Hayden. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance.
Members of the public who have information about former human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or its online tip form at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp.
Georgia Man Sentenced for Fraudulently Obtaining U.S. CitizenshipRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Mezemr Abebe Belayneh, also known as “Mezmur Amare Belayneh,” was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge William M. Ray, II, for fraudulently obtaining United States citizenship. Belayneh had unlawfully obtained U.S. citizenship by concealing his involvement in the “Red Terror,” a campaign of oppression and mass killings committed in Ethiopia that began in 1976.
“Mezemr Belayneh violently beat political opponents in Ethiopia and lied about it to U.S. immigration authorities. Through this deception, he unlawfully entered this country and obtained U.S. citizenship,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Individuals who persecuted people in their home countries should take note: if you seek refuge unlawfully in the United States, we will investigate and prosecute you.”
“Belayneh obtained U.S. citizenship by concealing from immigration authorities the abuse he inflicted on teenagers in Ethiopia during the Red Terror in the late 1970s,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “We hope that today’s sentencing brings a measure of peace and closure to the defendant’s courageous victims—some of whom testified at trial—and sends a clear message to others that we will continue to investigate and prosecute human rights abusers who fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship.”
“When a person attempts to become a U.S. citizen under false pretenses, it jeopardizes our naturalization process and we will not stand idly by for war criminals and human rights violators to use our nation as a safe haven,” said Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations. “Simply put, those who knowingly and willfully misrepresent themselves to obtain U.S. citizenship status will be held accountable for their deceitful actions.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Mezemr Abebe Belayneh unlawfully obtained U.S. citizenship in 2008 by concealing his persecution and acts of violence against political opponents during a period known as the Red Terror in Ethiopia. The Red Terror was a campaign of brutal violence in the late 1970s in which Ethiopia’s ruling military council and its supporters detained, interrogated, tortured, and executed thousands of perceived political opponents.
During the Red Terror, Belayneh served as a civilian interrogator at a makeshift prison known as Menafesha in the city of Dilla, Ethiopia. Belayneh detained teenage victims in a crowded prison for weeks and months, interrogated them about their political beliefs, and directed and participated in severe beatings in which they were whipped or hit with sticks. Belayneh also forced prisoners to physically fight one another for the prison guards’ amusement. Belayneh concealed that conduct when he obtained a visa to enter the United States in 2001 and when he became a U.S. citizen in 2008.
Belayneh, 67, of Snellville, Georgia, was sentenced to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. On July 26, 2023, Belayneh was convicted of two counts of unlawfully procuring citizenship, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1425(a), following a jury trial.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant United States Attorney Tal C. Chaiken and Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) prosecuted the case, with assistance from HRSP Senior Historian Dr. Christopher Hayden. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Georgia Laboratory Owner Pleads Guilty to Felony Charge and Agrees to Pay $14.3 Million to Resolve False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA, GA – Andrew “Drew” Maloney, 57, of Roswell, Georgia, has pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks. The guilty plea is part of a global settlement with the United States and several states in which Maloney and the clinical laboratory that he owned, Capstone Diagnostics, of Atlanta, Georgia, have also agreed to pay approximately $14.3 million to resolve allegations that they violated the Anti-Kickback Statute by paying volume-based commissions to independent contractor sales representatives to arrange for or recommend medically unnecessary urine drug tests and respiratory pathogen panels (RPPs). Maloney and Capstone have also agreed to cooperate with the Department of Justice’s investigations of other participants in the alleged schemes.
“The law prohibits health care providers, including laboratories, from paying kickbacks to third parties to generate business,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “As we have repeatedly witnessed, such payments can undermine the integrity of federal health care programs by inducing unnecessary services and other fraudulent practices.”
“Unfortunately, Capstone and Maloney are hardly alone, as we have witnessed some clinical laboratories and their owners across the country engage in unscrupulous kickback and billing schemes that caused incalculable harm to Medicare,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “We are committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting those who defraud valuable government programs designed to benefit our most vulnerable citizens. By simultaneously obtaining criminal and civil resolutions, as well as working with our partners from the Georgia Attorney General’s Office, this case demonstrates our office’s commitment to using all available tools to hold accountable those who seek to steal from federal health care programs.”
“To maintain public trust in the health care system, we must ensure patients and taxpayers that care provided by federally funded healthcare programs is dictated by clinical needs, not fiscal greed,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “To do that, the FBI and our partners are committed to combining resources and holding providers who bill the government for unnecessary services accountable.”
“Health care providers who cause the submission of Medicare and Medicaid claims for medically unnecessary services pose a significant risk to these programs and the patients who rely on them,” stated Special Agent in Charge Tamala E. Miles of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG works diligently with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable individuals who, to satisfy their own greed, exploit federal health care programs.”
“The citizens of our country place immense trust in the integrity of our federal health care programs, and with it, the ability to ensure adequate care for all,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Darrin K. Jones, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office. “Corruption in all forms undermines that trust, and we will work relentlessly with our investigative partners to pursue and hold accountable those who illegally profit from DoD healthcare programs.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: Between August 2017 and December 2018, Capstone entered into an arrangement with a program operating as Do It 4 the Hood (D4H), which held itself out as providing after school mentoring services to at-risk teenagers in Georgia. Once enrolled, participants were required to submit to frequent urine specimen collections for drug testing without regard to medical need or the history of the participant. Maloney was aware that the participants needed the tests to participate in the program and that many of these participants were covered by Medicaid. Capstone, with Maloney’s knowledge and approval, paid the operators of D4H a percentage of Medicaid reimbursements for samples submitted by the program, in violation of federal law. While the scheme was ongoing, Capstone submitted over $1 million in claims, causing Georgia Medicaid to pay out at least $400,000 in claims related to the fraudulent drug testing. In addition to Maloney’s guilty plea, four other individuals have pleaded guilty in connection with this fraudulent drug testing scheme:
- Dr. Duriel Gray, 45, of Cartersville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to receive health care kickbacks in the Northern District of Georgia. Gray is licensed to practice medicine in Georgia and was recruited to be the “medical director” for D4H in Georgia. D4H used Gray to provide a “standing order” under which Capstone could submit the fraudulent drug testing claims to Medicaid. Gray did not have a physician-patient relationship with the students, never examined any of them, and did not review or discuss the drug tests with any of the participating students. For his role in the scheme, Gray received approximately $30,000. On April 13, 2023, Gray was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $417,200.40 in restitution.
- Bree’Anna Harris, 32, of Phoenix, Arizona, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and money laundering in the Western District of North Carolina to charges filed in the Northern District of Georgia and Western District of North Carolina. Among other things, Harris incorporated an entity, BPolloni Consulting, LLC, which entered into a purported marketing agreement with Capstone. The arrangement between BPolloni and Capstone was used to receive and conceal the fraudulent kickback payments and distribute them to her coconspirators. On December 5, 2023, Harris was sentenced to 36 months of imprisonment for her role in the D4H scheme and related schemes in North Carolina and elsewhere.
- Glenn Pair, 36, of Stonecrest, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and money laundering in the Western District of North Carolina to charges filed in the Northern District of Georgia, Western District of North Carolina, and District of South Carolina. On July 27, 2022, Pair was sentenced to 70 months of imprisonment for his role in the D4H scheme and related schemes in North Carolina, South Carolina, and elsewhere.
- Rachel Sheats, 48, of Woodstock, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks in the Northern District of Georgia in January 2024. Sheats acted as Capstone’s chief operations officer during the relevant time and served as a key point person for D4H at Capstone. Sheats’ sentencing hearing remains pending.
Maloney and Capstone also entered into a civil settlement agreement under which they agreed to pay $14.3 million to the federal government, the State of Georgia, and several other states, to resolve claims arising from the submission of false claims to government health care programs. In addition to the allegations described above, the civil settlement resolves allegations that, between April 2020 and December 2021, Maloney and Capstone sought to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic by paying independent contractor sales representatives to recommend RPPs to senior communities interested only in COVID-19 tests. RPPs are an expensive panel that tests for many different respiratory pathogens, some of which are very rare, do not cause overlapping clinical syndromes, and are found only in specific patient populations. To generate orders, Capstone’s independent sales representatives completed test requisition forms for RPPs using forged signatures of physicians who had only ordered COVID tests and sham diagnosis codes that did not reflect the medical conditions of the senior community residents receiving the tests. Capstone subsequently billed federal health care programs for these medically unnecessary tests and paid its sales representatives a commission for each test. The federal share of the settlement is approximately $13.9 million and approximately $400,000 constitutes a recovery for state Medicaid programs.
The civil settlement resolves, in part, a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. The claims resolved by the civil agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of civil liability. As part of today’s resolution, whistleblower Jesse Allen will receive approximately $2.86 million. Mr. Allen worked as Capstone’s laboratory manager from April 2017 to January 2019.
Maloney’s sentencing is scheduled for May 29, 2024, before U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-OIG, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla and Georgia Deputy Attorney General Jim Mooney are prosecuting the criminal case. Assistant United States Attorney Neeli Ben-David, Deputy Director Paul R. Perkins, Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, DOJ-Fraud Section, and Senior Assistant Attorney General Richard Tangum, Georgia Medicaid Fraud Division are handling the civil case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mellori E. Lumpkin-Dawson also participated in the civil case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across the federal government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international actors committing civil and criminal fraud and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
One of the most powerful tools in combatting health care fraud is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 1-800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Defendant Sentenced for Violent Assault of FBI Special Agent and Distribution of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Cedrick Hill, 31, of Marietta, Ga., has been sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment for the violent assault of an FBI special agent and the sale of multiple kilos of methamphetamine. While trying to evade arrest, Hill drove a vehicle at high speed while the agent was trapped in the driver’s side door of the defendant’s truck, resulting in the agent’s hospitalization for two weeks and a lengthy recovery.
“Determined to escape at all costs, this defendant gravely injured an FBI special agent in the line of duty,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “No sentence can remedy the physical and emotional harm suffered by the agent because of Hill’s conduct, but hopefully this sentence will cause others to think twice before risking harm to law enforcement officers during the performance of their duties. This case is also an important reminder to the community of the risks faced by law enforcement officers daily and the respect and admiration they earn through exceptional acts of bravery taken to protect the public.”
“Anyone who assaults a law enforcement officer is dangerous and an extreme threat to public safety. Hill showed absolutely no regard for the life of our agent and caused him extreme harm. We are thankful that the agent has recovered, and Hill is finally being held accountable for his crimes,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “This case is an important reminder of the risks that our law enforcement officers face every day to keep our communities safe and the length we will go to remove violent offenders from our streets.”
According to United States Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: On October 12, 2017, Cedrick Hill was indicted by a federal grand jury in a 30-defendant indictment alleging various gang-related and drug offenses. Hill was specifically charged with supplying gang members with approximately six kilograms of methamphetamine over the course of two drug transactions. Hill initially avoided arrest by going into hiding, traveling to multiple states via bus and rental cars.
Later, after determining Hill’s location in the early morning hours of January 4, 2018, an FBI special agent encountered Hill in the foyer of a hotel in Sandy Springs, Georgia, and attempted to arrest him. Hill initially complied with the agents’ instructions to put his arms behind his back, but then suddenly began resisting as the agent began to handcuff him. Hill then ran through the lobby of the hotel, jumped over a counter, and bolted from the hotel with the agent in pursuit. As Hill ran to his truck and climbed into the driver’s seat, the agent followed and became lodged in the driver’s side door.
With the agent caught in the door, Hill drove through the parking lot at a high rate of speed, dragging the agent, crushing him at various points of impact in an attempt to shake the agent loose, and breaking the agent’s arm and femur. With his free hand, the agent managed to discharge his service weapon, striking Hill twice. But Hill continued to drive at a high rate of speed, exited the hotel parking lot, crossed Interstate 285, and turned down an access road. Eventually Hill stopped the vehicle, opened the door, and released the seriously injured agent onto the side of the road. The agent managed to call 911 and request medical care for Hill and himself.
The agent’s injuries were extensive, requiring two weeks of hospitalization, multiple surgeries, and 18 months of rehabilitation. He suffered permanent nerve damage in his arm, among other lasting injuries.
U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg sentenced Hill to 26 years in prison, to be followed by 60 months of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Russian National Pleads Guilty in Connection to over $150 Million Worth of International Transfers, while Additional Russian Nationals and their Company also Indicted as Part of a Continuing National Enforcement Operation by the Department of JusticeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Feliks Medvedev, who transferred more than $150 million of foreign currency through U.S. bank accounts in North Georgia, has pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. In addition, Alexey Chubarov, Lev Solyannikov, and KSK Group were indicted on February 13, 2024, for the offenses of conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and 39 counts of money laundering for their alleged respective roles related to Medvedev’s scheme. These prosecutions are a continuation of the Department of Justice’s prioritization of enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States, together with its global partners, imposed against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
“The Justice Department is more committed than ever to cutting off the flow of illegal funds that are fueling Putin’s war and to holding accountable those who continue to enable it,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “That is why today we are announcing several additional enforcement actions that the Justice Department has taken to bring prosecutions against and seize assets of sanctioned enablers of the Kremlin and Russian military.”
“Since the onset of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the Justice Department has used every tool in our arsenal – including our international partnerships – to target the criminal actors and activity propping up Vladimir Putin, his henchmen, and his illegal war,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Over the last two years, our Task Force KleptoCapture has restrained, seized, and obtained judgments to forfeit nearly $700 million in assets from Russian enablers and charged more than 70 individuals for violating international sanctions and export controls levied against Russia. The charges we announce today against oligarchs, facilitators, and money launderers are the next chapter: so long as Russia's aggression continues, so too will our resolve to hold its enablers accountable. We stand firmly with the people of Ukraine.”
“America’s financial institutions provide critical stability to our economic and national security. Thus, these corporations are rightly the envy of the world. They are not, however, a tool to be exploited for the illegal transfer and laundering of illicit Russian money,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “After fraudulently transferring and partly laundering over $150 million, Feliks Medvedev has pleaded guilty and will face severe consequences for his crimes. The indictment of others involved in his offenses demonstrates our resolve to pursue individuals in the Northern District of Georgia and across the world who seek to facilitate the illegal transfer of Russian money.”
“Medvedev’s guilty plea should serve as a stark warning to those who seek to undermine the security of American financial institutions, the FBI will uncover the truth and hold them accountable,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The indictment of his co-conspirators further demonstrates our steadfast commitment to safeguarding our national and economic security.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Medvedev is a Russian national residing in Buford, Georgia. Medvedev registered eight companies in Georgia that were used to illegally transmit over $150 million in more than 1,300 transactions. The companies were purportedly headquartered in Buford, Georgia, and Dacula, Georgia. The companies did not incur typical business expenses or maintain employees. A large majority of the money transferred into the accounts came from multiple overseas companies and was transferred generally within days to other foreign companies. The money was used, in part, to purchase over $65 million in gold bullion from the Singapore Precious Metals Exchange.
Relatedly, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment on February 13, 2024, alleging that Defendants Alexey Chubarov, Lev Solyannikov, and KSK Group conspired with Medvedev in the transfer of these funds and then laundered the illegal proceeds. KSK Group is a business consulting firm in Moscow. Chubarov and Solyannikov both worked for KSK Group, and Chubarov was identified as an expert on international structuring.
Chubarov and Solyannikov allegedly informed Medvedev about incoming wires. They then directed Medvedev concerning the outgoing transfers he should make, including the transfer of funds to the Singapore Precious Metals Exchange to purchase gold bullion.
On September 14, 2023, the United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Asset Control announced that Chubarov and KSK Group were added to the Specially Designated Nationals List of sanctioned entities under Executive Order 14024.
Medvedev’s sentencing is scheduled for May 7, 2024, at 10:00 a.m., before United States District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr.
Medvedev pleaded guilty in United States v. Feliks Medvedev, Criminal Case No. 1:22-CR-184. The new indictment is United States v. Alexey Chubarov, Lev Solyannikov, and KSK Group, Criminal Case No. 1:23-CR-53.
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 Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Huber, Norman L. Barnett, and Sekret T. Sneed are prosecuting the case.
This case was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2, 2022, and under the leadership of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all the Department’s tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine the collective actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Two Individuals Convicted for $11M COVID-19 Relief Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal jury in Atlanta convicted a Georgia man and woman yesterday for their roles in an over $11 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud scheme.
Teldrin Foster, 42, of Decatur, was convicted of bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured financial institution, and money laundering in connection with 14 loan applications.
Carla Jackson, 55, of Tucker, was convicted of two counts of money laundering in connection with laundering the proceeds of a PPP loan.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between April and August 2020, Foster and co-conspirators submitted, or assisted in the submission of, PPP loan applications on behalf of 14 businesses seeking loans of approximately $800,000 for each company. In the loan applications, the co-conspirators certified that each applicant business was in operation on Feb. 15, 2020, and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes or that it paid independent contractors; that the funds would be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or to make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments; and that the information provided in the application and in all supporting documents was true and accurate in all material respects. The co-conspirators reported that each business had approximately 60 employees and approximately $300,000 in average monthly payroll expenses. To support these payroll figures, each business’s loan application was accompanied by an IRS Form 941, which employers use to report payroll taxes. In reality, each Form 941 was fraudulent.
After the PPP loan proceeds were deposited into the businesses’ accounts, Jackson and others laundered certain of the funds through a series of transactions that were devised to disguise the origins of the funds and how the funds were spent.
The defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the wire fraud and money laundering charges and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on each of the bank fraud and false statement to a federally insured bank charges. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia, Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Atlanta Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) Eastern Region made the announcement.
The FBI, IRS-CI, and SBA-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Siji Moore of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tal Chaiken and Samir Kaushal for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Justice Department in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Paycheck Protection Program Fraud Defendants Convicted Following Jury TrialRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Teldrin Foster and Carla Jackson were found guilty by a jury for their roles in schemes to steal Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Foster was charged with 14 counts of wire fraud, six counts of bank fraud, 14 counts of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, six counts of making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution, and one count of money laundering. Jackson was charged with two counts of money laundering. After a seven-day trial, both defendants were convicted on all counts. Foster and Jackson were charged in a 16-defendant indictment containing 63 felony counts, alleging numerous conspiracies among defendants. This indictment is part of a wide-ranging investigation into PPP fund theft that has resulted in the convictions of 23 of 24 defendants charged during the investigation. A final defendant’s case remains pending.
“These defendants brazenly stole pandemic relief funds intended for struggling small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said United States Attorney Ryan K Buchanan. “This investigation has produced charges against 24 defendants and secured guilty verdicts by a jury of the only two defendants to proceed to trial thus far. This successful prosecution is the culmination of a comprehensive collaboration between multiple federal agencies and our office that demonstrates our collective commitment to comprehensively investigating and prosecuting criminals who stole pandemic relief funds.”
“Foster and Jackson’s actions affected every tax paying citizen in this country and took away from government funds that were intended to provide relief to small businesses and employees who desperately needed it during the pandemic,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “These convictions reiterate the message that the FBI and our federal partners remain vigilant prosecuting people who misuse government funds for their own personal greed.”
“IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our law enforcement partners will continue investigating and bring to justice those who committed fraud on the Paycheck Protection Program,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office.
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, a second superseding indictment, and other information presented in court: from April 2020 through August 2020, Teldrin Foster worked with co-defendant Darrell Thomas and others to fraudulently obtain at least 14 fraudulent loans. Each of the businesses obtained a PPP loan between $700,000 and $850,000, for a total of over $11.1 million. The loan applications certified that each applicant business was in operation on February 15, 2020 and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes or paid independent contractors; that the funds would be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments; and that the information provided in the applications and in all supporting documents and forms were true and accurate in all material respects.
The PPP loan applications reported that each business had between 59 and 69 employees and approximately $295,000 to $342,000 in average monthly payroll expenses. To support these payroll figures, each business’s loan application was accompanied by an Internal Revenue Service Form 941, which employers use to report payroll taxes, for each quarter of 2019 and by a bank statement or a spreadsheet reflecting payroll expenses. But none of the businesses had employees or payroll expenses. The Form 941s, bank statements, and W2 payroll spreadsheets had all been fabricated. Indeed, some of the supporting documents the businesses submitted were substantively identical, including identical Form 941s, identical bank statements, and W2 payroll spreadsheets where the reported figures were identical and only the purported employee names changed.
To conceal and launder the stolen funds, PPP funds were sometimes disguised by the defendants. Jackson acted as a money launderer, receiving more than $300,000 of the stolen PPP funds into her business’s bank account. The funds were transferred through two transactions, a check in the amount of $155,252.50 and a wire transfer in the amount of $179,985.72. The check falsely claimed that the funds were being provided to Jackson as consulting fees and daily business management, and the wire transfer paperwork falsely stated that the funds were for payroll services. In reality, Jackson was just trying to prevent the detection of funds obtained from the PPP program and seizure of those proceeds by federal law enforcement.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and the Small Business Administration-Office of the Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tal Chaiken, Samir Kaushal, and Nathan Kitchens of the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Siji Moore of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Metro-Atlanta Man Charged with Fraud and Money Laundering of COVID-19 Unemployment Funds and IRS Tax RefundsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Nnamdi Iheanacho has been indicted on federal charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering conspiracy, and concealment money laundering for stealing COVID-19 relief funds and federal tax refunds based on fraud and identity theft.
“Iheanacho allegedly defrauded government funds during the COVID-19 pandemic involving state unemployment insurance funds and tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “COVID-19 pandemic funds provided vital aid for citizens who qualified for them. Congress did not intend for individuals to illegally profit from the CARES Act program. The indictment alleges that Iheanacho compounded his fraudulent conduct by stealing the identities of others to perpetrate his schemes, including filing fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.”
“An important part of the mission of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud involving unemployment insurance programs. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate these types of allegations,” said Mathew Broadhurst, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Southeast Region.
“Iheanacho’s alleged criminal acts deprived the government of funding for its programs and possibly created financial instability for his victims of identity theft,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. "IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our law enforcement partners are diligently working to find those who show so much disregard to others in their pursuit of greed.”
“This defendant is charged with taking advantage of our nation during an unprecedented time of a pandemic and stealing money intended to help others who were struggling,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “We are proud to work with our partner agencies to investigate and stamp out these schemes.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act provided emergency assistance for individuals, families, and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act created a new temporary federal program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance that provided up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits and funding to states for administration of the program. An individual receiving these benefits might also receive a $600 weekly benefit in federal funds under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program if he or she was eligible for such compensation for the week claimed.
To fraudulently take advantage of the $600 weekly federal benefit, Nnamdi Iheanacho, 38, of Dacula, Georgia, allegedly applied online for unemployment insurance benefits for numerous individuals using stolen personal identifying information. Simultaneously, Iheanacho allegedly filed federal income tax returns using stolen identity information. He then allegedly laundered the proceeds of his fraud schemes.
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 Labor, Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Klapman is prosecuting the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Operator of Durable Medical Equipment Companies Sentenced in Healthcare Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Simon Orobor has been sentenced for conspiring to pay healthcare kickbacks payments for unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME), resulting in more than $20 million in claims to, and $13 million in payments from, Medicare.
“Telemedicine kickback schemes victimize elderly Medicare beneficiaries when they are most vulnerable,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Our office will continue to work closely with our federal partners to identify these deceitful practices, and to prosecute the criminals who employ these schemes at the expense of our citizens who rely on the Medicare program.”
“The FBI is determined to protect all tax paying citizens who are affected by these kickback schemes, especially those who need government assistance for their health care needs,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “This sentencing is a step in the right direction to support our overall goal of stopping deceitful medical operators who steal and put tremendous pressure on our federally subsidized health care programs.”
“This sentence sends a strong message that HHS-OIG will thoroughly investigate those who exploit Medicare patients and pay illegal kickbacks to prescribe medically unnecessary durable medical equipment for illegitimate financial gain. Our commitment to safeguarding the integrity of the Medicare and other federal healthcare programs remains unwavering,” said Tamala Miles, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”).
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Between at least June 2016 and February 2019, Simon Orobor owned and operated Devotion Medical Supply, Inc. (“Devotion”) and Durable Medical Supply, Inc. (“Durable”), which provided durable medical equipment such as knee, back, shoulder, and wrist braces. Orobor, though another entity called Digital Interventions, LLC, obtained access to thousands of Medicare beneficiaries by paying, on a weekly basis, kickbacks to Individual 1 and Company 1 in exchange for signed doctors’ orders for these braces. As part of the conspiracy, Medicare beneficiaries were contacted by call centers located in India, the Philippines, and elsewhere, which often obtained patient consent and sales through fraudulent means.
Orobor and Individual 1 disguised the nature and source of these kickbacks by designating the payments as marketing, entering into sham contracts, and generating or causing the generation of fraudulent invoices. In total, Orobor, through Devotion and Durable, used the doctors’ orders obtained through kickbacks to submit claims to Medicare in the approximate amount of $20,555,772 and received Medicare reimbursement in the approximate amount of $13,360,721.89.
Simon Orobor, 60, of Houston, Texas was sentenced to 30 months of incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Orobor was also ordered to pay $13,360,721.89 in restitution.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. O'Neal prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Florida Business Owners Sentenced in Durable Medical Equipment Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Brett Weiner and Valerie Desalvo have been sentenced on conspiracy charges for their role in buying and selling fraudulent doctors’ orders used to obtain over $1.5 million in fraudulent payments from Medicare.
“Thieves take advantage of telemedicine and use it as a platform to orchestrate their criminal schemes,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Our office is committed to prosecuting those who exploit our most vulnerable citizens and bilk the health care system in the name of personal greed.”
“Fraudulent schemes, such as what Weiner and DeSalvo participated in, corrupt medical decision making, drive up the cost of health care, and hurt every taxpayer in this country,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Hopefully this lengthy sentence will send the message that the FBI makes it a priority to end people from abusing government funded programs like Medicaid.”
“Health care providers who cause the submission of Medicare claims for medically unnecessary equipment pose a significant risk to these programs and the patients who rely on them,” stated Special Agent in Charge Tamala E. Miles of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG works diligently with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable individuals who, to satisfy their own greed, exploit federal health care programs.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Brett Weiner and Valerie Desalvo owned and operated Laboratory Marketing Services, LLC (“LMS”), a business in Boca Raton, Florida. LMS was in the business of, among other things, receiving kickback payments in exchange for patient “leads,” consisting of billable Medicare beneficiaries. Weiner and Desalvo received bribes from DME companies such as Medihealth Medical Solutions, LLC, located in Amory, Mississippi, and Liberty Medical DME, LLC, in Atlanta, Georgia, in exchange for the leads, which included, among other information, each Medicare beneficiary’s name, Medicare number, diagnoses, pain level, and primary care physician.
Through LMS, Weiner and Desalvo also bought and sold signed physicians’ orders from Nagaindra Srivastav and his company B2B Apps Solutions, LLC, in Tampa, Florida, which they sold to DME companies. A substantial portion of the doctors’ orders that Weiner and Desalvo purchased from Srivastav and B2B contained signatures or purported approvals of physicians or other health care providers whose names and professional identifying information were used without their true authorization and prior knowledge.
In total, Weiner and Desalvo, through LMS, caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare in the approximate amount of over $1,500,000, which generated approximately $715,000 in payment, for medical braces, including back, knee, and ankle braces, that were procured through the payment of illegal kickbacks and bribes and ineligible for Medicare reimbursement.
Brett Weiner, 61, of Boca Raton, Florida, and Valerie Desalvo, 58, of Boca Raton Florida, were each sentenced to three years, one month in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Weiner and Desalvo were also ordered to pay $715,435.03 in restitution.
The following defendants were previously sentenced as part of the same conspiracy:
- Nagaindra Srivastav, 59, of Tampa, Florida, was sentenced to serve nine years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $48,150,692.49 in restitution; and
- Brian Tisdale, 46, of Amory, Mississippi, was sentenced to serve three years, six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $4,675,093.80 in restitution.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. O’Neal prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Russian mobster extradited from Ukraine and sentenced in $9+ million fraud scheme involving exotic car leasing business catering to drug traffickers and othersRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Mani Chulpayev, the leader of a luxury car leasing scheme that operated in the Atlanta and Miami areas from 2009 to 2016, has been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $4.6 million in restitution. Chulpayev was arrested in October 2020 while hiding in Ukraine, using a fake identity, and working as a movie producer. His conviction marks the end of a multi-agency collaboration known as “Operation Riding Dirty,” which targeted a web of drug traffickers utilizing multiple, hard-to-trace cars, the fraudsters who laundered drug money for the traffickers and left banks and investors on the hook for millions of dollars of losses, and the corrupt government officials who facilitated and protected the traffickers.
“Chulpayev ran a sophisticated scheme that inflicted vast losses on banks and the individuals he recruited to assist his fraudulent scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Chulpayev then used the fruits of his fraud – a fleet of exotic cars – to enable drug traffickers to operate, evade detection, and launder their illicit proceeds. The disruption of his illegal network is the culmination of an unrelenting, coordinated, and comprehensive investigation by our agency partners.”
Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division stated, “Through hard work, this illegal drug distribution and money laundering network has been removed from our streets. This criminal enterprise had no regard for the potential impact of their actions.”
“This sentence punishes the defendant’s extensive criminal conduct and serves as a significant deterrent to others who would think about engaging in these types of illegal activities,” said Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Atlanta Division. “Postal Inspectors and our law enforcement partners are proud of the prosecutive results of this aggressive and extensive investigation to dismantle this criminal organization.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Chulpayev was born in the Soviet Union but moved to the United States with his family at the age of 12. By age 20, he acted as the lead money handler and scheme organizer for a Russian crime ring operating in Brooklyn and Queens, New York, and engaged in extortion, arson, kidnapping, human trafficking, and various frauds. Following a previous federal conviction and prison term, he moved to Atlanta, where he was soon arrested for operating a chop shop selling stolen cars with altered VINs and fraudulent titles. Following a second federal conviction and prison term, in 2009, he started a car leasing business in Atlanta catering to drug traffickers who used untraceable cash deposits to pay Chulpayev for cars registered in other people’s names. In 2012, Chulpayev expanded his operation to Miami with the help of coconspirators Paul Carruth, Lyle Stephen Livesay, and Kimberly Ann Reiss.
To create an inventory of these vehicles, Chulpayev and his associates recruited straw purchasers – people who would buy luxury cars in their names but had no intention of actually using the vehicles. The straw purchasers then gave the cars to Chulpayev to be leased to others, including to drug traffickers who used drug proceeds to pay Chulpayev for the pricey leases, and to high-profile clients connected to the music and sports industries. The straw purchasers bought the cars using bank loans and financed several luxury vehicles in a short period of time before the new loans appeared on their credit reports. Chulpayev and his associates gave the straw purchasers falsified documents, including fake paychecks, to use for the loan applications. Chulpayev initially made the loan payments for the straw purchasers. But when he stopped, his straw purchasers were left responsible for handling the payments. When the straw purchasers inevitably defaulted on the loans, Chulpayev left the banks to try to repossess the cars from the drug traffickers or to locate vehicles moved to other states, stolen, or exported to foreign countries. Chulpayev eventually orchestrated the purchase of more than 115 cars, including Bentleys, Aston Martins, Maseratis, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Porsches worth more than $9 million.
One of Chulpayev’s drug trafficking clients was Kevin Johnson, also known as “Webb,” who was the leader of a drug trafficking operation in the Atlanta area that moved packages of drugs through the mail and employed as a talent scout and booking agent for rap artists. Johnson leased several flashy cars for members of his drug trafficking operation. Following a federal wiretap investigation, Johnson and four of his associates were convicted of federal drug trafficking charges. In a spinoff investigation, 17 mail carriers and other employees of the U.S. Postal Service were convicted of collecting bribes to deliver packages of drugs through the mail.
Chulpayev also used relationships with corrupt law enforcement agents to advance and protect his scheme by helping him repossess cars, arrest competitors and enemies, and avoid arrest himself. He first gained the officers’ trust by feeding them information about his drug trafficker clients, but gradually curried their favor through bribes and other means. Robert Bentivegna was a Detective with the Dunwoody Police Department and a Task Force Officer with the U.S. Secret Service who received bribes from Chulpayev in the form of airline tickets, legal fees, and luxury cars for his children. In exchange, Bentivegna agreed to alert Chulpayev about any arrest warrants issued for him. Bentivegna was convicted of federal computer access crimes and sentenced to prison.
Mani Chulpayev, also known as “Mani Chilpayen,” and “Immanuel Cohen,” 46, of Kew Gardens, New York, was sentenced to ten years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $4,663,978.73. Chulpayev was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank and mail fraud on July 31, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.
The following defendants were previously convicted as part of Operation Riding Dirty:
- Lyle Stephen Livesay, 36, of Colbert, Georgia, was sentenced on July 15, 2021, to eight years, one month in prison (with credit for four years served on a prior conviction), followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $2,644,722.15, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
- Paul Alexander Carruth, 39, of Boynton Beach, Florida, was sentenced on November 28, 2018, to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $93,498.36, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering.
- Kimberly Ann Reiss, 38, of Miami Beach, Florida, was sentenced on July 15, 2021, to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $2,674,563.05, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
- Kevin Michael Johnson, 48, of Lilburn, Georgia, was sentenced on June 16, 2016, to six years, six months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances.
- Walter Ray Hamilton, 42, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced on November 2, 2016, to six years, three months in prison, followed by six years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances and maintaining a place for distributing drugs within 1,000 feet of a school.
- James Robert Jones, also known as “Sean Jones,” 50, of Dallas, Georgia, was sentenced on November 2, 2016, to five years, ten months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances.
- Jeorge Collier, 38, of Lithonia, Georgia, was sentenced on December 21, 2017, to five years, one month in prison, followed by seven years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
- Eric Swiney, 51, of Forest Park, Georgia, was sentenced on May 10, 2016, to five years, ten months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances.
- Robert Pasquale Bentivegna, 73, of Woodstock, Georgia, was sentenced on June 30, 2015, to two months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a fine of $1,500, after pleading guilty to unauthorized use of a computer.
Additionally, from February 13, 2018, to March 30, 2023, 17 U.S. Postal Service employees and one non-postal employee were convicted in four separate indictments and sentenced to a range of three to nine years of prison for bribery, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, attempt to distribute controlled substances, and unlawfully using the mail to distribute controlled substances.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with valuable assistance provided by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Marshals Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett L. Bradford prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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.
International cybercrime malware service dismantled by federal authorities: key malware sales and support actors in Malta and Nigeria charged in federal indictmentsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – As part of an international law enforcement effort, federal authorities seized internet domains that were used to sell computer malware used by cybercriminals to secretly access and steal data from victims’ computers. Federal authorities in Atlanta and Boston also unsealed indictments charging individuals in Malta and Nigeria, respectively, for their alleged involvement in selling the malware and supporting cybercriminals seeking to use the malware for malicious purposes.
“Daniel Meli will no longer escape accountability for his actions selling malware,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “This alleged cybercriminal facilitated the takeover and infection of computers worldwide. Our office was proud to partner with our federal and international counterparts to find Meli and bring him to justice. We will continue to diligently investigate and prosecute cybercrime in the Northern District of Georgia, and in all parts of the globe where our district is impacted.”
“Daniel Meli not only profited off this malicious malware but took the extra step to train others on how to use it.” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Cybercriminals may believe they are beyond the reach of the FBI, but this case proves anyone who helps or profits from criminal cyber activity will be brought to justice, no matter where they are located. Our goal is to protect victims and safeguard our country from these dangerous actors.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Federal authorities in Boston seized www.warzone.ws and three related domains, which together offered for sale the Warzone RAT malware – a sophisticated remote access trojan (RAT) capable of enabling cybercriminals to surreptitiously connect to victims’ computers for malicious purposes. According to the court documents authorizing the seizures, the Warzone RAT provided cybercriminals the ability to browse victim file systems, take screenshots, record keystrokes, steal victim usernames and passwords, and watch victims through their web cameras, all without the victims’ knowledge or permission.
Investigations by the FBI in Boston and Atlanta also led to two indictments against individuals involved in selling and supporting the Warzone RAT and other malware.
Daniel Meli, 27, of Zabbar, Malta, was arrested on Feb. 7 at the request of the United States, following a coordinated operation by the Malta Police Force and the Office of the Attorney General of Malta, with the support of the FBI and Justice Department. Meli made his initial appearance before a Magistrate Judge in Valletta, Malta. Meli was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia on Dec. 12, 2023, with four offenses, including causing unauthorized damage to protected computers, illegally selling and advertising an electronic interception device, and participating in a conspiracy to commit several computer intrusion offenses. According to the charging documents, since at least 2012, Meli offered malware products and services for sale to cybercriminals on online computer-hacking forums. Specifically, Meli allegedly assisted cybercriminals seeking to use RATs for malicious purposes and offered teaching tools for sale, including an eBook. Meli also allegedly sold both the Warzone RAT and, before that, malware known as the Pegasus RAT, which he sold through an online criminal organization called Skynet-Corporation. He also provided online customer support to purchasers of both RATs. The Northern District of Georgia is seeking Meli’s extradition to the United States.
Separately, Prince Onyeoziri Odinakachi, 31, of Nigeria, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Massachusetts on Jan. 30 with conspiracy to commit multiple computer intrusion offenses, including to obtain authorized access to protected computers to obtain information and causing unauthorized damage to protected computers. According to the charging documents, between June 2019 and no earlier than March 2023, Odinakachi provided online customer support to individuals who purchased and used the Warzone RAT malware. Law enforcement officers of the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arrested Odinakachi on Feb. 7.
The disruption of the Warzone RAT infrastructure was the product of a robust international law enforcement effort led by FBI special agents in Boston and Atlanta and coordinated with international partners in large part through Europol. According to court documents, in addition to discovering instances of the Warzone RAT being used to attack victim computers in Massachusetts, the FBI covertly purchased and analyzed the Warzone RAT malware, confirming its multiple malicious functions. Separately, law enforcement partners in Canada, Croatia, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania provided valuable assistance securing the servers hosting the Warzone RAT infrastructure.
The charges of conspiracy, obtaining authorized access to protected computers to obtain information, illegally selling an interception device, and illegally advertising an interception device each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of causing unauthorized damage to protected computers provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bethany L. Rupert and Michael Herskowitz for the Northern District of Georgia are handling the criminal prosecution of Meli. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James R. Drabick and Carol E. Head for the District of Massachusetts obtained the seizure warrants and Drabick is handling the criminal prosecution of Odinakachi.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance during the investigation. Federal authorities also wish to acknowledge the cooperation and assistance of the FBI Boston and Atlanta Field Offices, Malta Police Force; Office of the Attorney General of Malta; Malta Ministry for Justice; Australian Federal Police; Croatian Ministry of the Interior Criminal Police Directorate; Dutch National Police; Europol European Cybercrime Center; Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation; State Police Force of Saxony, Germany; Japan Ministry of Justice; Port Harcourt Zonal Command of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); Romanian National Police; and Royal Canadian Mounted Police for their valuable assistance.
Anyone who is a victim of a Warzone RAT computer intrusion is urged to report it to the FBI at https://wzvictims.ic3.gov.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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.
International Cybercrime Malware Service Dismantled by Federal Authorities: Key Malware Sales and Support Actors in Malta and Nigeria Charged in Federal IndictmentsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that, as part of an international law enforcement effort, federal authorities in Boston seized internet domains that were used to sell computer malware used by cybercriminals to secretly access and steal data from victims’ computers. Federal authorities in Atlanta and Boston also unsealed indictments charging individuals in Malta and Nigeria, respectively, for their alleged involvement in selling the malware and supporting cybercriminals seeking to use the malware for malicious purposes.
Federal authorities in Boston seized www.warzone.ws and three related domains, which together offered for sale the Warzone RAT malware — a sophisticated remote access trojan (RAT) capable of enabling cybercriminals to surreptitiously connect to victims’ computers for malicious purposes. According to court documents authorizing the seizures, the Warzone RAT provided cybercriminals the ability to browse victim file systems, take screenshots, record keystrokes, steal victim usernames and passwords, and watch victims through their web cameras, all without the victims’ knowledge or permission.
Investigations by the FBI Boston and Atlanta Field Offices also led to two indictments against individuals involved in selling and supporting the Warzone RAT and other malware.
Daniel Meli, 27, of Zabbar, Malta, was arrested on Feb. 7 at the request of the United States, following a coordinated operation by the Malta Police Force and the Office of the Attorney General of Malta, with the support of the FBI and Justice Department. Meli made his initial appearance before a Magistrate Judge in Valletta, Malta. Meli was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia on Dec. 12, 2023, for four offenses, including causing unauthorized damage to protected computers, illegally selling and advertising an electronic interception device, and participating in a conspiracy to commit several computer intrusion offenses. According to charging documents, since at least 2012, Meli offered malware products and services for sale to cybercriminals through online computer-hacking forums. Specifically, Meli allegedly assisted cybercriminals seeking to use RATs for malicious purposes and offered teaching tools for sale, including an eBook. Meli also allegedly sold both the Warzone RAT and, before that, malware known as the Pegasus RAT, which he sold through an online criminal organization called Skynet-Corporation. He also provided online customer support to purchasers of both RATs. The Northern District of Georgia is seeking Meli’s extradition to the United States.
Separately, Prince Onyeoziri Odinakachi, 31, of Nigeria, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Massachusetts on Jan. 30 for conspiracy to commit multiple computer intrusion offenses, including obtaining authorized access to protected computers to obtain information and causing unauthorized damage to protected computers. According to charging documents, between June 2019 and no earlier than March 2023, Odinakachi provided online customer support to individuals who purchased and used the Warzone RAT malware. Law enforcement officers of the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arrested Odinakachi on Feb. 7.
The disruption of the Warzone RAT infrastructure was the result of an international law enforcement effort led by FBI special agents in Boston and Atlanta and coordinated with international partners in large part through Europol. According to court documents, in addition to discovering instances of the Warzone RAT being used to attack victim computers in Massachusetts, the FBI covertly purchased and analyzed the Warzone RAT malware, confirming its multiple malicious functions. Separately, law enforcement partners in Canada, Croatia, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania provided valuable assistance securing the servers hosting the Warzone RAT infrastructure.
“Today’s actions targeting the Warzone RAT infrastructure and personnel are another example of our tenacious and unwavering commitment to dismantling the malware tools used by cybercriminals,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts. “We will turn over every stone to prevent cybercriminals from attacking the integrity of our computer networks, and we will root out those who support such cybercriminals so they will be held accountable. Those who sell malware and support cybercriminals using it should know that they cannot hide behind their keyboards or international borders.”
“Daniel Meli will no longer escape accountability for his actions selling malware,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “This alleged cybercriminal facilitated the takeover and infection of computers worldwide. Our office was proud to partner with our federal and international counterparts to find Meli and bring him to justice. We will continue to diligently investigate and prosecute cybercrime in the Northern District of Georgia, and in all parts of the globe where our district is impacted.”
“This action highlights the FBI’s commitment to disrupting cybercriminal actors and taking down their infrastructure,” said Assistant Director Brian Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “The FBI is proud of the international coordination involved in this law enforcement effort, and we will continue to build global partnerships to go after cybercriminals who seek to harm the American people.”
The charges of conspiracy, obtaining authorized access to protected computers to obtain information, illegally selling an interception device, and illegally advertising an interception device each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of causing unauthorized damage to protected computers provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys James R. Drabick and Carol E. Head for the District of Massachusetts obtained the seizure warrants, and Drabick is prosecuting Odinakachi. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bethany L. Rupert and Michael Herskowitz for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting Meli.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance during the investigation. Federal authorities also wish to acknowledge the cooperation and assistance of the FBI Boston and Atlanta Field Offices; Malta Police Force; Office of the Attorney General of Malta; Malta Ministry for Justice; Australian Federal Police; Croatian Ministry of the Interior Criminal Police Directorate; Dutch National Police; Europol European Cybercrime Center; Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation; State Police Force of Saxony, Germany; Japan Ministry of Justice; Port Harcourt Zonal Command of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); Romanian National Police; and Royal Canadian Mounted Police for their valuable assistance.
Anyone who is a victim of a Warzone RAT computer intrusion is urged to report it to the FBI at https://wzvictims.ic3.gov.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Warzone RAT splash page.
Former investment advisor sentenced for decade-long Ponzi schemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - John J. Woods has been sentenced to nearly eight years in federal prison for operating a 13-year Ponzi scheme that victimized more than 400 investors and caused a loss of over $49 million.
“Woods, while serving as a fiduciary, promised investors profitable returns but used the monies he raised from new investors to pay Ponzi profits to earlier investors,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Woods abused the trust of his victims, including retirees, seniors, and military veterans, who lost their life savings and retirement accounts due to his greed.”
“Illegal activity involving the investment industry, especially Ponzi schemes, has unfortunately brought financial ruin to many Americans,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. Hopefully this sentence sends the message that the FBI will not tolerate individuals who offer victims false promises and take advantage for their own personal benefit.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Woods operated a Ponzi scheme until being shut down by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2021. Woods solicited investors to invest in a fund called, “Horizon Private Equity.” Woods, and other investment adviser representatives acting under his direction, promised potential Horizon investors rates of return of six to seven percent on their investments. They represented that Horizon would earn a return by investing in, for example, government bonds, stocks, or small real estate projects. Woods, and others acting at his direction, also assured investors that Horizon investments carried minimal risk and were safe because Horizon maintained a diverse portfolio.
Contrary to these representations, the money received from new investors was not invested in a diverse portfolio; rather, funds collected from new investors was used largely to pay returns to previous investors. In fact, Horizon was able to pay guaranteed returns to investors only by raising and using new investor money. As a part of the scheme, Woods caused Horizon to issue monthly statements to investors that fraudulently misled investors by failing to disclose that the Horizon investments had not generated a positive percentage of return sufficient to cover the interest. Although Woods did not use the money to live a lavish lifestyle, he diverted investor funds to pet projects not approved by the investors, such as purchasing an interest in a baseball team in his name.
As of the end of July 2021, Horizon investors were owed more than $110,000,000 in principal investment amounts. Over 400 investors, residing in at least 20 different states, held investments in Horizon. Victims lost more than $49 million because of Woods’s scheme to defraud.
Woods, 58, of Marietta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Geraghty, to seven years, eleven months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Woods was also ordered to pay restitution to the victims of his scheme. A hearing to set the restitution amount owed to victims has been scheduled for April 15, 2024, at 2:30 p.m., before Judge Geraghty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The SEC provided valuable assistance. The SEC’s separate civil case is SEC v. Woods et al., No. 1:21-CV-03413-SDG (N.D. Ga.).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angela Adams and Stephen H. McClain 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.
Gang member found guilty in assault on correctional officerRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Cody Ryan Todd has been found guilty by a federal jury of assault on a Bureau of Prisons correctional officer at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia (USP-Atlanta).
“Detainees and inmates cannot commit crimes with impunity while they are behind bars,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Correctional officers in Bureau of Prisons facilities perform an essential role in safeguarding the welfare of penitentiary staff and inmates. Assaults committed against these law enforcement officers will not be tolerated.”
“This case shows the risk correctional officers face daily. Todd’s intent to do harm towards this officer will be met with serious consequences,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will not tolerate such attacks against members of law enforcement, and Todd will now face further consequences for his actions.”
“The Federal Bureau of Prisons appreciates the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement counterparts for their hard work and diligence in bringing this case to justice. Our employees safety is paramount. This prosecution sends a clear message that this behavior will not be tolerated and underscores our commitment to creating a safe and secure environment for our employees and those in our care,” said Randilee Giamusso, Spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: On January 28, 2021, Cody Todd assaulted a correctional officer while Todd was in custody as a pretrial detainee at USP-Atlanta. Todd hit the officer in the face, knocked him to the floor, and then struck the officer several more times while the officer was incapacitated. This assault left the officer with significant injuries.
At the time of the assault, Todd was being detained on charges of racketeering activity in connection with his crimes committed as a member of the Ghost Face Gangsters. The racketeering activity included, among other offenses, murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and robbery.
Cody Ryan Todd, 34, of Carrollton, Georgia, was separately convicted of conspiracy to commit racketeering and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Todd had also previously been convicted of battery on four separate occasions. He is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Victoria Calvert on May 8, 2024, at 10:00 a.m.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Beaulieu 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.
Atlanta-area doctor and medical staff indicted for running illegal pill-millRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Isaac Sved has been arraigned on federal charges of conspiracy to possess, and possession, with intent to distribute controlled substances, maintaining a premises for drug trafficking, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and money laundering.
“Regrettably, the opioid epidemic has at times been fueled by physicians who abused their positions of trust in illegally prescribing excessive amounts of narcotics,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Those who abuse the power of their medical profession to unlawfully profit must face the consequences of their actions.”
Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division commented on the case, “DEA investigators will continue to aggressively pursue the unlawful dispensing practices of healthcare providers, as was the case with Dr. Sved. The DEA is committed to making sure healthcare providers are abiding by the law.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: Isaac Sved was an Atlanta-area physician registered with the DEA to prescribe controlled substances, including oxycodone. Sved operated two clinics: FamCare located in Roswell, Georgia, and Valere Medical PC located in Buford, Georgia. Sved was the sole prescribing physician for both FamCare and Valere and allegedly regularly prescribed excessive amounts of controlled substances in dangerous combinations. Dikla Rosh managed FamCare, and Lucciano Lopez worked as a medical assistant.
The indictment alleges that patients received minimal or non-existent medical examinations, evaluation, or testing prior to Sved prescribing them controlled substances such as Oxycodone, Alprazolam, and Carisoprodol.
The indictment further alleges that Sved falsified patient files to make it appear that the patient had been evaluated on certain dates when, in fact, the patient was not even present at the clinics. Sved also allegedly received large sums of cash from “sponsors,” such as Co-conspirator Bobby Lamar Mosley, Sr., who obtained prescriptions for controlled substances from Sved in the names of purported patients, some of whom were never examined. Sved and his associates also allegedly hired security guards armed with firearms to patrol and protect the clinic as part of the illegal operation.
Isaac Sved, M.D., 65, of Gainesville, Georgia, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand. Sved and his Co-conspirators Dikla Rosh, 45, of Dunwoody, Georgia, Lucciano Lopez, 27, of Sandy Springs, Georgia, and Bobby Lamar Mosley, Sr., 60, of Buford, Georgia, were indicted by a federal grand jury on January 9, 2024.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it is the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy M. Palumbo 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.
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.
Cobb County man sentenced to 20 years for kidnapping 12-year-old from Barrow CountyRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, Ga. - James Anthony Reynolds, who drove a 12-year-old girl from Barrow County, Georgia, to Acworth, Georgia, and sexually assaulted and then abandoned her in a Walmart parking lot in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
“Child sexual predators are increasingly exploiting social media platforms to target vulnerable minors,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “While our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners remain steadfast in identifying these criminals, and our office is committed to prosecuting these individuals to the fullest extent of the law, we strongly urge parents to stay vigilant in monitoring their children’s Internet activity, including their use of apps on electronic devices. Thankfully, the minor victim in this case is safe after being reunited with her family.”
“No prison sentence can repair the damage James Anthony Reynolds has done. We hope this sentencing is of great comfort to the victim and her family,” said FBI Atlanta Assistant Special Agent in Charge Sean Burke. “The FBI is committed to partnering with our law enforcement partners to prevent, deter, and punish crimes like these.”
“This sentencing represents the determination of our agents and law enforcement partners to catch dangerous predators,” said Chris Hosey, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “This should serve as a warning to those who seek to prey on our most vulnerable that the GBI and our partners will never cease in our mission. As the threats to children online continue to grow, we will remain vigilant and adapt our methods to protect our children and hold predators accountable.”
“As Sheriff I am very proud of the work all agencies did to catch this predator and get him off the streets so that no one else could possibly fall victim to his crimes,” said Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith. “Human trafficking is a real problem and I urge if you or anyone you know might be in trouble to call your local law enforcement or the GA Coalition to Combat Human Trafficking at 866-363-4842.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: In May 2020, the victim then 12 years old, met a man online on a social media app. During the early morning hours of May 7, 2020, this man, later identified as James Anthony Reynolds, picked up the child, violently and sexually assaulted her, and drove her to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Reynolds then abandoned the child in a Walmart parking lot. The young girl approached a Walmart employee who, fortunately, was able to help the child reach her parents.
James Anthony Reynolds, 25, of Acworth, Georgia, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. On November 1, 2023, Reynolds pleaded guilty to kidnapping. He continues to face additional charges related to this case in state court.
This case was investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Barrow County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Keen 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.
Gainesville fentanyl dealer sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prisonRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, Ga. – Lyedrekus Bailey, a multi-convicted felon who trafficked cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl in the Gainesville, Georgia area for approximately two decades, has been sentenced to federal prison for nearly 20 years.
“Drug dealers like Bailey act in callous disregard of the grave threat to life that results from their actions,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Fentanyl and heroin trafficking is causing untimely deaths in and devastation to our communities. Bailey’s significant sentence should serve as a warning to others that our office is determined to expand our efforts, working together with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, to prosecute purveyors of illicit drugs like Bailey.”
“This case serves as a strong reminder of our commitment to working with local, state, and federal partners to remove deadly poisons, like fentanyl, off our streets,” said Chris Hosey, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “The GBI will continue our work to make an impact on the current drug distribution crimes in Hall County and all of Georgia to promote a safer place for productive citizens.”
“Those who distribute fentanyl and other deadly drugs create serious risks to our communities. DEA will use any resource necessary to remove these dangerous drug traffickers from our streets,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division.
“Often, people view drug crimes as victimless; however, this is never the case, as illegal drugs, such as heroin and fentanyl, destroy our youth and disrupt lives,” said Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch. “While our agency has made numerous state felony drug cases against the offender; he always seemed to receive probation, time served or a minimal sentence. It has taken a partnership with federal authorities for this criminal to finally face a true sentence where he will be removed from the community he has preyed upon and profited from for years.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Lyedrekus Bailey sold fentanyl-laced heroin to an undercover GBI agent on five occasions between October 2020 and February 2021. All of the transactions were audio and video recorded. On one occasion, when he could not deliver the drugs himself, Bailey directed the undercover agent to a house in Gainesville that he operated as a distribution hub. Later, during a March 2021 traffic stop of a car Bailey was driving, a Hall County, Georgia deputy sheriff recovered approximately four ounces of heroin Bailey had hidden in clothing worn by his passenger.
Bailey was convicted of multiple drug trafficking crimes dating back to 2005. While on probation and parole for these offenses, he continued to commit crimes, such as drug trafficking, evidence tampering, and obstruction of law enforcement.
On January 12, 2024, Lyedrekus Onetaye Bailey, also known as “Lala,” was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones to 19 years, seven months in prison to be followed by seven years of supervised release. Bailey was convicted of conspiring to distribute controlled substances, namely fentanyl and heroin, after he pleaded guilty on October 6, 2023.
The case was investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program, and the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, with valuable assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gainesville Police Department, and Georgia Department of Corrections.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Theodore S. Hertzberg and Noah R. Schechtman prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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.
Exporter sentenced to prison for shipping heavy equipment to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctionsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Jalal Hajavi has been sentenced for conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, smuggling goods from the U.S., unlawfully exporting and reexporting goods from the U.S. to Iran without a license, and unlawfully engaging in transactions and dealings based on his participation in a scheme to export unlawfully heavy equipment from the U.S. to Iran by routing the shipments though the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”).
“Hajavi’s conduct was particularly egregious because he was previously informed on at least two occasions that his conduct was prohibited,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Instead of heeding the warnings, he continued to divert U.S. goods to Iran. Trade sanctions against Iran comprise a critical component of U.S. foreign policy designed to keep our country and citizens safe. Criminal actors like Hajavi, who seek to profit by evading these prohibitions and jeopardize our national security, will be prosecuted.”
“Mr. Hajavi illegally shipped industrial equipment to the Iranian regime, smuggled restricted goods through the UAE to Iran, and caused a shipping company to submit false information to the U.S. government. He has been held to account for his crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “As this case shows, the Justice Department remains committed to enforcing U.S. sanctions and export control laws to deny Iran the commodities that fuel its malign activities abroad and threaten our nation’s security.”
“This sentencing is the result of a highly successful joint investigative effort with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia that disrupted an illicit Iranian procurement scheme,” said John Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, Office of Export Enforcement’s Miami Field Office. “OEE is fully committed to protecting national security by denying U.S. commodities to U.S. sanctioned countries.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: Jalal Hajavi and a co-conspirator located in Iran conspired to evade U.S. sanctions by exporting U.S. heavy machinery through the UAE to Iran without first obtaining the required licenses from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). Hajavi, through his company JSH Heavy Equipment, LLC, located heavy equipment for sale in the U.S., such as bobcats and wheel loaders, and sent information about his findings to the co-conspirator in Iran. Hajavi purchased the items from U.S. sellers and used freight forwarding companies to ship the heavy equipment from the U.S. to the UAE, where his Iranian co-conspirator diverted the machinery to Iran in circumvention of the U.S. export license requirement.
In addition to evading OFAC licensing requirements, Hajavi concealed his activities with the co-conspirator by causing false information to be entered into the Automated Export System (“AES”), a U.S. government database containing information about exports from the U.S. Hajavi falsely claimed that the items were destined for his supposed UAE customers, which typically were general trading companies located in free trade zones in the UAE, but in reality, the items were destined for Iran.
At one point, Hajavi met with a Special Agent from the Bureau of Industry and Security who informed Hajavi about the U.S. sanctions against Iran, including the prohibition to transship U.S. goods through third countries to Iran. Undeterred, Hajavi continued his unlawful conduct.
One of the items that Hajavi purchased and unlawfully caused to be shipped was an Ingersoll Rand Blasthole Drill, which is a type of heavy machinery used in construction to drill holes in the ground usually filled with controlled charges. Hajavi purchased the drill from a U.S. company and, as part of a sham transaction, purportedly sold the drill to a UAE company. Hajavi hired a U.S. freight forwarder to arrange the drill’s export from the U.S. to the UAE During the shipping process, the freight forwarder submitted information provided by Hajavi to AES about the shipment. Hajavi falsely told the freight forwarder that the UAE company was the ultimate consignee and provided the false ultimate destination of the UAE, when Hajavi knew that the Iranian co-conspirator was the true buyer and that Iran was the ultimate delivery destination. The Iranian co-conspirator subsequently shipped the drill from the UAE to Iran.
Jalal Hajavi, 60, of Sterling, Virginia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash to two years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was convicted by a jury on September 11, 2023.
The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement conducted the investigation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation provided assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracia M. King and Trial Attorney Emma Dinan Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control 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.
Exporter Sentenced to Prison for Shipping Heavy Equipment to Iran in Violation of U.S. SanctionsRead the Press Release
A Virginia man was sentenced yesterday to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for criminal conduct in connection with a scheme to unlawfully export heavy equipment from the United States to Iran by routing the shipments though the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Jalal Hajavi, 60, of Sterling, was convicted by a jury in September 2023, of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR), smuggling, and unlawfully exporting and reexporting goods from the United States to Iran without a license.
“Mr. Hajavi illegally shipped industrial equipment to the Iranian regime, smuggled restricted goods through the UAE to Iran, and caused a shipping company to submit false information to the U.S. government. He has been held to account for his crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “As this case shows, the Justice Department remains committed to enforcing U.S. sanctions and export control laws to deny Iran the commodities that fuel its malign activities abroad and threaten our nation’s security.”
“Shipping items to Iran is against the law, regardless of whether done directly or by way of a third country,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod. “As demonstrated by this sentencing, when proliferators falsify export records to support illicit Iranian procurement schemes, they get caught and they do prison time.”
“Hajavi’s conduct was particularly egregious because he was previously informed on at least two occasions that his conduct was prohibited,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “Instead of heeding the warnings, he continued to divert U.S. goods to Iran. Trade sanctions against Iran comprise a critical component of U.S. foreign policy designed to keep our country and citizens safe. Criminal actors like Hajavi, who seek to profit by evading these prohibitions and jeopardize our national security, will be prosecuted.”
According to court documents, Jalal Hajavi and a co-conspirator located in Iran conspired to evade U.S. sanctions by exporting U.S. heavy machinery through the UAE to Iran without first obtaining the required licenses from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Hajavi, through his company JSH Heavy Equipment LLC, located heavy equipment for sale in the United States, such as bobcats and wheel loaders, and sent information about his findings to the co-conspirator in Iran. Hajavi purchased the items from U.S. sellers and used freight forwarding companies to ship the heavy equipment from the United States to the UAE, where his Iranian co-conspirator diverted the machinery to Iran in circumvention of the U.S. export license requirement.
In addition to evading OFAC licensing requirements, Hajavi concealed his activities with the co-conspirator by causing false information to be entered into the Automated Export System (AES), a U.S. government database containing information about exports from the United States. Hajavi falsely claimed that the items were destined for his supposed UAE customers, which typically were general trading companies located in free trade zones in the UAE, but in reality, the items were destined for Iran.
At one point, Hajavi met with a Special Agent from the Bureau of Industry and Security who informed Hajavi about the U.S. sanctions against Iran, including the prohibition to transship U.S. goods through third countries to Iran. Undeterred, Hajavi continued his unlawful conduct.
One of the items that Hajavi purchased and unlawfully caused to be shipped was an Ingersoll Rand Blasthole Drill, which is a type of heavy machinery used in construction to drill holes in the ground usually filled with controlled charges. Hajavi purchased the drill from a U.S. company and, as part of a sham transaction, purportedly sold the drill to a UAE company. Hajavi hired a U.S. freight forwarder to arrange the drill’s export from the United States to the UAE. During the shipping process, the freight forwarder submitted information provided by Hajavi to AES about the shipment. Hajavi falsely told the freight forwarder that the UAE company was the ultimate consignee and provided the false ultimate destination of the UAE, when Hajavi knew that the Iranian co-conspirator was the true buyer and that Iran was the ultimate delivery destination. The Iranian co-conspirator subsequently shipped the drill from the UAE to Iran.
The Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security’s Office of Export Enforcement conducted the investigation, with valuable assistance provided by the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracia M. King for the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Emma Dinan Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.
Doctor sentenced in dark web murder-for-hire plotRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – James Wan has been sentenced for paying a hitman he found on the dark web to murder his girlfriend.
“This defendant believed he could mask his homicidal intentions by using electronic means,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “By using the dark web to conceal his search for someone to kill his girlfriend, Wan expected to evade detection, even going as far as using crypto currency to pay for the crime. While criminals regularly search for new ways to harm their victims, our law enforcement partners constantly adapt their methods to identify them and bring them to justice.”
"Despite his cowardly concealment on the dark web, Wan’s cold hearted murderous plot was averted due to the exceptional work of our team. He will now face the full consequences of the criminal justice system,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. "This sentencing shows that the FBI will not tolerate heinous acts of violence and will go to great lengths to protect our citizens.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: On April 18, 2022, while in the Northern District of Georgia, Wan accessed a dark web marketplace from his cellular telephone and submitted an order to have a hitman murder his girlfriend. The order included the victim’s name, address, Facebook account, license plate, and car description. In his request, Wan stated: “Can take wallet phone and car. Shoot and go. Or take car.” Wan then electronically transferred a 50 percent downpayment of approximately $8,000 worth of Bitcoin to the dark web marketplace.
Two days later, Wan messaged the marketplace’s administrator, stating that the transferred Bitcoin had not shown up in his escrow account on the site. The next day, the marketplace administrator asked Wan for the Bitcoin address to which Wan had sent the payment. In response, Wan identified the Bitcoin wallet address and provided a screenshot of the transaction. When the administrator said that the address Wan provided was not in their system, Wan replied, “I guess I lost $8k. I’m sending $8k to escrow now.” Wan then electronically transferred an additional Bitcoin payment worth approximately $8,000 to the marketplace. The administrator confirmed the new address was correct and that the Bitcoin had arrived in the escrow account. The administrator stated that they were proceeding with Wan’s order for a hit and asked whether Wan wanted it done as an “accident or normal shooting.” Wan responded, “accident is better.”
About a week later, on April 29, 2022, Wan electronically transferred another payment of approximately $8,000 worth of Bitcoin to the dark web marketplace to ensure his escrow account contained the total required to complete the order. Shortly thereafter, Wan posted the following in a forum on the dark web marketplace: “How soon should work be done? I have submitted an order and curious how quickly it should be carried out? Is there a way I can find out any progress? If there is anyone in my location?”
On May 10, 2022, after the value of Bitcoin dropped, Wan electronically transferred another payment of approximately $1,200 worth of Bitcoin to the marketplace to ensure his escrow account still contained the total required to complete the order.
After learning about the threat to the victim’s life, FBI special agents notified the victim, provided her protection, and questioned Wan. Wan admitted that he had placed the order for the murder, made the payments, and checked the status of the order daily on the dark web marketplace. Records from Wan’s cellular telephone and his Bitcoin wallet corroborated Wan’s confession. After speaking with FBI special agents, Wan canceled the order on the dark web marketplace.
James Wan, 54, of Duluth, Georgia, has been sentenced to seven years, three months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release. Wan was convicted on these charges on October 17, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bret R. Hobson 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.
U.S. Attorney’s Office responsible for over $31 million in collections and forfeitures in fiscal year 2023Read the Press Release
ATLANTA – U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan announced that the Northern District of Georgia was responsible for collections and forfeitures of over $31 million in Fiscal Year 2023.
“This district maintains an unwavering commitment to securing financial justice for victims of crime and United States taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “As this prior fiscal year’s results reflect, this district will vigorously pursue the recovery of money for crime victims and the public through all available legal means, whether by collecting criminal and civil monetary penalties, civilly pursuing those who seek to take unlawful advantage of federal agencies and programs or identifying and forfeiting ill-gotten gains.”
Our office collected more than $22 million through the district’s Financial Litigation Program, which is responsible for the collection of civil and criminal debts, fines, and monetary penalties due to victims of crime and the United States. Specifically, our office obtained $8.4 million in restitution, fines and/or assessments imposed against defendants in criminal cases. Federal law requires that defendants who commit certain crimes pay restitution to the victims of those crimes. Criminal fines and assessments paid by defendants go to the Department of Justice’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes the funds to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
We also collected $13.7 million in affirmative civil enforcement cases. The United States initiates affirmative civil enforcement cases to recover government money lost to fraud or other misconduct, or to collect fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health care, safety, or environmental laws and controlled substance regulations, among other laws.
In addition, the district deposited over $9.4 million dollars into the Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Fund and Treasury Forfeiture Fund through civil and criminal forfeiture actions handled by the office’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section. Of the total amount forfeited, more than $3 million was forfeited in civil forfeiture cases and over $6 million was forfeited in criminal cases. The Department of Justice uses forfeited property to compensate crime victims as well as for a variety of other law enforcement purposes, and shares these proceeds with federal, state and local law enforcement partners. In Fiscal Year 2023, $343,870 was returned to crime victims and over $1.4 million was shared with the district’s law enforcement partners.
This office also shared in the recovery of an additional $1.4 billion resulting from the settlement of the UBS civil action for misconduct related to UBS’ underwriting and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities in 2006 and 2007 brought under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act by a Department of Justice Working Group dedicated to investigating banks and other entities for their roles in creating and issuing residential mortgage-backed securities leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.
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.
Three individuals sentenced for roles in fraud and identity theft ring that stole over $6 million in government fundsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Three individuals have been sentenced for their roles in a far-ranging fraud and identity theft ring that stole and laundered over $6 million in government funds that had been obtained using stolen identification information and the opening of fraudulent bank accounts.
“In just a few months, these defendants used hundreds of stolen identities and laundered millions in fraud proceeds from government programs—several of which were designed to help those most severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Their sentences reflect the scope of their conduct and our commitment to partner with federal, state, and local investigators to prosecute individuals who seek to exploit government programs.”“These convictions highlight the commitment of our agency to combat fraud and protect the integrity of government funds,” said Kyle Munro, special agent in charge of the Fraud and Schemes Division of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. “The collaborative efforts of law enforcement agencies and our dedicated personnel have resulted in the successful apprehension and sentencing of those responsible for this egregious crime. We will continue to aggressively pursue individuals engaged in such criminal activities, sending a clear message that fraud and identity theft will not be tolerated. Our resolve to safeguard public funds and maintain the trust of the citizens remains steadfast.”
“These convicted criminals caused great stress to their victims upending their lives when they stole their identities and utilized the stolen identities to fraudulently gain federal tax funds intended to aid taxpayers,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “Many people may be embarrassed or feel at fault when their identity has been taken. I want to let these victims know that it is not their fault and that they are not alone. IRS-CI will continue working closely with our partners to investigate, apprehend, and prosecute perpetrators who seek to steal the information of innocent victims, especially that of America’s seniors.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Between approximately January 2020 and October 2020, the defendants and others opened financial accounts using stolen personal identifying information from hundreds of victims and used these accounts to receive and launder the proceeds of various frauds, including fraudulently obtained federal income tax refunds, economic impact payments, SBA loans, and unemployment benefits from at least 21 states. In total, the scheme caused a loss of at least $6 million in government funds.
Edwin Owie, 63, of Dallas, Georgia, was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,390,357.03 in restitution to the federal and state victims. Owie pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Deborah McNeill, 55, of Loganville, Georgia, was sentenced to four years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,390,357.03 in restitution to the federal and state victims. McNeill pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Osemwengie Imarhia, 43, of Acworth, Georgia, was sentenced to two years, six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,390,357.03 in restitution to the federal and state victims. Imarhia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud.
TIGTA and IRS-CI investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Sistla and Trial Attorneys Lauren Archer and Katherine Rookard of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
For inquiries, 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 Buchanan honors law enforcement officers on National Law Enforcement Appreciation DayRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Annually, January 9th is observed and commemorated as Law Enforcement Appreciation Day and is observed across the country. Today we honor the unwavering dedication of our law enforcement officers who selflessly serve our communities, often risking the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
“We thank law enforcement officers in the Northern District of Georgia who faithfully risk their lives to protect our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “These brave men and women put on a badge each day, knowing that they may face dangerous situations while carrying out their duties and are frequently the target of violence and abuse. Despite these challenges, they continue to serve with the utmost dedication and commitment and are unfaltering in working tirelessly to protect and serve the public.”We also solemnly take time on Law Enforcement Appreciation Day to honor officers in our district who recently paid the ultimate price in the line of duty:
- Officer Kenya Galloway, Atlanta Police Department - Jan. 4, 2024
- Sgt. Marc McIntyre, Spalding County Sheriff's Office - Dec. 29, 2023
- Deputy Sheriff Eric Minix, Coweta County Sheriff's Office - Jan. 4, 2024
“We acknowledge and thank you for your sacrifice and hope to encourage support and respect for everything that you do to keep our communities safe. Your courage, commitment, and willingness to safeguard others inspire us all,” said U.S. Attorney Buchanan.
Law Enforcement Appreciation Day began when multiple organizations joined efforts to express gratitude for law enforcement officers throughout the United States. Their purpose was to provide the public opportunities to gain greater insights into the integral role that these individuals play in our society while also strengthening the social bonds between law enforcement officials and the communities that they serve.
“Thank you for your service, sacrifice, and commitment to protecting and serving. Your efforts are deeply appreciated,” said Buchanan.
For inquiries, 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.
Justice Department Files Statement of Interest in Lawsuit Concerning Treatment for Gender Dysphoria in Correctional SettingsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today filed a statement of interest in a lawsuit brought in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia challenging the denial of treatment sought for gender dysphoria in a correctional setting. The statement explains that gender dysphoria falls within the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)’s definition of “disability” and affirms that correctional institutions cannot deny medically appropriate care for people with gender dysphoria, no matter their particular circumstances, consistent with the Eighth Amendment.
“People with gender dysphoria should be able to seek the full protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act, just like other people with disabilities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We are committed to ensuring constitutional conditions inside our jails and prisons so that those detained inside these facilities, including people with gender dysphoria can live safely and receive needed medical care. The U.S. Constitution requires that people incarcerated in jails and prisons receive necessary medical care, treatment and services to address serious medical conditions.”
Doe, an incarcerated transgender woman, alleges that the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) has violated her rights under the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act and the U.S. Constitution by denying necessary medical care to treat her gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria is a serious medical condition that arises when a person experiences significant distress or impairment because of an incongruence between their gender identity and assigned sex. Left untreated, individuals with gender dysphoria can experience significant adverse mental health outcomes. Doe alleges that the GDC has denied her adequate medical treatment for her gender dysphoria, including gender-affirming surgery that has been recommended by four clinicians and consistent hormone therapy. Because of the inadequate care and exacerbation of her gender dysphoria, Doe has engaged in repeated self-harm, including attempts at suicide and self-castration. Doe seeks a preliminary injunction that would grant her access to medically necessary treatment for her gender dysphoria.
“The protections of the U.S. Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act do not stop at the doorsteps of our jails and prisons,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “Our office remains committed to ensuring that all people with disabilities, including those with gender dysphoria, continue to receive access to such medically necessary treatments, even while they are in custody.”
The department’s statement of interest clarifies that gender dysphoria can be a covered disability under the ADA and does not fall within the ADA’s exclusion of gender identity disorders. The department’s statement also explains that prison officials violate the Eighth Amendment when they categorically refuse to provide medically necessary gender-affirming surgery to incarcerated individuals with gender dysphoria, no matter a person’s particular circumstances.
The Justice Department plays a central role in advancing the ADA’s goals of equal opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (TTY 1-833-610-1264) or visit www.ada.gov.
Additional information about the Civil Rights Division’s work regarding correctional facilities is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt/rights-persons-confined-jails-and-prisons.
For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division’s work to uphold and protect the civil and constitutional rights of LGBTQI+ individuals is available online at www.justice.gov/crt/lgbtqi-working-group. Complaints about discriminatory practices may be reported to the Civil Rights Division through its internet reporting portal at civilrights.justice.gov.
doe_v_gdc_statement_of_interest_2024.01.08.pdfTwo-time bank fraudster sentenced to four years in prisonRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Michael Adeola Akhiero has been sentenced for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft concerning his use of victims’ personal and bank account information to create and deposit counterfeit checks totaling more than $250,000. Akhiero committed the offenses after having previously been convicted of bank fraud and while serving a term of supervised release.
“Akhiero chose to reoffend rather than rehabilitate,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “His actions caused substantial financial losses to numerous victims and banks. His fraud and greed has resulted in the loss of his freedom and hopefully sends a powerful message of deterrence to others.”
“Clearly, Akhiero has not learned the lesson, that crime doesn’t pay, so he will continue to face justice for his repeated fraudulent actions,” said Acting Special Agent in charge Travis Pickard who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “HSI will continue to aggressively investigate those criminals who attempt to defraud our nation’s financial infrastructure.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: Shortly after Akhiero’s release from federal prison for a prior bank fraud conviction, he engaged in a fraudulent check scheme and deposited numerous counterfeit checks purportedly issued from corporate and individual victims’ bank accounts. Between October 2019 and May 2022, Akhiero used stolen identity and bank account information to create these counterfeit checks. He then deposited the fake checks into his personal and business bank accounts resulting in the withdrawal of over $250,000 from multiple victims’ accounts.
Michael Adeola Akhiero, 30, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to four years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $77,200. Akhiero was convicted on these charges on August 1, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.
The Court also found that Akhiero violated the terms of his supervised release from his prior bank fraud case when he committed new criminal conduct, in addition to other violations. The Court revoked his supervised release term and sentenced him to one year in prison, to run concurrently with his four-year prison term for bank fraud and identity theft.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney 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.
Former Georgia Bankers Association accountant sentenced to two years in prisonRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Gino Lassiter has been sentenced to prison for embezzling approximately $700,000 from the Georgia Bankers Association (“GBA”) and Georgia Bankers Association Trust (“GBA Trust”) between 2014 and 2021.
“Professionals, like Lassiter, who exploit their positions of trust to steal from their employers cause financial harm as well as institutional damage to the organizations they commit to serve,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “It is regrettable that Lassiter’s previous conviction for fraud did not deter him from engaging in further criminal conduct. But thanks to an investigation by the Department of Labor he has been held accountable and will return to prison.”
“The extent of this fraudulent scheme represents the lengths to which these individuals went to harm hard-working employees who depend on benefits they have rightfully earned,” explained Employee Benefits Security Administration Acting Regional Director Crystal Coleman in Atlanta. “This type of fraud creates great public mistrust, hurts participants who depend on their essential benefits and the employers who provide their coverage, and increases healthcare costs for all of us.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: The GBA is a trade and professional organization headquartered in Atlanta that represents the interests of banks and thrift organizations in Georgia. The GBA’s membership includes virtually every FDIC-insured institution doing business in the state. The GBA Trust is an ERISA-covered multiple employer welfare arrangement (or “MEWA”). As a MEWA, the GBA Trust offered a variety of insurance plans for the employees of the GBA’s members.
Lassiter, who had been previously convicted for federal bank fraud in the mid-1990s, served as the GBA’s accountant from May 1998 to March 2021. For approximately seven years, Lassiter embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the GBA and GBA Trust by using a GBA-issued credit card to make improper and unauthorized purchases. As the GBA’s accountant, Lassiter was able to conceal his embezzlement in a variety of ways, including by making fictious entries, misrepresenting the nature of payments, and overstating the number of payments in the GBA’s general ledger.
For example, Lassiter would record in the ledger overinflated payments that supposedly reflected other employees’ legitimate credit card expenditures. In actuality, the amount would be the exact same amount that Lassiter embezzled over a given period. Lassiter was also able to conceal his scheme by overinflating invoices that GBA issued to the GBA Trust. This was possible because the GBA was responsible for paying off the credit card expenses of the GBA Trust’s employees. The GBA Trust would in turn reimburse the GBA for these expenses. Lassiter inflated these invoices by the amount of his fraudulent credit card purchases.
Gino Lassiter, 58, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eleanor M. Ross to two years in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $450,148.10. On July 12, 2023, Lassiter pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement from an employee benefit plan.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla 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’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announces Project Safe Neighborhoods Violence Reduction Microgrant Program, Fiscal Years 20-22 subawardsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced additional commitments as part of the Department of Justice’s Comprehensive Strategy to disrupt violent crime. Instituted by U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in May 2021, Project Safe Neighborhoods was strengthened by four new strategies that now serve as the pillars of the program: Community Engagement; Prevention and Intervention; Focused and Strategic Enforcement; and Accountability.
Through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) FY20-22, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is pleased to announce that $227,676 in funding from the Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance has been earmarked for state and local law enforcement violence-reduction projects.
“Achieving safe and thriving communities requires ongoing, creative, and deliberative collaborations between law enforcement agencies and community stakeholders,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Microgrants under Project Safe Neighborhoods play a crucial role in furthering this goal by providing funding to local initiatives aimed at preventing crime and violence. These grants empower law enforcement agencies to implement strategies such as youth programs, community engagement activities, and intervention efforts to address the root causes of crime. By supporting these localized initiatives, microgrants can help build stronger, safer neighborhoods by fostering law enforcement and community partnerships to strengthen violent-crime prevention efforts.”
The following local law enforcement agencies will receive subawards to combat violent crime and maintain public safety: the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office; the Police Departments of Atlanta, Brookhaven, Calhoun, Clayton County, DeKalb County, East Point, Ellijay, Floyd County, Griffin, Kennesaw, Kennesaw State University, Norcross, Rome, Roswell, Smyrna, and Villa Rica; and the Sheriff’s Offices of Carroll and Douglas Counties.
The PSN microgrant funds are intended to comprehensively augment ongoing public safety efforts, including by: fostering trust and increasing legitimacy in communities; implementing and enhancing community engagement and policing strategies through the development and testing of innovative strategies; strengthening knowledge about effective practices and outcomes; supporting new, creative approaches to prevent crime and promote safer communities; addressing violent gun crime and gang violence; and bolstering improved policing strategies – all throughout our district.
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.
Woman Convicted of $7M COVID-19 Relief FraudRead the Press Release
A federal jury in the Northern District of Georgia convicted a Georgia attorney and former City of Atlanta police officer yesterday of fraudulently obtaining over $7 million in loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Shelitha Robertson, 62, of Atlanta, conspired to submit PPP loan applications on behalf of four businesses she owned. The loan applications falsely inflated the number of employees and average monthly payroll for each of the four businesses, inducing larger PPP loans than Robertson could legitimately obtain. Robertson and a co-conspirator also caused the submission of false tax documents to support the false statements in each loan application. Robertson used the loan proceeds to purchase luxury items, including a 10-carat diamond ring, and to transfer funds to family members and her co-conspirator.
The jury convicted Robertson of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering. She is scheduled to be sentenced on April 11, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for money laundering. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Robertson is the second defendant to be convicted as part of the Justice Department’s prosecution of an approximately $15 million PPP fraud conspiracy. Robertson’s co-conspirator pleaded guilty prior to trial.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia, Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware of the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Acting Inspector General Tyler Smith of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), and Acting Inspector General Heather Hill of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) made the announcement.
The SBA-OIG, FDIC-OIG, and TIGTA investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Ariel Glasner of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bernita Malloy for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 200 defendants in more than 130 criminal cases and has seized over $78 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.
In May 2021 the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Justice Department in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan and HUD Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis Host a safe housing summit focused on health and safety in HUD-assisted housingRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis hosted a Safe Housing Summit on December 14, 2023, to promote health and safety for tenants living in HUD-assisted housing.
“Our office is determined to address inequities in our district that exist in underserved communities who must heavily rely on HUD’s housing assistance programs,” said U.S. Attorney Buchanan. “These citizens deserve to live and raise families in residential areas that are safe and thriving. Our partnership with HUD-OIG, and with other federal agencies and community members, will afford us the necessary resources to support at-risk communities in a more coordinated and impactful way. This Summit is just the beginning of our expanded effort.”
“Everyone deserves to live in a healthy and safe environment without fear of being exposed to environmental hazards or being sexually harassed or assaulted by their housing provider,” said Housing and Urban Development’s Inspector General Oliver Davis. “We are working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to spread the word about ways to help victims who currently are experiencing such violations of their rights or who have been impacted in the past. Outreach summits like the one we cohosted are an important way to increase awareness, share information, and build strong partnerships in the community to help call out and eliminate these problems together.”
The Summit took place at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta, and focused on eliminating environmental hazards, as well as combatting sexual misconduct, in HUD-assisted housing. The topics included safe housing strategies, environmental justice concepts, and how to recognize and report sexual misconduct in HUD-assisted housing.
Participants included representatives from organizations who routinely work with vulnerable populations most likely to be impacted by environmental injustice or sexual harassment in housing by their landlords, property managers, maintenance staff, and other housing personnel in positions of authority.
“Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination prohibited by the Fair Housing Act, and no one should be forced to endure illegal harassment in exchange for housing,” added U.S. Attorney Buchanan. “We will continue to devote resources to enforce the Fair Housing Act by investigating and prosecuting discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status.”
A variety of organizations and local law enforcement agencies also attended the Summit, including fair housing organizations and organizations which provide pro bono legal services. Participants were encouraged to build partnerships and share concerns during a networking session.
If you or someone you know has information about environmental hazards and unsafe unit conditions in HUD-assisted housing or has been a victim of sexual harassment, sexual assault, or sexual exploitation—even if the events occurred years ago—report it to the HUD Office of Inspector General Hotline at 1-800-347-3735 or visit the website at www.hudoig.gov/hotline.
You may also contact the U.S. Department of Justice at 1-844-380-6178 or visit www.civilrights.justice.gov. Individuals who believe they may have been victims of environmental injustices or housing discrimination may also contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-4626.
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.
Two men charged with armed robberies of postal workersRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Tavion Lashawn Williams and Justin Andrew Sams have been indicted in connection with armed robberies of postal workers in metro-Atlanta.
“Our communities rely on a safe and secure mail system made possible by the dedication of U.S. Postal Service employees and letter carriers who labor tirelessly for our benefit,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Our office is committed to collaborating closely with our federal and local partners to identify and prosecute those who threaten violence against members of the Postal Service.”
“The safety and security of Postal Service employees and customers is core to the mission of the Postal Inspection Service,” said Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Atlanta Division. “We are grateful to continue to work in close partnership with our local law enforcement partners as we investigate individuals involved in violent criminal activity against our employees.”
“The Atlanta Police Department is committed to getting criminals off our streets and out of our neighborhoods,” said Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum. “Letter carriers provide a vital service, and no one should feel unsafe when they are carrying out the duties of their job. The APD is proud to have played a role in the arrest of two criminals who impacted the well-being of the Postal Service employees who were simply doing their job.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the indictment, and other information presented in court: Tavion Lashawn Williams allegedly demanded the keys of a U.S. Postal Service (“USPS”) letter carrier while the employee was delivering mail in Clayton County, Georgia, on March 1, 2023. Williams allegedly pointed a gun at the letter carrier when the carrier hesitated. After seizing the carrier’s key, Williams fled but was soon arrested.
Approximately seven months later, on September 30, 2023, Justin Andrew Sams allegedly assaulted a USPS letter carrier in southwest Atlanta. While brandishing a firearm, Sams allegedly ordered the letter carrier to hand over his postal uniform, keys, cellular telephone, and wallet. Sams also allegedly stole the letter carrier’s government-issued credit card used to purchase fuel for the letter carrier’s mail truck.
The Atlanta Police Department responded to the scene, succeeded in identifying Sams, and ultimately recovered the letter carrier’s telephone, wallet, fuel card, and uniform. Investigators also discovered a semiautomatic pistol during a search of Sams’s residence.
On December 6, 2023, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Tavion Lashawn Williams, 21, of Jonesboro, Georgia with theft of a Postal Service key, armed postal robbery, and brandishing a firearm.
On December 12, 2023, another federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Justin Andrew Sams, 34, of Atlanta, Georgia with armed postal robbery, brandishing a firearm, and theft of government property.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictments only contain 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.
These cases are being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Clayton County Police Department, and Atlanta Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie E. Gabay-Smith and Theodore S. Hertzberg are prosecuting the cases.
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.
Metro-Atlanta man pleads guilty to money laundering of COVID-19 unemployment fundsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Austin Martin Siampwizi, who laundered money procured from fraudulent unemployment claims filed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, has pleaded guilty to a charge of money laundering conspiracy.
“Criminals used the COVID-19 pandemic to financially benefit while millions of Americans were suffering,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Money launderers, like Siampwizi, assisted others in committing underlying offenses in reaping the benefits of these crimes. Our office is devoted to bringing such individuals to justice.”
“Austin Martin Siampwizi engaged in a scheme with his co-conspirators to purchase and subsequently cash hundreds of money orders that were funded with fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. The UI benefits were from fraudulent online claims submitted to the Washington Employment Security Department using the identities of identity theft victims. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to safeguard the UI system from those who exploit these benefit programs,” said Mathew Broadhurst, Special Agent-in-Charge, Southeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
“This successful effort represents the U.S. Secret Service commitment to protect citizens and businesses from fraud and identity theft,” said Steven R. Baisel, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service Atlanta Field Office. “We, along with our state, local, and federal law enforcement partners will continue to investigate, arrest, and support the successful prosecution of the criminals who choose to launder illicit proceeds or commit fraud in Georgia and across the nation.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act created a temporary federal program that provided up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits for those unemployed as a result of the pandemic and included a provision to provide temporary benefits to individuals who had exhausted their entitlement to regular benefits or were otherwise not eligible. That temporary federal program was administered by state employment agencies.
Siampwizi laundered money procured from fraudulent unemployment claims submitted to the Employment Security Department of Washington State (“ESD”). These claims were filed using stolen personally identifiable information of more than 50 individuals. Siampwizi also admitted to submitting fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster loan and Paycheck Protection Program loan applications for his two businesses, Global Car Rental, LLC, and Global Group Development & Construction, LLC.
Sentencing for Austin Martin Siampwizi, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia, is scheduled for March 26, 2024, before U.S. District Judge William M. Ray II.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Klapman is prosecuting the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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.
Eleven men sentenced to federal prison for role in drug trafficking organizationRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Abdul Jamal Ali, Norian Anderson, Kasman Cox, Mark Antonio Goines, Alonzo Heard, Michael Mack, Tremaine Malcom, Hassan Pope, Roger Solario, Joseph Strickland, and Renardo Thomas have been sentenced for their roles as members of a drug trafficking organization in the metro-Atlanta area that was successfully disrupted following a federal, state, and local law enforcement investigation.
“The distribution of narcotics throughout our communities continues to pose a public safety and health threat that we must steadfastly confront,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Through our partnership with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, we have successfully disrupted this organization’s supply chain, prosecuted the distributors and suppliers of these dangerous drugs, and sent a strong message to others involved in polluting our communities with these illegal substances.”
“Justice will always prevail as the most powerful force to remove these individuals off of the streets and out of our communities,” said Thomas E. Brown, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Georgia.
“Through hard work, this criminal enterprise has been dismantled,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “These violent drug traffickers had no regard for the potential impact of their actions.”
"Drug trafficking organizations are an imminent threat to our communities,” said Dan R. Salter, Executive Director, Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (AC HIDTA) Task Force. “Federal, state and local law enforcement officers that make up this task force are committed to ridding our communities of these drug trafficking organizations spreading poison and violence in our neighborhoods.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: In 2020, Drug Enforcement Administration special agents, and Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force officers, identified a prolific drug trafficker in Atlanta, Hassan Pope. Federal investigators learned that Pope was coordinating multiple narcotics transactions around his residence in College Park and maintaining a drug stash apartment in east Atlanta. Over the course of the investigation, agents identified many of Pope’s associates and obtained evidence of ongoing trafficking of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
Agents also identified Alonzo Heard and Tremaine Malcom as assisting Pope in his distribution and Abdul Jamal Ali, Norian Anderson, Kasman Cox, Mark Antonio Goines, Michael Mack, Roger Solario, Joseph Strickland, and Renardo Thomas as drug distributors working with or connected to Pope. Federal, state, and local law enforcement investigators obtained and executed multiple search warrants at locations utilized by the group’s drug trafficking organization and seized distribution quantities of drugs, hundreds of thousands of dollars of drug proceeds, firearms, vehicles, and other property used in the commission, or purchased with the proceeds, of the offenses.
Each of the following defendants pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and/or firearms offenses and received the following sentences imposed by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross:
- Abdul Jamal Ali, 41, of Decatur, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of nine years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release;
- Norian Anderson, a/k/a “Knot,” 50, of Jonesboro, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of four years, eight months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release;
- Kasman Cox, a/k/a “Cat” and “Tamario Davis,” 44, of Fayetteville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and received a sentence of 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release;
- Mark Antonio Goines, a/k/a “Luckie,” 43, of Hampton, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of five years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release;
- Alonzo Heard, a/k/a “Pee-Wee,” 51, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of eight years, three months in prison, to be followed by eight years of supervised release;
- Michael Mack, a/k/a “Stank,” 49, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of one year and one day in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release;
- Tremaine Malcom, a/k/a “Twin,” 34, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of four years, 10 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release;
- Hassan Pope, a/k/a “Ali,” “Hot,” and “Tyrone Dunn,” 46, of College Park, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and received a sentence of 15 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release;
- Roger Solario, 29, of Marietta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of five years, three months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release;
- Joseph Strickland, a/k/a “Joe,” 45, of Decatur, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of eight years, four months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release; and
- Renardo Thomas, a/k/a “Donald Garwood,” 44, of Fairburn, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge and received a sentence of six years in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Marshals Service, with valuable assistance provided by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Department of Corrections, Marietta Police Department, and South Fulton Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary S. Howard and Teresa M. Stolze prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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.
IT consultant sentenced to federal prison for filing false tax returnsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Angela Brady has been sentenced for filing false tax returns in connection with her IT consulting business. Brady falsely claimed she incurred millions of dollars in contract labor expenses, and despite making millions of dollars in income, sought and received refunds during tax season.
“Brady’s criminal greed coupled with business savvy allowed her to skirt her tax obligations for years,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “This sentence reflects the seriousness of such greed-based offenses and should serve as a reminder that we all have an obligation to be truthful in tax filings.”
“As people prepare for the 2024 tax season, this sentencing serves as an important reminder that willfully filing false tax returns is defrauding the U.S. government,” said Lisa Fontanette, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS-Criminal Investigation in partnership with the US Attorney’s Office is ensuring those who do defraud the government are held accountable.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Brady operated a profitable IT software consulting business, AB Williams & Associates. While she had no full-time employees, she often contracted her work out to contractors in India, who she paid via PayPal. Between 2013 and 2018, Brady claimed that she incurred millions of dollars more than she actually incurred paying these contractors via PayPal. As a result, she was able to reduce her taxable income by her claimed business expenses, and in some years, obtained a tax refund from the IRS despite earning more than $1 million in income.
Brady accomplished this fraud by providing false spreadsheets to her tax preparer and later provided a similar false spreadsheet to IRS agents. Brady’s fraud resulted in a loss of close to $1.1 million in unpaid taxes.
Angela Brady, also known as “Angela Brady-Williams,” 51, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been sentenced to two years, nine months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release, and she was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,080,606.44. Brady was convicted on these charges on June 12, 2023, after she pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Dillingham and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Krepp 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 global diversity executive at Facebook pleads guilty to defrauding company out of more than $4 millionRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Barbara Furlow-Smiles, a former global diversity executive at Facebook, has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $4 million from the company utilizing an elaborate scheme involving fraudulent vendors, fictitious charges, and cash kickbacks.
“This defendant abused a position of a trust as a global diversity executive for Facebook to defraud the company of millions of dollars, ignoring the insidious consequences of undermining the importance of her DEI mission,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Motivated by greed, she used her time to orchestrate an elaborate criminal scheme in which fraudulent vendors paid her kickbacks in cash. She even involved relatives, friends, and other associates in her crimes, all to fund a lavish lifestyle through fraud rather than hard and honest work.”
“Furlow-Smiles used lies and deceit to defraud both vendors and Facebook employees,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI works hard to make sure greed like this doesn’t pay off and those who commit fraud are held accountable.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Barbara Furlow-Smiles served as Lead Strategist, Global Head of Employee Resource Groups and Diversity Engagement at Facebook, Inc., now known as Meta Platforms, Inc., doing business as Meta. From about January 2017 to September 2021, she led Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs at Facebook and was responsible for developing and executing DEI initiatives, operations, and engagement programs. In her position, Furlow-Smiles had access to company credit cards. She also maintained authority to submit purchase requisitions and approve invoices for authorized vendors of Facebook.
Furlow-Smiles used her position at Facebook to cheat and defraud the company. She caused Facebook to pay numerous individuals for goods and services never provided to the company. Those individuals then paid kickbacks to Furlow-Smiles, often in cash. Her scheme operated in two ways.
First, Furlow-Smiles linked PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App accounts to her Facebook credit cards and used those accounts to pay friends, relatives, and other associates for goods and services purportedly provided to Facebook. But these individuals did not provide goods or services to the company. Most of them did not know that the payments came from Facebook. To conceal the bogus charges on her Facebook credit cards, Furlow-Smiles submitted fraudulent expense reports, falsely claiming that her associates or their businesses performed work on programs and events for Facebook, such as providing swag or marketing services when, in fact, they had not done so.
After these associates received payments from Facebook, they returned most of the money to Furlow-Smiles. They paid these kickbacks in cash and through transfers to accounts held in her husband’s and others’ names. Associates paid cash kickbacks in person and by Federal Express or mail, sometimes wrapping the cash in other items, such as T-shirts. To further conceal her actions, Furlow-Smiles also directed associates to pay one another, or others who she owed money.
Second, Furlow-Smiles caused Facebook to onboard several vendors that were owned and operated by friends and associates who also paid her kickbacks. After Facebook approved contracts for these vendors, Furlow-Smiles approved purchase requisitions for these purported vendors to work for Facebook. Furlow-Smiles then approved fraudulent and inflated invoices to pay the vendors. After Facebook paid the invoices, Furlow-Smiles directed the vendors to return a portion of the money to her.
Furlow-Smiles recruited numerous individuals to receive money and pay kickbacks as part of the scheme. These individuals included friends, relatives, former interns from a prior job, nannies and babysitters, a hair stylist, and her university tutor. She also caused Facebook to make payments for her benefit to others who did not pay kickbacks. For example, Furlow-Smiles caused Facebook to pay nearly $10,000 to an artist for specialty portraits and more than $18,000 to a preschool for tuition.
In total, Furlow-Smiles stole more than $4 million from Facebook based on fictitious charges and fraudulent invoices for which goods and services were never provided to the company. She used the money to live a luxury lifestyle in California and Georgia.
Sentencing for Barbara Furlow-Smiles, also known as “Barbara Furlow,” 38, of Atlanta, Georgia, is scheduled for March 19, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Meta provided valuable assistance and cooperation during the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen H. McClain and Bernita B. Malloy 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.
This release has been edited to correct the defendant's former position title.
Georgia Motel Manager Sentenced for Trafficking and Forced Labor of VictimRead the Press Release
A motel manager in Georgia was sentenced to 57 months in prison for trafficking a victim with respect to peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude or forced labor and ordered to pay $42,648 in restitution to seven individuals.
According to court documents, Shreesh Tiwari, 71, an Indian national and legal U.S. permanent resident, began managing the Budgetel Motel in Cartersville, Georgia, in 2020. Shortly thereafter, Tiwari hired the victim to work as a maid at the motel and provided her with a room where she could live. Tiwari knew that, prior to arriving at the motel, the victim had experienced homelessness, struggled with a heroin addiction and lost custody of her young child. Tiwari promised the victim that he would help her regain custody of her child by providing her with pay, an apartment and an attorney.
Instead of following through with his promises, Tiwari monitored the victim’s interactions with motel guests and employees and forbade her from speaking to them. He also discouraged the victim from communicating with her family and friends, falsely claiming that they did not care about her. Tiwari began making numerous sexual overtures to the victim. When Tiwari became angry at the victim, he threatened to evict her from the room he provided her at the motel, knowing that she would become homeless as a result. In addition, Tiwari threatened to report the victim’s drug use to law enforcement or child welfare agencies whenever he was angry at the victim. Eventually, Tiwari began to regularly “evict” the victim from her motel room, and even locked her out of her room at night without warning. Tiwari even threatened to call animal control to remove the victim’s dog despite permitting the victim’s dog to live with the victim in her motel room at first. Ultimately, Tiwari required the victim to perform sex acts with him to stay at the motel. If she did not, Tiwari removed her from the property, causing her to be homeless.
“Human trafficking can occur anywhere since traffickers are adept at identifying someone’s vulnerabilities and often fraudulently extend hope to someone looking for an opportunity to improve their dire circumstances,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This sentence and the restitution secured for the survivors of this heinous labor trafficking scheme make clear that the Justice Department is committed to prosecuting anyone who flagrantly exploits their position of power. We will tirelessly seek restitution on behalf of the victims that traffickers callously exploit.”
“Tiwari used his position of power to ruthlessly abuse a victim he knew had already suffered immeasurably,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “The level of this defendant’s callousness is shocking. But we are thankful that our community is now safer, and other potential victims spared, due to the excellent investigative work of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners who made Tiwari’s conviction possible. Our office also intends for Tiwari’s prosecution and sentence to provide a stark warning to other traffickers that these crimes carry especially serious penalties on account of the lasting harm done to victims and their families.”
“Tiwari preyed upon the victim’s difficult past and fear of homelessness to control and extort her, subjecting her to unspeakable horrors,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Atlanta. “HSI Atlanta and our law enforcement partners will continue our efforts to ensure that predators like Mr. Tiwari will be held accountable for their actions.”
The HSI Dalton Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leanne Marek and Annalise Peters for the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Kate Hill of the Justice Department’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit prosecuted the case.
Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
Gainesville man pleads guilty after fraudulently obtaining Unemployment Insurance benefits in more than 15 statesRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, Ga. - Ronald House, who applied for unemployment insurance in his name and the names of others in multiple states during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, has pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge.
“House ran a multi-state scam stealing benefits allotted for those in need,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “COVID-19 pandemic funds provided vital aid for citizens who qualified for them. Congress did not intend for individuals to illegally profit from the CARES Act program. House compounded his fraudulent conduct by stealing the identities of others to perpetrate his scheme.”
“During the COVID-19 pandemic when so many Americans desperately needed unemployment assistance, Ronald House submitted numerous fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) claims to multiple state workforce agencies in his own name, as well as in the names of his relatives, including a deceased family member. As a result, House collected over $170,000 in fraudulent UI payments; benefits which were intended for individuals adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.” said Mathew Broadhurst, Special-Agent- in-Charge, Southeast Region, US. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to work with our federal and state law enforcement partners to safeguard unemployment benefits programs for those who need them.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act provided emergency assistance and health care response for individuals, families, and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act created a new temporary federal program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance that provided up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits and funding to states for administration of the program. An individual receiving these benefits might also have received a $600 weekly benefit in federal funds under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program if he or she was eligible for such compensation for the week claimed.
To take advantage of the additional weekly federal benefit, House applied online for fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits using his personal identifying information in California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington State. He also applied for fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits using the personal identifying information of others in several states, including Georgia and Michigan. He fraudulently obtained more than $150,000 in benefits.
Sentencing for House, 66, of Gainesville, Georgia, is scheduled for March 8, 2024, at 10:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Klapman is prosecuting the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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.
Local businesses owner and employee each plead guilty to filing false tax returns after failing to report nearly $4 million in incomeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Ronald S. Zieve, the owner of Hair Restoration Specialists, Inc. (“HRS”), and Marshall Boyd, the co-director of HRS, have each pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return. Since 2018, Zieve deliberately failed to report approximately $3.2 million in income, and Boyd deliberately failed to report approximately $790,000 in income.
“These defendants behaved as if our tax laws did not apply to them,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “People who cheat on their taxes, file false returns, or fail to pay taxes owed are subject to investigation and prosecution.”
“Filing false tax return documents to hide income is stealing from the U.S. government,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “On behalf of the honest, law-abiding taxpayers, IRS Criminal Investigation, the Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies will continue investigating and holding individuals accountable who willfully shirk their tax responsibilities to honestly report their income.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: Ronald Zieve failed to properly report income he earned from HRS for tax years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. In March 2021, for example, Zieve filed an IRS-1040 form for tax year 2020 that falsely reported his “other income” as $107,070 when, in fact, Zieve knew he had earned more than $1 million in other income.
An investigation of the defendants, including through the execution of a search warrant at HRS’s office, and a review of relevant business, bank, and tax records, revealed that Zieve deliberately concealed his actual income from the IRS in a variety of ways. Zieve, for instance, improperly classified personal expenses as business expenses and hid his income by directing it into bank accounts of other businesses that he controlled, but which did not actually engage in any business activities. As a result of Zieve’s failure to report approximately $3.2 million in income, he caused a tax loss to the United States of approximately $1 million.
Investigators also learned that since 2016, Zieve had been paying Boyd hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash commissions that Boyd never reported to the IRS. In February 2021, for example, Boyd filed an IRS-1040 form for the tax year 2020 that falsely reported “other income” of “$0” when, in fact, Boyd knew that he had earned approximately $191,000 in other income. As a result of Boyd failing to report approximately $790,000 in income, he caused a tax loss to the United States of approximately $266,000.
Ronald S. Zieve, 75, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Marshall Boyd, 50, of Douglasville, GA, Georgia, each pleaded guilty to one count of filing a fraudulent tax return. Sentencing is scheduled for March 5, 2024, beginning at 10:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr.
This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla 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.
Georgia Tech and Georgia Tech Research Corporation pay $90,000 to resolve allegations of violations of the False Claims ActRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – The Georgia Institute of Technology (“Georgia Tech”) and Georgia Tech Research Corporation (“GTRC”) have agreed to pay $90,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by failing to exercise proper oversight sufficient to allow them to detect the submission of false claims to the National Science Foundation (“NSF”).
“Federal grants and awards come with known ‘rules of the road,’” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Organizations that receive federal funds—especially schools and universities that are pillars of our community—must take steps to ensure that their employees are following the rules. This settlement represents our office’s commitment to ensuring accountability for institutions that fail to live up to these obligations.”
The government’s investigation concerned an NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (“IUCRC”) grant. The IUCRC program fosters pre-competitive research through multi-member collaborations among industry, academic, and government partners. The award at issue was made to a project entitled the “Center for Health Organization Transformation.”
“The IUCRC program is a valuable tool in advancing NSF’s mission to promote the progress of science by developing long-term partnerships among industry, academia, and government,” said Allison Lerner, NSF’s Inspector General. “The NSF Office of Inspector General is committed to vigorously pursuing oversight of taxpayer funds and protecting the integrity of this important program. We are pleased that Georgia Tech changed its practices to better safeguard IUCRC funds, and I commend the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its strong support in this effort.”
The settlement amount is in addition to $105,000 that Georgia Tech has already returned to the NSF in connection with this award. As part of the settlement, Georgia Tech and GTRC agreed to implement training requirements for employees that handle IUCRC grants and a procedure for employees to report material instances of noncompliance with NSF award requirements.
The settlement resolves allegations that from April 2014 to March 2019, Georgia Tech and GTRC failed to engage in proper oversight of the grant program, which led to Georgia Tech and GTRC’s failure to detect and prevent the submission of false claims to NSF concerning the number of industry members participating in the Center for Health Transformation and the amount of membership fees paid or received on membership certifications for the award. Industry participation is a core component of the IUCRC model. Although NSF awards act as seed money for centers, the program requires industry members to provide the primary base of financial support.
The investigation of this matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Akash Desai and Austin M. Hall. The claims resolved by the 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 U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Former office manager pleads guilty to embezzling over 3.5 million dollarsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Sonya Hesenius, a former office manager and executive assistant for an Alpharetta company, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after embezzling over $3.5 million between 2015 and 2020.
“Hesenius stole millions of dollars from her employer to fund a lavish lifestyle,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Those entrusted with a fiduciary role for a company accept great responsibility. The defendant’s actions demonstrate that she cared far more about personal gain and much less about the faith and trust that her employer placed in her.”
“Hesenius worked in a position of trust for a company that expected her to honor that trust,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Instead, she chose to abuse it and her personal greed not only hurt the company, but everyone who worked for them. This plea should send the message that the FBI takes wire fraud extremely seriously and will work to hold offenders accountable.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Between 2015 and 2020, while employed as an office manager and executive assistant at an Alpharetta, Georgia company providing yard care services, Sonya Hesenius made fraudulent charges on corporate credit cards and caused the company to reimburse her personal credit card for personal expenses. To conceal her scheme, she coded and approved all the charges herself, withheld supporting documentation from the company, and disguised the unauthorized expenditures in the company’s system as legitimate expenses – such as newspaper advertisements. Hesenius also disseminated the expenditures among different job sites to further conceal the fraud.
Hesenius used the embezzled funds to pay for a variety of personal expenses, including, among other things, her daughter’s wedding at the Barnsley Resort; cash transfers through PayPal, Venmo, and Square; Luis Vuitton and Chanel handbags; plane flights for Hesenius and more than 20 of her family members and friends; season tickets for University of Tennessee football and basketball teams; a recreational vehicle; hotels; furniture; cruises; and clothing items. In total, Hesenius embezzled more than $3,500,000.
Sonya Hesenius, 59, of Suwanee, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for March 6, 2024, at 10:00 am before U.S. District Judge Victoria M. Calvert.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. O'Neal 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.
Five persons sentenced to federal prison in international drug and money laundering operationRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Jason Arias, Daniel Newton, Anthony Blair, David Barros, Shondra Vernon, and Madison Rene Kelleher have been sentenced for their participation in a conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States from the Dominican Republic in the checked baggage of airline travelers.
“These defendants exploited our country’s airline carriers to carry out a large-scale drug trafficking operation,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “For several years, the defendants imported a great deal of cocaine into the United States but eventually were arrested and prosecuted thanks to the diligent work of our federal and local law enforcement partners.”
“Anthony Blair orchestrated a drug trafficking conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the United States, destroying communities and putting countless lives at risk,” said Acting Special Agent in charge Travis Pickard who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “This sentence is the culmination of a great investigation executed by HSI and its partners and its success is directly related to their hard work and professionalism. We will continue to exhaust all resources and use all of our available assets to pursue those criminals and organizations involved in bringing poison into our communities.”
“Customs and Border Protection officers work side by side with our law enforcement partners to keep dangerous drugs from reaching our communities,” said Zachary Thomas, CBP Area Port Director Atlanta. “Narcotics interdiction remains an enforcement priority for CBP, and it is one of the many ways CBP helps protect our citizens and the public.”
Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division stated, “Through hard work, this illegal drug distribution and money laundering network has been removed from our streets. This criminal enterprise had no regard for the potential impact of their actions.”
“Anytime law enforcement agencies work together to stop illegal activities, it is a win for communities locally, nationally, and internationally,” said Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum. “The conviction of this group proves the effectiveness of our law enforcement partnerships, the dedication of the members of the various agencies that protect the world’s busiest airport, and our commitment to bringing criminals to justice.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: From approximately 2015 through June of 2018, these defendants and members of their conspiracy obtained cocaine in Costa Rica, concealed the drugs in sealed cans labeled as food, and smuggled the contraband into the United States in checked luggage. Jason Arias obtained and packaged the cocaine in Costa Rica. Anthony Blair then recruited over 60 travelers in Atlanta to agree to an “all-expenses paid” vacation to Costa Rica to assist with the transport of the drugs into the United States.
As a part of the scheme, the recruited travelers, when ready to depart Costa Rica, met with Arias who arranged for the travelers to bring purported souvenirs to Blair and others in the United States. In fact, the souvenirs included sealed cans containing kilograms of cocaine. After the cocaine was sold, profits were reinvested in the enterprise, smuggled back to Costa Rica, and spent to support the defendants’ extravagant lifestyles, including the rental of a $14,000 per month Atlanta-area apartment.
In total, the organization imported more than 150 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. The conspiracy unraveled when U.S. Customs and Border Protection special agents located cocaine in the luggage of two travelers and arrested Blair when he arrived to meet the travelers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The following defendants have been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May for their respective roles in the drug trafficking conspiracy:
- Anthony Blair, 44, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to 20 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $434,195 in drug profits to the United States. Blair was convicted of multiple narcotics and money laundering offenses following a jury trial on May 23, 2023.
- David Barros, 37, of Taunton, Massachusetts, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Barros was convicted of multiple narcotics and money laundering offenses following a jury trial on May 23, 2023.
- Jason Arias, 39, of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been sentenced to four years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Arias was convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine and money laundering on August 10, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.
- Daniel Newton a/k/a “Russia,” 34, of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been sentenced to one year and one month in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Newton was convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine and money laundering on September 12, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
- Shondra Vernon a/k/a “Frenchie,” 34, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been sentenced to three years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release. Vernon was convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine on November 9, 2021, after she pleaded guilty.
- Madison Rene Kelleher, 32, of Fall River, Massachusetts, has been sentenced to three years of probation. Kelleher was convicted of money laundering conspiracy on November 19, 2019, after she pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Atlanta Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tyler A. Mann and Calvin A. Leipold III prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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.
Man Sentenced for Election-Related Threats Toward Georgia Public OfficialsRead the Press Release
A Texas man was sentenced today to two years in prison for posting a message online threatening several Georgia public officials following the 2020 election.
“Threats of violence against those who administer our elections are dangerous for people’s personal safety, and they are dangerous for our democracy,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This sentence should serve as warning — illegal threats against the public servants who make our democracy work will be met with the full force of the Justice Department.”
According to court documents, on or about Jan. 5, 2021, Chad Christopher Stark, 55, of Leander, posted a message to Craigslist entitled, “Georgia Patriots it’s time to kill [Official A] the Chinese agent - $10,000.” The message stated the following:
“Georgia Patriots it’s time for us to take back our state from these Lawless treasonous traitors. It’s time to invoke our Second Amendment right it’s time to put a bullet in the treasonous Chinese [Official A]. Then we work our way down to [Official B] the local and federal corrupt judges. It’s our duty as American Patriots to put an end to the lives of these traitors and take back our country by force we can no longer wait on the corrupt law enforcement in the corrupt courts. If we want our country back we have to exterminate these people. One good loyal Patriot deer hunter in camo and a rifle can send a very clear message to these corrupt governors.. milita up Georgia it’s time to spill blood…. we need to pay a visit to [Official C] and her family as well and put a bullet her behind the ears. Let’s be very clear to our local law enforcement who have stood down and watch BLM antifa destroy our country and kill our citizens yet you’ll step up to stop Patriot supporters you’ll enforce face mask and you’ll close American businesses??? Remember one thing local law enforcement the key word being local….. we will find you oathbreakers and we’re going to pay your family to visit your mom your dad your brothers and sisters your children your wife… we’re going to make examples of traitors to our country… death to you and all you communist friends.”
“It’s simple: protecting America’s democracy means protecting the public servants and officials who ensure the electoral process is fair and free,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Christopher Stark threatened the lives of multiple election workers in an attempt to prevent them from doing their job. Today’s sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s resolute commitment to securing American elections from any attempts to undermine their integrity.”
“The conviction and sentencing of this defendant should send a clear message: the intimidation of those sworn to oversee and facilitate free and fair elections in this country is a serious offense that carries significant criminal penalties,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “Stark threatened Georgia statewide elected officials and a volunteer county election worker. Those threats were equally harmful, and his conduct put our democracy in jeopardy.”
“Sending death threats and urging others to act is not protected speech — it is a crime,” said Special Agent in Charge Keri Farley of the FBI Atlanta Field Office. “The sentencing of Stark is a warning to all that those who attempt to undermine American democracy will be held criminally accountable.”
The FBI Atlanta Field Office investigated the case.
Election Community Liaison Aaron Jennen and former Election Crimes Branch Director of Enforcement and Litigation Sean F. Mulryne of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Senior Litigation Counsel Brent A. Gray for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted this case.
This case is part of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force. Announced by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and launched by Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco in June 2021, the task force has led the department’s efforts to address threats of violence against election workers, and to ensure that all election workers — whether elected, appointed, or volunteer — are able to do their jobs free from threats and intimidation. The task force engages with the election community and state and local law enforcement to assess allegations and reports of threats against election workers, and has investigated and prosecuted these matters where appropriate, in partnership with FBI Field Offices and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country. The task force is continuing this work and supporting the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and FBI Field Offices nationwide.
Under the leadership of Deputy Attorney General Monaco, the task force is led by the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and includes several other entities within the Justice Department, including the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Criminal Division, the Civil Rights Division, the National Security Division, and the FBI, as well as key interagency partners, such as the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. For more information regarding the Justice Department’s efforts to combat threats against election workers, read the Deputy Attorney General’s memo.
To report suspected threats or violent acts, contact your local FBI office and request to speak with the Election Crimes Coordinator. Contact information for every FBI field office may be found at www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/. You may also contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or file an online complaint at www.tips.fbi.gov. Complaints submitted will be reviewed by the task force and referred for investigation or response accordingly. If someone is in imminent danger or risk of harm, contact 911 or your local police immediately.
King Kong tools settles claims of customs fraud for $1.9 millionRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – A German company, KingKong-Tools GmbH & Co KG, and its American subsidiary, King Kong Tools, LLC (collectively “King Kong”), will pay $1.9 million to settle allegations of customs fraud under the False Claims Act. The government alleged that King Kong was falsely labelling its tools as “made in Germany” when, in fact, the tools were made in China. By misrepresenting the origin of the tools, King Kong avoided paying higher tariffs.
“Companies cannot avoid paying tariffs by misrepresenting product manufacturing information,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “The Department of Justice will work diligently to uncover these schemes, and those companies involved in such misconduct will be compelled to pay tariffs owed, as well as penalties.”
“Stopping businesses from cheating the customs system not only prevents them from defrauding our government, but also prevents unfair competitive advantages that harm the labor market,” said Acting Special Agent in charge Travis Pickard who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Hopefully, the result of this case sends a clear message that HSI and its partners are watching and will hold you accountable for your actions.”
“Customs fraud in international trade of manufacturing goods result in an unfair advantage of legitimate businesses,” said Gregory Alvarez, Customs and Border Protection’s Director of Field Operations, Atlanta. “This enforcement action is another example of how CBPs trade specialists safeguard the economic security of the United States.”
This case began when a competitor of King Kong filed a whistleblower complaint alleging that King Kong was manufacturing cutting tools in a Chinese factory. The tools were then shipped to Germany, where some additional processing was performed on some (but not all) of the tools. The tools were then shipped to the United States and declared to be “German” products. If the products had been correctly described as Chinese products, King Kong would have been required to pay a 25% tariff on Chinese goods. By falsely describing the tools as “German,” King Kong improperly avoided paying these tariffs.
This civil settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia under the False Claims Act, U.S. ex rel. China Pacificarbide, Inc. v. King Kong Tools, LLC, et al.
The False Claims Act is a federal law that imposes civil liability on any person who submits false claims to the federal government or its contractors. The law imposes treble damages and civil penalties on those who submit false claims. Under the law, whistleblowers (also called “relators”) who bring fraud to the government’s attention share in any recovery obtained by the government. Here, the relator will receive $286,861 from the settlement in this matter, plus attorney’s fees.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations.
The civil settlement was reached by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony DeCinque and Akash Desai. The claims resolved by the 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 U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Atlanta man sentenced in large-scale methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficking schemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Quintilis Davenport has been sentenced for his role in a drug trafficking operation involving large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl that were intended for distribution in and around the Atlanta area. Davenport possessed three firearms, multi-kilogram quantities of methamphetamine, and nearly an entire kilogram of fentanyl at the time of his arrest.
“This sentence is a reflection of the seriousness of this conduct and the necessity to deter others from engaging in such dangerous drug trafficking activities,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “We are proud to work alongside our law enforcement partners to keep our community safer, especially from life-threatening narcotics like fentanyl.”
“This violent drug trafficker can no longer distribute dangerous drugs, such as methamphetamine and fentanyl, as he now faces the consequences for his poor choices,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division.
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: On August 24, 2022, Davenport planned to sell a kilogram of methamphetamine and 1,000 fentanyl pills to a DEA special agent acting in an undercover capacity. Davenport fled and tossed a firearm into a pond when law enforcement attempted to arrest him.
After eventually taking Davenport into custody, law enforcement searched his apartment in Union City and recovered 14 kilograms of methamphetamine, 1,500 fentanyl pills, nearly half a kilogram of fentanyl powder, and three firearms. According to the DEA, the amount of fentanyl was enough to kill thousands of people. One of the firearms was reported stolen and contained a 50-round drum magazine. Investigators also seized seven additional magazines and a large amount of ammunition from Davenport’s apartment.
Quintilis Davenport, 33, of Union City, Georgia, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Davenport was convicted on these charges on August 22, 2023, after he pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Cobb County Police Department, South Fulton Police Department, and Union City Police Department also assisted with the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bethany L. Rupert and Richard Beaulieu prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following websites: www.justthinktwice.gov; www.operationprevention.com/; www.dea.gov/onepill
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.