Northern District of Illinois

CHICAGO — Three men have been indicted on federal kidnapping charges for allegedly abducting several victims at gunpoint in the Chicago suburbs.

The defendants last year carried out two kidnappings in Naperville and Westchester, and attempted a third in South Holland, according to a superseding indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

Charged with participating in a kidnapping conspiracy are SEDGWICK WILLIAMS, 43, of Chicago; IVAN AYERS, 33, of Chicago; and TAI HON LA, 31, of Beach Park.  The charge carries a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.  All three defendants are currently detained in law enforcement custody.  Arraignments are scheduled for Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Beth W. Jantz.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Robert Marshall, Chief of the Naperville Police Department.  Valuable assistance in the investigation was provided by the Westchester Police Department and South Holland Police Department.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Jodrey and Corey B. Rubenstein.

According to the indictment and a recently unsealed federal search warrant, the first kidnapping occurred on Oct. 17, 2019, in Naperville, when the defendants posed as law enforcement officers to abduct a man outside of an electronics store he owned.  The defendants allegedly physically assaulted the victim, extorted his family, and burglarized his business.  The victim received medical treatment in a hospital.

The defendants carried out a second kidnapping on Nov. 16, 2019, in Westchester, the indictment states.  Again posing as law enforcement officers, the defendants abducted a man outside of his residence and forced him back inside his home, where they seized another victim and forced them both into the basement, the indictment and search warrant state.  Two other victims later arrived at the residence and were also forced into the basement at gunpoint, the search warrant states.  The defendants allegedly stole cash and jewelry before leaving the residence.

The defendants attempted a third kidnapping on Dec. 11, 2019, in South Holland, but were unsuccessful in gaining entry to the intended victim’s home, the search warrant states.  

In addition to the conspiracy count, the defendants are also charged with individual kidnapping and attempted kidnapping counts, as well as a count of illegal firearm and ammunition possession.  Each of the defendants was prohibited from legally possessing a firearm or ammunition due to a previous felony conviction.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. 

CHICAGO — A former college professor has been indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly embezzling more than $650,000 from a national student organization committed to improving minority representation in the pharmacy industry.

While serving as the volunteer Executive Director of the student association, CARMITA COLEMAN withdrew cash and issued checks from the group’s bank accounts for her and her family’s personal benefit, according to an indictment returned Thursday in U.S. District in Chicago.  Coleman attempted to cover up her scheme by submitting false and misleading reports that concealed her withdrawals, the indictment states.  When a new individual was appointed to replace Coleman as Executive Director, Coleman knowingly delayed turning over access to the organization’s bank accounts so that she could continue spending the money for her personal benefit, the indictment states. 

The fraud scheme allegedly lasted from 2011 to 2016.  Coleman, who separately during the scheme was a professor and interim dean at the Chicago State University College of Pharmacy, fraudulently misappropriated approximately $651,272 from the student association, the indictment states.

The indictment charges Coleman, 49, of Frankfort, with four counts of wire fraud.  Arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi Manschreck.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Each count of wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — An investment manager has been indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly swindling a Chicago resident and other clients out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

EUGENE Z. NOWAK, 57, of Jersey City, N.J., is charged in an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago with three counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and one count of money laundering.  Arraignment is scheduled for Friday at 10:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; William Hedrick, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kartik K. Raman.

According to the indictment, Nowak served as president of Global Funding Partners, a Nevada-based company that purported to be an investment firm engaged in complex business dealings with large multinational banking and financial institutions.  From 2013 to 2016, Nowak, while then residing in Naples, Fla., falsely represented to investors that their funds would be used to provide “bridge funding,” or temporary funding, for Global Funding Partners to close a $33 million financial transaction involving Scotiabank, the indictment states.  Nowak falsely promised that investors, including the Chicago resident, would receive high-yield returns in a short amount of time, and that they could cancel their investment at any time for a full refund with interest, the indictment states.

In reality, Nowak and Global Funding Partners were not parties to a transaction with Scotiabank.  Nowak instead allegedly diverted investor funds to cover his personal expenses, including payments to a car dealership and pawn shop in Naples, Fla.  As a result of the scheme, Nowak caused investors, including the Chicago resident, to suffer hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses, the indictment states.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — A special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, a criminal investigative unit within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has been indicted on federal tax, structuring, and concealment offenses.

ANTHONY SABAINI, who was assigned to HSI’s field office in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., is charged with five counts of willfully filing a false federal tax return, one count of structuring a currency transaction, and one count of willfully engaging in a scheme to conceal a material fact in a matter within the jurisdiction of DHS, according to an indictment returned Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  Sabaini, 38, of Naperville, Ill., will be arraigned on a date to be set by the Court.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Tamera Cantu, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.  The DHS Office of Inspector General's Chicago Field Office participated in the investigation.  Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Professional Responsibility.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Eichenseer.

According to the indictment, Sabaini from 2014 to 2018 deposited a total of approximately $251,371 in cash into a bank account for which he was the sole signatory.  He made the deposits via approximately 162 ATM or teller transactions, with the amount of each deposit being less than $10,000, the indictment states.  The deposits were structured in an effort to evade federal reporting rules, which require financial institutions to notify the U.S. Department of the Treasury about transactions of more than $10,000, the charges allege.

The tax charges allege that for each of those five calendar years, Sabaini willfully filed a false federal tax return that underreported his total income.

The concealment charge alleges that Sabaini in 2017 and 2018 knowingly submitted false memorandums to his HSI supervisors to seek approval to use and pay a confidential informant in a purported criminal investigation.  In the memorandums, Sabaini knowingly covered up material facts, including that the informant was a target of ongoing drug investigations conducted by the FBI and DEA, and that the informant had recently engaged in unauthorized criminal conduct that Sabaini knew would have affected his suitability as a paid HSI informant, the indictment states.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  Each tax charge is punishable by up to three years in federal prison, while the structuring and concealment charges are each punishable by up to five years.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — Former Commonwealth Edison executives, including the former Chief Executive Officer, conspired with outside consultants to corruptly influence and reward a high-level elected official for the State of Illinois to assist with the passage of legislation favorable to the electric utility company, according to an indictment returned today in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

The indictment charges four individuals with bribery conspiracy, bribery, and willfully falsifying ComEd books and records:

• MICHAEL McCLAIN, 73, of Quincy, Ill.  McClain worked as a lobbyist and/or consultant for ComEd after serving in the Illinois House of Representatives in the 1970s and early 1980s.
• ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, 62, of Barrington, Ill.  Pramaggiore was CEO of ComEd from 2012 to 2018, and later served as a senior executive at an affiliate of Exelon Corp., of which ComEd was a subsidiary.
• JOHN HOOKER, 71, of Chicago, Ill.  Hooker served as ComEd’s executive vice president of legislative and external affairs from 2009 to 2012, after which he worked as an external lobbyist for ComEd.
• JAY DOHERTY, 67, of Chicago, Ill.  Doherty owned Jay D. Doherty & Associates, which performed consulting services for ComEd from approximately 2011 to 2019.

Arraignments in federal court in Chicago have not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Tamera Cantu, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amarjeet S. Bhachu, Diane MacArthur, Timothy J. Chapman, Sarah E. Streicker, Matthew L. Kutcher, and Michelle Kramer.

According to the charges, the defendants’ efforts to influence and reward the high-level elected official – identified in the indictment as “Public Official A” – began in or around 2011 and continued through in or around 2019.  During that time, Public Official A controlled what measures were called for a vote in the Illinois House of Representatives and exerted substantial influence over fellow lawmakers concerning legislation affecting ComEd, the indictment states.  The charges allege that the defendants conspired to corruptly influence and reward Public Official A by arranging for jobs and contracts for Public Official A’s political allies and workers, even in instances where those people performed little or no work that ComEd purportedly hired them to perform.  The defendants allegedly created and caused the creation of false contracts, invoices, and other books and records to disguise the true nature of some of the payments and to circumvent internal controls at ComEd.

In addition to the jobs and contracts, the indictment alleges that the defendants undertook other efforts to influence and reward Public Official A, including causing ComEd to retain a particular outside law firm favored by Public Official A and to accept into ComEd’s internship program a certain amount of students who resided in the Chicago ward associated with Public Official A.  Pramaggiore and McClain also allegedly took steps to have an individual appointed to ComEd’s Board of Directors at the request of Public Official A and McClain, the indictment states.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — More than 26 individuals have been charged with various narcotics trafficking or firearms offenses as part of a federal investigation into illegal activities on the West Side of Chicago.  As part of the investigation, law enforcement shut down a telephone drug hotline, according to a criminal complaint recently unsealed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

Over a three-month period this summer, law enforcement made two dozen undercover purchases of fentanyl-laced heroin and crack cocaine from the defendants’ drug trafficking operation, according to the complaint.  In addition to shutting down the phone line used by the defendants to coordinate sales, law enforcement also seized narcotics, a drug mixer, and multiple firearms during a court-authorized search of a stash house in the 800 block of South Karlov Avenue in Chicago, the charges allege.

The complaint unsealed on Nov. 10, 2020, charges 13 defendants with drug conspiracy.  Twelve of those defendants were arrested and have begun making initial appearances in federal court.  One defendant remains at large, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The federal investigation previously resulted in related drug or firearm charges this summer and fall against more than 13 other defendants.

The results of the investigation were announced today by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Bell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Kristen deTineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  Substantial assistance in the investigation was provided by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and IRS Criminal Investigation Division.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kalia Coleman, Katie Durick, Prashant Kolluri, and Ramon Villalpando, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elena Gottreich and Deborah Shutter.

The investigation was conducted with the support of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force (HIDTA).  The task forces are comprised of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies who work together to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations.

“These arrests send a clear message that anyone who sells dangerous drugs on the streets of Chicago faces the full weight of federal law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “Our office will continue to focus on individuals and groups who distribute fentanyl-laced drugs – a gravely potent mix – and prosecute those offenders in federal court.”

“This cooperative investigation targeted the distribution of narcotics, including heroin mixed with potentially lethal fentanyl, and violence in the East Garfield Park in Chicago,” said DEA SAC Bell.  “DEA Chicago is committed with our federal, state, and local partners to combat drug trafficking and associated drug related violence across the city and region.”

“Partnerships among local, state, and federal law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies is a force multiplier, focusing resources to stop violent crime including firearms and narcotics trafficking,” said ATF SAC deTineo.  “When law enforcement works together, as illustrated in this operation, the impact is visible throughout the communities of Chicago.”

“I am extremely proud of the partnership CPD has with our state and federal colleagues,” said CPD Supt. Brown.  “Working together makes Chicago a safer city.  Criminal networks that plague our city will not survive.  This multi-defendant, complex operation is an example of that commitment.  I also wish to thank those community members that assist law enforcement with valuable information every day.  This cooperative effort is how we will improve public safety in Chicago.”

According to the newly unsealed complaint, DEXSTIN BRYANT, 31, of Chicago, operated and managed the drug trafficking organization on the West Side of Chicago, with assistance from TREMAINE BRENT, 32, of Chicago.  Drug dealers in Bryant’s organization used the phone line to arrange deliveries of narcotics to customers, the complaint states.  Each dealer worked a shift on the phone to receive calls and organize the sales, the charges allege.  The complaint charges eleven alleged dealers, all of whom reside in Chicago: TEVIN ALVERIO, 26; JARVIS BLAIR, 36; ENRIQUE HOLLINS, 23, who remains at large; SHARONDA HOSEY, 20; JUSTIN JOHNSON, 19; TYJUAN MCDOWELL, 32; RIKITA MITCHELL, 34; ALLEN WASHINGTON, 27; PAUL WILKINS, 64; DOROTHY WILLIAMS, 54; and INA WILLIAMS, 38.

The previously charged cases include Chicago residents KENDRICK PEPPER, 29, and LAMONT HAGGARD, who allegedly distributed large quantities of heroin and crack cocaine in Chicago; CARLTON HARRIS, 28, who allegedly illegally possessed a handgun on May 8, 2020, in Chicago; LACJON LINK, 30, KELVIN ROSS, 39, and WILLIE ROSS, 60, who allegedly distributed more than 400 grams of fentanyl-laced heroin in Chicago; ERNEST RUSSELL, 35, DEVON LEE, 22, WONSHON DONAHUE, 21, DEMARLON CARROLL, 34, ERNEST ROSS, 62, SHAUNTRELL HARRIS, 31, and OSHAY KELLEY, 26, who allegedly distributed heroin, fentanyl, or crack cocaine in Chicago; and the alleged owner of the drug stash house, JOHNNIE GRANT, 32.

The public is reminded that charges contain only accusations and are not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — A Grundy County man has been indicted in federal court in Chicago on charges he illegally possessed explosive devices and handguns.

JOHN FEENEY, 30, of Minooka, is charged with one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, one count of illegal possession of an explosive by a convicted felon, one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device, and one count of carrying explosives during the commission of a felony. 

According to the indictment, Feeney illegally possessed two handguns and three explosives on Jan. 25, 2020, in Morris.  The explosives included a 4-inch diameter cardboard aerial shell containing perchlorate explosives and black powder; a 2-inch diameter cardboard aerial shell containing perchlorate explosives; and a 2-inch diameter cardboard aerial shell secured to a plastic cup and containing metal Phillips head bits, cut copper wire, and perchlorate explosives, the indictment states.  Feeney was previously convicted of a felony and was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm or explosive.

The indictment was returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  Feeney is currently in law enforcement custody.  Arraignment in federal court has not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Kristen deTineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  The Grundy County Sheriff’s Department provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cornelius Vandenberg.

The count of carrying explosives during the commission of a felony includes a mandatory ten-year prison sentence that must be served consecutively to any sentence imposed for the three other counts, each of which is punishable by up to ten years.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago businessman has been charged with fraud for allegedly swindling more than $2.6 million from hospitals who paid for scarce personal protective equipment amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago charges DENNIS W. HAGGERTY, JR., the president of Illinois-based At Diagnostics Inc., with one count of wire fraud.  Haggerty, 44, of Burr Ridge, Ill., was arrested this morning.  He is scheduled to make an initial court appearance today at 2:45 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole in Chicago. 

Also today, federal law enforcement executed a court-authorized search of Haggerty’s office in Willowbrook, Ill.

The complaint and arrest were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Eichenseer.

According to the complaint, Haggerty and two business partners formed At Diagnostics in March 2020 to sell personal protective equipment.  Two large university hospitals – one in Chicago and the other in Iowa City, Iowa – ordered a combined one million N95 face masks from the company.  As a deposit on the masks, the hospitals paid more than $3 million into a bank account that Haggerty falsely represented as an At Diagnostics account but which was actually solely controlled by Haggerty, the complaint states.  The complaint alleges that Haggerty spent part of the hospitals’ funds for his own personal benefit, including purchasing two Maserati automobiles and a Land Rover sport-utility vehicle.

When At Diagnostics failed to deliver the masks on time, Haggerty allegedly falsely claimed to one hospital that his bank had no record of the payment being received.  After his business partners confronted Haggerty about the whereabouts of the money, Haggerty altered a bank statement to make it appear as if the funds had never been received, the complaint states. 

To date, Haggerty has failed to return more than $2.6 million paid by the hospitals for masks that were never delivered, the complaint states.

The charge in the complaint is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.  The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

CHICAGO — Two men have been indicted on federal firearm offenses for allegedly trafficking multiple handguns from Indiana to Chicago.

BENJAMIN CORTEZ-GOMEZ, also known as “Bennie Blanco,” is charged with one count of dealing firearms without a license and one count of illegally possessing firearms as a convicted felon.  GUSTAVO URIEL GOMEZ-HIPOLITO, also known as “Uriel Gomez,” is charged with one count of aiding and abetting Cortez-Gomez in the illegal possession of the firearms. 

An indictment unsealed on Nov. 4, 2020, in U.S. District Court in Chicago accuses Cortez-Gomez of trafficking firearms over a four-month period earlier this year.  The indictment further alleges that Cortez-Gomez illegally possessed seven handguns on July 27, 2020, with Gomez-Hipolito’s assistance.  Cortez-Gomez purchased the seven guns in Indiana and transported them to Chicago, according to a criminal complaint filed against Cortez-Gomez earlier in the investigation.

Cortez-Gomez, 28, is currently detained in federal custody.  A date for his arraignment has not yet been scheduled.  Gomez-Hipolito, 24, pleaded not guilty and has been released on bond while awaiting trial.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen deTineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles W. Mulaney represents the government.

The case was brought under Operation Legend, a Department of Justice initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement to fight violent crime.  As part of Operation Legend, the Department of Justice significantly increased resources in Chicago to help state and local officials investigate and prosecute violent crime, particularly firearm-related offenses.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  Dealing firearms without a license is punishable by up to five years in federal prison, while the illegal possession count is punishable by up to ten years.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

ROCKFORD — A Crystal Lake resident pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston to federal income tax evasion.

GARY T. PETERSEN, 55, was president and sole shareholder of Petersen Sealcoating and Paving, Inc., a business located in Crystal Lake.  According to a written plea agreement, Petersen in 2016 deposited checks received by PSPI as payment for its services and products into bank accounts Petersen held with family members and other accounts held by his family members that he controlled.  Petersen also cashed checks PSPI received and personally retained the cash, with the intention of excluding the money from income reported by PSPI to the IRS.

For the calendar year 2016, Petersen provided PSPI income information to his tax preparer, but concealed checks that he deposited into his joint and controlled accounts, and the checks he cashed.  On March 23, 2017, Petersen caused a false U.S. Individual Income Tax Return Form 1040 to be filed, stating the he and a co-filer had taxable income of $75,028 and that the amount of tax due was $10,919, when Petersen knew he and his co-filer had taxable income of approximately $1,174,261, and the additional amount of income tax due was approximately $402,431.

Petersen also admitted that during the calendar years 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, he engaged in the same acts, underreporting PSPI’s income and his personal income on tax forms that would have resulted in additional tax due of $33,216 in 2012, $82,388 in 2013, $146,853 in 2014, and $356,230 in 2015.

Petersen faces a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greater.   The actual sentence will be determined by the U.S. District Court, guided by the Sentencing Guidelines.  Sentencing is set for Feb. 17, 2021, at 10:30 a.m.

The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Todd Martin, Acting Special Agent-In-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Love.

Beam Suntory Inc. (Beam), a Chicago-based company that produces and sells distilled beverages, has agreed to pay a criminal monetary penalty of $19,572,885 to resolve the department’s investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). 

The resolution arises in part out of Beam’s scheme to pay a bribe to an Indian government official in exchange for approval of a license to bottle a line of products that Beam sought to market and sell in India, and related internal controls and books and records violations, which included efforts by a then-member of Beam’s legal department to affirmatively avoid uncovering information related to improper activities and practices by third-parties engaged by Beam in India that presented corruption risks.

Beam entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois in connection with a criminal information unsealed today in the Northern District of Illinois charging Beam with one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery, internal controls, and books and records provisions of the FCPA. 

“Beam and its Indian subsidiary not only paid bribes to Indian government officials, they intentionally failed to implement internal controls to prevent bribery and falsified their books and records to conceal the corrupt activity,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “Companies that use corrupt influence instead of competing in a fair, ethical, and honest manner should take note of today’s agreement: paying bribes to obtain and retain business is not business as usual, it is a crime.”

“U.S. companies that attempt to gain the upper hand in foreign business ventures by engaging in corruption must be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. for the Northern District of Illinois.  “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has a long reach, and for good reason.  It is critical that our global economy remain on a fair playing field.”

“Bribery undermines the public's trust in our markets, and the FBI will never stop fighting to hold corrupt companies accountable whenever and wherever they abuse that trust,” said Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie Jr. of the FBI’s Chicago Office.

According to its admissions, Beam conspired with others to violate the FCPA by, among other things, engaging in a scheme to pay a bribe of one million Indian Rupees (approximately equal to $18,000 at the then exchange rate) to a senior Indian government official in exchange for that official’s approval of a license to bottle “Ready-to-Drink” (RTD) products that Beam sought to market and sell in India through its subsidiary, Beam Global Spirits & Wine (India) Private Ltd. (Beam India).  The bribe was authorized by a high-ranking executive at Beam’s Asia Pacific/South America regional business unit, who directed that the payment be made through Beam India’s third-party bottler in order to conceal it.

According to its admissions, from the time Beam acquired the Indian business in 2006 through the end of the third quarter of 2012, Beam India paid bribes and made other improper payments to various Indian government officials, including corrupt payments to obtain or retain business in the Indian market.  Most of the corrupt payments were made through third-party sales promoters and distributors, who paid government officials to secure orders of Beam products at government controlled depots and retail stores, obtain prominent placement of Beam products in government retail stores, acquire and renew label registrations and licenses, and enable the distribution of Beam spirit products from Beam India’s Behror bottling facility to warehouses in other states throughout India. 

As part of the conspiracy, Beam also agreed with others to fail to implement and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls, which would have helped to detect and halt Beam India’s longstanding practice of making corrupt payments to Indian government officials, and to falsify its books and records.  On numerous occasions, Beam was cautioned by outside advisors regarding the need to implement sufficient internal accounting controls relating to risks associated with improper activities by third parties in India, but Beam failed to implement sufficient controls.  Beam also maintained falsely recorded expenses, including corrupt payments concealed as commission expenses, and falsified certifications, including false sub-certification letters submitted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, in its consolidated books, records, and accounts. 

As part of the deferred prosecution agreement, Beam agreed to continue to cooperate with the department in any ongoing or future criminal investigations concerning Beam, its executives, employees, or agents.  In addition, under the agreement, Beam agreed to enhance its compliance program and to report to the government on the implementation of its enhanced compliance program. 

The government reached this resolution with Beam based on a number of factors, including the failure to timely disclose the conduct that triggered the investigation; the nature and seriousness of the offense, including the involvement of a then-executive officer of Beam, a then-high-level employee in Beam’s Legal Department, and a then-high-level executive at Beam India; the lack of an effective compliance program at the time of the misconduct; the company’s failure to fully cooperate, including positions taken by Beam that were not consistent with full cooperation, as well as significant delays caused by Beam in reaching a timely resolution and its refusal to accept responsibility for several years; and Beam’s failure to fully remediate, including its failure to discipline certain individuals involved in the conduct.

The criminal monetary penalty for Beam reflects a 10 percent reduction off the bottom of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines fine range because Beam received partial credit for its remediation and cooperation with the government’s investigation.

In July 2018, in a related matter with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Beam agreed to pay the SEC disgorgement and prejudgment interest totaling approximately $6 million and a civil monetary penalty of $2 million but the department is not crediting any portion of the penalty paid to the SEC because Beam did not seek to coordinate a parallel resolution with the department.

The FBI’s Chicago Office investigated the case.  Trial Attorneys John-Alex Romano and Della Sentilles of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler C. Murray of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois are prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in this case.

The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting all FCPA matters.  Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/foreign-corrupt-practices-act.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

WASHINGTON – Beam Suntory Inc., a Chicago-based company that produces and sells distilled beverages, has agreed to pay a criminal monetary penalty of $19,572,885 to resolve the Department of Justice’s investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. 

The resolution arises in part out of Beam’s scheme to pay a bribe to an Indian government official in exchange for approval of a license to bottle a line of products that Beam sought to market and sell in India, as well as related internal controls and books and records violations, which included efforts by a then-member of Beam’s Legal Department to affirmatively avoid uncovering information related to improper activities and practices by third parties engaged by Beam in India that presented corruption risks.

Beam entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois in connection with a criminal information unsealed today in Chicago charging Beam with one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery, internal controls, and books and records provisions of the FCPA. 

“U.S. companies that attempt to gain the upper hand in foreign business ventures by engaging in corruption must be held accountable,” said John R. Lausch Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.  “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has a long reach, and for good reason.  It is critical that our global economy remain on a fair playing field.”

“Beam and its Indian subsidiary not only paid bribes to Indian government officials, they intentionally failed to implement internal controls to prevent bribery and falsified their books and records to conceal the corrupt activity,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “Companies that use corrupt influence instead of competing in a fair, ethical, and honest manner should take note of today’s agreement: Paying bribes to obtain and retain business is not business as usual, it is a crime.”

“Bribery undermines the public's trust in our markets, and the FBI will never stop fighting to hold corrupt companies accountable whenever and wherever they abuse that trust,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Emmerson Buie Jr. of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office.

The FBI’s Chicago Field Office investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler C. Murray of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and Trial Attorneys John-Alex Romano and Della Sentilles of the Department of Justice's Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in this case.

According to its admissions, Beam conspired with others to violate the FCPA by, among other things, engaging in a scheme to pay a bribe of one million Indian Rupees (equal to approximately $18,000 at the exchange rate at the time) to a senior Indian government official in exchange for that official’s approval of a license to bottle “Ready-to-Drink” products that Beam sought to market and sell in India through its subsidiary, Beam Global Spirits & Wine (India) Private Ltd.  The bribe was authorized by a high-ranking executive at Beam’s Asia Pacific/South America regional business unit, who directed that the payment be made through Beam India’s third-party bottler in order to conceal it.

According to its admissions, from the time Beam acquired the Indian business in 2006 through the end of the third quarter of 2012, Beam India paid bribes and made other improper payments to various Indian government officials, including corrupt payments to obtain or retain business in the Indian market.  Most of the corrupt payments were made through third-party sales promoters and distributors, who paid government officials to secure orders of Beam products at government-controlled depots and retail stores, obtain prominent placement of Beam products in government retail stores, acquire and renew label registrations and licenses, and enable the distribution of Beam spirit products from Beam India’s Behror bottling facility to warehouses in other states throughout India. 

As part of the conspiracy, Beam also agreed with others to fail to implement and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls, which would have helped to detect and halt Beam India’s longstanding practice of making corrupt payments to Indian government officials, and to falsify its books and records.  On numerous occasions, Beam was cautioned by outside advisors regarding the need to implement sufficient internal accounting controls relating to risks associated with improper activities by third parties in India, but Beam failed to implement sufficient controls.  Beam also maintained falsely recorded expenses, including corrupt payments concealed as commission expenses, and falsified certifications, including false sub-certification letters submitted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, in its consolidated books, records, and accounts. 

As part of the deferred prosecution agreement, Beam agreed to continue to cooperate with the department in any ongoing or future criminal investigations concerning Beam, its executives, employees, or agents.  In addition, under the agreement, Beam agreed to enhance its compliance program and to report to the government on the implementation of its enhanced compliance program. 

The government reached this resolution with Beam based on a number of factors, including the failure to timely disclose the conduct that triggered the investigation; the nature and seriousness of the offense, including the involvement of a then-executive officer of Beam, a then-high-level employee in Beam’s Legal Department, and a then-high-level executive at Beam India; the lack of an effective compliance program at the time of the misconduct; the company’s failure to fully cooperate, including positions taken by Beam that were not consistent with full cooperation, as well as significant delays caused by Beam in reaching a timely resolution and its refusal to accept responsibility for several years; and Beam’s failure to fully remediate, including its failure to discipline certain individuals involved in the conduct.

The criminal monetary penalty for Beam reflects a 10% reduction off the bottom of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines fine range because Beam received partial credit for its remediation and cooperation with the government’s investigation.

In July 2018, in a related matter with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Beam agreed to pay the SEC disgorgement and prejudgment interest totaling approximately $6 million and a civil monetary penalty of $2 million.  The Department of Justice is not crediting any portion of the penalty paid to the SEC because Beam did not seek to coordinate a parallel resolution with the Department.

CHICAGO — The U.S. Attorney’s Office will monitor the federal, state, and local elections in Chicago and surrounding area on Nov. 3, 2020, John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced today.

As part of the monitoring effort, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will operate telephone hotlines for citizens to report complaints related to the voting process.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys and other office personnel will monitor the hotlines and respond to complaints, as needed.  The hotline numbers, staffed on Election Day only, are (312) 469-6157 and (312) 469-6158.

In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in the Chicago Field Office on Election Day to receive allegations of election fraud or other election-related abuses.  The phone number for the FBI Chicago Field Office is (312) 421-6700.

“A crucial part of our democracy is the integrity of our electoral system,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “A citizen who is entitled to vote should not be hindered or prevented from doing so, and we stand ready to help ensure the sanctity of the process.”

The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations wherever they occur.   The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program seeks to ensure public confidence in the voting process.

Federal voting-rights laws protect the rights of voters to mark their own ballot or be assisted by a person of their choice.  Actions designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places may constitute a violation.  Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.  Violations carry penalties ranging from one to ten years in prison, and fines of up to $250,000.

For information as to the location and hours of polling sites, Illinois residents are advised to contact the Illinois State Board of Elections by logging on to www.elections.il.gov or by calling (312) 814-6440.

CHICAGO — A federal jury today convicted two men on robbery and weapons offenses for stealing expensive watches and jewelry at gunpoint from a Hinsdale store.

TOBIAS DIGGS, 26, of Chicago, and JOSHUA MCCLELLAN, 31, of Oak Lawn, robbed Razny Jewelers, 37 S. Washington St. in the western suburb, on the morning of March 17, 2017.  More than $200,000 in merchandise was stolen during the heist, including watches by luxury brands Frederique Constant, Patek Phillipe, and Tudor.  The defendants later sold, attempted to sell, or disposed of some of the stolen items in the Chicago area and Atlanta, Ga.

After a six-day trial in federal court in Chicago, Diggs and McClellan were convicted of all counts against them, including conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, transportation of stolen goods, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.  U.S. District Judge Gary S. Feinerman did not immediately set sentencing dates. 

The conviction was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.  The Hinsdale Police Department, Oak Lawn Police Department, and the FBI Chicago Field Office’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST) provided valuable assistance.  Additional support was provided by the Felony Investigation Assistance Team (FIAT), a multi-jurisdictional law enforcement task force in the western suburbs.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Albert Berry III and Christopher V. Parente.

Two other individuals allegedly participated in the robbery.  MARVON HAMBERLIN, 42, of Chicago, was indicted and is a fugitive.  A warrant has been issued for his arrest.  The fourth individual has not been identified.

According to evidence presented at trial, the defendants planned in advance to rob Razny Jewelers.  On the day of the heist, McClellan drove the getaway car – a Lexus sport-utility vehicle – while Diggs and the others entered the store and pointed a gun at a female employee.  After the unidentified robber tackled a store security guard, Diggs hit the female employee with the gun and dragged her by her hair to a back room, while he and the others gained accessed to the store’s safe and stole the jewelry.

The conspiracy and robbery counts each carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison, while transportation of stolen goods is punishable by up to ten years.  The firearm conviction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, as well as a minimum term of imprisonment of seven years, which must be served consecutively to the sentences imposed for the conspiracy, robbery, and transportation of stolen goods convictions.

ROCKFORD — A Mexican citizen was sentenced today in federal court by U.S. District Judge Philip G. Reinhard for illegally re-entering the United States after having been deported. 

JAVIER GRANADOS-LEON, 48, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Granados-Leon pleaded guilty to the illegal re-entry charge on July 21, 2020.

According to a written plea agreement, Granados-Leon admitted that he illegally re-entered the U.S. after having been previously deported to his native Mexico on March 9, 2017. Granados-Leon was arrested in Oregon, Ill.

The sentencing was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Thomas Feeley, Director of the Chicago Field Office for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.  The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Love.

CHICAGO — John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, today announced that governmental and private entities in northern Illinois will receive more than $4 million in Department of Justice grants to advance forensic science.

The grants, administered by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs, are part of $192 million in nationwide awards to fund crime laboratories, decrease DNA backlogs, support basic and applied forensic research, and help law enforcement identify missing persons.

“These substantial federal funds will provide crucial resources to northern Illinois agencies working to advance the important area of forensic science,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “The Justice Department is committed to helping state and local law enforcement improve its crime-fighting technology.”

“Developments in forensic science have given investigators an extraordinary array of tools that can be enlisted to solve crimes and bring answers to victims and survivors, often after many years and even decades,” said Katharine T. Sullivan, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for OJP.  “These investments will help identify and convict perpetrators, ensure justice for innocent victims, and keep communities safe by deterring future criminal activity.”

Three types of grants were awarded to recipients in northern Illinois:

DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Program.  These funds assist with increasing the capacity for DNA analysis and the number of DNA samples, while decreasing the backlog and turnaround time for DNA analysis.  Recipients may use funding to upgrade laboratories and purchase equipment and supplies, such as DNA sample collection kits.  The recipients and awards in northern Illinois are as follows:

• Illinois State Police: $2,384,863
• DuPage County Sheriff’s Office: $340,696
• Northeastern Illinois Regional Crime Laboratory: $340,696

Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program.  These funds help improve forensic science and medical examiner/coroner services, including services provided by laboratories operated by states and units of local government.  Funds may be used to eliminate a backlog in the analysis of forensic evidence and to train and employ forensic laboratory personnel.  The recipients and awards in northern Illinois are as follows:

• Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority: $683,465
• Cook County: $190,500

Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes.  These funds advance basic and applied research and development that lead toward more accurate, reliable, and cost-effective methods of analyzing physical evidence.  The recipients will address the current needs of the forensic science community while adding to the existing body of knowledge.  The recipient and award in northern Illinois are as follows:

• Cadre Research Labs: $199,615

For the full list of awards across the country, view the OJP fact sheet.

The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal and juvenile justice systems.  For more information about OJP and its components, visit the OJP website.

CHICAGO — John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, today provided an update on federal prosecutions and strategies to combat violent crime in Chicago and the surrounding area.

The centerpiece of the federal fight against violent crime continues to be the revitalized Project Safe Neighborhoods, as well as Project Guardian, which focuses on firearms prosecutions, and Operation Legend, the Department of Justice’s recent initiative to address violent crime in several U.S. cities, including Chicago, which has been facing a significant increase in homicides and shootings.  These initiatives have enabled the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago to sustain significant levels of federal prosecutions of violent offenders despite the recent unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Despite a global health crisis that continues to impact the criminal justice system, our office has maintained or exceeded its recent levels of prosecutions of violent criminals, including trigger-pullers, carjackers, and those who illegally use and possess firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “We are using every available federal law enforcement tool to reduce violent crime in Chicago and hold violent offenders accountable.”

“The number one priority of government is to keep its citizens safe,” said Attorney General William P. Barr.  “Violating federal firearms laws is a serious crime and offenders face serious consequences.  The Department of Justice is committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who illegally buy, sell, use, or possess firearms.”

According to preliminary data for the 2020 Fiscal Year, which ended Sept. 30, 2020, 262 defendants were charged with a firearm offense in the Northern District of Illinois.  This number is higher than 14 of the previous 15 years, with the lone exception being 2019, which had 8% more firearm defendants.  The number of firearm defendants in FY20 was 33% higher than 2018, and 48% higher than 2017, according to preliminary data.  These increases were particularly significant considering that, prior to 2019, the 2018 and 2017 fiscal years stood as the two highest years of federal firearm defendants in more than a decade.

The sustained focus on federal prosecution of firearm offenses in the Northern District of Illinois was enhanced by Operation Legend, which launched in Chicago in July.  Under Operation Legend, approximately 176 defendants have been charged with federal offenses impacting violent crime in Chicago, including 130 charged with firearms-related offenses, 40 charged with narcotics-related offenses, and 6 charged with other violent crimes.  Approximately 1,057 defendants have been charged throughout the country under Operation Legend, including 568 with firearms-related offenses, 411 with narcotics-related offenses, and 78 with other violent crimes.

“The number of violent crimes in Chicago remains stubbornly high, including homicides, shootings, and carjackings, and we have seen troubling increases in these areas in 2020,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “Our goal as federal prosecutors is not simply to bring more cases against more defendants, but rather to reduce violent crime, and one way to do that is by continuing to bring quality, impactful cases.  As federal prosecutors, we endeavor to disrupt violent crime by seeking pre-trial detention for defendants who pose a danger to the community, employing federal resources to enhance law enforcement’s efforts to build strong cases, and pursuing appropriate sentences in federal prison to deter dangerous individuals from continuing to wreak havoc in our neighborhoods.”

Nationally, the Department of Justice announced last week that more than 14,200 defendants were charged in federal courts across the country with firearms-related crimes during Fiscal Year 2020. 

“Reducing gun violence requires a coordinated effort, and we could not have charged more than 14,000 individuals with firearms-related crimes without the hard work of the dedicated law enforcement professionals at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country, and especially all of our state and local law enforcement partners,” said Attorney General Barr.

Through enforcement actions, prosecutions, and community partnerships, the U.S. Attorney’s Office works to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer.

Enforcement Actions and Prosecution Activity

The U.S. Attorney’s Office works closely with U.S. law enforcement agencies, including ATF, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) to investigate and prosecute a variety of violent crimes.  State and local partners in this effort include the Chicago Police Department (CPD), Illinois State Police (ISP), Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Rockford Police Department, and other local departments throughout northern Illinois.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Gun Crimes Prosecution Team continues to enhance the prosecution of illegal firearm possession in certain police districts in Chicago.  Working collaboratively with federal and local law enforcement, the team focuses on charging Chicago’s most dangerous criminals quickly after arrest, endeavoring to disrupt the cycle of violence in the neighborhoods most in need.

“Our Gun Crimes Prosecution Team has had tremendous success investigating and prosecuting firearms cases from those Chicago neighborhoods suffering from the most violent crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “Our partnerships with CPD and other state and local law enforcement have never been better.”

Firearm and violent crime investigations in Chicago have also been bolstered by an important tool from ATF: the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).  NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms.  NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles.  Federal, state and local law enforcement in Chicago have used NIBIN extensively to help solve violent crimes and prosecute trigger-pullers and other gun offenders.

Following up on the activities our office reported in October of last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office remains active in fighting violent crime through various enforcement actions, prosecutions, and sentencings, as illustrated below: 

Gang-Related Prosecutions

“Combating the unacceptable level of gang violence in Chicago has been and will continue to be a top priority in our office,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.

• ALONZO G. HORTA, a member of the violent Latin Kings street gang, was sentenced last month to 27 years in prison for engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity that included murder.  Horta fatally shot Alfonso Calderon on the Southeast Side of Chicago in 2017 because Horta suspected Calderon was a member of a rival gang.  Horta was named with more than 30 other alleged members of the Latin Kings in an indictment that charged numerous other murders, attempted murders, and arsons.  The case was investigated by FBI, CPD, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and the Hammond, Ind., Police Department.
• DARNELL MCMILLER, the alleged leader of the Black Disciples street gang in Chicago, was among 23 individuals charged in July as part of a federal investigation into drug and gun trafficking on the city’s South Side.  Several other alleged high-ranking members of the Black Disciples were also charged, including the leader of the gang’s “Dog Pound” faction.  Law enforcement seized 24 firearms and more than 13 kilograms of cocaine during the probe, which was led by FBI, CPD, ATF, DEA, and IRS-CI.
• “Operation Full Circle” and “Operation Wicked Stones” targeted two street gangs responsible for firearms offenses, narcotics trafficking, and violence on the West Side of Chicago.  During the probe, 24 defendants were charged, and law enforcement seized 34 firearms, more than six kilograms of heroin, more than 17 kilograms of cocaine, more than a kilogram of fentanyl, and more than $1.3 million in cash and jewelry.  The multi-year investigation was led by ATF, DEA, IRS-CI, HIDTA, and CPD, with the support of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA), and assistance from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
• Racketeering charges were unsealed in March against ten alleged members of the LAFA street gang for allegedly participating in a criminal organization that murdered its rivals and violently protected drug-dealing territories on the South Side of Chicago.  The charges accuse five alleged LAFA members of committing murder in furtherance of the gang’s activities.  The indictment also charged attempted murders and several firearm offenses.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office worked closely in the investigation with FBI and CPD, with support from OCDETF.
• JASON BROWN, also known as “Abdul Ja’Me,” the alleged leader of the AHK street gang, which is based in the Chicago suburb of Bellwood and comprised of former members of other gangs, including the Black P Stones, Gangster Disciples, and Four Corner Hustlers, was charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS.  Six other alleged AHK members or associates were charged separately with federal drug offenses.  The case was investigated by the National Security Division of the Department of Justice, CPD, IRS-CI, ISP, USPIS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, HSI, Lombard, Ill., Police Department, and Addison, Ill., Police Department.

Firearm Trafficking and Firearm Theft Prosecutions

“Straw purchasers and firearms traffickers enable unlawful possession of guns and the violence that may follow,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners, including our colleagues in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana, to hold accountable those who engage in illicit firearm transactions.”

• Earlier this month, WAYNE ADAM TUCKER, of Albion, Ind., was charged with illegally selling 39 handguns and assault rifles in the Chicago area.  In setting up the deals with an individual who was confidentially working on behalf of law enforcement, Tucker explained that he obtained the guns from people who purchased them at gun shows in Indiana.  The probe was led by FBI and CPD.
• Last month, BRIAN HAYWOOD, of Hammond, Ind., was charged with “straw purchasing” guns in Indiana on behalf of a convicted felon in Chicago.  On three occasions this summer, Haywood allegedly purchased the guns and falsely certified on federal forms that he was the actual buyer.  The investigation was led by the FBI.
• A suburban Chicago man was sentenced in January to eight years in prison for stealing guns from a licensed firearms dealer.  KEVIN CULPS, of Dolton, stole or attempted to steal guns from firearms dealers in Manteno, Loves Park, and Tinley Park.  Two co-defendants were also convicted and sentenced to prison terms.  ATF led the investigation, with assistance from the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, CPD, and Police Departments of Loves Park, Manteno, Tinley Park, and Lombard.
• OMRAN ISMAIL, of Burbank, was sentenced in December to a year and a half in prison for conspiring to straw purchase handguns on behalf of a woman who allegedly tried to smuggle the firearms into Egypt.  The guns were discovered in the woman’s checked luggage at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago as she attempted to board a flight to Cairo, via London.  The investigation was conducted by HSI, CBP, and CPD.

Carjacking and Robbery Prosecutions

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office works closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement to prosecute violent crimes, such as carjacking, that violate federal law,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.

• ELIAS QUINONES-FIGUEROA, of Chicago, was charged last month with carjacking a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe sport-utility vehicle from a victim in the city’s West Town neighborhood in May.  Quinones-Figueroa allegedly brandished a handgun during the carjacking.  The probe was led by FBI and CPD, with assistance from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
• In August, MICHAEL C. PEARSON, of Chicago, was charged with carjacking a 2006 Buick Lucerne from two victims in the city’s Uptown neighborhood.  Pearson allegedly discharged a handgun during the carjacking, but fortunately neither victim was wounded.  The case was investigated by FBI and CPD, with assistance from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
• DARIUS D. YOUNG, of Berwyn, was arrested on a federal criminal charge for allegedly robbing a United Parcel Service delivery truck in Oak Park in August.  The driver was ordered to lay face down in the street while Young and two others allegedly removed boxes from the truck and drove off.  FBI and the Oak Park Police Department participated in the investigation.
• A federal jury in November convicted IVAN PARKER, of Chicago, of robbing an ATM technician at gunpoint in the city’s Little Village neighborhood.  Parker pointed a handgun at the technician’s head and used pepper spray on him before grabbing a bag containing $106,335.  Parker is awaiting sentencing.  FBI led the probe.

Illegal Possession of Firearms Prosecutions

“If you are a felon and thinking about picking up a gun in Chicago, you should expect to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and face the possibility of going to federal prison for a long time,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.

• CHAWAN LOWE, of Chicago, was sentenced last month to seven and a half years in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded semiautomatic handgun in the city’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood.  As a convicted felon, Lowe was prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm.  The case was investigated by ATF and CPD, with assistance from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
• In July, convicted felon ANTOINE JACKSON, of Chicago, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for illegally possessing a loaded gun in the city’s Avalon Park neighborhood.  The semiautomatic handgun had a 16-round magazine and was capable of accepting an even larger capacity magazine.  ATF and CPD conducted the probe.
• In the first federal prosecutions in Chicago under Operation Legend, three individuals were charged in July with illegally possessing guns or ammunition in various parts of the city this summer.  One of the firearms was a machinegun.  ATF and CPD led the investigation.
• Several individuals were charged with federal firearm offenses for allegedly illegally possessing guns during periods of civil unrest in Chicago this summer.  The federal defendants include ADAM WALTON, of Chicago, who was arrested in June after Chicago Police officers observed him exiting a store through a broken window while in possession of a loaded semiautomatic handgun and a case of .22-caliber long-rifle ammunition; and JAVONTE T. WILLIAMS, of Chicago, who allegedly possessed a loaded gun while looting a store in downtown Chicago in August.
• A Chicago man who allegedly pointed a loaded semiautomatic handgun at a federal agent in June was charged with a federal firearm offense.  The agent had approached JOSEPH HAMMOND in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood while investigating a report of a man holding a gun and a toddler.  ATF and CPD led the probe.
• Two roommates were charged in federal court with illegally possessing handguns and trafficking cocaine out of their apartment in Oak Park.  Law enforcement searched the apartment of ISAIAH INGRAM and KEVIN HAGER and discovered five semiautomatic handguns, all of which were loaded.  The case was worked by FBI, CPD, and the Oak Park Police Department.
• A suburban drug dealer was sentenced in December to 12 years in prison for illegally possessing narcotics and a loaded semiautomatic handgun.  EFREN GUTIERREZ illegally possessed the firearm and narcotics in Burbank in 2017.  The gun was loaded and had a .45-caliber magazine attached to it.  FBI and CPD led the probe.
• A federal jury in December convicted RAMONE SHAFFERS, of Chicago, of illegally possessing a loaded handgun with an extended magazine in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.  The jury also found Shaffers guilty of obstructing justice for offering to pay witnesses to lie on his behalf.  ATF and CPD led the investigation.  Shaffers is awaiting sentencing.
• A convicted felon was sentenced in December to nearly seven years in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded handgun and 61 rounds of ammunition in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago.  ANTONIO BROWN, of Chicago, was previously convicted in state court of the attempted armed robbery of a nail salon.  He was released from state prison seven months before the illegal gun possession that led to the federal charge.  The probe was led by FBI and CPD.
• A federal judge in December sentenced a Chicago man to more than 16 years in prison for shooting an ATF agent.  ERNESTO GODINEZ shot the agent in 2018 in the Back of the Yards neighborhood of Chicago.  The agent was wounded in the head but survived.  ATF led the investigation, with assistance CPD, FBI, USMS, HSI, DEA, and ISP.

Opioid Prosecutions

Opioids are a class of highly addictive drugs that includes heroin, fentanyl, and prescription painkillers such as oxycodone and hydrocodone.  Public safety is being threatened by unprecedented levels of opioid misuse, addiction, and overdose.  The Department of Justice is committed to using every available tool to enforce federal drug laws and combat the opioid epidemic. 

In the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has deployed a strategy of aggressive investigations and prosecutions of those who are most responsible for this epidemic.  This includes prosecuting the leaders of traditional drug trafficking organizations, as well as rogue healthcare providers, pharmacists, pharmacist technicians, and others who contribute to the supply and overuse of opioids. 

“The current opioid epidemic is the deadliest drug crisis in American history,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  "We are actively attacking this crisis from all investigative and prosecutorial angles.”

• WILLIAM TOWNSEND was charged last month with selling wholesale quantities of heroin and fentanyl in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago.  During the investigation, which was led by the FBI, law enforcement seized approximately $469,000 in cash and approximately a kilogram of suspected heroin.
• Eighteen individuals were charged this summer as part of “Operation Monticello’s Revenge” with conspiring to sell heroin or fentanyl-laced heroin.  Law enforcement during the DEA-led probe shut down a busy open-air drug market in the 1000 block of North Monticello Avenue in Chicago.
• CHARLES KINDRED, of Chicago, was charged in May with selling fentanyl-laced heroin in a store parking lot in Chicago’s Ashburn neighborhood.  Unbeknownst to Kindred, the buyer was cooperating with law enforcement.  DEA led the investigation, with assistance from the Oak Lawn Police Department.
• A federal grand jury in May indicted MITCHELL DWAYNE SIMMONS, of Chicago, for allegedly trafficking fentanyl-laced heroin and illegally possessing a loaded assault rifle while on parole from a previous drug conviction.  The investigation was conducted by ATF and CPD.

Other Significant Drug Trafficking Prosecutions

The U.S. Attorney’s Office targets traffickers who bring illegal drugs into Illinois from other states or countries, with a focus on organizations or individuals who use guns, violence and threats of violence to protect and promote their illegal businesses.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office works directly with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to ensure that individuals trafficking drugs are charged with appropriate offenses in either federal or state court.

• In “Operation Dirty Ice,” 13 defendants were charged this summer with participating in a drug trafficking operation that distributed at least 25 kilograms of heroin to customers in Chicago.  The street-level sales allegedly occurred at two open-air drug markets in the city’s Austin neighborhood.  The investigation was conducted by FBI, IRS-CI, and CPD.
• In July, five individuals were charged as part of an FBI and CPD investigation into cocaine trafficking in the West Ridge neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side.
• FELIPE CABRERA SARABIA, a former high-ranking member of the Sinaloa drug cartel, was extradited to Chicago from Mexico in June to face federal drug charges.  Cabrera Sarabia is accused of conspiring with other Sinaloa Cartel members to transport multi-ton quantities of illegal drugs into the U.S.  DEA and IRS-CI conducted the probe.
• Ten defendants were charged in May as part of a DEA-led investigation that disrupted a Mexico-to-Chicago cocaine pipeline.  The alleged drug sales occurred in the South Loop and Streeterville neighborhoods of Chicago, as well as suburban locations.
• A federal jury in March convicted a Chinese national of laundering illegal narcotics proceeds on behalf of drug traffickers in Mexico.  XIANBING GAN schemed to have $534,206 in narcotics proceeds picked up in Chicago and transferred to various bank accounts in China, in order for the money to ultimately be remitted to the Mexican traffickers.  Gan is awaiting sentencing.  HSI and IRS-CI conducted the probe.
• A suburban man was sentenced in November to 15 years in prison for his role in transporting various narcotics into the United States from China and selling it on the streets of Chicago.  NESTOR BURGOS, of River Grove, also possessed two handguns and a silencer in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities.  HSI and USPIS conducted the probe.

Community Partnerships

The revitalized PSN program continues to invest resources in violence-prevention initiatives.  Members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office have participated in offender notification meetings and youth outreach forums.  Even during the current COVID-19 pandemic, these meetings and forums are still being held, including in a virtual environment, to maintain the outreach to former offenders.

Offender notification meetings provide an opportunity for individuals who have been convicted of a state or federal offense to make an informed choice not to engage in further criminal activity.  Researchers at Arizona State University found that the forums have a positive influence on the offenders’ perception of police and help create an understanding that criminal activity results in a higher risk to return to prison.  Researchers at Yale University found that ex-offenders who attend an offender notification meeting in Chicago are  30% less likely to commit a new offense than those who did not attend a meeting.

The quarterly youth forums assist children aged 13-17 to identify a path other than gang membership.  The youth forums are conducted in partnership with CPD, the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, and the University of Chicago Crime Lab, which tracks the progress of the children to assess results.

CHICAGO — John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, today announced that the city of Chicago will receive $1 million from the Department of Justice to test and track sexual assault kits.

The grant, administered by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs, is part of more than $45 million in nationwide awards to support the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI).  The program promotes the use of multi-disciplinary teams by supporting investigation, prosecution, and victim advocacy involved with a comprehensive approach to addressing unsubmitted sexual assault kits.  The program also helps law enforcement agencies and crime labs process sexual assault evidence and increase the number of sexual assault kits submitted to crime labs in order to solve more crimes, including cold cases.

“These significant federal funds will help the city of Chicago efficiently process sexual assault evidence and establish DNA profiles,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “This is critically important work and effective in reducing violent crime.”

“Far too many people endure the physical and emotional trauma of a sexual assault only to have evidence of the crime remain unanalyzed,” said Katharine T. Sullivan, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for OJP. “These grants will help investigators get these kits to labs, where they can be tested, used to solve crimes and ultimately bring justice to victims.”

For the full list of awards across the country, view the OJP fact sheet.

The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal and juvenile justice systems.  For more information about OJP and its components, visit the OJP website.

A suburban Chicago businessman has been indicted on federal criminal charges for allegedly illegally exporting gun parts and other defense articles from the United States to a company in Ukraine.

Glenn Stepul owned a Buffalo Grove, Ill.-based business that distributed horizontal directional drilling equipment.  From 2014 to 2016, Stepul conspired with a Ukranian resident – Andriy Yakin – and an unindicted co-conspirator in Ukraine to violate the Arms Export Control Act by exporting or attempting to export pistol slides and stainless steel gun barrels from the United States to Ukraine, without obtaining the required authorization from the U.S. Department of State, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  Stepul, Yakin, and the unindicted co-conspirator also conspired to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by exporting or attempting to export rifle scopes and night-vision cameras from the United States to Ukraine, without obtaining the required authorization from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the indictment states. 

The charges allege that Stepul commingled and concealed some of the export-controlled items inside shipments of drilling equipment sent to Ukraine.  One such shipment was intercepted by customs officials in Lviv, Ukraine, in September 2014, the indictment states.  Stepul had completed a customs declaration falsely describing the items inside the parcel as “household goods,” “cosmetics,” “toys,” “stationary,” and “cassettes,” the indictment states.

The indictment charges Stepul, 33, of Miami Beach, Fla., and formerly of Wheeling, Ill., and Yakin, 38, of Poltava, Ukraine, with conspiracy to violate the AECA and IEEPA and knowingly impede and obstruct the functions of the Commerce and State Departments.  Stepul also faces additional export-control, smuggling, and false statement charges.  Stepul pleaded not guilty to all charges during his arraignment Thursday before U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey in Chicago.  Judge Blakey scheduled a status hearing for Dec. 16, 2020, at 1:00 p.m.

Yakin is believed to be residing in Ukraine, and a warrant for his arrest has been issued.

The indictment was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Dan Clutch, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security-Office of Export Enforcement, Chicago Field Office; and Cynthia Bruce, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Southeast Field Office.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Grayson S. Walker.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO —A suburban Chicago businessman has been indicted on federal criminal charges for allegedly illegally exporting gun parts and other defense articles from the United States to a company in Ukraine.

GLENN STEPUL owned a Buffalo Grove, Ill.-based business that distributed horizontal directional drilling equipment.  From 2014 to 2016, Stepul conspired with a Ukranian resident – ANDRIY YAKIN – and an unindicted co-conspirator in Ukraine to violate the Arms Export Control Act by exporting or attempting to export pistol slides and stainless steel gun barrels from the United States to Ukraine, without obtaining the required authorization from the U.S. Department of State, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  Stepul, Yakin, and the unindicted co-conspirator also conspired to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by exporting or attempting to export rifle scopes and night-vision cameras from the United States to Ukraine, without obtaining the required authorization from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the indictment states. 

The charges allege that Stepul commingled and concealed some of the export-controlled items inside shipments of drilling equipment sent to Ukraine.  One such shipment was intercepted by customs officials in Lviv, Ukraine, in September 2014, the indictment states.  Stepul had completed a customs declaration falsely describing the items inside the parcel as “household goods,” “cosmetics,” “toys,” “stationary,” and “cassettes,” the indictment states.

The indictment charges Stepul, 33, of Miami Beach, Fla., and formerly of Wheeling, Ill., and Yakin, 38, of Poltava, Ukraine, with conspiracy to violate the AECA and IEEPA and knowingly impede and obstruct the functions of the Commerce and State Departments.  Stepul also faces additional export-control, smuggling, and false statement charges.  Stepul pleaded not guilty to all charges during his arraignment Thursday before U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey in Chicago.  Judge Blakey scheduled a status hearing for Dec. 16, 2020, at 1:00 p.m.

Yakin is believed to be residing in Ukraine, and a warrant for his arrest has been issued.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Dan Clutch, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security-Office of Export Enforcement, Chicago Field Office; and Cynthia Bruce, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Southeast Field Office.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Grayson S. Walker.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — A man has been arrested on a federal criminal charge for allegedly using an explosive device to damage a suburban Chicago restaurant.

DIEGO VARGAS, 24, is charged with one count of maliciously attempting to damage and destroy a building by means of an explosive device, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  Vargas allegedly used the explosive device at the Egg Harbor Cafe in Naperville, Ill., on June 1, 2020.

The federal charge is punishable by a minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum of 20 years.

Vargas, whose most recent address is unknown, was arrested Wednesday night.  A detention hearing is scheduled for today at 1:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather K. McShain in Chicago.

The indictment and arrest were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The Naperville Police Department and Aurora Police Department provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Jonas.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — A couple from Aurora has been charged in federal court with child labor trafficking for allegedly forcing an undocumented Guatemalan teenager to work and keeping her earnings.

SANTOS TEODORO AC-SALAZAR, 23, and OLGA CHOC LAJ, 30, are charged with forcing labor through force, threats of force, and the threatened abuse of the law and legal process.  The pair is in law enforcement custody and have made initial appearances in federal court in Chicago.  A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 15, 2020, at 9:00 a.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole.

The charges were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; and Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General in Chicago.  Substantial assistance in the investigation was provided by the Aurora Police Department and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Prashant Kolluri.

According to the charges, Choc Laj accompanied the teenage victim into the United States from Guatemala and gave false identifications to U.S. immigration authorities.  Once in the U.S., Choc Laj harbored the victim in a residence in Aurora and forced the victim to provide labor and services for Choc Laj’s financial gain, the complaint states.  Ac-Salazar later joined Choc Laj in the Aurora residence and participated in the labor trafficking by, among other things, forcing the victim to perform household chores, including taking care of the defendants’ infant child, the complaint states.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  The charge in the complaint is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

ROCKFORD — A former Loves Park woman was sentenced today in federal court by U.S. District Judge Philip G. Reinhard for wire fraud. 

MICHELLE L. McKINNEY, 43, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of $470,454.  McKinney pleaded guilty to the charge on Dec. 13, 2019.

According to a written plea agreement, between June 2013 and September 2016, while employed as an account manager by a roofing company that operated a cloud-based construction management program, McKinney schemed to defraud her employer and obtain money and property by fraudulent representations and concealment of material facts.  As an account manager, McKinney was responsible for the oversight of the company’s payroll, human resources, accounts payable, and accounts receivable.  Some of the company’s employees, including McKinney, were issued a corporate credit card.  Without the company’s knowledge, McKinney also had another corporate credit card issued.  McKinney also had access to the company’s bank account and accompanying debit card. 

As stated in the plea agreement, McKinney authorized monthly money transfers from the company to pay the entire balance of all the company’s credit cards.  McKinney used the credit cards and debit card to make unauthorized purchases for her own benefit totaling more than $470,000.  In order to conceal her unauthorized purchases, McKinney disguised her unauthorized charges in the company’s accounting system as company expenses such as office supplies or fees. 

McKinney created fictitious payroll invoices in the amount of her unauthorized purchases, and also entered her personal transactions in bulk into the company’s accounting system instead of line-by-line to conceal the true nature of the transactions.

The sentencing was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott R. Paccagnini.

CHICAGO — An Indiana man has been charged with a federal firearm offense for allegedly illegally selling dozens of handguns and assault rifles in the Chicago area.

WAYNE ADAM TUCKER, 55, of Albion, Ind., is charged with one count of dealing firearms without a license, and one count of distribution of a controlled substance.  A criminal complaint unsealed Monday in federal court in Chicago accuses Tucker of selling 39 guns on four occasions from April 2019 to February 2020.  Three of the alleged sales occurred in south suburban Dolton, while one deal was allegedly conducted in Hammond, Ind.  Unbeknownst to Tucker, the buyer in all of the deals was confidentially working on behalf of law enforcement, the complaint states.

Tucker was arrested Sunday.  He made an initial court appearance Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole, who ordered Tucker released on home detention pending trial.

The charges were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Cooke represents the government.

According to the complaint, Tucker carried out the four unlicensed sales of firearms to the confidential source on April 28, 2019, Aug. 17, 2019, Nov. 16, 2019, and Feb. 8, 2020.  In setting up the deals, Tucker explained to the confidential source that he had several people supplying him with firearms that had been purchased at gun shows in Indiana, the complaint states.

The drug charge accuses Tucker of selling approximately a pound of marijuana to the confidential source during the February transaction.

The public is reminded that charges contain only accusations and are not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  Each count in the complaint is punishable by up to five years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — A Chicago-area man has been charged in federal court with conducting an illegal sports gambling business in the city and suburbs.

GREGORY EMMETT PALOIAN conducted an illegal sports bookmaking business from 2015 to 2019, according to a criminal information filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  Paloian operated his business in Chicago, Elmwood Park, and Melrose Park, the information states.

The information charges Paloian, 66, of Elmwood Park, with one count of conducting an illegal gambling business.  It seeks forfeiture from Paloian of $274,070 and a 2017 Audi automobile.

Arraignment is set for Oct. 7, 2020, at 10:15 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow in Chicago.

The information was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division.   The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Terry M. Kinney and Ankur Srivastava.

The public is reminded that a charge is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 

The gambling charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — A former claims specialist for the U.S. Social Security Administration was sentenced today to four years in federal prison for pocketing $732,382 in fraudulent benefits.

ANNE AROSTE worked as a claims specialist at the SSA’s field office in Aurora.  Aroste was responsible for processing applications for Social Security benefits via the agency’s electronic records system.  From 2013 to 2018, Aroste used the Social Security earnings records of deceased workers to create fraudulent applications for benefits.  She then used her employee credentials to approve the applications and route the payments to bank accounts she controlled.

Aroste used the fraud proceeds to make credit card payments, mortgage payments, and car loan payments, including payments for a 2015 Mercedes-Benz sport-utility vehicle.  She also used fraud proceeds to purchase clothing, groceries, jewelry, and cosmetics.

Aroste, 42, of Montgomery, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.  U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah imposed the sentence in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General of Social Security; and Patrick S. Mills, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service Chicago Field Office.

“In committing this crime, Aroste betrayed the public trust and stole from a program designed to assist the most vulnerable members of our community,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared C. Jodrey argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “Viewing her access to sensitive personal information as an opportunity to enrich herself, Aroste abused her employment position in order to steal people’s identities and defraud her employer.”

“SSA possesses the most sensitive and personal information for almost every person in this country, and SSA employees have a fundamental duty to protect that information,” said Inspector General Ennis.  “We take any violation of the public trust very seriously, and we will continue to work with SSA to identify and root out suspected employee fraud.  I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its support of these investigations and its efforts to bring them to a successful resolution.”

“We are pleased at the outcome of this case,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Mills.  “The Diplomatic Security Service is committed to making sure those who commit identity theft and abuse their positions face the consequences of their actions.”

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Chicago has sentenced a suburban business owner to a year and a day in prison for lying to federal law enforcement about his knowledge of a bribery scheme involving the mayor of Markham.

THOMAS SUMMERS, 68, of Homer Glen, was convicted last year of making false statements to the FBI and IRS.  The agents interviewed Summers in November 2016 as part of a public corruption investigation involving bribes paid to then-Markham Mayor DAVID WEBB JR. by contractors seeking to maintain or expand business with the south suburb.  During the interview, Summers lied to agents when he denied having knowledge about bribe payments.

Webb, who served as mayor of Markham from 2001 to 2017, pleaded guilty and admitted participating in a bribery scheme.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 11, 2021.

U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman imposed Summers’s sentence Tuesday after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.  In handing down the sentence, Judge Gettleman emphasized the severity and impact of public corruption and the need for general deterrence. 

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission provided valuable assistance.

“Defendant showed no respect for the law,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven J. Dollear and Georgia N. Alexakis argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum in the Summers case.  “He sat across from federal agents and lied.  He lied to protect himself and Webb, and the corrupt relationship they shared.”

Two other defendants – Mokena-based TOWER CONTRACTING LLC and its president, MICHAEL JARIGESE, 67, of Frankfort – were also convicted as part of the federal investigation.  Jarigese was sentenced in March to three years and five months in prison, while Tower Contracting was fined $1.2 million and sentenced to four years of probation.

CHICAGO — A federal judge today sentenced a former Chicago Police sergeant to 13 years in prison for participating in a robbery and extortion crew.

In the 1990s, EDDIE C. HICKS and three others participated in a robbery ring that targeted suspected drug dealers under the guise of police investigations.  The four-person crew staged phony drug raids and automobile stops of suspected dealers, threatened them with arrest, then kept the drugs, cash, or weapons they discovered. 

All four were arrested and charged in federal court.  Hicks fled Chicago in June 2003 while free on bond and awaiting trial.  He remained a fugitive until his arrest in Detroit, Mich., in September 2017.

A jury last year convicted Hicks, also known as “David Rose,” 71, on all eight counts against him, including conspiracy to commit racketeering; drug conspiracy; possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute; carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; theft of government funds; and failure to appear for a judicial proceeding.  U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow imposed the 13-year sentence after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan; U.S. Marshals Service; Detroit, Mich., Police Department; Chicago Police Department; Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department; Bolingbrook Police Department; and Alsip Police Department.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Morris Pasqual and Grayson Walker.

Hicks served as a Chicago Police officer from 1970 to 2000, ultimately attaining the rank of sergeant.  Evidence at trial revealed that from the early 1990s to 2001, Hicks and his robbery crew stole thousands of dollars in cash, multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine, hundreds of pounds of marijuana, and several firearms.

The three other crew members were also convicted.  They were previously sentenced to prison terms: LARRY HARGROVE, a former Chicago Police sergeant, was sentenced to 13 years; MATTHEW L. MORAN, a former employee of the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation, was sentenced to seven years and ten months; and LAWRENCE W. KNITTER, a former civilian CPD electrical mechanic, was sentenced to nine years and four months.

CHICAGO — A federal grand jury has indicted a man on carjacking and firearm charges for allegedly stealing a vehicle at gunpoint in Chicago.

On the afternoon of May 27, 2020, ELIAS QUINONES-FIGUEROA forcibly took a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe sport-utility vehicle from a victim in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago, according to an indictment unsealed Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  Quinones-Figueroa brandished a handgun during the carjacking, the indictment states.

The indictment charges Quinones-Figueroa, 19, of Chicago, with one count of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.  Quinones-Figueroa was taken into federal custody on Friday.  He pleaded not guilty at a Friday afternoon arraignment in federal court in Chicago.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Sunil R. Harjani scheduled a detention hearing for Oct. 1, 2020.

The carjacking charge is punishably by up to 25 years in federal prison, while the firearm charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, which must run consecutively to the carjacking sentence.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in bringing these charges.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn D. McCarthy.  The case was investigated by the Vehicular Hijacking Task Force, a multi-agency initiative that includes FBI agents and CPD officers.

The case was brought under Operation Legend, a Department of Justice initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement to fight violent crime.  As part of Operation Legend, the Department of Justice significantly increased resources in Chicago to help state and local officials investigate and prosecute violent crime, particularly firearm-related offenses.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — Power Solutions International Inc., a suburban Chicago manufacturing company, has agreed to pay a $1.7 million civil penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission and continue to cooperate with the government in a criminal prosecution of its former employees as part of a resolution of a fraud investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

PSI, which is based in Wood Dale, admitted in resolution documents that from 2014 to 2016, executives and other employees of the company participated in a scheme to defraud shareholders and other investors in connection with PSI’s common stock, which at the time was listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market.  PSI admitted that during the scheme it fraudulently inflated by millions of dollars the revenue the company reported to the investing public in certain periods.  In doing so, PSI admitted that it deceived the company’s shareholders and other investors about the company’s financial health and performance.

In addition to the $1.7 million civil penalty to the SEC, PSI previously agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle consolidated class action lawsuits brought by shareholders.  The company will also strengthen its compliance program and provide periodic updates to the government on its progress.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office entered into a non-prosecution agreement to resolve this matter.  In exchange for PSI’s fulfillment of its obligations under the agreement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will not criminally prosecute the company for any of the conduct arising out of the corporate fraud investigation.  The agreement does not relate to any potential tax charges.  PSI’s obligations under the agreement, which has a term of three years, include continuing to provide cooperation in the criminal prosecutions of the company’s former executives.  Former CEO Gary S. Winemaster, former vice president of sales Craig M. Davis, and former general manager James F. Needham were indicted last year on securities fraud and other charges.  They have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial in federal court in Chicago.

The non-prosecution agreement with PSI was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.  The investigation was conducted by the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys L. Heidi Manschreck and Corey B. Rubenstein.

CHICAGO — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced today that it reached a settlement with a Chicago auto dealership to resolve claims that it discharged pollutants into the Chicago River and created a hazardous obstruction to navigation.  

The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a lawsuit last year in U.S. District Court in Chicago on behalf of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, alleging that JOSEPH J. PERILLO and PERILLO BMW INC. violated the Rivers and Harbors Act and the Clean Water Act by unlawfully placing an obstruction in the North Branch of the Chicago River.  The suit claimed that Perillo and his company allowed a steel river wall to collapse into the river in October 2018 and subsequently cut off the wall at the water level, leading to a discharge of pollutants into the river and creating a hazardous obstruction to navigation.

Under the terms of a consent decree, Perillo and his company denied liability but agreed to pay a civil penalty of $80,000 to the U.S. government.  In addition, Perillo and his company agreed to remove the collapsed wall from the river and construct a safe replacement.  The wall is located on land they own at the descending bank of the river, in the 1300 block of North Branch Street on Goose Island in Chicago.

The consent decree was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.  The investigation was led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with collaboration from the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago; U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Illinois Department of Natural Resources; City of Chicago Transportation Department; City of Chicago Public Health Department; Chicago Police Department; and the North Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District.

The Corps of Engineers’ Regulatory Program is committed to protecting the nation’s aquatic resources and navigation capacity, while allowing reasonable development through fair and balanced decisions.  Part of this mission includes bringing enforcement actions when regulated actions are taken without a permit, as occurred in this case.  Alleged violators are given an opportunity to remedy these violations, and if that is not successful, the Corps of Engineers can bring an action to force restoration of the site and possible civil monetary and/or criminal penalties.

To learn more about the Corps’ Chicago District Regulatory Mission, log on to http://www.lrc.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory.aspx.

CHICAGO — A Chicago man was arrested today on a federal criminal charge for allegedly cyberstalking and harassing a former romantic partner.

A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago charges VINCENT STORME, 32, with cyberstalking.  Storme made an initial court appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sunil R. Harjani and was ordered to remain in federal custody.  Judge Harjani scheduled a detention hearing for Friday at 1:30 p.m.

The charge was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Chicago Police Department and Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.   The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shoba Pillay.

According to the complaint, Storme began a campaign of threats and harassment against the victim after she ended their relationship.  Storme accessed the victim’s social media accounts without her knowledge to obtain private messages and data, including nude photographs of the victim, which he then disseminated to her family, friends, and co-workers, the complaint states.  Storme also created a website and social media accounts bearing the victim’s name, and used them to further embarrass and harass the victim, the complaint states.

Cyberstalking is punishable by up to five years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.   

A Chicago-area resident who owns a Pakistani technology company has been indicted for allegedly illegally exporting computer equipment from the United States to a nuclear research agency of the Pakistani government.

Obaidullah Syed owned Pakistan-based Business System International Pvt. LTD., and Chicago-based BSI USA.  The companies provided high-performance computing platforms, servers, and software application solutions.  From 2006 to 2015, Syed and Business System International conspired with company employees in Pakistan to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by exporting computer equipment from the United States to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission without obtaining the required authorization from the U.S. Department of Commerce, according to an indictment returned in the U.S. District Court in Chicago.  The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, according to the indictment, was a Pakistani government agency responsible for “the design, fabrication, and testing of high explosives and nuclear weapons parts, uranium mining and enrichment, and the development of solid-fueled ballistic missiles.” 

The indictment charges Syed, 65, of Northbrook, and Business System International with one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and foreign trade regulations, and one count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.  Syed was arrested Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, and remains in federal custody.  A detention hearing is scheduled for today at 1:00 p.m. CDT before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman in Chicago.

The indictment was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, John R. Lausch, Jr., U.S.  Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Dan Clutch, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security-Office of Export Enforcement, Chicago Field Office; and Cynthia Bruce, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Southeast Field Office.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter M. Flanagan.

According to the indictment, Syed, Business System International and the other conspirators falsely represented to U.S.-based computer manufacturers that the illegal shipments were intended for Pakistan-based universities, Syed’s business, or Syed himself, when, in fact, the conspirators knew that the true end user and ultimate consignee of each shipment was either the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission or a research institute that trained the agency’s engineers and scientists, the indictment states.  In so doing, according to the indictment, Syed and his company caused the U.S.-based computer manufacturers to submit to the U.S. government shipping documents, including Shippers Export Declarations, that listed false end-users for the U.S.-origin goods, thereby undermining the U.S. government’s ability to stop the illegal shipments.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  The conspiracy count is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, while violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO —A Chicago-area resident who owns a Pakistani technology company has been indicted for allegedly illegally exporting computer equipment from the United States to a nuclear research agency of the Pakistani government.

OBAIDULLAH SYED owned Pakistan-based BUSINESS SYSTEM INTERNATIONAL PVT. LTD., and Chicago-based BSI USA.  The companies provided high-performance computing platforms, servers, and software application solutions.  From 2006 to 2015, Syed and Business System International conspired with company employees in Pakistan to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by exporting computer equipment from the United States to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission without obtaining the required authorization from the U.S. Department of Commerce, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, according to the indictment, was a Pakistani government agency responsible for “the design, fabrication, and testing of high explosives and nuclear weapons parts, uranium mining and enrichment, and the development of solid-fueled ballistic missiles.” 

The indictment charges Syed, 65, of Northbrook, and Business System International with one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and foreign trade regulations, and one count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.  Syed was arrested on Sept. 16, 2020, and remains in federal custody.  A detention hearing is scheduled for today at 1:00 p.m. CDT before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman in Chicago.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Dan Clutch, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security-Office of Export Enforcement, Chicago Field Office; and Cynthia Bruce, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Southeast Field Office.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter M. Flanagan.

According to the indictment, Syed, Business System International and the other conspirators falsely represented to U.S.-based computer manufacturers that the illegal shipments were intended for Pakistan-based universities, Syed’s business, or Syed himself, when, in fact, the conspirators knew that the true end user and ultimate consignee of each shipment was either the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission or a research institute that trained the agency’s engineers and scientists, the indictment states.  In so doing, according to the indictment, Syed and his company caused the U.S.-based computer manufacturers to submit to the U.S. government shipping documents, including Shippers Export Declarations, which listed false end-users for the U.S.-origin goods, thereby undermining the U.S. government’s ability to stop the illegal shipments.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  The conspiracy count is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, while violating the IEEPA carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — A Naperville man was arrested today on a federal child pornography charge for allegedly enticing an underage boy to produce sexually explicit videos and photos of himself.

JEREMIAH HARRIS, 21, contacted the underage boy on a social media application and repeatedly enticed him to produce sexually explicit videos and photographs of himself and send them to Harris, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  The minor victim informed Harris during their initial online encounter that he was 13 years old, the complaint states.

The complaint charges Harris with one count of producing child pornography.  He was arrested this morning and is scheduled to make an initial court appearance today at 2:00 p.m. CDT before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman in Chicago.

The complaint was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The investigation was conducted by the FBI Chicago Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, and Chicago Police Department.  The Crystal Lake Police Department and FBI Waco, Texas, Resident Agency provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher V. Parente.

Production of child pornography is punishable by a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

The federal investigation remains ongoing.  If you believe that you or someone you know was a victim of sexual exploitation by Jeremiah Harris, you are encouraged to call the FBI Chicago Field Office at (312) 421-6700.

CHICAGO — Former Illinois State Sen. TERRANCE P. LINK pleaded guilty today to a federal tax charge and admitted willfully underreporting his income for several years.

Link admitted in a plea agreement that he willfully underreported his income on his tax returns for the calendar years 2012 through 2016.  The conduct caused total losses to the IRS of at least $71,133, and to the Illinois Department of Revenue of at least $11,527, the plea agreement states.  For the calendar year 2016, Link admitted that he underreported approximately $93,859, approximately $73,159 of which was money from a campaign fund – Friends of Terry Link – that Link spent on personal expenses, the plea agreement states.

Link, 73, pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return, which is punishable by up to three years in federal prison.  He agreed to pay restitution of $71,133 to the IRS, and $11,527 to the Illinois Department of Revenue.  

U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr., did not immediately set a sentencing date.  A status hearing was set for March 30, 2021, at 9:00 a.m.

The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent-in-Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Stetler and James P. Durkin.

CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been arrested on a federal drug charge for allegedly selling wholesale quantities of heroin and fentanyl in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago.

WILLIAM TOWNSEND, 40, of Chicago, is charged with distribution of a controlled substance.  A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago accuses Townsend of distributing the heroin and fentanyl to two suspected drug traffickers.  The sales occurred in a residential building in the 700 block of West Couch Place in Chicago, the complaint states.

During the investigation, law enforcement seized approximately $469,000 in cash and approximately a kilogram of suspected heroin.

Townsend was arrested on Sept. 10, 2020.  He appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey I. Cummings in Chicago and was ordered to remain detained in federal custody.

The complaint and arrest were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristen Totten, Matthew Kutcher, and Edward A. Liva, Jr., represent the government.

The public is reminded that a complaint contains only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — The owner of a chain of nursing homes and the company’s executive vice president have been charged with fraud for allegedly orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that raised millions of dollars from investors.

ZVI FEINER was the owner and Chief Executive Officer of Skokie-based FNR Healthcare LLC, and EREZ BAVER served as FNR’s Executive Vice President and bookkeeper.  From 2012 to 2017, Feiner and Baver operated a fraud scheme involving the misappropriation of funds raised through the sale of membership interests in companies that Feiner created under the FNR umbrella to purchase and sell nursing homes and assisted living facilities, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  The indictment accuses Feiner and Baver of intentionally misleading investors about the financial condition of the companies in order to fraudulently raise funds. 

In reality, the payments of returns to investors were funded through a Ponzi scheme, with Feiner and Baver paying early investors with money raised from later investors, the charges allege.  Feiner and Baver also used investor funds for purposes unrelated to the purchase or acquisition of the healthcare facilities, including for Feiner’s and Baver’s own personal benefit, the indictment states.

The indictment seeks forfeiture from Feiner of $13.56 million, and from Baver of $3.76 million.

The indictment charges Feiner, 50, of Chicago, with ten counts of wire fraud, and Baver, 40, of Chicago, with one count of wire fraud.  Feiner has pleaded not guilty to all counts.  Arraignment for Baver is set for Sept. 16, 2020, at 10:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Martha M. Pacold.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI.  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Chicago provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Malizia.

Each count of wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.  The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

CHICAGO — A former Chicago Public Schools employee pleaded guilty in federal court today to making false statements to the FBI during a criminal investigation.

PEDRO SOTO admitted in a plea agreement that he intentionally misled the FBI while the agency was conducting a criminal investigation into Soto’s interactions with a lobbyist and the lobbyist’s colleague regarding the awarding of a custodial services contract valued at approximately $1 billion.  Soto was a member of a CPS evaluation committee tasked in 2016 with recommending to the Chicago Board of Education which company or companies CPS should hire to perform the services, and the lobbyist and the lobbyist’s colleague were assisting one of the companies bidding for the contract.  Soto admitted in the plea agreement that he repeatedly provided non-public information to the lobbyist’s colleague concerning the award of the contract, and that he had done so, in part, because the lobbyist’s colleague had promised to extend various benefits to Soto.  Soto further admitted that in 2019 he intentionally made false statements to the FBI when he denied having provided the lobbyist’s colleague with inside information about the awarding of the contract.

Soto, 45, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to an agency of the United States.  The charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman did not immediately set a sentencing date.  A status hearing was scheduled for Dec. 10, 2020, at 9:30 a.m.

The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The Chicago Board of Education Inspector General’s Office provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Kutcher and Michelle Kramer.

CHICAGO — A convicted felon has been sentenced to seven and a half years in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded semiautomatic handgun in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood of Chicago.

CHAWAN LOWE, 31, of Chicago, illegally possessed the firearm in the 7800 block of South Sangamon Street on the evening of May 22, 2019.  Lowe was observed on surveillance video discarding the gun in a dumpster in an alley moments after Chicago Police responded to a call of gunfire in the area.  Lowe was not legally allowed to possess a firearm after previously being convicted of multiple narcotics offenses.

A federal jury in March convicted Lowe on one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon.  U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo imposed the sentence Sept. 2, 2020, in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen deTineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office provided valuable assistance and participated in the prosecution.  The case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Daniel and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Erika Gilliam-Booker, who also serves as an Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney.

“The defendant unlawfully possessed a firearm in a city where gun violence has made headlines for years,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Daniel and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Erika Gilliam-Booker argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “This offense also conveys the defendant’s disregard for the law.”

Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Guardian and Project Safe Neighborhoods.  In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the Guardian and PSN programs to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.

CHICAGO — A member of a violent Chicago street gang has been sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity that included murder.

ALONZO G. HORTA, 23, of Hammond, Ind., pleaded guilty to the federal charges earlier this year.  U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall imposed the sentence Sept. 4, 2020, after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

Horta admitted in a plea agreement that he conspired with leadership of the Latin Kings street gang to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity that included using violence and intimidation to protect the gang’s purported territory in Chicago.  Horta admitted murdering Alfonso Calderon on the Southeast Side of the city on April 9, 2017, because Horta suspected that Calderon was a member of a rival gang.  Horta was joined by two fellow members of the Latin Kings when they confronted him, and he fatally shot Calderon in order to advance the activities of the Latin Kings.

Horta was indicted in 2018 along with more than 30 other alleged members of the Latin Kings.  The indictment charged numerous acts of violence allegedly committed by the gang’s members, including murder, attempted murder, and arson.  Law enforcement uncovered the criminal activity through an investigation led by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and the Hammond, Ind., Police Department. 

“Acting through the gang’s manifesto and constitution, members of the Latin Kings have infested the Southeast Side of Chicago and elsewhere with violence, drug-dealing, and witness intimidation,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys John D. Cooke, Ashley A. Chung, Brian J. Kerwin, and Grayson S. Walker argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “It is vital to communicate to the Southeast Side of Chicago and the rest of the district that carrying and using a gun can land you in federal prison for a long time, and that shooting a person to death will keep you in prison for decades.”

Lamesha Conley of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced to 24 months in prison today for conspiracy and identity theft charges related to a scheme to obtain fraudulent tax refunds using stolen identity information, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch, Jr. for the Northern District of Illinois.

According to documents and information provided to the court, beginning in 2014, Conley provided more than 6,000 stolen identities to Dominque King and Roxann Gist for the purpose of filing fraudulent income tax returns. Between 2014 and July 2015, King and Gist used those stolen identities to file fraudulent income tax returns with the IRS seeking more than $2.6 million in refunds. King and Gist directed that some of the refunds be mailed to Conley and other co-conspirators.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Robert William Gettlemen ordered Conley to serve 1 year of supervised release and to pay approximately $1,196,460 in restitution to the United States.

King, Gist, and other co-defendants previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme. King was sentenced to 30 months in prison and Gist was sentenced to 36 months in prison. They were ordered to pay $1,332,935 in restitution to the IRS.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Lausch commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Lee F. Langston, and former Trial Attorney Timothy M. Russo, of the Tax Division, who prosecuted this case. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois for their substantial assistance in the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the Division’s website.

CHICAGO — John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, today announced an update on Operation Legend in Chicago.

Operation Legend is a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement to fight violent crime.  As part of the initiative, the Department of Justice allocated additional investigators and resources to the FBI, DEA, ATF, and U.S. Marshals Service.  The Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations also committed additional agents.

Since the operation’s launch in Chicago on July 22, 2020, through Aug. 31, 2020, 103 defendants have been charged with federal felony offenses relating to violent crime affecting the city of Chicago.  Most defendants have been charged in the Northern District of Illinois, including more than 60 defendants facing a lead firearms-related charge, and more than 25 defendants facing a lead drug trafficking charge.  In addition to the charges filed in the Northern District of Illinois, several cases involving false statements in the acquisition of a firearm have been filed in the Northern District of Indiana.  Those cases were investigated with the assistance of the influx of ATF agents under Operation Legend, and some of the guns were later discovered in the Chicago area.

“The mission of Operation Legend is clear: reduce violent crime and save lives,” said John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.  “Enforcing the rule of law and holding offenders accountable for the crimes they commit are essential components of every reasonable strategy to ensure public safety in Chicago.”

“My Office is committed to focusing investigative and prosecutorial efforts on reducing gun violence in Northern Indiana,” said Thomas L. Kirsch II, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana.  “Our coordinated effort with the Northern District of Illinois proves that state borders do not save criminals from aggressive prosecution.  We are working hard across the Districts to rid our streets of violent crime.  Today with the announcement of more arrests from Operation Legend, we emphasize that we are working together to focus our resources on reducing violent crime and violence due to illegal firearms on both sides of the state line.”

Recent federal cases filed in Chicago with the assistance of Operation Legend include:

• A man was charged with a firearm offense for allegedly “straw purchasing” multiple guns in Indiana on behalf of a convicted felon in Chicago.
• A man was arrested on a federal robbery charge for allegedly robbing a United Parcel Service delivery truck last month.  The driver was ordered to lay face down in the street while the man and two accomplices allegedly stole several boxes from the UPS truck.
• A man was indicted on carjacking charges for allegedly stealing a vehicle from two women at gunpoint in Chicago.  The man allegedly discharged a handgun during the carjacking, which led to an additional firearm charge that is punishable by a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
• A convicted felon with a history of firearm convictions was charged with a federal firearm offense after HSI agents and CPD officers executing an arrest warrant discovered two handguns and 70 rounds of ammunition in his Volvo convertible.

Several of the cases involving felons in illegal possession of firearms were charged directly in federal court after ATF agents worked side-by-side with the Chicago Police Department in neighborhoods of the city that have suffered through the highest number of shootings and homicides.  In other firearm investigations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has worked with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to determine the best forum in which to bring a prosecution. 

During Operation Legend, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its federal partners have also worked closely with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois State Police.

Operation Legend is named in honor of four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed while he slept on June 29, 2020, in Kansas City, Mo.  A 22-year-old Kansas City man has been charged with LeGend’s murder.  The arrest was the product of a coordinated effort by the Kansas City Police Department, FBI, and U.S. Marshals Service.

Operation Legend began in Kansas City on July 8, 2020.  In addition to Chicago, it has expanded to Albuquerque, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Memphis, and Indianapolis.  In all of the operation’s cities thus far, there have been more than 2,000 state, local, and federal arrests.  Of the individuals arrested, 476 have been charged in federal courts, including 249 with firearms offenses and 185 with drug-related offenses.  In addition, law enforcement has seized 544 firearms, more than seven kilograms of fentanyl, 14 kilograms of heroin, 12 kilograms of cocaine, and 50 kilograms of methamphetamine.

ROCKFORD — GIANNI GASPARE ANTHONY CARDENAS, 25, of Rockford, was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Rockford on two counts of transmitting threats in interstate commerce to injure another person. 

The indictment alleges that in February 2018 a federal law enforcement officer interviewed Cardenas at a county jail regarding whether Cardenas had any information about the whereabouts of a federal fugitive. According to the indictment, Cardenas told the law enforcement officer during the interview that Cardenas would “kick [the officer’s] [expletive]” when Cardenas got out of jail. The indictment alleges that in June 2019 Cardenas emailed the law enforcement officer seeking to arrange a meeting with the officer so that Cardenas could “clear [his] name.” The indictment further alleges that on or about Oct. 20, 2019, after the officer did not respond to Cardenas’s earlier emails, Cardenas sent two threatening emails to the officer. The first email allegedly stated, among other things, “Hopefully we can meet again this time with me not being in handcuffs[.]” The second email, sent less than 20 minutes later, allegedly stated, “I’ll kill you[.]”

Arraignment via videoconference is set for Sept. 16, 2020, at 9:30 a.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Iain D. Johnston.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Talia Bucci.

Each count in the indictment carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.  The public is reminded that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

CHICAGO — The former mayor of southwest suburban McCook, who also served as a Cook County Commissioner, pleaded guilty in federal court today to extortion conspiracy and tax charges.

JEFFREY R. TOBOLSKI admitted in a plea agreement that during his tenures as mayor and Cook County Commissioner he agreed to accept multiple extortion and bribe payments totaling more than $250,000.  Tobolski admitted that he abused his elected positions in order to benefit individuals who paid him the money.  One such arrangement cited in the plea agreement involved Tobolski scheming with a McCook police officer to accept cash payments from the owner of a McCook restaurant in exchange for Tobolski’s and the police officer’s permission to host events that involved the sale of alcohol.

Tobolski, 55, of McCook, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, which is punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, and one count of filing a false tax return, which is punishable by up to three years.  U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber did not immediately set a sentencing date.

The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent-in-Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Stetler and Tiffany A. Ardam.

In regard to the tax charge, Tobolski admitted in the plea agreement that he willfully underreported his income on his tax returns for the calendar years 2012 through 2018.  The conduct caused total losses to the IRS of at least $56,268, and the Illinois Department of Revenue of at least $9,338, the plea agreement states.

CHICAGO — A former Illinois accountant has been sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison for misappropriating more than $77 million from individuals and financial institutions.

SULTAN ISSA, 47, of Hinsdale, pleaded guilty earlier this year to wire fraud affecting a financial institution.  U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood imposed the 200-month sentence Monday in federal court in Chicago.  Judge Wood also ordered Issa to pay more than $72 million in restitution to the victims.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Fluhr.

Issa was a certified public accountant and the Chief Financial Officer of a group of partnerships, corporations, and trusts owned by a Chicago-area family.  From 2010 to 2017, he embezzled at least $45 million of the family’s assets, including money Issa stole from a trust account that was set up to pay medical expenses for a family member suffering from an incapacitating illness.  Issa also fraudulently obtained at least another $5.1 million from individuals in his personal capacity, claiming he would invest their money in legitimate opportunities, including a luxury auto dealership Issa owned in Burr Ridge.

Issa used fraud proceeds to cover personal expenses and to secure fraudulent loans from financial institutions totaling at least $83 million to acquire, among other things, 25 residential properties in Illinois, Montana, Michigan, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, two private aircraft, four yachts, approximately 60 firearms, and assorted watches, jewelry, and memorabilia. 

Issa attempted to conceal the scheme by providing financial institutions with fraudulent loan documents and forging authorizations to gain control of funds belonging to the family-owned group.  Issa also created false account statements and made Ponzi-type payments to individual investors.

CHICAGO — A man has been charged with a federal firearm offense for allegedly “straw purchasing” guns in Indiana on behalf of a convicted felon in Chicago.

On three occasions this summer, BRIAN HAYWOOD purchased guns from stores in Hammond, Ind., and falsely certified on federal forms that he was the actual buyer, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  In reality, Haywood purchased the guns on behalf of a convicted felon from Chicago whom Haywood knew was prohibited from legally purchasing firearms on his own, the complaint states.  The felon directed Haywood to buy certain firearms that he wanted and then provided him with the purchase money and an additional fee of $250 per gun, according to the charges.

The complaint charges Haywood, 24, of Hammond, Ind., with one count of knowingly selling and disposing of a firearm to a convicted felon.

The charges were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Albert Berry III.

“Straw purchasers play a grave role in enabling the unlawful possession of guns and the senseless violence that can follow,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch. “Our office is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to stop the flow of guns to individuals who cannot legally possess them.”

"Straw buyers undermine the rule of law, putting guns into the hands of convicted felons,” said FBI SAC Buie.  “The FBI will never stop working with our partners to prevent gun-based violence and make our streets safer."

The case was brought under Operation Legend, a Department of Justice initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement to fight violent crime.  As part of Operation Legend, Attorney General William P. Barr directed ATF, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and DEA to significantly increase resources in Chicago to help state and local officials fight violent crime, particularly firearm offenses.

The complaint describes three alleged straw purchases in Indiana this summer – on July 30, Aug. 5, and Aug. 20.  Unbeknownst to Haywood, the felon from Chicago for whom Haywood bought the guns was surreptitiously cooperating with law enforcement.

The complaint also details a fourth firearm transaction, during which Haywood and another man – MARQUEES FRENCH, 24, of Hammond, Ind. – allegedly sold a semi-automatic handgun to the cooperating felon on the South Side of Chicago on Aug. 25, 2020.  The transaction occurred in a retail store parking lot in the 9500 block of South Ashland Avenue, the complaint states.  Law enforcement arrested Haywood and French after the deal was conducted and the pair was attempting to drive out of the parking lot, the complaint states.

French was charged with the same offense as Haywood.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  The charge in the complaint is punishable by a maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO – The owner of a restaurant in suburban Chicago has been indicted on a federal fraud charge for allegedly fraudulently obtaining more than $175,000 in a forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

MELISSA TURASKY, 43, of Lake in the Hills, Ill., was charged in an indictment returned Thursday in the Northern District of Illinois with one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution.  Arraignment in U.S. District Court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Christopher Diiorio, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Chicago Field Office.  The U.S. Small Business Administration participated in the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Morgan.

“The Paycheck Protection Program was designed as a lifeline for small businesses struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “Our office is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to root out abuse of the important relief programs established under the CARES Act.”

The CARES Act was enacted in March to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the PPP, which allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and a low interest rate of one percent.  PPP loan proceeds must be used by businesses on payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities.  The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within 24 weeks of receipt and use at least 60% of the forgiven amount for payroll.

According to the indictment, Turasky owned Gifford’s Bar and Restaurant, which did business as Gifford’s Kitchen and Social, in Elgin, Ill.  In early March, Gifford’s was no longer operational and had been evicted from its restaurant rental space.  By the end of March, all of Gifford’s employees had been terminated, the indictment states.

Turasky applied for and obtained $176,822 in PPP funds for Gifford’s by submitting a fraudulent loan application to a bank, the indictment states.  Turasky fraudulently provided figures approximating Gifford’s monthly payroll and other business expenses, to make it falsely appear that Gifford’s continued to have payroll and business operating expenses, the indictment states.

The public is reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation.  The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.  The bank fraud and false statement charges are each punishable by up to 30 years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

CHICAGO — The U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged a man with a federal firearm offense after he allegedly illegally possessed a loaded gun while looting a store in downtown Chicago earlier this month.

JAVONTE T. WILLIAMS, 27, of Chicago, is charged with one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  Williams was prohibited from possessing a gun after previously being convicted of a felony firearm offense in the Circuit Court of Cook County, for which he was sentenced to probation. 

Williams was arrested this morning on the federal charge and made an initial appearance in federal court.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila M. Finnegan ordered Williams to remain in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Sept. 1, 2020, at 2:00 p.m.

The charge was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen deTineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in bringing this charge.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher V. Parente.

According to the federal criminal complaint, Chicago Police officers observed Williams exiting a closed retail store in the first block of East Randolph Street in downtown Chicago at 5:00 a.m. on Aug. 10, 2020.  Williams was carrying merchandise in his hands as he exited the store, the complaint states.  As officers pursued and arrested Williams, a semi-automatic handgun fell from his body to the ground, the complaint states.  The gun was loaded with seven rounds of ammunition in the magazine and one in the chamber, according to the complaint.

The case was brought under Operation Legend, a Department of Justice initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement to fight violent crime.  As part of Operation Legend, Attorney General William P. Barr directed ATF, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and DEA to significantly increase resources in Chicago to help state and local officials fight violent crime, particularly firearm offenses.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  Illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

CHICAGO — An ongoing federal criminal investigation into the failure of a Chicago bank has resulted in charges against four new defendants, all of whom worked for the bank.

Washington Federal Bank for Savings was shut down in December 2017 after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency determined that the bank was insolvent and had at least $66 million in nonperforming loans.  Last year, two Illinois attorneys – bank customer ROBERT M. KOWALSKI and his sister, JAN R. KOWALSKI – were indicted for allegedly defrauding Robert Kowalski’s creditors and the trustee in his bankruptcy case by concealing cash and property belonging to Robert Kowalski’s bankruptcy estate.  A second superseding indictment returned Thursday renewed the bankruptcy fraud charges against the Kowalskis and added four former Washington Federal employees to the case.  The new indictment also identified the primary creditor victim of the bankruptcy fraud as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.  The employees allegedly conspired with Robert Kowalski and higher-ranking bank officials to embezzle at least $29 million in bank funds in the years preceding the closure.  The employees and the higher-ranking officials allegedly transferred the money to Robert Kowalski and others, often without any documentation, and falsified bank records to conceal the embezzlement from the OCC and the FDIC, the latter having become the receiver of the bank and provider of approximately $90 million to make account holders whole.

The new indictment charges Robert Kowalski, 58, of Chicago, with conspiracy to commit embezzlement and falsify bank records.  Also charged in the conspiracy are the four former bank employees: ROSALLIE C. CORVITE, 45, of Chicago, who served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; JANE V. IRIONDO, formerly known as Jane V. Tran, 39, of Boise, Idaho, who served as Corporate Secretary; ALICIA MANDUJANO, 49, of Chicago, who worked as a loan servicer; and CATHY M. TORRES, 39, of Chicago, who worked as a loan officer.  The four employees also face individual counts of falsifying bank records.  In addition to renewing the bankruptcy fraud charges against Robert Kowalski and Jan Kowalski, 56, of LaGrange, the new indictment also adds several tax counts against Robert Kowalski for allegedly failing to file income tax returns and filing false personal and corporate returns for various years.

Arraignments in U.S. District Court in Chicago have not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jay N. Lerner, Inspector General of the FDIC’s Office of Inspector General; Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent-in-Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; Catherine Huber, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Central Region of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General; Brad Geary, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General in Chicago; Assistant Inspector for Investigations Sally Luttrell of the Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General; Joseph M. Ferguson, City of Chicago Inspector General; and Elissa Rhee-Lee, Chicago Housing Authority Inspector General.  Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Trustee Program.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Netols, Michelle Petersen, and Jeremy Daniel.

The criminal investigation remains ongoing.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.