District of Massachusetts

BOSTON - A former New York pediatrician and resident of Mashpee was sentenced today for distribution and possession of child pornography.

Daniel J. O’Hern, 65, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Denise J. Casper to 63 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release and a fine of $12,500.  O’Hern pleaded guilty in April to distribution and possession of child pornography.  Following the completion of his sentence, O’Hern will be required to register as a sex offender with the Sex Offender Registration Board.

In May 2014, law enforcement discovered that O’Hern was distributing child pornography when he utilized a public file sharing program to post pictures and videos of minors, between the ages of five and 12 years old, engaged in sexually explicit conduct with adults.  In June 2014, federal agents executed a search warrant at O’Hern’s residence and seized multiple computers, external hard drives, hundreds of DVDs and other media storage devices which contained an extensive collection of images and videos depicting children being sexually assaulted by adults.  O’Hern was arrested following the execution of the search warrant and has been held in federal custody since that time.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Masphee Police Chief Rodney Collins; and Barnstable Police Chief Paul MacDonald made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Kenneth G. Shine of Ortiz’s Major Crime Unit.

This case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Divisions CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

BOSTON - A Medford man was arrested today for impersonating a United States Marshal.

Gordon Malyerck, 68, was arrested and appeared in court today in connection with an incident in which he allegedly impersonated a United States Marshal on July 7, 2015, at Middlesex Fells Reservation.  Charges were filed on July 15, and unsealed today after Malyerck’s arrest.

According to court documents, Malyerck, wearing a shirt with the USMS badge on the pocket, approached a Park Ranger and falsely identified himself as a Deputy U.S. Marshal.  Without further inquiry from the Park Ranger, Malyerck produced his “USMS credentials” and claimed that he had recently been deputized as a U.S. Marshal at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.  Malyerck, who carried an exposed .38 caliber handgun on his waistband at the time of the incident, suggested that Park Rangers be armed and deputized.  Additionally, Malyerck noted that he had seen young women running around in the park and that he would take action if he observed an attack.

When approached by federal agents on July 14, Malyerck admitted to possessing credentials and advised law enforcement officials that he had been deputized by a Deputy U.S. Marshal in Baltimore.  Law enforcement learned that the Baltimore agent had not “deputized” Malyerck, but had sent him an item with the U.S. Marshal insignia.

Malyerck was released with conditions and is set to appear in federal court on July 27 for a probable cause hearing.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and United States Marshal John Gibbons made the announcement today.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David G. Tobin of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations.  The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.

BOSTON – A Russian man known by the online nickname “Joga” was sentenced today for his role in an online fraud scheme that used stolen credit and debit card information to acquire more than $650,000 in consumer goods.

Alexey Svetlichnyy, 32, a Russian citizen living in Tewksbury, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs to 24 months in prison.  Additionally, Svetlichnyy was ordered to forfeit more than $425,000 in United States currency, along with a Lexus and other high-end consumer goods he obtained through the scheme.  In March 2015, Svetlichnyy pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud

According to court documents, Svetlichnyy and others obtained stolen credit and debit card data and related accountholder information using online forums dedicated to the trafficking of stolen information.

Svetlichnyy and his co-conspirators used the stolen data to make online purchases of numerous goods, including Apple iPads, Samsung cell phones, laptop computers, servers, computer processors, scuba diving equipment, high-end camera lenses, and water filtration equipment.  They also used the stolen data to make online purchases of stored value cards issued by or on behalf of American Express, Visa, Budget Rental Car, Frontier Airlines, Macy’s and other retailers.

When making these online purchases, Svetlichnyy, along with his co-conspirators, frequently used the names and billing addresses associated with the stolen data, but then shipped the goods and stored value cards to addresses that Svetlichnyy controlled.

To avoid detection, Svetlichnyy and his co-conspirators utilized Russian language social networks to recruit accomplices, who were paid to receive these stolen consumer goods and re-ship the items to addresses controlled by Svetlichnyy in Chelmsford and North Reading, Mass., among other places.  These addresses were primarily private commercial mailboxes that Svetlichnyy opened in the name of a Delaware company, Micaxr, LLC (Micaxr).

From March 2010 to October 2013, Svetlichnyy sold the stolen consumer goods and stored value cards for more than $427,000 on eBay.  Svetlichnyy and his co-conspirators then wired a portion of the criminal proceeds overseas, including to Russian bank accounts.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Lisa Quinn, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Boston Field Office; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today.  Ortiz also thanked the U.S. Secret Service’s Cyber Investigative Section and the Tewksbury Police Department for their involvement in the investigation that led to today’s sentencing.

The case was prosecuted by Seth B. Kosto of Ortiz’s Cybercrime Unit and Eric Christofferson of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

BOSTON – Ten individuals in three states were charged in federal court yesterday with conspiracy to distribute heroin, in connection with a Lawrence-based heroin operation. The ten were charged in two related criminal complaints.

In the late night hours on Sunday, July 12, 2015, Juan Gonzalez-Arias, 31, Jerri Martinez-Tejeda, 31, Yoelly Carmenatty, 27, Michael Bate, 33, and Gilberto Alicea, 32, were arrested for conspiracy to distribute heroin.  Another charged defendant, Lily Y. Solis, 28, is in custody in Oklahoma.  One defendant, Alejandro Mendez, 31, is in state custody in Massachusetts.  Three other defendants, Joel Jahamal Rougeau, 41, Saul Torres, and Hillsaydee Guzman, 31, remain fugitives.

These charges came after a lengthy investigation that culminated in the execution of two search warrants, one for the residence of Gonzalez-Arias, and another for the residence of Martinez-Tejeda and his wife, Carmenatty, in the late evening and early morning hours of July 12-13.

In the Martinez-Tejeda/Carmenatty residence, agents found over $500,000 in cash that was in the process of being counted and packaged.  Federal agents also recovered two handguns, various items for the processing and packaging of narcotics, and approximately one kilogram of what is believed to be “cut,” a substance used to dilute the purity of heroin prior to sale.  Additionally, agents recovered ledgers appearing to be part of the drug trafficking operation.

In the Gonzalez-Arias residence, agents recovered a firearm, 1.5 kilograms of suspected heroin and an additional $30,088 in cash.

The maximum sentence under the statute is life in prison, followed by supervised release for up to life, a $10,000,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.  Depending on the total amount of drugs recovered and whether a defendant is held responsible for all or a portion of those drugs, the applicable statute also provides a ten year mandatory minimum period of incarceration as well as a mandatory five year period of supervised release.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; and Michael J. Ferguson, DEA Special Agent in Charge, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Thomas E. Kanwit of Ortiz’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit.

The details contained in the criminal complaints are allegations.  The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A former Boston Police officer and former treasurer of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to making a false statement to the FBI in connection with his cash loans to a known criminal.

David Michael Fitzgerald, 49, who resides in Milton, pleaded guilty to a one count Information of making a false statement to the FBI.  Fitzgerald was a Boston Police officer from 1996 until this June when he resigned as part of his plea agreement.  He was the treasurer of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association (BPAA) from 2012 to 2014.

According to court documents, Fitzgerald developed a relationship with an individual who was a known street-level drug dealer and bookmaker.  During the course of this relationship, Fitzgerald made cash loans to the individual, which were paid back in weekly installments.  On April 27, 2015, Fitzgerald met the individual in Watertown in order to collect a $500 cash installment for one of the outstanding loans.  Later that same day, when federal agents who were investigating the matter questioned Fitzgerald, he falsely stated that the purpose of his meeting with the individual was simply social in nature and that he had never loaned money to the individual.  Not only were these statements untrue, but they were intended to interfere with an ongoing federal investigation.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  In addition to his resignation, the plea agreement also contemplates a joint, non-binding recommendation to the Court for a sentence of one year probation.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  Judge Nathaniel Gorton set sentencing for Oct. 20, 2015.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, made the announcement today.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office also wishes to acknowledge the cooperation of the Boston Police Department’s Anti-Corruption Division.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris and Robert A. Fisher of Ortiz’s Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit.

BOSTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today that it has launched a review of restaurants in Boston to determine whether they are being operated in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has selected for review restaurants in Boston’s Seaport and Fort Point neighborhoods.  With the ongoing construction and development in this area of the city, the review is intended to ensure that these neighborhoods are accessible to the increasing numbers of residents and tourists who will be visiting.

“This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and reminds us that all individuals with disabilities deserve to have full access to public places,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz.  “We look forward to partnering with restaurants to make sure that they are accessible to every resident and visitor to our City.”

Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by the owners and operators of places of public accommodation, which includes restaurants.  The ADA authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice to undertake periodic reviews of covered establishments.  This initiative is being conducted in accordance with the Department of Justice’s statutory responsibility to review compliance with federal law and not in response to any specific complaint against any of the restaurants.

To facilitate its compliance review, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has been conducting site visits of the restaurants to assess accessibility and to evaluate compliance with federal ADA regulations.  If the site visits reveal that a particular restaurant is not in compliance with the law, the U.S. Attorney’s Office intends to notify the owners and operators to secure voluntary compliance.  The Department of Justice is also authorized to commence a civil lawsuit in federal court in any case that involves a pattern or practice of discrimination or raises issues of general public importance.

In 2010, to coordinate the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in enforcing federal civil rights laws, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz formed the Civil Rights Enforcement Team (CRET), which is composed of Assistant U.S. Attorneys and professional staff from the criminal and civil divisions of the office.  The primary goals of the CRET are to uphold the constitutional rights of all residents, particularly the most vulnerable members of society and to enforce federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status, and national origin.

Additional information about the ADA is available at www.ADA.gov or through contacting the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (617) 748-3100.

BOSTON – An Adams man has been arrested and charged in connection with a plot to engage in terrorism on behalf of ISIL.  A criminal complaint, charging Alexander Ciccolo, a/k/a Ali Al Amriki, 23, with being a felon in possession of firearms was unsealed today.  Additional information regarding Ciccolo’s plans was filed this morning in advance of a detention hearing to be held tomorrow afternoon in Springfield.

According to the complaint affidavit, on July 4, 2015, Ciccolo took delivery of four firearms which he had ordered from a person who was cooperating with members of the Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force, and who had been communicating with Ciccolo about Ciccolo’s plans to engage in a terrorist act.  Ciccolo was arrested immediately after taking delivery of the firearms, which included a Colt AR-15 .223 caliber rifle, a SigArms Model SG550-1, 556 caliber rifle, a Glock 17- 9mm pistol, and a Glock 20-10 mm pistol.  Ciccolo had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in jail and therefore was prohibited from possessing firearms.

In an affidavit filed in support of the government’s detention motion, it is alleged that Ciccolo is a supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization.  According to the affidavit, Ciccolo had spoken with a cooperating witness in recorded conversations about his plans to commit acts of terrorism inspired by ISIL, including setting off improvised explosive devices, such as pressure cookers filled with black powder, nails, ball bearings and glass, in places where large numbers of people congregate, like college cafeterias.  Prior to his arrest, agents had observed Ciccolo purchase a pressure cooker similar to that used in the Boston Marathon bombings.

It is also alleged that during a search of Ciccolo’s apartment after he was arrested, agents found several partially constructed “Molotov cocktails.”  These incendiary devices contained what appeared to be shredded Styrofoam soaking in motor oil.  Ciccolo had previously stated that this mixture would cause the fire from the exploded devices to stick to people’s skin and make it harder to put the fire out.

A detention hearing has been scheduled for July 14 at 3:30 p.m. in U.S. District Court in Springfield.

The charge of being a felon in possession of firearms provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.  This investigation is being conducted by the Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force, and member agencies of the JTTF including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Springfield Police Department, the Ludlow Police Department, the Holyoke Police Department, the West Springfield Police Department, the Easthampton Police Department, the Pittsfield Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police and Homeland Security Investigations, with critical assistance from the Adams Police Department and the Massachusetts State Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin O’Regan and Deepika Shukla of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office in coordination with Department of Justice’s National Security Division.

The details contained in the charges are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A former New England Patriots player and a former bank executive were indicted yesterday in connection with an investment scheme involving fraudulent loans to professional athletes.

Will Allen, 36, of Davie, Fla., and Susan Daub, 55, of Coral Springs, Fla., were indicted on twelve counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of identity theft and several counts of money laundering (four counts for Allen and one count for Daub).  Both were arrested and charged in a criminal complaint in June 2015.  Allen played in the National Football League from 2001 to 2012.  In 2012, he signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots.

The indictment alleges that Allen and Daub ran their company, Capital Financial Partners (CFP) as a Ponzi scheme, using money raised from new investors to pay back investments made by earlier investors.  Allen and Daub allegedly defrauded investors out of millions of dollars by claiming that the funds would be used to back high-interest, short-term loans to professional athletes through CFP, Allen and Daub’s Massachusetts-based company. While CFP did make some loans to athletes, the indictment alleges that Allen and Daub also diverted millions of investor dollars to themselves and other business ventures.

Allen and Daub allegedly told some investors that the loans CFP made to professional athletes were larger than they actually were, allowing Allen and Daub to collect more money from investors than they were lending out to athletes.  In other instances, Allen and Daub are accused of collecting money from investors to fund fictitious loans.  To keep investors from discovering their fraud, Allen and Daub allegedly used newly invested money to make payments to existing investors, which they falsely characterized as interest and principal payments from athlete borrowers.  

The charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud provides for sentences of no greater than 20 years in prison and up to three years of supervised release.   The charge of identity theft provides for a sentence of two years in prison and up to one year of supervised release.  The charge of money laundering provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison and up to three years of supervised release.  Allen and Daub also may be fined of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss caused by offense, whichever is greater, on each of the counts.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian A. Pérez-Daple of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office received valuable assistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which previously charged Allen and Daub in a civil complaint.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – Kenneth Howell, 49, was indicted today on one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.  Howell was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint in May 2015.

In April 2015, Howell first came to the attention of federal agents when chat messages exchanged between another individual and he revealed that Howell was paying to view sex acts performed by minors in the Philippines over the Internet.  In May 2015, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Howell’s home during which time Howell admitted that he downloaded, saved and distributed child pornography, and that he had been trading images of child pornography for four to five years.  A preliminary review of Howell’s computer revealed over 100 videos of child pornography.

The charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum term of five years and no greater than 20 years in prison.  The charge of possession of child pornography provides for no greater than 20 years in prison. Both statutes provide for a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Michael Shea, Deputy Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today.  Assistance was also provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Acton Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eve A. Piemonte of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.  In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.     

The details contained in the indictment are allegations.  The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.

BOSTON – A former employee of one of the country’s leading proxy advisory firms pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to conspiring over a six-year period to provide confidential information about how the firm’s clients had voted on numerous shareholder proposals to a leading proxy solicitation firm.

Brian M. Bennett, 42, of Mount Pleasant, S.C., pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services wire fraud.  U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for January 13, 2016.

“Individuals who sell the confidences of their employers and clients are committing a crime,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz.  “The law leaves no room for such betrayals, whether they are in service of a scheme to commit insider trading, to steal intellectual property or, as in today’s case, to provide an unfair advantage in the battle for proxy votes.”

U.S. Attorney Ortiz noted that the government’s investigation is continuing, adding:  “Those who would pay such bribes should also take heed: you are no less culpable than the purveyors of the information you are buying.  We will use the full arsenal of law enforcement tools available to us to shut down the black market for nonpublic corporate information, and to prosecute those who participate in it.” 

Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, said “Mr. Bennett is now facing the consequences for giving away confidential client information in exchange for tickets to high-priced events. The FBI hopes this case sends a strong warning to those individuals and companies who are also buying inside knowledge. They are just as responsible as those selling it and the FBI will use every resource we have to shut them down.”

According to court documents, from 1998 to 2012, Bennett, who was formerly known as Brian M. Zentmyer, worked at one of the leading proxy advisory firms in the United States, including for two years, at the firm’s Boston office.  Proxy advisory firms provide institutional investors with research, analysis and recommendations concerning proposals subject to vote by shareholders in publicly-traded companies.  The firms may also engage in ancillary businesses, such as helping clients cast their votes, also known as proxy ballots or proxies.  Proxy solicitation firms, in turn, assist publicly-traded companies in matters requiring shareholder approval by attempting to gather information about institutional investors’ holdings and the direction of their proxy votes.  This information can help proxy solicitors and their clients determine whether particular shareholder proposals are likely to pass or fail, and can thus help to shape their strategies for affecting the outcome of shareholder votes.

Bennett, in the course of his work for the proxy advisory firm, had access to confidential information concerning the firm’s clients, including information about how many shares the clients held in particular publicly-traded companies, whether the clients had voted on particular shareholder proposals, and if so, how they had voted.  Bennett was subject to the proxy advisory firm’s code of conduct, which prohibited employees from providing confidential client information to third parties, and accepting gifts.

Between 2008 and 2012, Bennett conspired with an employee of a proxy solicitation firm to provide confidential information about how the proxy advisory firm’s clients had voted on numerous shareholder proposals in return for gifts to Bennett from the proxy solicitation firm.  The gifts included tickets worth thousands of dollars to concerts and sporting events.

According to court documents, for example, in February 2008 – one week before the annual shareholder meeting of a California-based semiconductor manufacturer – when the employee of the proxy solicitation firm emailed Bennett inquiring about a pending vote on a proposed performance incentive plan for the California company’s directors and key employees.  Bennett responded by providing information about 13 of the company’s institutional shareholders, who were clients of the proxy advisory firm, including how many shares of the company they owned, whether they had voted on the proposed performance incentive plan, and if so, how they had voted.  One week later – on the day of the shareholder vote – the proxy solicitation firm employee sent an email to Bennett, inquiring:  “I just love asking questions like this: opening day – 3/30 – 2 or 4 tickets?”  Bennett responded:  “2 tickets is good….”  Thereafter, Bennett attended the opening day game between the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., using tickets paid for by the proxy solicitation firm.

The charging statute provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Ortiz and FBI SAC Lisi made the announcement today.  The United States Attorney’s Office has also received valuable assistance from the Securities & Exchange Commission.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Walters and Stephen E. Frank, Chief and Deputy Chief, respectively, of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

BOSTON – A Dominican woman was indicted today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with smuggling cocaine into the United States at Boston’s Logan International Airport.

Ireline Aponte Melende, 30, of the Dominican Republic was indicted on unlawful importation of a controlled substance.  She was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint in May 2015.

According to court documents, on May 10, 2015, Aponte Melende, was stopped at Logan International Airport after she arrived on a flight from the Dominican Republic using a motorized wheelchair.  When the wheelchair was x-rayed, Customs and Border Protection officers noticed abnormalities in the wheelchair batteries.  The batteries were opened, revealing four bricks containing a white powdery substance which preliminary testing revealed to be cocaine.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Bruce Shea, Deputy Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Orkand of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A former district manager of Warner Chilcott Sales U.S., LLC (Warner Chilcott), a pharmaceutical company based in Rockaway, N.J., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with a scheme to deceive insurance companies and Medicare so that they would cover the costs of Warner Chilcott’s osteoporosis medications, Actonel and Atelvia.

Jeffrey Podolsky, 48, of East Meadow, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to an information charging one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Actonel and Atelvia belong to a class of pharmaceuticals known as bisphosphonates, which physicians prescribe for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.  There are few, if any, clinical differences between most bisphosphonates on the market, including the generic version.  For that reason, in 2010 and throughout 2011, many insurance companies did not include Actonel or Atelvia on their pharmaceutical formularies.  The only way to get a prescription for Actonel or Atelvia paid for by an insurance company was through a prior authorization, which required the prescribing physician to explain to the insurance company why the non-formulary drug was medically necessary for the patient, as opposed to the generic version or any other bisphosphonate on the market.

Beginning in 2010 and throughout 2011, Podolsky directed the sales representatives in his district to fill out prior authorizations for physicians who prescribed Actonel and Atelvia using false clinical justifications as to why the patient needed Warner Chilcott drugs and submit them to health insurance companies.  In some instances, Podolsky’s sales representatives reviewed patients’ medical charts to get the information necessary to fill out the prior authorizations, in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).  Podolsky also directed sales representatives to utilize a website to submit prior authorizations to insurance companies to disguise their identity as pharmaceutical sales representatives.  Podolsky and the sales representatives that he supervised knew that they should not be involved in the preparation or submission of prior authorizations.

As a result of the scheme that Podolsky directed, insurance companies and Medicare paid at least $200,000 for Actonel and Atelvia prescriptions that were not medically necessary and would not have been paid but for the false information submitted by Warner Chilcott sales representatives.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross loss to the Medicare program or twice the gross gain to Podolsky (whichever is greater), forfeiture of any proceeds of the offense, and exclusion from the Medicare program.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Antoinette V. Henry, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, Metro Washington Field Office; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; Leigh Alistair Barzey, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office; Scott Rezendes, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; and Jeffrey Hughes, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Miranda Hooker and David S. Schumacher of Ortiz’s Health Care Fraud Unit and Sonya Rao of Ortiz’s Civil Division.

BOSTON – Yi Soon Bakery, Inc. of Allston, Mass., and its owner, Kung Hung, have settled allegations that they violated the Federal Meat Inspection Act by making meat pastries and selling them to wholesale customers without having the pastries inspected by the Food Safety and Inspection Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Food preparation businesses may lawfully purchase USDA-inspected meat and use it to make food products that they sell to retail customers.  But if the food products are to be sold wholesale, they must be reinspected by USDA.

In December 2012, the United States sued Yi Soon Bakery and Hung, alleging that they had bought and used USDA-inspected beef and pork to make pastries, which they had sold to a food store in Lowell, for resale without the required USDA reinspection.  The bakery and Mr. Hung signed a consent decree in which they agreed to stop selling uninspected food products to wholesale customers.

The United States later discovered that the bakery and Mr. Hung had violated the consent decree by selling 187 pounds of uninspected meat pastries to Asian food markets in Worcester, Amherst, and Boston for resale.  In March 2015, the government notified the court of the violation.  The bakery and Mr. Hung then agreed to settle.

Under the terms of the settlement, Mr. Hung has agreed to pay the United States a civil penalty of $30,000, to sell Yi Soon Bakery, and to cease working in the food industry altogether.  The purchaser of the bakery will be advised of the government’s lawsuit, the settlement, and the legal prohibition on selling uninspected meat food products to wholesale customers.

The announcement was made today by Untied States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Alfred V. Almanza, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of Ortiz’s Civil Division.

BOSTON – A Mansfield man was charged in U.S. District Court in Boston with posting on-line threats to the President of the United States.

Andrew J. O’Keefe, 28, was charged on June 15, 2015, in a criminal complaint that was unsealed today with posting an online threat to the President of the United States.  He is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell at 11:15 a.m. this morning.

According to court documents, on May 13, 2015, an individual, later determined to be O’Keefe, posted a threat on an FBI website stating that he planned on killing President Barack Obama.  On May 15, 2015, law enforcement officers attempted to interview O’Keefe regarding the posting; however, O’Keefe refused to speak with officers outside his residence.  A search warrant executed on O’Keefe’s residence and vehicle recovered over 100 weapons including swords, double-edged knives, hatchets, spears, an air gun, and two laptop computers.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Lisa A. Quinn, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service; and Mansfield Police Chief Ronald A. Sellon, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Ortiz’s Major Crime Unit.

BOSTON – A former executive of the Chelsea Housing Authority (CHA) and a former public housing inspector were sentenced today for their roles in rigging the inspection process of federally funded housing units.

James Fitzpatrick, 63, of Acton, Mass., and Bernard Morosco, 50, of Utica, NY, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to three months and six months in prison, respectively, and one year of supervised release.  The two were convicted in April 2015 of conspiring to defraud the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by impairing, impeding, and defeating the proper operation of HUD’s inspection process. 

Pursuant to federal regulations, to determine whether a public housing authority is meeting the standard for its residents of conditions that are “decent, safe, sanitary, and in good repair,” HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) is required to “provide for an independent physical inspection of a public housing authority’s property or properties that includes, at a minimum, a statistically valid sample of the units in the CHA’s public housing portfolio to determine the extent of compliance with the standard.”  REAC inspections are conducted by independent contractors who have received training from REAC on the inspection protocol and applicable regulations, and have been certified by HUD.  Once certified, an inspector is given an inspector number, and with a password, can access the secure REAC server, which contains data on all public housing authorities and also later enable the inspector to generate a random sample of units to inspect on the scheduled date of the inspection.

Before the REAC inspections of the CHA in 2007, 2009, and 2011, Morosco gave Fitzpatrick, the Assistant Director of the CHA, an advance list that revealed which units at the CHA would be inspected.  During those years, Morosco, who was a REAC-certified inspector, worked for the CHA as a consultant, advising the CHA about how to get better scores on its REAC inspections. 

One or two months before each REAC inspection, using information provided by Fitzpatrick, Morosco accessed HUD’s secure database and downloaded information to which he was not entitled.  That information enabled him to use his REAC software to generate, in advance, the random sample that would later be generated by the assigned REAC inspector.  Morosco then gave the samples to Fitzpatrick who, in turn, provided it to the CHA’s Executive Director, Michael McLaughlin.

McLaughlin divided CHA employees into pairs, calling each pair a “SWAT team,” and sent them to inspect the units identified by Morosco.  For the month before each inspection, the “SWAT teams” visited several apartments a day, inspecting and re-inspecting them as maintenance crews visited the units to make repairs, fumigate, and exterminate.  When the REAC inspectors conducted the inspections, the units that were selected were the same as the ones provided in advance by Morosco.

McLaughlin, the former Executive Director of the CHA, was previously sentenced to serve an additional 12 months in prison for this offense after having already been sentenced to 36 months for other illegal conduct involving the CHA.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Regional Office, made the announcement today.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Theodore Merritt of Ortiz’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit and Brian Pérez-Daple of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

BOSTON – A member of the Boston Teamsters Local 82 pleaded guilty on Monday, June 29, 2015 in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with stealing unemployment insurance benefits.

Thomas Flaherty, 52, of Braintree pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud for defrauding the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development, Division of Unemployment Assistance of unemployment insurance benefits.  U.S. District Court Judge Denise Jefferson Casper scheduled sentencing for Sept. 24, 2015.

From March 2010 to December 2011, while working for Local 82, Flaherty’s gross earnings were $49,890; however, Flaherty made several misrepresentations so that he could collect unemployment insurance benefits.  Specifically, Flaherty falsely reported to the Department of Unemployment Insurance that during the same time period he earned only $10,102.  Flaherty failed to report his weekly earnings or significantly under-reported his earnings so that it appeared to the Department of Unemployment Insurance that he was eligible to receive full or at least partial unemployment insurance when, in fact, he was employed nearly full time and was not eligible.  In total, Flaherty collected $21,093 in unemployment insurance benefits. 

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 on each count, and restitution.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Scott S. Dahl, Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; Mark J. Neylon, District Director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards; Susan A. Hensley, Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, made the announcement.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura J. Kaplan of Ortiz’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit and Susan G. Winkler of Ortiz’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit.

BOSTON – A Fitchburg man was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Worcester for selling heroin to a cooperating witness and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Miguel Rivera, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to seven years in prison and four years of supervised release.  In March 2015, Rivera pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin, distribution of heroin, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Between May 2012 and October 2013, Rivera conspired with another individual to sell one hundred grams of heroin to a cooperating witness, and on Sept. 5 and Oct. 4, 2013, Rivera sold heroin to the cooperating witness.  In addition, on Nov. 13, 2012, Rivera, having previously been convicted of a felony, illegally possessed a firearm and ammunition.

The charge of conspiracy and distribution of heroin provides for a minimum mandatory sentence of five years and no greater than 40 years in prison, a minimum of four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $5 million.  The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; and Fitchburg Police Chief Ernest Martineau, made the announcement.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Dineen Jerrett of Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office.

BOSTON – Two executives of a purported financing company were sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with a multi-year scheme to defraud loan applicants of millions of dollars.

Damien John Hess, 37, of Laguna Niguel, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to 51 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $2,881,925 and forfeiture.  In November 2014, Hess pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and seven counts of wire fraud. 

Lucas Ford, 38, of Post Falls, Idaho, was sentenced by Chief Judge Saris to three years of probation, with 10 months to be served in a halfway house.  In June 2014, Ford pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Hess was the chief executive officer and Ford the chief operating officer of Quest Capital Finance, a purported financing company that was, in reality, a front used to steal millions of dollars from prospective borrowers.  As part of the scheme, Hess and Ford and others at Quest told applicants that, in order to obtain the promised loans, the applicants first needed to pay several hundred thousand dollars into a third-party escrow account where the money would be held until all contingencies for the loans were resolved.  From 2008 through 2011, Hess and Ford used this approach to persuade businesses and individuals to put millions of dollars into escrow as deposits towards future loans.  Hess, Ford, and others at Quest promised the borrowers that the deposits would not be moved out of escrow until the loans were funded.  Instead, Hess transferred much of the money to Quest or to his own personal accounts while never actually arranging any financing.  Quest never refunded the deposits.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara Miron Bloom of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit, Patrick Callahan of the Civil Division, and Doreen Rachal of the Asset Forfeiture Unit.

BOSTON – A Middle School teacher was charged today in U.S. District Court in Worcester with attempting to purchase live video sex shows involving Filipino children.

Scott Peeler, 53, who resides in Worcester, was charged in a criminal complaint with attempting to entice and coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity and receipt of child pornography.

According to court documents, between April 2013 and July 2014, Peeler used Internet-based instant messaging services with video streaming capabilities to communicate with individuals in the Philippines engaged in child sex trafficking and the sale of live streaming sex shows involving children.  Utilizing Internet-based money transfer services, Peeler attempted on at least four occasions to arrange the purchase of live video sex shows involving children who ranged from four to fourteen years of age.

When confronted by officers at the time of his arrest, Peeler admitted that he was the user of the email and instant messaging account that had been used to solicit the streaming videos, but claimed that he had never actually purchased any videos.  A preliminary forensic review during the execution of the search warrant revealed the presence of child pornography on Peeler’s computer.

The leaders of this child sex trafficking organization were identified as a result of tips provided to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  Filipino authorities, working in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, have identified and arrested the members of the organization, and rescued the children being exploited.  The operators of the child sex trafficking organization will face prosecution in the Philippines.

The charge of coercing and enticing a minor provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to a lifetime in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  The charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr.; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Michael Shea, Deputy Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Worcester Police Chief Gary J. Gemme, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Grady of Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.  In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274.

BOSTON – A former Boston computer industry consultant was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boston for assuming the identity of an infant who died in 1966 and using that identity to obtain a Social Security number.

Steven Nolte, 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to three years in prison and a fine of $3,000.  In March 2015, following a five-day jury trial, Nolte was convicted of passport fraud, aggravated identity theft, and use of a falsely-obtained Social Security number.

Nolte was born in Arizona in 1963 as Steven Nolte, but in 1997, he assumed the identity of a four-day-old infant who died in 1966.  At the time Nolte adopted this identity, he was in the process of stealing over $571,000 from a real estate company for which he had provided computer consulting services.  Nolte then obtained a passport in the assumed identity and traveled to Costa Rica, where proceeds of the theft had been wire-transferred.  Nolte thereafter traveled extensively in the South Pacific and ultimately settled in the Boston area, where he worked in the computer industry for many years under his assumed identity.  In 1999, he applied for a Social Security number by using the same false identity.  Nolte’s true identity was discovered in May 2012 when he submitted an application for a replacement passport in Boston under his assumed name.  State Department officials realized that the Social Security number Nolte was using had not been issued to Nolte in the assumed name until he supposedly was 33 years old.  Upon further investigation, agents learned of the infant’s death in 1966, and ultimately uncovered Nolte’s true identity.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; David W. Hall, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Boston Field Office; and Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division, made the announcement.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Pérez-Daple and Robert E. Richardson of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.

BOSTON – A Blackstone, Mass. man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to charges that he impeded the IRS by cashing nearly $3 million in checks from his masonry business at check cashing services to evade the IRS.

John W. Lippolis, 55, pleaded guilty today to one count of corruptly endeavoring to impede the IRS.  U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Oct. 14, 2015. 

From 2005 to 2011, Lippolis was the sole proprietor of JW Masonry, a masonry company which operated in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  At various times, he also worked for his son’s business, JM Masonry Inc.  When Lippolis was paid by check for work performed, he used check cashing services to cash the checks instead of depositing the funds into a bank account in an effort to avoid IRS scrutiny.  Lippolis operated his business in cash, paid workers in cash, and requested that customers not write checks to him for amounts exceeding $10,000, which would trigger a reporting requirement for financial institutions that cashed the checks.  Lippolis also failed to file tax returns for many years.  The tax loss to the IRS exceeded $450,000.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, one year of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra S. Bower of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

BOSTON – A Peabody tax preparer pleaded guilty today to defrauding small-business clients out of nearly $900,000 that his clients had given him to pay their federal payroll taxes.

Barry Ginsberg, 63, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of mail and wire fraud, preparing false tax returns, and obstructing the IRS, after being indicted in May 2013.  U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for Sept. 28, 2015.

Ginsberg owned and operated a payroll tax business that had a number of so-called “escrow” clients.  Ginsberg not only prepared their payroll tax returns, but these clients also sent him money on a regular basis for the purpose of paying their payroll taxes to the IRS.  Instead of doing so, however, Ginsberg took the money and used it for other business or personal reasons.  As a result, the defendant’s clients—some of whom had trusted him years—racked up significant arrearages with the IRS over time.

To cover up his scheme, Ginsberg falsified his clients’ tax returns, which he was hired to prepare, indicating that the clients’ payroll taxes had been paid in full, when they had not.  When asked by clients about their mysterious IRS debts, Ginsberg gave them a litany of false excuses, including blaming the IRS and his own staff.

The mail and wire fraud charges provide for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the total gain or loss, whichever is greater.  The maximum penalties for the tax-related crimes are three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $100,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric P. Christofferson and Vassili Thomadakis of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

BOSTON – Wade Branch, 63, pleaded guilty today to one count of failing to register as a sex offender in U.S. District Court in Springfield.  Branch was indicted in March 2015. Sentencing is scheduled for September 24, 2015.

In 1990, Branch was convicted of indecent assault and in 2000, he was convicted of rape in Hampden County Superior Court.  On multiple occasions, he was given written notice of his obligations to register as a sex offender in the state in which he resides due to his convictions. Branch moved from Massachusetts to California, where he failed to register as a sex offender from 2008 to 2015, as he was required to do.

The charging statute provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and U.S. Marshal John Gibbons for the District of Massachusetts made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.  In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.     

BOSTON – A Spencer man was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Worcester for failing to register as a sex offender.

Larry J. Dupuis, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 18 months in prison and five years of supervised release.  In March 2015, Dupuis pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender.

On May 28, 1997, Dupuis was convicted in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts of indecent assault and battery on a person under the age of 14.  As a result of the conviction, Dupuis was classified as a sex offender and was required to register as such in each state in which he resides for life.  In 2004, Dupuis first registered as a sex offender in Massachusetts.  Sometime thereafter he moved to Florida.  In 2006, he was arrested in Florida for failing to register as a sex offender and sentenced to 32 months in prison.  Following his release, Dupuis moved between Massachusetts and Florida and abided by regulations to register in each state.  In August 2015, however, Dupuis began living in Spencer, Mass. and did not re-register as a sex offender.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and U.S. Marshal John Gibbons for the District of Massachusetts made the announcement today.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karin M. Bell of Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.  In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.     

BOSTON – A Boston Police officer and former treasurer of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association was charged today with making a false statement to the FBI in connection with his cash loans to a known criminal.

David Michael Fitzgerald, 49, who resides in Milton, was charged in an Information with one count of making a false statement to the FBI.  Fitzgerald has been a Boston Police Department police officer since 1996 and was the treasurer of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association (BPAA) from 2012 to 2014.

According to court documents, Fitzgerald developed a relationship with an individual who was a known street-level drug dealer and bookmaker.  During the course of this relationship, Fitzgerald made cash loans to the individual, which were paid back in weekly installments.  On April 27, 2015, Fitzgerald met the individual in Watertown in order to collect a $500 cash installment for one of the outstanding loans.  Later that same day, when federal agents who were investigating the matter questioned Fitzgerald, he falsely stated that the purpose of his meeting with the individual was simply social in nature and that he had never loaned money to the individual.  Not only were these statements untrue, but they were intended to interfere with an ongoing federal investigation.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  The plea agreement also filed today states that Fitzgerald has agreed to resign his position as a Boston Police Officer, and there will be a joint recommendation to the Court for a sentence of one year probation.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, made the announcement today.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office also wishes to acknowledge the cooperation of the Boston Police Department’s Anti-Corruption Division.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris and Robert A. Fisher of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit & Special Prosecutions Unit.

The details contained in the Information are allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Boston – A federal judge in Boston formally sentenced Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev today for his role in using weapons of mass destruction at the 2013 Boston Marathon.  United States District Judge George A. O’Toole imposed a sentence of death and multiple consecutive life sentences.

In May 2014, a federal jury in Boston recommended that Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev be sentenced to death.  The counts on which the jury recommended a death sentence all related to the pressure cooker bomb Tsarnaev planted and detonated in front of the Forum restaurant, killing Lingzi Lu and Martin Richard.  The same jury convicted Tsarnaev on all 30 counts of the indictment on April 8, 2015.

Tsarnaev, 21, a U.S. citizen formerly residing in Cambridge, Mass., was convicted of use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and conspiracy; bombing of a place of public use resulting in death and conspiracy; malicious destruction of property resulting in death and conspiracy; use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing death; carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury; interference with commerce by threats or violence; and aiding and abetting.

Beginning no later than February 2013, Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, conspired to detonate improvised explosive devices (IEDs), bomb places of public use, and destroy property.  On April 15, 2013, during the 117th running of the Boston Marathon, the brothers placed two pressure cooker bombs filled with shrapnel among the crowds of spectators on Boylston Street and then detonated the bombs seconds apart, killing three people, maiming 17, and injuring hundreds more.  The brothers fled the scene in the chaos of the destruction.  Three days later, on April 18, Tsarnaev and his brother, armed with five IEDs and a Ruger semiautomatic pistol that Tsarnaev had borrowed from a friend, drove to the MIT campus where they shot and killed MIT Police Officer Sean Collier and attempted to steal his service weapon.  Approximately 20 minutes later, they carjacked a Mercedes SUV, kidnapped the driver, and forced him to drive to a gas station, robbing him of $800 along the way.  After the driver managed to escape, the brothers drove to Laurel Street and Dexter Avenue in Watertown, where they exploded additional IEDs and engaged in a firefight with Watertown police officers.  During the stand-off, Tsarnaev drove the carjacked vehicle at three officers, attempting to kill them, and ran over his brother as he escaped.  Tsarnaev hid in a winterized boat in a Watertown backyard until his apprehension and arrest the following night.  His brother died from injuries sustained at the scene.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Boston Police Commissioner William Evans; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Michael Shea, Deputy Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement.

This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Boston Division, Boston Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, Department of Justice’s National Security Division, and member agencies of the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Marshals Service, Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority and others.  In addition, the Watertown Police Department, the Cambridge Police Department, the MIT Police Department, the Boston Fire Department, the National Guard and police, fire and emergency responders from across Massachusetts and New England played critical roles in the investigation and response.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Weinreb, Aloke Chakravarty, and Nadine Pellegrini of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts's Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit, and Trial Attorney Steve Mellin of the Justice Department’s Capital Case Section.  Vital assistance was also provided by attorneys from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Section.

BOSTON – A Dorchester man was sentenced today to 29 ½ years in prison in connection with the assault, robbery and kidnapping of a U.S. Postal letter carrier that took place just before Christmas, 2013.

Keyon Taylor, 22, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 29½ years in prison and five years of supervised release after a federal jury convicted him in March 2015 of assault, robbery, kidnaping and firearm charges following a two-week trial.  Taylor was also ordered to pay restitution to the victim in the amount of $625,000.

Taylor’s co-defendant Maurice Williams Miner-Gittens, 24, previously pleaded guilty to robbery and conspiracy, and possession of a firearm and was sentenced in May 2015 to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release.

On Dec. 20, 2013, Taylor and Gittens rented a U-Haul van and followed a U.S. Postal delivery truck as a letter carrier was delivering holiday packages.  When the letter carrier returned to his truck after making a delivery, Taylor confronted him with a gun pointed inches away from his head and demanded his wallet.  While handing Taylor his wallet, the victim tried to move the gun away from his temple and was shot.  The bullet entered his wrist, shattering a bone, and lodging in his forearm.

Taylor then repeatedly demanded the “drawer,” presumably in reference to a cash drawer.  When the letter carrier told Taylor that the truck had no cash drawer, Taylor repeatedly pistol-whipped him.  Taylor struck the victim so hard that a piece of the pistol grip broke off.  Taylor then ordered the letter carrier into the back of the truck, and continued to beat him.  He demanded the keys to the postal truck and the letter carrier’s postal uniform which Taylor then used to try to wipe up some of the victim’s blood.

Taylor, who was partially disguised, told the letter carrier not to look at him and threatened to kill him if the carrier did so.  Moments later, frightened for his life, the letter carrier jumped out of the moving postal truck through the back cargo door.  At the time, Taylor had carjacked the postal truck with the bleeding carrier inside.  The victim ran for his life, in long johns and stocking feet.  Civilians in the area provided assistance and called the police.

While the assault took place, Gittens was in the U-Haul van right behind the postal truck.  In fact, Gittens got out and was directing traffic around the van and postal truck while Taylor was assaulting the letter carrier and then followed closely in the U-Haul van when Taylor drove off in the postal truck.

When the letter carrier jumped out of the postal truck, Taylor lost control of the truck and crashed into a snowbank.  Taylor then fled through four backyards, carrying the victim’s pants and vest, as well as the revolver.  His flight path, which led to two chair link fences, was marked by a trail of boot prints in the snow.  While jumping over one of the fences, Taylor punctured his hand leaving blood and a piece of a purple nitrile glove on the top of the fence.  He also left more blood on a second fence and on the handle of a recycling bin.  The blood was matched to Taylor by DNA analysis.  Taylor dumped the victim’s pants and vest in the bin; further DNA analysis showed that both the letter carrier and Taylor had bled on the uniform.  The victim’s blood was also found on a black jacket which Taylor wore.  The jacket was recovered days later from a coat closet outside Taylor’s mother’s house in Attleboro, some 34 miles away from where the shooting took place.

Around 10:00 p.m. on the night of the robbery, Gittens was stopped in the U-Haul van.  Inside were two pairs of purple nitrile gloves that matched the one found on the fence along Taylor’s escape path.  On the outside of the van was a smear of the victim’s blood.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans made the announcement today.  The Attleboro Police Department also assisted in the investigation.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys William F. Bloomer and Thomas E. Kanwit of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.

BOSTON – A Quincy man was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Boston today to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release for obstructing the investigation of the Boston Marathon bombings.

“In this case our investigation succeeded despite Matanov’s lies to law enforcement,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz.  “He should have helped instead of hindered, and assisted instead of obstructed.  The cost of this conduct is 30 months in federal prison.” 

“During an ongoing terrorism investigation, Khairullozhon Matanov repeatedly and intentionally lied to the FBI about his knowledge of the Tsarnaev brothers’ activities in the hours and days immediately following the bombings,” said Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division.  “His actions resulted in the diversion of critical manpower at a time when we did not have the resources to spare.  The FBI hopes this case sends a strong warning to others that misleading law enforcement will not be tolerated.”

In March 2015, Khairullozhon Matanov, 24, of Quincy, pleaded guilty to one count of falsifying, concealing, and covering up a material fact in a federal investigation and three counts of making materially false statements in a federal investigation.

After the FBI released photos of the suspected bombers, Matanov realized that federal agents would likely want to talk with him because of his ties to them, especially his contact with the Tsarnaev brothers during the week following the bombings.  Consequently, Matanov took steps to impede the FBI’s investigation into the extent of his friendship, contact, and communication with the Tsarnaevs, and into any information and views he held related to terrorism and the Tsarnaevs.  Matanov deleted information from his computer, some of which contained violent content or calls to violence, and made multiple false statements to federal investigators and others.  Those acts delayed and extended the bombing investigation by causing the FBI to expend additional resources in restoring and analyzing Matanov’s computer deletions and investigating his shifting and conflicting stories.  

U.S. Attorney Ortiz, FBI SAC Lisi, and Lowell Police Superintendent William Taylor, made the announcement today.  This investigation was conducted by members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is also composed of officers from other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.  Assistance in the investigation was also provided by the Boston, Braintree, Waltham, and Quincy Police Departments; the Massachusetts State Police; Customs and Border Protection; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott L. Garland and Aloke S. Chakravarty of Ortiz’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit.

BOSTON – A Salem, N.H. man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston to 141 months after pleading guilty to committing six armed bank robberies in the Merrimack Valley area in 2013.

Rafael Beamud, Jr., 34, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper on six counts of armed robbery and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of his crimes.

On Feb. 21, 2013, Beamud walked into a TD Bank in Methuen.  He approached a teller, brandishing a firearm, and ordered the teller to empty the cash drawers, making sure there was no “dye pack” put into plastic bags that he provided.  Beamud threatened to shoot if an alarm was tripped.  The teller placed the money from the drawers into one of the plastic bags and Beamud left the bank, leaving one of the plastic bags behind.  The bag was processed for fingerprints which led to Beamud’s identification.  He was arrested in April 2013 and he confessed to committing a number of armed robberies across three New England states, including Massachusetts.  He is facing additional armed robbery charges in New Hampshire.

The charge of armed robbery provides a sentence of no greater than 25 years in prison, five years supervised release, and $250,000 fine on each count.  The charge of brandishing a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence provides for a mandatory minimum term of seven years in prison with no greater than a lifetime in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  In this case, the parties signed a plea agreement agreeing to incarceration for 141 months to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.  Assistance was also provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration; Salem, N.H., North Andover, Dracut, and Methuen Police Departments; and the Massachusetts State Police.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eve A. Piemonte of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.

BOSTON – David Daoud Wright, a/k/a Dawud Sharif Wright, a/k/a Dawud Sharif Abdul Wright, a/k/a Dawud Sharif Abdul Khaliq, 25, of Everett, Mass. and Nicholas Alexander Rovinski, a/k/a Nuh Amriki, a/k/a Nuh al Andalusi, 24, of Warwick, R.I., were indicted today on a charge of conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization.  Wright was also charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and with obstruction of justice.  On June 12, 2015, Wright and Rovinski were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to provide material support to ISIL.  Wright had previously been charged on June 3, 2015, with conspiracy to obstruct justice.  Both men have been detained since their respective arrests, and a detention hearing is scheduled for both men on Friday, June 19, 2015, at 2:00 p.m.

Wright and Rovinski are alleged to have conspired with each other, with known and unknown co-conspirators, and also with Usaamah Abdullah Rahim, 26, Wright’s uncle, who lived in Roslindale until his death on June 2, 2015.  Rahim was shot and killed after he attacked Boston Police Officers and FBI agents in a Roslindale parking lot.  The indictment charges that Wright, Rovinski, and Rahim agreed to a plan to commit attacks and kill persons inside the United States, which they believed would support ISIL’s objectives.  The indictment further charges that the attack plan included the beheading of at least one person, a New York woman, whom ISIL had identified for murder through a “fatwah,” or religious decree, to ISIL supporters. 

The charge of conspiracy to provide material support provides a sentence of no greater than 15 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  The charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice provides a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  The charge of obstruction of justice provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement.

This investigation is being conducted by the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Rhode Island Joint Terrorism Task Force with critical assistance from the Rhode Island State Police, the Warwick, R.I. Police Department, the Rhode Island Fusion Center, the Boston Police Department, the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, the Massachusetts State Police, the Commonwealth Fusion Center, the Everett Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and member agencies of the JTTF. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Stephanie Siegmann and Nadine Pellegrini of Ortiz’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.

BOSTON – Over 500 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers carried out arrests and executed more than 30 federal search warrants early this morning as a result of a two-year federal, state, and local wiretap investigation dubbed, “Operation Rising Tide.”  Six federal indictments charging 48 leaders, members, and associates of the Columbia Point Dawgs (CPD) with drug trafficking and firearm charges were unsealed today in connection with the sweep.

According to documents filed in court, the CPD, also known on the street as “the Point,” is Boston’s largest and most influential city-wide gang.  The criminal organization started in the 1980s in the former Columbia Point Housing Development (now Harbor Point) and, over the years, gang members established drug trafficking crews throughout Boston.  Over time, the group also trafficked drugs from Boston to Maine.  It is alleged that, during the course of the investigation, the CPD was responsible for the distribution of multiple kilogram quantities of heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, and oxycodone throughout Boston and Maine.

Court documents allege that the CPD established its dominance in the Boston gang drug distribution business through a pattern of violence and intimidation, and that members of CPD have been responsible for numerous shootings of rival gang members over the years.  In particular, in the past year and a half, the CPD has been engaged in a violent gang war with the Greenwood Street Posse, and other gangs aligned with Greenwood, which has resulted in numerous shootings.  Law enforcement officers seized 14 firearms during the course of the investigation.  On several occasions, guns were seized after investigators heard through court-authorized cellphone wiretaps that an individual was about to engage in a shooting.

Of the 48 persons charged in the indictments, 41 are in custody.  The investigation has resulted in the seizure of, among other things: 31 firearms; multiple boxes of ammunition; heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, oxycodone pills, and marijuana, as well as drug trafficking paraphernalia; 15 vehicles, including a Maserati, a Mercedes Benz, and an Audi; and $1.5 million in cash.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Boston Police Commissioner Evans; Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; John Gibbons, U.S. Marshal of the U.S. Marshals Service, District of Massachusetts; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins; and Commissioner Carol Higgins O’Brien of the Massachusetts Department of Correction, made the announcement today.  The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Cummings and Michael Crowley of Ortiz’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations.  The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – Derrick Jones, 44, of Arlington, was indicted today for receipt and possession of child pornography.  He is currently being held without bail.  On May 18, 2015, Jones had been charged by criminal complaint.

The charging documents allege that, among other things, Jones utilized file sharing computer programs to trade and receive images of child pornography and also that he downloaded and viewed images and videos of children ranging in age from infants to minors under the age of 18, being sexually exploited.  Over 44,000 images of children being sexually exploited were recovered from Jones’ computer. Jones was previously convicted of two counts of Possession of Child Pornography in October 2005.

The charge of receipt of child pornography provides a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and no greater than 40 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.  The charge of possession of child pornography provides a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Michael Shea, Deputy Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Arlington Chief of Police Frederick Ryan, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Ortiz's Major Crimes Unit.

Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.  In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.     

BOSTON – A Newton investment adviser was arrested and charged today with pitching fictitious investments to defraud investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Paul J. Jackson, 58, of Wellesley, was charged with one count of wire fraud.

According to charging documents, Jackson owns and operates Paul J. Jackson & Associates, LLC in Newton, through which he manages retirement funds for clients.  Beginning in 2010, Jackson started offering clients and others what appeared to be attractive investment opportunities.  The investments Jackson offered typically involved initial public offerings (IPOs) of high-profile companies, but Jackson did not invest the clients’ money as promised.  Instead, he took hundreds of thousands of dollars of investor money for his own use.  For example, it is alleged that Jackson took $175,000 from one investor to whom he had pitched a lucrative investment in Alibaba’s IPO.  Instead of investing the money, Jackson kept $112,000 for himself and gave $60,000 to another investor who had given Jackson more than $450,000 and was demanding his money.  When other investors requested their money back, Jackson offered excuses and never told them that he had simply taken their money.

The Massachusetts Securities Division also filed a separate administrative action against Jackson today, charging him with fraud and seeking to bar him from working in the securities industry.

The maximum sentence under the wire-fraud statute is 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of the greater of $250,00 or twice the gross gain or loss.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office received valuable assistance from the Securities & Exchange Commission during the investigation of this matter.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric P. Christofferson of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

The details contained in the complaint are allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Worcester man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Worcester today to carrying out a stolen identity refund fraud scheme that netted almost $1 million. 

Jose Manuel Abreu-Elicier, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to covert public money.  U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for Sept. 16, 2015.

Between November 2011 and November 2012, Abreu-Elicier and other co-conspirators fraudulently obtained and cashed federal income tax refund checks issued in the names of unsuspecting identity theft victims.  These checks were issued based on fraudulent federal income tax filings submitted to the IRS using the names, social security numbers, and other stolen personal information of victims.  In order to cash the checks, Abreu-Elicier worked with Cynthia Mansfield, who, in exchange for a fee, used her position as a manager of a Worcester-area bank, to cash the checks, falsify bank records, and conceal the existence of the fraud.  Over the course of the entire scheme, Abreu-Elicier and his co-conspirators cashed 138 fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury checks worth $993,158.

This conviction marks yet another success in Operation Point Break, a multi-agency federal law enforcement initiative aimed at combatting stolen identity refund fraud across the country.

Mansfield was charged separately for her role in the conspiracy, and sentenced in April 2015 to five years of probation, 11 months of which must be served in a residential re-entry center, and ordered to pay restitution.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations Boston, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordi de Llano of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.

BOSTON – A Waltham man was convicted today of conspiracy and insider trading in connection with tipping friends and fellow golfers with inside information about the business activities of American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC).

Eric McPhail, 41, was convicted following a seven-day jury trial and one and one half hours of jury deliberations of conspiring to commit securities fraud and securities fraud.  McPhail had been indicted in July 2014.  U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Sept. 17, 2015.

According the evidence presented at trial, starting around July 2009, McPhail, who is a competitive amateur golfer, began giving his friends inside information about AMSC’s business activities and upcoming earnings announcements.  McPhail obtained this information during golf games at the Oakley Country Club in Watertown and other social outings with a close friend who was a senior executive at AMSC.  The executive, however, trusted McPhail to keep the information to himself and was unaware that McPhail was using it to tip his friends.

Over a two-year period spanning July 2009 to April 2011, several of McPhail’s friends repeatedly traded on the inside information.  According to evidence presented at trial, McPhail ’s tippees successfully traded on material, nonpublic information about AMSC on at least five occasions, making a total of over $500,000 in illicit gains.  One of McPhail’s tippees, Douglas Parigian, who is also a competitive amateur golfer, previously pleaded guilty to securities fraud charges on May 12, 2015.

The securities fraud charge provides a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $5 million fine.  The conspiracy charge provides for a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Paul Levenson, Regional Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Boston Regional Office, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew E. Lelling and Seth B. Kosto of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

BOSTON – A former Hanover postal employee pleaded guilty to mail theft charges today in U.S. District Court in Boston.

Amber Lopresti, 28, who resides inTaunton, pleaded guilty to embezzling the U.S. mail and stealing the contents of the U.S. mail while she was an employee of the United States Postal Service in Hanover.  U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr., scheduled sentencing for Sept. 24, 2015.

On Oct. 8, 2014, while working as a Post Office employee, Lopresti was observed on camera rifling through the mail, removing unopened letters and greeting cards, and placing them in her waistband.  When her shift was over, she left the post office and removed the letters from her waistband once she was in her vehicle.  She was stopped by police a short time later and the unopened letters and money were observed on her lap.  Lopresti admitted to law enforcement officers that she took money from one of the stolen letters.  She further admitted that in June 2014 she began stealing letters and contents from the letters from the Hanover Post Office, and had taken approximately $2,000 in cash, cards and scratch tickets.

The charging statutes provide a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.   Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Eileen Neef, Special Agent In Charge of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office; and Hanover Police Chief Walter Sweeney, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Ortiz's Major Crimes Unit.

A Level 2 sex offender from Douglas was charged in U.S. District Court in Worcester yesterday with possession of child pornography.

Bryan Larson, 43, was charged in a criminal complaint after a June 12, 2015, federal search warrant of Larson’s residence revealed multiple video files and images depicting child pornography.  Larson is a Level 2 sex offender, having been previously convicted of multiple counts of rape of a child.  According to the affidavit, federal agents learned that an individual residing in Larson’s residence attempted to receive child pornography in late May and early June 2015.  That information triggered a search of Larson’s home on June 12, 2015.

During the search, Larson fled from law enforcement.  Larson turned himself in on June 14th and is currently in federal custody.  His detention and probable cause hearing is scheduled for June 22nd at 11:00 a.m. in U.S. District Court in Worcester.

The charging statute provides for a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years, followed by a minimum of five years of supervised release and a maximum of life, and a $250,000 fine.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.          

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Michael Shea, Deputy Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Field Division; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Chief Patrick T. Foley of the Douglas Police Department, made the announcement today.  Members of the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section assisted with the apprehension of Larson. The case is being prosecuted by Karin M Bell, Chief of Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office.

Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274.

The details contained in the complaint are allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.  In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

BOSTON – An Upton, Mass. woman pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Worcester to stealing more than $128,000 in Social Security benefits and providing false information in applications for subsidized housing.

Patricia Kwiatkowski, 64, pleaded guilty to stealing public money and making false statements.  U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman schedule sentencing for Sept. 8, 2015. In May 2015, Kwiatkowski was charged in a felony Information.

Kwiatkowski’s father died in 2006, but his monthly Social Security benefits continued to be directly deposited into his bank account.  Although she was not entitled to this money, Kwiatkowski signed her late father’s name on more than 100 checks written from his account to pay her own bills and also made ATM withdrawals from the account.  In total, from 2006 to 2014, Kwiatkowski received and spent $128,101 in Social Security funds to which she was not entitled.

In addition, in 2013, Kwiatkowski applied to live at Upsala Elder Apartments in Worcester in a unit subsidized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  On the application, she falsified her prior year’s income by failing to list the Social Security money that she was illegally receiving from her late father’s bank account.  In 2014, Kwiatkowski made other false statements on her application to live in a HUD-subsidized unit in the Milhaus Apartments in Upton.

This case was brought as part of an ongoing effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in partnership with the Social Security Administration to investigate and prosecute the posthumous fraud of Social Security benefits.  In many of these cases, family members, knowing they are not entitled to government benefits, continue to withdraw and spend the funds after a relative has died.

One of the ways the Social Security Administration detects this kind of fraud is through the Medicare Non-Utilization Project, in which the agency investigates people receiving benefits who are at least 90 years old and who have not used their Medicare Part B benefits for three or more years.  In some instances, the agency learns that such a person is actually deceased, but a surviving child has continued to take the deceased person’s benefits.

In the past year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has prosecuted several similar cases involving a total of more than $1 million in stolen government money.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division; and Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, Northeast Regional Office, made the announcement today.  The Kwiatkowski case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Landry of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.

WASHINGTON – Today, David Wright aka Dawud Sharif Abdul Khaliq, 25, of Everett, Mass., and Nicholas Rovinski aka Nuh Amriki aka Nuh al Andalusi, 24, of Warwick, Rhode Island, were charged with conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization.  On June 3, 2015, Wright was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, and he was taken into custody.  Rovinski was arrested yesterday evening at his home in Rhode Island, and will make an appearance in federal court in Boston today.

Wright and Rovinski are charged with conspiring with each other, unknown conspirators and Usaamah Abdullah Rahim, 26, Wright’s uncle, who lived in Roslindale, Mass., until his death on June 2, 2015.  Rahim was shot and killed after he attacked law enforcement officers in a Roslindale parking lot.

The complaint affidavit alleges that, beginning at a date unknown but no later than May 2015, Wright, Rovinski and Rahim conspired to commit attacks and kill persons inside the United States, which they believed would support ISIL’s objectives.

The affidavit further alleges that, in furtherance of that plan, Wright, Rovinski and Rahim conspired to attack and behead a person referred to in the affidavit as “Intended Victim-1,” a resident of New York, who had organized a conference in Garland, Texas, on May 3, 2015, featuring cartoons depicting the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.  Early on May 31, 2015, Wright and Rahim drove to Rhode Island, picking up Rovinski at his residence in Warwick, Rhode Island, and driving to a Warwick beach to discuss their plot in secrecy.

At approximately 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 2, 2015, it is alleged that Rahim called Wright and advised him, in another guarded conversation, that he had changed plans and that he no longer planned to conduct the attack in New York.  Rahim advised Wright that, instead, he intended to attack “those boys in blue” (meaning police officers) locally in Massachusetts either that day or the next day.  Wright urged him to first wipe his laptop computer and to destroy his phone so that they could not be searched by law enforcement and urged him to make a will.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 15 years in prison, up to life of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The initial charge against Wright for obstruction of justice remains pending.  A detention hearing has been set for Wright on Friday, June 19, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.

U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz for the District of Massachusetts, Vincent Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Division and Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and made the announcement.

This investigation is being conducted by the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Rhode Island Joint Terrorism Task Force with critical assistance from the Rhode Island State Police, the Warwick, RI Police Department, the Rhode Island Fusion Center, the Boston Police Department, the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, the Massachusetts State Police, the Commonwealth Fusion Center, the Everett Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and member agencies of the JTTF including the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service and others.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Stephanie Siegmann and Nadine Pellegrini of the District of Massachusetts’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit, with the assistance of Trial Attorney Greg R. Gonzalez of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations.  The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.

Today, David Wright aka Dawud Sharif Abdul Khaliq, 25, of Everett, Massachusetts, and Nicholas Rovinski aka Nuh Amriki aka Nuh al Andalusi, 24, of Warwick, Rhode Island, were charged with conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization.  On June 3, 2015, Wright was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, and he was taken into custody.  Rovinski was arrested yesterday evening at his home in Rhode Island, and will make an appearance in federal court in Boston today.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz for the District of Massachusetts and Special Agent in Charge Vincent Lisi for the FBI’s Boston Field Division made the announcement.

Wright and Rovinski are charged with conspiring with each other, unknown conspirators and Usaamah Abdullah Rahim, 26, Wright’s uncle, who lived in Roslindale, Massachusetts, until his death on June 2, 2015.  Rahim was shot and killed after he attacked law enforcement officers in a Roslindale parking lot. 

The complaint affidavit alleges that, beginning at a date unknown but no later than May 2015, Wright, Rovinski and Rahim conspired to commit attacks and kill persons inside the United States, which they believed would support ISIL’s objectives.

The affidavit alleges that, in furtherance of that plan, Wright, Rovinski and Rahim conspired to attack and behead a person referred to in the affidavit as “Intended Victim-1,” a resident of New York, who had organized a conference in Garland, Texas, on May 3, 2015, featuring cartoons depicting the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.  Early on May 31, 2015, Wright and Rahim drove to Rhode Island, picking up Rovinski at his residence in Warwick, Rhode Island, and driving to a Warwick beach to discuss their plot in secrecy.

The affidavit further alleges that, at approximately 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 2, 2015, Rahim called Wright and advised him, in another guarded conversation, that he had changed plans and that he no longer planned to conduct the attack in New York.  Rahim advised Wright that, instead, he intended to attack “those boys in blue” (meaning police officers) locally in Massachusetts either that day or the next day.  Wright urged him to first wipe his laptop computer and to destroy his phone so that they could not be searched by law enforcement and urged him to make a will.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 15 years in prison, up to life of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The initial charge against Wright for obstruction of justice remains pending.  A detention hearing has been set for Wright on Friday, June 19, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.  Rovinski’s initial appearance is set today at 2:00 p.m. in Courtroom two before Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell.

This investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Boston Field Division, Boston Police Department, Massachusetts State Police and member agencies of the Boston and Rhode Island Joint Terrorism Task Force, including the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Marshals Service and others.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Stephanie Siegmann and Nadine Pellegrini of the District of Massachusetts’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit and Trial Attorney Gregory R. Gonzalez of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division Counterterrorism Section.

BOSTON – The second of a pair of Cape Cod brothers was sentenced today for his role in a three-year, multi-million dollar oxycodone distribution conspiracy that flooded Cape Cod with highly addictive opiates.

Stanley D. Gonsalves, 36, of Sandwich, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to 25 years in prison, six years of supervised release, forfeiture of $3,552,203 and property, including seized money, a house in West Yarmouth, a Cadillac, and a Nissan Altima.

“Opiates are ruining lives, tearing apart families, and poisoning our Commonwealth,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz.  “While much has been written lately about the incarceration of low-level, non-violent drug defendants, the two defendants in this case are precisely the type of defendant who should be targeted by federal law enforcement: recidivist, violent criminals operating a significant drug organization in a community suffering from opiate abuse.”

“This investigation resulted in the dismantlement of a violent drug trafficking organization that operated throughout Cape Cod for years,” said Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division.  “The success of this case is just one example of the FBI’s commitment to rid communities across the Commonwealth of drug trafficking enterprises.”

“The Gonsalves brothers’ large-scale oxycodone conspiracy wreaked havoc on Cape Cod by escalating the opiate epidemic,” said Special Agent William Offord of IRS Criminal Investigation.  “Today’s sentence of Stanley Gonsalves highlights the seriousness of his drug, money laundering and firearm offenses.  IRS CI will continue to lend our financial expertise by tracking the significant proceeds generated through narcotics trafficking.”  

"DEA is committed to investigating and dismantling large scale drug trafficking organizations like this one operated by the Gonsalves brothers," said Special Agent in Charge Michael Ferguson.  "Illicit Oxycodone trafficking destroys people’s lives and wreaks havoc in our communities.  DEA and our law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue any group that traffic these drugs."

In October 2014, after a month-long federal trial, Stanley Gonsalves was convicted of oxycodone conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, 17 counts of money laundering, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking conspiracy.  The charges stemmed from a three-year conspiracy involving hundreds of thousands of 30-milligram oxycodone pills, which he and his brother and co-defendant, Joshua M. Gonsalves, distributed on Cape Cod, generating over $5 million in proceeds.  Joshua Gonsalves was also convicted at trial of oxycodone trafficking conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and a money laundering charge.  In January 2015, Chief Judge Saris sentenced Joshua Gonsalves to 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and forfeiture of $1,522,372.

During the trial, witnesses testified that couriers working for the Gonsalves brothers transported multi-thousand-pill loads of 30-milligram oxycodone pills from South Florida to New England by plane and by car.  The Gonsalves would then split the pills into 100-pill packs for sale to Cape Cod dealers.

The primary object of the related money laundering conspiracy was to use the millions of dollars in drug proceeds to purchase additional oxycodone pills and to pay the ongoing expenses of the oxycodone conspiracy.  During the trial, witnesses testified about seizures from the Gonsalves brothers’ co-conspirators of two south-bound cash shipments totaling $140,000 and a north-bound pill shipment of 5,700 pills.  Other large pill seizures occurred in Fort Lauderdale (8,000 pills), in Volusia County, Fla. (900 pills), along Route 6 in Barnstable, Mass. (280 pills), and along Route 3 in Kingston, Mass. (4,000 pills).  Other related cash seizures from co-conspirators totaled $167,000. 

The trial evidence also included extensive testimony about a car chase and rollover incident, which occurred on Route 3 on May 13, 2011, in which the Gonsalves brothers allegedly rammed their Mercedes SUV into a Volvo station wagon, which they mistakenly believed contained $225,000 in cash drug proceeds taken from them in a Bourne robbery.  The men in the Volvo, who allegedly were only assisting the primary robbers (who were watching these events unfolding from a different car), managed to survive the rollover crash and then fled into the woods.

The jury also convicted Stanley Gonsalves of possessing an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, which he kept at his rented home in Onset, Mass.

At today’s sentencing hearing, the prosecutor noted the ongoing opiate epidemic in Massachusetts, which remains a priority for federal, state, and local law enforcement.  U.S. Attorney Ortiz is collaborating with federal, state, and local officials to combat opiate addiction in Massachusetts.  Chief Judge Saris found the defendant responsible for over 177,000 oxycodone pills and described the defendant’s record as one of “extreme recidivism.”

U.S. Attorney Ortiz; FBI SAC Lisi; IRS Criminal Investigation SAC Offord; DEA SAC Ferguson; and Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today.  Significant assistance was also provided by the DEA Cape Cod Drug Task Force; the Barnstable County and Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Offices; the Barnstable, Boston, Bourne, Chatham, Dennis, Franklin, Harwich, Plymouth, Sandwich, Quincy, Yarmouth, and Wareham Police Departments; the Barnstable and Bristol County Sheriff’s Departments; the Florence County (South Carolina), Broward County (Florida) and Volusia County (Florida) Sheriff’s Offices; and the Dillon and Ridgeland (South Carolina) Police Departments.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy E. Moran and recently retired Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard L. Hoffman of Ortiz’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit.

BOSTON – A former New England Patriots player and a former bank executive were arrested this morning on securities fraud charges in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme involving fraudulent loans to professional athletes.

Will Allen, 36, of Davie, Fla., and Susan Daub, 55, of Coral Springs, Fla., were charged in a criminal complaint with one count of securities fraud.  Allen played for the New York Giants from 2001 to 2005, the Miami Dolphins from 2006 to 2011, and the New England Patriots in 2012.  Daub was previously employed as a vice president of a bank.  Allen and Daub were arrested this morning and had their initial appearances today before a magistrate judge in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

As alleged in the complaint, Allen and Daub were partners in Capital Financial Partners (CFP), a Massachusetts company whose website advertised “private lending to unique individuals.”  According to the website, CFP “specialize[d] in issuing short-term loans to professional athletes.”  To fund the loans, Allen and Daub allegedly solicited money from investors, telling them that their money would be loaned to the athletes, and that they would be repaid with interest according to a predefined schedule.

While CFP did make some loans to athletes, the complaint alleges that Allen and Daub diverted millions of investor dollars to themselves and other business ventures.  To keep investors from discovering their fraud, Allen and Daub allegedly used newly invested money to make payments to existing investors, which they falsely characterized as interest and principal payments from the loan recipients.  To generate additional money, Allen and Daub allegedly oversubscribed loans, falsely telling investors that the loans were larger than they actually were and collecting more money from investors than they were actually lending to athletes.  In other instances, Allen and Daub allegedly collected money for loans that CFP never made at all.

The charging statute provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $5 million.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office received valuable assistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which previously charged Allen and Daub in a civil complaint.  The criminal case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian A. Pérez-Daple of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – Six individuals were sentenced today for their role in a scheme perpetrated through HMA Direct, a Massachusetts health insurance company.

William O’Brien, of West Barnstable, Mass., was sentenced to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release; Kevin Brown, of Chinquapin, N.C., was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and three years of supervised release; Michael Cassandro, of Middleton, R.I., was sentenced to eight months in prison and three years of supervised release; Shelley Lenkutis, of Framingham, was sentenced to three years of probation, the first six months of which is to be served in home confinement; Francis Gaetani, of Sutton, Mass., was sentenced to one year of probation, the first six months of which is to be served in home confinement; Ronald Anger, also of Sutton, was sentenced to one year of probation, the first four months of which must be served in home confinement.  All of the defendants were ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture.

HMA Direct offered self-funded insurance plans to small businesses in New England.  At the heart of HMA Direct’s business was “carving out” from its clients’ self-funded plans those employees who had significant health risks, and then, through false statements, arranging for those employees to be insured through traditional health insurance providers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, Harvard Pilgrim, Tufts Health Plan, and United Healthcare.

O’Brien, Brown, Cassandro and Lenkutis participated in the carve-out scheme and subsequent lies to the health insurance providers.  O’Brien also arranged for Gaetani and Anger, who were investors in HMA Direct, to pretend that they were satisfied customers of the company and to provide fake references to prospective clients.  In addition, after state and federal agencies began investigating HMA Direct, Lenkutis and others destroyed and altered documents in order to conceal evidence of the illegal scheme.

Between August and September 2014, O’Brien, Brown, Cassandro and Lenkutis pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, health care fraud, and false statements relating to health care matters.  In addition, Lenkutis pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice; O’Brien, Brown and Cassandro pleaded guilty to health care fraud; and O’Brien pleaded guilty to wire fraud and obtaining customer information from a financial institution by false representations.  Gaetani and Anger each pleaded guilty to wire fraud.  The defendants were indicted in August 2011.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Susan Hensley, Director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Boston Regional Office; Cheryl Garcia, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, New York Regional Office; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement today.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristina E. Barclay and Gregg Shapiro.

BOSTON – Three men were indicted yesterday on charges related to the interstate sex trafficking of a minor and several other women.

Tyrell Gorham, a/k/a Sheek, 30, of Lewiston, Maine; Chelanjei Greene, a/k/a Young, 32, of Brockton; and Lee Young, a/k/a Chop, 32, of Brockton, were indicted for sex trafficking of a minor, interstate transportation of a minor for purpose of prostitution, and sex trafficking through force, fraud, or coercion.  The defendants were initially arrested and charged in a criminal complaint on May 5, 2015, and have since been held in federal custody.

According to a criminal complaint, an undercover law enforcement operation conducted in February 2013 identified three adult women and one minor woman as victims of a sex trafficking ring.  The investigation revealed that Gorham allegedly used social media to identify and target vulnerable women living in the Portland, Maine area, and then either lured or transported them to the Greater Boston area where Gorham, Greene, and Young would force them to work as prostitutes, posting advertisements for their services on backpage.com.  The defendants required the victims to have sex with 10 to 15 customers per day and turn over their earnings to them.

The charges of sex trafficking of a minor and interstate transportation of a minor for the purpose of prostitution provide a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years and no greater than a lifetime in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  The charge of sex trafficking through force, fraud, or coercion provides a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years and no greater than a lifetime in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Child Exploitation Task Force (CETF).  Significant investigative assistance was provided by the FBI; the Boston Police Department Child Abuse and Human Trafficking Units; the Arlington, Malden, Norwood, Revere, Saugus, Woburn, and Brockton Police Departments; the Massachusetts State Police; and the Massachusetts State Police Human Trafficking Unit of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Cummings and Timothy Moran of Ortiz’s Civil Rights Enforcement Team.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations.  The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A 2011 BMW M3 automobile and a 2010 luxury boat owned by Barry J. Cadden, former shareholder and head pharmacist of New England Compounding Center (NECC), were seized by federal agents after warrants for the assets were issued by the U.S. District Court in Boston.

The vehicle was seized yesterday from outside Cadden’s residence in Wrentham, Mass., and the boat was seized in North Kingston, R.I. today after both were identified in the indictment against Cadden as forfeitable property.

In December 2014, Cadden was charged in a 131-count indictment related to the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak caused by contaminated vials of preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate that NECC manufactured.  Specifically, Cadden is charged with 25 acts of second-degree murder in Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, among other violations.

In addition, on May 22, 2015, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a civil forfeiture complaint against funds owned by Cadden and his wife, as well as those owned by Carla and Douglas A. Conigliaro.  Carla Conigliaro, former shareholder of NECC, and her husband, Douglas Conigliaro, are also charged in the indictment with transferring millions of dollars the same month that NECC surrendered its pharmacy license and one month prior to NECC’s petition for bankruptcy in December 2012.  The Conigliaros also allegedly transferred millions of dollars more after the bankruptcy court issued two orders prohibiting NECC shareholders from transferring any assets.  The assets named in the civil forfeiture complaint, which exceed $18 million, were seized pursuant to seizure warrants issued in December 2014.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Jeffrey Ebersol, Acting Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; John Gibbons, U.S. Marshal of the U.S. Marshals Service, District of Massachusetts; and Jamie A. Hainsworth, U.S. Marshal of the U.S. Marshals Service, District of Rhode Island, made the announcement today.  The forfeiture case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica M. Lei of Ortiz’s Asset Forfeiture Unit.  The criminal investigation is being conducted by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General; and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  The criminal case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys George P. Varghese and Amanda P.M. Strachan of Ortiz’s Health Care Fraud Unit, and Justice Department Trial Attorney John W.M. Claud of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.

BOSTON –Two Southbridge residents were arrested today for manufacturing and distributing anabolic steroids out of their apartment which doubled as a small laboratory.

Kurt Moisan, 36, and Bobbijo Clark, 42, were each charged with distribution of anabolic steroids, possession with the intent to distribute anabolic steroids, and conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids.  Moisan was additionally charged with manufacturing anabolic steroids.  Both were arrested at their Southbridge residence this afternoon.

According to court documents, on three occasions from December 2014 to January 2015, an undercover federal agent purchased anabolic steroids from a website maintained by Moisan and Clark.  In February 2105, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Moisan and Clark’s Southbridge residence and discovered that they were operating a small laboratory out of their second floor apartment.  Agents seized thousands of grams of suspected powdered steroids and hundreds of vials containing suspected liquid steroids.  Moisan and Clark admitted to importing raw steroids from China, cooking them into injectable steroid compounds in their apartment, and distributing the steroid compounds through online sales throughout the United States.

The charging statutes provide a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; and Southbridge Police Chief Daniel Charette, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg A. Friedholm of Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations.  The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A North Brookfield man was charged in U.S. District Court in Worcester yesterday with child pornography.

Matthew Clem, 30, was charged by complaint with production of child pornography, enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual conduct, and receipt of child pornography.

As alleged in the charging documents, beginning in October 2014, law enforcement officers learned that an individual who identified himself as “Matt” on “Kik Messenger,” (Kik) an instant messaging app, had engaged in sexualized chats with a 15-year-old girl.  Furthermore, “Matt” had solicited and received unclothed images from the minor victim and sent images depicting his genitals.  After further investigation, law enforcement officers determined that the Internet IP address associated with the Kik account belonged to Clem.  In March 2015, a search warrant was executed at Clem’s home.  According to the charging documents, Clem was interviewed by law enforcement officers following the execution of the search warrant and admitted to utilizing numerous Internet-based messaging systems to solicit numerous females as young as 14-years-old and acknowledged receiving numerous pornographic images from those females.

Based upon Clem’s admissions, a second minor victim was identified.  This victim began communicating with Clem in 2012 when she was 14-years-old.  The affidavit alleges that this second victim engaged in sexualized video chats at Clem’s request and that Clem engaged in sexual intercourse when this victim was under the age of 16.

The charge of producing child pornography provides a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and no greater than a lifetime in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  The charge of enticing a minor provides a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and no greater than a lifetime in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  The charge of receipt of child pornography provides a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of five years and no greater than a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr.; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and North Brookfield Police Chief Aram Thomasian, Jr., made the announcement.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Grady of Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.  In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

BOSTON – A Boston area man was sentenced yesterday for robbing three banks in June 2014 and stealing over $18,000.

Edward Stone, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 80 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and restitution of $18,257.  In March 2015, Stone pleaded guilty to three counts of bank robbery.

On June 7, 2014, Stone walked into a TD Bank in Braintree holding a notebook and approached the bank teller.  He showed the teller a written note demanding money in “Big Bills” [sic].  While speaking to the teller, he also threatened to “blow [her] head off” if she did not follow his instructions.  Stone left the bank with $7,363 moments after he entered.

On June 12, 2014, Stone entered a TD Bank in Hingham at 11:24 a.m.  Once again, he presented a note demanding money and told the teller, “This is a robbery.  Give me the money.”  Stone stole $3,796 from the bank.

On June 20, 2014, Stone robbed the TD Bank in Braintree for the second time.  Stone approached the same teller he victimized on June 7 and once again demanded money.  Stone left the bank forty seconds after entering with $7,098 in cash.

Following each robbery, the tellers and other witnesses identified Stone from a photo array.

Police arrested him on June 25, 2014.  After his arrest, Stone gave a videotaped confession in which he admitted to all three robberies.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Chief Russell Jenkins of the Braintree Police Department; and Chief Michael Peraino of the Hingham Police Department, made the announcement.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian A. Pérez-Daple of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

BOSTON – An Iowa man was indicted today on charges of threatening to shoot and kill Muslims by posting threats on the Facebook page of an Islamic organization in Boston.

Gerald Wayne Ledford, 57, of Clinton, Iowa, was indicted for transmitting in interstate or foreign commerce a communication containing a threat to injure the person of another.  He was arrested in Iowa on Wednesday, June 3, 2015, and is scheduled to appear in Boston on June 24, 2015 at 2:15 p.m.

Prior court filings allege that on Oct.19, 2014, Ledford threatened the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC), a cultural center that offers a mosque and a variety of educational, spiritual, and social services to Muslims in New England.  The indictment alleges that Ledford posted two threats on the ISBCC’s Facebook page.  One post threatened, “Mohamed was a child rapist .a murderer and molester.you all will go to hell with you’re father satan..we will destroy you here and in your’re s**t hole countrys.”  The second post consisted of a photograph of a man bearing a long gun with the caption, “This is for you.followers of the piece of s**t Mohamed …”  The indictment further alleges that Ledford intended these posts to threaten the ISBCC and its members, and with knowledge that they would be viewed as threats.

Although prior filings allege that the charged threats were posted on the Facebook page of the ISBCC as the intended target, they also allege that Ledford’s own Facebook page contains additional relevant posts.  For example, on or about Oct. 22, 2014, apparently reacting to news reports of shootings by a recent convert to Islam in Canada, Ledford allegedly posted, “Why can't the American and Canadian gov's just admit that a person with Islamic tendencies be called a Islamic terrorist!!”  In another example, on Feb. 13, 2015, apparently reacting to news reports about the murder of three Muslim students of the University of North Carolina, Ledford allegedly posted, “Wow a white man kills three islamists and it’s a hate crime?Good job brother! [aggressive emoticon] Now we only have to take 999999 more of there innocent people!!!  An eye for a eye,!!!”

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Theodore Merritt and Scott L. Garland of Ortiz’s Civil Rights Enforcement Team.

The details contained in the indictment and prior court filings are allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – The former chief of the Lee Police Department (LPD) was convicted today in U.S. District Court in Springfield following a three-week trial of extorting a $4,000 payment from a couple facing prostitution charges in Southern Berkshire District Court.

Joseph Buffis, 57, of Pittsfield, Mass., was convicted by a federal jury of extortion under color of official right.  U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Oct. 19, 2015.

As the Lee Police Chief, Buffis solicited and controlled public donations to the Edward J. Laliberte Toy Fund, a children’s holiday toy fund.  On Feb. 21, 2012, Buffis extorted a $4,000 check “donation,” payable to the toy fund, from two individuals who were facing prostitution-related charges.  Buffis then deposited the $4,000 check into the toy fund’s bank account and quickly withdrew $3,990 of these funds in three checks that he wrote to “Cash,” but deposited into a personal bank account that he owned with his wife.  Buffis used the diverted funds to pay various personal expenses.  When law enforcement commenced an investigation into this activity, Buffis repeatedly lied about the disposition of these funds. 

Buffis faces a second trial on one count of mail fraud.  According to the allegations of the superseding indictment, soon after Buffis became Lee Chief of Police in 2011, he arranged for the Town of Lee to provide the LPD with four iPhones – one for himself and three for other LPD officers.  Rather than distribute the three iPhones to his LPD officers, Buffis gave them to his wife and their two children for their personal use.  From Oct. 5, 2011 to Aug. 21, 2013, Buffis caused the Town of Lee to mail Verizon Wireless a series of checks totaling approximately $5,091 for the phones Buffis’s gave to wife and children.

Today, the jury also acquitted Buffis of three counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and seven counts of money laundering.  Those charges were related to Buffis’s operation of the toy fund.

The extortion charge provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B, Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven H. Breslow and Deepika Shukla of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office.