District of Maryland

Sarah Beth Clendaniel, 36, of Catonsville, Maryland, was sentenced today to 18 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for conspiring to damage or destroy electrical facilities in Maryland and a concurrent sentence of 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

“Those who seek to attack our country’s critical infrastructure will face the full force of the U.S. Department of Justice,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Sarah Beth Clendaniel sought to ‘completely destroy’ the city of Baltimore by targeting five power substations as a means of furthering her violent white supremacist ideology. She will now spend the next 18 years in federal prison. The Justice Department will continue to aggressively counter, disrupt, and prosecute those who seek to launch these kinds of hate-fueled attacks that target our critical infrastructure, endanger entire cities, and threaten our national security.” 

“The defendant plotted to disable the power grid around the entire Baltimore region and cause harm to thousands of people in pursuit of a racially motivated violent extremist agenda,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Her plan failed thanks to the great work of the FBI and our law enforcement partners. Today’s sentencing should serve as a warning to others that you will be held accountable if you attempt to carry out violent attacks on our infrastructure or threaten the safety of those in our communities.”

“Such cowardice, designed to disrupt and endanger the lives of Maryland’s citizens, will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “My office remains committed to protecting the security and well-being of the community by prosecuting such conduct to the full extent of the law.”

According to her plea agreement and other court documents, in 2018, Clendaniel became acquainted with Brandon C. Russell, a Florida resident, who is currently charged with conspiracy to damage or destroy electrical facilities in Maryland and is awaiting trial. Clendaniel and Russell espouse a white supremacist ideology and advocate a concept known as “accelerationism.” To “accelerate” or to support “accelerationism” is based on a white supremacist belief that the current system is irreparable and without an apparent political solution, and therefore violent action is necessary to precipitate societal and government collapse.

According to court documents, from at least December 2022 through February 2023, Clendaniel conspired with Russell to damage energy facilities involved in the transmission and distribution of electricity and to cause a significant interruption and impairment of the Baltimore regional power grid. The intended monetary loss associated with the planned attacks would have exceeded $75 million.

As set forth in her plea agreement, Clendaniel admitted that she communicated and planned over encrypted communication applications (ECA) to carry out attacks against energy facilities. Russell and Clendaniel communicated their plans to commit an attack on the Baltimore region power grid to a confidential human source (CHS-1).

Their plans began to coalesce on Jan. 12, 2023, when CHS-1 and Russell discussed the planned substation attack in Maryland with a goal of working with Clendaniel to “maximize impact” and “to coordinate to get multiple [substations] at the same time.” Later that same day, Clendaniel, using the moniker “Nythra88,” sent a message to CHS-1 on ECA confirming her support of the attack.

In the ensuing conversation, which continued through Jan. 14, 2023, Clendaniel told CHS-1 that she lived near Baltimore. She also stated that she was a felon, and had previously, but unsuccessfully, attempted to obtain a rifle. She asked CHS-1 to purchase a rifle for her, stating that she wanted to “accomplish something worthwhile” and that she wanted the rifle “within the next couple of weeks” to “accomplish as much as possible before June, at the latest.” On Jan. 18, 2023, on ECA, Clendaniel told CHS-1 that she had identified a few potential locations to target in her attack. CHS-1 stated that CHS-1 would have to be the “driver” and Clendaniel would have to be the “shooter” in the attack. Clendaniel confirmed that she was “determined to do this” and stated she would have done something earlier on her own if she had not lost her rifle “a few months ago.” The conversation continued with CHS-1 and Clendaniel discussing the specifics of the desired rifle and agreeing that Clendaniel would send CHS-1 a “wish list,” which she did the following day.

At various times from Jan. 21, 2023, through Jan. 29, 2023, CHS-1 exchanged encrypted messages, separately with Clendaniel and with Russell, in which they discussed in detail the rifle and specific firearms accessories that Clendaniel wanted and potential targets for their attack.

On Jan. 29, 2023, Clendaniel told CHS-1 that the five substations she planned to target included “Norrisville, Reisterstown, and Perry Hall.” Clendaniel described how there was a “ring” around Baltimore and if they hit a number of them all in the same day, they “would completely destroy this whole city.” She added that they needed to “destroy those cores, not just leak the oil . . . ” and that a “good four or five shots through the center of them . . . should make that happen.” Further, she stated that: “[i]t would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully.” When CHS-1 asked if it would accomplish a “cascading failure,” Clendaniel replied, “[y]es . . . probably” and that the attack targets are all “major ones.” Clendaniel also said that the most difficult target that they would have to do together has “fire walls on three sides.”

During that conversation, Clendaniel sent CHS-1 five links to the “Open Infrastructure Map” which showed the locations of five specific Baltimore, Gas and Electric (BGE) electrical substations in Maryland. BGE is an energy company that utilizes substations, like the five targeted sites, to produce, convert, transform, regulate and distribute energy. Three of the five substations were located near the towns of Norrisville, Reisterstown, and Perry Hall. The remaining two substations were in the vicinity of Baltimore City. Each location is a BGE substation with significant infrastructure.

On or about Jan. 31, 2023, Russell discussed with CHS-1 the attack of the targeted substations on ECA, including how to “make sure it’s done right,” how “it has been studied,” and how to make it “cascading” so as to maximize damage. Russell and Clendaniel believed that attacking these five electrical substations in the greater Baltimore area would serve accelerationism.

On Feb. 3, 2023, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Clendaniel’s residence in Catonsville, Maryland. During the search, law enforcement agents recovered from Clendaniel’s bedroom various firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Federal law prohibits Clendaniel from possessing these items because she is a convicted felon, including convictions in Cecil County, Maryland, for robbery in 2006 and robbery and attempted robbery in 2016.

The FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen O. Gavin and Michael Aubin for the District of Maryland prosecuted the case with valuable assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland is a partner in the Justice Department’s United Against Hate community outreach program. The United Against Hate initiative seeks to directly connect federal, state, and local law enforcement with traditionally marginalized communities in order to build trust and encourage the reporting of hate crimes and hate incidents. Attorney General Garland announced the nationwide launch of the initiative and its expansion to all 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.

Baltimore, Maryland – On September 25, 2024, Senior United States District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Sarah Beth Clendaniel, a Catonsville, Maryland resident, to 18 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for conspiring to damage or destroy electrical facilities in Maryland, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1366(a), and a concurrent sentence of 15 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm, and 3 years of supervised release, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

“Such cowardice, designed to disrupt and endanger the lives of Maryland’s citizens, will not be tolerated,” said Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland. “My Office remains committed to protecting the security and well-being of the community by prosecuting such conduct to the full extent of the law.”

“Those who seek to attack our country’s critical infrastructure will face the full force of the United States Department of Justice,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Sarah Beth Clendaniel sought to ‘completely destroy’ the city of Baltimore by targeting five power substations as a means of furthering her violent white supremacist ideology. She will now spend the next 18 years in federal prison. The Justice Department will continue to aggressively counter, disrupt, and prosecute those who seek to launch these kinds of hate-fueled attacks that target our critical infrastructure, endanger entire cities, and threaten our national security.”  

“The defendant plotted to disable the power grid around the entire Baltimore region and cause harm to thousands of people in pursuit of a racially motivated violent extremist agenda,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Her plan failed thanks to the great work of the FBI and our law enforcement partners.  Today’s sentencing should serve as a warning to others that you will be held accountable if you attempt to carry out violent attacks on our infrastructure or threaten the safety of those in our communities.”

“Sarah Beth Clendaniel engaged in a hate-filled scheme to destroy the infrastructure Marylanders rely on every day,” said Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office. “Through rigorous investigation and law enforcement partnerships, her radical plan was halted. Today’s sentence underscores the FBI’s commitment to protecting our national security and holding accountable those conspiring to commit violence.”

According to her plea agreement and other court documents, in 2018, Clendaniel became acquainted with Brandon C. Russell, a Florida resident, who is currently charged with conspiracy to damage or destroy electrical facilities in Maryland and is awaiting trial. Clendaniel and Russell espouse a white supremacist ideology and advocate a concept known as “accelerationism.” To “accelerate” or to support “accelerationism” is based on a white supremacist belief that the current system is irreparable and without an apparent political solution, and therefore violent action is necessary to precipitate societal and government collapse.

According to court documents, from at least December 2022 through February 2023, Clendaniel conspired with Russell to damage energy facilities involved in the transmission and distribution of electricity and to cause a significant interruption and impairment of the Baltimore regional power grid. The intended monetary loss associated with the planned attacks would have exceeded $75 million.

As set forth in her plea agreement, Clendaniel admitted that she communicated and planned over encrypted communication applications (“ECA”) to carry out attacks against energy facilities. Russell and Clendaniel communicated their plans to commit an attack on the Baltimore region power grid to a confidential human source (“CHS-1”).

Their plans began to coalesce on January 12, 2023, when CHS-1 and Russell discussed the planned substation attack in Maryland with a goal of working with Clendaniel to “maximize impact” and “to coordinate to get multiple [substations] at the same time.” Later that same day, Clendaniel, using the moniker “Nythra88,” sent a message to CHS-1 on ECA confirming her support of the attack.

In the ensuing conversation, which continued through January 14, 2023, Clendaniel told CHS-1 that she lived near Baltimore. She also stated that she was a felon, and had previously, but unsuccessfully, attempted to obtain a rifle. She asked CHS-1 to purchase a rifle for her, stating that she wanted to “accomplish something worthwhile” and that she wanted the rifle “within the next couple of weeks” to “accomplish as much as possible before June, at the latest.” On January 18, 2023, on ECA, Clendaniel told CHS-1 that she had identified a few potential locations to target in her attack. CHS-1 stated that CHS-1 would have to be the “driver” and Clendaniel would have to be the “shooter” in the attack. Clendaniel confirmed that she was “determined to do this” and stated she would have done something earlier on her own if she had not lost her rifle “a few months ago.” The conversation continued with CHS-1 and Clendaniel discussing the specifics of the desired rifle and agreeing that Clendaniel would send CHS-1 a “wish list,” which she did the following day.

At various times from January 21, 2023 through January 29, 2023, CHS-1 exchanged encrypted messages, separately with Clendaniel and with Russell, in which they discussed in detail the rifle and specific firearms accessories that Clendaniel wanted and potential targets for their attack.

On January 29, 2023, Clendaniel told CHS-1 that the five substations she planned to target included “Norrisville, Reisterstown, and Perry Hall.”  Clendaniel described how there was a “ring” around Baltimore and if they hit a number of them all in the same day, they “would completely destroy this whole city.” She added that they needed to “destroy those cores, not just leak the oil . . . ” and that a “good four or five shots through the center of them . . . should make that happen.” Further, she stated that: “[i]t would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully.” When CHS-1 asked if it would accomplish a “cascading failure,” Clendaniel replied, “[y]es . . . probably” and that the attack targets are all “major ones.” Clendaniel also said that the most difficult target that they would have to do together has “fire walls on three sides.”

During that conversation, Clendaniel sent CHS-1 five links to the “Open Infrastructure Map” which showed the locations of five specific Baltimore, Gas and Electric (“BGE”) electrical substations in Maryland. BGE is an energy company that utilizes substations, like the five targeted sites, to produce, convert, transform, regulate and distribute energy. Three of the five substations were located near the towns of Norrisville, Reisterstown, and Perry Hall. The remaining two substations were in the vicinity of Baltimore City. Each location is a BGE substation with significant infrastructure.

On or about January 31, 2023, Russell discussed with CHS-1 the attack of the targeted substations on ECA, including how to “make sure it’s done right,” how “it has been studied,” and how to make it “cascading” so as to maximize damage. Russell and Clendaniel believed that attacking these five electrical substations in the greater Baltimore area would serve accelerationism.

On February 3, 2023, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Clendaniel’s residence in Catonsville, Maryland.  During the search, law enforcement agents recovered from Clendaniel’s bedroom various firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.  Federal law prohibits Clendaniel from possessing these items because she is a convicted felon, including convictions in Cecil County, Maryland for Robbery in 2006 and Robbery and Attempted Robbery in 2016.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI for its work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen O. Gavin and Michael Aubin who are prosecuting the federal case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland is a partner in the U.S. Department of Justice’s United Against Hate community outreach program.  The United Against Hate initiative seeks to directly connect federal, state and local law enforcement with traditionally marginalized communities in order to build trust and encourage the reporting of hate crimes and hate incidents.  Department of Justice Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the nationwide launch of the initiative and its expansion to all 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

Greenbelt, Maryland – A Silver Spring, Maryland man pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Deborah L. Boardman to distribution of fentanyl resulting in the death of a Bethesda, Maryland minor victim in January 2022.

The guilty plea was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington Division; Chief Marc R. Yamada of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Chief Victor Brito of the Rockville City Police Department.

According to court documents, Mikiyas Kefyalew, 26, knowingly and intentionally distributed to Victim 1 a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and 4-Anilino-N-phenethlpipeerdine (“despropionyl fentanyl”), each a Schedule II controlled substance, with death resulting from Victim 1’s use of such substance.  At the time of Victim 1’s death, Victim 1 was 16 years old.  On the evening of January 16, 2022, Victim 1 had contacted Kefyalew by Snapchat message in order to obtain “Percs.”  Although originally referring to Percocets (a combination medicine containing oxycodone hydrochloride and acetaminophen), “Percs” is a common slang term used to reference pills which are circular, blue in color and imprinted with “M 30”—mimicking the markings on legitimate pills that one would receive from a manufacturer containing oxycodone hydrochloride.  Victim 1 provided the address of the residence where he was spending the evening, and Kefyalew drove to that address. Victim 1 left the residence, met with Kefyalew at Kefyalew’s vehicle, and purchased two “Percs” from Kefyalew.  Victim 1 later was driven home and interacted with family members before going to bed. The next morning, Victim 1 was found deceased. 

With the assistance of Victim 1’s family members, law enforcement officers also located a small blue pill stamped with “M 30” near where Victim 1 was found.  The pill appeared to be a 30 mg oxycodone hydrochloride pill but was tested by a forensic chemist at the Montgomery County Police Department Forensic Laboratory and produced positive results for both fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl. 

According to autopsy results, Victim 1’s cause of death was fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl intoxication.  Victim 1 was otherwise healthy.

On August 21, 2021, Kefyalew had been issued a criminal citation for possession of marijuana over 10 grams.  In that case, a round blue pill stamped with “M 30” was located in the baggie of marijuana that was located in the rear passenger area of the vehicle where Kefyalew was seated. That pill was tested by a forensic chemist at the Montgomery County Police Department Forensic Laboratory and, like the similar blue pill in this case, produced positive results for both fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl.  Messages retrieved from Kefyalew’s cell phones confirmed the dangers of overdoses posed by “Percs” and Kefyalew’s knowledge that these pills contained fentanyl. 

Based upon these pills’ purporting to be oxycodone hydrochloride pills, Kefyalew knowingly misrepresented or knowingly marketed the fentanyl pills as oxycodone hydrochloride, or “Percs.”  The pills distributed and possessed by Kefyalew purported to be oxycodone hydrochloride in that they were small light blue pills stamped with “M” and “30” to match legitimate oxycodone hydrocholoride 30 milligram pills when, in fact, they contained fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl instead of oxycodone hydrochloride.

Kefyalew knew that Victim 1 was a vulnerable victim based on Victim 1’s appearance, school attendance and age, i.e., that he was less than 18 years old. 

Kefyalew is scheduled to be sentenced on January 28, 2025 at 10 a.m. and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U. S. Attorney Barron commended the DEA, the Montgomery County Police Department, and the Rockville Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Metropolitan Police Department, the Prince George’s County Police Department, and the Montgomery County State's Attorney’s Office for their assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Wright and Joel Crespo, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – Newton Ofioritse Jemide, a Nigerian national, was extradited from France to the United States on September 13, 2024 to face federal charges for wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies in a scheme to fraudulently obtain federal benefits.  Jemide had his initial appearance on September 16, 2024, and is currently detained pending trial. 

The extradition was announced by Philip Selden, First Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Mark I. Tasky of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – Office of Inspector General; Special Agent in Charge Colleen Lawlor of the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of Inspector General; Special Agent in Charge Matthew R. Stohler of the U.S. Secret Service – Washington Field Office; Andrew McKay, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). 

During the time period covered by the indictment, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was responsible for providing emergency benefits and compensation for damage to victims who were affected by declared national emergency disasters, such as hurricanes and wildfires.  Among other benefits, an individual in an area affected by a national disaster was immediately eligible for “Critical Needs Assistance” (CNA) to purchase life-saving or life sustaining materials.  The assistance was paid to the victim in a manner of his/her choosing, including being deposited onto pre-paid debit cards.

According to the two-count indictment, from 2016 through 2018 Jemide’s co-conspirators purchased hundreds of Green Dot debit cards, which they then registered with Green Dot, using the stolen personal information of identity theft victims from around the country.  In 2017, amidst Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, and the California wildfires, co-conspirators allegedly applied online with FEMA for CNA using the stolen personal information of additional identity theft victims. According to the indictment, FEMA paid at least $8 million in amounts of $500 per claim to the Green Dot debit cards purchased by the co-conspirators.

In addition to filing false disaster-assistance claims with FEMA, the indictment alleges that co-conspirators also filed false claims online for Social Security benefits, for IRS tax refunds and for other government benefits, using the stolen identities of multiple additional individuals, including names, addresses, Social Security Numbers (“SSN”) and other personal identifiers.

The indictment alleges that FEMA, and the other federal agencies to whom fraudulent applications for benefits were submitted, deposited the falsely claimed benefits directly onto the Green Dot debit cards. After the funds were placed onto the Green Dot debit cards, Jemide and his co-conspirators then informed other conspirators that funds were available on the cards, and provided information to facilitate “cashing out” the funds from the cards, which co-conspirators did in exchange for a commission.  The co-conspirators cashed out the cards by depositing the money into bank accounts, and/or through ATM withdrawals or purchases of money orders.

According to the indictment, the co-conspirators took steps to conceal their identities and the conspiracy and scheme to defraud, including by enlisting other individuals to make the purchases and withdrawals with the cards, utilizing multiple store and bank locations and methods of withdrawal, using multiple bank accounts (including in the names of corporate entities), converting funds into cash rather than placing them into bank accounts, and making money orders payable to other individuals and/or corporate entities which they or their co-conspirators controlled.

Jemide and his co-conspirators allegedly used an encrypted messaging application, e-mail and other means to communicate, and used the stolen federal funds to pay rental and housing expenses, to purchase used vehicles, and for other purposes.

If convicted, Jemide faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceeding.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Selden commended the DHS OIG, SSA OIG, USSS, TIGTA and French authorities for their work in the investigation and thanked the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the United States Marshal’s Service for their valuable assistance to secure the extradition of Jemide to the United States.  Mr. Selden thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Wright and Darren Gardner, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – On Monday, September 16, 2024, the Honorable Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Ejike Asiegbunam, age 55, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland to 21 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  Judge Boardman also ordered Asiegbunam to forfeit $1,662,732 that Asiegbunam personally received as a result of the fraud.

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.

According to Asiegbunam’s plea agreement, Asiegbunam conspired with others to sell fraudulent nursing diplomas and educational transcripts to individuals (“purchasers”), and assisted the purchasers in fraudulently obtaining nursing licensure, which the purchasers needed to obtain employment in the healthcare field.  Asiegbunam owned and operated Nursing School 2, which was not licensed to offer LPN degrees.  In addition, many students received RN degrees from Nursing School 2 without attending labs, classes, or completing required clinical assignments. 

Specifically, between approximately January 2018 and June 2021, Asiegbunam and his co-conspirators recruited potential purchasers in Maryland and elsewhere who were looking to obtain nursing degrees.  Asiegbunam sold purchasers false and fraudulent Nursing School 2 documents, which Asiegbunam signed as the owner of Nursing School 2.  In addition, students paid Asiegbunam and others to complete required prerequisites to enter the nursing program at Nursing School 2. Asiegbunam generally charged purchasers between $15,000 and $22,000 for false and fraudulent Nursing School 2 documents.  Asiegbunam also generally charged approximately $5,000 to complete online prerequisites.  In total, Asiegbunam sold false and fraudulent Nursing School 2 documents in exchange for at least $1,390,332. 

In addition, between in or around February 2018 and December 2018, Asiegbunam conspired with Johanah Napoleon, who resided in Florida, to sell false and fraudulent RN degrees from Palm Beach School of Nursing, located in Florida, to individuals located in Maryland and New York.  Asiegbunam would send student grades from Maryland to the registrar for the Palm Beach School of Nursing in Florida, via interstate wire, and in exchange would receive transcripts purportedly from the Palm Beach School of Nursing (despite the individuals not attending the school).  When Asiegbunam sold a student a degree from Palm Beach School of Nursing, the student paid the school directly, and the school, in turn, paid Asiegbunam 40 percent of the tuition as payment for recruiting the student.  In total, Asiegbunam received approximately $272,400 from the Palm Beach School of Nursing. 

By providing false and fraudulent documents, Asiegbunam and his co-conspirators assisted the purchasers of the false and fraudulent documents to obtain fraudulent nursing licenses from state licensing agencies, including the Maryland Board of Nursing, and ultimately employment in the healthcare field.  The scheme thus allowed individuals who had not completed the necessary coursework to apply for licensure and to practice as nurses.  The scheme therefore exposed patients in Maryland and elsewhere to potential harm and Asiegbunam and his co-conspirators consciously and recklessly exposed these patients to the risk of death or serious bodily injury. 

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the HHS-OIG for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes, who is prosecuting the federal case.

If you have information to report regarding this case or any other case involving falsified medical degrees, please call the FBI hotline: (410) 277-6999.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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WASHINGTON – Earlier today, the Justice Department filed a civil claim in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, the Singaporean corporations that owned and operated the container ship that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

In the early morning hours of March 26, the Motor Vessel DALI left the Port of Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka. While navigating through the Fort McHenry Channel, the vessel lost power, regained power, and then lost power again before striking the bridge. The bridge collapsed and plunged into the water below, tragically killing six people. In addition to this heartbreaking loss of life, the wreck of the DALI and the remnants of the bridge obstructed the navigable channel and brought all shipping into and out of the Port of Baltimore to a standstill. The loss of the bridge also severed a critical highway in our transportation infrastructure and a key artery for local commuters.

The suit seeks to recover over $100 million in costs the United States incurred in responding to the fatal disaster and for clearing the entangled wreck and bridge debris from the navigable channel so the port could reopen.

“The Justice Department is committed to ensuring accountability for those responsible for the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which resulted in the tragic deaths of six people and disrupted our country’s transportation and defense infrastructure,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “With this civil claim, the Justice Department is working to ensure that the costs of clearing the channel and reopening the Port of Baltimore are borne by the companies that caused the crash, not by the American taxpayer.”

The United States led the response efforts of dozens of federal, state, and local agencies to remove about 50,000 tons of steel, concrete, and asphalt from the channel and from the DALI itself. While these removal operations were underway, the claim alleges that the United States also cleared a series of temporary channels to start relieving the bottleneck at the port and mitigate some of the economic devastation caused by the DALI. The Fort McHenry Channel was cleared by June 10, and the Port of Baltimore was once again open for commercial navigation.

“The owner and operator of the DALI were well aware of vibration issues on the vessel that could cause a power outage. But instead of taking necessary precautions, they did the opposite,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “Out of negligence, mismanagement, and, at times, a desire to cut costs, they configured the ship’s electrical and mechanical systems in a way that prevented those systems from being able to quickly restore propulsion and steering after a power outage.  As a result, when the DALI lost power, a cascading set of failures led to disaster.”

Indeed, the lawsuit specifically asserts that none of the four means that should have been available to help steer the DALI — the propeller, rudder, anchor, or bow thruster — worked when they were needed to avert or even mitigate this disaster.

“In so many ways, the Key Bridge has symbolized the resilience of both the State of Maryland and our Nation. In a very real way, the Key Bridge was a pathway to the American Dream. A part of our culture is gone,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron. “Those responsible for the Key Bridge collapse will be held accountable.” 

“This was an entirely avoidable catastrophe, resulting from a series of eminently foreseeable errors made by the owner and operator of the DALI.  The suit seeks to recover the costs incurred by the United States in responding to this disaster, which include removing the bridge parts from the channel and those parts that were entangled with the vessel, as well as abating the substantial risk of oil pollution,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department's Civil Division. 

The Justice Department’s claim also seeks punitive damages to deter the owner and operator of the DALI and others. During a press call announcing the Justice Department’s actions, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Chetan Patil explained, “This accident happened because of the careless and grossly negligent decisions made by Grace Ocean and Synergy, who recklessly chose to send an unseaworthy vessel to navigate a critical waterway and ignored the risks to American lives and the nation’s infrastructure.”

The Department’s claim is part of a legal action the owner and operator of the DALI initiated shortly after the tragedy, in which they seek exoneration or limitation of their liability to approximately $44 million. 

“Wholly preventable failures by the owner and operator of the DALI caused this tragic incident that cost six bridge construction workers their lives and closed one of the largest ports on the East Coast,” said Rear Admiral Laura M. Dickey, Deputy for Operations Capability and Policy, U.S. Coast Guard.  “The Coast Guard quickly responded by establishing a Unified Command with federal, state, and local stakeholders to rapidly open alternative channels and restore the Port of Baltimore to full operations in just over two months.  We stand ready to support the Department of Justice to ensure that those responsible for this tragedy pay the costs of reopening the Port.” 

The claim on behalf of the United States does not include any damages for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The State of Maryland built, owned, maintained, and operated the bridge, and attorneys on the State’s behalf may file their own claim for those damages.  Subsequently, pursuant to the governing regulation, funds recovered by the State of Maryland for reconstruction of the bridge will be used to reduce the project costs paid by federal taxpayer dollars.

The United States is represented in the filed action by attorneys from the Civil Division’s Aviation, Space & Admiralty Litigation section and from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division.

The claims alleged by the United States are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

The Justice Department filed a civil claim today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, the Singaporean corporations that owned and operated the container ship that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

In the early morning hours of March 26, the Motor Vessel DALI left the Port of Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka. While navigating through the Fort McHenry Channel, the vessel lost power, regained power, and then lost power again before striking the bridge. The bridge collapsed and plunged into the water below, tragically killing six people. In addition to this heartbreaking loss of life, the wreck of the DALI and the remnants of the bridge obstructed the navigable channel and brought all shipping into and out of the Port of Baltimore to a standstill. The loss of the bridge also severed a critical highway in our transportation infrastructure and a key artery for local commuters.

The suit seeks to recover over $100 million in costs the United States incurred in responding to the fatal disaster and for clearing the entangled wreck and bridge debris from the navigable channel so the port could reopen.

“The Justice Department is committed to ensuring accountability for those responsible for the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which resulted in the tragic deaths of six people and disrupted our country’s transportation and defense infrastructure,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “With this civil claim, the Justice Department is working to ensure that the costs of clearing the channel and reopening the Port of Baltimore are borne by the companies that caused the crash, not by the American taxpayer.”

The United States led the response efforts of dozens of federal, state, and local agencies to remove about 50,000 tons of steel, concrete, and asphalt from the channel and from the DALI itself. While these removal operations were underway, the claim alleges that the United States also cleared a series of temporary channels to start relieving the bottleneck at the port and mitigate some of the economic devastation caused by the DALI. The Fort McHenry Channel was cleared by June 10, and the Port of Baltimore was once again open for commercial navigation.

“The owner and operator of the DALI were well aware of vibration issues on the vessel that could cause a power outage. But instead of taking necessary precautions, they did the opposite,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “Out of negligence, mismanagement, and, at times, a desire to cut costs, they configured the ship’s electrical and mechanical systems in a way that prevented those systems from being able to quickly restore propulsion and steering after a power outage. As a result, when the DALI lost power, a cascading set of failures led to disaster.”

Indeed, the lawsuit specifically asserts that none of the four means that should have been available to help steer the DALI — the propeller, rudder, anchor, or bow thruster — worked when they were needed to avert or even mitigate this disaster.

“This was an entirely avoidable catastrophe, resulting from a series of eminently foreseeable errors made by the owner and operator of the DALI,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. "The suit seeks to recover the costs incurred by the United States in responding to this disaster, which include removing the bridge parts from the channel and those parts that were entangled with the vessel, as well as abating the substantial risk of oil pollution.”

“In so many ways, the Key Bridge has symbolized the resilience of both the State of Maryland and our Nation. In a very real way, the Key Bridge was a pathway to the American Dream. A part of our culture is gone,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “Those responsible for the Key Bridge collapse will be held accountable.” 

The Justice Department’s claim also seeks punitive damages to deter the owner and operator of the DALI and others. During a press call announcing the Justice Department’s actions, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Chetan Patil of the Civil Division explained, “This accident happened because of the careless and grossly negligent decisions made by Grace Ocean and Synergy, who recklessly chose to send an unseaworthy vessel to navigate a critical waterway and ignored the risks to American lives and the nation’s infrastructure.”

The Department’s claim is part of a legal action the owner and operator of the DALI initiated shortly after the tragedy, in which they seek exoneration or limitation of their liability to approximately $44 million.  

“Wholly preventable failures by the owner and operator of the DALI caused this tragic incident that cost six bridge construction workers their lives and closed one of the largest ports on the East Coast,” said Rear Admiral Laura M. Dickey, Deputy for Operations Capability and Policy of the U.S. Coast Guard. “The Coast Guard quickly responded by establishing a Unified Command with federal, state, and local stakeholders to rapidly open alternative channels and restore the Port of Baltimore to full operations in just over two months. We stand ready to support the Justice Department to ensure that those responsible for this tragedy pay the costs of reopening the Port.”  

The claim on behalf of the United States does not include any damages for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The State of Maryland built, owned, maintained, and operated the bridge, and attorneys on the State’s behalf may file their own claim for those damages. Subsequently, pursuant to the governing regulation, funds recovered by the State of Maryland for reconstruction of the bridge will be used to reduce the project costs paid by federal taxpayer dollars.

The United States is represented in the filed action by attorneys from the Civil Division’s Aviation, Space & Admiralty Litigation Section and from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division.

The claims alleged by the United States are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

Complaint

 Baltimore, Maryland – On September 17, 2024, U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced David Warren, a/k/a “Meshawn,” age 32, of Baltimore to 467 months in federal prison, followed by 5years of supervised release, for conspiring to participate in a violent racketeering enterprise known as the Black Guerilla Family (“BGF”) gang. 

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Richard Worley of the Baltimore Police Department; and Chief Robert McCullough of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to his plea agreement and other court documents, beginning in 2015 Warren was a member and associate of the BGF, also known as “Jamaa,” and participated in the BGF criminal enterprise, including a murder and a drug distribution conspiracy; further, Warren was a “hit man” accepting money in exchange for murdering others.  BGF is a nationwide gang which began operating in prisons and is now involved in criminal activity, including murder, murder-for-hire, robbery, extortion, drug trafficking, obstruction of justice and witness intimidation, in cities throughout the United States, including Baltimore and throughout Maryland. 

As detailed in his plea agreement, in May 2015, at the direction of a BGF leader, Warren and others fired upon a group of rivals who were attending a candlelight vigil for a deceased rival in east Baltimore.  One man was shot during the attack and survived.  A year later in May 2016, again at the behest of a BGF leader, Warren and a co-conspirator attempted to murder another rival and received a portion of an $8,000 payment in exchange for the attempt.  Two weeks later, on Memorial Day weekend, Warrant attempted to murder a rival drug dealer at a holiday barbeque in north Baltimore.  The man and four others were shot and survived but all sustained injuries.

In or about 2018, Warren became a hit man for co-defendant Davante Harrison, a/k/a “YGG Tay.”  Between February and August 2018, Warren and others targeted three of Harrison’s rivals.   On April 4, 2018, Warren and co-conspirators sought to locate and murder one of Harrison’s rivals at a residence of Chanette Neal and Justice Allen, the sister and mother of the rival.  Not finding the rival at the residence, Warren and co-conspirators murdered Neal and Allen using a .357 caliber handgun.  Later that day, Warren messaged a female associate and wrote that he was “waiting on the bag” meaning payment for the murder. 

Additionally, on August 7, 2018 Warren and two co-conspirators, including co-defendant Wayne Prince, attempted to murder another rival of Harrison at a home that the rival owned and was having renovated.  A construction crew was on site at the time.  During the attempted murder, Prince and a co-conspirator shot and killed one of the construction workers, Bryan McKemy, using a .40 caliber handgun.  They also shot a second construction worker in the head, but that person survived the attack.  Afterwards, Warren messaged another that he was “waiting on a bag” indicating again that he anticipated being paid for the murder.

This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).  NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms.  NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles.  For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

United States Attorney Barron commended the ATF, the FBI, the Baltimore City Police Department, and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ari D. Evans, Patricia C. McLane, and Kim Y. Hagan who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

Greenbelt, Maryland –United States District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Lavar William Henderson, age 46, of Richmond, Virginia to 90 months and 3 years of supervised release after he was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Chief Jessica M. E. Taylor of the United States Park Police, and Colonel Roland L. Butler, Jr., Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

According to the guilty plea, on October 26, 2022, Henderson illegally possessed a 9mm pistol, loaded with 14 rounds of ammunition.  On that day, United States Park Police officers were alerted to be on the lookout for a black Jaguar driven by a man wearing a red hat, who was pointing a firearm with a red laser at other motorists.  A car matching that description passed a crash scene and officers at the scene followed, then conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle.  Henderson was arrested. 

Multiple witnesses observed Henderson point the Sig Sauer pistol equipped with a laser at motorists that day. Witnesses were driving in a truck on Interstate 495 near Forestville Road in District Heights, Maryland. While doing so, Henderson pulled his car alongside their truck and flashed a firearm with a laser attachment at them. Henderson then pulled directly in front of the victims’ truck and came to a complete stop before proceeding again. Henderson did this several times before coming to a complete stop near Forestville Road, forcing the victims to also stop their truck. Henderson then got out of his care and began screaming at the victims. Henderson also began beating on the window of their truck, asking the victims if they wanted to fight. Henderson then went back to his black Jaguar and pulled a handgun from inside and pointed it at the window of the truck. The handgun had a red laser. Henderson then got back inside of the black Jaguar and drove away at a high rate of speed.

Another witness came in contact with Henderson while they were both driving on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. This witness was driving her car in the right lane, and when she attempted to merge into traffic, Henderson in his black Jaguar attempted to pass by on the left. He then honked his horn at the witness numerous times and refused to allow her to merge into traffic. Henderson pulled along the left side of the victim’s’ car, scratching the car from the front side panel to the back side panel. Henderson then pointed a gun at the driver through the driver’s window and shouted obscenities. He then drove away, further damaging the side of the victim’s car as he did so. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the ATF, the U.S. Park Police, and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney LaShanta Harris and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Kibbe, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

Baltimore, Maryland – Today, Tavoy Farquharson, age 32, had an initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on a criminal complaint filed in the District of Maryland, charging the defendant with conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with a lottery scheme,

The criminal complaint was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Postal Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Special Agent in Charge Javan Wilson of the U.S. Treasury, Office of Inspector General (Treasury OIG); and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to the complaint, from at least March 2023 through July 2023, Farquharson and his co-conspirators contacted the victims by mail or over the phone and convinced them that they had won millions of dollars in a lottery or sweepstakes but were required to send payment in advance for taxes and other fees before they could receive their winnings.  Farquharson and his co-conspirators caused the victims to send payments for the purported taxes and other fees through wire transfer, by gift card, by sending cash or checks through the U.S. Mail, by other interstate commercial carrier, and by other payment methods.  According to the complaint, the victims lost at least $9.5 million to the lottery scheme.

Wayne and Dwayne Henry of Landover Hills, Maryland and Jamaican national Nickoy Campbell were charged previously with conspiracy to commit mail fraud as part of the same lottery scheme.

If convicted, Farquharson faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the mail fraud conspiracy.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt.  A person charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Reporting from consumers about fraud and fraud attempts is critical to law enforcements efforts to investigate and prosecute schemes targeting older adults.  If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).  This Department of Justice Hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying next steps, including identifying appropriate reporting agencies, providing information to callers to assist them in reporting or connecting them with agencies, and providing resources and referrals on a case-by-case basis.  The hotline is staffed from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.  English, Spanish, and other languages are available.  More information about the Department’s elder justice efforts can be found on the Department’s Elder Justice website, www.elderjustice.gov.  Victims are encouraged to file a complaint online with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at this website or by calling 1-800-225-5324. 

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, HSI, Treasury OIG, and Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, the Maryland State Police, the Baltimore County Police, the Anne Arundel County Police, the New York Police Department, and the Suffolk County Police Department for their assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Evelyn Lombardo Cusson and Christine Goo, who are prosecuting the federal case.   

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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U.S. Justice Department Designates Baltimore City Under Section 1103 of the Violence Against Women Act, Prioritizing Firearms Prosecutions of Domestic Violence Offenders and U.S. Attorney Pledges to Use the Designation and Additional Resources To Address Intimate Partner Violence Throughout Maryland

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has approved an initial set of 78 communities across 47 states, territories, and the District of Columbia for designation under Section 1103 of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022. 

The Justice Department - through its United States Attorney’s offices (USAOs) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Field Divisions - will partner with each designated jurisdiction to develop a plan to reduce intimate partner firearm violence and to prioritize prosecutions of domestic violence offenders prohibited under 18 U.S. Code Section 922(g) from owning firearms. 

“The prevalence of intimate partner violence should trouble us all,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron, “We are more motivated than ever to address this problem and will use additional resources to protect victims, not only in Baltimore, but throughout Maryland.” 

“We are committed to working with our state and local partners to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers,” said ATF Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office primarily addresses domestic violence as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The office is guided by core principles, including fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Communities have been designated in close coordination with community stakeholders. They include rural areas, suburban areas, urban areas, and Tribal communities. The Justice Department used data to identify communities that could benefit from increased focus on intimate partner violence resources and where the local jurisdiction is committed to partnering with the Department to increase the use of federal tools to prosecute offenders under 18 U.S.C. 922(g). The designation represents the partnership and coordination between the department and the local jurisdiction to ensure federal resources are being leveraged effectively to address intimate partner firearm violence.

The Justice Department anticipates additional jurisdictions to be designated as USAOs continue coordination with their local stakeholders.  All USAOs, with or without specific community designations under Section 1103, will continue to combat intimate partner firearm violence and prioritize prosecutions of domestic violence offenders as part of their Project Safe Neighborhoods strategy and in support of the Department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime.  

Complete List of Jurisdictions as of September 11, 2024:
 

Montgomery County, Alabama

Jefferson County, Alabama

Little Rock, Arkansas

Washington County, Arkansas

Fresno, California

San Diego, California

Hartford, Connecticut

Ward 7, District of Columbia

Jacksonville, Florida

Alachua County, Florida

Metro Miami-Dade County, Florida

Macon-Bibb County, Georgia

DeKalb County, Georgia

Augusta, Georgia

City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii

Ada County, Idaho

Danville, Illinois

Rockford, Illinois

Madison County, Illinois

Gary, Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana

Des Moines, Iowa

Linn County, Iowa

Garden City, Kansas

Fayette County, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Orleans Parish, Louisiana

Rapides Parish, Louisiana

Western Maine Region: Franklin, Oxford, and Androscoggin Counties, Maine

Baltimore City, Maryland

Boston, Massachusetts

Saginaw, Michigan

Lansing, Michigan

Greenville, Mississippi

Jackson, Mississippi

Cape Girardeau County, Missouri

Greene County, Missouri

Gallatin County and Bozeman, Montana

Northeast Omaha, Nebraska

Las Vegas, Nevada

Strafford County, New Hampshire

Bernalillo County, New Mexico

Borough of Brooklyn, New York

Onondaga County, New York

Borough and County of the Bronx, New York

Monroe County, New York

Fayetteville and Cumberland County, North Carolina

Forsyth County, North Carolina

Asheville (including Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), North Carolina

Grand Forks, North Dakota

Toledo, Ohio

Muskogee County, Oklahoma

Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Oklahoma

Portland, Oregon

Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Pawtucket, Rhode Island

Greenville County, South Carol

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota

City of Chattanooga, Tennessee

Memphis/Shelby County, Tennessee

Gregg County, Texas

Amarillo, Texas

Houston, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

Salt Lake County, Utah

South Hampton Roads (Chesapeake/Norfolk/Portsmouth/Virginia Beach), Virginia

Oswald Harris Court Housing Community, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Chittenden County, Vermont

Spokane County, Washington

King County, Washington

Wheeling Area (Ohio/Brooke/Hancock Counties), West Virginia

Kanawha County, West Virginia

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Dane County, Wisconsin

Fremont County, Wyoming

# # #

Greenbelt, Maryland – On Tuesday, September 10, 2024, the Honorable Lydia K. Griggsby sentenced Boie Barry, age 32, of Hyattsville, Maryland, to eight years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of ammunition by a convicted felon and possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute.

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”), and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to the guilty plea, law enforcement officers were patrolling Hyattsville, Maryland in September of 2022, when they observed a vehicle parked in a handicap space without a handicap placard. Officers approached the vehicle, smelled and saw marijuana in the vehicle’s center console, and directed Barry, who had been sitting in the front passenger seat, to step out. As Barry stepped out, an officer saw a bulge in Barry’s front left pocket. The officer repeatedly directed Barry to keep his hands up, and when Barry eventually raised his hands, the officer saw a firearm in his waistband. Barry tried to flee but was stopped by other officers. Officers recovered a 9mm privately manufactured firearm bearing no apparent serial number, commonly known as a “ghost gun,” which was equipped with a laser sight and fully automatic switch and loaded with 32 rounds of ammunition. The switch allowed the firearm to fire in fully automatic mode, making it a machinegun. Officers also found bags in Barry’s front left pocket containing various controlled substances, including cocaine, cocaine base, methamphetamine, para-fluorofentanyl and fentanyl. They also found $1,565.75 on Barry’s person that were proceeds from his drug trafficking.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended ATF and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Rosenthal and Patrick Kibbe, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanay Mitchell, who prosecuted the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Frederick Douglass Moorefield, Jr., age 63, of Arnold, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to federal charges of conspiracy to engage in animal fighting, specifically the fighting of dogs, and interstate travel in aid of racketeering.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington Field Office- Criminal and Cyber Division; Special Agent in Charge Charmeka Parker of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General; Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General; Defense Criminal Investigative Service – Mid-Atlantic Field Office; U.S. Marshal for Maryland Clinton Fuchs; and Anne Arundel County Police Chief Amal E. Awad.

According to the guilty plea, federal agents began investigating Moorefield’s connections to dogfighting after officers from Anne Arundel County Animal Control responded to a report of two dead dogs found in a plastic dog food bag in Annapolis, Maryland in November 2018.  Investigators found mail addressed to Moorefield inside the bag, and a necropsy determined that the dogs bore wounds and scarring patterns consistent with their having been used in dogfighting.

Moorefield was affiliated with a dogfighting enterprise known as the “DMV Board,” which operated in and around Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.  Numerous other members of the DMV Board have been convicted on dogfighting charges in the Eastern District of Virginia.  Moorefield operated under the kennel name “Geehad Kennels” and used his home in Arnold, Maryland to keep, train, and breed dogs for dogfighting for over 20 years.

A review of Moorefield’s phone and iCloud account showed numerous message exchanges regarding dogfighting with other members of the DMV Board.  In addition to arranging fights and wagers, Moorefield and other members of the DMV Board discussed the breeding and training of fighting dogs, procuring supplies for the maintenance and feeding of fighting dogs, and criminal investigations and prosecutions of dogfighters.  In some exchanges, Moorefield and others discussed the indictments of DMV Board members and speculated about the identity of a “snitch” in the group.

Moorefield’s messages also contained several exchanges arranging—or “hooking”—dogfights.  In these conversations, Moorefield would “call out a weight” by identifying the weight and sex of the dog he wanted to sponsor in a fight.  Other dogfighters would then propose a fight against their own dogs or match Moorefield with another of their contacts who had a dog in the same weight class.  The dogfighters would then agree on wagers and set a date for the fight, usually six to eight weeks after the match was made.  In addition to stating the amount to be paid to the winner of the fight, dogfighters agreed on forfeit—or “fit”—payments to be made in the event that a dogfighter backed out of the fight before it was scheduled to take place.

After hooking a fight, Moorefield trained his dogs in a process known as a “keep.”  Moorefield’s typical keep schedule for a dog involved physical training (using treadmills, weighted collars, and other accessories), a diet plan, and the use of steroids.  Moorefield obtained steroids and other veterinary drugs through various contacts in his dogfighting network, not through legitimate veterinary prescriptions.

When Moorefield sponsored a dog in a fight, the fight ended only when a dog died or when the owner forfeited the match—either through the dog “quitting” the fight or the owner “picking up” the dog.  In the event that one of Moorefield’s dogs lost a fight but did not die, Moorefield killed that dog.  One method of killing employed by Moorefield involved the use of a device consisting of jumper cables connected directly to an ordinary plug.  Moorefield plugged the device into a wall socket and attached the cables to the dog, electrocuting it.

Between January 2019 and October 2023, Moorefield sent and received monetary payments through CashApp related to his participation in dogfighting.  In some instances, transactions were given misleading labels in order to disguise the true nature of the transferred money, such as a transaction in which Moorefield received $1,000 labeled as a “housewarming gift” from a known dogfighter in 2022, even though Moorefield has lived at the same address for over two decades.

When agents searched Moorefield’s residence on September 6, 2023, they recovered five pitbull-type dogs from large metal cages in a windowless room of Moorefield’s basement.  Agents also found several containers of animal medication, dog food, and protein powder in the same room, as well as the jumper-cable device referenced above, which Moorefield used to kill dogs that were no longer fit for use in dogfighting.  Agents seized a large piece of folded-up carpet from a shed on the property, and this carpet appeared to be stained in several places with blood.  Moorefield used the carpet as the floor of an arena to stage dogfights or “rolls” (brief test fights between dogs to evaluate the dogs’ fighting ability).

When interviewed by agents, Moorefield stated that he had only recently obtained—within the past week—four of the five dogs found on the property.  The dog that Moorefield did not obtain recently was diagnosed as exhibiting calloused skin and an old injury, in addition to being infested with fleas.  That dog had to be humanely euthanized after exhibiting extreme aggression toward both human caretakers and other dogs.  Moorefield bred and/or trained all five dogs recovered from his property for the purposes of sponsoring them in dogfights. 

At the time Moorefield was charged in this case, he was the Deputy Chief Information Officer for Command, Control, and Communications for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Moorefield faces a maximum of five years in prison for conspiring to engage in an animal fighting conspiracy.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for December 2, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. 

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, the United States Department of Agriculture – Office of the Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, Anne Arundel County Animal Control, and thanked the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia for their valuable assistance in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander Levin and Darryl Tarver, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

# # #

The Justice Department announced today that it filed a complaint and proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland resolving allegations that the Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation (Johns Hopkins) violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying people with disabilities equal access to medical care by excluding their necessary support persons.

“Patients with disabilities deserve equal access to healthcare,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “Appropriate medical care often requires them to be accompanied by essential support persons. Johns Hopkins’ recommitment to meeting the needs of its patients with disabilities and ensuring that they are treated with dignity and respect is a welcome outcome of this agreement.”

“Patients with disabilities may need the assistance of a support person, like a family member or aide, to have equal access to health care, especially during emergencies,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Policies and training go hand in hand when it comes to ensuring that health care providers and their employees are protecting patient rights and not excluding support persons improperly. Ensuring equal access to medical care is a priority for the Justice Department.”

Some individuals with dementia, intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities may require the assistance of a support person (such as a family member, personal assistant, or other individual knowledgeable about them) when accessing medical care. Support persons can help individuals with disabilities to communicate, such as providing their medical history and answering questions, and to understand what is happening, such as medical instructions they are given during their care and discharge. The complaint alleges that Johns Hopkins failed on numerous occasions to follow its own policies for visitors and support persons by not permitting patients with disabilities to be accompanied by their support persons. As a result, these patients were unable to receive equal care. 

Under the proposed consent decree, which the court must approve, Johns Hopkins has agreed to pay $150,000 to compensate multiple affected individuals. Johns Hopkins will also update its support person policies to ensure ADA compliance, train its employees on its support person policies and the ADA, and report any future complaints regarding support persons to the Justice Department.  The claims resolved by this Consent Decree are allegations and not an admission of liability by Johns Hopkins. 

This matter was handled jointly by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland and the Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section.  U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah A. Marquardt and Trial Attorney Stephanie Berger of the Civil Rights Division, who handled the case.

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires private hospitals and other health care providers to provide individuals with disabilities full and equal enjoyment of their goods and services.  For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office’s civil rights work, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/civil-rights.  ADA complaints may be filed online at https://www.ada.gov/file-a-complaint/.  Anyone in Maryland may also report civil rights violations by emailing [email protected].

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The Justice Department announced today that it filed a complaint and proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland resolving allegations that the Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation (Johns Hopkins) violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying people with disabilities equal access to medical care by excluding their necessary support persons.

“Patients with disabilities may need the assistance of a support person, like a family member or aide, to have equal access to health care, especially during emergencies,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Policies and training go hand in hand when it comes to ensuring that health care providers and their employees are protecting patient rights and not excluding support persons improperly. Ensuring equal access to medical care is a priority for the Justice Department.”

“Patients with disabilities deserve equal access to healthcare,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “Appropriate medical care often requires them to be accompanied by essential support persons. Johns Hopkins’ recommitment to meeting the needs of its patients with disabilities and ensuring that they are treated with dignity and respect is a welcome outcome of this agreement.”

Some individuals with dementia, intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities may require the assistance of a support person (such as a family member, personal assistant or other individual knowledgeable about them) when accessing medical care. Support persons can help individuals with disabilities to communicate, such as providing their medical history and answering questions, and to understand what is happening, such as medical instructions they are given during their care and discharge.

The complaint alleges that Johns Hopkins failed on numerous occasions to follow its own policies on visitors and support persons and did not permit patients with disabilities to be accompanied by their support persons. As a result, these patients were unable to receive equal care. Title III of the ADA requires private hospitals and other health care providers to provide individuals with disabilities with full and equal enjoyment of their goods and services.

Under the proposed consent decree, which the court must approve, Johns Hopkins has agreed to pay $150,000 to compensate multiple affected individuals. Johns Hopkins will also update its support person policies to ensure ADA compliance, train its employees on its support person policies and the ADA and report to the department on any future complaints regarding support persons.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland handled the matter.

For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TTY 1-833-610-1264) or visit www.ada.gov. If you believe you’ve been discriminated against, you may file a complaint online at www.civilrights.justice.gov/. Anyone in the District of Maryland may also report civil rights violations by emailing [email protected].

Baltimore, Maryland – Gary Hammond Jackson III, age 32, of Pasadena, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to federal charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and the commission of a felony involving a minor by a registered sex offender.

The guilty plea was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) Baltimore Field Office, Roland L. Butler, Jr. Superintendent of the Maryland State Police, and Anne Colt Leitess of the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office.

According to his guilty plea, in 2020 and 2022, Jackson sexually abused two minor females, then ages 6 and 3, and produced images of the abuse.  Specifically, in November 2020, Jackson sexually abused the first victim, then 6 years old, and used his cell phone to produce three images of the abuse.  In addition to the sexual exploitation that occurred in November 2020, Jackson sexually assaulted the victim at various times between January 2020 and December 2020.  On the basis of that separate conduct, Jackson was convicted of a Fourth Degree Sex Offense and Second Degree Assault in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, Maryland.  Following his release, Jackson was required to register as a sex offender. 

After being required to register as a sex offender, Jackson used his cell phone in November 2022 to produce thirteen images of a second victim’s genitals when the victim was 3 years old.  In November 2022, investigators searched Jackson’s residence and located various digital devices, which contained over 1,500 files of child pornography.   

Jackson faces a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of a minor and a mandatory sentence of 10 years in federal prison for commission of a felony involving a minor by a registered sex offender.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.  

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI, the Maryland State Police, and the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Spencer L. Todd and Paul E. Budlow, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Washington – A Maryland man pleaded guilty to accepting cash bribes in exchange for helping acquaintances and their businesses procure and continue work on subcontracts with the IRS.

The guilty plea was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. 

According to court documents, Satbir Thukral, 62, of Germantown, worked for the IRS as a computer engineer and served in a position supervising various information technology contracts. In September 2018, Individual 1’s company (Company 1) began working on a subcontract for the IRS that Thukral supervised. Starting in October 2018, Thukral sought portions of Individual 1’s earnings and of the earnings of two employees of Company 1 from Company 1’s work on the IRS subcontract. Individual 1 made such payments between 2018 and 2020, but in early February 2021, told Thukral that Individual 1 would not make any more payments.  Thukral then told Individual 1 that Individual 1 would suffer economic consequences if Individual 1 did not continue to pay.  In early February 2023, Individual 1 — at the direction of law enforcement — recorded an in-person meeting with Thukral. During the meeting, Individual 1 told Thukral that the FBI had asked Individual 1 about Individual 1’s subcontracting work with the IRS and bank withdrawals Individual 1 had made. To conceal that Individual 1 had made the payments to Thukral, Thukral instructed Individual 1 to tell lies to the FBI about the nature of the cash withdrawals. Later that same day, to assist and induce Individual 1 to lie to the FBI and to further conceal payments that Thukral demanded and received from Individual 1, Thukral returned a portion of the proceeds received from Individual 1. In total, however, Individual 1 paid Thukral more than $120,000.

In July 2022, Thukral was also involved in a scheme in which he and Co-conspirator 1 (CC-1), who was previously a manager at a prime contractor (Company 2) with the IRS, began secretly communicating via a “burner phone” related to IRS contracting and potential payments to Thukral. The next month, CC‑1 provided Thukral with approximately $2,800 that CC-1 had received from another individual to pay Thukral. CC-1 made the payment, in part, in return for Thukral facilitating the continued employment of individuals at Company 3 and Company 4 — both companies being IRS subcontractors with whom CC-1 had an affiliation, and both employees being underqualified for their positions — to work on existing IRS matters. In addition, at the time of the payment, Thukral had been selected to serve on a three-person panel that would have evaluated the technical feasibility of bids for an upcoming IRS contract valued at approximately $200 million.

Thukral pleaded guilty to Acceptance of Bribes by a Public Official. At sentencing, not yet scheduled by the court, Thukral faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U. S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI and TIGTA for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Wright, Christopher Sarma and Trial Attorney Matt Kahn of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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A Maryland man pleaded guilty yesterday to accepting cash bribes in exchange for helping acquaintances and their businesses procure and continue work on subcontracts with the IRS.

According to court documents, Satbir Thukral, 62, of Germantown, worked for the IRS as a computer engineer and supervised various information technology contracts. In September 2018, Company 1 began working on a subcontract for the IRS that Thukral supervised. Starting in October 2018, Thukral sought cash payments from Company 1’s owner, Individual 1, constituting a portion of the earnings from Company 1’s work on the IRS subcontract. Between 2018 and 2020, Individual 1 made multiple cash payments to Thukral totaling more than $120,000. In February 2021, when Individual 1 told Thukral that Individual 1 would not pay any more money, Thukral attempted to extort Individual 1 by threatening that Individual 1 would suffer economic consequences if the payments did not continue. In early February 2023, Individual 1 recorded an in-person meeting with Thukral at the direction of law enforcement. During the meeting, Individual 1 told Thukral that the FBI had asked about bank withdrawals that Individual 1 had made. Thukral instructed Individual 1 to lie to the FBI about the nature of the cash withdrawals. Later that same day, to assist and induce Individual 1 to lie to the FBI and to further the concealment of the payments, Thukral returned a portion of the proceeds that Thukral had received from Individual 1.

In a separate scheme, in July 2022, Thukral received approximately $2,800 in cash from a former manager at a prime contractor with the IRS. The manager made the payment, in part, in return for Thukral’s facilitating the continued employment of two underqualified individuals at two other IRS subcontractors with whom the manager had an affiliation. In addition, at the time of the payment, the manager believed that Thukral, who had been selected to serve on a three-person panel that would have evaluated the technical feasibility of bids for an upcoming IRS contract valued at approximately $200 million, could influence the valuations to benefit companies with which the manager had an affiliation.

Thukral pleaded guilty to acceptance of bribes by a public official. Thukral faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland, Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Andrew McKay of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) made the announcement.

The FBI and TIGTA are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Matt Kahn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Wright and Christopher Sarma for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson sentenced Franklin Jay Smith, age 34, of Catonsville, Maryland, to 9 years (48 months for carjacking and 60 months consecutive for use of a firearm in connection with a crime of violence) and 4 years supervised release, and Davon Tramont Dorsey, age 30, of Gwynn Oak, Maryland, to15 years and 3 years supervised release.

            The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Richard Worley of the Baltimore Police Department; Chief Robert McCullough of the Baltimore County Police Department; Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler; and Harford County State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey.

            According to Smith’s and Dorsey’s guilty pleas and evidence introduced at the trial of two codefendants earlier this year, between May and August 2021, the conspirators planned and organized the kidnapping of three victims, J.H. and two employees of check cashing businesses, victims A.T. and A.K.  The conspirators carjacked and abducted the victims and used force and threats of force to steal cash. Posing as police officers, using police vests, badges, and a law enforcement-type light bar, the conspirators stopped the victims and/or their vehicles, and brandished firearms and a blow torch during the kidnappings.  The three incidents occurred on May 5, 2021, May 15, 2021, and August 2, 2021.  Smith admitted that he participated in the two incidents in May, and Dorsey admitted that he participated in the May 15, 2021, incident and the August 2, 2021, incident.   

As detailed in Smith’s plea agreement and evidence introduced at the trial of two codefendants earlier this year, on May 5, 2021, two of the conspirators followed victim A.T. from the check cashing business where she worked, driving a Ford Fusion supplied by Smith.  Smith set up a detour along the route to cause A.T. to turn down a side street where the two conspirators driving the Ford Fusion posed as police and used a law enforcement-type light bar to pull over A.T.’s vehicle.  Wearing police vests and badges, the conspirators brandished firearms to remove A.T. from her vehicle, handcuffed her, placed her into the rear of one of their vehicles, blindfolded her, and stole her vehicle.  While driving with victim A.T., the conspirators burned victim A.T. with the blow torch in an attempt to get information from A.T. in order to access the check cashing business where she worked, with the intent to remove all the cash from the business.  Smith and the other conspirators later placed A.T. back in the rear of her vehicle, still bound, covered the vehicle with a tarp, and left A.T. to make her way out and call for help.

Smith and Dorsey both admitted that on May 15, 2021, while driving a Ford Fusion with police-style lights, Dorsey and other members of the conspiracy drove to Edgewood, Maryland to abduct and rob J.H.  Dorsey and the others were wearing police-style vests with “police” written on them, masks, and gloves.  Around midnight on May 15-16, 2021, J.H. left Edgewood, driving a 2022 Toyota Camry.  The members of the conspiracy used the police-style lights to stop J.H.’s vehicle.  Dorsey and the conspirators, armed with firearms, approached J.H.’s car and identified themselves as police.  The conspirators told J.H. that he had an outstanding warrant, and that he was under arrest.  The conspirators put J.H. in handcuffs, put duct tape over his eyes and mouth, bound his feet, and put him in the back of their vehicle.  J.H. was then driven away in the Ford Fusion with two of the conspirators while two other members of the conspiracy followed in J.H.’s Camry.  While J.H. was in the Ford Fusion, the conspirators demanded $10,000, told J.H. that they knew where he lived and that they would kill his parents if he did not cooperate. 

At the time J.H. was abducted, Smith was in the White Marsh area of Baltimore County, within minutes of an onramp to Interstate 95, awaiting a call from a conspirator notifying him that J.H. had been abducted.  As the Ford Fusion traveled south on Interstate 95, Smith received a call from a coconspirator, and then drove in a separate vehicle and met up with the Ford Fusion, J.H. and other conspirators in Baltimore City.  While in the Ford Fusion, one of the conspirators questioned J.H. about money, and used a blow torch to burn his chest when he did not answer questions.  The conspirators took J.H.’s necklace, wallet, phone, and car keys.  After more than 5 hours of driving and demanding money, the conspirators released J.H. in Baltimore City at approximately 5:20 a.m.

Dorsey also admitted that on August 2, 2021, he and two co-conspirators approached victim A.K. as she left the check cashing business where she worked.  The conspirators, wearing police vests and badges, brandished firearms to kidnap victim A.K. and placed her into the rear of one of their vehicles equipped with law enforcement-type lights.  The driver was holding a blowtorch with a blue fuel canister, and A.K. observed a bottle of bleach on the floor in the back of the car.  After A.K. entered the vehicle, the men bound A.K.’s wrists behind her back with zip-ties and used black duct tape to affix a blindfold over her eyes.  One of the men stated to A.K., “We don’t burn sisters.”

According to Dorsey’s guilty plea, while in the vehicle, the men took A.K.’s wallet, phone, and keys, which included the keys to the check cashing business.  The men demanded that A.K. provide access to the check cashing business, including demanding the A.K. provide the men with access codes, safe codes, and the amount of money in the safe at the business.  The men demanded information from A.K. for nearly 6 hours, then released A.K. in Edmonson Village in Baltimore City at approximately 1:00 a.m.   Before they drove away, the men instructed A.K. not to remove her face covering until they had driven away. 

In June, a federal jury convicted two codefendants of their roles in the abductions.  Dennis Allen Hairston, age 34, of Windsor Mill, Maryland, and Donte Davon Stanley, age 33, of Rosedale, Maryland, were convicted on federal charges of kidnapping and robbery conspiracies; kidnapping; carjacking; robbery affecting commerce.  Hairston was also convicted of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.  District Judge Brendan A. Hurson has scheduled sentencing for Stanley for November 4, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. and Hairston for November 7, 2024, at 10:00 a.m.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, the Baltimore County Police Department, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, and the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul E. Budlow and Spencer Todd of the Civil Rights and Special Victims Section are prosecuting this case.

            For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

Baltimore, Maryland –Senior United States District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Ayaz Qureshi, age 55, of Severna Park, Maryland to a year and a day in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, in connection with a conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting financial institutions, relating to more than $250,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) benefits.  PPP benefits were a program created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, which was a federal law enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office (‘FBI’), Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (“SBA-OIG”), Eastern Region, and Chief Robert McCullough of the Baltimore County Police Department (“BCPD”).

Financial assistance through PPP benefits included forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, administered through the Small Business Administration (“SBA”), and SBA-approved lenders.  According to the guilty plea, in March 2021, the Defendant and co-conspirator Ahmed (“Adam”) Sary submitted a fraudulent PPP loan application to Cross River Bank to obtain a PPP loan for Yazee, Inc. (“Yazee”), a company the Defendant owned.  The PPP loan application contained numerous material misrepresentations, including that Yazee in 2019 had 16 employees and an average monthly payroll of more than $100,000.  In support of the loan application, a fabricated 2019 Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) form was submitted, which falsely stated that Yazee’s total payments to employees in 2019 were more than $1,200,000. 

Based on the false representations and fraudulent submissions made on behalf of the Defendant as the owner of Yazee, the PPP loan was funded on March 22, 2021 and approximately $250,000 was distributed to a bank account controlled by the Defendant.  The Defendant agreed to pay Sary kickbacks totaling $75,000 for his work in submitting the false application and obtaining the fraudulent PPP loan.  After receipt of the PPP loan, the Defendant established payroll services for Yazee to facilitate documentation that would later be used to substantiate a request for the PPP loan to be forgiven.

The District of Maryland Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the CARES Act.  The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors.  The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. 

For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.  Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI for their work in the investigation, and thanked the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General, and the Baltimore County Police Department.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Riley, Jared M. Beim, and Bijon A. Mostoufi, who are prosecuting the federal case. 

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao/md.

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Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury returned a sealed indictment on August 21, 2024, charging Hunter Haithcock, a/k/a Hunter Elliott, age 23, of Matthews, North Carolina with three counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of investment adviser fraud relating to his theft of at least $600,000 in funds from at least 50 investors. The indictment was unsealed upon the arrest of the defendant.  The defendant had an initial appearance yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

The indictment was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office. 

According to documents filed in this case, from September 2019 to October 2022, Haithcock posed as an investment advisor employed by a large brokerage firm and misappropriated at least $600,000 from at least 50 investors. Haithcock, who had been entrusted to invest those funds through the creation of investment accounts for the investors, instead perpetrated a scheme to defraud the investors by causing them to distribute monies intended to fund their investments to accounts he controlled.  Instead of investing the investors’ funds for their benefit as he had promised, Haithcock spent the money for his own personal use, including paying expenses such as car payments, airplane tickets, restaurant purchases and entertainment.  He also invested some of the monies in funds for his own benefit.  Further, Haithcock falsely represented to investors that he worked with, and for, an alleged identity theft victim at a large brokerage firm and used the victim’s name and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Central Registration Depository (“CRD”) number in connection with the scheme.   

If convicted, Haithcock faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count; a minimum mandatory sentence of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft count, which will run consecutive to any other sentence; and a maximum of 5 years in federal prison for investment adviser fraud.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI for its work in the investigation and also thanked the Cecil County Sherriff’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Maryland for their assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Riley and LaShanta Harris, who are prosecuting the federal case. 

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

Medical device manufacturer THD America Inc., located in Natick, Massachusetts, and its corporate parent, THD SpA of Italy (collectively, THD), have agreed to pay $700,000 to resolve allegations that THD violated the False Claims Act by knowingly causing physicians to use incorrect codes to obtain inflated reimbursement from Medicare and State Medicaid programs for the use of THD’s hemorrhoid removal system called the Slide One Kit (the Kit).

The Kit was sold to physicians for use in transanal hemorrhoidal dearterialization, a surgical procedure that involves cauterizing certain blood vessels. The United States alleged that, between 2014 and 2017, physicians performing procedures using the Kit were required to bill for the procedure using a temporary code, also known as a “T-Code,” assigned for new and emerging services. Because a procedure that is assigned such a code is considered experimental, reimbursement for the use of the Kit was often denied. To avoid such denials and increase potential reimbursement, THD allegedly encouraged colorectal and general surgeons improperly to bill Medicare and Medicaid programs using the T-Code plus an additional Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code or to bill for CPT codes other than the T-code.

The federal share of the civil settlement is $598,121.23, and the state Medicaid share of the civil settlement is $101,877.77. State Medicaid programs are jointly funded by the federal and state governments.

“The integrity of federal healthcare programs depends upon compliance with coding and billing rules that are used to make coverage and reimbursement decisions,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will hold accountable health care providers that knowingly submit false claims to federal health care programs that do not accurately reflect and bill for the work they perform.”

“This case is emblematic of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s commitment to pursuing and holding accountable those who seek to defraud federal health care programs and to recouping taxpayer dollars obtained falsely,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “We will continue our efforts tirelessly in prioritizing rooting out fraud and protecting the public fisc.”

“Accurately billing for services provided to Medicare and Medicaid enrollees is required of all health care companies,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations of companies violating the federal False Claims Act.”

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Amber Arthur, a former employee of THD America. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The relator’s share from the proceeds of the settlement will be $115,500. The qui tam action is captioned U.S. ex rel. Arthur v. THD America, et al., No. 16-cv-2571 (DMD). 

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland and the Civil Division's Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, with assistance from HHS-OIG.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to HHS at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tarra DeShields for the District of Maryland and Senior Trial Counsel Jay D. Majors of the Justice Department’s Civil Division handled the matter.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

WASHINGTON – Medical device manufacturer THD America, Inc., located in Natick, Massachusetts, and its corporate parent, THD SpA of Italy (collectively, THD), have agreed to pay $700,000 to resolve allegations that THD violated the False Claims Act by knowingly causing physicians to use incorrect codes to obtain inflated reimbursement from Medicare and State Medicaid programs for the use of THD’s hemorrhoid removal system called the Slide One Kit (the Kit).

The Kit was sold to physicians for use in transanal hemorrhoidal dearterialization, a surgical procedure that involves cauterizing certain blood vessels.  The United States alleged that, between 2014 and 2017, physicians performing procedures using the Kit were required to bill for the procedure using a temporary code, also known as a “T-Code,” assigned for new and emerging services. Because a procedure that is assigned such a code is considered experimental, reimbursement for the use of the Kit was often denied. To avoid such denials, and increase potential reimbursement, THD allegedly encouraged colorectal and general surgeons improperly to bill Medicare and Medicaid programs using the T-Code plus an additional CPT code or to bill for CPT codes other than the T-code. 

The federal share of the civil settlement is $598,121.23, and the state Medicaid share of the civil settlement is $101,877.77.  State Medicaid programs are jointly funded by the federal and state governments. 

“This case is emblematic of the United States Attorney’s Office’s commitment to pursuing and holding accountable those who seek to defraud federal health care programs and to recouping taxpayer dollars obtained falsely,” said Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland.  “We will continue our efforts tirelessly in prioritizing rooting out fraud and protecting the public fisc.”

“The integrity of federal healthcare programs depends upon compliance with coding and billing rules that are used to make coverage and reimbursement decisions,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will hold accountable health care providers that knowingly submit false claims to federal health care programs that do not accurately reflect and bill for the work they perform.”

“Accurately billing for services provided to Medicare and Medicaid enrollees is required of all health care companies,” said Maureen Dixon, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.  “DHHS-OIG will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners, to investigate allegations of companies violating the federal False Claims Act.”

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Amber Arthur, a former employee of THD America.  Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery.  The relator’s share from the proceeds of the settlement will be $115,500. The qui tam action is captioned U.S. ex rel. Arthur v. THD America, et al., No. 16-cv-2571 (D. Md.). 

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland and the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, with assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DHHS-OIG for its work in this investigation.  Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant United States Attorney Tarra DeShields and Senior Trial Counsel Jay D. Majors of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice who handled the case. 

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin sentenced Troy Spencer, age 49, of Baltimore, Maryland, to a total of 96 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of a firearm in a school zone and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”); and Commissioner Richard Worley of the Baltimore Police Department (“BPD”).

On March 6, 2023, Spencer attended an elementary school basketball game at Leith Walk Elementary Middle School in the Northeastern District of Baltimore. Toward the end of the game, Spencer confronted the coaches of his son’s team over what he believed to be a lack of playing time. An argument escalated into a physical altercation, during which Spencer withdrew a firearm from his waistband and pointed it one of the coaches. The firearm was wrestled from Spencer, who then fled the scene in his car. Spencer was arrested on March 15, 2023 by the Baltimore Police Department’s Warrant Apprehension Task Force.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the ATF and the Baltimore Police Department for their help in the investigation as well as the Leith Walk Elementary Middle School community for their support.  Mr. Barron also thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Gordin, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

Note: View the indictment here. 

In an indictment unsealed today, a grand jury in Maryland charged six computer hackers, all of whom were residents and nationals of the Russian Federation (Russia), with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and wire fraud conspiracy. Five of the defendants were officers in Unit 29155 of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), a military intelligence agency of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. The sixth individual was a civilian already under indictment for conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and is now also charged with wire fraud conspiracy.

Note: Concurrent with the return of the indictment, the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on any of the defendants’ locations or their malicious cyberactivity. Anyone possessing such information should contact Rewards for Justice here. 

The indictment alleges that these GRU hackers and their co-conspirator engaged in a conspiracy to hack into, exfiltrate data from, leak information obtained from and destroy computer systems associated with the Ukrainian Government in advance of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The defendants did so in order to sow concern among Ukrainian citizens regarding the safety of their government systems and personal data. The defendants’ targets included Ukrainian Government systems and data with no military or defense-related roles. Later targets included computer systems in countries around the world that were providing support to Ukraine, including the United States and 25 other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries.

“The GRU’s WhisperGate campaign, including targeting Ukrainian critical infrastructure and government systems of no military value, is emblematic of Russia’s abhorrent disregard for innocent civilians as it wages its unjust invasion,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the National Security Division. “Today’s indictment underscores that the Justice Department will use every available tool to disrupt this kind of malicious cyber activity and hold perpetrators accountable for indiscriminate and destructive targeting of the United States and our allies.”

“The FBI and its international partners are relentless in our commitment to thwarting GRU attacks across the globe and bringing to justice those responsible for these criminal acts,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “Our work protecting against cyber threats in a rapidly evolving landscape continues, including deployment of all tools in our arsenal to defend our infrastructure and impose costs on those who target it.”

“Since July 2021, the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program,  administered by the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of any person who, while acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government, participates in certain malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act,” said DSS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Threat Investigations and Analysis Paul Houston. “Under this reward offer, the RFJ program is seeking information leading to the location of these individuals, GRU’s malicious cyber activity or associated individuals and entities.”

“Today’s superseding indictment underscores our commitment to using all the tools at our disposal to pursue those who would do us and our allies around the world harm,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “Cyber intrusion schemes such as the one alleged threaten our national security, and we will use all the technologies and investigative measures at our disposal to disrupt and track down these cybercriminals.”

“Through strokes on a keyboard, the accused criminals used computers to cross into countries, hunting for weaknesses and seeking to harm. The FBI and our law enforcement partners, both national and international, will collectively defend against Russia’s aggressive and illegal actions,” said Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “We are united in identifying, prosecuting and protecting against future crimes and vow to relentlessly hunt down and counter these threats.”

The defendants charged in the indictment are: Yuriy Denisov [Юрий Денисов], a colonel in the Russian military and a commanding officer of Cyber Operations for Unit 29155; four lieutenants in the Russian military assigned to Unit 29155 who worked on cyber operations: Vladislav Borovkov [Владислав Боровков], Denis Denisenko [Денис Денисенко], Dmitriy Goloshubov [Дима Голошубов] and Nikolay Korchagin [Николай Корчагин]; and a civilian co-conspirator, Amin Sitgal [Амин Стигал].

According to court documents, on Jan. 13, 2022, the defendants conspired to use a U.S.-based company’s services to distribute malware known in the cybersecurity community as “WhisperGate,” which was designed to look like ransomware, to dozens of Ukrainian government entities’ computer systems. However, as the indictment alleges, WhisperGate was actually a cyberweapon designed to completely destroy the target computer and related data in advance of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian government networks subjected to this attack included the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Treasury, Judiciary Administration, State Portal for Digital Services, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Agriculture, State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, Ministry of Energy, Accounting Chamber for Ukraine, State Emergency Service, State Forestry Agency and Motor Insurance Bureau.

In conjunction with these attacks, the defendants compromised several of the targeted Ukrainian computer systems, exfiltrated sensitive data, including patient health records and defaced the websites to read: “Ukrainians! All information about you has become public, be afraid and expect the worst. This is for your past, present and future.” That same day, the defendants offered the hacked data for sale on the internet.

The U.S. government previously joined with allies and partners in May 2022 to attribute this cyber-attack to the Russian military and to condemn the attack and similar destructive cyber activities against Ukraine.

In October 2022, the defendants also hacked the transportation infrastructure of a Central European country that was supporting Ukraine. Beginning in August 2021, the defendants also probed a variety of protected computer systems including those associated with 26 NATO member countries, searching for potential vulnerabilities. The indictment further alleges that from Aug. 5, 2021, to Feb. 3, 2022, the defendants leveraged the same computer infrastructure they used in the Ukraine-related attacks to probe computers belonging to a federal government agency in Maryland in the same manner as they had initially probed the Ukrainian Government networks.

This indictment is part of an international effort, Operation Toy Soldier, to combat the malicious cyber activity by Unit 29155 of the GRU. Accompanying today’s announcement, the FBI and 12 other partners, representing governments of nine countries, released a Joint Cybersecurity Advisory to enhance network defense efforts against Unit 29155’s malicious cyber activities.

The FBI Baltimore Field Office is investigating the case with assistance from FBI Milwaukee and Boston Field Offices.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron S.J. Zelinsky and Robert I. Goldaris for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the case with valuable assistance from the National Security Division’s National Security Cyber Section. 

Note: Concurrent with the return of the indictment, the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on any of the defendants’ locations or their malicious cyberactivity. Anyone possessing such information should contact Rewards for Justice here.

Greenbelt, Maryland – In an indictment unsealed today, a grand jury in Maryland charged six computer hackers, all of whom were residents and nationals of the Russian Federation (Russia), with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and wire fraud conspiracy. Five of the defendants were officers in Unit 29155 of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), a military intelligence agency of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. The sixth individual was a civilian already under indictment for conspiracy to commit computer intrusion who is now also charged with wire fraud conspiracy.

The indictment alleges that these GRU hackers and their co-conspirators engaged in a conspiracy to hack into, exfiltrate data from, leak information obtained from, and destroy computer systems associated with, the Ukrainian Government in advance of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Defendants did so in order to sow concern among Ukrainian citizens regarding the safety of their government systems and personal data in advance of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Defendants’ targets included Ukrainian Government systems and data with no military or defense-related roles. Later targets included computer systems in countries around the world that were providing support to Ukraine, including twenty-six NATO countries.

“Today’s superseding indictment underscores our commitment to using all the tools at our disposal to pursue those who would do us and our allies around the world harm,” said United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron. “Cyber intrusion schemes such as the one alleged threaten our national security, and we will use all the technologies and investigative measures at our disposal to disrupt and track down these cybercriminals.”

“The GRU’s WhisperGate campaign, including targeting Ukrainian critical infrastructure and government systems of no military value, is emblematic of Russia’s abhorrent disregard for innocent civilians as it wages its unjust invasion,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the National Security Division. “Today’s indictment underscores that the Justice Department will use every available tool to disrupt this kind of malicious cyber activity and hold perpetrators accountable for indiscriminate and destructive targeting of the United States and our allies.”

“Through strokes on a keyboard, the accused criminals used computers to cross into countries, hunting for weaknesses and seeking to harm. The FBI and our law enforcement partners, both national and international, will collectively defend against Russia’s aggressive and illegal actions,” said Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “We are united in identifying, prosecuting, and protecting against future crimes and vow to relentlessly hunt down and counter these threats.”

“The FBI and its international partners are relentless in our commitment to thwarting GRU attacks across the globe and bringing to justice those responsible for these criminal acts,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “Our work protecting against cyber threats in a rapidly evolving landscape continues, including deployment of all tools in our arsenal to defend our infrastructure and impose costs on those who target it.”

“Since July 2021, the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program, administered by the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of any person who, while acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government, participates in certain malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act,” said DSS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Threat Investigations and Analysis Paul Houston.  “Under this reward offer, the RFJ program is seeking information leading to the location of these individuals, GRU’s malicious cyber activity, or associated individuals and entities.”

The defendants charged in the indictment are: Yuriy Denisov [Юрий Денисов], a colonel in the Russian military and a commanding officer of Cyber Operations for Unit 29155; four lieutenants in the Russian military assigned to Unit 29155 who worked on cyber operations: Vladislav Borovkov [Владислав Боровков], Denis Denisenko [Денис Денисенко], Dmitriy Goloshubov [Дима Голошубов], and Nikolay Korchagin [Николай Корчагин]; and a civilian co-conspirator, Amin Sitgal [Амин Стигал].

According to court documents, in January 2022, the Defendants conspired to use a U.S.-based company’s services to distribute malware known in the cybersecurity community as “WhisperGate” to dozens of Ukrainian government entities’ computer systems and destroy those systems and related data in advance of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The United States government previously joined with allies and partners in May 2022 to attribute this cyber-attack to the Russian military and to condemn the attack and similar destructive cyber activities against Ukraine.

On January 13, 2022, the Defendants attacked multiple Ukrainian government networks, including the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Treasury, the Judiciary Administration, the State Portal for Digital Services, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, the Ministry of Energy, the Accounting Chamber for Ukraine, the State Emergency Service, the State Forestry Agency, and the Motor Insurance Bureau. The Defendants infected computers on these and other networks with the WhisperGate malware, which was designed to look like ransomware. However, as the indictment alleges, WhisperGate was actually a cyberweapon designed to completely destroy the target computer and related data.

In conjunction with these attacks, the Defendants compromised several of the targeted Ukrainian computer systems, exfiltrated sensitive data, including patient health records, and defaced the websites to read: “Ukrainians! All information about you has become public, be afraid and expect the worst. This is for your past, present and future.” That same day, the Defendants offered the hacked data for sale on the internet.

In August 2022, the Defendants also hacked the transportation infrastructure of a Central European country that was supporting Ukraine. Beginning in August 2021, the Defendants also probed a variety of protected computer systems including those associated with twenty-six NATO member countries, searching for potential vulnerabilities. The indictment further alleges that from August 5, 2021 to February 3, 2022, the Defendants leveraged the same computer infrastructure they used in the Ukraine-related attacks to probe computers belonging to a federal government agency in Maryland in the same manner as they had initially probed the Ukrainian Government networks.

This indictment is part of an international effort, OPERATION TOY SOLDIER, to combat the malicious cyber activity by Unit 29155 of the GRU. 

The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Barron, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

U.S. Attorney Barron and Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen commended the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office for its outstanding work and thanked the FBI’s Milwaukee and Boston Field Offices for their support in the case.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron S.J. Zelinsky and Robert I. Goldaris, who are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance from the National Security Division’s National Security Cyber Section. 

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – Olusegun Samson Adejorin, a Nigerian national, was extradited from Ghana and arrived in the United States on August 30, 2024 to face federal charges for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and unauthorized access to a protected computer related to a $7.5 million scheme to defraud two charitable organizations.  Adejorin had his initial appearance on August 30, 2024, and is currently detained pending trial.

The extradition was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, and Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Baltimore Field Office.

According to the eight-count indictment, between June and August 2020, Adejorin perpetrated a scheme to defraud Victim 1, a charitable organization located in Maryland providing investment services to other organizations, and Victim 2, a charitable organization located in New York, by gaining access to employee email accounts and impersonating employees to induce financial transactions.  The indictment alleges that Adejorin posed as an employee of Victim 2 to request withdrawals of Victim 2’s funds from Victim 1.  Withdrawals over $10,000 required approval from at least one of several individuals authorized by Victim 1.  According to the indictment, Adejorin fraudulently obtained the credentials of employees at Victim 1 and Victim 2 and posed as those employees to send emails from their accounts, including emails making fraudulent requests for the withdrawal of investment funds.  As part of the scheme, Adejorin also allegedly purchased a credential harvesting tool designed to steal email login credentials, registered spoofed domain names, and concealed the fraudulent emails from a legitimate employee by causing the fraudulent emails to be moved to an inconspicuous location within Employee 1’s mailbox.

As further detailed in the indictment, Adejorin caused more than $7.5 million of Victim 2’s funds to be sent, pursuant to fraudulent withdrawal requests, from Victim 1 to bank accounts that were not Victim 2’s bank accounts.

If convicted, Adejorin faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each of five counts of wire fraud; a maximum of five years in federal prison for unauthorized access to a protected computer; and a mandatory sentence of two years in federal prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, for each of the two counts of aggravated identity theft.  The maximum penalty for two of the wire fraud counts could be increased by seven years for knowingly falsely registering and using a domain name.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceeding.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI, Baltimore Field Office, for its work in the investigation and thanked the FBI Legal Attaché in Accra, Ghana, the Office of Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, the Republic of Ghana’s Economic and Organized Crime Office, the Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Police Services - INTERPOL, and National Intelligence Bureau for their valuable assistance in this case.   The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with the International Cooperation Unit of the Office of the Attorney-General of Ghana to secure the extradition of Adejorin to the United States.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Coreen Mao, who is prosecuting the federal case. 

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Joseph Gillespie, age 35, of Baltimore City, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud involving a scheme to defraud a financial institution and the United States Small Business Administration in order to obtain fraudulent loans under the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for various purported businesses.  The Defendant also admitted to engaging in a bribery scheme for over eight years, whereby, in exchange for bribes from various property owners in Baltimore City (the “City”), the Defendant would use his official position as an employee of the City to extinguish various financial obligations owed to the City, including for water bills and property taxes. 

The guilty plea was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

Financial assistance offered through the CARES Act included forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), administered through the Small Business Administration (“SBA”).  According to the guilty plea, on March 4, 2021, the Defendant and co-defendant Ahmed (“Adam”) Sary submitted a fraudulent PPP loan application to Cross River Bank to obtain a PPP loan for JAG Investments (“JAG”), a company the Defendant owned.  The PPP loan application contained numerous material misrepresentations, including that JAG in 2019 had 19 employees and an average monthly payroll of more than $55,000.  In support of the loan application, fabricated 2019 Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) forms were submitted, which falsely stated that JAG’s total payments to employees in 2019 were more than $275,000. 

Based on the false representations and fraudulent submissions made on behalf of the Defendant as the owner of JAG, the PPP loan was funded on March 6, 2021 and approximately $138,000 was distributed to a bank account controlled by the Defendant.  The Defendant agreed to pay Sary kickbacks totaling $38,000 for his work in submitting the false application and obtaining the fraudulent PPP loan.  After receipt of the PPP loan, the Defendant established payroll services for JAG to facilitate documentation that would later be used to substantiate a request for the PPP loan to be forgiven.

Further, according to the plea agreement, beginning in or about early 2016 and continuing until on or about September 20, 2023, the Defendant engaged in a bribery scheme in which he abused his position of trust as a public official for his own personal gain. 

As an employee of the Baltimore City Department of Finance, Revenue Collections Department, the Defendant routinely accepted bribes from various property owners in the City whose property was subject to certain financial obligations and, if the obligations remained unpaid, to tax sale.  The Defendant accepted these bribes -- typically 10% to 15% of the amount owed to the City -- in exchange for removing or extinguishing these financial obligations, including for citations, tax, and water obligations—thereby causing losses to the City.  The Defendant also accepted bribes in exchange for delaying or postponing—without approval or permission from other City officials—due dates for the payment of outstanding financial obligations, thus forestalling the placement of a lien on the property by the City.

Once the Defendant received the bribe payment, he would extinguish the financial obligation owed to the City by marking the obligations as “paid” in the City’s record-keeping system.  After removing the obligation, the Defendant would, at times, send a photograph of supporting documentation to the property owner reflecting that a payment was made towards a financial obligation owed to the City when, in fact, no such payment was made by the property owner.

As part of an FBI investigation, the Defendant engaged in multiple recorded conversations in which he discussed the specifics of the bribery scheme outlined above.  For example, in response to the question “[S]o you want 100 for each property?” talking about the size of the bribe payment, the Defendant replied, “yeah that’s basically how I do.” During another recording, the Defendant stated that he had the ability to “wipe a bill off” the City’s record of outstanding obligations tied to a particular property or to “put paid next to ‘em,” even though the financial obligation had not in fact been paid.  Defendant further stated that he removed additional financial obligations for this property owner, saying “There was a couple, extra miscellaneous bills that y’all had that I wiped off …. That shit gone now.” 

During another recorded interaction, the Defendant stated, “Going forward, I’m just your inside man ... That’s what I do for a lot of different people around the City.  You know what I mean – manage their shit for them a little bit …. I’m gonna go look at your shit.”

The Defendant’s bribery scheme continued for years thereafter, and he admitted that he enlisted the help of multiple co-conspirators in connection with his scheme.  According to the plea agreement, the Defendant received more than $250,000 in connection with the bribery scheme and caused losses to the City in excess of $1,250,000. 

Gillespie and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Gillespie will be sentenced to between two years’ and five years’ imprisonment.  United States District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for December 9, 2024 at 2:30 p.m.

The District of Maryland Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act.  The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors.  The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.  Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI for their work in the investigation, and thanked the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General, Baltimore County Police Department, and the Baltimore City Inspector General for assistance as well.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Riley and Evelyn L. Cusson, who are prosecuting the federal case. 

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – After a three-day trial, a federal jury returned a verdict of guilty against Christopher Kenji Bendann, age 40 of Baltimore, on five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor to produce child pornography, one count of cyberstalking, and three counts possession of child pornography, all relating to his sexual exploitation of a minor male victim.

The guilty verdict was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Robert McCullough of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.          

 According to the evidence presented at trial, from approximately September 16, 2017 to February 9, 2019, the Defendant produced multiple videos of a minor male engaged in sexually-explicit conduct.  The victim was 16 and 17 years old during this time. These same videos were stored on the Defendant’s iCloud and comprised a possession of child pornography charge.  Additionally, as detailed at trial, between May and December 2022, the Defendant cyberstalked the same victim by sending electronic cellphone messages to the victim, demanding contact and explicit images of him, and threatening to make public sexually-explicit images of the victim if he did not comply.  The evidence at trial likewise established that on February 3, 2023, the date of the Defendant’s arrest, the Defendant possessed multiple depictions of child pornography on the Defendant’s multiple electronic devices.

The Defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each count of sexual exploitation of a child to produce child pornography; a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each count of possession of child pornography; and, a maximum sentence of 5 years in federal prison for cyberstalking.  U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar has scheduled sentencing for January 21, 2025 at 1:30 p.m. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI, the Baltimore County Police Department and the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Elizabeth McGuinn and Kim Y. Hagan, who are prosecuting the federal case.  He also recognized the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Julie Jarman. 

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – On Tuesday, August 27, 2024, the Honorable Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Rudolph Brooks, age 48, of Cheltenham, Maryland, to 18 months in federal prison followed by 2 years of supervised release for fraudulently obtaining over $3.5 million in COVID-19 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans. The Court also ordered Brooks to forfeit all property and assets derived from or obtained as a result of his criminal activity, including a 2018 Tesla Model 3, property located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and at least $2,231,141.49 from 17 bank accounts controlled by Brooks.

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge, Jeffrey D. Pittano, of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, Mid-Atlantic Region; Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, Eastern Region Investigations Division of the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG).

The CARES Act was enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic consequences of COVID-19.  The CARES Act authorized forgivable loans to small businesses for employee retention and certain business expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).

According to court documents, between April 2020 and September 2021, Brooks, who at times served as pastor at Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration Ministries, participated in a scheme to fraudulently obtain PPP loans, used the loan proceeds for his personal enrichment, and concealed his misappropriation of the funds by laundering the loan proceeds. As stated in the plea agreement, Brooks used several entities to apply for PPP loans, including Cars Direct by Gavawn HWD Bob’s Motors (Cars Direct), Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration Ministries, and Madaro, LLC.  In each case, Brooks grossly inflated the number of employees and average monthly payroll, and submitted fraudulent IRS Forms 940, Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return, and other fraudulent IRS forms to support the loan applications.

For example, on May 12, 2020, Brooks received $1,556,589 in fraudulently-obtained PPP loan proceeds, deposited directly into a Cars Direct bank account on which Brooks was the sole signator.  He also received $1.8 million in fraudulently obtained PPP loan proceeds, deposited directly into a Kingdom Tabernacle bank account on which Brooks was the sole signator.  Similarly, on May 13, 2020, Brooks received $204,266 in such proceeds, deposited directly into a Madaro bank account in which Brooks was the sole signator.

Brooks admitted that he used the loan proceeds for his personal benefit and on payments and purchases not permissible under PPP, such as for a residence; for a luxury vehicle; and, for restaurant, retail store and grocery purchases.  Brooks also made cash withdrawals and transfers to other accounts under his control.  For example, Brooks opened a bank account in the name of Payroll by BJM, into which he transferred $500,000 of the Cars Direct PPP loan proceeds.  Brooks also registered Payroll by BJM with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation, listing himself as “member” and sole signator.  Although the name Payroll by BJM created the appearance that the account was associated with a payroll company, there were no payroll or payroll-related expenses paid from this account.  

In addition, Brooks initiated numerous transfers of PPP loan funds, totaling approximately $196,000, from the Cars Direct account to his personal bank accounts.  Of this amount, Brooks wired $60,407 to Tesla Motors Inc. on July 30, 2020, to purchase a 2018 Tesla Model 3 in the name of Brooks’ son, which was ultimately registered in Maryland in Brooks’ own name.

On February 5, 2021, Brooks transferred $750,000 in proceeds from the Kingdom Tabernacle PPP loan to a bank account in the name of Madaro, for which Brooks was the sole signator.  On May 17, 2021, Brooks initiated a wire transfer of $507,010 to a title company to purchase property in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in the name of “Rudolph Brooks.”

The District of Maryland Strike Force is one of three strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act.  The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors.  The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. 

For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.   Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FDIC OIG, the IRS-CI, the FBI, and the SBA OIG for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean R. Delaney, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

A California man pleaded guilty today in the Eastern District of Virginia to wire fraud for defrauding Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP), of more than $10 million.

Craig David Davis, 49, of Venice, was the owner of Bright Vanguard LLC., which he held out as a computer hardware retailer and storage space provider. According to court documents, in 2020, Davis submitted at least two PPP loan applications and one MSLP loan application on behalf of Bright Vanguard. In those applications, Davis falsely claimed Bright Vanguard had substantial sales and as many as 17 employees. In reality, Bright Vanguard had no employees and no legitimate revenue. To substantiate his claims, Davis presented fraudulent tax returns, payroll documents, and financial statements to at least three different banks.

Davis also admitted to participating in a years-long scheme to defraud commercial equipment lenders using fraudulent invoices. Davis directed business owners to submit loan applications to banks to purchase computer equipment evidenced on invoices they received from companies such as Bright Vanguard. The lenders approved the loans and submitted the proceeds to accounts controlled by Davis or his co-conspirators. Davis and his co-conspirators then remitted the majority of the proceeds to applicant borrowers, keeping a portion for themselves, without providing the equipment shown on the invoices. This scheme caused more than $60 million of fraudulently induced lending across more than 350 separate loans.

Davis is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 12. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey D. Pittano of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG) Mid-Atlantic Region and Chief Guy Ficco of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

The Department of the Treasury’s Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, IRS-CI and FDIC OIG investigated the case, with significant assistance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Inspector General.

Trial Attorney David A. Peters of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Drew Bradylyons and Katherine Robeson for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case, with substantial assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

If you believe you are a victim in this case, please contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness Unit toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or by email at [email protected].

Baltimore, Maryland – Michael Vance Culpepper, age 56, of Walkersville, Maryland, pleaded guilty on August 21 to federal charges of coercion and enticement of a minor.

The guilty plea was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Inspector General Teri L. Donaldson of United States Department of Energy’s Office of the Inspector General (DOE-OIG); Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Baltimore Field Office; Colonel Roland L. Butler, Jr., Superintendent of the Maryland State Police (MSP); Paul Joey Kifer, Chief of the Hagerstown Police Department (HPD), and State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess of the Office of the State’s Attorney for Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

According to his guilty plea, in April and May 2023, Culpepper used mobile phones and online applications to persuade, induce, entice and coerce two victims whom he believed to be 13- and 14-year-old females to engage in sexual activity. 

As to the first victim -- an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a 13-year-old girl -- Culpepper used the internet and his phones to exchange sexually explicit messages and request sexually explicit images.  Culpepper encouraged the victim to hide her conversations from her parents, writing, “you DEFINITELY need to delete these texts when we are done.”  On May 8, 2023, Culpepper drove approximately 50 miles to meet the victim at a restaurant in Hanover, Maryland. When he arrived, he was arrested.

After Culpepper was released on May 9, 2023 with the condition that he have no further contact with minors, Culpepper initiated online contact with Jane Doe 1, a 14-year-old female.  Culpepper used the internet to entice Jane Doe 1 to engage in sexually explicit conversations.  Culpepper also sent Jane Doe 1 sexually explicit photos of himself and requested that Jane Doe 1 produce nude images of herself and send them to him.  Culpepper arranged a meeting with Jane Doe 1 for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual activity.  On May 28, 2023, Culpepper picked up Jane Doe 1 near her home, and then drove her around for approximately one hour before stopping at a park.  Culpepper used ice cream, money, a hotel room and vaping devices to entice Jane Doe 1 to engage in sexual contact.  Jane Doe refused, but following the meeting, Culpepper continued to use the internet to entice Jane Doe 4 to meet with him and engage in sex acts. 

Culpepper faces a maximum of life in federal prison and lifetime supervised release for coercion and enticement of a minor.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.  

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the DOE-OIG, HSI, ARMY CID, MSP, HPD and the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Paul E. Budlow and Reema Sood, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson sentenced Kevin Maurice Lawson, age 55, of Baltimore Maryland, to 14 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for committing three-armed bank robberies. Lawson committed all three robberies while he was in a residential reentry program serving the remainder of his federal sentence for a 2004 conviction for armed bank robbery.  

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Baltimore Field Office; and Commissioner Richard Worley of the Baltimore Police Department (“BPD”).

According to his plea agreement, Lawson committed three-armed bank robberies in Baltimore between June 6 and July 18, 2022, utilizing a black air gun in each robbery.  In the first robbery on June 6, 2022, Lawson robbed a bank in the 100 block of East Baltimore Street in Baltimore.  As he did in each of the robberies, Lawson entered the bank wearing a surgical mask and gloves.  He approached a bank employee seated at a desk on the banking floor, displayed what appeared to be a dark semiautomatic handgun in his waistband, and ordered the employee to the teller line.  Lawson held the employee against the teller glass and demanded money from the victim teller, who passed cash to Lawson.  Lawson took the money and fled the bank on foot.

As further detailed in his plea agreement, on June 27, 2022, Lawson robbed a bank in the 5400 block of Harford Road in Baltimore.  Lawson approached two bank employees seated at desks on the banking floor, displayed the handgun in his waistband, and ordered the employees to the teller line.  Lawson ordered the first bank employee to demand cash from the victim teller who then passed cash to the first employee.  Lawson again took the money and fled on foot. 

In the third instance, on July 18, 2022, Lawson robbed a bank in the 3200 block of West North Avenue in Baltimore.  Lawson ambushed a security guard, and repeatedly struck her on her head with his weapon as he ordered bank employees to provide him with cash.  Throughout the course of the assault of the security guard, Lawson attempted to disarm her. Bank employees behind the teller line, fearing for the safety of the security guard and their own safety, passed cash through the teller line barrier glass to Lawson.  When Lawson went to the counter to get the money, the security guard fired rounds from her duty weapon at Lawson before the weapon jammed.  Lawson was not hit and fled the scene in a gray Kia.  BPD patrol units eventually located the vehicle after it crashed into the exterior wall of a vacant rowhome.

A search of the Kia yielded clothing and gloves identical to that worn in the bank robberies, as well as documents linked to Lawson, including a Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate identification card.  Lawson was arrested on July 22, 2022.  Further investigation revealed that in 2003, Lawson had robbed banks on West North Avenue and Harford Road.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI and BPD for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant United States Attorney Michael Aubin, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

A Maryland woman was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for not paying employment taxes to the IRS and embezzling from an employee benefit plan.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Michelle Leach-Bard, of Lutherville-Timonium, was the owner and sole corporate officer of iProcess Online Inc., a third-party accounting company that specialized in payroll, human resources and bookkeeping. From at least October 2016 through the end of 2021, she was, as iProcess’ sole corporate officer, responsible for withholding Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from employees’ wages and paying those taxes to the IRS. Though the taxes were withheld, Leach-Bard did not pay them to the IRS, as she was required to do.

In total, Leach-Bard caused a tax loss to the IRS of $2,663,264.12.

In addition, iProcess had a Section 401(k) Profit Sharing and Retirement Plan for the benefit of some of its employees. Contributions to the 401(k) Plan were deducted from participating employees’ wages. Beginning in or around 2007, Leach-Bard did not pay those employee contributions to the 401(k) Plan. In total, Leach-Bard did not pay to the 401(k) plan approximately $207,180.41 in employee withholdings. Additionally, Leach-Bard did not make approximately $18,740.37 in employer matching contributions for certain employees.

In addition to the term in prison, U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher ordered Leach-Bard to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $2,663,264.12 in restitution to the United States and approximately $207,180.41 in restitution to her former employees.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Catriona Coppler and Jeffrey McLellan of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar today sentenced Ashley Marie Tibbs, age 34, of Hagerstown, Maryland, to 20 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for sexual exploitation of a child.  Judge Bredar also ordered that, upon her release from prison, Tibbs will be required to register as a sex offender in the places where she resides, where she is an employee, and where she is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”). 

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Chief Paul Joey Kifer, Chief of the Hagerstown Police Department; and Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith, III.

According to Tibbs’ guilty plea and other court documents, Tibbs sexually abused two minor victims, who were then between the ages of 2 and 5.  On each occasion, Tibbs sexually abused the victims, produced videos of the abuse, and sent the videos to co-defendant John Balch in exchange for money.  Balch paid Tibbs $38,325 via Cash App. 

Balch was previously sentenced to 60 years in federal prison for his exploitation of six minors.  Co-defendants Jane Campbell and Amber Ricketts were also sentenced to more than 17 years and 10 years in federal prison, respectively, for distribution of child pornography.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.         

U.S. Attorney Barron commended HSI, the Hagerstown Police Department, and the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in this investigation.  U.S. Attorney Barron also recognized the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of West Virginia and the Middle District of Florida, and the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office for their assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joyce King, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – On Monday, August 19, United States District Judge Matthew J. Maddox sentenced Donte Antwaun Herring, of Washington, D.C. to 20 years’ imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, as a result of his convictions for the armed robberies of two phone stores in December 2020.  On March 1, 2024, a federal jury convicted Herring of the robberies after less than an hour of deliberation. 

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Robert McCullough of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to the evidence presented at his five-day 2024 trial, on December 17 and 23, 2020, Herring and his co-conspirators robbed phone stores in Halethorpe and Owings Mills, Maryland, respectively.  In each robbery, Herring and his co-conspirators used firearms.

Specifically, according to trial testimony, on December 17, 2020, at shortly after 7:15 p.m., Herring and a co-conspirator entered a phone store in the 3900 block of Washington Boulevard, in Halethorpe, Maryland.  After initially posing as customers browsing for cell phones, the co-conspirator and Herring announced a robbery and brandished firearms—pointing them in the direction of the victim employee.  Trial evidence proved that Herring ordered the victim employee to take him and the co-conspirator to the store’s safe, then ordered the victim to open the safe.  Herring and the co-conspirator then removed various electronic devices from the safe, including multiple boxes of Apple cellular telephones, watches and iPads, along with cash from the store’s register.  They then fled in a maroon minivan.

Witnesses testified that in the robbery on December 23, 2020, co-defendant Rico Dashiell entered a telephone store in the 10000 block of Reisterstown Road in Owings Mills, Maryland and acted like a customer.  Herring and another co-conspirator then entered the store brandishing firearms and Dashiell pointed a gun at a victim employee.  Witnesses testified that Herring and the co-conspirator pointed their guns at a victim customer and other employees and ordered them to get down on the floor. The victim customer was also ordered to empty his pockets and Herring and the co-conspirator took the victim’s wallet (containing his driver’s license and credit cards), along with his car keys and an Apple iPhone 8S plus, valued at approximately $350.  Herring and the co-conspirator went to the back room and Dashiell escorted a victim employee to the back room at gunpoint and ordered the victim to open the store safe.  Once the victim complied, Herring and the co-conspirator removed nearly all of the electronic devices from the safe—including Apple and Samsung Galaxy devices (76 devices total)—and placed them in large garbage bags they had brought with them.  When Herring and the co-conspirator finished emptying the safe, they ordered the three victims from the main floor of the store to the room in the back of the store where the safe was kept.  According to trial testimony, as Herring and the co-conspirator left the room, the co-conspirator pepper sprayed the victims’ faces.  In the meantime, Dashiell directed a victim employee to open the store’s cash register and stole $322. 

Herring and his co-conspirators then fled in a vehicle that had been stolen earlier in the day and that had tags stolen from another vehicle.  According to trial evidence, law enforcement was able to track the vehicle to a home in Catonsville, Maryland, where aviation units were able to film Herring, Dashiell and the co-conspirator unloading the stolen merchandise from the car and taking it into the residence.

As detailed in trial testimony, law enforcement officers arrived at the residence and attempted for hours to make contact with the suspects and other occupants of the residence.  After two young children who lived at the residence (who had no relation to the robbers) came out of the house, law enforcement executed a search warrant of the residence and arrested the robbers, who had been hiding in the attic.  During a search incident to arrest, law enforcement seized, among other things, $622.16 from the co-conspirator ($322 of which was proceeds from the robbery), along with a round of ammunition.

According to trial evidence, during their search of the residence, law enforcement also recovered, among other things, the clothing, gloves, and headwear worn by the robbers during the robberies; the 76 stolen devices; the canister of pepper spray used to spray the victims; the stolen wallet belonging to one of the victims; and, the three firearms used by Herring, Dashiell and the co-conspirator, as well as a Polymer 80 Gray Grip with a black slide 9mm semi-automatic pistol, with no serial number, commonly known as a “ghost gun,” which was also loaded.

Electronic evidence presented at trial included multiple text messages in which Herring discussed his planning of the December 23, 2020 robbery.  It likewise included photographs from a co-conspirator’s iCloud account that showed Herring holding large amounts of cash within hours of the robbery on December 17, 2020.

Co-defendant Rico Dashiell, age 25, of Fort Washington, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the robbery and was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. Co-Defendant Jones’s trial is set to commence on September 23, 2024. 

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI and Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Paul A. Riley and Michael F. Aubin, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Yesterday, Chad Christopher Langgle, age 30, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.   

U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron of the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced Langgle’s guilty plea.

According to his guilty plea, in December 2022, Langgle emailed more than 50 videos containing child pornography.  He also possessed images of child pornography on his cell phone and had additional videos stored in his email account.
Langgle was previously convicted of sex abuse of a minor and second-degree assault on a minor in the Circuit Court for Calvert County, Maryland.  Additionally, he was previously convicted of second-degree sex offense in the Circuit Court for St. Mary’s County, Maryland.    

At sentencing, Langgle faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of 20 years in prison followed by up to lifetime of supervised release.  U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin has scheduled sentencing for October 10, 2024 at 10 a.m. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended HSI, the Maryland State Police, and the United States Marshals Service for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Reema Sood, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

A Maryland man was sentenced today to 30 months in prison in Baltimore federal court for conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

According to court documents, Theodore Sapperstein, age 67, formerly of Pikesville, and his coconspirators unlawfully debited money from the bank accounts of unknowing victims throughout the United States without their authorization by creating shell companies and falsely representing to banks that debits against consumer-victims’ bank accounts were authorized as payment for services allegedly provided by those shell companies. To both conceal and continue conducting unauthorized debits, the scheme’s shell companies generated “micro debits” against other bank accounts controlled and funded by the scheme. The micro debits artificially lowered shell companies’ return rates to levels that conspirators believed would reduce bank scrutiny and lessen potential negative impact on the scheme’s banking relations. Sapperstein facilitated the scheme’s use of fraudulent micro debits and helped broker payment processing services for the scheme, securing a payment processor whose company processed the unauthorized debits. The scheme caused more than $1.5 million in loss to victims throughout the United States.

“Those who knowingly participate in schemes to use personal financial information about American consumers to steal money from their accounts will be held accountable,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who facilitate such schemes.”

“For those who think they can take the easy road to financial gains by stealing money people have worked hard for, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service wants you to know we will hold you accountable for the pain and losses you cause,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group. “Today’s sentencing of Mr. Sapperstein along with others who knowingly participated in these schemes is the culmination of relentless teamwork by law enforcement to bring these criminals to justice and continue to vigilantly protect the American public.”

“My office is committed to ferreting out and punishing the predatory conduct of white collar fraudsters who utilize, and often hide behind, shell companies and phony accounting and bookkeeping practices to steal money from unsuspecting victims,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland.

In July, Shoaib Ahmad of Canada was charged in the Central District of California with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud for his role in the scheme. That matter remains ongoing.

According to court documents, the scheme is related to a longer-running scheme that has been the subject of multiple cases filed in Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas. In May 2023, a grand jury in Los Angeles returned an indictment in United States v. Courdy, et al. charging 14 defendants with RICO conspiracy and other charges in the Central District of California. On July 30, a grand jury in Los Angeles returned an indictment in United States v. LoConti, et al. charging six additional scheme participants with RICO conspiracy and other charges. These indictments allege that the defendants and associates debited consumer-victims’ bank accounts without authorization and used shell entities and “micro debits” to conceal the activity from banks. The “Information for Victims in Large Cases” section on the Consumer Protection Branch’s website contains additional information on United States v. Courdy, et al. In December 2023, scheme participant Luis Ramirez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud in federal court in San Diego. On May 22, Ramirez was sentenced to 51 months in prison for the access device conspiracy, with 24 months to run concurrently to his sentence in a separate case. A related scheme participant, Harold Sobel, pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy in federal court in Las Vegas. In December 2022, Sobel was sentenced to 42 months in prison.

USPIS is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Wei Xiang, Meredith Healy and Amy Kaplan of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Darryl Tarver for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the case against Sapperstein, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Consumer complaints can be filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov/ or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Justice Department provides a variety of resources relating to fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.

Baltimore, Maryland – A Maryland man was sentenced today to thirty months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release in Baltimore federal court for conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

 The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, and Postal Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”) Washington Division. 

According to court documents, Theodore Sapperstein, age 67, formerly of Pikesville, and his coconspirators unlawfully debited money from the bank accounts of unsuspecting victims throughout the United States by creating shell companies and falsely representing to banks that debits against the consumer-victims’ bank accounts were authorized as payment for services allegedly provided by those shell companies. To both conceal and continue conducting unauthorized debits, the scheme’s shell companies also generated “micro debits” against other bank accounts controlled and funded by or for the scheme. The micro debits artificially lowered shell companies’ return rates to levels that conspirators believed would reduce bank scrutiny and lessen potential negative impact on the scheme’s banking relations. Sapperstein facilitated the scheme’s use of fraudulent micro debits, and helped broker payment processing for the scheme, securing a payment processor whose company processed the unauthorized debits.

“My Office is committed to ferreting out and punishing the predatory conduct of white-collar fraudsters who utilize, and often hide behind, shell companies and phony accounting and bookkeeping practices to steal money from unsuspecting victims,“ said U.S. Attorney Barron.

“Those who knowingly participate in schemes to use personal and financial information about American consumers to steal money from their accounts will be held accountable,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who facilitate such schemes.”

In July 2024, Shoaib Ahmad of Canada, was charged in the Central District of California with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud for his role in the scheme.

U.S. Attorney Barron and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for its work in the investigation and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California for its assistance in the prosecution of the case. Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant United States Attorney Darryl Tarver and Trial Attorneys Wei Xiang, Meredith Healy, and Amy Kaplan of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – Today, Damante Christian Dozier, age 26, of Temple Hills, Maryland pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

The guilty plea was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Chief Demetrious Harris of the City of Seat Pleasant Police Department, and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, on June 6, 2023, an officer with the Seat Pleasant Police Department who suspected that Dozier had shoplifted from a retail store in Oxon Hill, Maryland, approached Dozier and observed the shape of a firearm in Dozier’s pants.  The officer frisked Dozier’s waistband area and felt a solid rectangular mass consistent with the shape of a firearm.  Following the frisk, and after requesting backup, the officer asked Dozier to turn around to be handcuffed, and Dozier attempted to flee.  A few seconds later, law enforcement officers from the Seat Pleasant Police Department and the Prince George’s County Police Department gained control of Dozier and retrieved a firearm with an extended magazine from his pants.  The recovered firearm was a black Glock 45 .9mm semi-automatic pistol loaded with one round of ammunition in the chamber and 33 rounds in an extended magazine.  Dozier knew that he had a previous felony conviction which prohibited him from possessing a firearm and ammunition. 

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the ATF, the City of Seat Pleasant Police Department, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron also thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Gustavo Ruiz and Assistant United States Attorney Kelly O. Hayes, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Today Nickoy Campbell, age 29, of Jamaica, had an initial appearance on a superseding indictment for conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with a lottery scheme.

The second superseding indictment was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Postal Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to the indictment, from October 2020 until February 2024, the defendants and their co-conspirators contacted the victims by mail or over the phone and convinced them that they had won millions of dollars in a lottery or sweepstakes but were required to send payment in advance for taxes and other fees before they could receive their winnings.  The defendants and other conspirators caused the victims to send payments for the purported taxes and other fees through wire transfer, by gift card, by sending cash and by other payment methods.  According to the indictment, as a result of the scheme, the victims sent at least $9.5 million to the defendants and other conspirators.

Wayne Henry and Dwayne Henry of Landover Hills, Maryland were charged previously with conspiracy to commit mail fraud as part of the same lottery scheme. 

If convicted, Campbell faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the mail fraud conspiracy.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  At today’s initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles D. Austin ordered that Campbell be detained. 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Reporting from consumers about fraud and fraud attempts is critical to law enforcements efforts to investigate and prosecute schemes targeting older adults.  If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).  This Department of Justice Hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying next steps, including identifying appropriate reporting agencies, providing information to callers to assist them in reporting or connecting them with agencies, and providing resources and referrals on a case-by-case basis.  The hotline is staffed from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.  English, Spanish, and other languages are available.  More information about the Department’s elder justice efforts can be found on the Department’s Elder Justice website, www.elderjustice.gov.  Victims are encouraged to file a complaint online with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at this website or by calling 1-800-225-5324. 

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, HSI, United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General for their work in the investigation and thanked the Maryland State Police, Baltimore County Police, and Anne Arundel County Police for their assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Evelyn Lombardo Cusson and Christine Goo, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help seniors, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/elder-justice-initiative.

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Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell. III, sentenced defendant Jacob Joseph Muir, 26, of Pasadena, Maryland, to seven years in federal prison, followed by 30 years of supervised release for one count of receipt of child pornography. Judge Russell also ordered Muir after his release from prison, to register as a sex offender, have no contact with children under 18, without permission, and undergo computer monitoring.

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to the plea agreement, from July to August 2019, Muir pretended to be a teenage boy to entice minors to produce and send him sexually explicit photographs on social media site Instagram.  A subsequent investigation revealed that Muir used aliases to communicate with minors, directing and enticing them to send him sexually graphic images of themselves.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.
 

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI Baltimore Field Office, and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their work in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kertisha Dixon and Assistant United States Attorney Michael F. Aubin, who prosecuted this case.  For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin today sentenced Damilola Ojo, age 31, of Windsor Mill, Maryland, to 48 months in federal prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, for charges related to a bank fraud scheme totaling more than $1.8 million.  As part of his plea, Ojo also admitted to obtaining a fraudulent $475,000 COVID-19 CARES Act loan.  Judge Rubin ordered Ojo to forfeit $20,000 and to pay restitution of $546,000.

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge Andrew McKay of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (“TIGTA”).

According to his guilty plea, from April 2016 through August 2019, Damilola Ojo conspired with Jamelia Thompson, Victor Ojo, Raissa Kaossele, and others to commit Bank Fraud using the Internal Revenue Service’s (“IRS”) Modernized Internet Employer Identification Number (“Mod IEIN”) system.  Mod IEIN is the IRS system that allows users to register for a unique Employer Identification Number (“EIN”).  It requires users to enter the valid name and Social Security number of a real living person in order to obtain an EIN for a business.

The co-conspirators, including Damilola Ojo, created and used various EINs (or caused various EINs to be created and used) in furtherance of a scheme to defraud.  Many of these EINs were obtained from the IRS using stolen Personally Identifiable Information (“PII”).  These EINs, in conjunction with fraudulently obtained state business certificates, allowed the co-conspirators to open bank accounts at various financial institutions for the purpose of depositing stolen and/or altered checks or for receiving fraudulently obtained wire transfers.

Once obtained, the proceeds of this fraudulent activity were rapidly withdrawn and/or transferred to other bank accounts controlled by the co-conspirators.  A co-conspirator’s Google account was the source of many of the fraudulent identification and business documents – packaged together as “work kits” – utilized throughout the conspiracy. M any of these emails were sent to electronic accounts linked to Damilola Ojo, who would then forward them to Thompson, Victor Ojo, Kaossele, and other co-conspirators – in addition to utilizing work kits himself.  These co-conspirators would then open bank accounts using these work kits, they would send Damilola Ojo evidence of the fraudulent transactions that occurred using these bank accounts.  Damilola Ojo would often receive portions of these transactions’ proceeds as they were rapidly dispersed.  From the point Damilola Ojo joined the conspiracy, it had an intended loss of at least $1.8 million.

Upon his arrest, Damilola Ojo shared a residence with co-conspirator Thompson.  In this shared residence, the Government located evidence of ongoing fraud: numerous ETN documents, business documents in other people’s names, numerous IDs in the names of individuals other than those who lived in the home, identification documents with authentication features, and bank cards in the name of other individuals.

In the plea agreement, Damilola Ojo also admitted to additional fraudulent activity involving a pandemic relief program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. Financial assistance offered through the CARES Act included forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, in this case through Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL”) administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”).  On November 21, 2021, Thompson opened a bank account at Woodforest National Bank in Maryland in the name of her business “Jamaria Empire LLC.” On February 14, 2022, a $475,000 EIDL from the SBA was deposited into bank account xxxxxx2866.  The intended recipient of this EIDL was the Idaho Women’s Charitable Foundation. Once deposited into bank account xxxxxx2866, these funds were depleted through checks to Damilola Ojo, Thompson, and Certified Promotions Ent LLC (a business registered in Maryland to Damilola Ojo).  Upon Thompson’s and Damilola Ojo’s arrest, the EIN application and EIN documents for Jamaria Empire LLC were recovered from their shared residence. Images of a Woodforest Bank Card for Jamaria Empire LLC and a screenshot of the Jamaria Empire LLC bank account transaction history were recovered from Damilola Ojo’s phone, along with an image of the approved $475,000 EIDL.  This fraudulent transaction caused $475,000 in actual loss that was reasonably foreseeable to Damilola Ojo.

Co-conspirator Jamelia Thompson, age 30, of Jamaica, previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison.  Another co-conspirator, Raissa Kaossele, age 23, of Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft and was sentenced to 8 months in home confinement.  Co-conspirator Victor Ojo has pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft and remains to be sentenced.

The District of Maryland Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act.  The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors.  The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.  Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the TIGTA for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph L. Wenner and Paul Riley who prosecuted the federal case.  He also recognized the assistance of the Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force Paralegal Specialist Joanna B.N. Huber.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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A Maryland man was sentenced yesterday to 17 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor.

According to court documents, beginning as early as 2011, Paul Francis Blaisse, 65, of Walkersville, engaged in live video chats on the internet with minor children who were engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Blaisse sent nearly 100,000 messages to hundreds of individuals on video chat sites who offered access to minor children via webcam. During these chats, Blaisse discussed his sexual interest in children and distributed child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The Frederick County, Maryland, Sheriff’s Office identified Blaisse after receiving a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual using an IP address associated with Blaisse’s residence uploaded CSAM to a video chat account.

In October 2018, Blaisse used Skype, an online video chat application, to entice a minor child in the Philippines to engage in sexually explicit conduct. Blaisse used screen recording software to create CSAM. Records of Blaisse’s Skype activity show that he communicated with an adult in the Philippines who arranged for the minor child to participate in a video chat with Blaisse. FBI agents interviewed the minor child, who stated that the person paid them to do a sexually explicit show on Skype for a “foreigner.” In addition to these chats, Blaisse’s electronic devices contained hundreds of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including prepubescent minors.

Blaisse was also ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release and to pay over $83,000 in restitution to his victims. After his release from prison, Blaisse will be required to register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland; State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith III of Frederick County; and Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI Baltimore Field Office made the announcement.

The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, FBI, and Justice Department’s High Technology Investigative Unit investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Eduardo Palomo of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Aubin for the District of Maryland, and Chief Counsel Joyce King of the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson sentenced Nicholas Paul Bryson, age 41, of Aberdeen, Maryland, to forty years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release for two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.  Bryson was also ordered to pay $16,000 in restitution to his victims.  After his release from prison, Bryson will be required register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Colonel Roland L. Butler, Jr., Superintendent of Maryland State Police (MSP); Jeffrey R. Gahler, Harford County Sheriff; and Henry Trabert, Chief of Aberdeen Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, beginning in 2011 to 2013, Bryson and his wife and codefendant, Heather Clark, repeatedly sexually abused a prepubescent minor in their care and produced numerous sexually explicit videos and images of the abuse.  In addition, a federal search warrant identified approximately 1,000 depictions of child pornography from various seized devices.

Codefendant Clark, age 37, previously pled guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and is currently awaiting sentencing on September 4, 2024.  She faces 60 years in federal prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.   

U.S. Attorney Barron commended HSI Baltimore, MSP, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, and the Aberdeen Police Department for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael F. Aubin and Paul A. Riley, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Amit Ahuja, age 40, of Westminster, Maryland, Kapil Gulati, age 50, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, and Priyanshu Walia, age 39, of Cleveland, Ohio, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud in connection with a technical support scheme where victims were made to believe that their computers had been compromised by a virus, or were susceptible to hacking, and payments were needed for computer repair services or software. 

The indictment was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. for the District of Maryland; Postal Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Criminal Investigations Group; and Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore. 

As detailed in the indictment, victims received a pop-up window urging them to call a phone number, or an unsolicited phone call, or victims contacted what they believed was a legitimate technical support company found through an online search.  As further alleged, the victims were made to believe that their computers had major issues that they needed to pay money immediately to fix, and that they were working with legitimate computer companies or computer security companies.

According to the indictment, as a result of the scheme, more than 1,000 victims, many of whom were older adults, sent at least $3.5 million to the defendants and other conspirators based on false pretenses, representations, and promises involving the condition of the victims’ computers and the services and software allegedly required to fix the issues. 

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud conspiracy and each count of wire fraud.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

Reporting from consumers about fraud and fraud attempts is critical to law enforcements efforts to investigate and prosecute schemes targeting older adults.  If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).  This Department of Justice Hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying next steps, including identifying appropriate reporting agencies, providing information to callers to assist them in reporting or connecting them with agencies, and providing resources and referrals on a case-by-case basis.  The hotline is staffed from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.  English, Spanish, and other languages are available.  More information about the Department’s elder justice efforts can be found on the Department’s Elder Justice website, www.elderjustice.gov.  Victims are encouraged to file a complaint online with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at this website or by calling 1-800-225-5324. 

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and HSI-Baltimore, for their work in the investigation.  And also thanked HSI-Cleveland for their assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Evelyn Lombardo Cusson and Matthew Phelps, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Today U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox sentenced defendant Paul Francis Blaisse, 65, of Walkersville, Maryland, to seventeen years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release for one count of coercion and enticement of a minor. Judge Maddox also ordered Blaisse to pay $83,694 in restitution to his victims and, after his release from prison, to register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student.

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Nicole M. Argentieri; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and J. Charles Smith III, State’s Attorney for Frederick County, Maryland.

 According to court documents, beginning as early as 2011, Blaisse engaged in live video chats with minor children who were engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Mr. Blaisse exchanged messages with hundreds of individuals on video chat sites who offered access to minor children via webcam.  During these chats, Blaisse discussed his sexual interest in children and distributed child sexual abuse material (CSAM).  The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office identified Blaisse after receiving a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual using an IP address associated with Blaisse’s residence uploaded CSAM to a video chat account.

In October 2018, Blaisse used an online video chat application, to entice a minor child in the Philippines to engage in sexually explicit conduct.  Records of Blaisse’s activity show that he communicated with an adult in the Philippines who arranged for the minor child to participate in a video chat with Blaisse.  In addition to these chats, Blaisse’s electronic devices contained hundreds of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including prepubescent minors.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI Baltimore Field Office, the Justice Department’s High Technology Investigative Unit, and the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Leading the prosecution of this case are Department of Justice Trial Attorney Eduardo Palomo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Aubin, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joyce King.  For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Greenbelt, Maryland – Today, U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Matthew Molnar, age 47, of Hagerstown, Maryland to thirty years in federal prison, followed by fifteen years of supervised release, for sexual exploitation of a child.  He is ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution.  Judge Chuang also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Molnar must continue to register as a sex offender in the places where he resides and where he is an employee pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”).

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Michael McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore, and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to the guilty plea, in 2015, Molnar was convicted of possession of child pornography.  In 2020 and 2021, Molnar communicated with a Florida-based minor victim and coerced the minor victim to produce sexually explicit videos.  In May 2021, Molnar traveled to visit the minor victim, telling the victim, falsely, that he was 17-years-old and was studying pre-law.  In February 2022, Molnar started communicating with a Maryland-based minor victim, exchanging sexually explicit messages with her.  Also, in February 2022, Molnar had sexual intercourse with the minor on multiple occasions. During a subsequent search warrant at Molnar’s house, law enforcement found multiple sexually explicit files that included the minor victim.  In reviewing Molnar’s electronic devices seized during the search warrant, law enforcement also determined that Molnar had distributed numerous files containing child pornography.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative established by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about PSC, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI, HSI and Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Sarma is leading the prosecution of this federal case.  For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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On July 18, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland entered default judgments for the United States totaling $26,341,951.38 against Patrick Britton-Harr and multiple laboratory companies owned by him for violations of the False Claims Act. The court entered these judgments after Britton-Harr and his companies failed to defend against the United States’ allegations.

In its complaint, filed on July 18, 2023, the United States alleged that Patrick Britton-Harr owned and operated Provista Health, LLC as well as multiple other corporate entities that sought to profit from the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic by offering COVID-19 tests to nursing homes as a way to bill Medicare for a wide array of medically unnecessary respiratory pathogen panel (RPP) tests. The complaint alleged that these RPP tests were not medically necessary because the beneficiaries had no symptoms of a respiratory illness and because the tests were for uncommon respiratory pathogens.

The complaint also alleged that Britton-Harr and Provista Health submitted claims for RPP tests that were never ordered by physicians and sometimes for RPP tests that were never performed, including over 300 claims that stated that the nasal swab test sample was supposedly collected from the beneficiary on a date after the beneficiary had died. 

Also on July 18, 2023, the United States filed an application for prejudgment remedies under the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act seeking to attach and garnish certain financial assets of Britton-Harr and to obtain financial discovery from him to help ensure funds would be available to satisfy a judgment in favor of the United States. Despite a court order prohibiting Britton-Harr from selling his house in Annapolis without approval from the court, he sold the house on Sept. 23, 2023, for $575,000 and dissipated the financial proceeds from the sale. On March 4, the court granted the United States’ motion to hold Britton-Harr in civil contempt for violating this order and ordered him to deposit $575,000 with the court’s registry.

“The Justice Department remains committed to holding accountable individuals and entities who took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud the American taxpayers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to pursue those who attempt to thwart justice by ignoring lawsuits, dissipating assets and violating court orders.”

“The exploitation of federal health care programs designed to help the elderly and disabled during a national crisis is absolutely inexcusable,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “Regardless of their methods, we will hold accountable those who defraud such programs for personal gain.” 

“It's clear that Patrick Britton-Harr thought he could defraud the government by taking advantage of a global pandemic and never face the consequences. The extent of his fraud and abuse is astounding. He took critical resources away from our healthcare system and cost taxpayers their hard-earned money,” said Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “This investigation proves the FBI and our federal partners will continue to investigate and bring fraudsters like Britton-Harr to justice no matter how long it takes.”

“Taking advantage of Medicare beneficiaries and the COVID-19 pandemic to line companies’ pockets is unacceptable,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG, the Justice Department and our other law enforcement partners work tirelessly to ensure that only legitimate products and services actually provided will be paid for by federal health insurance programs.”

The United States’ pursuit of this lawsuit illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to HHS at 800‑HHS‑TIPS (800-447-8477).  

The Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland handled the matter.

HHS-OIG and the FBI are providing investigative support.

Trial Attorneys Jonathan Hoerner and Vincent Vaccarella of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney/Deputy Civil Chief Tarra DeShields for the District of Maryland are handling the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – On July 18th, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland entered default judgments for the United States totaling $26,341,951.38 against Patrick Britton-Harr and multiple laboratory companies owned by him for violations of the False Claims Act.  The court entered these judgments after Britton-Harr and his companies failed to defend against the United States’ allegations.

In its complaint, filed on July 18, 2023, the United States alleged that Patrick Britton-Harr owned and operated Provista Health, LLC as well as multiple other corporate entities that sought to profit from the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic by offering COVID-19 tests to nursing homes as a way to bill Medicare for a wide array of medically unnecessary respiratory pathogen panel (RPP) tests. The complaint alleged that these RPP tests were not medically necessary because the beneficiaries had no symptoms of a respiratory illness and because the tests were for uncommon respiratory pathogens.

The complaint also alleged that Britton-Harr and Provista Health submitted claims for RPP tests that were never ordered by physicians and sometimes for RPP tests that were never performed, including over 300 claims that stated that the nasal swab test sample was supposedly collected from the beneficiary on a date after the beneficiary had died.   

Also on July 18, 2023, the United States filed an application for prejudgment remedies under the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act seeking to attach and garnish certain financial assets of Britton-Harr and to obtain financial discovery from him to help ensure funds would be available to satisfy a judgment in favor of the United States. Despite a court order prohibiting Britton-Harr from selling his house in Annapolis without approval from the court, he sold the house on September 23, 2023, for $575,000 and dissipated the financial proceeds from the sale. On March 4, 2024, the court granted the United States’ motion to hold Britton-Harr in civil contempt for violating this order and ordered him to deposit $575,000 with the court’s registry.

“The exploitation of federal health care programs designed to help the elderly and disabled during a national crisis is absolutely inexcusable.  Regardless of their methods, we will hold accountable those who defraud such programs for personal gain,” said Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.   

“The Department of Justice remains committed to holding accountable individuals and entities who took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud the American taxpayers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to pursue those who attempt to thwart justice by ignoring lawsuits, dissipating assets, and violating court orders.”

“Taking advantage of Medicare beneficiaries and the COVID-19 pandemic to line companies’ pockets is unacceptable,” said Maureen Dixon, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG, the Department of Justice, and our other law enforcement partners work tirelessly to ensure that only legitimate products and services actually provided will be paid for by federal health insurance programs.”

“It's clear that Patrick Britton-Harr thought he could defraud the government by taking advantage of a global pandemic and never face the consequences. The extent of his fraud and abuse is astounding. He took critical resources away from our healthcare system and cost taxpayers their hard-earned money," said Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI's Baltimore Field Office. "This investigation proves the FBI and our federal partners will continue to investigate and bring fraudsters like Britton-Harr to justice no matter how long it takes.”

The United States’ pursuit of this lawsuit illustrates the government’s emphasis on combatting healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800‑HHS‑TIPS (800-447-8477).  

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DHHS-OIG and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their work in this investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Tarra DeShields and Trial Attorneys Jonathan Hoerner and Vincent Vaccarella of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, who are handling this case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

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