District of Maryland
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Twenty-Two Defendants Charged with Federal Drug Conspiracy and Related CrimesRead the Press Release
Defendants Allegedly Knew the Drugs They Sold Were Causing Overdoses
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging 22 defendants with participating in a drug conspiracy that allegedly distributed heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine in Maryland and surrounding states, resulting in multiple overdoses, including five overdose deaths. According to the superseding indictment, the defendants possessed firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking and purchased guns from customers in exchange for drugs. The superseding indictment was returned late on April 10, 2019, and unsealed yesterday.
The superseding indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Acting Chief Russell E. Hamill, III of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
“A supply chain that distributed opioids--including deadly fentanyl—throughout Maryland and in Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, has been dismantled, and those charged with trafficking these poisons are now in federal custody,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Drugs—especially opioids—are killing thousands of Marylanders a year. Federal, state, and local law enforcement are working together to reduce overdose deaths from fentanyl and from all opioids. Drug traffickers are on notice that dealing in fentanyl increases their odds of federal prosecution and federal time.”
"The FBI worked side-by-side with the Montgomery County and Rockville City Police Department and other federal, state and local partners to ensure we stopped these individuals from further distributing heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and crack cocaine in the region," said FBI Baltimore Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore. "These dangerous drugs have a devastating effect on our communities and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to make Maryland a safer place."
According to the 23-count indictment, from 2016 to April 3, 2019, the defendants were members and associates of the Butler Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) and distributed heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The indictment alleges that the members of the conspiracy conducted sales on a daily basis, operating in rotating shifts to ensure continuous availability. Members of the conspiracy allegedly used residences in and around Baltimore to process, cut, repackage, and prepare heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine base for distribution, and rotated the residences to minimize detection by law enforcement. The indictment alleges that in order to maximize their profits, the conspirators cut the heroin and crack cocaine with other substances, such as fentanyl and diphenhydramine (often found in sleeping pills).
As detailed in the superseding indictment, the defendants were aware that the drugs they distributed were causing overdoses. According to the superseding indictment, at least five overdose deaths are attributed to the distribution of drugs by members of the conspiracy, including the father of one of the conspirators.
According to the superseding indictment, members of the conspiracy possessed firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking activities, sometimes purchasing firearms from drug customers and paying the customers with drugs in exchange for the firearms. In addition, the conspirators allegedly took steps to avoid detection by law enforcement, including: conducting counter-surveillance; rotating the use of vehicles and residences used to store narcotics; changing locations in Baltimore to conduct drug transactions; frequently changing cell phones; and using encrypted phone applications to prevent interception of drug-trafficking communications by law enforcement.
The following defendants are charged in the superseding indictment unsealed today:
Michael Bailey, age 30, of Winchester, Maryland;
Donte Bennett, a/k/a Tay, age 27, of Baltimore, Maryland;
Darlene Best, age 56, of Baltimore;
Gregory Butler, a/k/a Sags and Little Dick, age 28, of Baltimore;
Juawan Davis, a/k/a Fat Daddy, age 24, of Baltimore;
Timothy Downing, age 35, of Mount Airy, Maryland;
Edward Buddy Hall, a/k/a Gwar, age 54, of Baltimore;
Syed Hussain, age 25, of Virginia;
Ryan Johnson, age 26, of Montgomery County, Maryland;
Cindy Legard, age 31, of Bunker Hill, West Virginia;
Kareem Mack, a/k/a K Mack, age 29, of Baltimore;
Terrance Medley, a/k/a Mazzi, age 35, of Baltimore;
Russell Oliver, age 43, of Bunker Hill, West Virginia;
Davon Owens, a/k/a Gusto, age 31, of Baltimore;
Desmond Ringgold, a/k/a Worm and Fool, age 28, of Baltimore;
James Henry Roberts, a/k/a Bub, age 29, of Baltimore;
Tirrel Saunders, a/k/a Pretty, age 32, of Baltimore;
Gary Smith, age 20, of Virginia;
Ann Waugh-Hixon, age 48, of Berkeley County;
Laura Warner, age 36, of Berkeley County;
Emanuel Watkins, age 62, of Baltimore; and
John Wolfrey, age 39, of Berkeley County, West Virginia.Ten defendants face a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, ten defendants face a maximum of life in prison, and two defendants face a maximum of 20 years in prison on the drug conspiracy charge. Legard, Hussain, Smith, Mack, Davis, Wolfrey, Bailey, Johnson, Warner, Waugh-Hixon, Owens, and Roberts also face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for possessing with intent to distribute heroin, crack cocaine, or fentanyl. Davis, Owens, Hall, Butler, Roberts, and Medley also face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, and a maximum sentence of life in prison for possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. Finally, Owens, Hall, Butler, Roberts, and Medley face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person.
Twenty-one defendants have been arrested. Eighteen of those defendants are detained, and two defendants have been released under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services. Emanuel Watkins is still being sought.
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.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the DEA, the Montgomery County and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the City of Rockville Police Department; the Baltimore County, Howard County, and Montgomery County Police Departments; the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office; the Maryland State Police; the West Virginia State Police; the Virginia State Police; the Warren County (VA) Sheriff’s Department; the Winchester (VA) and Front Royal (VA) Police Departments; and the Frederick County and Howard County State’s Attorney’s Offices. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew DellaBetta and Michael Goldsticker, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
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Towson Woman Sentenced to Eight Years in Federal Prison for Obtaining More Than $4.3 Million in an Advance Fee Fraud Scheme and for Evading TaxesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett today sentenced Lauren Montillo, age 47, of Towson, Maryland, to eight years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and for tax evasion. Judge Bennett also ordered Montillo to pay restitution of $4,060,284.79 to the victims of the scheme, and $276,240 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Montillo admitted that from 2010 through 2015, she and her co-conspirators sought at least $8.7 million in advance fees from foreign and United States victims, purporting to offer access to exotic bank financial instruments. Victims paid $4,342,540 in advance fees into Hong Kong bank accounts or attorney escrow accounts and received nothing in return. For tax years 2012 through 2014, Montillo reported no income other than $100, evading a substantial amount of income taxes.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.
According to her plea agreement and other court documents, Montillo and her co-conspirators created shell companies, with associated websites, email addresses, and bank accounts, which they used to perpetrate the fraud. Specifically, in February 2010, Montillo opened an account with GoDaddy, which provides web-hosting services. From 2010 to 2015, Montillo and other co-conspirators used GoDaddy to host websites for shell companies such as MLL Holdings, The Bussola Group, Worldwide Escrow Holdings, Ltd., International Insurance of Nebraska, Atlas Investment Bancorp, Entirety Capital, GPF Global, and Atlas-Gayle Trust. Each of these shell companies had associated email addresses, which Montillo and her co-conspirators opened and used.
Also in 2010, Montillo's father incorporated "Worldwide Escrow Holdings Limited" ("Worldwide Escrow") in Hong Kong and opened a bank account for Worldwide Escrow at the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank (HSBC), Hong Kong with Montillo as a signatory. Montillo’s father resigned from the company in April 2011. In March 2011, Montillo and a co-conspirator opened two more bank accounts in Hong Kong, the MLL Holdings and the Skywall bank accounts, also at HSBC. Montillo and her co-conspirators had on-line access to the Hong Kong bank accounts so that they could conduct banking transactions over the internet. In 2012, Montillo’s father also opened an escrow account in the name of his mother-in-law, a licensed attorney in Maryland who had stopped practicing law in approximately 2007. She was not aware that the escrow account had been opened in her name. The conspirators directed victims to wire-transfer their advance fees into the HSBC, Hong Kong bank accounts or the attorney escrow account.
Montillo’s co-conspirator, Eric Becker, was her former fiancé. Becker developed, and Montillo edited, websites for the various phony businesses, which purported to offer access to financial instruments, such as standby letters of credit, bank guarantees, bonds, or private placement trading platforms. Montillo and her co-conspirators had no access to any financial instruments. For example, Montillo and several co-conspirators obtained advance fee payments from a victim that would purportedly gain access to a private placement trading platform. The co-conspirators persuaded the victim, through several broker intermediaries, to send $1.7 million to a BB&T bank account in Florida. BB&T returned the funds to the victim. The victim, a Mexican national, was told that the funds were returned because the window had closed on the investment opportunity. Co-conspirators, including Montillo, then informed the victim, through his broker, that they could offer him a private placement trading platform in which he would receive profits and a charitable organization would use its portion of the profits to invest in its projects. The conspirators directed the victim to send his money to the Worldwide Escrow account at HSBC, Hong Kong. On May 8, 2012, the victim used his own and his family's funds to send $3,099,990 to the Worldwide Escrow Holdings account. The conspirators, including Montillo, moved more than $2 million of the funds to a bank account opened at Choice Bank in Belize.
To conceal the fraud and to reassure the victim and his brokers, co-conspirators including Montillo, created an insurance policy for a non-existent insurance company called International Insurance of Nebraska, which was back-stopped with a website hosted through Montillo's GoDaddy account. The insurance policy purported to show that the victim's investment funds would not be at risk because they were fully insured. In addition, co-conspirators, including Montillo, used her GoDaddy account to host the website “wweholdingsltd.com” to add an air of legitimacy to Worldwide Escrow. Both the insurance company and the private placement trading platform were bogus.
Over the next several years, Montillo and her co-conspirators continued with the advance fee scheme. The scheme had both foreign and U.S. victims. To protect her identity, Montillo frequently used the name “Kati Conti” in the frauds and used a “burner phone” so that after the scam was concluded, she could “go dark” and stop communicating with the victims. In all, the scheme sought at least $8.7 million from victims, and actually obtained $4,342,540.
For tax years 2012 through 2014, Montillo filed personal tax returns showing either no income or just $100 in income, and thus no income tax was owed. Montillo admitted that she was the signatory on bank accounts in the names of limited liability corporations into which victims' funds were wire transferred from Hong Kong, Choice Bank in Belize, the attorney escrow account, and other accounts controlled by co-conspirators. Montillo used the victim funds transferred to the limited liability accounts for living expenses. Montillo had no accounts in her own name. Montillo admitted that by failing to report her income for 2012 through 2014 to the Internal Revenue Service, she evaded a substantial amount of income taxes.
Three defendants were charged and sentenced in a related case in the Western District of Texas—James Edward Cox was sentenced to 78 months in prison and was ordered to pay $4,249,478 in restitution; and Kelly Ray Coronado and Gordon Richard Moscowitz were each sentenced to 46 months in prison sentence and were also ordered to pay restitution. Becker was indicted with Montillo but has since died. Montillo’s father died in 2016.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and IRS-CI for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joyce K. McDonald and Sean Delaney, who prosecuted the case.
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Thai National Sentenced to over Two Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Unlawfully Export Firearms Parts from the United States to ThailandRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Thai national Apichart Srivaranon, 34 years old, was sentenced to 26 months in federal prison for a conspiracy to export arms and munitions, and for unlawfully exporting arms and munitions, specifically for exporting firearms parts from the United States to Thailand. U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel imposed the sentence on April 11, 2019, and also ordered Srivaranon to forfeit $10,000. Today, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton for the District of Columbia sentenced Srivaranon to the same sentence for conspiracy to defraud the United States and to export defense articles from the United States to Thailand. The sentences will be served concurrently. Upon his release from prison, Srivaranon will be deported from the United States and returned to Thailand.
The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore.
Srivaranon pleaded guilty to charges in both Maryland and the District of Columbia in January and March 2019, respectively, as required by his plea agreement in each District.
Srivaranon admitted that between 2012 and 2014, he conspired with individuals in the United States and Thailand to obtain firearms parts in the United States that were listed on the United States Munitions List (USML) and then exported, and attempted to export, the firearm parts to Thailand without having first obtained the required license or written authorization from the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, an office in the United States Department of State.
As detailed in his plea agreements, during the conspiracy, Srivaranon and his co-conspirators ordered firearms parts on the USML from U.S.-based firearms parts retailers and caused those firearms parts to ship to addresses in the United States where co-conspirators lived, visited, or conducted business. At the direction of Srivaranon and others, co-conspirators would then repackage the USML firearms parts in the United States; falsely label United States Postal Services (“USPS”) Form 2976 and Customs Declarations CN 22 (sender’s declarations forms) by using fake names for return addresses; falsely declare the contents of the packages and understate their value; and then ship the USML firearms parts to Thailand via the USPS and private shipping companies. This was done to conceal the prohibited exports from detection by the U.S. government.
In his guilty plea to the District of Columbia charges, Srivaranon admitted that to facilitate the scheme, he and others deposited funds into co-conspirators’ bank accounts in Thailand. The funds were deposited in Thai Baht currency. The co-conspirators would then withdraw U.S. dollars from automatic teller machines (ATMs) in the United States, as payment for their participation in the scheme.
Srivaranon was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 22, 2018, after flying there from Thailand to attend a trade show unrelated to the charges in the case. He has been in custody since his arrest.
United States Attorneys Robert K. Hur and Jessie K. Liu commended HSI Baltimore for its work in this investigation. They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly Hayes and Bryan Foreman, who handled the prosecution in the District of Maryland, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederick Yette and Trial Attorney Rebecca A. Caruso of the Money Laundering & Asset Recovery Section (formerly a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney with the District of Columbia), who handled the case in the District of Columbia.
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Six Remaining Cherry Hill Hillside Gang Members Plead Guilty to Federal Racketeering Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – On Thursday, April 11, 2019, six Baltimore men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise related to their activities as members of the violent Hillside gang that operated in the Cherry Hill neighborhood of Baltimore. As part of their plea agreements, the defendants admitted to participating in murders; attempted murders, robberies; and the distribution of narcotics. The following defendants pleaded guilty:
Keenan Lawson, a/k/a BlackFace, age 27;
Michael Evans, a/k/a Pee Wee, age 25;
Kevin Horsey, a/k/a What What, age 26;
Stevie Lawson, a/k/a GB, age 28;
Terrell Luster, a/k/a Relly, age 31; and
Caesar Rice, a/k/a Stinky, age 27.Thirteen other Hillside gang members have previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the racketeering conspiracy. Of those, eight have been sentenced to between 10 and 30 years in federal prison.
The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.
“These gang members brought terror and death to Baltimore’s Cherry Hill neighborhood with guns and drugs. Federal, state, and local law enforcement are committed to working together to target those responsible for the most violence in Baltimore City,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “These defendants admitted that they were part of an organized criminal enterprise with leaders and members who dealt drugs and committed violent crimes using guns. Now they face lengthy sentences in federal prison, where there is no parole—ever. I urge anyone who’s thinking of following these defendants’ example: Please, put down the guns and save a life—maybe even your own.”
“Identifying, investigating, and incarcerating the armed gunmen that menace Baltimore’s communities is ATF’s primary focus,” said ATF Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada. “ATF is determined to collaborate with our law enforcement partners in our plight to ensure Baltimore neighborhoods can be free of violence.”
According to their plea agreements, the defendants were members and associates of the Hillside Enterprise, which they knew distributed powder and crack cocaine, heroin, oxycodone, and marijuana, primarily in the Cherry Hill Shopping Center, in other locations throughout Cherry Hill, and in west and southwest Baltimore City. The members of the Hillside Enterprise used the proceeds of their narcotics sales to purchase firearms, to enrich themselves, and to further the activities of the organization, including narcotics trafficking. Hillside members used residences in and around Cherry Hill to cut and package drugs for distribution, primarily heroin, powder cocaine, and crack. These locations included a house at 453 Roundview Road and an apartment at 2300 Terra Firma Road in Cherry Hill. Only trusted members of the Hillside Enterprise were admitted to these locations while the drugs were being prepared for sale. In an effort to distinguish their narcotics, members used colored topped vials or colored the drugs with food coloring. All six defendants admitted that they distributed drugs as a member of Hillside, and on behalf of the gang. Stevie Lawson is also captured on video in the stash houses on at least 16 occasions between November 2014 and June 2015, preparing controlled substances for distribution.
Members of the Hillside Enterprise routinely carried firearms and committed acts of violence in furtherance of the organization’s activities, including robberies, shootings, beatings, murders, and other violence in order to intimidate others who would interfere with their narcotics trafficking. Acts of violence were also committed to discipline members within the Hillside Enterprise for transgressions, real or perceived, against the conspiracy.
Hillside members and associates have been in a long-running dispute with persons not part of the gang, including Up Da Hill (“UDH”), the Lakebrook Circle Boys, and others. Members and associates of Hillside have routinely engaged in acts of violence, including murder, directed at members of these rival organizations, or persons who happen to be located on territory controlled by these rival organizations. The defendants all knew that these acts of violence, including the homicides, were committed by Hillside members and associates, including murders committed by Terrell Luster and Keenan Lawson. For example, Luster, Horsey, Rice, Keenan Lawson and Evans all admitted that they participated in, or were present at shootings, generally of individuals whom they and their fellow Hillside members believed to be rival gang members.
As part of their plea agreements, all of the defendants have agreed with the government to recommend a sentence to the Court, with the recommendations ranging from 12 years to 23 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III has scheduled sentencing for Evans, Luster, Rice, and Horsey on July 12, 2019, and scheduled sentencing for Keenan and Stevie Lawson on July 19, 2019.
According to the ATF, a reward of $10,000 each is available for information leading to the arrest of the final two defendants in this case, fugitives Travis Eugene Alewine, a/k/a Sticks, age 27; and Deaven Raeshawn Cherry, a/k/a Gotti, age 32, both of Baltimore, who are charged federally with drug and racketeering conspiracies, including murders. They are actively being sought by ATF Baltimore Special Agents and the U.S. Marshals Service. They should be considered armed and dangerous. Law enforcement believes they are likely still in the counties near Baltimore City, if not within the city itself. Anyone with information should contact ATF at (888) ATF-TIPS, [email protected], text “ATFBAL” to 63975, or contact ATF via the mobile reportit® app.
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia C. McLane and Michael C. Hanlon, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
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Fraudster and Identity Thief who Used the Personal and Account Information of AT&T Customers to Purchase Apple iPhones Sentenced to Four Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis today sentenced Alonia Anderson Perkins, age 42, of Tampa, Florida, to four years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and for aggravated identity theft, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain and charge the costs of upgraded Apple iPhones against true AT&T customers. Judge Xinis also ordered Perkins to pay restitution of $6,500.
Co-defendant Toni Ann Bobet, age 30, of New York, New York, pleaded guilty to her role in the scheme on April 11, 2019, just a few days before she was scheduled to go to trial.
The sentence and guilty plea were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Matthew S. Miller of the United States Secret Service - Washington Field Office; and Acting Chief Russell E. Hamill, III of the Montgomery County Police Department.
According to their plea agreements, Perkins, Bobet, and co-defendant Celeste Nyleen Carmona, age 23, of New York, New York, conspired to obtain, charge, and finance the costs of upgraded Apple iPhones against true AT&T customers’ accounts. The defendants admitted that they used stolen account information, telephone upgrade eligibility, and personal identifying information of actual AT&T Mobility customers to obtain the iPhones, which Bobet then provided to her co-conspirators in New York City.
Specifically, in July 2015 and April 2016, respectively, Bobet recruited Carmona and Perkins into the scheme. In May 2016, Bobet drove Perkins and Carmona from New York City to Apple Stores located in Maryland and elsewhere to obtain Apple iPhones for resale. For example, on May 16, 2016, Bobet provided Perkins and Carmona with fraudulent identification cards that contained the stolen personal information of victim AT&T customers, but bore the photographs of Perkins and Carmona, as well as counterfeit credit and debit cards in the victim customers’ names. Bobet obtained the stolen identity information from her co-conspirators in New York City. Bobet drove Perkins and Carmona to the Apple Store located at The Mall in Columbia, Maryland. Perkins and Carmona entered the Apple stores while Bobet remained in the car. Perkins and Carmona each posing as a victim customer, purchased an Apple iPhone on the victim customers’ accounts. Bobet then drove Perkins and Carmona to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Carmona, posing as a victim customer purchased two more iPhones on the account of that customer. Perkins attempted to purchase an iPhone on the account of a fourth victim customer, but that customer’s account reflected a past due balance of $100, and Perkins was unable to upgrade any lines on that victim’s account until the balance was paid. Perkins abandoned the transaction and left the store, while Carmona completed her transaction.
Police responded to the Westfield Mall and located Bobet’s vehicle in the parking lot. Bobet attempted to leave, but law enforcement stopped the vehicle. Bobet, Perkins, and Carmona were taken into custody and transported to police headquarters. A search of Bobet recovered two cellular phones which contained AT&T account information and personal identifying information of at least 20 individuals. Bobet’s vehicle was seized and a search warrant for the vehicle was obtained. Law enforcement recovered a laptop, a tablet, counterfeit identification cards, credit and debit cards, and a black duffle bag containing the four fraudulently obtained Apple iPhones.
AT&T records also showed that during the timeframe of the conspiracy, the name of Alonia Perkins was fraudulently added to four AT&T accounts in Florida and that three of these victims’ accounts had their billing addresses changed to Perkins’ address in Florida. The records also showed that Perkins later financed at least six Apple iPhones against the four victim customers’ accounts. AT&T records further showed that the name Nyleen C. Carmona, or derivatives of that name, were added to 24 victims’ accounts, and Carmona later financed at least 46 Apple iPhones against the victims’ accounts.
Bobet and Carmona admitted that during the time of their participation in the conspiracy at least $95,001 and $40,001 in losses, respectively, were foreseeable to them.
Bobet and Carmona face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conspiracy, and a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, for aggravated identity theft. Judge Xinis has scheduled sentencing for Bobet on July 11, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. and for Carmona on December 10, 2019 at 11:30 a.m.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the U.S. Secret Service and the Montgomery County Police Department’s Economic Crimes Task Force and Electronic Crimes Unit for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer R. Sykes, who prosecuted the case.
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Maryland MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced to 33 Years in Federal Prison for a Violent Racketeering Conspiracy, Including Murder and ExtortionRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis today sentenced Noe Coreas-Mejia, a/k/a “Tsunami,” age 22, of Hyattsville, Maryland, today to 33 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jesse R. Fong of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Acting Chief Russell E. Hamill, III of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
“We will not tolerate the violence perpetrated by MS-13 in Maryland,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Today’s sentence sends a strong message to MS-13 gang members that federal, state, and local law enforcement will continue to work together to find and bring to justice MS-13 members who commit these heinous crimes.”
MS-13 is a gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, with members operating in the State of Maryland, including Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Frederick County, and throughout the United States. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13 often work together cooperatively as “Programs,” with the purpose of increasing the gang’s levels of organization, violence, extortion, and other criminal activity, and to assist one another in avoiding detection by law enforcement. In Maryland and the surrounding area, these cliques include Parkview Locos Salvatrucha (“PVLS”), Normandie Locos Salvatrucha (“NLS” or “Normandie”), Sailors Locos Salvatrucha Westside (“SLSW” or “Sailors”), Langley Park Salvatrucha (“LPS”), Weedoms Locos Salvatrucha (“Weedoms”), and Cabanas Locos Salvatruchas (“Cabanas”). A person within the participating cliques is selected as the Program leader.
To protect the gang and to enhance its reputation, MS-13 members and associates are expected to use any means necessary to force respect from those who show disrespect, including acts of intimidation and violence. MS-13’s creed is based on one of its mottos, “Mata, roba, viola, controla,” which translates to, “kill, steal, rape, control.”
According to his plea agreement, beginning in 2015, Coreas-Mejia was a member of the Parkview clique. Coreas-Mejia admitted that he conspired with other MS-13 members and associates to participate in numerous acts in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy, including extortion and murder.
As detailed in his plea agreement, in 2015, Coreas-Mejia and other members and associates of MS-13 extorted persons conducting business in the Langley Park area of Prince George’s County, by demanding cash payments, known as “rent.”
According to his plea agreement, in November 2015, Coreas-Mejia and other MS-13 members and associates held a disciplinary procedure for an MS-13 member, called a “court.” During the “court,” the individual was beaten for approximately 13 seconds. The victim reported the assault to law enforcement, which resulted in criminal charges being filed against Coreas-Mejia and other MS-13 members and associates. In retaliation, Coreas-Mejia planned to murder the victim, and directed two MS-13 members from the Parkview clique to assist.
Coreas-Mejia admitted that on December 16, 2015, he and other MS-13 members and associates lured the victim to a secluded area beneath the 495 overpass in the Silver Spring area of Montgomery County, purportedly for Coreas-Mejia to speak with the victim concerning the victim’s reporting of the “court” proceeding to law enforcement. A co-conspirator met the victim and walked with him to the secluded location, where Coreas-Mejia and the second co-conspirator were waiting. Coreas-Mejia and his two co-conspirators attacked the victim, stabbing him multiple times and hitting him with large stones. The victim attempted to get away and ran into a stream. Coreas-Mejia and at least one co-conspirator continued to hit the victim with stones until the victim collapsed unconscious in the stream. Coreas-Mejia and his co-conspirators left the victim submerged in the stream, where the victim died.
Law enforcement found the victim’s body, still submerged in the stream, on December 22, 2015. According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was drowning, multiple blunt-force injuries, and multiple sharp-force injuries.
Co-defendants Jose Augustin Salmeron-Larios, a/k/a “Joseph Morales-Martinez,” “Angel Salvador Gutierrez,” “Yankee,” and “Kean,” age 26, of Severn, Maryland; Juan Carlos Espinal-Rapalo, a/k/a “Chiki,” age 21; Daniel Adonai Ramos-Romero, a/k/a “Romero Taylor Binga,” “Taylor Romero,” and “Binga,” age 22; and Oscar Delgado-Perez, a/k/a “Complicado” and “Indio,” age 26, all of Gaithersburg, Maryland, have pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy and other charges related to their MS-13 gang activity. They remain detained as they await sentencing.
Co-defendant Kevin Henriquez-Chavez, a/k/a “Loco” and “Crazy,” age 24, of Washington Grove, Maryland, also pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy and was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA; HSI Baltimore, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur also recognized the Montgomery County and Prince George’s County Departments of Corrections, HSI Baltimore’s Operation Community Shield Task Force, and the Maryland Department of Corrections Intelligence Unit for their assistance. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant United States Attorneys William D. Moomau, Ray D. McKenzie, Catherine K. Dick, and Burden H. Walker who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
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Laurel Man Sentenced to over 15 Years in Federal Prison for Committing Five Armed Robberies of Pharmacies in Howard, Anne Arundel, and Prince George’s CountiesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Arthur Raymond Prince, age 20, of Laurel Maryland, to 15 years and a month in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for robbery of controlled substances, and for carrying and brandishing of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in connection with the armed robbery or attempted armed robbery of five pharmacies. The sentence was imposed on April 9, 2019.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Acting Annapolis Police Chief Paul Herman; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare; Acting Chief Russell E. Hamill, III of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Lisa Myers of the Howard County Police Department; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.
“Prince and his co-defendant used guns to threaten pharmacy employees and steal tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of opioids and other prescription drugs,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Today’s sentence sends a strong message that if you use a gun to commit a federal crime, you will serve federal time, where there is no parole—ever.”
According their plea agreements, between May 5, and November 29, 2017, Prince and his co-conspirator, Jawanza Carter, participated in five armed robberies of pharmacies. In each robbery, Carter pointed a gun at the clerk, and Prince and Carter demanded opioid narcotics such as Oxycodone, OxyContin, Percocet, and Codeine. In most of the robberies, Prince and Carter also stole money from the cash register and/or robbed the clerk.
Specifically, Prince and Carter admitted that they robbed: the Howard Pharmacy in Columbia, Maryland on May 5, 2017; the Lorven Pharmacy in Laurel, Maryland on June 19, 2017; the Pasadena Pharmacy in Pasadena, Maryland on August 25, 2017; and the Annapolis Professional Pharmacy in Annapolis, Maryland on November 29, 2017. Prince and Carter also attempted to rob the Pace Wellness Pharmacy in Pasadena on August 25, 2017, but were not able to steal narcotics when the clerk didn’t know where the drugs were located. Instead, Prince and Carter stole $180 from the cash register and robbed the clerk of her purse, which contained $50 and credit cards, among other things.
In each robbery, cell-site records showed that Prince’s phone was in the immediate area of the pharmacy at the time of the robbery. In addition, law enforcement recovered Carter’s fingerprints on one of the getaway vehicles used by the robbers. Text messages between Carter and Prince concerning the robberies were also found on both Carter and Prince’s phones. Photos recovered from Prince’s phone include images of Prince handling large amounts of cash, as well as photos and videos of Prince handling firearms.
Prince was arrested after the robbery on November 29, 2017, in Odenton, Maryland, not far from where law enforcement located the stolen narcotics. Carter was arrested later at the home of his girlfriend in Laurel, Maryland.
After his arrest and while he was detained, Prince attempted to obstruct justice. After learning that his girlfriend was scheduled to testify before a federal grand jury, Prince coached her regarding her testimony, telling her in a recorded jail call, “you don’t know nothing, nobody, OK? Get that through your fxxxing skull. Get that through your melon, OK? Nada.”
Co-conspirator Jawanza Kevin Carter, of Laurel Maryland, pleaded guilty to robbery involving controlled substances, and to brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in connection with the armed robberies of the five pharmacies. Carter faces a maximum of 25 years in prison for robbery involving controlled substances; and a mandatory minimum of seven years and up to life in prison for brandishing of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar has scheduled Carter’s sentencing for August 21, 2019, at 2:30 p.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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Annapolis Police Department, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Howard County Police Department, and the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Riley and Brandon K. Moore, who prosecuted the case.
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Former Army Contractor Sentenced to 30 Months in Federal Prison for Bribery Scheme Involving Contracts at Aberdeen Proving GroundRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – United States District Judge George L. Russell III sentenced Matthew Barrow, age 45, of Toledo, Ohio, today to 30 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, on bribery charges related to contracting at the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), in Harford County, Maryland. Co-defendants John Kays, age 45, of Pinehurst, North Carolina (formerly of Bel Air, Maryland), and his wife, Danielle Kays, age 44, are currently serving federal prison sentences of six years and 18 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in the scheme. The court previously issued an order that the defendants forfeit $1,487,135.52, as well as vehicles and a boat.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig, Jr. of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service - Mid-Atlantic Field Office; Special Agent in Charge L. Scott Moreland, Mid-Atlantic Fraud Field Office, Major Procurement Fraud Unit, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.
According to court documents, John Kays, Danielle Kays, and Barrow all graduated together from the United States Military Academy at West Point. In 2008, John Kays and Danielle Kays held leadership positions as civilian employees in the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM), representing the Army in multi-year contracts. CECOM was headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Barrow worked for a glass manufacturer in Toledo, OH. Barrow formed a company called MJ-6, to which John Kays admitted that he steered CECOM subcontracts in exchange for money.
According to Barrow’s plea agreement, in March 2006, the U.S. Army Contracting Command at APG awarded a 10-year, $19.2 billion contract to seven prime contractors to provide technology services to support the integrated engineering, business operations, and logistics needs for the Army. Former Army officials John and Danielle Kays each had leadership positions related to this contract. From September 2006 through April 2011, a series of task orders for services pursuant to the contract were placed.
According to the plea agreements, from August 2008 to June 2014, John Kays agreed to take official actions favorable to Barrow and MJ-6 in return for Barrow paying them a total of approximately $800,000. Danielle Kays has admitted using her official position to benefit Barrow and MJ-6 during the period from 2011to 2014. Specifically, the Kayses used their official positions to add MJ-6 as a subcontractor acceptable to the Army, steer potential employees for government contractors to work for MJ-6, approve MJ-6 employees to work on various Task Orders, and approve the pay rates, status reports, and travel reimbursements for MJ-6 employees. Total contracts steered to MJ-6 by the Kayses exceeded $21 million.
In order to conceal his corrupt relationship with the Kayses, Barrow caused the glass company he worked for to enter into contracts and make payments to Transportation Logistics Services, LLC, a company incorporated by John Kays, until the glass company fired Barrow. Barrow then made payments to the Kayses in cash, which Barrow withdrew from his personal accounts and from MJ-6 accounts. To conceal the scheme, John and Danielle Kays made false statements on the government ethics forms that they were required to file by failing to disclose the cash payments received from Barrow. The Kayses used the cash for their personal benefit, including payments for home renovations, two new automobiles, a powerboat, jewelry, a pool party at their country club, and credit card bills.
Barrow later agreed to pay the Kayses the proceeds of the scheme from MJ-6 disguised as employment salary.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DCIS, Army Criminal Investigation Command, and FBI for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joyce K. McDonald and Harry M. Gruber, who prosecuted the case.
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Former Anne Arundel County Sheriff’s Office Employee Sentenced to Federal Prison for Providing Information to the Target of a Drug Trafficking InvestigationRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Chanel Holland, age 36, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, today to a year and a day in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for obstructing an official proceeding. The charges were a result of an investigation showing that Holland provided information regarding law enforcement activity, including sealed indictments and investigative information, to the target of a drug trafficking investigation. At the time, Holland was employed as the Human Resource Administrator in the Anne Arundel County Sheriff’s Department.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare; Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess; and Maryland State Prosecutor Emmet C. Davitt.
“Chanel Holland betrayed the trust of the citizens of Maryland and of the law enforcement officers who fight every day to keep our streets safe from drug dealers and other criminals who endanger our communities,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur. “In doing so, she not only broke the law, but also put lives at risk. This federal prosecution and sentence to federal prison time holds her accountable for those actions.”
According to Holland’s plea agreement, as a result of an investigation into a violent drug trafficking organization, on June 8, 2018, sealed indictments were returned for 10 individuals, including Traymont Wiley (a/k/a “Whamp”), who was believed to be the leader of the organization. The organization operated in Anne Arundel County and elsewhere, and was believed to be associated with several murders in Anne Arundel County. Sealed arrest warrants and search warrants for several locations were also authorized.
On Monday, June 11, 2018, law enforcement intercepted a conversation between Traymont Wiley and another individual on the wiretap that was authorized as part of the investigation. Wiley stated that he had been told that he was going to be arrested on drug and gang-related charges. Wiley’s call led to a flurry of conversations monitored on the intercepted lines between targets of the investigation. During the conversations, it was revealed that the person who provided Wiley the information about the sealed criminal charges was a woman named “Chanel.” The conversations revealed that the targets were reading portions of the sealed indictment out loud, including the names of other co-defendants named in the sealed indictment. Wiley also read his charges, using the exact legal wording of the crimes as stated in the sealed indictment. Further, on June 12, 2018, an attorney hired by one of the co-defendants made a motion to the court citing the specific court case number on the sealed indictment and requesting the court to unseal and quash a pending sealed arrest warrant. All of this occurred before the indictment and arrest warrants were unsealed, and prior to the execution of the sealed search warrants.
A subsequent audit of Maryland Judiciary Secure Case Search revealed that Holland’s Secure Case Search account was the only account to conduct a search of all four names heard during the interception of the target lines. Secure Case Search is not available to the public and is restricted to law enforcement and other related entities. Holland’s duties as Human Resource Administrator did not include running searches for individuals through Secure Case Search. Holland’s cell phone records revealed that she had 96 contacts (message and voice) with Wiley on June 11, 2018. Surveillance video at the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court showed that on Monday, June 11, 2018, Holland had entered and exited the administration offices where her Secure Case Search account was accessed from her assigned computer.
On June 20, 2018, a search warrant was executed at Holland’s residence and her phone was recovered. A search of the phone messages revealed that Holland had been providing information to Wiley and others for several months, beginning as early as April 2018. On June 11, 2018, Holland sent a photograph of the sealed indictment to Wiley’s phone and stated, “Here’s a list of your charges.” Holland then had a series of phone calls with Wiley’s phone in which she provided additional information about the sealed warrants and the nature of the charges. Holland attempted to find out if a cooperating source had provided information to law enforcement which led to the charges against Wiley and the other co-conspirators, and she conveyed information about suspected cooperating sources to Wiley and others, including photos of those individuals and information about the status of their court cases.
Holland admitted that she did not want Wiley and his co-conspirators to get any additional charges, so she alerted them about the outstanding warrants and indictment. Holland further admitted that she knew her actions were likely to affect the federal grand jury proceeding.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI Baltimore, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, the Maryland State Police, and the FBI for their work in the investigation, and thanked the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Office of the State Prosecutor for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek E. Hines, who prosecuted the case.
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Anne Arundel County Restaurant Owner Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison for Stalking his Estranged WifeRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Khalil Ahmad, age 51, of Hanover, Maryland, today to two years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for stalking his estranged wife. Ahmad solicited another individual to have his wife killed after he violated protective orders she had obtained against him, but instead, ultimately paid that individual to set her up to appear to be a terrorist and have her arrested. Ahmad paid the same individual to burn down the restaurant Ahmad owned in order for him to collect the insurance.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare.
According to his plea agreement, Ahmad and the victim were married in July 2015. Before and after their marriage, the victim lived in Howard County, Maryland, and Ahmad lived separately in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. During their marriage, Ahmad threatened to kill the victim by shooting her. In April 2018, the victim informed Ahmad that she wanted a divorce.
On April 24, 2018, Ahmad drove to the victim’s residence, and in the presence of the victim and her children, poured gasoline over his body, produced a lighter, and threatened to light himself on fire if the victim did not take him back.
The next day, the victim obtained a temporary protective order in Howard County against Ahmad, which was served on April 25, 2018, and was effective through May 8, 2018. Ahmad violated the order by contacting the victim by mobile phone on April 29, and May 27, 2018, in Howard County. Ahmad also violated the order on April 30, 2018, by contacting the victim by mobile phone and by following the victim’s vehicle as she drove in Prince George’s County. Criminal summonses were issued in Howard County and in Prince George’s County for violating a protective order.
To further harass the victim and put her in fear of her life, Ahmad contacted the victim’s relatives, members of her religious community, and her ex-husband, and advised them that the victim was not a good person and that she was having a romantic relationship with another man; threatened to have the victim’s brother killed in Pakistan; and threatened to have the victim killed if she returned to Pakistan, causing the victim to be afraid to visit her family in Pakistan.
On May 8, 2018, the victim obtained a Final Protective Order from the Circuit Court for Howard County that remains in effect through May 7, 2019. The order directed Ahmad not to: abuse or threaten to abuse the victim; contact, attempt to contact, or harass the victim in person, in writing, or by any other means; or enter the residence of the victim. In addition, the order required Ahmad to stay away from the victim’s place of employment.
Ahmad admitted that beginning in May 2018, he solicited an individual (CW) to harass the victim. CW and Ahmad met several times, during which Ahmad expressed a desire to have his wife murdered. Ahmad subsequently decided to have the victim framed so that she would be arrested as a terrorist because she is from a Middle Eastern country. The plan was to place a ballistic vest, firearm, bottles of alcohol, and extremist jihad writings in her possession, without her knowledge, and then notify law enforcement to have her arrested.
On May 10, 2018, following several discussions with Ahmad, CW reported Ahmad’s plan to law enforcement. Thereafter, at the direction of and/or in the presence of law enforcement, CW’s calls and meetings with Ahmad were recorded. Ahmad gave CW a total of $5,000 in cash over two separate meetings, as a down payment to have the victim set up to appear to be a terrorist. Ahmad also provided CW with a photo of the victim, her address, phone numbers, and the last two digits of her Maryland license plate number. Ahmad made numerous statements to CW that he wanted the victim arrested prior to his June 21 court date in Prince George’s County for violating the protective order. If the victim were arrested, she could not testify, which would result in the court cases being dismissed.
The recorded calls and meetings reflect that Ahmad also wanted CW to commit an arson at Ahmad’s business (Allah Rakha Restaurant) so that Ahmad could collect the insurance payout from the fire. Ahmad advised CW that he recently had raised the amount of insurance on the restaurant by approximately $200,000. During one of their meetings, CW and Ahmad walked into the kitchen area of the restaurant to view the hot water heater and gas line, and discussed how CW would set the business on fire to make it look like an accident.
On June 5, 2018, investigators staged a scene involving what appeared to be Anne Arundel County Police Department (AAPD) uniformed police officers and detectives searching the victim’s vehicle on the side of a road. Photographs were taken of the victim’s vehicle and provided to CW who then went to meet with Ahmad. CW showed Ahmad the staged photographs and told Ahmad that it was done. Ahmad told CW that he would pay $2,000 that day, but would pay the remaining $7,000 once Ahmad could verify that the victim had actually been arrested. Ahmad then drove to a bank, withdrew $2,000 in cash, and handed the money to CW.
Later that same day, AAPD and FBI investigators went to Ahmad’s residence to conduct a ruse, informing Ahmad that his wife had been arrested and asking Ahmad if investigators could talk to him about his wife. Ahmad told investigators that his wife had filed a protective order against him and retrieved the file he had in his home. Ahmad said that he had overheard his wife on the phone at night taking classes about terrorism over the phone and that his wife had attended a terrorist training camp. Ahmad agreed to meet with investigators at AAPD to talk more about his wife, her activities, and her possible associates. At the meeting at AAPD, an FBI Urdu-speaking linguist was present for the interview. Ahmad was provided his Miranda warnings and the FBI linguist translated for Ahmad. Ahmad spoke to investigators at length about his wife. Investigators then confronted Ahmad with recorded video of one of his meetings with CW, during which the two discussed the plot to kill his wife, the plan to set her up to look like a terrorist, and the scheme to burn down his restaurant. Ahmad stated that he wanted CW to make things hard for his wife and to engage in a romantic relationship with her. Ahmad falsely told investigators that the plot to kill his wife, to set her up to look like a terrorist, and the plan to burn down his restaurant were all CW’s ideas.
As a result of Ahmad’s conviction on the federal stalking charge, the Anne Arundel County, Howard County, and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Offices have dismissed their cases against Ahmad.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and Anne Arundel County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Howard County Police Department, Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess, Howard County State’s Attorney Rich Gibson, and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy for their assistance in this prosecution. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul E. Budlow and Sandra Wilkinson, who prosecuted the case.
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Two Cherry Hill Hillside Gang Members Plead Guilty to Federal Racketeering Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
Eight Co-Defendants Previously Pleaded Guilty and Were Sentenced to Between 10 and 30 Years In Federal Prison
Baltimore, Maryland – On Friday, April 5, 2019, Christopher Dukes, age 27; and Marcus Johnson, age 28, both of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise related to their activities as members of the Hillside gang that operated in the Cherry Hill neighborhood of Baltimore. As part of Dukes’ plea agreement, he admitted to participating in two murders; two attempted murders, including of a law enforcement officer; and the distribution of narcotics.
Ten other Hillside gang members have previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the racketeering conspiracy. Of those, eight have been sentenced to between 10 and 30 years in federal prison. Seven defendants are scheduled to go to trial on May 6, 2019. Two defendants remain at large and are being sought by law enforcement.
The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.
“The most important thing that law enforcement officers can do to stop violence is to make clear that killers will be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “The Hillside gang is responsible for murders and other acts of violence throughout their community. All of the members of the conspiracy were aware of the violent acts committed by this gang. Christopher Dukes personally participated in two murders and two attempted murders. He and his co-defendants will now serve years in federal prison, where there is no parole--ever.”
“The gun violence resulting from these gang turf wars and rivalries is tearing this city apart,” said ATF Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada. “We remain committed in our mission to identify, investigate, and incarcerate anyone using firearms to commit these violent crimes.”
According to their plea agreements, Dukes and Johnson were members and associates of the Hillside Enterprise, which they knew distributed powder and crack cocaine, heroin, oxycodone and marijuana, primarily in the Cherry Hill Shopping Center, in other locations throughout Cherry Hill, and in west and southwest Baltimore City. The members of the Hillside Enterprise used the proceeds of their narcotics sales to purchase firearms, to enrich themselves, and to further the activities of the organization, including narcotics trafficking. Hillside members used residences in and around Cherry Hill to cut and package drugs for distribution, primarily heroin, powder cocaine, and crack. Only trusted members of the Hillside Enterprise were admitted to these locations while the drugs were being prepared for sale. In an effort to distinguish their narcotics, members used colored topped vials or colored the drugs with food coloring. Dukes admitted that he sold drugs as a member of Hillside, including on school grounds in 2012, and was captured on video in a Hillside cut house preparing drugs for sale in 2014. Johnson also admitted that he regularly distributed drugs on behalf of the gang.
Members of the Hillside Enterprise routinely carried firearms and committed acts of violence in furtherance of the organization’s activities, including shootings, beatings, murders, and other violence in order to intimidate others who would interfere with their narcotics trafficking. Acts of violence were also committed to discipline members within the Hillside Enterprise for transgressions, real or perceived, against the conspiracy. For example, Johnson admitted that on January 13, 2012, in the 400 block of Roundview Road in Baltimore, he participated in an assault of an individual who sold narcotics on behalf of Hillside.
Hillside members and associates have been in a long-running dispute with persons not part of the gang, including Up Da Hill (“UDH”), the Lakebrook Circle Boys, and others. Members and associates of Hillside have routinely engaged in acts of violence, including murder, directed at members of these rival organizations, or persons who happen to be located on territory controlled by these rival organizations. Dukes and Johnson knew that these acts of violence, including the homicides, were committed by Hillside members and associates.
Specifically, Dukes admitted that on August 1, 2011, he attempted to hit a law enforcement officer with his car in the 2900 block of Waterview Avenue. Further, in a case of mistaken identity, on August 6, 2012, Duke and three other Hillside members shot two individuals, killing one of them, in the 2700 block of Giles Road, in the Up Da Hill section of Cherry Hill. The intended target of Dukes and his fellow Hillside members was a member of the Up Da Hill gang. Dukes and two other Hillside members also participated in the murder of an individual on September 8, 2012, in the 2600 block of Kent Street in Baltimore, in a dispute over drugs and money. Dukes admitted that on October 18, 2012, he and at least one Hillside co-conspirator shot an individual during an attempted robbery, using the same gun that was used in the murder on September 8, 2012. On March 12, 2015, Dukes and another Hillside member possessed with intent to distribute two baggies of cocaine, and had a 9mm semi-automatic handgun that had been used by another Hillside member to shoot a rival Up Da Hill member on November 2, 2013.
Johnson was arrested for possessing a firearm on August 15, 2009, and posted videos on social media in which he identified himself as a Hillside member, and raps about other Hillside members and their activities, including dealing narcotics.
Dukes and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement Dukes will be sentenced to 23 years in federal prison. Johnson and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts his plea, Johnson will be sentenced to between 12 and 17 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has scheduled sentencing for Dukes and Johnson on June 17, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., respectively.
According to the ATF, a reward of $10,000 each is available for information leading to the arrest of the two fugitive defendants in this case, Travis Eugene Alewine, a/k/a Sticks, age 27; and Deaven Raeshawn Cherry, a/k/a Gotti, age 32, both of Baltimore, who are charged federally with drug and racketeering conspiracies, including murders. They are actively being sought by ATF Baltimore Special Agents and the U.S. Marshals Service. They should be considered armed and dangerous. Law enforcement believes they are likely still in the counties near Baltimore City, if not within the city itself. Anyone with information should contact ATF at (888) ATF-TIPS, [email protected], text “ATFBAL” to 63975, or contact ATF via the mobile reportit® app.
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia C. McLane and Michael C. Hanlon, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
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Maryland Man Charged with Interstate Transportation of a Stolen VehicleRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland has charged Rondell Henry, age 28, of Germantown, Maryland, by criminal complaint with interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle. Today, the government filed a motion arguing for Henry to be detained pending trial as a flight risk and a danger to the community. Specifically, the government’s detention memo alleges that Henry, who claimed to be inspired by the ISIS terrorist organization, stole a U-Haul van with the intention of using it as a weapon against pedestrians on sidewalks within the National Harbor complex along the Potomac River in Maryland. A detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, April 9, 2019, at 12:45 p.m. in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas M. DiGirolamo.
The criminal complaint was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Acting Chief Russell E. Hamill, III of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Chief Michael L. Brown of the City of Alexandria (Virginia) Police Department.
U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “We continue to gather evidence, as well as review evidence already obtained as part of this ongoing investigation.”
According to the criminal complaint and other court documents, on March 26, 2019, the Alexandria Police Department was contacted concerning a leased U-Haul vehicle that had been stolen from a parking garage at a mall in Alexandria, Virginia. The driver, who had rented the U-Haul vehicle had noticed a man driving a blue BMW follow the U-Haul off Interstate 395 and onto mall property, then follow the U-Haul into the parking garage and park a few spaces away. When police responded to the garage, they found the BMW near where the U-Haul had been stolen. A check of the BMW’s registration records revealed that the BMW was registered to Rondell Henry.
On March 27, 2019, the stolen U-Haul was located at the National Harbor in Maryland. Law enforcement reviewed video surveillance of the area that showed Henry parking and subsequently exiting the stolen U-Haul. Henry was arrested the following day.
According to the detention memo, for two years, Henry has harbored “hatred” for those who do not practice the Muslim faith. Allegedly inspired by videos he watched of foreign terrorists, Henry decided to conduct a vehicular attack, similar to the 2016 truck attack in Nice, France, for which ISIS claimed responsibility. After stealing the van, Henry drove around, arriving at Dulles International Airport in Virginia at approximately 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 27, 2019. The government’s motion for detention alleges that Henry exited his U-Haul and entered the terminal, trying to find a way through security, allegedly to harm “disbelievers” in a way designed for maximum publicity. After more than two hours of failing to breach Dulles’s security perimeter, Henry allegedly returned to the U-Haul.
According to the motion for detention, Henry then drove the U-Haul from Virginia to the National Harbor in Maryland, arriving around 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 27. The motion for detention alleges that Henry parked the U-Haul and walked around a popular part of National Harbor. According to the motion for detention, Henry finally broke into a boat to hide overnight.
By the following morning, Thursday, March 28, police officers had discovered the location of the stolen U-Haul. When Henry leapt over the security fence from the boat dock, observant Prince George’s County Police officers arrested him.
If convicted, Henry faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.
A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, and the City of Alexandria Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked his office’s national security prosecutors, who are handling the case.
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Social Security Employee Facing Federal Indictment for a Scheme to Obtain over $236,000 in Social Security Benefits by Allegedly Submitting Fictitious ClaimsRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted Cheikh Ahmet Tidiane Cisse, age 43, of Baltimore, Maryland, on federal charges in connection with a scheme in which Cisse allegedly filed fraudulent claims for Social Security benefits using fictitious identities and the identities of actual individuals, and attempted to collected over $236,000. The indictment was returned on April 3, 2019.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General, Philadelphia Field Division.
Cisse was employed by the Social Security Administration (SSA) as a Claims Specialist. The 14-count indictment alleges that between July 2018 and March 2019, Cisse used his position at SSA to create fictitious identities within the SSA’s social security number database in order to file fictitious claims for benefits. The indictment alleges that Cisse used both fictitious identities and the identities of actual individuals to file the fraudulent claims and stole or attempted to steal over $236,000 from SSA.
The indictment alleges that Cisse would input false information into SSA systems indicating that he had witnessed original documents, such as birth certificates, and marriage and divorce decrees, when in fact he had not. In one instance, when SSA withheld payment due to suspected fraud, the indictment alleges that Cisse contacted SSA’s payment center and falsely relayed that the purported beneficiary had called inquiring about the whereabouts of the payment, which caused the payment center to release the funds. Cisse allegedly directed payments on the fraudulent claims into accounts he controlled, then spent the funds through cash withdrawals and retail purchases.
According to the indictment, Cisse caused SSA to pay approximately $87,000 in fraudulent claims through direct deposit, issue approximately $46,000 in checks that were never negotiated, and authorize approximately $103,000 in claims that SSA halted before payments were issued.
If convicted, Cisse faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of nine counts of wire fraud; a maximum of 10 years in prison for Social Security fraud and for theft of government property; and a mandatory two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, for each of three counts of aggravated identity theft. Cisse was arrested on a related criminal complaint on March 20, 2019, and was released under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services. No court appearance has been scheduled yet on the indictment.
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.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the SSA Office of Inspector General for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Davio, who is prosecuting the case.
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Laurel Man Pleads Guilty to Committing Five Armed Robberies of Pharmacies in Howard, Anne Arundel, and Prince George’s CountiesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Jawanza Kevin Carter, age 22, of Laurel Maryland, pleaded guilty on April 3, 2019, to robbery involving controlled substances, and to carrying and brandishing of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in connection with the armed robbery or attempted armed robbery of five pharmacies and the theft of tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of opioids.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Acting Chief Paul Herman of the Annapolis Police Department; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare; Acting Chief Russell E. Hamill, III of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Lisa D. Myers of the Howard County Police Department; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.
According to Carter’s plea agreement, between May 5 and November 29, 2017, Carter and his co-conspirator Arthur Prince participated in five armed robberies of pharmacies. In each robbery, Carter pointed a gun at the clerk, and Carter and Prince demanded opioid narcotics such as Oxycodone, OxyContin, Percocet, and Codeine. In most of the robberies, Carter and Prince also stole money from the cash register and/or robbed the clerk.
Specifically, Carter admitted that he robbed: the Howard Pharmacy in Columbia, Maryland on May 5, 2017; the Lorven Pharmacy in Laurel Maryland on June 19, 2017; the Pasadena Pharmacy in Pasadena, Maryland on August 25, 2017; and the Annapolis Professional Pharmacy in Annapolis, Maryland on November 29, 2017. Carter and Prince also attempted to rob the Pace Wellness Pharmacy in Pasadena on August 25, 2017, but were not able to steal narcotics when the clerk didn’t know where the drugs were located. Instead, Carter and Prince stole $180 from the cash register and robbed the clerk of her purse, which contained $50 in cash and credit cards, among other things.
In each robbery, cell-site records showed that Carter’s phone was in the immediate area of the pharmacy at the time of the robbery, and his DNA was found on a reusable shopping bag left by the robbers at the Howard Pharmacy and on a mask Carter wore during the Annapolis Professional Pharmacy that law enforcement later recovered. In addition, law enforcement recovered Carter’s fingerprints on one of the getaway vehicles used by the robbers, and text messages between Carter and Prince concerning one of the robberies. Photos from Carter’s Snapchat account also appear to reflect large purchases in the days and weeks after some of the robberies, including luxury items from Gucci, a gold watch, and designer tennis shoes.
Prince was arrested after the robbery on November 29, 2017, in Odenton, Maryland, not far from where law enforcement located the stolen narcotics. Carter was arrested at the home of his girlfriend in Laurel, Maryland. Searches executed at locations associated with Carter recovered three boxes of .40-caliber ammunition, a gun cleaning kit and related items, and an empty handgun carrying case with a clip in it.
After his arrest and while he was detained, Carter attempted to obstruct justice. In recorded jail calls, Carter instructed his girlfriend to get rid of a bag used in connection with one of the robberies, which she did. On December 4, 2017, Carter coached his girlfriend on what to say to law enforcement about two vehicles used in the robberies that were titled and registered to her. Carter told his girlfriend to tell law enforcement that one of the cars is a “family and friends car,” and that she drove the other vehicle.
Carter faces a maximum of 25 years in prison for robbery involving controlled substances; and a mandatory minimum of seven years and up to life in prison for brandishing of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar has scheduled sentencing for August 21, 2019, at 2:30 p.m.
Co-conspirator Arthur Raymond Prince, age 20, of Laurel Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting robbery involving controlled substances, and aiding and abetting the brandishing of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in connection with the armed robberies of five pharmacies. Prince also faces a maximum of 25 years in prison for aiding and abetting robbery involving controlled substances; and a mandatory minimum of seven years and up to life in prison for aiding and abetting the brandishing of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Judge Bredar has scheduled Prince’s sentencing for April 9, 2019, at 10 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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Annapolis Police Department, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Howard County Police Department, and the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Riley and Brandon K. Moore, who are prosecuting the case.
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MS-13 Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Federal Racketeering Conspiracy, Including Participating in a MurderRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Daniel Flores-Ventura, a/k/a Necio, age 26, of Aspen Hill, Maryland, pleaded guilty on April 2, 2019, to conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, including participating in a murder. Co-defendants Vilas Sail Argueta-Bermudez, a/k/a Happy, Little Happy, and Enchilada, age 32; Michael Campos-Lemus, a/k/a Humilde, age 25, both of Aspen Hill; and Wilians Ernesto Lovos-Ayala, a/k/a Tigre, age 26, of Woodbridge, Virginia, previously pleaded guilty to the same charge.
The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Edward Hargis of the Frederick Police Department; and Chief Barry M. Barnard of Prince William County, Virginia Police.
“The convictions of these four defendants, and our ongoing work with our law enforcement partners to bring other gang members to justice, demonstrate our unflagging commitment to remove MS-13 and its associated violence from our communities,” said United States Attorney Hur. “We simply will not tolerate the wanton violence that MS-13 promotes.”
MS-13 is a gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, with members operating in the State of Maryland, including Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Frederick County, and throughout the United States. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13 often work together cooperatively to engage in criminal activity and to assist one another in avoiding detection by law enforcement. In Maryland and the surrounding area, these cliques include Molinos Locos Salvatruchas (“Molinos”), Uniones Locos Salvatruchas (“Uniones”), Parkview Locos Salvatrucha (“PVLS”), Normandie Locos Salvatrucha (“NLS” or “Normandie”), Sailors Locos Salvatrucha Westside (“SLSW” or “Sailors”), Langley Park Salvatrucha (“LPS”), Weedoms Locos Salvatrucha (“Weedoms”), and Cabanas Locos Salvatruchas (“Cabanas”).
To protect the gang and to enhance its reputation, MS-13 members and associates are expected to use any means necessary to force respect from those who show disrespect, including acts of intimidation and violence. MS-13’s creed is based on one of its mottos, “Mata, roba, viola, controla,” which translates to, “kill, steal, rape, control.”
According to their plea agreements, from about 2015 Flores-Ventura, Lovos-Ayala, and Campos-Lemus were all members and associates of the Uniones clique of MS-13. Co-defendant Argueta-Bermudez was a member and associate of the Molinos clique of MS-13. The defendants admitted to participating in numerous acts in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy, including drug sales and murder.
As detailed in their plea agreements, the defendants admitted that beginning in June or July 2015, Flores-Ventura, Argueta-Bermudez, Campos-Lemus, and Lovos-Ayala conspired to murder Victim-1, whom they believed to be a member of the rival 18th Street gang. On July 16, 2015, the conspirators lured Victim-1 from Maryland to Virginia, on the pretext that Victim-1 was going to participate in a “court,” a disciplinary beating to be administered to another individual.
Flores-Ventura admitted that he drove Victim-1 from Silver Spring, Maryland, to Woodbridge, Virginia, in order to kill Victim-1. Argueta-Bermudez and Campos-Lemus also drove to Woodbridge, Virginia, to participate in the murder. Lovos-Ayala and the other MS-13 members and associates met in a wooded location in Woodbridge, where Flores-Ventura struck Victim-1 on the head. Lovos-Ayala, Argueta-Bermudez, Campos-Lemus, and other members and associates of MS-13 then struck and stabbed Victim-1 with machetes and knives until Victim-1 was dead.
The defendants admitted that the murder of Victim-1 served to maintain or increase the status of MS-13 within the community and to maintain or increase the status of the defendants and other MS-13 members who participated in the murder.
The defendants all face a maximum sentence of life in prison. Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar has scheduled sentencing for Campos-Lemus on July 24, 2019; for Argueta-Bermudez on August 19, 2019; for Lovos-Ayala on August 20, 2019, and for Flores-Ventura on August 27, 2019, all at 10:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI Baltimore, the FBI, the Frederick Police Department, and the Prince William County Police Department for their work in the investigation, and thanked Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul B. Ebert for his office’s assistance. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Kenneth Clark, Catherine K. Dick, and Matthew DellaBetta who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
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Baltimore Heroin Dealer Pleads Guilty to Distribution of HeroinRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Coron Demon Johnson, a/k/a Savage, age 24, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty on April 2, 2019, to distribution of heroin. As part of his plea agreement, Johnson admitted that death resulted from use of the heroin that he distributed.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jesse R. Fong of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Chief John Nesky of the Bowie Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, on August 11, 2017, Johnson sold heroin to an individual in Annapolis, Maryland. The customer returned to her home in Bowie, Maryland, and went to her bedroom. The next day, the individual was found in her bedroom, unresponsive. The victim was holding her cell phone. First responders administered CPR, but the victim was pronounced dead a few minutes later. Law enforcement officers recovered a paper fold containing .025 grams of heroin and the victim’s cell phone, which were located next to her body. The medical examiner performed an autopsy and determined that the victim’s cause of death was heroin intoxication.
Law enforcement officers took possession of the victim’s phone following the fatal overdose. A short time later, Johnson texted the phone, asking if the victim was “coming get some this fire today.” A law enforcement officer, posing as the victim, responded to Johnson. Johnson, via text, arranged to meet the law enforcement officer, posing as the victim, in Bowie, in order to sell the victim $139 worth of heroin.
At the agreed-upon time, Johnson texted that he had arrived at the meeting locations. Law enforcement officers initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle. Johnson was in the passenger seat and three other people were also in the vehicle, including two minor children. Johnson had a white powder residue on his pants when he got out of the vehicle. Law enforcement recovered a paper fold with powder residue from the floorboard of the passenger side of the car where Johnson had been sitting. Johnson was also in possession of the cell phone used to text the victim’s phone.
Johnson told law enforcement that he primarily distributes heroin in the Newtowne-20 section of Annapolis. Johnson identified a picture of the victim as the individual he thought he was meeting in Bowie, and admitted that he had sold the victim heroin in Annapolis the day before.
Johnson and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement Johnson will be sentenced to between eight and 15 years in prison. U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing for July 8, 2019.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA, the Prince George’s County Police Department, and the Bowie Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin B. Pulice and Kelly O. Hayes, who are prosecuting the case.
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Baltimore Business Owner Indicted on Federal Charges for a Conspiracy to Set Fire to His Business in Order to Obtain Insurance ProceedsRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted Demetrios Stavrakis, a/k/a Jimmy, age 53, of Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland, for an arson conspiracy to allegedly damage his business by setting it on fire in order to obtain insurance proceeds. The indictment was returned on March 28, 2019 and unsealed today. Stavrakis was arrested and had his initial appearance today in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Beth P. Gesner ordered Stavrakis to be released under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services pending trial.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Maryland State Fire Marshal Brian Geraci; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
The four-count indictment alleges that beginning in July 2015, Stavrakis engaged in a conspiracy to set fire to commercial property he owned in the 200 block of Haven Street in Baltimore, in order to collect insurance proceeds on the property. According to the indictment, on July 28, 2015, just before 6 p.m., Stavrakis used adhesive tape to defeat one of the security features on the front door of the building so that the person or persons setting the fire could enter the building.
According to the indictment, very early the next morning, someone disarmed the alarms inside the building by entering the four-digit codes for the alarms. Between 12:25 a.m. and 1:30 a.m., the office area of the warehouse was set on fire by using Methyl Ethyl Ketone, a flammable liquid used as a cleaning agent. The fire destroyed the office area and damaged a portion of the ceiling directly above the area. Later on July 29, 2015, Stavrakis contacted a public adjuster firm that his company had previously retained to notify them of the fire and to request their assistance in filing claims with the insurance company.
From July 29, 2015 through August 5, 2016, the adjusters, acting on behalf of Stavrakis and his companies, submitted false insurance claims totaling over $21 million. The insurance company paid a total of approximately $15,081,435. Of that amount, the indictment alleges that approximately $8,762,037 was used to purchase new machinery, purchase parts inventory, restore the building, and for other business expenses. In addition, insurance proceeds were allegedly transferred or used for other expenses, including, $600,000 which was transferred to an account in the name of Stavrakis’s wife, after which additional monthly payments of approximately $6,000 followed; approximately $98,499.20 used to purchase a 2016 Mercedes-Benz GL 550, titled and registered to Stavrakis; and approximately $25,500 used to purchase a 2016 Harley-Davidson Street Glide motorcycle.
If convicted, Stavrakis faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison for the arson conspiracy and for malicious destruction of property by fire; a mandatory 10 years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, for use of fire to commit a federal felony; and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for wire fraud.
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.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF, the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal, and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson T. Mihok, who is prosecuting the case.
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Chevy Chase Man Who Secretly Videotaped Children in His Home Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Production and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Jonathan Mark Oldale, age 55, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, today to 20 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, on charges of production and possession of child pornography, arising from Oldale secretly filming children using hidden cameras in the bathrooms of his home. As a result of his conviction, Oldale must register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). In addition, Oldale must pay a $400,000 money judgment in lieu of forfeiture of Oldale’s interest in his residence, which Oldale used to facilitate his crimes.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
“Jonathan Oldale invited children into his home in order to surreptitiously photograph them while they were changing clothes or using the bathroom, and attempted to do the same thing in public facilities that catered to children,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “This sentence sends a clear message that we will bring to justice those who would victimize innocent children.”
According to Oldale’s plea agreement, on May 5, 2017, the Montgomery County Police Department received a complaint from an employee at a children’s gymnastics facility in Silver Spring that Oldale had placed a backpack containing a camera disguised to look like an automobile key fob in a bathroom at the facility. The employee also told officers about a prior incident in which Oldale had left a backpack in the same bathroom. A search of Oldale’s residence on May 9, 2017, recovered electronic media, including three laptop computers. A subsequent forensic review of the computers revealed that two of the computers had installations of browsers used to access the “dark web,” and some of the files accessed had titles consistent with child pornography. The dark web is the part of the World Wide Web that requires specific software, configurations, or authorization to access, allowing users and website operators to remain anonymous. One of the laptops had previously connected to a dark web site used to exchange child pornography. The third computer contained image and video files of children with exposed genitalia, including in public bathrooms.
On July 5, 2017, Montgomery County Police officers executed a second search warrant at Oldale’s residence and seized among other items, three “spy cameras,” five MicroSD cards (small memory cards used in cameras and phones to store information), and five USB drives. All of the removable media contained videos created using surreptitious “spy” cameras that had been placed by Oldale in bathrooms in his residence. Another MicroSD card contained the titles of encrypted files that had been erased from the card, and the titles were indicative of child pornography.
Videos recorded in the bathrooms show that the cameras were placed at waist height or lower, for example under the sink and in a basket in the shower, and that multiple cameras were placed in a bathroom. The videos show that Oldale would enter the bathroom to adjust the cameras just before children entered the bathrooms and just after the children left. Between May and July 2017, Oldale recorded more than 1,000 videos using the hidden cameras in his bathrooms. The videos depict minor children changing into and out of bathing suits, taking showers, and using the toilet.
Children were invited to “splash parties” at Oldale’s residence in June and July 2017, including by e-mailed invitations sent to their parents. Children would become covered with grass while playing on an inflatable structure in the back yard. Oldale encouraged the children to change clothes or take showers before they went home. Of the approximately 79 children who appear in the videos taken in the bathroom, approximately 52 are depicted nude at some point in the videos.
Forensic analysis of the USB drives revealed that Oldale stored videos in a nested file folder structure. Subfolders were named for the month and within those folders were additional subfolders with event names, like party or camp. On two of the USB drives there were subfolders that included lists of children’s names followed by a description of the swimsuit worn by the child. In all, there were nine subfolders with names indicative of events and containing videos of children in the bathrooms at Oldale’s residence.
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.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Montgomery County Police Department, and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph R. Baldwin and Timothy F. Hagan, Jr., who are prosecuting the federal case.
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Beltsville Man Sentenced to 87 Months in Federal Prison for Stealing over $4.2 Million in a Business E-Mail Compromise SchemeRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Nkeng Amin, a/k/a “Rapone,” a/k/a “Arnold,” age 31, of Beltsville, Maryland, today to 87 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for a large-scale business e-mail compromise scheme during which Amin and his co-conspirators obtained over $4.2 million from at least 13 individual and business victims. Judge Grimm also ordered Amin to forfeit and to pay restitution in the amount of $1,021,474.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of Homeland Security Investigations; and Special Agent in Charge Matthew S. Miller of the United States Secret Service, Washington Field Office.
According to his plea agreement, and to evidence presented at today’s sentencing hearing, between February 2016 and July 2017, Amin and his co-conspirators gained access to e-mail accounts associated with the victims. Then, posing as an entity with whom the victims were associated, they sent false wiring instructions to the victims, who wired millions of dollars into “drop accounts” set up by Amin and his co-defendants, in the names of fictitious businesses they registered. Drop accounts were bank accounts opened or controlled by Amin and his co-conspirators that were used to receive fraudulently obtained money from victims. Amin and others then disbursed the money in the drop accounts that were received from the victims by, among other things: electronically transferring money to other accounts; transferring funds to other accounts at the same bank; withdrawing cash; obtaining cashier’s checks; and writing checks to other individuals or entities.
Amin worked hand-in-hand with co-conspirator Aldrin Fomukong to perpetrate the fraud in Maryland. Amin also independently corresponded with the leaders of the fraud scheme overseas and recruited and managed his own co-conspirators, including co-defendant Yanick Eyong, to open bank accounts to receive victim funds and withdraw the victim funds from the fictitious bank accounts before the fraud was detected.
Over the course of the conspiracy, Amin, Fomukong, and their co-conspirators obtained over $4.2 million and attempted to steal over $10.9 million from at least 13 victims.
The following co-conspirators all pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme.
- Aldrin Fon Fomukong, a/k/a “Albanky,” a/k/a “A.L.,” age 24, of Greenbelt, Maryland;
- Carlson Cho, a/k/a “Uncle Tiga2,” age 23, of Braintree, Massachusetts;
- Izou Ere Digifa, a/k/a “Lzuo Digifa,” a/k/a “Mimi VA,” age 22, of Lynchburg, Virginia;
- Yanick Eyong, age 26, of Bowie, Maryland; and
- Ishmail Ganda, a/k/a “Banker TD,” age 31, of College Park, Maryland.
Fomukong and Digifa remain detained pending sentencing. Judge Grimm sentenced Eyong to 57 months in prison; sentenced Cho to 48 months in prison; and sentenced Ganda to 90 days in prison, to be served during his first 18 months of supervised release.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Secret Service for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly O’Connell Hayes, who prosecute the case.
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Two Baltimore Men Sentenced to at Least 12 Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Rob Undercover ATF Special Agents at GunpointRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III today sentenced Menard Hazelwood, age 29, and Donte Smith, age 34, both of Baltimore, to 13 years in federal prison and 12 years in federal prison, respectively, each followed by three years of supervised release, for assaulting a federal officer and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, in connection with the May 26, 2017, assault on two undercover Special Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
The sentence were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the ATF Baltimore Field Division.
“These brave agents, like all law enforcement officers, put their lives on the line every day to identify and disrupt the drug dealers that bring violence to our streets. We are grateful that they were able to return home safely,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur. “These defendants thought they were robbing drug customers, which happens all often in Baltimore. Hopefully the sentences imposed today send a message to those who would commit violence that gun crime will lead to federal time, which has no parole – ever.”
“We are glad to see justice served today and are grateful that our dedicated Special Agents were unharmed,” said ATF Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada. “ATF’s top priority in Baltimore is to identify and target the criminal organizations responsible for gun violence. Special Agents risk their personal safety each time they work undercover during an investigation, yet they do this because they know the importance of their mission to protect the community from these violent criminals.”
According to Smith and Hazelwood’s plea agreements, on May 26, 2017, during an ATF undercover operation, Smith and Hazelwood attempted to rob two ATF undercover Special Agents (UCs), who were working with a confidential informant (CI) to purchase $2,000 worth of heroin from a known heroin dealer. The UCs and the CI had picked up the heroin dealer, with one UC driving and the other UC in the front passenger seat, then drove to a location in West Baltimore to meet with the dealer’s supplier. The dealer got out of the car and told the CI and the UCs to wait; Smith and Hazelwood immediately walked up to the vehicle. Smith asked the UCs for a light and Hazelwood took advantage of the distraction and pointed a gun at the UC in the passenger seat. Smith then pointed a silver revolver at the other UC. Smith and Hazelwood demanded money. The UCs told Smith and Hazelwood, who continued to hold them at gunpoint, that there was cash in the vehicle. The UCs then gave the distress signal to the covert ATF team that was monitoring the operation. As the covert team arrived on the scene, the agents ordered Smith and Hazelwood to put their hands up. Smith fled, and the responding ATF Special Agents fired their service weapons, striking Smith. Hazelwood also broke away and ran to a nearby car, but was not able to get into the car. Special Agents arrested him at the scene.
Agents recovered the .44-caliber revolver brandished by Smith during the robbery, but did not recover the gun used by Hazelwood. Smith and Hazelwood admitted that they each participated in the robbery, but did not know that the undercover Special Agents were federal agents at the time of the robbery.
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF for its work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia C. McLane, who prosecuted the case.
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Rockville Man Who Posed as a Modeling Agent to Obtain Sexually Explicit Images of Minor Female Victims Sentenced to 22 Years in Federal Prison for Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Stephen McGrath, age 44, of Rockville, Maryland, today to 22 years in federal prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release, for federal charges of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity in order to produce child pornography, and possession of child pornography. Upon his release from prison, McGrath will be required to register as a sex offender in the places 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 United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.
According to McGrath’s plea agreement, between June 16 and October 9, 2017, McGrath used Internet-based chat applications “MeetMe” and “KIK” to communicate with six minor female victims, ranging in age from 12 to 16 years old. In his communications with the victims, McGrath, posing as a female modeling agent, confirmed the ages of the victims and requested photographs, including nude and sexually explicit images, which the victims then sent to McGrath as part of their “modeling evaluation.” McGrath also admitted that he distributed sexually explicit images of Victim 6, a 14-year-old girl, to two of her male friends, whose account information he had requested from Victim 6.
Subscriber information for the accounts used to communicate with Victim 1 showed that the user connected to each account through the same IP address, which was assigned to McGrath in Rockville. Law enforcement agents executed a federal search warrant at McGrath’s residence on October 13, 2017, and seized his cellular phone. The phone had an application for password-protected digital storage. McGrath supplied the password, which revealed folders within the application labeled with female names and containing pictures and videos constituting more than 600 images of child pornography, including images of the victims described above. The KIK application was also found on the phone as well as numerous chat conversations with minor females.
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.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI-Baltimore and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation and thanked the Montgomery County Police Department for its assistance. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Baldwin, who prosecuted the federal case.
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MS-13 Member Sentenced to 26 Years in Federal Prison for His Participation in a Violent Racketeering Conspiracy, Including a Murder and Attempted MurderRead the Press Release
A Riverdale, Maryland man was sentenced to 312 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for his participation in the racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, including a murder and attempted murder.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur for the District of Maryland, Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI Washington Field Office (WFO)’s Safe Streets/HIDTA Task Force, Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Jesse R. Fong of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Field Division, Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department, Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department, Chief Amal Awad of the Hyattsville Police Department, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy made the announcement.
Kevin Soriana-Hernandez, aka “Brocha,” 19, of Riverdale, Maryland, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis. According to the plea agreement, MS-13 is a gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, with members operating in the State of Maryland, including Montgomery County and Prince George’s County, and throughout the United States. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13 often work together cooperatively to engage in criminal activity and to assist one another in avoiding detection by law enforcement. MS-13 members and associates are required to commit acts of violence within the gang and against rival gangs. One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, known as “chavalas,” whenever possible.
“MS-13’s stock-in-trade is violence and intimidation, as shown by the brutal and premeditated murder that Kevin Soriana-Hernandez and his fellow MS-13 members committed in Riverdale on Sept. 16, 2017,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “The Department of Justice will not rest in our mission to dismantle MS-13 and put an end to the gang’s evil efforts to terrorize our streets.”
“This sentence sends a message that the violence perpetrated by MS-13 members and associates will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Hur. “Our ongoing work with our law enforcement partners to bring other gang members to justice, demonstrates our unflagging commitment to eliminate MS-13 and its campaign of wanton violence.”
As detailed in his plea agreement, Soriana-Hernandez admitted that since at least September 2017, he was a member and associate of the Sailors clique of MS-13, in Riverdale, Maryland. Beginning in approximately August 2017, members of the Sailors clique, including Soriana-Hernandez, engaged in an ongoing and escalating altercation with a group of individuals also residing in Riverdale, whom they believed to be members of a rival gang. The two groups threatened each other with physical violence, brandished firearms, and shot at each other.
Soriana-Hernandez also admitted that on Sept. 16, 2017, he and other MS-13 members and associates planned and conspired to murder individuals in the rival group. Specifically, Soriana-Hernandez admitted that on Sept. 16, 2017, he and four co-conspirators drove to the area in Riverdale where two of the suspected gang rivals were located, and parked on a hill overlooking the area. Soriana-Hernandez and two co-conspirators covered their faces and proceeded down the hill toward the location. At the time, one victim was seated in a car and the other was near the car. Soriana-Hernandez fired multiple shots at the car and at both victims, but did not strike either victim. One co-conspirator fired a single shot at the victim who was sitting in the car, after which the firearm jammed. Another co-conspirator then approached the vehicle and stabbed that victim multiple times. The victim later died. According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the victim died from a single gunshot wound and 13 stab wounds.
Five of Soriana-Hernandez’s co-defendants remain charged in the eighth superseding indictment with various racketeering violations, including conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, drug trafficking conspiracy and extortion conspiracy. The trial of the remaining defendants is scheduled to begin on Jan. 6, 2020. Those defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Washington Field Office, HSI Baltimore, the DEA Washington Field Office, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Hyattsville Police Department, the Prince George’s State’s Attorney’s Office and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office. The WFO’s Safe Streets/HIDTA Task Force is composed of FBI agents along with detectives from the Capital Region engaged in identifying, disrupting and dismantling the most prolific gangs in the region to include MS-13. Trial Attorneys Francesca Liquori and Julie Finocchiaro of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Moomau and Catherine K. Dick of the District of Maryland are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
MS-13 Member Sentenced to 26 Years in Federal Prison for His Participation in a Violent Racketeering Conspiracy, Including a Murder and Attempted MurderRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Kevin Soriana-Hernandez, a/k/a “Brocha,” age 19, of Riverdale, Maryland, today to 26 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for his participation in the racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, including a murder and attempted murder.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur for the District of Maryland, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Safe Streets/HIDTA Task Force, Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Jesse R. Fong of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Field Division, Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department, Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department, Chief Amal Awad of the Hyattsville Police Department, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
“This sentence sends a message that the violence perpetrated by MS-13 members and associates will not be tolerated,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Our ongoing work with our law enforcement partners to bring other gang members to justice, demonstrates our unflagging commitment to eliminate MS-13 and its campaign of wanton violence.”
“MS-13’s stock-in-trade is violence and intimidation, as shown by the brutal and premeditated murder that Kevin Soriana-Hernandez and his fellow MS-13 members committed in Riverdale on Sept. 16, 2017,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “The Department of Justice will not rest in our mission to dismantle MS-13 and put an end to the gang’s evil efforts to terrorize our streets.”
According to the plea agreement, MS-13 is a gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, with members operating in the State of Maryland, including Montgomery County and Prince George’s County, and throughout the United States. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13 often work together cooperatively to engage in criminal activity and to assist one another in avoiding detection by law enforcement. MS-13 members and associates are required to commit acts of violence within the gang and against rival gangs. One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, known as “chavalas,” whenever possible.
As detailed in his plea agreement, Soriana-Hernandez admitted that since at least September 2017, he was a member and associate of the Sailors clique of MS-13, in Riverdale, Maryland. Beginning in approximately August 2017, members of the Sailors clique, including Soriana-Hernandez, engaged in an ongoing and escalating altercation with a group of individuals also residing in Riverdale, whom they believed to be members of a rival gang. The two groups threatened each other with physical violence, brandished firearms, and shot at each other.
Soriana-Hernandez also admitted that on September 16, 2017, he and other MS-13 members and associates planned and conspired to murder individuals in the rival group. Specifically, Soriana-Hernandez admitted that on September 16, 2017, he and four co-conspirators drove to the area in Riverdale where two of the suspected gang rivals were located, and parked on a hill overlooking the area. Soriana-Hernandez and two co-conspirators covered their faces and proceeded down the hill toward the location. At the time, one victim was seated in a car and the other was near the car. Soriana-Hernandez fired multiple shots at the car and at both victims, but did not strike either victim. One co-conspirator fired a single shot at the victim who was sitting in the car, after which the firearm jammed. Another co-conspirator then approached the vehicle and stabbed that victim multiple times. The victim later died. According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the victim died from a single gunshot wound and 13 stab wounds.
Five of Soriana-Hernandez’s co-defendants remain charged in the eighth superseding indictment with various racketeering violations, including conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, drug trafficking conspiracy, and extortion conspiracy. The trial of the remaining defendants is scheduled to begin on January 6, 2020. Those defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur and Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski commended the FBI Washington Field Office’s Safe Streets/HIDTA Task Force, HSI Baltimore, the DEA Washington Field Office, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Hyattsville Police Department, the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. The WFO’s Safe Streets/HIDTA Task Force is composed of FBI Agents along with Detectives from the Capital Region engaged in identifying, disrupting and dismantling the most prolific gangs in the region to include MS-13.
Mr. Hur and Mr. Benczkowski thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Moomau and Catherine K. Dick and Trial Attorneys Francesca Liquori and Julie Finocchiaro of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
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Leader of Old York Money Gang Sentenced to Life in Federal Prison and Gang Member Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Charges Related to Their Gang Activities, Including Racketeering Murder, Drug Conspiracy, Drug Dealing, and Gun CrimesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III today sentenced Trevon Beasley, a/k/a Tre, age 25, of Baltimore, to life in federal prison and on March 28, 2019, sentenced Darrin Mosley, a/k/a Legs and Scoop, age 25, also of Baltimore, to 30 years in federal prison, each followed by five years of supervised release. Beasley was convicted after a 12-day jury trial on federal racketeering charges, including murders he committed, related to his membership in the Old York Money Gang (OYMG); a federal drug distribution conspiracy; conspiracy to use and carry a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and a drug trafficking crime; and eight counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, powder cocaine, and/or heroin.
Just prior to trial, Mosley pleaded guilty to the racketeering and drug conspiracies, and to conspiracy to use and carry a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and a drug trafficking crime. While Mosley did not admit to any violent acts committed by himself or other gang members, the sentencing Court held that the evidence – including evidence presented by the government at Beasley’s trial, court documents, and other evidence – proved that as part of his gang activities, Mosley participated in and knew about murders committed by OYMG gang members.
The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
“OYMG gang members and other violent drug dealers must know that gun crime will lead to federal time, which has no parole – ever,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “I hope the community will take some comfort from the fact that we are holding accountable the criminals who turned their Northeast Baltimore neighborhood into a war zone.”
“This gang used firearms to defend and expand their drug territory, committing numerous violent crimes in pursuit of that goal,” said ATF Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada. “Fear of being caught in the crossfire of a gang turf war is a terrible reality that affects too many in Baltimore. ATF is determined to identify, investigate, and incarcerate this city’s most vicious criminals so that neighborhoods can be free of violence.”
According to the evidence presented at Beasley’s trial, Mosley’s plea agreement, and other court documents, from January 2013 to April 2017, Beasley and Mosley were members of the OYMG, a violent drug trafficking organization operating in the Waverly neighborhood in the northeastern district of Baltimore. OYMG was involved in criminal activity including murder, robbery, extortion, burglary, and narcotics trafficking in and around Baltimore. OYMG is a neighborhood gang, limiting its membership to persons that originate from or live in the Waverly neighborhood, and generally excluding “outsiders.” The gang extensively and frequently endorsed and promoted its existence through social media accounts and rap music videos, whereby members would display their association and advertise membership and activities of the gang. OYMG sustained itself in part through drug sales, including crack cocaine, as well as through murder for hire and other violent crimes.
The evidence elicited at trial showed that Trevon Beasley occupied a leadership role in the gang, which obtained its revenue from murder for hire and drug distribution. Mosley admitted that he distributed marijuana, crack cocaine and heroin and was heard on recorded jail calls discussing the distribution and supply of crack cocaine, prescription pills, and marijuana. Witnesses at trial testified that OYMG accepted money for contract killings as part of its business, and that Beasley specifically accepted and executed the contract murder of Tyrone Servance on November 15, 2016. Further, witnesses testified that Mosley drove Beasley to and from the murder. Recorded jail calls between Beasley and Mosley discuss the fallout from that contract killing. Witnesses testified that after the homicide, associates of the victim engaged in a war with OYMG over the next weeks. This culminated in two additional attempted murder of two other people on December 1, 2016, within weeks of the Servance murder. Beasley and Mosley believed that one of the December 1 victims had been hired to avenge the death of Mr. Servance. The other December 1 victim was simply an innocent person who happened to be in the first victim’s company. Those murders were planned and carried out by Beasley and Mosely. In Mosley’s own words, on his own social media, Beasley was Mosley’s own “shooter,” and Mosley was proud to pronounce Beasley as such. Other OYMG members regularly carried firearms to defend the gang’s territory and violently expelled OYMG rivals or antagonists.
Nine other defendants charged in the case previously pleaded guilty to racketeering and/or drug conspiracy charges and eight have been sentenced.
The final defendant to be sentenced, Terrell Plummer, a/k/a Rell, age 30, of Baltimore, is scheduled for sentencing on May 10, 2019. At his guilty plea on November 2, 2018, Plummer admitted that he shot and killed three-year-old McKenzie Elliott during a shoot-out, as she stood on the front porch of her home.
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The U.S. Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Metcalf and Michael C. Hanlon, who are prosecuting the case.
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Former Baltimore Police Commissioner Darryl De Sousa Sentenced to Federal Prison for Failing to File Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced former Baltimore Police Commissioner Darryl De Sousa, age 54, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 10 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for three counts of failing to file individual federal tax returns. Judge Blake also ordered DeSousa to perform 100 hours of community service, and ordered him to pay restitution in the full amount of the government’s loss, which is $67,587.72. Counting payments already made, the amount still owed is $60,645.11.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.
“As a law enforcement officer, Darryl DeSousa knew that he had a duty to file tax returns. His failure to file was a crime – not an oversight,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Corrupt public employees rip off the taxpayers and undermine everyone’s faith in government.”
“This investigation confirms the principle that no one is above the law,” said Acting FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore. “The FBI will continue to work tirelessly to make sure those in a position of power uphold the law and are held to the highest standards.”
“IRS-CI works hard to ensure faith in our tax laws,” said Kelly Jackson, IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge. “The prosecution of those who willfully violate their known duty of filing and paying their fair share is a vital element of the IRS’ enforcement strategy.”
According to his plea agreement, De Sousa was employed by the Baltimore Police Department beginning in 1998. De Sousa announced his resignation from BPD on May 15, 2018. On June 10, 1999, De Sousa submitted an Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate (W-4) to the City of Baltimore falsely claiming nine allowances for both federal and state tax purposes. By virtue of this claim, De Sousa substantially reduced the amount of taxes withheld from his salary each year. When he filed his federal and state income taxes for calendar years 2008 through 2012, he falsely claimed deductions to which he was not entitled, including for unreimbursed employee expenses when he had no such expenses, mortgage interest deductions and deductions for local property taxes when he did not have a mortgage or own any real property, and business losses when he did not operate any businesses. By virtue of these improper deductions, De Sousa fraudulently reduced the amount of taxes he owed to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the State of Maryland.
De Sousa admitted that for calendar years 2011 and 2012, he did not file tax returns at all and did not do so until 2014. When he did file returns for those years he falsely claimed unreimbursed employee expenses and donations to charity. De Sousa also failed to pay penalties and interest on those late-filed returns despite having been told to do so by the IRS. In addition, as of May 5, 2018, De Sousa had not filed taxes for 2013, 2014, or 2015, despite knowing that he had a legal obligation to do so. By virtue of the nine allowances he falsely claimed, De Sousa also owed additional money to the United States and the State of Maryland in each of those years, as he also knew.
As a result of De Sousa’s actions, the total combined tax due to the United States and to the State of Maryland is $67,587.72.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and IRS-CI for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leo J. Wise, Derek E. Hines, and Sean R. Delaney, who prosecuted the case.
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Former Government Contractor Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge of Willful Retention of National Defense InformationRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Harold Thomas Martin, III, age 54, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to the federal charge of willful retention of national defense information.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.
“Harold Martin was entrusted with highly classified national defense information. Today, Martin admitted that he betrayed that trust and for more than 20 years he stole and retained a vast quantity of highly classified government information,” stated U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “We will prosecute government employees and contractors who flagrantly violate their duty to protect classified materials.”
“The American people entrusted Harold Martin with some of the nation’s most sensitive classified secrets,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers. “In turn, Martin owed them a duty to safeguard this information. He has admitted to violating their trust and putting our nation’s security at risk. With today’s plea, we are one step closer to holding Mr. Martin accountable for his dangerous and unlawful actions.”
“Security clearance holders bear a profound public trust - to safeguard classified information in secure settings with strict adherence to law and policy,” said Acting FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore. “When this trust is broken, as with Mr. Martin, the FBI will be tireless and comprehensive in its investigation to hold wrongdoers accountable. The take away from this case is for security clearance holders to abide by laws and security policy for handling classified information, to keep it safe for the good of the country.”
According to his plea agreement, from December 1993 through August 27, 2016, Martin was employed by at least seven different private companies and assigned as a contractor to work at a number of government agencies. Martin was required to receive and maintain a security clearance in order to work at each of the government agencies to which he was assigned. Martin held security clearances up to Top Secret and Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) at various times. A Top Secret classification means that unauthorized disclosure reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the United States. An SCI designation compartmentalizes extremely sensitive information. Because of his work responsibilities and security clearance, Martin was able to access government computer systems, programs, and information in secure locations, including classified national defense information. Over his many years of holding a security clearance, Martin received training regarding classified information and his duty to protect classified materials from unauthorized disclosure.
Martin admitted that beginning in the late 1990s and continuing through August 31, 2016, he stole and retained U.S. government property, from secure locations and computer systems, including documents that bore markings indicating that they were the property of the United States and contained highly classified information of the United States, including TOP SECRET/SCI information.
As detailed in his plea agreement, Martin retained a vast quantity of stolen documents and other information bearing standard classification markings, in both hard copy and digital form, and relating to the national defense, at his residence and in his vehicle. Martin knew that the hard copy and digital documents stolen from his workplace contained classified information that related to the national defense and that he was never authorized to retain these documents at his residence or in his vehicle. Martin admitted that he also knew that the unauthorized removal of these materials risked their disclosure, which would be damaging to the national security of the United States and highly useful to its adversaries.
Martin and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Martin will be sentenced to nine years in prison for willful retention of national defense information. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for July 17, 2019, at 3:00 p.m.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur and Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers commended the FBI for its work in the investigation and thanked the National Security Agency for its assistance. Mr. Hur and Mr. Demers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary A. Myers and Harvey E. Eisenberg, and Trial Attorney David Aaron of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, who are prosecuting the case.
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Two Baltimore Drug Traffickers Sentenced to over 9 ½ Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – On March 25, 2019, Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced James Hair, a/k/a “Mook,” age 28, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 117 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least two kilograms of cocaine.
In another case yesterday, U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Stancil McNair, age 22, of Baltimore, Maryland to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute heroin, powder cocaine, crack cocaine, and fentanyl.
The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration – Baltimore District Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
“Drug traffickers must know that gun crime will lead to federal time, which has no parole - ever,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to remove those who would commit violence from our community.”
According to Hair’s guilty plea, between late 2016 and early 2017, Hair was captured on federal wiretaps discussing drug trafficking with a heroin distributor, who was also a member of the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) gang. On February 5, 2017, the FBI seized a cell phone belonging to an associate of Hair’s. The phone contained text messages in which Hair and his associate discussed a plan to rob and kill Hair’s cocaine supplier. Also on February 5, 2017, Hair was heard on a recorded jail call telling an inmate that he had provided a firearm to a mutual friend of theirs because the friend had gotten into a fight with someone. In early to mid-March 2017, Hair was intercepted on several calls discussing getting revenge for the murder of one of his friends, and retrieving several firearms that the murdered friend had been keeping. Hair admitted that he knew that the conspiracy distributed between two kilograms and 3.5 kilograms of cocaine.
According to McNair’s plea agreement, from at least May 2017 through September 19, 2017, McNair was a manager in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that operated in and around 1100 North Montford Avenue in Baltimore, distributing heroin, fentanyl, and powder and crack cocaine. As one of the managers, McNair was responsible for managing a portion of the daily supply of narcotics for the organization by providing bags of heroin to other street-level distributors drug shops operated by the DTO and taking custody of the drug proceeds from the distributors. Between May 5 and July 12, 2017, McNair also sold a total of 115 vials of crack cocaine, 21 bags of crack cocaine, and 70 gel caps of heroin to an undercover ATF special agent. McNair also possessed a firearm throughout the time of the conspiracy, to serve as protection against rivals who would try to steal drugs, drug proceeds, or drug territory. On September 8, 2017, a co-conspirator called McNair and told him to bring the co-conspirator a pistol. McNair immediately took his pistol to the co-conspirator to use. The co-conspirator subsequently returned the gun to McNair. On September 18, 2017, ATF agents watched McNair leave his house to go the drug shop and saw McNair reach for his waistband and grab at an object they believed to a gun. McNair was arrested and agents recovered a loaded 9mm pistol from McNair.
These cases are 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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the Hair case and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina A. Hoffman and Peter J. Martinez, who prosecuted the case. U.S. Attorney Hur commended the ATF, the DEA, and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the McNair case. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew DellaBetta and Michael C. Hanlon, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
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Maryland Sex Offender Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander today sentenced Freddie Emerson Crockett, age 40, of Earleville, Maryland, to 10 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release for possession of child pornography. In imposing this sentence, the Court also found that Crockett had transported child pornography. Crockett will also pay $500 in restitution to one of the victims depicted in the images of child pornography that he possessed and transported. In addition, upon his release from prison, Crockett must continue to register as a sex offender in the places 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 United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.
According to his plea agreement, Crockett used two accounts on a social networking account to store, transport, and possess child pornography. Specifically, between October 20, 2016 and October 24, 2017, Crockett used several email addresses to upload child pornography to his social networking accounts. On October 3, 2017, Yahoo deactivated one of Crockett’s accounts, and the associated email address, for possession of child pornography. The next day, Yahoo reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that someone using that email address had uploaded 133 files containing possible child pornography. Yahoo provided additional information to NCMEC, including the phone number and other email addresses associated with the owner of the account, as well as reporting Crockett’s possible association with the account. On October 17, 2017, NCMEC provided Yahoo’s report to the Maryland State Police. On October 3, 2017, the same day Yahoo deactivated one of his accounts for uploading and possessing child pornography, Crockett created a new account with a new email address, and used that account to upload additional images of child pornography. Yahoo again filed a report with NCMEC, who also provided that report to the Maryland State Police.
Further investigation led the Maryland State Police to execute a search warrant at Crockett’s residence in Earleville on November 22, 2017. An on-scene forensic preview of the memory card from Crockett’s cell phone located several images of child pornography. Crockett’s phone, the memory card, and his laptop were seized. A forensic examination of those items revealed more than 75 images depicting child pornography, including several images of a prepubescent female engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Crockett was already a sex offender based on two 2010 convictions in the Circuit Court for Cecil County for surreptitiously recording 13 and 16-year-old females while they were changing clothes in a bathroom at his residence.
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.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI-Baltimore and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey J. Izant and Judson T. Mihok, who prosecuted the federal case.
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Maryland MS-13 Leader Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for a Violent Racketeering Conspiracy, Including Planning a MurderRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis today sentenced Kevin Henriquez-Chavez, a/k/a “Loco” and “Crazy,” age 24, of Washington Grove, Maryland, to 30 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13; and conspiring to use and carry a firearm during a crime of violence.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jesse R. Fong of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
“Federal, state, and local law enforcement will continue to work together to eradicate the violence perpetrated by MS-13 in Maryland,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Today’s sentence sends a strong message to MS-13 gang members that their criminal actions cannot, and will not, be tolerated.”
MS-13 is a gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, with members operating in the State of Maryland, including Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Frederick County, and throughout the United States. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13 often work together cooperatively to engage in criminal activity and to assist one another in avoiding detection by law enforcement. In Maryland and the surrounding area, these cliques include Parkview Locos Salvatrucha (“PVLS”), Normandie Locos Salvatrucha (“NLS” or “Normandie”), Sailors Locos Salvatrucha Westside (“SLSW” or “Sailors”), Langley Park Salvatrucha (“LPS”), Weedoms Locos Salvatrucha (“Weedoms”), and Cabanas Locos Salvatruchas (“Cabanas”). MS-13 cliques often combine and work together as “Programs,” with the purpose of increasing the gang’s levels of organization, violence, extortion, and other criminal activity. A person within the participating cliques is selected as the Program leader.
To protect the gang and to enhance its reputation, MS-13 members and associates are expected to use any means necessary to force respect from those who show disrespect, including acts of intimidation and violence. MS-13’s creed is based on one of its mottos, “Mata, roba, viola, controla,” which translates to, “kill, steal, rape, control.”
According to his plea agreement, from 2015 through 2016, Henriquez-Chavez was a member of the Cabanas clique and served as the “First Word” or leader of the clique. Henriquez-Chavez admitted to participating in numerous acts in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy, including robbery and murder.
As detailed in his plea agreement, Henriquez-Chavez admitted that on November 1, 2015, he and three other MS-13 members and associates were behind an elementary school in Montgomery Village, Maryland, where Victim 3 was also present. Henriquez-Chavez told one of his co-conspirators to get the gun that was maintained by the Cabanas Clique. In order to gain entrance to, maintain, and increase their position in MS-13, the conspirators made a plan to murder Victim 3, whom Henriquez-Chavez and the co-conspirators believed to be a member of the rival 18th Street Gang. Henriquez-Chavez provided instructions that the co-conspirators invite Victim 3 to accompany them into the woods to smoke marijuana and to meet up with a girl on the other side, and told each of the co-conspirators to take a turn shooting Victim 3. Victim 3 agreed to accompany the co-conspirators and was subsequently shot to death.
Co-defendants Jose Augustin Salmeron-Larios, a/k/a “Joseph Morales-Martinez,” “Angel Salvador Gutierrez,” “Yankee,” and “Kean,” age 26, of Severn, Maryland; Noe Coreas-Mejia, a/k/a “Tsunami,” age 22, of Hyattsville, Maryland; and Juan Carlos Espinal-Rapalo, a/k/a “Chiki,” age 21; Daniel Adonai Ramos-Romero, a/k/a “Romero Taylor Binga,” “Taylor Romero,” and “Binga,” age 22; and Oscar Delgado-Perez, a/k/a “Complicado” and “Indio,” age 26, all of Gaithersburg, have all pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy and other charges related to their association with MS-13. They remain detained as they await sentencing.
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA; HSI Baltimore, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur also recognized the Montgomery County and Prince George’s County Departments of Corrections, HSI Baltimore’s Operation Community Shield Task Force, and the Maryland Department of Corrections Intelligence Unit for their assistance. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant United States Attorneys William D. Moomau, Ray D. McKenzie, Catherine K. Dick, and Burden H. Walker who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
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Eleventh and Final Defendant in Baltimore Drug Trafficking Conspiracy Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Eric Adams, age 43, of Odenton, Maryland today to 12 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin and 500 grams or more of cocaine.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration – Baltimore District Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
“This case removed 11 drug dealers, a significant quantity of narcotics, and guns from the streets of Baltimore,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Disputes between rival drug gangs often lead to shootings and murders in Baltimore City. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to remove violent drug dealers from our communities.”
According to his plea agreement, Adams and co-conspirators Claudis Lassiter and Kevin Murchison stored and processed wholesale quantities of cocaine in an apartment on Whetstone Way in the McHenry Row complex in Baltimore. Adams and his co-defendants supplied narcotics to others, including co-defendants DeAngelo Keith, Stanley Dunham., and others. Law enforcement located the apartment after a GPS tracking device was placed on one of Lassiter’s vehicles.
As detailed in Adams’ plea agreement, on May 5, 2017, investigators installed two cameras within the Whetstone apartment. From May 4, 2017 through May 13, 2017, Adams was captured on video processing narcotics inside the kitchen of the Whetstone apartment on at least five occasions. On May 11, 2017, investigators observed Adams process narcotics within the Whetstone apartment, then leave, meet with Stanley Dunham, and conduct a suspected drug transaction in Dunham’s vehicle. Investigators stopped Dunham following this meeting. Law enforcement located 30 grams of heroin in Dunham’s vehicle, which confirmed the drug transaction.
According to his plea agreement, on May 13, 2017, Adams brought a large suitcase into the Whetstone apartment and proceeded to process narcotics. When Adams left the Whetstone apartment, he was arrested and investigators searched the Whetstone apartment. Law enforcement recovered approximately one kilogram of fentanyl, almost three kilograms of heroin, over two kilograms of cocaine, a twenty-ton kilogram press, and other processing equipment and drug-cutting agents from the apartment.
Investigators also searched Adams’ residence and recovered in the master bedroom one .38-caliber revolver, loaded with five rounds of ammunition; a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, loaded with sixteen rounds; as well as a receipt, addressed to Eric Adams, for a 5x8x8 interior storage unit. On May 15, 2017, investigators served a subpoena to the manager of the storage company, who confirmed that Adams was renting storage unit 120. A short time later, a canine scan was conducted in the storage unit and the canine alerted positive to the presence of narcotics in storage unit 120. Investigators obtained and executed a search warrant on the storage unit and found another kilogram press, as well as a .22-caliber revolver.
Adams admitted that it was reasonably foreseeable to him that members of the conspiracy would distribute between three and 10 kilograms of heroin. Ten co-defendants have also pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug trafficking conspiracy, and were sentenced to between 12 months and 126 months in prison.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the DEA and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for its assistance. Mr. Hur thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Goo and Assistant U.S. Attorney James T. Wallner, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
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Alleged Dark Web Child Pornography Facilitator Extradited to the United States to Face Federal ChargesRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Irish authorities extradited Eric Eoin Marques, age 33, to the United States to face federal charges that he allegedly conspired to advertise and distribute child pornography on the dark web. Marques, a dual national citizen of the United States and Ireland, arrived in the United States on March 23, 2019, and had his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. An amended criminal complaint was filed on August 8, 2013, and unsealed today at Marques’ initial appearance. At that hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sullivan ordered that Marques be detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday, March 27, 2019, at 11:30 a.m. in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt.
The extradition and federal charges were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Assistant Director Robert Johnson of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division..
“Criminals cannot hide on the dark web or in foreign countries,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “We will find them and bring them to justice. We are grateful to Irish authorities for their assistance to bring Eric Marques to the United States to face these charges.”
“Child exploitation sites on the dark web present a grave danger to children and unprecedented challenges to the world’s law enforcement agencies,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “The complaint unsealed today demonstrates the Department’s commitment to pursuing those accused of serious child pornography offenses wherever they may hide on the web and in the world, and to seeking justice for the countless children that are victimized by those who facilitate this horrendous conduct.”
“Today’s extradition of Eric Marques demonstrates that no matter where you are in the world, the FBI and its international law enforcement partners will be diligent in their efforts to hold you accountable for your criminal activity,” said FBI Assistant Director Johnson. “The FBI will never stop working to ensure justice is served for the vulnerable child victims who are unable stand up for themselves.”
According to the amended criminal complaint, between July 24, 2008 and July 29, 2013, Marques conspired to advertise and to distribute child pornography, and aided and abetted the advertising and distribution of child pornography, by allegedly operating a free, anonymous web hosting service (AHS) located on the “dark web”, an area of the Internet that is only accessible by means of special software, allowing users and website operators to remain anonymous or untraceable. The AHS allegedly hosted websites that allowed users to view and share images documenting the sexual abuse of children, including the abuse of prepubescent minors, violent sexual abuse, and bestiality.
According to the amended criminal complaint, as of July 12, 2013, one site hosted on the AHS reported that there were almost 1.4 million files that were uploaded and accessible by individuals who visit the hidden service. During 2012 and 2013, FBI agents and employees using computers in Maryland downloaded more than one million files from that website. As part of the investigation, those files were reviewed and nearly all of the files depict children who are engaging in sexually explicit conduct with adults or other children, posed nude and/or in such a manner as to expose their genitals, in various states of undress, or depict child erotica. A substantial majority of the images downloaded by the FBI depict prepubescent minor children who are fully or partially nude or engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The complaint alleges that during the time of the conspiracy, the IP address associated with the AHS was assigned to a computer server associated with and exclusively used by Marques.
If convicted, Marques faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 in prison for conspiracy to advertise child pornography and for aiding and abetting the advertising of child pornography; and a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute child pornography and for aiding and abetting the distribution of child pornography.
A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
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.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur and Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski commended the FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Section and Legal Attaché London, Irish law enforcement authorities, An Garda Síochána and EUROPOL. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in bringing Marques to the United States and procuring foreign evidence during the investigation.
Mr. Hur and Mr. Benczkowski thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristi N. O’Malley and Thomas M. Sullivan, and Deputy Chief Keith A. Becker and Trial Attorney Ralph Paradiso of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, who are prosecuting the federal case.
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Alleged Dark Web Child Pornography Facilitator Extradited to the United States to Face Federal ChargesRead the Press Release
Irish authorities extradited a dual national citizen of the United States and Ireland to the United States to face federal charges that he allegedly advertised and distributed child pornography on the dark web.
The extradition and federal charges were announced by Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur for the District of Maryland and Assistant Director Robert Johnson of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.
Eric Eoin Marques, 33, arrived in the United States on March 23, and had his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland. An amended criminal complaint was filed on Aug. 8, 2013, and unsealed today at Marques’ initial appearance. Marques is charged with conspiracy to advertise child pornography, conspiracy to distribute child pornography, aiding and abetting the advertising of child pornography, and aiding and abetting the distribution of child pornography. At the hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sullivan ordered that Marques be detained pending trial or a detention hearing scheduled for March 27, 2019 at 11:30 a.m.
“Child exploitation sites on the dark web present a grave danger to children and unprecedented challenges to the world’s law enforcement agencies,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “The complaint unsealed today demonstrates the Department’s commitment to pursuing those accused of serious child pornography offenses wherever they may hide on the web and in the world, and to seeking justice for the countless children that are victimized by those who facilitate this horrendous conduct.”
“Criminals cannot hide on the dark web or in foreign countries,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “We will find them and bring them to justice. We are grateful to Irish authorities for their assistance to bring Eric Marques to the United States to face these charges.”
“Today’s extradition of Eric Marques demonstrates that no matter where you are in the world, the FBI and it’s international law enforcement partners will be diligent in their efforts to hold you accountable for your criminal activity,” said FBI Assistant Director Johnson. “The FBI will never stop working to ensure justice is served for the vulnerable child victims who are unable stand up for themselves.”
According to the amended criminal complaint, between July 24, 2008 and July 29, 2013, Marques conspired to advertise and distribute child pornography, and aided and abetted the advertising and distribution of child pornography, by allegedly operating a free, anonymous web hosting service (AHS) located on the dark web, an area of the internet that is only accessible by means of special software, allowing users and website operators to remain anonymous or untraceable. The AHS allegedly hosted websites that allowed users to view and share images documenting the sexual abuse of children, including the abuse of prepubescent minors, violent sexual abuse, and bestiality.
According to the amended criminal complaint, as of July 12, 2013, one site hosted on the AHS reported that there were almost 1.4 million files that were uploaded and accessible by individuals who visit the hidden service. During 2012 and 2013, FBI special agents and employees using computers in Maryland downloaded more than one million files from that website. As part of the investigation, those files were reviewed and nearly all of the files depict children who are engaging in sexually explicit conduct with adults or other children, posed nude and/or in such a manner as to expose their genitals, in various states of undress, or depict child erotica. A substantial majority of the images downloaded by the FBI depict prepubescent minor children who are fully or partially nude or engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The complaint alleges that during the time of the conspiracy, the IP address associated with the AHS was assigned to a computer server associated with and exclusively used by Marques.
A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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 U.S. 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.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Section and Legal Attaché London, Irish law enforcement authorities, An Garda Síochána and EUROPOL. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in bringing Marques to the United States and procuring foreign evidence during the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Keith A. Becker and Trial Attorney Ralph Paradiso of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristi N. O’Malley and Thomas M. Sullivan of the District of Maryland.
Medstar Health to Pay U.S. $35 Million to Resolve Allegations that it Paid Kickbacks to a Cardiology Group in Exchange for ReferralsRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – MedStar Health, Inc. (MedStar) in Columbia, Md., MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, and MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, both in Baltimore, have agreed to pay the United States $35 million to settle allegations under the False Claims Act that it paid kickbacks to MidAtlantic Cardiovascular Associates (MACVA), a cardiology group based in Pikesville, Maryland, in exchange for referrals, through a series of professional services contracts at Union Memorial and Franklin Square Hospitals in Baltimore.
The settlement was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Justice Department’s Civil Division; and Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General - Office of Investigations.
“Kickbacks give doctors an incentive to pursue unnecessary treatments that are costly and sometimes even dangerous to patients,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “We will not tolerate medical care providers who put their patients at risk and waste taxpayers’ dollars in order to line their own pockets.”
“Kickbacks made in connection with the provision of medical services undermine the integrity of our health care system,” said Jody Hunt, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “We will take action against medical service providers who through unlawful conduct put their own financial interests ahead of the best interests of patients, we will take action.”
“Patients rightly expect their doctors will make recommendations based on sound medical practice -- not payoffs that too often result in needless and sometimes even harmful procedures,” said Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “We will continue to protect patients and taxpayer-funded government health programs from these unnecessary services, as the government contended in this case.”
The allegations resolved in the settlement include the payment of kickbacks to MACVA under the guise of professional services agreements, in return for MACVA’s referrals to Union Memorial of lucrative cardiovascular procedures, including cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology procedures, from January 1, 2006 through July 31, 2011.
Under the settlement MedStar also agrees to settle allegations that it received Medicare payments from January 1, 2006 through December 28, 2012, for medically unnecessary stents performed by John Wang, M.D., a one-time employee of MACVA who was later employed by MedStar.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit brought by whistleblowers Stephen D. Lincoln, M.D.; Peter Horneffer, M.D.; and Garth McDonald, M.D., cardiac surgeons who practiced together as members of Cardiac Surgery Associates in Baltimore. The lawsuit, which was filed in the District of Maryland in June 2010, alleges that Union Memorial and Franklin Square, and others, violated the Anti-Kickback Act and the False Claims Act by paying various forms of illegal remuneration to MACVA to induce referrals of patients insured by Medicare for cardiac procedures which caused false claims to be submitted to Medicare.
The settlement also resolves another lawsuit brought by whistleblowers who were former patients of John Wang, M.D. who claimed that Dr. Wang, MedStar, and Union Memorial engaged in a pattern and practice of performing medically unnecessary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with stent placement procedures and submitted false claims to Medicare for those cardiac stent procedures. The lawsuit was filed in the District of Maryland in December 2012.
The whistleblowers, or relators, brought their actions under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private citizens with knowledge of false claims against the government to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. Under the civil settlement announced today, the relators will receive a portion of the federal share of the recovery.
The settlement announced today was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland and the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division with assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. The case was handled by Maryland Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew P. Phelps and Roann Nichols.
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MedStar Health to Pay U.S. $35 Million to Resolve Allegations that it Paid Kickbacks to a Cardiology Group in Exchange for ReferralsRead the Press Release
MedStar Health Inc. (MedStar) in Columbia, Maryland., MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, and MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, both in Baltimore, have agreed to pay the United States $35 million to settle allegations under the False Claims Act that it paid kickbacks to MidAtlantic Cardiovascular Associates (MACVA), a cardiology group based in Pikesville, Maryland, in exchange for referrals, through a series of professional services contracts at Union Memorial and Franklin Square Hospitals in Baltimore.
The settlement was announced by Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; and Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General - Office of Investigations.
“Kickbacks made in connection with the provision of medical services undermine the integrity of our health care system,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “We will take action against medical service providers who through unlawful conduct put their own financial interests ahead of the best interests of patients.”
“Kickbacks give doctors an incentive to pursue unnecessary treatments that are costly and sometimes even dangerous to patients,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “We will not tolerate medical care providers who put their patients at risk and waste taxpayers’ dollars in order to line their own pockets.”
“Patients rightly expect their doctors will make recommendations based on sound medical practice – not payoffs that too often result in needless and sometimes even harmful procedures,” said Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “We will continue to protect patients and taxpayer-funded government health programs from these unnecessary services, as the government contended in this case.”
The allegations resolved in the settlement include the payment of kickbacks to MACVA under the guise of professional services agreements, in return for MACVA’s referrals to Union Memorial of lucrative cardiovascular procedures, including cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology procedures, from Jan. 1, 2006, through July 31, 2011.
Under the settlement MedStar also agrees to settle allegations that it received Medicare payments from Jan. 1, 2006, through Dec. 28, 2012, for medically unnecessary stents performed by John Wang, M.D., a one-time employee of MACVA who was later employed by MedStar.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit brought by whistleblowers, Stephen D. Lincoln, M.D.; Peter Horneffer, M.D.; and Garth McDonald, M.D., cardiac surgeons who practiced together as members of Cardiac Surgery Associates in Baltimore. The lawsuit, which was filed in the District of Maryland in June 2010, alleges that Union Memorial and Franklin Square, and others, violated the Anti-Kickback Act and the False Claims Act by paying various forms of illegal remuneration to MACVA to induce referrals of patients insured by Medicare for cardiac procedures which caused false claims to be submitted to Medicare.
The settlement also resolves another lawsuit brought by whistleblowers who were former patients of John Wang, M.D. who claimed that Dr. Wang, MedStar, and Union Memorial engaged in a pattern and practice of performing medically unnecessary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with stent placement procedures and submitted false claims to Medicare for those cardiac stent procedures. The lawsuit was filed in the District of Maryland in December 2012.
The whistleblowers, or relators, brought their actions under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private citizens with knowledge of false claims against the government to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. Under the civil settlement announced today, the relators will receive a portion of the federal share of the recovery.
The settlement announced today was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland and the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division with assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. The case was handled by Maryland Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew P. Phelps and Roann Nichols.
Hagerstown Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for Managing a Fentanyl Distribution Conspiracy that Resulted in at Least Two Fatal OverdosesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Antoine Jamel Henderson age 35, of Hagerstown, Maryland, today to 14 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiring to distribute 40 or more grams of fentanyl—as little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be a lethal dose. As detailed in his plea agreement, Henderson and others distributed at least 280 grams of fentanyl in the area of Washington County, Maryland—enough fentanyl to kill most of the residents of Washington County. Further, Henderson admitted that the drug trafficking organization that he supervised sold fentanyl that resulted in both fatal and non-fatal overdoses, including the fatal overdoses of two Pennsylvania men.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; the Washington County Narcotics Task Force, led by Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore; and Washington County State’s Attorney Charles P. Strong, Jr.
“Antoine Henderson supervised an organization that distributed fentanyl in Washington County and the surrounding area, leading to at least two overdose deaths,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Henderson will now spend 14 years in federal prison, where there is no parole—ever. Drug traffickers are on notice that dealing in fentanyl increases their odds of federal prosecution and federal prison.”
According to his plea agreement, from at least 2017 through January 2018, Henderson conspired with others to distribute at least 280 grams of fentanyl in the area of Washington County, Maryland. Henderson knew that the fentanyl that was distributed during the conspiracy resulted in both fatal and non-fatal overdoses, including the fatal overdoses of Marc Brumbaugh, age 27, and Nathan Bolden, age 31, both from Waynesboro, Pennsylvania.
Between August and September 2017, investigators conducted at least six controlled purchases of either fentanyl or crack cocaine from Henderson or his co-defendant. According to the plea agreement, the controlled purchases were supposed to be heroin, but lab results showed that the substances provided by Henderson and his co-defendant were in fact fentanyl, not heroin.
On January 17, 2018, search warrants were executed at two locations and three vehicles involved in the Henderson Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO). At Henderson’s stash house, located on Atlantic Drive in Hagerstown, agents recovered 80.22 grams of fentanyl. The fentanyl was located in the bottom compartment of a Coca-Cola vending machine in the garage. The agents also recovered 9 mm ammunition, a drug press, digital scales, drug packaging equipment, plastic bags containing fentanyl residue, cellular phones, and other drug paraphernalia.
At Henderson’s primary residence, located on Lantern Lane in Hagerstown, the agents recovered additional cellular phones, a currency counter, jewelry, and a garage opener that opened the garage at the stash house. Search warrants were obtained for the 28 cellular phones that were recovered from the houses and cars, as well as for the DVD from the surveillance system located at the stash house. Also on Henderson’s iPhone, agents found iPhone “notes” tracking law enforcement surveillance.
U.S Attorney Hur recognized Franklin County (PA) District Attorney Matt Fogal, the Waynesboro (PA) Police Department, the Franklin County Drug Task Force, the Franklin County Coroner’s Office, the Washington County Special Response Team, and the Maryland Natural Resources Police for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution.
Franklin County (PA) District Attorney Matt Fogal stated, “Law Enforcement in Franklin County, PA is very grateful to the outside agencies for working together in pursuit of justice for our lost victims. While much of our law enforcement time is now spent assisting those who suffer from the disease of addiction, those who solely profit from and prey upon our suffering victims are uniquely villainous.”
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA; the Washington County Narcotics Task Force, led by Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore; and Washington County State’s Attorney Charles P. Strong, Jr. for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joan C. Mathias and Michael C. Hanlon, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
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Baltimore Man Indicted on Federal Charges for Five Bank Robberies, Five Armed Robberies of Liquor Stores, and Related Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted Anthony Eugene Wiggins, age 40, of Baltimore, Maryland, for a string of robberies, including five bank robberies and five armed robberies at liquor stores, allegedly committed between September 24, 2018 and November 15, 2018, as well as an attempted robbery on November 15, 2018. The indictment was returned on March 20, 2019. Wiggins’ initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore has not yet been scheduled and he is currently detained on related state charges.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Chief Charles Moore of the Bel Air Police Department.
The 16-count indictment alleges that between September 24 and October 18, 2018, Wiggins committed robberies at five separate Maryland banks, including two banks in Baltimore, and one each in White Marsh, Bel Air, and Arbutus.
Further, the indictment alleges that between November 2 and November 15, 2018, Wiggins committed five armed robberies at four liquor stores in Dundalk, Middle River, and Baltimore, Maryland. According to the indictment, Wiggins discharged a firearm in two of those robberies, specifically, a robbery in Dundalk on November 2, 2018 and a robbery in Baltimore on November 13, 2018, and brandished a firearm in the other three robberies. Finally, the indictment alleges that Wiggins attempted to rob a fifth liquor store, located in Dundalk, on November 15, 2018.
If convicted, Wiggins faces a maximum sentence of 20 year in prison on each of five counts of bank robbery and for each of six counts of interference or attempted interference with commerce by violence; and a maximum of life in prison for each of three counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and for each of two counts of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
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 Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Bel Air Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Riley and Mary W. Setzer, who are prosecuting the case.
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Baltimore Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for an Armed CarjackingRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced DeAndre Spencer, age 27, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 12 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for committing an armed carjacking.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department.
“DeAndre Spencer used a gun to commit a carjacking in broad daylight,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Hopefully criminals who are not deterred from carrying guns by the threat of prison time can be deterred by the reality of years spent in a federal prison far from home—where there is no parole. Ever.”
According to Spencer’s plea agreement, on October 26, 2017, the victim was stopped in his car at the intersection of North Duncan Street and East Fairmount Avenue in Baltimore, when Spencer approached and requested a ride. The victim refused and Spencer pointed a loaded handgun at the victim and demanded that the victim get out of the car. Spencer then stole the victim’s wallet and cell phone and drove away in the victim’s car. The victim walked to a nearby school and called 911. Police arrived and began an investigation into the carjacking.
Later that day, a detective with the Baltimore County Police Department saw Spencer driving the victim’s car through intersections without stopping at stop signs. The detective began following the car to initiate a traffic stop. Shortly thereafter, Spencer crashed the car into a light pole and tried to run away. The detective apprehended Spencer and recovered a loaded handgun from his person.
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew DellaBetta, who prosecuted the case.
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Anne Arundel County Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Federal Prison for Sexually Abusing a Minor to Produce Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett today sentenced Glenn Ranger, age 56, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, to 40 years in federal prison, followed by 40 years of supervised release, for two counts of production of child pornography in connection with his sexual abuse of a young boy. At today’s sentencing hearing, the government also presented evidence to the Court that Ranger sexually abused a young girl in the 1990’s, beginning when the girl was approximately 5 years old. Judge Bennett found that Ranger sexually abused the minor girl and took that into consideration in imposing the sentence. Judge Bennett ordered that upon his release from prison, Ranger must register as a sex offender in the places 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 United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Chief David A. Spencer of the Easton Police Department; Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.
“Glenn Ranger is a predator and our communities are safer because he will now serve 40 years in federal prison,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “This is an especially egregious case because it involves such young children and the impact of Ranger’s crimes on the victims will continue for the rest of their lives. We are very grateful to the person who turned the child pornography over to authorities, so that Ranger could be brought to justice.”
According to his guilty plea, beginning in at least 2004, Ranger knowingly persuaded, enticed, and coerced a prepubescent male to engage in sexually explicit conduct in order to produce videos and images of that conduct. Specifically, Ranger sexually abused John Doe, beginning when John Doe was approximately seven-years-old, and recorded the abuse. The boy was unaware that Ranger was recording the abuse.
In July 2014, Ranger leased a storage unit in Pasadena, Maryland, but failed to pay the rent for the unit. The contents of the unit were purchased at auction by a resident of Easton, Maryland, in March 2018. After observing the nature of the contents, the individual turned them over to law enforcement. The contents of Ranger’s storage unit included computers and other digital devices, VHS tapes, framed photographs, and binders containing printed and organized images of child pornography erotica. The framed photographs included five images of child pornography, including images documenting Ranger’s abuse of John Doe, which were produced by Ranger. The digital devices were forensically examined and were found to contain over 200 images of child pornography and more than 10,000 child exploitive/age difficult images. Two of the VHS tapes contained videos of Ranger sexually abusing John Doe on three separate occasions, and also show Ranger taking sexually explicit photographs of John Doe. The XD card used to store the images was also located among the items from Ranger’s storage unit.
Ranger was arrested on April 4, 2018. Ranger’s mobile phone was forensically examined after his arrest and revealed that Ranger had visited the social media profile of John Doe, and had made over 46,000 searches using terms such as “nude teen boys,” “nude teenager girl,” “nude teenager boy,” “pure nudist,” and “familys nude.”
Ranger has been detained since his arrest.
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.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI-Baltimore, the Maryland State Police, the Easton Police Department, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who prosecuted the federal case.
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Third and Final Defendant Pleads Guilty in Pawn Shop Scheme to Sell Stolen GoodsRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – On Friday, March 15, 2019, David Gutman, age 55, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy in connection with a scheme to accept and sell stolen goods from the Chesapeake Pawn Brokers, in Edgewood, Maryland. Two co-defendants, Marina Gelfen, age 55 of Reisterstown, Maryland and Dmitry Babich, age 48, of Owings Mills, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to the same charge. Gelfen and Babich owned and managed Chesapeake Pawn, where Gutman was an employee.
The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Sung “Jimmy” Yi of the United States Secret Service - Baltimore Field Office; and Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler.
According to their plea agreements, between January 1, 2015, and July 8, 2018, Gelfen, Babich, and Gutman paid cash to “boosters,” a common term for shoplifters, in exchange for merchandise stolen from Home Depot. The products include exclusive brands sold only through the Home Depot, such as Makita, Ryobi, Ridgid, and other brand power tools, to include drills, wrenches, saws, and lithium batteries. The products were frequently new and still in the original store box. The conspirators sold the items on eBay, with the payments being made through PayPal.
As detailed in their plea agreements, the conspirators bought these items from boosters at Chesapeake Pawn, at far less than their retail value, knowing that the boosters stole them directly from Home Depot. Gelfen and Gutman admitted that they paid boosters over $70,000 for stolen products, while Babich paid boosters over $11,000 during the year that he was part of the conspiracy. The conspirators listed and sold the stolen items on eBay under at least eleven different eBay user names, including the names of relatives and associates, in an effort to conceal the high volume of transactions. From January of 2015 through May 2018, those eBay accounts recorded over $1.5 million in sales. The conspirators would advertise much of the merchandise that they bought from boosters on eBay as “NEW,” “Brand New,” and “Sealed.”
Between July 2015 and July 14, 2018, an undercover officer from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office posed as a booster, and on at least five occasions brought items purportedly stolen from Home Depot to Chesapeake Pawn to sell. The defendants all purchased items from the undercover, knowing they were stolen, and later sold those items on eBay.
As a licensed pawn broker business, Chesapeake Pawn is required to enter all items that are sold to Chesapeake Pawn into the Regional Automated Property Information Database (RAPID) within 24 hours of the purchase date. RAPID is a law enforcement tool used for tracking transactions conducted by pawn brokers in an effort to guard against the sale of, and to aid in the recovery of, stolen merchandise. The conspirators entered many of the stolen items into the RAPID system, even though they knew the items were stolen.
As part of their plea agreements, Gelfen, Gutman, and Babich are all required to forfeit any proceeds or property obtained as a result of the scheme, and to pay restitution totaling $132,605.30.
The defendants each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for Gelfen on June 3, 2019, for Babich on June 5, 2019, and for Gutman on June 19, 2019, all at 3:00 p.m.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the Secret Service and the Harford County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation and thanked investigators from Home Depot for their assistance. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson T. Mihok, who is prosecuting the case.
# # #Silver Spring Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Federal Prison for FirebombingRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel today sentenced Darius Eric Wilder, age 41, of Silver Spring, Maryland, to 35 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release for committing arson, and for using, carrying and possessing a destructive device during and in furtherance of a crime of violence, related to the firebombing of his ex-girlfriend’s apartment. A federal jury convicted Wilder of those charges on August 16, 2018.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Baltimore Field Division; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department, and Fire Chief Scott Goldstein of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.
“The evidence at trial proved that Darius Wilder attempted to firebomb his ex-girlfriend’s apartment,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “This kind of violence will not be tolerated. If he had been successful in starting the fire, Wilder could have killed all of the residents of the apartment complex where the victim resided, including the woman and her three children. We are all safer with Darius Wilder removed from the community for 35 years in federal prison, where there is no parole – ever.”
“Darius Wilder is a violent criminal who used Molotov cocktails to commit arson in an attempt to seriously injure his ex-girlfriend, her children, and endanger the surrounding community,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada. “We are glad to see that justice has been served and remain committed to working alongside our law enforcement and emergency service partners to stop violent offenders like this.”
According to the information presented at Wilder’s four-day trial, on April 15, 2017, at approximately 9:22 p.m. the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service responded to a fire on the balcony of an apartment in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which they located and extinguished. Investigators from the Montgomery County Office of Fire and Explosives Investigation conducted an investigation and located two incendiary bombs, commonly known as Molotov cocktails. One of the Molotov cocktails was on the balcony of the apartment, and damaged the wooden decking and children’s bikes. The second Molotov cocktail was on the ground below. The liquids within the bottles as well as wick material found in the debris field were submitted to the ATF Forensic Science Laboratory, which later confirmed the presence of gasoline. The ATF National Laboratory Center also conducted DNA analysis of the bottles and found that Wilder was a possible contributor to the DNA profile found on one of the Molotov cocktails.
According to trial testimony, at the time of the fire, the woman who leased the apartment resided there with three children. The woman had recently attempted to end a relationship with Wilder, but Wilder continued to contact the woman. The evidence showed that in February 2017, Wilder threatened to light himself on fire and sent several photographs, depicting a gas can and a lighter with a flame, via numerous text messages to her. Evidence presented at trial, including cell site location information, demonstrated that on March 8 and March 9, 2017, Wilder loosened and removed the lug nuts from the tires on the woman’s vehicle. Later in March 2017, the woman discovered broken glass placed in front of her car tire. Google searches found on Wilder’s cellphone during a forensic analysis also showed that on March 18, 2017 Wilder searched for images of gas lines and brake lines found under the type of vehicle driven by the woman. Finally, the evidence showed that on April 15, 2017, the day of the firebombing, Wilder texted and called the woman repeatedly, with the last text occurring at 9:13 p.m. Cell location data established that Wilder’s cell phone was located in the area of the apartment complex at around the time of the fire.
Witnesses testified that on April 18, 2017, law enforcement saw Wilder leave his residence carrying a cooler with a black trash bag on top. Wilder got into his vehicle and drove away. Law enforcement attempted to stop Wilder’s vehicle, but Wilder rammed a police vehicle and ran away. Montgomery County Police officers pursued and arrested Wilder. A search of the vehicle recovered three lighters, a black plastic bag containing a gas can with gasoline, a 48-quart red cooler, a backpack containing a composition book and a tire iron. According to trial testimony, following his arrest, Wilder admitted to law enforcement that he filled up a gas can at a gas station nearby, transferred the gas into the bottles, and put the bottles together on the side of the house.
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST) for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Sykes, who prosecuted the case.
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Maryland Law Firm Meyers, Rodbell & Rosenbaum, P.A., Agrees to Pay the United States $250,000 to Settle Claims that it Did Not Reimburse Medicare for Payments Made on Behalf of a Firm ClientRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur announced that Meyers, Rodbell & Rosenbaum, P.A., a law firm with offices in Riverdale Park and Gaithersburg, has entered into a settlement agreement with the United States to resolve allegations that it failed to reimburse the United States for certain Medicare payments made to medical providers on behalf of a firm client.
“Attorneys typically receive settlement proceeds for and disburse settlement proceeds to their clients, so they are often in the best position to ensure that Medicare’s conditional payments are repaid,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “We intend to hold attorneys accountable for failing to make good on their obligations to repay Medicare for its conditional payments.”
According to the settlement agreement, in and prior to 2012, Medicare made conditional payments to healthcare providers to satisfy medical bills for a client of the firm. Under the Medicare statute and regulations, Medicare is authorized to make conditional payments for medical items or services under certain circumstances, with the requirement that when an injured person receives a tort settlement or judgment, those receiving the proceeds of the settlement or judgment, including the injured person’s attorney, are required to repay Medicare for the conditional payments.
In December 2015, with the firm’s assistance and representation, the client received a $1,150,000 settlement in a medical malpractice action stemming from the client’s injuries. After Medicare was notified of the settlement, Medicare demanded repayment of the Medicare debts incurred from those conditional payments, but the firm refused to pay the debt in full, even when the debt became administratively final.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the firm agreed to pay the United States $250,000 to resolve the Government’s claims. The firm also agreed to (1) designate a person at the firm responsible for paying Medicare secondary payer debts; (2) train the designated employee to ensure that the firm pays these debts on a timely basis; and (3) review any outstanding debts with the designated employee at least every six months to ensure compliance.
This settlement reminds attorneys of their obligation to reimburse Medicare for conditional payments after receiving settlement or judgment proceeds for their clients. This settlement should also remind attorneys not to disburse settlement proceeds until receipt of a final demand from Medicare to pay the outstanding debt.
U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur commended Eric Wolfish, Assistant Regional Counsel, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the General Counsel, Region III, for his work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant United States Attorney Alan C. Lazerow, who handled the case.
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Felon Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges of Unlicensed Dealing in Firearms and Illegal Possession of Firearms and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Terrel Edward Elliott, Jr., age 24, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty late on March 15, 2019, to unlicensed dealing in firearms and to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. According to his plea agreement, Elliott was dealing in firearms less than two months after his release from prison and on a first-degree assault conviction in the Circuit Court of Maryland for Howard County.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
“Gun violence in our communities is fueled by those possessing and selling firearms illegally,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Through his actions, Terrel Elliott contributed to this alarming problem of gun violence by putting firearms in the hands of people intent on violence.”
According to his plea agreement, Elliott was convicted of first-degree assault in Howard County and was sentenced to eight years in prison, with six years and a half years suspended sentence and one year six months unsupervised probation. Elliott was also given a supervised probation period of five years. Elliott was released after serving his sentence on September 24, 2016.
Elliott was arrested on April 14, 2017 in possession of drugs, 14 .22-caliber bullets and a handgun with an obliterated serial number. On November 13, 2017, Elliott pleaded guilty in Howard County to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On February 12, 2018, Baltimore Police officers were surveilling Elliott, who had an open warrant for his arrest, when they saw him leave his residence and get into a car with a women. Officers performed a traffic stop to execute the arrest warrant, but Elliott ran away. Officers gave chase and Elliott was captured at the back door of his residence and arrested. Officers recovered a handgun from the path Elliott took.
During the ensuing investigation, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Elliott’s Instagram account. Law enforcement recovered multiple photographs of Elliott in possession of numerous firearms, as well as Instagram messages with prospective firearm customers. One of the earliest photos posted on Elliot’s Instagram account was of Elliott with a gun was on November 8, 2016—less than two months after he was released from prison. In January 2018 Elliott sold a gun to a minor and later messages reflect the discussion of more gun sales to the minor. Elliott’s Instagram is over 4,700 pages and contains numerous references to selling guns for profit. Elliott admitted that between eight and 24 firearms were involved in his offenses, and that he knew, or had reason to believe that the guns would be used or possessed in connection with other felonies, including robberies and drug trafficking.
Elliott faces a maximum of five years in prison for unlicensed dealing in firearms and a maximum of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for June 18, 2019 at 3:00 p.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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sandra Wilkinson and Michael Goldsticker, who are prosecuting the case.
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Two Members of Violent West Baltimore Gang Sentenced to up to Life in Prison for Federal Racketeering and Drug ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
Two Baltimore, Maryland men were sentenced today to life and 30 years, respectively, in prison for conspiring to participate in a drug distribution conspiracy and a violent racketeering enterprise known as Trained To Go (TTG). The racketeering conspiracy included eight murders, as well as drug trafficking and witness intimidation.
John Harrison, aka Binkie, 28, and Linton Broughton, aka Marty, 25; both of Baltimore, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake to serve life in prison, and 360 months in prison, respectively, each followed by five years of supervised release. Broughton, Harrison and their co-defendants were also convicted of a drug distribution conspiracy involving heroin, marijuana, and cocaine. Harrison participated in the murder of five individuals and a firearm recovered from Broughton was found to be used in four of those murders.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur for the District of Maryland; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the FBI Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Baltimore District Office; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby made the announcement.
“For years, John Harrison, Linton Broughton, and other members of the vicious Trained To Go gang brought death and violence to the streets of Baltimore,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski. “We thank our hard-working prosecutors, as well as our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, for their dedication in dismantling this vile gang.”
“Violent gang members must know that gun crime leads to federal time,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “As this case demonstrates, all too often, guns and drugs go hand in hand—and both are killers. Thanks to the partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement, these drug dealers will no longer peddle death in West Baltimore. Harrison, Broughton and their TTG co-defendants will be removed from the community they terrorized and serve their sentences in federal prison, where there is no parole - ever.”
According to the evidence presented at their 24-day trial, Broughton, Harrison and their co-defendants are all members of TTG, a criminal organization that operated in the Sandtown neighborhood of West Baltimore, whose members engaged in drug distribution and acts of violence including murder, armed robbery, and witness intimidation. As part of the conspiracy, each defendant agreed that a conspirator would commit at least two acts of racketeering activity for TTG.
The evidence at trial showed that members and associates of TTG sold heroin, cocaine, and marijuana, and worked to defend their exclusive right to control who sold narcotics in TTG territory. The evidence showed the Broughton was one of TTG’s primary distributors of heroin and marijuana. Broughton distributed the drugs from multiple locations in Sandtown. In addition, the evidence proved that between May 20, 2010 and Jan. 9, 2017, Broughton, Harrison, their co-defendants, and other members of TTG committed acts of violence, including eight murders, shootings, armed robbery, and witness intimidation. Murders were committed in retaliation for individuals robbing TTG members of drugs and drug proceeds, or while TTG members robbed others of their drugs and drug proceeds, as well as in murder-for-hire schemes. Harrison was found to have participated in the murder of three people on July 7, 2015, as well as two other murders. A gun that Broughton had hidden was recovered on Jan. 28, 2016, was determined to have been used in the murders on July 7, 2015, as well as another murder committed by Harrison. Further, the defendants engaged in witness intimidation through violence or threats of violence, to prevent individuals from cooperating with law enforcement.
The leader of the gang, Montana Barronette, aka Tana and Tanner, 23, of Baltimore, was sentenced to serve life in prison on Feb. 15. Co-defendant Brandon Wilson, aka Ali, 24, also of Baltimore, was sentenced to serve 25 years in prison on March 1, 2019.
The remaining defendants convicted at the trial are all from Baltimore, and face a maximum sentence of life in prison on the racketeering and drug conspiracies. They include: Terrell Sivells, aka Rell, 27; Taurus Tillman, aka Tash, 29; Dennis Pulley, aka Denmo, 31; and Timothy Floyd, aka Tim Rod, 28.
The defendants remain detained.
Three other TTG members previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to between five and 25 years in prison. Another defendant, Roger Taylor, aka Milk, is a fugitive.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Baltimore Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force, which includes FBI special agents and task force officers from the Baltimore, Baltimore County, and Anne Arundel County Police Departments. FBI Baltimore Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force is responsible for identifying and targeting the most violent gangs in the Baltimore metropolitan area, to address gang violence and the associated homicides in Baltimore. The vision of the program is to use federal racketeering statutes to disrupt and dismantle significant violent criminal threats and criminal enterprises affecting the safety and well-being of our citizens and our communities.
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Harrison is still facing charges for allegedly assaulting employees of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) while he was detained and being transported to and from the courtroom during their trial. According to the indictment, on Sept. 21, 2018, Harrison and a co-defendant assaulted two Deputy U.S. Marshals and a U.S. District Court Security Officer as they were being escorted from the courtroom during a break in the trial. The charges in an indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The U.S. Marshals Service is investigating the case.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, Baltimore Police Department, ATF, DEA, Anne Arundel County Police Department and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Hanley, formerly of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Romano and Daniel C. Gardner of the District of Maryland prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Two Members of Violent West Baltimore Gang Sentenced to Life and 30 Years in Prison, Respectively, for Federal Racketeering and Drug ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake today sentenced John Harrison, a/k/a Binkie, age 28, from Baltimore, to life in prison, and sentenced Linton Broughton, a/k/a Marty, age 25, also from Baltimore, to 30 years in federal prison, each followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiring to participate in a drug distribution conspiracy and a violent racketeering enterprise known as Trained To Go (TTG). The racketeering conspiracy included eight murders, as well as drug trafficking; and witness intimidation. Broughton, Harrison, and their co-defendants were also convicted of a drug distribution conspiracy involving heroin, marijuana, and cocaine. Harrison participated in the murder of five individuals and a firearm recovered from Broughton was found to be used in four of those murders.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.
“Violent gang members must know that gun crime leads to federal time. As this case demonstrates, all too often, guns and drugs go hand in hand—and both are killers,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Thanks to the partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement, these drug dealers will no longer peddle death in West Baltimore. Harrison, Broughton, and their TTG co-defendants will be removed from the community they terrorized and serve their sentences in federal prison, where there is no parole - ever.”
“For years, John Harrison, Linton Broughton, and other members of the vicious Trained To Go gang brought death and violence to the streets of Baltimore,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski. “We thank our hard-working prosecutors, as well as our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, for their dedication in dismantling this vile gang.”
According to the evidence presented at their 24-day trial, Broughton, Harrison and their co-defendants are all members of TTG, a criminal organization that operated in the Sandtown neighborhood of West Baltimore, whose members engaged in drug distribution and acts of violence including murder, armed robbery, and witness intimidation. As part of the conspiracy, each defendant agreed that a conspirator would commit at least two acts of racketeering activity for TTG.
The evidence at trial showed that members and associates of TTG sold heroin, cocaine, and marijuana, and worked to defend their exclusive right to control who sold narcotics in TTG territory. The evidence showed the Broughton was one of TTG’s primary distributors of heroin and marijuana. Broughton distributed the drugs from multiple locations in Sandtown. In addition, the evidence proved that between May 20, 2010 and January 9, 2017, Broughton, Harrison, their co-defendants, and other members of TTG committed acts of violence, including eight murders, shootings, armed robbery, and witness intimidation. Murders were committed in retaliation for individuals robbing TTG members of drugs and drug proceeds, or while TTG members robbed others of their drugs and drug proceeds, as well as in murder-for-hire schemes. Harrison was found to have participated in the murder of three people on July 7, 2015, as well as two other murders. A gun that Broughton had hidden was recovered on January 28, 2016, was determined to have been used in the murders on July 7, 2015, as well as another murder committed by Harrison. Further, the defendants engaged in witness intimidation through violence or threats of violence, to prevent individuals from cooperating with law enforcement.
The leader of the gang, Montana Barronette, a/k/a Tana, and Tanner, age 23, of Baltimore, was sentenced to life in prison on February 15, 2019. Co-defendant Brandon Wilson, a/k/a Ali, age 24, also of Baltimore, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on March 1, 2019.
The remaining defendants convicted at the trial are all from Baltimore, and face a maximum sentence of life in prison on the racketeering and drug conspiracies. They include: Terrell Sivells, a/k/a Rell, age 27; Taurus Tillman, a/k/a Tash, age 29; Dennis Pulley, a/k/a Denmo, age 31; and Timothy Floyd, a/k/a Tim Rod, age 28. The defendants remain detained.
Three other TTG members previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to between five and 25 years in prison. Another defendant, Roger Taylor, a/k/a Milk, is a fugitive.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Baltimore Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force, which includes FBI special agents and task force officers from the Baltimore, Baltimore County, and Anne Arundel County Police Departments. FBI Baltimore Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force is responsible for identifying and targeting the most violent gangs in the Baltimore metropolitan area, to address gang violence and the associated homicides in Baltimore. The vision of the program is to use federal racketeering statutes to disrupt and dismantle significant violent criminal threats and criminal enterprises affecting the safety and well-being of our citizens and our communities.
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Harrison is still facing charges for allegedly assaulting employees of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) while he was detained and being transported to and from the courtroom during their trial. According to the indictment, on September 21, 2018, Harrison and a co-defendant assaulted two Deputy U.S. Marshals and a U.S. District Court Security Officer as they were being escorted from the courtroom during a break in the trial. If convicted of the assault charges, Harrison faces a maximum sentence of eight years in prison. 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. The U.S. Marshals Service is investigating the case.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur and Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski commended the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, the ATF, the DEA, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Romano, Daniel C. Gardner, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Hanley formerly of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
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Baltimore County Felon Sentenced to 57 Months in Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of Firearms, Ammunition, and an Improvised Explosive DeviceRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Christopher Dean Taggart, age 52, of Hampstead, Maryland, today to 57 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, as well as illegal possession of a destructive device.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, on October 14, 2017, a 911 call was made for medical assistance to a residence in Hampstead, Maryland. Baltimore County Emergency Medical Services (“EMS”) personnel went to the residence and discovered Taggart unresponsive on the floor in the basement area. The EMS personnel saw lines of a white powdery substance on a surface close to where Taggart was lying, and several baggies containing powdery substances were also in plain view. EMS personnel administered Narcan, a medication that blocks or reverses the effects of opioids, and Taggart was transported to the hospital. Baltimore County Police officers obtained a search warrant for the residence, based upon observations of the contraband in plain view, and a federal search warrant was subsequently obtained for the property.
Taggart had lived in the basement area of the residence for approximately 15 years, and a detached shed was built on the property in approximately 2010. When the warrants were executed, law enforcement seized 13 firearms, thousands of rounds of various caliber ammunition, and two improvised destructive devices, as well as body armor, armored plates, and ballistic tiles. All of the prohibited items were found in the basement area and in the shed located on the property. Law enforcement also seized several prohibited controlled substances from the living area in the basement. Taggart is prohibited from possessing firearms, ammunition, explosive materials, and body armor because he has a prior conviction for a violent felony in Carroll County. Specifically, on February 14, 1996, Taggart was convicted of attempted robbery with a deadly weapon; wear/carry of a handgun; and possession of a pipe bomb in Carroll County Circuit Court.
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Duey and Judson T. Mihok, who prosecuted the case.
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Fugitive Loan Broker Extradited from South Korea Pleads Guilty to Federal Bank Fraud Conspiracy to Fraudulently Obtain over $100 Million in SBA-Backed Business LoansRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Loren Young Park, age 52, formerly of Falls Church, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain business loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA), with resulting losses of over $100 million. Loren Park was a fugitive for eight years and was extradited from South Korea to face these charges.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Small Business Administration Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware; Postal Inspector in Charge Peter R. Rendina of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“Our financial system is based on trust,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Loren Park and his co-conspirators lied during every aspect of the loan process, cheating taxpayers and lenders, causing more than $100 million in losses, and hurting the chances of future small business owners to obtain loans. I am grateful for the patience and diligence of our law enforcement partners to get Loren Park back from South Korea and bring him to justice.”
According to his plea agreement and other court documents, Loren Park and his brother, Joon Park, owned and operated Jade Capital. Jade Capital brokered small business loans, among other services, for clients and on behalf of Loren Park, Joon Park and their family. According to the plea agreement, Loren and Joon Park and others under their direction encouraged prospective borrowers using the services of Jade Capital to apply for business loans through the SBA’s Section 7(a) program, which guaranteed 75% - 90% of qualified loans made by banks and other commercial lending institutions. Under this program, the principals of the small business seeking the loan were required to invest a certain amount of their own money, called an equity injection, before they qualified for a loan. The banks and other lending institutions making the loan bore the risk of payment default only up to the percentage of the loan not guaranteed by the SBA.
Loren Park admitted that from 2003 until October 2011, he and others under his direction, including Nick Park (no relation), Joo Hyuk “John” Lee, Sang Hyun Kim, and In Jung Ham, submitted SBA loan applications and supporting documentation to loan originators and underwriters on behalf of their clients that contained fraudulent documents, including: bank statements for borrowers that were altered to make it look like the borrowers had more cash to inject into the business they were buying than they in fact did; counterfeit cashiers’ checks and fake gift letters that made it look like the borrowers had more assets at their disposal to use as down payments than they did; fabricated resumes that made it look like the borrowers had more experience running the businesses they sought to purchase than they did; fake tax returns that made it look like the borrowers had greater income than they did; phony interim financial statements that made other businesses the borrowers owned look more profitable than they were; and a number of other misrepresentations.
Loren and Joon Park charged a loan brokerage fee to both the financial institutions and the borrowers for assembling and submitting loan application packages that resulted in the issuance of SBA-guaranteed loans. The fees charged to borrowers were hidden from the financial institutions underwriting the loans. The Parks also had undisclosed ownership interests in businesses involved in some of the transactions and received loan proceeds, unbeknownst to the lenders, in a number of transactions. In one instance, the Parks did not have an ownership interest in a company involved in a transaction but persuaded the seller to assign some of the loan proceeds to them and then converted those proceeds to their own personal use.
Loren Park was on a business trip to South Korea when he learned that he had been indicted in this case. Loren Park had intended to return to the United States, but after learning that he had been indicted, he chose not to return and not face the charges pending against him. Subsequently, he also made several public information requests to the FBI, from South Korea, requesting his criminal record in order to determine whether there were still charges pending against him.
On June 20, 2013, co-defendant Joon Park, a/k/a “Joon Pak,” and “Joon Paik,” age 48, of Falls Church Virginia, was sentenced to 14 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a money judgment of $91,449,700 and forfeit all the property involved in the offense.
Co-defendant Nick Park, a/k/a Nochol Park, age 51, of McLean, Virginia, was sentenced to 33 months in prison; and co-defendants Joo Hyuk “John” Lee, age 45, of Richmond, Virginia, and Sang Hyun Kim, age 42, of Fairfax, Virginia, were each sentenced to three years in prison, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Kim’s wife, In Jung Ham, age 38, also of Fairfax, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, for her role in the scheme. Lee was ordered to pay restitution of $1,900,325 and Ham was ordered to pay restitution of $216,472.92. Lee, Kim and Ham were also ordered to forfeit the proceeds of the scheme and pay money judgments of $18,764,900, $13,432,000 and $15,725,000, respectively. Co-conspirator Seung E. Oh, a/k/a Sandy Oh, age 50, of Great Falls, Virginia, a settlement attorney who worked with Joon Park, was sentenced to 51 months in prison, and was ordered to pay a money judgment of $11,832,000, pay restitution of $3,593,432, and forfeit all the property involved in the offense.
Loren Park and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea, Park will be sentenced to nine years in federal prison for the bank fraud conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for May 24, 2019, at 11:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur thanked the SBA Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the FBI for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur praised Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leo J. Wise and Martin J. Clarke, who are prosecuting the case.
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Princess Anne Man Convicted after Federal Trial for Brandishing a Firearm During and in Furtherance of the Armed Robbery of an Armored Vehicle in Salisbury, MarylandRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal jury today convicted Ryan Shevin Smith, age 39, of Princess Anne, Maryland, for brandishing a firearm during and in furtherance of a crime of violence, specifically, the robbery of an armored vehicle in Salisbury, Maryland on January 22, 2018. Smith had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit the robbery and to participating in the robbery.
The guilty verdict was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Salisbury Police Chief Barbara Duncan.
According to the evidence presented at his two-day trial and court documents, at approximately 7:15 a.m. on January 22, 2018, Smith and his co-defendants, Michael Watts and Orneth South, approached the driver of the armored vehicle as he was removing cash cassettes from an ATM machine at a credit union on Mt. Hebron Road in Salisbury, Maryland. Co-defendant Michael Watts placed a .40-caliber handgun to the driver’s head and disarmed him of his service weapon. Watts testified that he got the .40-caliber handgun from Smith, which was named “Big Nasty,” and that Smith took the gun back after the robbery. Watts then grabbed the driver by the hair and order him to open the door of the armored vehicle. After the driver opened the door, Smith and South removed several bags of money from the vehicle, as well as ATM cassettes filled with cash. Watts then forced the driver into the vehicle, where he used zip ties to secure the driver’s hands. The robbers then fled with the money, stealing a total of $1,324,288. The robbers went to Smith’s residence in nearby Princess Anne and divided the stolen money. South and Watts then left and headed south, toward North Carolina.
On April 20, 2018, Orneth South, age 49, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was arrested on a warrant issued as a result of the robbery, and pleaded guilty to his role in the armored car robbery in Maryland, as well as a robbery in North Carolina. On January 31, 2019, co-defendant Michael Watts, a/k/a “Turtle,” age 42, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty to his role in the robbery. Watts was arrested on May 18, 2018, in Queens, New York, and at the time of his arrest, was wearing approximately $70,000 in jewelry, including a custom turtle pendant, which was purchased with the proceeds of the armored vehicle robbery. Watts also admitted using his portion of the stolen money to purchase a Mercedes S430 automobile, clothes, two tombstones, and to pay off bills and rent.
The government will be seeking restitution in the full amount of the victim’s loss, which is at least $1,324,288.
Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for Smith on June 17, 2019, at 3:00 p.m. Judge Bennett has scheduled sentencing for Watts on May 1, 2019 and for South on May 8, 2019, both at 3:00 p.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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Salisbury Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys P. Michael Cunningham and Paul A. Riley, who are prosecuting the case.
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Baltimore Man Pleads Guilty to Enticing a Minor to Produce Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Antonio Wright, age 42, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct and to two counts of production of child pornography.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
Wright admitted that he used an online social network to induce the victim, Jane Doe, to engage in sexually explicit conduct, and to produce images of that conduct. According to his plea agreement, Wright was in a relationship with the victim’s mother from at least 2009, when Jane Doe was four years old, and lived with the family intermittently until the Spring of 2017.
Beginning in at least August 2017, Wright and the victim, who was living with a foster family in Baltimore, began communicating by text messages, audio messages and images, using an online social network. The messages frequently included Wright’s love for Jane Doe, who told Jane Doe that they should eventually get married. Jane Doe was approximately 13 years old at this time. Wright instructed the victim not to tell others that she has “an older man for a boyfriend,” and that he would get in trouble if anyone found out.
On January 4, 2018, Wright spent time with Jane Doe at his residence when Baltimore City schools were closed due to snow. That afternoon, Jane Doe’s foster mother noticed that Jane Doe did not come home when she expected her. When she was unable to locate Jane Doe, she found the tablet that Jane Doe was using to communicate with Wright and observed the sexually explicit chats and images. After Wright brought Jane Doe home that afternoon, her foster mother filed a report with the Maryland Department of Human Services, who referred the case to Child Protective Services for investigation. As part of the investigation, Jane Doe’s tablet and social media accounts were searched, and sexually explicit photos, texts, messages, and voice messages were located.
As part of his plea agreement, Wright will be required to register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
Wright faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison for enticement and coercion of a minor; and a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison for each of the two counts of production of child pornography. Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar has scheduled sentencing for June 7, 2019 at 10:00 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.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who is prosecuting the federal case.
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Silver Spring Man Convicted After Five-Day Federal Trial of Bank Fraud Conspiracy and Aggravated Identity Theft with Losses of Hundreds of Thousands of DollarsRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal jury today convicted Emmanuel Kusi Appiah, a/k/a Manny, age 47, of Silver Spring, Maryland, today for a years-long bank fraud conspiracy with losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The jury’s guilty verdict was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Chief Robert D. MacLean of the U.S. Park Police; and Postal Inspector in Charge Peter R. Rendina of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
According to the evidence presented at his five-day trial, from June 2013 through March 2018, Appiah committed a bank fraud scheme that defrauded individuals and financial institution victims of several hundred thousand dollars.
Specifically, the trial evidence proved that Appiah conspired with others to open bank accounts at 10 different financial institutions using the stolen identities of at least five individual victims, and under the business names of five shell corporations, including Global Tax Services Incorporated, Merchandise Services Incorporated, Imperial Pipe Incorporated, SJ Metal Incorporated, and Morgan Incorporated. Appiah and his conspirators then used those fraudulent accounts to deposit stolen and altered business checks, convenience checks, and tax refunds. Witnesses testified that Appiah then withdrew the fraudulent proceeds in cash, transferred the proceeds to other fraudulent accounts, or laundered the proceeds through the purchase of money orders, which Appiah and others used for their personal benefit.
The government is also seeking restitution in the full amount of the victims’ losses.
Appiah faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and for each of four counts of bank fraud; and a mandatory two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, for each of two counts of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for June 1, 2019, at 9:30 a.m.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Bernstein and Burden H. Walker, who are prosecuting the case.
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Leader in the Black Guerilla Family Gang Sentenced to 35 Years in Federal Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy, Including Authorizing MurderRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Shawn Thomas, a/k/a Bucky, age 38, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 35 years in federal prison for participating in a racketeering conspiracy, as a leader in the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) gang.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “All too often, guns and drugs go hand in hand—and both are killers. Shawn Thomas’ sentencing today ensures that he will not be able to bring either to the Greenmount Avenue community he once controlled for a very long time. We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to get guns and drugs off of our streets and to reduce violent crime in our neighborhoods.”
According to his plea agreement, from prior to 2010 through February 22, 2018, Thomas was employed by and associated with the BGF gang. BGF is a nationwide gang operating in prisons and in cities throughout the United States, including in Baltimore. BGF is involved in criminal activity including murder, robbery, extortion, drug trafficking, obstruction of justice, and witness intimidation.
BGF organizes its members into “regimes” or “bubbles” corresponding to particular regions or neighborhoods in Baltimore City and other Maryland communities. Each bubble reports to a bush member or bushman, who controls larger swaths of territory on behalf of BGF. Bush members are elder statesmen of BGF and maintain inter-bubble discipline and settle disputes among the various bubbles operating in the territory that the bush member controls.
Thomas admitted that he was a high-ranking member of BGF, controlling a regime in the 2700 block of Greenmount Avenue in North Baltimore. During the course of the conspiracy, Thomas obtained narcotics, including crack cocaine, which he distributed through BGF-controlled open-air drug shops. Thomas also collected gang dues for BGF.
As detailed in Thomas’ plea agreement, on December 9, 2016, Thomas ordered another BGF member to murder Keith Ramsey, a Bloods gang member, as part of an ongoing dispute between the two gangs.
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF, the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James T. Wallner and Clinton J. Fuchs, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
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