District of Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland – James Atkinson, age 28, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to an armed robbery.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Interim Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, on February 23, 2018, Atkinson went to a Baltimore car rental agency and requested that the security deposit for a vehicle “his wife” had recently rented be returned to him.  In reality, “his wife” was a drug customer of Atkinson’s, whom Atkinson would direct to rent cars on his behalf in return for drugs and/or cash. The rental agency employee checked the company’s records and discovered that the rental car had been returned with multiple bullet holes in the car door.  The employee advised that the security deposit would not be returned until the repairs had been paid for.  Atkinson then asked if there were any vehicles available to rent, but there were no vehicles available.  The employee asked Atkinson to leave because he was closing up for the night. 

Atkinson pointed a revolver at the employee and demanded money.  Atkinson stole $405 from the employee’s desk drawer, and the victim’s phone and wallet, which contained $207.  Atkinson then demanded a car and the victim advised that there were keys to a car in the back room.  Atkinson went back and took the keys to a black Hyundai Elantra, then produced a stun gun and began to shock the victim on the arm while he was kneeling on the floor.  Atkinson ordered the victim into an adjacent room.  The victim walked into the room, then ran up the stairs.  Atkinson left the office and departed in the Elantra.

The victim ran downstairs, called 911, and began cancelling the credit cards that were in his stolen wallet.  Investigation determined that Atkinson attempted to make two unauthorized purchases using a credit and debit card stolen from the victim.  One of the attempts was on the website of a large retailer and included Atkinson’s name, address, and telephone number.

Atkinson and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Atkinson will be sentenced to 12 years in prison.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for November 28, 2018 at 11:00 a.m.

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. Attorneys Burden H. Walker and James G. Warwick, who are prosecuting the case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – Ronald L. Coleman, age 70, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty on August 21, 2018, to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.  Coleman has four previous federal convictions—one for mail fraud and three for access device fraud and related crimes.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to his plea agreement, from at least July 23, 2015 to May 7, 2017, Coleman used the personal identifying information of more than 10 victims to request that financial institutions send replacement credit and debit cards, and to apply for new credit cards.  Coleman had the cards sent to addresses in Baltimore where he lived or had access.  Most of the requests were made by phone and some of those requests were recorded.  When calling financial institutions, Coleman pretended to be the account holder and used the name, birthdate, social security number, address and telephone number of the true account holder, which Coleman had fraudulently obtained and was not authorized to use.  Coleman also admitted that he made some requests online through the Internet. Using the victims’ identifying information, Coleman successfully obtained and sought to obtain more than two dozen credit cards from financial institutions and other entities.  

In addition, in February 2015, Coleman fraudulently obtained a vehicle loan totaling approximately $22,132, which he used to purchase a Mercedes Benz SL.  On the loan documents, Coleman falsely represented that he had resided at an address in Baltimore for 15 years, and had been employed for eight years at a graphics company in “sales.”  In fact, in February 2015 Coleman was completing his sentence for a federal fraud conviction for which he had been incarcerated since December 2011.  Coleman subsequently defaulted on the loan, causing the loan company a loss of approximately $9,600.

Coleman’s fraudulent activities resulted in an actual loss of at least $11,076.34, and an intended loss of more than $39,000.

Coleman and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Coleman will be sentenced to between five and 10 years in prison.  U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has scheduled sentencing for Coleman on January 30, 2019, at 2:30 p.m.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dana J. Brusca and Tamera L. Fine, who are prosecuting the case.

 

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal jury convicted Darius Eric Wilder, age 41, of Silver Spring, Maryland, on August 16, 2018, on charges related to the firebombing of his ex-girlfriend’s apartment.

The conviction 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.

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, the individual who leased the apartment had recently attempted to end a relationship with Wilder, but Wilder continued to contact the woman.  The evidence showed that on April 15, 2017, Wilder had 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 attempted to stop Wilder’s vehicle, but Wilder rammed a police vehicle and ran away.  Montgomery County Police officers pursued and arrested Wilder. 

Wilder had a previous felony conviction and was therefore prohibited from possessing destructive devices.

Wilder faces a maximum of 10 in prison for being a felon in possession of a destructive device; a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison for arson affecting interstate commerce; and a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum of life in prison for use and carry of a destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence and possession of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence.  U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing on December 6, 2018 at 10:00 a.m.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and 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, 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. Attorneys Jennifer Sykes and Nicolas Mitchell, who prosecuted the case.

 

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Steven Murn, age 50, of Pasadena, Maryland, today to 12 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for armed bank robbery and attempted bank robbery.  Judge Russell also ordered Murn to pay restitution of $1,210.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare.

According to information presented to the court at his plea and sentencing hearings, on August 19, 2016, Murn attempted to rob a bank in the 3200 block of Pasadena, Maryland.  Murn entered the bank wearing a wig and a baseball cap and carrying a bag.  He went to the check-writing station in the lobby, then to a teller station.  The teller asked Murn to remove his hat and he complied.  Murn then placed his bag on the teller counter and said “C’mon!”  The teller said, “No.”  Murn grabbed the bag, left the bank, and ran away.

On August 29, 2016, Murn robbed a bank in the 8100 block of Jumpers Hole Road in Pasadena.  Murn entered the bank wearing an orange safety vest over a tee shirt and a hard hat with a towel draped beneath it, and carrying a bag.  After writing a note on a deposit slip that read, “Bomb all money now please,” Murn gave the teller the note, placed a fake bomb on the counter in front of a teller station, and demanded money.  The teller opened the cash drawer and Murn reached over the counter and removed bundles of cash.  Murn then left the bank and drove away in his car, which was parked nearby.  He was arrested the next day in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.

According to information presented to the Court, Murn assaulted a Pennsylvania State Trooper at the time of his arrest in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and threatened to kill the officers.  Murn was later taken to the hospital, complaining of chest pain, where on September 3, 2016, he attempted to disarm an officer by grabbing his pistol and holster from the officer’s duty belt.  The officer struggled with Murn to recover the weapon.  On that same date, while being transported to the Franklin County Jail, Murn kicked out a window of the van, shattering the glass, and attempted to wriggle out of the van through the window.  Murn was placed back in the van and transported to jail.

Judge Russell ordered that Murn’s federal sentence run concurrent to the remaining sentence Murn is serving in Pennsylvania for attempted escape, disarming an officer, and making threats to the police.

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 FBI and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Pennsylvania State Police for its assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Maddox, who prosecuted the case.

 

Baltimore, Maryland – Demetrius William Harris, a/k/a “Demetrius Diggs,” age 34, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty on August 15, 2018, to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.  Diggs had five previous convictions for drug distribution or violent crimes.

The guilty plea 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 Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, at 11 p.m. on September 11, 2017, Baltimore Police officers in an unmarked vehicle saw Diggs driving a car with temporary Texas tags traveling at an extremely high rate of speed.  The officers activated their vehicle’s emergency lights and sirens to initiate a traffic stop but Diggs sped away in an attempt to flee from police.  Officers followed, but terminated their pursuit after Diggs drove his car across the median into a lane of oncoming traffic.  Shortly thereafter, Diggs crashed his car head-on into another vehicle, then attempted to back up.  Diggs’s car became stuck when he reversed it onto a grassy median between the lanes of traffic.  As officers arrived on the scene, a man exited from the passenger side of Diggs’s car and ran away.  Officers removed Diggs from the driver’s seat and took him into custody.  Officers recovered two cell phones from Diggs.  A search of Diggs’s vehicle recovered a black hat, black ski mask, and black trench coat on the floor next to the front passenger seat; two additional cell phones from the center console, as well as two clear plastic sandwich bags that held 49 clear gel capsules containing heroin.  On the grass just outside the passenger side of Diggs’s vehicle, officers found two loaded firearms: a 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun.  The pistol had been reported stolen from a home in Fayetteville, North Carolina on June 27, 2017.

According to court documents, the man who fled from Diggs’s car was located by police in a nearby neighborhood and subsequently identified as Percy Eugene Johnson, age 29, of Baltimore.  Johnson pleaded guilty on July 24, 2018 to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled Johnson’s sentencing on October 23, 2018, at 3:00 p.m.

Diggs and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Diggs will be sentenced to between eight and 10 years in prison.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for November 26, 2018 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.   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 and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey J. Izant and Patricia C. McLane, who are prosecuting the case.

 

Baltimore, Maryland – Travis Wilmoth, age 31, of Fayetteville, North Carolina pleaded guilty today to travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.  Wilmoth admitted that he traveled from North Carolina to Maryland to engage in sexually explicit conduct with a 15-year-old girl.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to his plea agreement, on March 2, 2018, the FBI received a telephone call from the mother of a 15-year-old minor female who had recently discovered that Wilmoth had been using social media to chat online with her daughter since November 2017, and those conversations had become sexual in February 2018.  With the permission of the girl and her mother, FBI agents took control of the girl’s account and communicated with Wilmoth posing as the minor female.  During the ensuing chats, Wilmoth repeatedly asked the girl to take “naughty” pictures and send them to him.  On March 14, 2108, Wilmoth discussed traveling to Maryland to visit the girl and engaging in sexual acts with her.  Between March 7 and April 11, 2018, Wilmoth sent the girl sexually explicit images and videos of himself.  On May 11, 2018, Wilmoth drove from North Carolina to Maryland to meet with the girl with the intent to engage in sexual activity.  The FBI agent posing as the girl had provided Wilmoth with an address in an apartment complex in Baltimore County, Maryland.  Wilmoth arrived at that location with condoms he had previously purchased and was arrested as he approached the front door.

As part of his plea agreement, Wilmoth 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).

Wilmoth and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Wilmoth will be sentenced to nine years in prison followed by 25 years of supervised release.  U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has scheduled sentencing for December 7, 2018 at 12:00 p.m. 

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Wilkinson, who is prosecuting the federal case.

 

Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Tynisha Martin Kadiri, age 40, of Baltimore, Maryland, on August 13, 2018, to four years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for assisting in the filing of false income tax returns and for failing to file corporate tax returns.  Judge Bredar also ordered Kadiri to pay restitution of $90,895.  A federal jury convicted Kadiri on April 16, 2018.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Acting Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.

Evidence presented at the six-day trial showed that Kadiri, who owned three tax preparation businesses in west Baltimore, filed false and fraudulent tax returns for her client-taxpayers.  These false returns included business receipts that the taxpayers did not receive, business losses that the taxpayers did not incur, and false or fictitious businesses.  As a result of these false statements, Kadiri’s clients received larger refunds than those to which they were entitled.  In addition, evidence presented at trial proved that Kadiri did not file federal corporate income tax returns for her businesses for tax years 2014 and 2015.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the IRS-CI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Maddox, who prosecuted the case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – On August 13, 2018, U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Cory Nicholas Skinner, age 33, of Pikesville, Maryland, to seven years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams of more of heroin as well as quantities of cocaine and buprenorphine.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; and Postal Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the United States Postal Inspection Service’s Washington Division.

According to his plea agreement, while investigating the death of a University of Arkansas police officer, a detective with the Conway (Arkansas) Police Department found an opened Priority Mail package shipped from Baltimore, Maryland, under the decedent’s head (the “Arkansas package”).

During the investigation of the Arkansas package, Postal Inspectors identified two other Priority Mail packages purchased in the same transaction and destined for addresses in North Carolina (the “North Carolina package”) and Arizona (the “Arizona package”), that were related to the Arkansas package.  The recipient of the North Carolina package told investigators that he used Bitcoin to purchase heroin from DoggFood, an online vendor on the dark web.  The North Carolina package contained approximately 2.8 grams of heroin, and the Arizona package contained approximately four buprenorphine units.  Fingerprints found on both packages belonged to Skinner.    

During their surveillance of Skinner between September 2017 and January 2018, Postal Inspectors intercepted over 20 packages containing a total of approximately 47.5 grams of heroin and 81 buprenorphine units that Skinner sent through the United States mail.  Additionally, Postal Inspectors discovered that Skinner did not act alone to distribute controlled substances through the mail.  Instead, Skinner used individuals that he knew were unusually vulnerable due to a physical or mental condition to drop off packages containing heroin and cocaine at Baltimore post offices in July 2017 and August 2017, respectively.

By January 2018, Skinner had sold approximately 290.5 grams of heroin, 97.5 grams of cocaine, and 216 units of buprenorphine as the dark web vendor DoggFood. 

When officers searched Skinner’s residence, they found the laptop he used to run the dark web vendor DoggFood, printed labels, approximately $6,600 in cash, plastic baggies, a digital scale, heat and bag sealers, a large amount of Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express shipping supplies, $23.75 in postal stamps, a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm firearm, and 12 rounds of Luger 9mm ammunition. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the United States Postal Inspection Service’s Washington Division, which led the investigation, and the Postal Inspectors in other field divisions that provided assistance—including the Charlotte, San Francisco, Seattle, and Phoenix Divisions, as well as the Fort Worth Division - Little Rock Domicile, and the National Headquarters Cyber Crimes Unit—for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur recognized the Conway (Arkansas) Police Department; the Brunswick County (North Carolina) Sheriff’s Office; the Baltimore County Police Department; the Maryland State Police; and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Baltimore and Raleigh Field Offices for their contributions in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Samika N. Boyd, who prosecuted the case.

 

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Raul Ernesto Landaverde-Giron, a/k/a “Humilde,” a/k/a “Decente,” age 28, of Silver Spring, Maryland, today to two consecutive sentences of life in prison for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise in connection with his gang activity as a member of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and other violent crimes, namely murder in aid of racketeering; conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering; using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence; and murder resulting from the use, carrying, and discharging of a firearm during a crime of violence.  A federal jury convicted Landaverde-Giron of those charges on March 14, 2018, after a three-week trial.

The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Attorney General Jeff Sessions; Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County, Maryland, Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; Captain Amal Awad, Interim Chief of the Hyattsville City Police Department; Chief Edward Hargis of the Frederick Police Department; Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

MS-13 is a national and transnational gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador.  Evidence presented at trial showed that branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Frederick County, Montgomery County, and Prince George’s County, Maryland.  Landaverde-Giron was a member of the MS-13 Normandie Locos Salvatrucha Clique. 

According to evidence presented at the trial, from at least 2012 through at least 2016, MS-13 members planned and committed numerous crimes, including murders and attempted murders in Prince George’s County and Frederick County.  Gang members also extorted owners of illegal businesses, among other crimes.  Witnesses testified that MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence to maintain membership and discipline within the gang.  One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, known as “chavalas,” whenever possible.  Serious violations of MS-13 rules, such as cooperating with law enforcement, could result in the issuance of a “greenlight,” or order to be killed.  Participation in violent acts directed at rival gangs, or as directed by gang leadership, increased the respect accorded to that member.

Trial evidence showed that on November 30, 2013, Landaverde-Giron, along with two other Normandie Clique members, murdered an individual in Frederick, Maryland, who had fled El Salvador to escape a greenlight imposed by MS-13 members in El Salvador.  After a co-conspirator recognized the victim in Frederick, Normandie Clique members called an MS-13 leader in prison in El Salvador to confirm that the greenlight was still in effect.  A co-conspirator then lured the victim to a wooded area in Frederick, where he shot the victim in the head and Landaverde-Giron and another co-conspirator stabbed the victim in the face and neck.  Landaverde-Giron was promoted within the Normandie Clique for his participation in this murder.

Landaverde-Giron pleaded guilty today to illegally reentering the U.S. after having been deported, and was sentenced to six months in prison.  Landaverde-Giron has been detained since his arrest.

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 HSI Baltimore, Frederick Police Department, Prince George’s County Police Department, Hyattsville City Police Department, and Montgomery County Police Department, and the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, for their work in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Lindsay Eyler Kaplan and William D. Moomau, and Trial Attorney Francesca Liquori with the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, who prosecuted the case.

 

Raul Ernesto Landaverde-Giron, aka “Humilde,” and “Decente,” 28, of Silver Spring, Maryland, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte to two consecutive sentences of life in prison for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise in connection with his gang activity as a member of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and other violent crimes, namely murder in aid of racketeering; conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering; using, carrying and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence; and murder resulting from the use, carrying and discharging of a firearm during a crime of violence.  A federal jury convicted Landaverde-Giron of those charges on March 14, after a three-week trial.

The conviction was announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions; 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 Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County, Maryland Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; Captain Amal Awad, Interim Chief of the Hyattsville City Police Department; Chief Edward Hargis of the Frederick Police Department; Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

MS-13 is a national and transnational gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador.  Evidence presented at trial showed that branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and Frederick County, Maryland.  Landaverde-Giron was a member of the MS-13 Normandie Locos Salvatrucha Clique. 

According to evidence presented at the trial, from at least 2012 through at least 2016, MS-13 members planned and committed numerous crimes, including murders and attempted murders in Prince George’s County and Frederick County.  Gang members also extorted owners of illegal businesses, among other crimes.  Witnesses testified that MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence to maintain membership and discipline within the gang.  One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, known as “chavalas,” whenever possible.  Serious violations of MS-13 rules, such as cooperating with law enforcement, could result in the issuance of a “greenlight,” or order to be killed.  Participation in violent acts directed at rival gangs, or as directed by gang leadership, increased the respect accorded to that member.

Trial evidence showed that on Nov. 30, 2013, Landaverde-Giron, along with two other Normandie Clique members, murdered an individual in Frederick, Maryland, who had fled El Salvador to escape a greenlight imposed by MS-13 members in El Salvador.  After a co-conspirator recognized the victim in Frederick, Normandie Clique members called an MS-13 leader in prison in El Salvador to confirm the greenlight was still in effect.  A co-conspirator then lured the victim to a wooded area in Frederick, where he shot the victim in the head and Landaverde-Giron and another co-conspirator stabbed the victim in the face and neck.  Landaverde-Giron was promoted within the Normandie Clique for his participation in this murder.

Landaverde-Giron pleaded guilty today to illegally reentering the United States after having been deported, and was sentenced to six months in prison.  Landaverde-Giron has been detained since his arrest.

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.

The investigation was conducted by HSI Baltimore, Frederick Police Department, Prince George’s County Police Department, Hyattsville City Police Department, and Montgomery County Police Department, and the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office.  The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Francesca Liquori of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Moomau and Lindsay Eyler Kaplan of the District of Maryland.

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Demetrius Darrius Rasberry, age 36, of Lanham, Maryland, to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for the robbery of a convenience store and for using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during the robbery.  Rasberry also committed two other armed robberies in Prince George’s County.  Judge Chuang ordered that Rasberry pay restitution in the full amount of the loss.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, on April 7, 2017, Rasberry entered a convenience store in Lanham, Maryland, pointed a semiautomatic handgun at an employee and demanded that the employee open the cash drawer.  Rasberry then went behind the counter, ordered the employee to the ground and stole $148.42.  After putting the money into a bag, Rasberry jumped over the counter and exited the store.  As he was leaving, Rasberry turned and fired two shots into the store, then ran away.

According to Rasberry’s plea and other court documents, on April 8, 2017, Rasberry and co-conspirator Jose Orlando Johnson robbed two liquor stores in Forestville and Camp Springs, Maryland, respectively.  In each robbery, Johnson drove to the location and waited outside while Rasberry entered the store and robbed the employee at gunpoint.  At the first liquor store, Rasberry stole $500 and two bottles of Hennessy cognac.  Rasberry then exited the store and got into the car driven by Johnson and the two drove away from the area.  In the second liquor store robbery, Johnson waited in the car at a gas station nearby while Rasberry entered the store and robbed the store employee at gunpoint.  At the second liquor store Rasberry stole approximately $1,080 and a bottle of Hennessy cognac packaged in a black and gold box.  Rasberry ran out of the store in the direction of the gas station where Johnson was waiting.  An officer who was in the area saw Rasberry fleeing toward the gas station.

Shortly after the robbery, officers canvassing the area located the car and could see two men in the front seats.  As they approached, Rasberry got out of the front passenger seat and attempted to run away.  Rasberry was quickly apprehended near the vehicle and arrested.  Johnson was located in the driver seat and his 5-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son were also present in the vehicle.

Rasberry and Johnson were taken in custody.  Officers searched Rasberry and Johnson and recovered $993.81 from Rasberry and $954 from Johnson.  From the vehicle, officers recovered: a loaded black and silver Ruger P89 9mmx19 semiautomatic handgun, with one unfired cartridge in the chamber, and eight cartridges in the magazine (front passenger floorboard); a Hennessy cognac decorative box with bottle inside (front passenger floorboard); and two unopened bottles of Hennessy cognac. 

Analysis performed by the Prince George’s County Firearms Examination Unit revealed that the shell casings recovered from the scene of the robbery at the convenience store were fired from the Ruger handgun recovered from the vehicle.

Johnson, age 26, of Suitland, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the liquor store robbery and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 29, 2018.

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 FBI and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsay Eyler Kaplan and Timothy F. Hagan, who prosecuted the case.

 

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal jury today convicted Army Sergeant Maliek Kearney, age 37, of San Antonio, Texas, for interstate travel to commit domestic violence resulting in the death of Karlyn Ramirez, and for using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. 

The conviction was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commanding General David P. Glaser of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; and Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare.

According to the evidence presented at Kearney’s 11-day trial, Kearney was married to Karlyn Ramirez, an active-duty soldier of the United States Army assigned to Fort Meade, Maryland, and they had a four-month-old daughter together.  Ramirez was found shot to death in her off-post residence on the morning of August 25, 2015.  The baby had been placed in her arms.  Based on the evidence, the likely time of death was estimated to be the late evening hours of August 24, 2015. 

Witnesses testified that at the time of Ramirez’s death, the couple had recently separated and Ramirez had obtained a protective order through the Army prohibiting all contact between her and Kearney. 

Kearney was stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.  The evidence presented at trial showed that on August 24, 2015, Kearney finished work in the early afternoon and traveled from South Carolina to Severn, Maryland.  Witnesses testified that Kearney entered Ramirez’s townhouse using his key and brandished a Taurus .357 caliber revolver.  According to trial testimony, Ramirez attempted to calm her husband but she reiterated that she did not want to see him again.  Kearney then shot Ramirez three times, killing her.  According to the evidence presented, Kearney then took off her pants and pulled down her underwear in an attempt to make it look like a sexual assault.  He also placed their four-month-old daughter in Ramirez’s arms.

Kearney’s girlfriend, Delores Delgado, testified at trial that she provided the firearm that killed Ramirez and allowed Kearney to drive her car from South Carolina to Maryland to commit the murder. The evidence showed that Delgado also purchased large gas cans for Kearney to take with him, so that he would not have to stop for gas and risk being seen.  According to witness testimony, during the murder, Kearney’s girlfriend, who lived in Florida at the time, stayed at Kearney’s apartment in South Carolina with his phone and vehicle so that it would appear that he was in South Carolina at the time of the murder.  After the murder, Delgado and a third party went to a waterway in Florida and disposed of the firearm, shell casings, Kearney’s clothing worn during the murder, and the key he used to enter the townhouse.  Delgado also dismantled the revolver and took steps to obliterate the serial number.  The firearm was subsequently recovered by law enforcement divers and forensic testing determined that it was indeed the gun used by Kearney to shoot Karlyn Ramirez to death.  

Dolores Delgado, age 33, of San Antonio, Texas, previously pled guilty in federal court for interstate travel to commit domestic violence resulting in death, in connection with the death of Karlyn Ramirez.  U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has scheduled sentencing for Delgado on September 7, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.

Kearney faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Judge Russell scheduled sentencing for Kearney on November 16, 2018 at 11:00 a.m.  Kearney remains detained.

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 FBI Baltimore, Army CID, and Anne Arundel County Police Department for their work in the investigation, and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas and FBI San Antonio for their assistance.  Mr. Hur also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Warwick and Kenneth S. Clark, who are prosecuting the case.

 

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Richard Butler III, age 36, of Landover, Maryland today to 243 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of an explosive; malicious use of explosive materials; and transportation of explosive materials with intent to kill, injure, or intimidate, in connection with the attempted firebombing of his girlfriend’s apartment.

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; Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Chief Benjamin M. Barksdale; and Chief Hank Stawinski of the Prince George’s County Police Department. 

According to his plea agreement, on March 4, 2016, at 3:25 a.m., the Prince George’s County Fire Department (PGFD) were called to an apartment complex in Landover, Maryland for an automated general fire alarm, and located the remnants of a fire in the master bedroom of apartment 102.  The fire had been extinguished by the fire sprinkler system prior to the arrival of the PGFD.  Firefighters discovered that the master bedroom window had been broken and requested fire investigators from the Prince George’s County Fire Investigations Division to examine the apartment.

Fire investigators located a concrete brick inside the master bedroom on the floor between the bed and window and near the brick, an improvised incendiary device—specifically, a clear plastic water bottle containing an unknown liquid, and a paper towel protruding from the mouth of the bottle.  A similar plastic bottle was found melted to the top of the burned bed.  Outside, investigators located a blue plastic one-quart motor oil container.  The ATF Forensic Science Laboratory examined the plastic bottles, which revealed the presence of gasoline.

At the time of the incident, two adults and three minors were in the apartment, which was leased by Butler’s girlfriend.  She was not in the apartment at that time of the fire because she was at the Prince George’s County Police Department in connection with a complaint of sexual abuse involving Butler and her minor daughter.  Butler’s girlfriend reported that she had last seen Butler at 11:28 p.m. and he was a wearing a black coat, blue jeans, and red, white, and blue sneakers.

Investigators reviewed surveillance videos from a nearby gas station which showed an individual wearing the clothing described by Butler’s girlfriend who pumped gas into three containers—two of which appeared to be clear plastic water bottles, and the third, a blue container which he retrieved from a trash can located next to the pump.  The individual then entered the restroom and exited with paper towels in his hand, got a white plastic bag from the cashier and placed the containers in the plastic bag and walked away.  During an interview with investigators on March 7, 2016, Butler’s girlfriend was shown a screen-capture from the gas station’s surveillance footage of the individual standing near the gas pumps, which she identified as Butler.

A subsequent review of the ATF National Firearms Registrations and Transfer Records determined that there were no destructive devices legally registered to Butler.  In addition, Butler was prohibited from possessing destructive devices due to a previous felony conviction.                    

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the ATF, the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer R. Sykes, who prosecuted the case.

 

Baltimore, Maryland – United States District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Donald Stepp, age 51, of Middle River, Maryland, today to five years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, and other controlled dangerous substances.  Stepp obtained the drugs from former Baltimore Police Department (BPD) Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, and from robberies in which he participated with Jenkins and other BPD officers.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, Stepp operated Double D Bail Bonds and was an associate of former BPD Sergeant Wayne Jenkins.  From 2015-2017, Stepp obtained significant quantities of narcotics from Jenkins and robbed citizens of their property, including drugs, cash, and watches. 

To facilitate the robberies and drug trafficking, Jenkins brought Stepp to search locations in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, and falsely represented to other law enforcement agencies that Stepp was an officer with BPD.  Jenkins would travel to Stepp’s residence after he had robbed citizens and Stepp would store the stolen drugs in his tool shed.  Stepp then sold the stolen drugs and returned hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash proceeds to BPD officers.  Jenkins took a portion of the proceeds from the drug sales and paid other officers in the BPD who participated in the robberies with Jenkins and Stepp.

On December 14, 2017, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Stepp’s residence and recovered approximately 423 grams of crack cocaine, 262 grams of cocaine, 14 grams of heroin, 28 grams of MDMA, digital scales, packaging material, a large sum of cash, and several high-value watches.

On June 7, 2018, Wayne Jenkins was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for racketeering conspiracy; racketeering; robbery; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in a federal investigation; and deprivation of rights under color of law.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Derek E. Hines and Leo J. Wise, who prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal jury has convicted Mark Ian Gaver, age 56, of Bonita Springs, Florida and previously of Middletown, Maryland of eight counts of bank fraud and two counts of money laundering arising from a scheme in which he obtained over $49 million in bank financing for his company Gaver Technologies, Inc. (GTI) using false and fraudulent financial statements, balance sheets, and certifications of outstanding accounts receivable.  Gaver has been in custody since his arrest on November 15, 2017, when he entered the United States from Canada. 

The guilty verdict was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Mark Higgins, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG), Northeast Region.

According to the evidence presented at his 7-day trial, in 1998 Gaver formed GTI, an information technology company based in Frederick, Maryland.  Between November 2008 and December 2016, Gaver submitted materially false financial documents to a federally insured bank, including fraudulent audit reports and contract status reports, in order to establish and to obtain successive increases in the line of credit from the lender for GTI.  Based upon the false documentation submitted by Gaver, the lender ultimately extended $50 million in financing to GTI.  The evidence showed that Gaver diverted a large portion of these fraudulently obtained funds to his own personal use.

According to the evidence presented at trial, the bank initially approved an $18.5 million line of credit for GTI in August 2009, when it took over the line of credit from another bank that had previously extended a $16.5 million line of credit to GTI.  This line of credit was subsequently increased eight separate times between March 2010 and March 2016, growing from $18.5 million to a total of $50 million.  On an ongoing monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, and in connection with each request by Gaver for an increase in GTI’s credit line, the bank required GTI to submit specific documentation disclosing the company’s financial performance and condition.  The required documentation included audited annual financial statements, quarterly balance sheets, monthly borrowing base certificates, and monthly accounts receivable aging reports.  The monthly borrowing base certificates required Gaver to certify the amount of GTI’s outstanding accounts receivable, and were used by the bank to establish a maximum borrowing amount for GTI. Under the terms of GTI’s line of credit agreement with the lender, GTI was only allowed to borrow up to 75% to 80% of the total amount of GTI’s outstanding accounts receivable, and the funds loaned by the bank were only to be used by GTI for business purposes. 

According to testimony at trial, between August 2009 and December 2016, Gaver also submitted Quarterly Contract Status Reports to the bank, which falsely represented that GTI had secured contracts with federal government agencies, such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), or that overstated the amount of GTI’s ongoing contracts with federal government agencies. 

The evidence showed that some of the funds obtained from the lender were used by Gaver to cover regular business expenses and thereby keep GTI open, but Gaver also diverted half of the post-2009 loan proceeds – approximately $15 million – to his own personal use.  For example, Gaver used loan proceeds to pay $779,000 for the rental of private planes that he used for non-business purposes, as well as to pay for personal pleasure trips to the Bahamas, France, Germany, Mexico, Jamaica, and the Bahamas.  Gaver also used the funds to purchase vacation homes, including a 4,000 square foot condominium with a view of the Gulf of Mexico in Bonita Springs, Florida, that cost $2.275 million.  Gaver also used loan proceeds to purchase a 2012 Maserati Gran Turismo; a 2011 Mercedes Benz SL Roadster; and a private membership at an exclusive golf club located in Naples, Florida that cost $285,000. 

Gaver faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for each of the eight bank fraud counts, as well as 10 years in prison for each of the two money laundering charges.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for Gaver on November 1, 2018 at 10 a.m.  

United States Attorney Robert Hur commended the FBI and the FHFA-OIG for their work on the investigation.  Mr. Hur also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jefferson M. Gray and Jeffrey J. Izant, who are prosecuting the case.

 

Greenbelt, Maryland – Frank A. Dunn, Jr., age 60, of Burtonsville and Silver Spring, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to possession of child pornography.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Stephen Niemczak, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services; and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department.

According to the statement of facts that is part of Dunn’s plea agreement, on May 31, 2017, law enforcement executed search warrants at Dunn’s residences in Burtonsville and Silver Spring and recovered more than 14,000 images and 285 videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  The images and videos included approximately 1,123 files involving minors identified as victims of child pornography by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, files depicting the abuse of infants and toddlers, and files depicting sadomasochism or violence against children.

Dunn also admitted that he distributed child pornography over the Internet from his Burtonsville residence using peer-to-peer file sharing software.  Between April 2016 and August 2016, an undercover law enforcement officer downloaded approximately 500 images and 15 videos that Dunn made available for sharing over the Internet.

As part of his plea agreement, Dunn 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).

Dunn and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Dunn will be sentenced to between four and nine years in prison.  U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing for November 14, 2018 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 HHS-OIG and the Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Bernstein and Joseph Baldwin, who are prosecuting the federal case.

 

Baltimore, Maryland – William Perkins, age 36, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty today to the illegal possession of a machine gun with an obliterated serial number.

The guilty plea 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 Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD).

According to Perkins’ plea agreement, on October 21, 2016, a Baltimore Police officer was conducting surveillance in the 1400 block of Mosher Street in Baltimore, when he saw Perkins.  The officer saw that Perkins had a bulge in his clothing, consistent with the size of a firearm.  When a marked BPD vehicle drove by the location, Perkins went into a city-owned, unoccupied home on Mosher Street.  As BPD officers approached the building, they saw Perkins lean out a window and could see that Perkins had a pistol tucked into his pants.  Officers entered the house and Perkins retreated to a bedroom in the back of the house, where an officer saw Perkins reach out the window.  Perkins was arrested and officers recovered a pistol hidden in the back bedroom.

On October 27, 2016, Perkins placed a on call on a recorded line from jail and told the individual he was speaking with to return to the home and retrieve a firearm hidden outside the back bedroom window.  BPD officers went to the home and retrieved a machine gun with an obliterated serial number from the roof area above the back bedroom window, where Perkins had described hiding the gun.

Perkins and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Perkins will be sentenced to 90 months in prison.  U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for October 23, 2018.

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 and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew DellaBetta, who is prosecuting the case.

 

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Deo Mugabe, age 26, of Baltimore, Maryland, with fourth-degree sexual abuse on an aircraft, abusive sexual contact, and simple assault.  The indictment was returned on July 3, 2018, and unsealed on July 25, 2018, upon the arrest of the defendant.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to the three-count indictment, on May 29, 2018, Mugabe was seated next to the victim on a flight from Houston, Texas, to Baltimore.  Mugabe and the victim were strangers.  The indictment alleges that Mugabe engaged in sexual contact with the victim during the flight, knowing that the victim was incapable of declining participation or communicating unwillingness to engage in that sexual contact.

If convicted, Mugabe faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for fourth-degree sexual abuse on an aircraft, a maximum of three years in prison for abusive sexual contact, and a maximum of one year in prison for simple assault.  An initial appearance was held in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on July 25, 2018.  Mugabe was released under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services.

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 for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Ayn B. Ducao, who is prosecuting the case.

 

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm today sentenced Caleb Andrew Bailey, age 31, of Waldorf, Maryland, to 200 months in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for illegal possession of unregistered machine guns, unregistered short-barreled rifles, and unregistered destructive devices, and for possession of child pornography. Judge Grimm also ordered that Bailey 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; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Postal Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; and Charles County Sheriff Troy Berry.

According to Bailey’s plea agreement, on May 5, 2016, law enforcement executed federal search warrants at adjoining properties in Waldorf, Maryland associated with Bailey. At Bailey’s residence, law enforcement located, among other items, an underground bunker containing machine guns, machine gun manufacturing parts and devices, other firearms, explosives, unregistered short-barreled rifles and destructive devices; covert recording devices; and child pornography on electronic devices seized inside and outside the residence.  One electronic device was located within the underground bunker.  Other electronic media were removed from Bailey’s bedroom at his residence, and from the woods where they had been hidden by a minor victim at the direction of Bailey.  At his parents’ residence, in Bailey’s bedroom, law enforcement recovered an electronic device that contained Internet searches indicative of child pornography. 

During the execution of the search warrant at Bailey’s residence on May 5, 2016, a 17-year-old minor was present.  The minor admitted that Bailey had instructed the minor to remove a laptop, a camera, and an external hard drive from Bailey’s residence and cover them with leaves by a footbridge in the woods behind the residence.  Law enforcement recovered these items. 

On May 17, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations conducted a forensic analysis of Bailey’s electronic devices.  The forensic analysis revealed that Bailey used hidden cameras to surreptitiously record videos of minor males.  In total, Bailey recorded over 100 videos of the victims between March 2014 and January 2016.  The forensic analysis revealed that, in addition to the child pornography that Bailey produced, Bailey possessed other images and videos of child pornography on various electronic devices, including a hard drive located within his bunker, that do not appear to have been produced by him.  These images and videos included depictions of prepubescent minors and depictions of sadistic or masochistic conduct involving minors (bondage). Bailey’s collection of child pornography included more than 280 images and 54 videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. 

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.

This case was also 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 ATF Baltimore, HSI Baltimore, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division, and the Charles County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer R. Sykes, Kristi N. O’Malley, and Thomas P. Windom, who prosecuted the case.

A Laurel, Maryland man pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography today, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur of the District of Maryland.

Charles Bertsch, 59, a security guard at a local university, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography before U.S. District Court Judge Paul W. Grimm for the District of Maryland who will sentence him on Jan. 31, 2019.

According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, FBI Task force agents in Maryland began an investigation into Bertsch after various law enforcement agencies downloaded child pornography via a peer-to-peer network from IP addresses which led back to the defendant.  In an interview with law enforcement, Bertsch acknowledged that by connecting his computer and downloading such images, he was simultaneously enabling others to download child pornography from his hard drive. A forensic examination of Bertsch’s electronic devices, seized pursuant to a search warrant, revealed over 100,000 image files and over 2,000 video files of child pornography.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Baltimore Field Office with assistance from the Baltimore County Police Department, Washington County Sheriff's Office, and Worcester County Sheriff's Office.  This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Nadia Prinz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Baldwin of the District of Maryland.

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

 

Greenbelt, Maryland – Charles Bertsch, age 59, of Laurel, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to distribution of child pornography.

The guilty plea 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; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department; Washington County Sheriff Douglas W. Mullendore; and Worcester County Sheriff Reggie T. Mason, Sr.

According Bertsch’s plea agreement, FBI Task Force agents in Maryland began an investigation into Bertsch after various law enforcement agencies downloaded child pornography via a file-sharing network from IP addresses which led back to Bertsch.  In an interview with law enforcement, Bertsch acknowledged that by connecting his computer and downloading such images, he was simultaneously enabling others to download child pornography from his hard drive. A forensic examination of Bertsch’s electronic devices, seized pursuant to a search warrant, revealed over 100,000 image files and over 2,000 video files of child pornography.

As part of his plea agreement, Bertsch 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).

Bertsch faces a minimum mandatory sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years in prison, followed by up to lifetime of supervised release, for distribution of child pornography.  U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has scheduled sentencing for January 31, 2019, at 1:00 p.m.

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Baltimore County Police Department, the Washington County Sheriff's Office, and the Worcester County Sheriff's Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur and Mr. Benczkowski thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Baldwin and Trial Attorney Nadia Prinz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), who are prosecuting the federal case.

 

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander today sentenced Aaron Daniels, age 25, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 40 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for a heroin distribution conspiracy and for discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, resulting in death.

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; Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.

According to his plea agreement, and other court documents, from at least March 2017, Daniels conspired with Gregory Whisonant, Nathaniel Hillard, and others to distribute heroin in the Shipley Hill neighborhood of Baltimore.  During the course of the conspiracy, law enforcement obtained wiretaps of the defendants’ cell phones, which confirmed that Daniels sold heroin under the direction of Hillard, who managed the day-to-day business for the organization, which was led by Whisonant.  In addition, Daniels often sold heroin with Donya Rigby, who sometimes acted as a “lookout” for the organization, letting the street dealers know when police were around.

On March 5, 2017, Baltimore Police officers watched Daniels engage in a series of hand-to-hand drug transactions and arrested him.  In the moments before his arrest, intercepted calls between Daniels and Rigby indicated that Rigby failed to inform Daniels that police were in the area. In an intercepted call between Daniels and Hillard, Daniels told Hillard that Rigby would be fired.  Daniels secured bail and was released on March 6, 2017.  From March 6 through March 17, 2017, law enforcement intercepted several calls between Daniels and others complaining about Rigby and accusing him of stealing $800 of drug proceeds.

On March 17, 2017, investigators intercepted a call between Daniels and Hillard which captured the murder of Rigby.  During the call, Daniels explained his location to Hillard.  At the time, Hillard was in the area of 2600 Fairmount Avenue in Baltimore City, acting as a lookout for Daniels.  Hillard told Daniels to wait in a nearby alleyway.  As Rigby approached the area, Hillard alerted Daniels to Rigby’s presence and provided instructions and logistical and motivational support for the murder.  The thirteen-minute conversation captured the sound of Daniels firing two shots at Rigby and fleeing the location. Rigby, who can be heard screaming in pain in the background of the call, ultimately succumbed to the gunshot wounds.   As Daniels ran from the scene, he complained to Hillard that his gun had jammed.  The next morning, Daniels, over his intercepted phone, bragged about his exploits and indicated that he believe that his murder of Rigby would elevate his position within the drug trafficking organization.

As a result of the murder, Daniels and Hillard were quickly arrested on state drug charges.  On March 20, 2017, search warrants were also executed at locations associated with the drug trafficking organization.  At the stash house on Kinsey Avenue, agents recovered 100 vials of heroin packaged for street-level distribution.  At Whisonant’s residence on Timbercross Lane, law enforcement recovered 350 grams of heroin, a digital scale, $10,234 in cash, and a stolen and loaded 9mm handgun with an extended magazine.  Whisonant admitted that he possessed the gun to protect himself, his drug proceeds, and in furtherance of his drug trafficking. On jail calls made by Daniels, he instructed his girlfriend to discard a box of ammunition, which agents recovered from the trash outside the apartment building where Daniels lived with his girlfriend.

Nathaniel Hillard, age 40, and Gregory Whisonant, age 39, both of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to their participation in the drug conspiracy.  Hillard also pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, resulting in death, for his participation in Donya Rigby’s murder.  Whisonant also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  Judge Hollander sentenced Hillard to 35 years in prison on May 21, 2018, and sentenced Whisonant to 30 years in prison on July 19, 2018.

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 DEA, 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 Zachary Stendig, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                              Contact MARCIA MURPHY

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                         at (410) 209-4854

Baltimore, Maryland – Deandre Smith, age 28, Karron Wheeler, age 35, and Brandon Kellum, age 25, all of Baltimore, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, July 17, 2018, to a drug conspiracy involving the distribution of heroin and fentanyl, just before jury selection for their trial.

The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

According to Smith’s plea agreement, from at least July 2015 through April 28, 2016, Smith managed a large drug trafficking organization that supplied heroin and fentanyl to distributors in Baltimore, including Wheeler and Kellum.  Smith also managed a drug trafficking operation that operated in and around Pedestal Gardens, an apartment complex located in the 300 block of McMechan Street in Baltimore.  

Smith, Jamal Carter, and Dymir Rhodes maintained a “stash” house in Catonsville, Maryland, to store drugs and drug proceeds, and to process, and package drugs for distribution.  Once packaged for distribution, Smith, Carter, and Rhodes supplied large quantities of heroin and/or fentanyl to several drug shops in Baltimore, including shops operated by Wheeler and Kellum.  At Pedastal Gardens, Smith’s operation distributed “packs” of heroin and/or fentanyl and each “pack” typically contained between 25 and 50 gel capsules of the drugs, totaling approximately 2.5 to 5 grams. 

As detailed in Smith’s plea agreement, a co-conspirator killed two individuals on August 10, 2016 and October 7, 2015, respectively, to further the Pedastal Gardens drug organization’s drug trafficking activities.  The organization believed one of the individuals was distributing drugs in their territory, and the other individual was robbing drug dealers in the area and disrupting the organization’s drug trafficking.

On April 28, 2016, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the stash house in Catonsville.  At the time of the search warrant, officers located Smith, Carter, and another conspirator inside the residence.  During the search, officers discovered approximately 1,186 grams of fentanyl, 575 grams of heroin, and nine grams of cocaine, all of which was being packaged for distribution.  Officers also discovered approximately two kilograms of Phenacetin, a substance commonly used to “cut” drugs, as well as approximately $15,465 in cash, and drug paraphernalia.  Smith also had approximately $2,000 cash in his pocket.

According to Wheeler’s plea agreement, between at least March 2015 and August 26, 2016, Wheeler managed a drug organization that operated in several locations in Baltimore, including Pennsylvania Avenue and Laurens Street in West Baltimore.  During the course of the conspiracy, Wheeler employed or directed more than five individuals.  Wheeler admitted that, at his direction, the organization kept a firearm in close proximity to the drug shop for protection and to facilitate the drug operation.

According to Kellum’s plea agreement, from at least November 2015 until Febrary 18, 2016, he participated in the drug conspiracy.  On February 18, 2016, law enforcement was conducting surveillance at a shopping center in Catonsville and saw Kellum and a co-conspirator arrive, followed shortly thereafter by Carter.  Carter and Kellum met outside their vehicles, then after a brief conversation Carter got into Kellum’s vehicle and placed several plastic baggies containing fentanyl in the vehicle and received payment for the drugs.  Carter and Kellum left the area and law enforcement followed Kellum’s vehicle to the 3400 block of Edmondson Avenue, where officers initiated a traffic stop. Law enforcement recovered 135 grams of fentanyl, which Kellum had given to his co-conspirator and which, Kellum admitted, they had intended to distribute to their customers.

Smith and Wheeler each admitted that during their participation in the conspiracy they and his co-conspirators distributed between one and three kilograms of heroin.

Smith and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement Smith will be sentenced to 25 years in prison.  No sentencing date for Smith has been set.

Wheeler and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement Wheeler will be sentenced to between 10 and 13 years in prison.  U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for September 12, 2018.

Kellum and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement Kellum will be sentenced to between five and seven years in prison.  U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for September 10, 2018.

Jamal Carter, age 24, and Dymir Rhodes, age 32, both of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the drug conspiracy, and were sentenced to 11 years and 10 years in prison, respectively.

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 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 Daniel C. Gardner and Christopher J. Romano, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

Baltimore, Maryland – Karon Elijah Peoples, age 24, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a heroin distribution conspiracy.  Peoples admitted that during his participation in the conspiracy, he was responsible for distributing, or facilitating the distribution, of between nine and 10 kilograms of heroin.  In addition, Peoples admitted that nine fatal overdose victims and 18 overdose survivors had contacted Peoples’ phones prior to their overdose—either by phone call or text message—in order to arrange for the purchase of heroin.

The guilty plea 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; Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler and the other members of the Harford County Narcotics Task Force--Harford County State’s Attorney Joseph I. Cassilly, Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police, Chief Henry Trabert of the Aberdeen Police Department, Chief Charles Moore of the Bel Air Police, and Chief Teresa Walter of the Havre de Grace Police Department; and Director Tom Carr of the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).

According to Peoples’ plea agreement, during the fall of 2017, law enforcement began conducting an investigation of Peoples after learning that he was supplying significant quantities of heroin to customers throughout Maryland who traveled to Baltimore City to obtain the heroin.  As part of the investigation, law enforcement conducted controlled purchases and undercover purchases of heroin from Peoples.

On December 7, 2017, search warrants were executed at Peoples’ residence, at a stash location on West Lexington Street in Baltimore, and on his vehicle.  Law enforcement recovered 900 grams of heroin, $405,156 in cash stored in a blue checkered Louis Vuitton bag, a Rolex watch, a money counter, and digital scales and other drug paraphernalia from the stash location.  Law enforcement also recovered 68 grams of heroin from the vehicle.

On December 7, 2017, and on January 9, 2018, when Peoples was arrested as the result of a federal arrest warrant, law enforcement seized a total of 49 cellular phones from Peoples and the search locations.  A court-authorized search of the phones revealed hundreds of text messages between Peoples, his co-conspirator, and his customers arranging for the acquisition, purchase, and sale of heroin.  The text messages also established that Peoples was part of the conspiracy from no later than May 2015 until his arrest in January 2018.

The Harford County Narcotics Task Force and DEA coordinated with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies through the assistance of the HIDTA Investigative Support Center to collect information about customers of Peoples who were heroin overdose victims.  After running searches for the 49 cellular telephones possessed by Peoples, law enforcement found links between cases involving a total of 27 overdose victims—nine who died as a result of the overdose and 18 who survived.  The victims, who resided in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, had contacted Peoples’ drug phones prior to their overdoses in order to arrange for the purchase of heroin.

Peoples faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin; and a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute heroin.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for October 16, 2018, at 3:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA, the Harford County Narcotics Task Force, comprised of members of the Harford County Sheriff's Office, Maryland State Police, Aberdeen Police Department, Bel Air Police Department, Havre de Grace Police Department and the Harford County States Attorney’s Office, and the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Derek E. Hines and Seema Mittal, who are prosecuting the case.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          Contact MARCIA MURPHY

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                                     at (410) 209-4854

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Christopher Harris Speights, age 35, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, today to 35 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release for production of child pornography, and production and attempted production of child pornography.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; and Acting Worcester County State’s Attorney William H. McDermott.  

According to his plea agreement, on December 13, 2016, the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit received a referral from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and began an investigation into the production and possession of images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors associated with a specific IP address. Further investigation revealed that the sexually exploitive images were associated with Speights’ residence. On April 20, 2017, Maryland State Police (MSP) troopers and Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a search warrant at Speights' residence.

During the execution of the search warrants at his home, Speights confirmed to law enforcement that he was a permanent substitute teacher, working full-time, at Bradbury Heights Elementary school, located in Capitol Heights, Prince George's County, Maryland. Speights also confirmed that he coached boys youth basketball with a traveling team.

Speights admitted to possessing child pornography on the iPad recovered from his residence, and to surreptitiously filming some of the minors he coached while the minors were staying in North Carolina for a basketball team trip in March 2016. Speights placed his backpack in the hotel room's bathroom, with his iPad video recording from a hole in the exterior mesh pocket of the backpack.

Speights also produced images documenting himself sexually exploiting three minor males.  Speights produced two of the images on June 21, 2015, in Ocean City Maryland, which resulted in a state charge of sexual abuse of a minor in the Circuit Court of Worcester County.  Speights produced another image on August 3, 2015, at his residence, and produced an additional image on December 14, 2015, while he was chaperoning a Bradbury Heights fifth grade class trip.  Those images resulted in two charges of sexual abuse of a minor being filed against Speights in the Circuit Court of Prince George’s County. Judge Grimm ordered that Speights’ federal sentence will be served concurrent to any sentence imposed in his pending cases in Prince George’s and Worcester Counties.

MSP conducted a digital forensic analysis of the media and devices recovered from Speights’ home.  Law enforcement determined that Speights adopted the online identities of fictitious minors, then solicited minor males and females online to produce images of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and transmit those images via social media.  According to the plea agreement, Speights (using the assumed online identity of a minor) threatened minor boys on more than one occasion that if they did not comply with his demands to create and send images of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct, he would tell "Coach Speights" about the inappropriate online conversations.  As a result of the investigation, law enforcement was able to positively identify over 20 minors from whom Speights requested images of sexually explicit conduct.

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 Maryland State Police, HSI Baltimore, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, and the Worcester and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Offices for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Hagan and Lindsay Kaplan, who prosecuted the federal case.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                Contact MARCIA MURPHY

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                                        at (410) 209-4885        

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced former Maryland State Senator Nathaniel Thomas Oaks, age 71, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 42 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for one count of wire fraud and one count of honest services wire fraud. Judge Bennett also ordered that Oaks pay a fine of $30,000 and perform 80 hours of community service.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “Our democratic system relies on the integrity of our elected officials.  Today’s sentence and our prosecution of former Maryland Senator Nathaniel Oaks demonstrate that we will hold accountable those elected officials who use their offices to enrich themselves, rather than serve the interests of their constituents.”

According to the plea agreement, Oaks was a Maryland State Delegate representing District 41 (Baltimore City) from 1994 until being appointed to the Maryland Senate in February 2017, representing the same District.

According to the statement of facts in support of the plea agreement, on September 21, 2015, a cooperating individual introduced Oaks to an FBI confidential human source, “Mike Henley,” who portrayed himself as an out-of-town businessperson interested in obtaining contracts in the City of Baltimore. The meeting took place at a restaurant in Pikesville, Maryland, and was consensually recorded by Henley.  During the meeting, Oaks offered to assist Henley with business development in Maryland.

During the months following the September 21, 2015 meeting between Henley and Oaks, Henley consensually recorded numerous telephone and in-person conversations with Oaks during which they discussed possible development and business-related opportunities that may be available to Henley in Maryland.  One such opportunity was a United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) project (the Project) that Henley told Oaks that he was interested in developing in the City.  Oaks told Henley that he wanted to help with the HUD project. 

According to the plea agreement, between the months of April 2016 and July 2016, Oaks issued two letters on his official House of Delegates letterhead which contained materially false and fraudulent representations to a person whom he believed to be a HUD official in order to assist Henley in obtaining federal grant funds from HUD.  Henley paid Oaks $10,300 for his assistance.

According to the statement of facts in support of the plea agreement, on September 22, 2016, Henley paid Oaks $5,000 in exchange for Oaks’ agreement to file a bond bill request with the Maryland Department of Legislative Services (DLS) seeking $250,000 in state funds for the Project.  Oaks filed the bill request with DLS later that day. On November 21, 2016, Oaks forwarded an e-mail to Henley that had been sent to him by DLS.  The e-mail attached the draft of the bill to establish a $250,000 bond to be used for the Project.

All the money paid to Oaks by Henley was supplied by the FBI and the meetings were recorded using audio/video recording equipment.

On or about January 9, 2017, Oaks confessed to two FBI agents that he had accepted the first two payments from Henley in exchange for issuing two letters to HUD on his official House of Delegates letterhead and that he knew the letters contained materially false statements in an effort to assist Henley with his housing project. Oaks further confessed to the agents that he had accepted the third payment from Henley in exchange for filing a request for DLS to draft the Bond Bill Legislation.

Oaks agreed to cooperate with the FBI in an investigation of Person #1 for possible violations of federal criminal laws. As part of that cooperation, and at the direction of the FBI, Oaks covertly recorded his telephone conversations and in-person meetings with Person #1 beginning on January 9, 2017 and continuing until March 30, 2017.

According to the plea agreement, on or about March 17, 2017, without recording or disclosing the existence of the conversation to the FBI, Oaks approached Person #1 at a bar in Annapolis and told him “what we talked about, just say no.” On March 30, 2017, Oaks again approached Person #1 in the hallway of a State government building in Annapolis and said “I’m going to ask you for something, just say no.” These statements were intended to dissuade Person #1 from engaging in the activity that Oaks and Person #1 had discussed in a recorded conversation earlier that day, which was the subject of the criminal investigation.

As a result of Oaks’ deliberate and intentional conduct in tipping off Person #1, the covert investigation of Person #1 and possibly other politicians was no longer viable.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen O. Gavin and Leo J. Wise, who prosecuted the case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – United States District Judge Theodore Chuang sentenced Mitchell Felix Brooks, a/k/a “Speedy,” age 47, of Temple Hills, Maryland, to 129 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 100 grams or more of a mixture of phencyclidine  (“PCP”).

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the FBI, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County Sheriff Melvin C. High; and Chief Peter Newsham of the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, Brooks was a member of a PCP trafficking conspiracy, which, according to his plea agreement, operated in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.  Brooks maintained a stash house in Temple Hills, Maryland, where he stored, mixed, and packaged PCP belonging to him and co-conspirator Alexander Patton.  Brooks also distributed PCP directly to customers, including co-conspirators Jermaine Washington, Reginald Duckett, and Gilbert Davis.

During a search warrant executed at Brooks’s residence in December 2016, agents seized more than 250 grams of PCP in multiple bottles.  Many previously used empty bottles were seized, as were many smaller one-ounce bottle used for distribution.  At least 1 kilogram of PCP mixture was reasonably foreseeable to Brooks as a member of the conspiracy.

Other members of the conspiracy who have been sentenced include:  Alexander Patton, age 41, of Waldorf, Maryland, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison; Glenn Wright, age 48, of Washington, D.C., who was sentenced to eight years in prison; Reginald Duckett, age 49, of Washington, D.C., who was sentenced to seven years in prison; Antonio Blackmon, age 42, of Temple Hills, Maryland, who was sentenced to 42 months in prison; and Jermaine Washington, age 44, of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, who was sentenced to 37 months in prison.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI’s Cross Border Task Force, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office, and the Metropolitan Police Department.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Baldwin and Gregory Bernstein, who are prosecuting the case.

 

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Anthony Renard Wynn, age 48, of Randallstown, Maryland, today to 13 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl.  

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 the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) Baltimore; Colonel Woodrow Jones of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police; and Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to Wynn’s plea agreement, in connection with an investigation into drug trafficking and the laundering of drug proceeds through Maryland-based casinos, HSI investigators discovered that Wynn had placed into, and cashed out, in excess of one million dollars at those casinos from 2016 to 2017, although he only reported earnings of $30,000 in 2016. 

HSI investigators were able to identify the places where Wynn received, transported, and stored drugs and other contraband.  Specifically, Wynn received packages containing drugs from an animal hospital in Pikesville, Maryland and transported the drugs to the Southeast region of Washington, D.C. Wynn stored the drugs and/or other contraband in a storage unit in Windsor Mill, his home in Randallstown, and in a Pikesville barbershop. Wynn also shipped several packages to a co-conspirator in California, including one which contained $244,040 in drug proceeds.    

On June 9, 2017, an HSI investigator observed Wynn talking on a cell phone while driving and informed a Baltimore County patrol officer who conducted a traffic stop of Wynn’s vehicle. During that traffic stop, a Maryland Transportation Authority Police officer conducted a canine scan of Wynn’s vehicle and recovered a one-kilogram heroin brick and $11,620 in cash that was separated into rubber-banded bundles.  After he was arrested, law enforcement searched Wynn and recovered a digital scale and two $500 casino chips.    

HSI investigators obtained search warrants for Wynn’s residence, the storage unit, and the barbershop.  Investigators recovered approximately 1 kilogram of fentanyl, 3 kilograms of heroin, and an electronic money counter from the storage unit.  Gift cards totaling $5,575, $16,602 in cash bundled in small denominations, and an “owe sheet” were among the items that the HSI investigators recovered from Wynn’s residence.  Investigators recovered $951 in cash and a digital scale from the barbershop.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI, the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, and the Baltimore County Police Department.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samika N. Boyd and Christopher J. Romano, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

 

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Thomas Merrick, age 37, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 138 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl.

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 (DEA) – Baltimore District Office; and Interim Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department.  

According to Merrick’s plea agreement, during 2016 and 2017, investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) conducted an investigation of drug-trafficking in the Baltimore area and elsewhere.  Merrick was identified as a member of a drug distribution conspiracy whose members purchased narcotics from suppliers in Mexico, arranged for the importation of the narcotics into the United States, and distributed the narcotics in the Baltimore area.  Merrick was captured on wiretaps during which he and his accomplices were overheard by law enforcement planning and discussing drug transactions over cellular phones, including text messages and voice calls.  Law enforcement also conducted physical surveillance of Merrick and his co-conspirators’ activities and made drug seizures from various locations used by the conspirators. 

For example, during early 2017, investigators conducted a court-authorized wiretap on a cellular phone used by a member of the conspiracy.  The co-conspirator acquired heroin and fentanyl from suppliers.  On multiple occasions, investigators overheard the co-conspirator planning to receive narcotics.  The co-conspirator would then make arrangements with his accomplices, including Merrick, to receive the narcotics and to distribute the narcotics to customers.                

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the DEA and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Hanlon, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

 

Baltimore, Maryland – Chief United States District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Joseph Laurence Bonds, a/k/a/ Joe, a/k/a Yo Gotti, age 36, to 90 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiring to participate in a violent racketeering enterprise known as the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) gang’s Greenmount Avenue Regime.

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; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

According to Bonds’ plea agreement, he was a member of an organization known as the BGF Greenmount Avenue Regime, a violent set, or “bubble,” of BGF.  During the early years in which it operated, the gang called itself the Young Guerilla Family, or YGF, and consisted mostly of younger people who lived in the 2200, 2300, and 2400 blocks of Barclay Street and Guilford Avenue.  YGF members sold drugs throughout the Greenmount Avenue corridor and committed murders, shootings, and armed robberies.   In about mid-2007, YGF members took the BGF oath and became the BGF Greenmount Avenue Regime. 

Bonds admitted that the BGF Greenmount Avenue Regime continued to sell drugs and commit violent acts, including murders, shootings, and robberies, and by mid-2013 controlled the roughly rectangular area bordered by Greenmount Avenue to the east; Guilford Avenue to the west; 25th Street to the north; and Federal Street to the south, as well as certain offshoots east of Greenmount Avenue, including Mund Park and Cokesbury Avenue.

Bonds admitted that between 2005 and 2016, he conspired with members of the BGF Greenmount Avenue Regime to distribute crack cocaine, powder cocaine, and marijuana in furtherance of the gang.  According to his plea agreement, on June 6, 2008, Bonds and another BGF member possessed cocaine with the intent to distribute it, and had $390 in cash.  Bonds further admitted that on July 20, 2005, another member of the gang used a .32-caliber revolver belonging to Bonds to murder someone.  Bonds later took the revolver back.  On October 23, 2013, Bonds possessed a loaded .357 revolver.  Bonds knew that he was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition as a result of previous felony convictions.

Eight co-defendants, also members of the BGF gang, have previously pleaded guilty or were found to be guilty after trial of racketeering and drug trafficking laws.  Seven of them have been sentenced, including the leader of the gang, Gerald Thomas Johnson, a/k/a “Geezy,” age 35; and Kenneth Jones, a/k/a “K-Slay”, and “Slay,” age 30, who were each sentenced to life in 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.   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, the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter J. Martinez and Christina Hoffman, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Carlo D’Addario, age 48, of Lutherville, Maryland today to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances--specifically, “bath salts” chemically manufactured in China.

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 Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department.  

According to his plea agreement, at least between 2014 and 2016, D’Addario corresponded via e-mail with sources of supply in China to obtain “bath salts,” which are substances that are chemically manufactured to mimic, and create a “high” similar to MDMA (ecstasy) and methamphetamine. Specifically, D’Addario illegally imported alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (“a-PVP”), which became a controlled dangerous substance in March 2014, and 4-Chloro-alpha-pyrrolidinovalerophenone Hydrochloride (“4C-a-PVP”) and 1-(5,6,7,8-tetrahydronaphthalen-2-yl)-2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)pentan-1-one (“TH-PVP”), both of which were manufactured to mimic the effects of controlled dangerous substances.  D’Addario created and used fake e-mail addresses to mask his identity when corresponding with his Chinese suppliers.  In his e-mails, D’Addario specifically requested a-PVP or substances that would have an equivalent effect, including TH-PVP.  Between 2014 and 2016, D’Addario, either personally or through co-conspirators, sent more than $53,000 through Western Union and other wire services to his Chinese sources of supply for the purchase of “bath salts,” including a-PVP, TH-PVP, and other similar substances.  After making these payments, the Chinese suppliers would send the bath salts to D’Addario, who would then in turn distribute them to his downstream customers.  In a few instances, D’Addario received other unknown substitute substances and observed that the product sent from China had severe adverse effects on his customers, including vomiting and prolonged loss of consciousness.

On October 6, 2016, law enforcement executed a search warrant at D’Addario’s residence.  Law enforcement recovered: parcel boxes sent to D’Addario’s residence from China; approximately 659 grams 4C-a-PVP; drug paraphernalia, including packaging materials and digital scales; and $4,709.82.  

At the time of this offense, D’Addario was on supervised release for a previous federal drug trafficking conviction.  Judge Bennett ordered that today’s sentence be served concurrent to the one year in prison that D’Addario was ordered to serve for violating his supervised release in that case.                    

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the DEA in Baltimore and Gulfport, Louisiana, and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason D. Medinger and Burden C. Walker, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – Garrion McCellan, age 30, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty today to a drug conspiracy and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime causing death, in connection with his participation in a drug trafficking organization that operated in the 300 block of McMechan Avenue in Baltimore.  McCellan was an active member of the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) gang during his participation in the drug conspiracy.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

According to his plea agreement, from at least July 2016 through April 28, 2016, MCellan conspired with others, including Jamal Carter and Dymir Rhodes, to distribute heroin and fentanyl in and around Pedestal Gardens, an apartment complex located in the 300 block of McMechan Street in Baltimore.  Carter, Rhodes, and others maintained a “stash” house in Catonsville, Maryland to store drugs and drug proceeds, and to process and package drugs for distribution.  Rhodes supplied McCellan with “packs” of heroin and/or fentanyl, which McCellan redistributed to drug users at Pedestal Gardens.  Each “pack” typically contained between 25 and 50 gel capsules of the drugs, totaling approximately 2.5 to 5 grams.  McCellan and other co-conspirators routinely distributed 40 to 50 packs of heroin and fentanyl in one day.

McCellan admitted that sometime before August 10, 2015, the alleged leader of the drug conspiracy ordered McCellan to kill a drug dealer who was encroaching on their organization’s drug territory.  On August 10, 2015, McCellan, Rhodes, and another conspirator went to the 1700 block of McCullough Street where they located the drug dealer outside a corner store.  McCellan shot the drug dealer several times, killing him.  Another person was found shot in the corner store, but survived.

As detailed in his plea agreement, on October 7, 2015, McCellan shot another individual at the direction of the leader of the drug organization, because that person was disrupting the organization’s drug operation by robbing drug dealers in the area.  On October 7, 2015, McCellan and Carter contacted the individual using the ruse that they wanted help to rob other drug dealers.  McCellan and Carter arranged to meet the victim in the 1400 block of Druid Hill Avenue.  While the victim was putting on gloves in preparation for the purported robbery, McCellan shot the victim multiple times at close range, killing him.

McCellan admitted that during his participation in the conspiracy he and his co-conspirators distributed between one and three kilograms of heroin.

McCellan and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement McCellan will be sentenced to between 300 and 360 months in prison.  U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for September 21, 2018 at 9:15 a.m.

Jamal Carter, age 24, and Dymir Rhodes, age 32, both of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the drug conspiracy, and were sentenced to 11 years and 10 years in prison, respectively.

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 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 Daniel C. Gardner and Christopher J. Romano, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

Baltimore, Maryland – Martin Hall, age 56, of Reisterstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to traveling from the United States to the Philippines to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, and to producing child pornography with the intent to transport it to the United States.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, Hall traveled to the Philippines for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual activity with minor females.  Hall’s conduct included engaging in sexual acts with minors, producing images of the minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and transporting the images back to Maryland.  Hall began traveling to the Philippines in 2006 to engage in sexually explicit conduct with Jane Doe 3, a sixteen-year-old girl.  During Hall’s travels to the Philippines, he admitted that he also produced images of Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 engaged in sexually explicit conduct, beginning when each girl was as young as 12 years old. 

Specifically, as detailed in his plea agreement, from April through August 2016, Hall traveled to the Philippines to have sex with Jane Doe 1, who was then 14 years old, and produced images documenting his sexual abuse of the girl.  Hall transported these images back to the United States.  Additionally, Hall used sophisticated computer programs to download and store thousands of images and videos of child pornography on various digital devices in his residence, including the images of Jane Doe 1.  Hall used encryption software on all of his digital devices to prevent others from accessing his files. 

After observing Hall request child pornography using a file sharing program, investigators from the Baltimore County Police Department searched Hall’s residence on September 7, 2016, pursuant to a search warrant.  Investigators seized Hall’s computer equipment and digital camera.  At the time of the execution of the warrant, Hall’s laptop and external hard drive were turned on and in an unencrypted state.  During an on-scene forensic examination of the laptop and connected external hard drive, investigators discovered approximately 8,000 images relating to child exploitation.  The device became encrypted during the forensic examination, but not before investigators had copied more than 4,600 image files, most of which are child pornography.  The copied images included the series of sexually explicit images of Jane Doe 1 taken by Hall between April and August 2016. 

As part of his plea agreement, Hall 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).

Hall and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Hall will be sentenced to 25 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, and will be required to pay restitution to victims totaling $125,000.  U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has scheduled sentencing for October 12, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.

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

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur and Acting Assistant Attorney General John Cronan commended the FBI, HSI-Baltimore, and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur and Mr. Cronan thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow and Trial Attorney Kaylynn Shoop of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, who are prosecuting the federal case.

 

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III, sentenced Lindell Robinson, age 46, of Middle River, Maryland, today to 13 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin.  Judge Russell also ordered that Robinson must forfeit his vehicle and $16,000 in cash recovered during the investigation.

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 (DEA) - Washington Field Division; and Colonel Woodrow Jones, Chief of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police.

According to Robinson’s plea agreement, on February 6, 2018, co-defendant Stanley Rodgers took delivery of a bag containing 10 kilograms of heroin from two unidentified males in Howard County, Maryland.  Rodgers returned to his residence and awaited the arrival of Robinson.  A short time later, Robinson arrived at Rodgers’ residence, took the 10 kilograms of heroin, and drove to downtown Baltimore, where he was arrested by DEA agents.  The 10 kilograms of heroin, which had a wholesale value of approximately $700,000, was recovered from Robinson’s vehicle.  

On June 25, 2018, Judge Russell sentenced Rodgers, age 60, of Baltimore, Maryland to 14 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the DEA and the Maryland Transportation Authority Police for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Warwick and David Metcalf, who prosecuted the case.

A Reisterstown, Maryland man pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Maryland, for traveling from the United States to the Philippines and engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and to producing child pornography with the intent to transport the child pornography to the United States, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur of the District of Maryland; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the FBI, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department.

Martin Hall, 56, pleaded guilty to one count of traveling in foreign commerce from the United States to the Philippines between April 2016 and August 2016 to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a person under the age of 18 and one count of producing child pornography with the intent to transport the child pornography to the United States between July 2016 and August 2016.  Hall pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Ellen L. Hollander of the District of Maryland who will sentence him on Oct. 12 at 2:00pm EDT.

According to admissions made in connection with his plea, Hall traveled to the Philippines for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual activity with minor females.  Hall’s conduct included engaging in sexual acts with minors, producing images of the minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and transporting the images back to Maryland.  Additionally, Hall used sophisticated computer programs to download and store thousands of images and videos of child pornography.

The investigation was conducted by HSI Baltimore, the FBI and the Baltimore County Police Department.  This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kaylynn Shoop of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Budlow of the District of Maryland.

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

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Tyrone D. Pierce, age 60, of Ocean City, Maryland today to eight years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, specifically, a bank robbery. 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Ross C. Buzzuro of the Ocean City Police Department; and Interim Worcester County State’s Attorney William H. “Bill” McDermott.

According to his plea agreement, on August 24, 2016, Pierce, who was then employed at a motel in Ocean City, Maryland, robbed a bank in the 12000 block of Coastal Highway, in Ocean City.  Specifically, Pierce parked a vehicle in a commercial parking lot near the bank.  Pierce, who was clearly wearing a fake beard, was seen by motorists and pedestrians as he walked a circuitous route to the entrance of the bank.  After entering the bank, Pierce pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and pointed it at one of the tellers, threatening to shoot the teller if she did not comply with Pierce’s demands for money.  Pierce also said there was a bomb near the drive-thru window, although no device was found.  Pierce took cash and left the bank, inadvertently leaving a glove on the teller counter that he removed during the robbery.

Crime scene investigators recovered the glove and were able to obtain a DNA specimen.  In January 2017, DNA analysis of the specimen was matched to Pierce, who has a 1999 conviction for bank robbery in Salisbury, Maryland, and had previously submitted a DNA sample.

As part of Pierce’s sentence, Judge Blake ordered that Pierce pay restitution of $9,169.

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 praised the FBI, the Ocean City Police Department, and the Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney P. Michael Cunningham, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced James E. Goldsberry, age 35, of Laurel, Maryland today to nine years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  A federal jury convicted Goldsberry of those charges on March 15, 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; and Chief Gary L. Gardner of the Howard County Police Department.

According to the evidence presented at his four day trial, on September 20, 2016 Howard County Police officers conducted a search of Goldsberry’s residence, where he lived with his girlfriend and three children, locating Goldsberry in his bed.  Officers recovered $893 cash in rolled up bills located along the front railing of the bed.  On the bed’s left railing, immediately next to where Goldsberry had been found, was his cell phone.  Near the phone, also on the left bedrail, was a sandwich bag containing 10 clear ziploc baggies of heroin and three small ziploc baggies of cocaine.  On the floor, near the top of the left hand side of the bed, police found a 9mm caliber pistol, with the frame of the gun on the floor and the grip positioned up towards the ceiling.  The gun was loaded with 17 rounds of ammunition. 

Witnesses testified that more guns and drugs were found in the master bedroom closet, including: a 10mm pistol; two extra barrels; two extended magazines, one loaded with 13 rounds of hollowpoint ammunition; and a.38-caliber revolver.  A black plastic bag which contained 100 small baggies of cocaine, 25 more baggies of heroin, and a larger sandwich bag filled with heroin was found on a shelf in the closet.  The packaging of the cocaine and heroin found in the closet matched that of the baggies found on the bedrail next to Goldsberry.  Additional drug paraphernalia was found in other areas of the residence, including a digital scale and hundreds of unused baggies.

According to the trial evidence, police downloaded text messages to and from Goldsberry’s phone that were indicative of drug trafficking and used coded language commonly used by drug traffickers and their customers.  For example, Goldsberry sent three text messages to three different customers advertising that he had obtained some high-quality drugs, or “got some good,” as he put it.  

Officers recovered a total of approximately 11.29 grams of heroin and 16.85 grams of cocaine, mostly in the bedroom, with a street value of approximately $1,500 to $2,000.  In addition, officers recovered three firearms from the bedroom.  Goldsberry had a previous felony conviction and was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. 

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 praised the ATF and Howard County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Burden H. Walker and Daniel C. Gardner, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Antoine Benjamin, age 26, of Baltimore, today to 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The sentence and guilty plea 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; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle, of the Baltimore Police Department; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby; and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh.

According to his plea agreement, on October 23, 2016, a Baltimore Police officer in the 2700 block of Edmondson Avenue saw Benjamin engaging in behavior which made the officer believe he might be engaged in criminal activity.  The officer approached Benjamin, who ran away.  The officer, assisted by other Baltimore Police officers, pursued Benjamin for several blocks.  During the pursuit, the officers saw Benjamin reaching into the front of his pants, as if to retrieve an item.  Benjamin ran through a back alley and turned back toward Edmondson Avenue, where he was eventually apprehended by officers.  Benjamin was detained on the ground and during a pat down, an officer felt what he believed to be a handgun.  The officer recovered a semi-automatic .380-caliber handgun with an obliterated serial number, and seven rounds in the magazine and one round in the chamber.

Benjamin had several previous felony convictions and was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

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, the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, and the Maryland Attorney General’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael C. Hanlon and Joan C. Mathias, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – CACI Technologies, LLC has agreed to pay the United States $1,531,928.77 to settle an allegation that it breached its contract with the National Security Agency (NSA), a component of the Department of Defense, by billing and accepting payment from the NSA for work performed by certain CACI employees who did not meet the required qualifications.   

The civil settlement 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; and Assistant Inspector for Investigations G. Shawn Tate, NSA Office of the Inspector General.

CACI Technologies, LLC (“CACI”), located in Chantilly, Virginia, is an information technology company that develops, integrates, and maintains technological solutions across a range of markets, including intelligence systems, communication, cyber-security, logistics and material readiness, and other services for government and commercial customers.  In September 2007, CACI was awarded an NSA contract.  As part of the contract, NSA required that CACI provide the resources and services of skilled professional and technical personnel necessary to meet the responsibilities specified in, or required by, Delivery Orders and/or Technical Task Orders issued under the contract.  The contract and Delivery Orders referenced and attached labor categories that prescribed the type of experience and educational qualifications needed for classes of personnel billed under the particular labor category. 

The United States alleged that between January 1, 2010 and June 30, 2014, certain CACI employees who provided services under the Delivery Orders issued under the Contract did not meet all the qualifications described in the labor categories corresponding to the rates billed to and paid by the NSA for those CACI employees.  According to the civil settlement agreement, the settlement resolves these allegations.

As part of the settlement, CACI has already paid NSA $739,037.37, and agrees to pay an additional $792,891.40 within 30 days.

The claim resolved by this settlement is an allegation.  The settlement is not an admission of liability by CACI, which cooperated in the investigation and took remedial action in the wake of the investigation, nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded.  

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and NSA Office of the Inspector General for their work in this civil investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Tarra DeShields, who handled this case.

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal jury convicted correctional officer Jessica Vennie, age 28, of Crowley, Texas, on July 5, 2018, for racketeering at the Eastern Correctional Institution in Westover, Maryland, as well as drug and money laundering conspiracies.  The scheme involved paying bribes to correctional officers to smuggle contraband, including narcotics, tobacco, and cell phones, into the prison.  The jury acquitted correctional officer Jocelyn Byrd, age 41, of Salisbury, Maryland.

The conviction was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Secretary Stephen T. Moyer of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS).

According to the information presented at the nine-day trial, Vennie was a correctional officer at the Eastern Correctional Institution (ECI), the largest state prison in Maryland, operating since 1987, in Somerset County, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.  ECI is a medium-security prison for men built as two identical compounds (East and West) on 620 acres, and housing more than 3,300 inmates.  Vennie was assigned to the East Compound.

The evidence at trial showed that from about 2015, until October 5, 2016, Vennie and other correctional officers (COs) smuggled contraband into ECI, including narcotics, cell phones, pornographic DVDs, and tobacco.  These items were distributed by inmates, and the COs managed the proceeds of the sales.  The “going rate” for a CO to smuggle contraband into ECI was $500 per package, although some COs charged more and others less.  According to the trial testimony, inmates and facilitators paid COs for smuggled contraband in cash, money orders, and through PayPal.  Inmates were able to use contraband cell phones to pay COs directly using PayPal from within ECI. 

The evidence showed that Vennie conspired to smuggle narcotics into ECI, including Suboxone and synthetic cannabinoids (otherwise known as “K2”).  Although COs and other ECI employees were required to pass through security screening at the entrance to ECI, Vennie and other COs were able to hide contraband on their persons.  Further, COs took breaks during their shifts and returned to their cars to retrieve contraband.  Once Vennie and the other COs had the smuggled contraband inside the facility, they delivered it to: inmates in their cells; clerks’ offices, which were private offices within each housing unit where an inmate clerk worked; the officers’ dining room where officers could interact with inmate servers and kitchen workers; and pre-arranged “stash” locations like staff bathrooms, storage closets, laundry rooms, and other places where contraband could be hidden and then later retrieved by inmates.

Vennie and her co-defendant were the final defendants remaining in this case.  As a result of this verdict, 77 of the 80 defendants have now been convicted, including 16 of the 18 correctional officers charged.  All the defendants who have been sentenced to date have been ordered to serve a term of imprisonment, ranging from a year and a day in prison to 65 months in prison.

Vennie faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison each for the racketeering conspiracy, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute K2, and for the money laundering conspiracy.  Chief Judge James K. Bredar has scheduled Vennie’s sentencing for October 5, 2018.

The United States. Attorney expressed appreciation to Secretary Moyer whose staff initiated the ECI investigation and who has made the full resources of the DPSCS available to assist in the three-year investigation. 

United States Attorney Hur commended the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leo J. Wise, Robert R. Harding, and Daniel C. Gardner, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – Leandro Acevedo Lozada, age 33, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to: conspiracy to distribute fentanyl; possession of acetyl fentanyl and cocaine; and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Hoernke of the Drug Enforcement Administration – Washington Field Division; and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, from January 2017 through February 2017, Lozada conspired to distribute acetyl fentanyl and cocaine.  Lozada distributed the drugs to street dealers and drug users, including co-defendant Bradley Seabolt.  Although Lozada was not certain of the exact chemical compounds contained in opioids he sold, the appearance and strength of the drugs caused Lozada to suspect it was fentanyl.  Because the opioids Lozada sold were so strong, he used powdered sugar to dilute them, in an effort to both expand its volume and his profit, and to make the drugs safer for his customers. 

On January 11, 2017, Seabolt sold drugs containing both acetyl fentanyl and fentanyl to an individual in Montgomery County, who subsequently died from ingesting the drugs.  Seabolt had obtained the drugs from Lozada.  The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the victim died from fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, and cocaine intoxication.

On February 17, 2017, a search warrant was executed at residences used by Lozada in Damascus and Gaithersburg.  From the residence in Damascus, law enforcement recovered: 147 grams of a substance that contained both acetyl fentanyl and fentanyl; approximately 23 grams of cocaine; a bag of powdered sugar used by Lozada as a cutting agent for his opioids; $4,452 in cash; and a digital scale.  From the residence in Gaithersburg, law enforcement recovered a .45-caliber handgun belonging to Lozada.  Lozada had a previous felony conviction, which prohibited him from legally possessing the firearm.

Bradley Seabolt, age 30, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances on December 19, 2017, and is awaiting sentencing.

Lozada and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Lozada will be sentenced to at least 10 years, but no more than 20 years, in prison.  U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has scheduled sentencing for October 12, 2018 at 1:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA and the Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Bernstein, who is prosecuting the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned a third superseding indictment charging twenty-four alleged members and associates of the gang MS-13.  The indictment was returned on June 27, 2018 and unsealed yesterday.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) Baltimore Office; Chief Edward G. Hargis of the Frederick City Police Department; Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith, III; Chief Timothy J. Altomare of the Anne Arundel County Police Department; Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Wes Adams; Chief Henry P. Stawinski, III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur stated “MS-13 is one of the most violent and ruthless gangs on the streets today. Working with our state and local partners, and using the tools of our Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, we are determined to dismantle this organization to make our communities in Maryland safer.”

“MS-13 is ravaging communities throughout the United States with brutal violence, recruiting children to their murderous ranks, destroying families, and leaving behind countless victims,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan.  “This indictment — which charges two dozen alleged MS-13 members with senseless acts of violence — is the latest example of the Department of Justice’s unwavering commitment to combatting violent gangs that prey on communities, whether in Maryland or elsewhere in our country.”

“This indictment is a direct result of the hard work and dedication shared by state, local and federal authorities in their efforts to combat violent gangs in our Maryland communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson, of the FBI's Baltimore Division.  “We are committed to combating this epidemic of violence that often takes young lives and creates fear in our communities.  The FBI and our partners will aggressively pursue gangs wherever they surface and are steadfast to making Maryland a safe place for our citizens.”

“We will not allow MS-13 and its members or their affiliates to bring their nefarious and deadly activities into our neighborhoods,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant.  “I am proud of the dedicated agents who have duly executed their duties in our collective pursuit of law, order and justice.”

Twenty-one defendants are charged with conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as the La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, including:

Jorge Raul Guerra Castillo, a/k/a “Pelon,” age 36; Carlos Hernandez Diaz, a/k/a “Positivo,” age 25; Milton Portillo Rodriguez, a/k/a “Little Gangster,” and “Seco,” age 23; Juan Carlos Sandoval Rodriguez, a/k/a “Picaro,” age 19; Francisco Ramirez Pena, a/k/a “Tepo,” and “Advertencia,” age 24; Jose Alberto Sibrian Garcia, a/k/a “Chango,” age 26; Darwin Arias Mejia, a/k/a “City,” and “City Boy,” age 25; Miguel Lopez Abrego, a/k/a “Timido,” age 30; Albaro Rosa Moreno, a/k/a “Slow,” age 23; Ervin Arrue Figureoa, a/k/a “Tricky,” age 19; Ronald Mendez Sosa, age 20; Edwin Ruiz Urrutia, a/k/a “Sylvestre,” age 19; Brenda Argueta Argueta, a/k/a “Prima,” age 19; Carlos Ventura Morales, a/k/a “Pantaya,” age 30; and
Danny Hernandez Solorzano, a/k/a “Titre,” age 20.

The names of six other defendants charged in the racketeering conspiracy remain sealed.

In addition, Darvin Guerra Zacarias, a/k/a “Chapin,” age 26, and Luis Fernando Cruz Rodriguez, a/k/a “Catra,” age 21, are charged with conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, along with Guerra Castillo, Hernandez Diaz, Portillo Rodriguez, Sandoval Rodriguez, Ramirez Pena, Arias Mejia, Rosa Moreno, Arrue Figueroa, Mendez Sosa, Ruiz Urrutia, and Argueta Argueta.

Samuel Diaz-Ramos, a/k/a “Pequeno,” age 32, is charged with money laundering conspiracy.

MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador.  Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Frederick County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County, Maryland.  All of the defendants except for Rosa Moreno were allegedly members and associates of the Fulton Locotes Salvatrucha clique of MS-13. The indictment alleges that Rosa Moreno was a member and associate of the Parkview Locos Salvatrucha clique of MS-13. 

The six-count indictment alleges that from 2015 and continuing through 2017, MS-13 members and associates engaged in racketeering activity that included murders, conspiracies to commit murder, attempted murders, extortion, robbery, kidnapping, drug trafficking, and money laundering.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that the defendants murdered five individuals in Frederick, Anne Arundel, and Montgomery Counties, dismembering three of the victims.  In addition, the defendants allegedly conspired to murder eight individuals, maiming and assaulting one of the individuals with a machete, shooting one individual in the head, and kidnapping and threatening another individual with a firearm to extract payment for extortion.

The maximum sentence for the racketeering conspiracy is 20 years in prison, or up to life if special circumstances are proven; a maximum of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering; and a maximum of 20 years in prison for money laundering conspiracy.  Initial appearances for the defendants began on June 28, 2018, in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

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; HSI; the Frederick City Police Department; the Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County Police Departments; and the Anne Arundel, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County State’s Attorneys for their work in the investigation, and recognized the Baltimore County Police Department for its assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth S. Clark and Matthew DellaBetta, and Trial Attorney Catherine K. Dick of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Gang Section who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

A federal grand jury has returned a third superseding indictment charging 24 alleged members and associates of the gang MS-13.  The indictment was returned on June 27, and unsealed yesterday.

The indictment was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the FBI, Baltimore Field Office; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) Baltimore Office; Chief Edward G. Hargis of the Frederick City Police Department; Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith III; Chief Timothy J. Altomare of the Anne Arundel County Police Department; Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Wes Adams; Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

“MS-13 is ravaging communities throughout the United States with brutal violence, recruiting children to their murderous ranks, destroying families, and leaving behind countless victims,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan.  “This indictment — which charges two dozen alleged MS-13 members with senseless acts of violence — is the latest example of the Department of Justice’s unwavering commitment to combatting violent gangs that prey on communities, whether in Maryland or elsewhere in our country.”

 “MS-13 is one of the most violent and ruthless gangs on the streets today,” said U.S. Attorney Hur.  “Working with our state and local partners, and using the tools of our Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, we are determined to dismantle this organization to make our communities in Maryland safer.”

“This indictment is a direct result of the hard work and dedication shared by state, local and federal authorities in their efforts to combat violent gangs in our Maryland communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson, of the FBI's Baltimore Division.  “We are committed to combating this epidemic of violence that often takes young lives and creates fear in our communities.  The FBI and our partners will aggressively pursue gangs wherever they surface and are steadfast to making Maryland a safe place for our citizens.”

“We will not allow MS-13 and its members or their affiliates to bring their nefarious and deadly activities into our neighborhoods,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant.  “I am proud of the dedicated agents who have duly executed their duties in our collective pursuit of law, order and justice.”

Twenty-one defendants are charged with conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, including:

• Jorge Raul Guerra Castillo, aka “Pelon,”36;
• Carlos Hernandez Diaz, aka “Positivo,” 25;
• Milton Portillo Rodriguez, aka “Little Gangster,” and “Seco,” 23;
• Juan Carlos Sandoval Rodriguez, aka “Picaro,” 19;
• Francisco Ramirez Pena, aka “Tepo,” and “Advertencia,” 24;
• Jose Alberto Sibrian Garcia, aka “Chango,” 26;
• Darwin Arias Mejia, aka “City,” and “City Boy,” 25;
• Miguel Lopez Abrego, aka “Timido,” 30;
• Albaro Rosa Moreno, aka “Slow,” 23;
• Ervin Arrue Figureoa, aka “Tricky,” 19;
• Ronald Mendez Sosa, 20;
• Edwin Ruiz Urrutia, aka “Sylvestre,” 19:
• Brenda Argueta Arguete, aka “Prima,” 19;
• Carlos Ventura Morales, aka “Pantaya,” 30; and
• Danny Hernandez Solorzano, aka “Titre,” 20.

The names of six other defendants charged in the racketeering conspiracy remain sealed.

In addition, Darvin Guerra Zacarias, aka “Chapin,” 26, and Luis Fernando Cruz Rodriguez, aka “Catra,” 21, are charged with conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, along with Guerra Castillo, Hernandez Diaz, Portillo Rodriguez, Sandoval Rodriguez, Ramirez Pena, Arias Mejia, Rosa Moreno, Arrue Figueroa, Mendez Sosa, Ruiz Urrutia, and Argueta Argueta.

Samuel Diaz-Ramos, aka “Pequeno,” 32, is charged with money laundering conspiracy.

According to the indictment, MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador.  Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, allegedly operate throughout Frederick County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, Maryland.  All of the defendants except for Rosa Moreno were allegedly members and associates of the Fulton Locotes Salvatrucha Fulton clique of MS-13. Rosa Moreno was an alleged member and associate of the Parkview Locos Salvatrucha clique Parkview of MS-13. 

The six-count indictment alleges that from 2015 and continuing through 2017, MS-13 members and associates engaged in racketeering activity that included murders, conspiracies to commit murder, attempted murders, extortion, robbery, kidnapping, drug trafficking and money laundering.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that the defendants murdered five individuals in Frederick, Anne Arundel, and Montgomery Counties, Maryland, dismembering three of them.  In addition, the defendants allegedly conspired to murder eight individuals, maiming and assaulting one of the individuals with a machete, shooting one individual in the head, and kidnapping and threatening another individual with a firearm to extract payment for extortion.

Initial appearances for the defendants were scheduled in U.S. District Court in Baltimore starting yesterday.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The investigation was conducted by FBI Baltimore Field Office; HSI Baltimore; the Frederick City Police Department; the Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County Police Departments; and the Anne Arundel, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County States Attorneys with assistance from the Baltimore County Police Department.  Trial Attorney Catherine K. Dick of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth S. Clark and Matthew Dellabetta of the District of Maryland are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

Baltimore, Maryland – Shingaidzo Nhekairo, 49, of Arnold, Maryland, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of alien harboring for financial gain and one count of unlawful conduct with respect to immigration documents.  The indictment was returned on June 20, 2018, and unsealed today upon the arrest of Nhekairo.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) Baltimore Office.

According to the two-count indictment, between 2006 and 2014, Nhekairo harbored the victim, a national of Zimbabwe.  The indictment further alleges that the defendant concealed the victim’s immigration status for purposes of financial gain and confiscated the victim’s passport to maintain her labor and services.

If convicted, Nhekairo faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for illegally harboring an alien, and a maximum of one year in prison for withholding the victim’s immigration documents, plus mandatory restitution.  An initial appearance was held this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.  Nhekairo was released under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services.

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 and Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore commended the HSI for its work in the investigation, and recognized the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division for its assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Ayn B. Ducao, and Trial Attorneys Vasantha Rao and Emily Savner of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, who are prosecuting the case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – Onijah Crighton, age 23, of Chillum, Maryland, pleaded guilty on June 26, 2018, to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in connection with a scheme to defraud more than 100 elderly victims through an advance fee scheme, specifically, by falsely representing that the victims had won a lottery or sweepstakes and demanding taxes or other fees before the victims could receive the prize.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, Matthew J. DeSarno; and Postal Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Washington Division.

According to his plea agreement, beginning in April 2013, Crighton and a co-conspirator began contacting Victim 1, an elderly man living in Virginia who suffered from Parkinson’s disease.  Crighton falsely told Victim 1 that he was the second-place winner of the $10 million “grand prize draw” that Publisher’s Clearing House and the Better Business Bureau sponsored.  Crighton fraudulently represented that the second-place prize was $2.5 million.  Over the following months, Crighton and his co-conspirator contacted Victim 1 hundreds of times, convincing Victim 1 to send the conspirators 44 payments totaling approximately $112,000.  Victim 1 made the payments through Western Union, by adding money to Green Dot cards controlled by Crighton and his co-conspirator, or by sending cash in the mail. 

During the course of the conspiracy, Crighton emailed a “leads list provider” to purchase a list of names and personal identification information that Crighton could use to mass-market the lottery scam to elderly individuals across the country.  Crighton and other members of the conspiracy successfully defrauded over 100 elderly victims of at least $396,157. 

Crighton admitted that, beginning in 2012, he also used the personal identifying information of elderly individuals to fraudulently enroll debit cards in their names without their knowledge or consent.  To conceal his involvement in the scheme, Crighton listed a number of different email addresses on the debit card applications, and listed street addresses on the applications that belonged to others involved in the scheme.  In this manner, Crighton enrolled or caused to be enrolled hundreds of debit cards that were applied for using the stolen identities of at least 10 elderly individuals.

Crighton and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Crighton will be sentenced to 57 months in prison and will be required to pay restitution in the full amount of the victims’ losses, which is at least $396,157.  U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has scheduled sentencing for August 30, 2018 at 9:00 a.m.

Earlier this year, the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners conducted the largest, coordinated sweep of elder fraud cases in history that involved more than 250 defendants and over one million American victims, most of whom were elderly.”

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Bernstein and Dana J. Brusca, who are prosecuting the case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Jayron Khalil Foster, age 21, of Riverdale, Maryland, today to 282 months in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for production of child pornography.   Judge Hazel also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Foster 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 Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks.

According to Foster’s plea agreement, from at least August 2016 through January 2017, Foster engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a 7-year-old female, in order to produce images and videos documenting the abuse.   In April 2017, Maryland State Police (MSP) began investigating tips that were sent to the MSP Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in reference to possible child pornography.   On April 25, 2017, investigators executed a search warrant at Foster’s residence and seized a hard drive.   The hard drive contained numerous images and videos depicting Foster engaged in sexually explicit conduct with the minor victim, sometimes while the victim was sleeping, as well as other images of child pornography.

As part of his plea agreement on the federal charges, Foster pleaded guilty to one count of sex abuse of a minor in Prince George’s County Circuit Court and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 3, 2018.  Foster’s federal and state prison sentences will be served concurrently. 

Foster remains detained.

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, the Maryland State Police, the Prince George’s County Police Department, and the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly O’Connell Hayes, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted Ryan Farace, age 34, of Reisterstown, Maryland, and Robert Swain, age 34, of Freeland, Maryland, on charges related to a scheme to manufacture and distribute alprazolam tablets, which are typically sold under the brand name “Xanax.”  The indictment alleges that Farace distributed the drugs through sales on the dark web in exchange for Bitcoin, and that Farace and Swain laundered the drug proceeds through financial transactions designed to conceal the source and ownership of the illegal funds.  The superseding indictment was returned on February 22, 2018, and unsealed on June 22, 2018.

faraceryan.swainrobertssindictment.pdf

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration-Washington; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Postal Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Washington Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – Criminal Investigation; Maryland U.S. Marshal Johnny Hughes; and Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to the six-count indictment, from no later than November 2013 through June 2017, Farace purchased narcotics manufacturing equipment, including pill presses and counterfeit “Xanax” pill molds, which he used to press loose alprazolam powder into tablet or pill form, and which he intended to resemble legitimate Xanax pills.  The indictment alleges that Farace solicited orders for the alprazolam pills on dark web marketplaces and sold alprazolam pills directly to buyers in exchange for Bitcoin.  Farace allegedly communicated with his customers through encrypted electronic messages and shipped the completed pill orders through the U.S. Postal Service.  According to the indictment, postage for these packages was often paid using pre-paid debit cards that Farace obtained in the names of, and with the personal identifying information of, other people.  The indictment alleges that between May 10, 2016 and January 31, 2017, Farace distributed and possessed with the intent to distribute more than 6,900 alprazolam pills.

Further, the indictment alleges that Farace and Swain laundered the proceeds of the illegal drug sales by conducting financial transactions designed to conceal and disguise the nature, source, ownership and control of the illegal drug proceeds.  To date, law enforcement has seized assets from the defendants and their co-conspirators valued at over $22 million at the time of the seizures, including approximately $17 million in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, $2.5 million in computer equipment, and more than $1.5 million in cash.

As part of the indictment, the government seeks the forfeiture of no less than $5,665,000, plus the value of 4,000 Bitcoin believed to be the proceeds of the illegal drug sales, two residences, and two vehicles used to facilitate the drug distribution.

Farace faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with the intent to distribute alprazolam; five years in prison for each of three counts of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute alprazolam; and 20 years in prison for maintaining drug-involved premises.  Farace and Swain face a maximum of 20 years in prison for money laundering conspiracy.  An arraignment on the superseding indictment has been scheduled for July 13, 2018, in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.  Farace is currently detained and Swain is released under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services.

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 was part of a year-long, coordinated national operation involving the collective participation of the Department of Homeland Security, the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and 51 United States Attorney’s Offices, which used the first nationwide undercover action to target vendors of illicit goods on the darknet. Since its inception more than one year ago, the operation has led to the opening of more than 90 active cases around the country.  Numerous individuals have been arrested and charged, and the operation has resulted in the seizure of weapons, drugs, virtual currency proceeds, United States currency, and computer equipment. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/first-nationwide-undercover-operation-targeting-darknet-vendors-results-arrests-more-35

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA, HSI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the IRS-Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dana J. Brusca, Zachary B. Stendig, and Seema Mittal, who are prosecuting the case.

Baltimore, Maryland – Eric D. Price, age 58, of Fayetteville, North Carolina pleaded guilty today to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States and commit wire fraud, related to payments to him for a "no show" job on a sub-contract under contracts awarded by the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), in Harford County, Maryland.

The guilty plea 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 Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to his 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. Task Orders 11, 77, and 115 were placed against this contract.  John Kays had a leadership position as a civilian employee of the Army related to these task orders.

Matthew Barrow was the president and owner of MJ-6, LLC, a company which he and his wife formed in Ohio in 2008 to obtain military subcontracts.  John Kays steered business on Task Orders 77, 11, and 115 to MJ-6.

According to Price’s plea agreement, Kays and Barrow agreed that Price would be added to the MJ-6 payroll.  Price's job was purportedly to directly support Kays.  Price purportedly worked remotely at Fayetteville, North Carolina while Kays worked at APG.  From February 2010 through February 2012, Price fraudulently received more than $100,000 in salary payments for a "no show" job at MJ-6 for which MJ-6 billed over $400,000 to the prime contractor, which was passed through to the United States Army.  Kays certified and approved MJ-6's work, including Price's "no show" job.  To facilitate the “no show” job, Price submitted false and fictitious status reports and invoices through MJ-6 to the prime contractor.

In all, MJ-6 paid Price $105,556.17 for his “no show” job during the period from May 2010 through February 2012.  Barrow, through MJ-6, billed the prime contractor, who in turn billed the Army, $422,704 for Price's purported work, which was certified by Kays.  Price was unaware of the amount of mark-up to his salary by MJ-6.

As part of his plea agreement, Price will be required to pay restitution to the government of $105,556.17.

Price faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy.  U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has scheduled sentencing for September 28, 2018 at 2:30 p.m.

In connection with a larger bribery scheme involving John Kays, age 44, his wife Danielle Kays, age 43, both of Bel Air, Maryland, and Matthew Barrow, age 44, of Toledo, Ohio, Barrow pleaded guilty to paying bribes of approximately $800,000, including $500,000 in cash, to John Kays and Danielle Kays, who was also a government official.  John Kays pleaded guilty to receiving bribes of approximately $800,000 from Barrow and was sentenced to six years in prison.  Danielle Kays is presently serving an 18-month sentence for conspiracy to defraud the United States and bribery.  Matthew Barrow is awaiting sentencing.  John Kays, Danielle Kays, and Matthew Barrow all graduated from West Point where they were classmates.

The National Procurement Fraud Task Force was formed in October 2006 to promote the early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of procurement fraud associated with the increase in government contracting activity for national security and other government programs.  The Task Force includes the United States Attorney’s Offices, the FBI, the U.S. Inspectors General community, and a number of other federal law enforcement agencies.  This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the Task Force, demonstrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to helping ensure the integrity of the government procurement process.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DCIS, the Army Criminal Investigation Command, and the FBI for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joyce K. McDonald and Harry M. Gruber, who are prosecuting the case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Zeb Zachariah Wilson, age 29, of Mount Jackson, Virginia, on June 25, 2018 to 76 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

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 Colonel William H. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

 According to his plea agreement, on June 7, 2016, a Montgomery County Police officer saw Wilson driving a Volkswagen Jetta with an expired registration.  The officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop.  Wilson refused to stop the vehicle, leading to a pursuit that ended with Wilson crashing through the gate at Asbury Methodist Village and into a tree.  Wilson and a passenger then ran away into a wooded area.  With the assistance of a K-9 officer and a Maryland State Police helicopter, Wilson was located in a stream under a log.  A search of Wilson after his arrest revealed that he possessed packets of the drug Suboxone. 

Montgomery County Police Department officers also saw a handgun in the car Wilson was driving, next to the driver’s seat beside the center console.  The handgun, a .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol with an obliterated serial number, was recovered.  The Montgomery County Firearms Examination Unit was able to partially restore the serial number, which revealed that the handgun was stolen.  The Jetta was also found to have been stolen in Harrisonburg, Virginia on June 2, 2016, and the license plates on the vehicle did not belong to the Jetta.  A search of the vehicle recovered multiple stolen items related to ongoing cases in Shenandoah, Virginia, including a 12-gauge shotgun.  Law enforcement also recovered 50 rounds of ammunition and a receipt from a Germantown, Maryland retailer indicating that the ammunition had been purchased after the vehicle was stolen.

At the time of the crime, Wilson was on probation in Virginia for a previous felony conviction, and was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition due to that and other felony convictions.

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, the Montgomery County Police Department, and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray D. McKenzie, who prosecuted the case.

 

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III sentenced Stanley Rodgers, age 60, of Baltimore, Maryland today to 14 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin.

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 (DEA) - Washington Field Division; and Colonel Woodrow Jones, Chief of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police.

According to his plea agreement, on February 6, 2018, Rodgers took delivery of 10 kilograms of heroin in Howard County, Maryland, then returned to his residence.  Shortly thereafter, Lindell Robinson arrived at Rodgers’ residence and took custody of the 10 kilograms of heroin.  Robinson then drove with the drugs to downtown Baltimore, where he was arrested by DEA agents and the heroin was recovered from his car.  The wholesale value of the heroin was approximately $700,000.

Rodgers must also forfeit the following assets seized from his residence on March 12, 2018, which are believed to have been acquired as a result of, or used to facilitate Rodgers’ drug distribution:  jewelry with an approximate value of $150,000; and two Jeep Cherokee vehicles.

On May 3, 2018, Lindell Robinson, age 46, of Pacoma, California, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, 2018 at 11:30 a.m.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the DEA and Maryland Transportation Authority Police for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Warwick and David Metcalf, who prosecuted the case.