District of Minnesota
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
U.S. Attorney Launches New Public Service Announcements to Help Deter Violent CrimeRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – As part of the federal strategy to reduce violent crime, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger released two public service announcements (PSA) to further the violent crime deterrence message.
Violent Crime PSA: https://youtu.be/VFeHe0Yn1D4
Auto Sear PSA: https://youtu.be/7IOM4JdOIRA
The Violent Crime PSA and the Auto Sear PSA are publicly available on YouTube, on the U.S. Attorney’s Office social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, and have been submitted to local media outlets. For further information, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office (612) 664-5600.
U.S. Attorney Announces Recent Law Enforcement Actions as Part of Federal Violent Crime StrategyRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger, along with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, today announced recent enforcement actions in the Twin Cities and in Rochester resulting in the arrest of multiple violent offenders as part of the federal violent crime strategy launched earlier this year.
On May 3, 2022, U.S. Attorney Luger announced a new federal violent crime strategy that expanded capacity within the U.S. Attorney’s Office to prosecute violent crime cases. Every criminal prosecutor in the office has assisted in the effort by taking on violent crime cases, including carjackings, illegal possession of firearms and/or ammunition, drug trafficking, straw purchasing, armed Hobbs Act robberies, well as cases involving the illegal possession of machineguns and ghost guns.
“Violent crime is at an all-time high and the statistics are alarming, but that is only part of the story. The nature of the violence has changed. By their actions, their weapons and their words, violent offenders are displaying an absolute disdain for the law, and a disregard for human life,” said U.S. Attorney Luger. “Criminals are engaging in an appalling level of violence, using militaristic weapons and accessories that not only change the nature of the violence, but also the resulting harm. Several recent cases and the enforcement operations we’re announcing today illustrate our violent crime strategy in action. We are making progress in our efforts to break this violent crime trend, but there is still more work to be done. We will not let up; we owe it to our communities.”
Throughout the summer, law enforcement has been working in tandem with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to identify, investigate, and bring charges against the most violent offenders. Just yesterday, a joint law enforcement operation culminated in the arrest of 15 violent offenders and the seizure of 32 illegal firearms and machineguns. All 15 defendants have been charged in federal court. This operation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, along with the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshals Service, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Violent Offender Task Force, the Minneapolis Police Department, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, and the St. Paul Police Department. This operation involved more than 100 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers, including out-of-state special response teams.
In addition, yesterday morning, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Southeast Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Team led a separate coordinated enforcement action involving more than 60 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers to dismantle a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy based in Rochester. The operation resulted in the arrest of 10 drug traffickers and the seizure of drugs and firearms. All 10 defendants have been charged in federal court with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
These cases are the result of joint investigations conducted by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshals Service, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, the Minneapolis Police Department, the St. Paul Police Department, the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office, the Rochester Police Department, and other law enforcement partners.
As part of the strategy to reduce violent crime, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota produced and released two public service announcements (PSA) to further the violent crime deterrence message.
Auto-Sear PSA: https://youtu.be/7IOM4JdOIRA
Violent Crime PSA: https://youtu.be/VFeHe0Yn1D4The charges outlined are merely allegations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Federal Jury Finds Mexican National Guilty of Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A federal jury convicted a Mexican national for illegal possession of 11 firearms, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
Following a two-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge Eric C. Tostrud, Santos Gomez Perez, 65, was convicted of possession of firearms by an illegal alien.
As proven at trial, on March 14, 2019, during a search of an auto body shop, officers with the Minneapolis Police Department discovered a supply of firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories inside a large metal cabinet. Law enforcement seized a total of 11 firearms. Perez, an employee at the shop, was identified as a suspect in a drug investigation and taken into custody. Perez admitted that he had been “taking care of the guns.” Because Perez is in the United States illegally, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm at any time.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the St. Paul Police Department.
This case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas M. Hollenhorst.
Fridley Felon Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Selling Methamphetamine, Illegally Possessing FirearmsRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Fridley man was sentenced to 216 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for methamphetamine distribution and firearms violations, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on February 1, 2019, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a residence in Columbia Heights. Officers encountered John Edward Juneau, 48, and two other people inside a detached garage. As a result of the search, officers found three plastic baggies containing more than 23 grams of 99% pure methamphetamine. Subsequent testing determined that Juneau’s DNA was present on the baggies.
According to court documents, on July 9, 2019, police executed a search warrant at a Coon Rapids residence. Officers saw Juneau trying to exit the residence through a basement bedroom window of the residence. Juneau dropped a bag outside the window that contained, among other things, a safe containing $6,000 in cash and numerous empty plastic baggies. Inside the residence, officers found quantities of 99% pure methamphetamine. The police also searched the garage located on the property and found a Ruger, .380 caliber pistol, a Ruger, .22 caliber pistol, two scales, several empty plastic baggies, and more than 40 grams of high purity methamphetamine.
Because Juneau has multiple prior felony convictions in Anoka, Sherburne, Hennepin, and Ramsey Counties, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
On April 12, 2022, Juneau was convicted by a federal jury of one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession of methamphetamine, one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of illegally possessing firearms as a felon. Juneau was sentenced earlier today in U.S. District Court before Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Anoka-Hennepin Narcotics and Violent Crimes Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Dunne and Harry Jacobs prosecuted the case.
Pakistani Doctor Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISISRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Rochester man has pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization., announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, Muhammad Masood, 30, a licensed medical doctor in Pakistan, was formerly employed as a Research Coordinator at a medical clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, under an H-1B Visa. Between January 2020 and March 2020, Masood made several statements to others, including pledging his allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (“ISIS”) and its leader, and expressing his desire to travel to Syria to fight for ISIS. Masood also expressed his desire to conduct “lone wolf” terrorist attacks in the United States. On Feb. 21, 2020, Masood purchased a plane ticket from Chicago, Illinois to Amman, Jordan, and from there planned to travel to Syria. On March 16, 2020, Masood’s travel plans changed because Jordan closed its borders to incoming travel due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Masood then planned to fly from Minneapolis to Los Angeles to meet up with an individual who he believed would assist him with travel via cargo ship to deliver him to ISIS territory.
On March 19, 2020, Masood traveled from Rochester to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) to board a flight bound for Los Angeles, California. Upon arrival at MSP, Masood checked in for his flight and was subsequently arrested by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Winter, and Dmitriy Slavin and Stephanie Sweeten of the National Security Division.
St. Paul Man Indicted for Multiple Armed Robberies of University Avenue Grocery StoresRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A St. Paul man has been indicted for three armed robberies of grocery stores located in St. Paul along University Avenue, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on three separate occasions between May 27 and June 5, 2022, Nicholas Antwain Dancy, 38, robbed three grocery stores located on University Avenue in St. Paul, Towfiq Grocery, Midway Grocery and Deli, and Global Food and Mid Market. During the robberies, Dancy used a firearm to threaten the employees and demand cash. Dancy is also a convicted felon and is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
Dancy is charged with three counts of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of possessing a firearm as a felon. He is scheduled to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court on August 15, 2022, before Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the St. Paul Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruth S. Shnider is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Licensed Attorney Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Fraud, Agrees to DisbarmentRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn.– A Willmar attorney has pleaded guilty to fraudulent concealment of bankruptcy assets, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on November 3, 2015, Gregory Ronald Anderson, 63, a licensed attorney, prepared and filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition on behalf of his client, James Alan Rothers. Upon the filing of the petition, Anderson knew that Rothers’ assets, wherever located, became property of a “bankruptcy estate” to be used to pay Rothers’ creditors. Anderson also filed a set of Rothers’ bankruptcy schedules in which Rothers was required to disclose, under penalty of perjury, the full extent and value of all Rothers’ assets as of November 3, 2015.
According to court documents, prior to the filing of the petition, Anderson created fake liabilities to create the appearance that Rothers was insolvent when, in fact, Rothers could easily have paid all of his creditors. Specifically, Anderson arranged to have a fictitious lawsuit filed against Rothers, and then instructed Rothers to default in that lawsuit. This created a judgment of approximately $608,000 against Rothers to further the appearance that he was insolvent. Anderson also created documents that made it appear that an Iowa company had loaned $240,000 to Rothers and that Rothers had an obligation to repay this loan. The loan was entirely bogus and created to bolster the appearance of Rothers’ insolvency.
As Rothers’ bankruptcy attorney, Anderson had to certify that the petition filed with the bankruptcy court was true and accurate. Nevertheless, when Anderson filed Rothers’ bankruptcy petition on November 3, 2015, he certified that he had no knowledge that the information in Rothers’ schedules was incorrect. But, despite this certification, Anderson knew about the above-outlined efforts to make Rothers appear insolvent and that Rothers had purposefully failed to disclose on his bankruptcy schedules $100,000 in gold coins; $686,000 on deposit in bank accounts for two companies; and $455,484 in uncashed checks. In fact, Anderson helped Rothers open one of the concealed bank accounts and received portions of his legal fees from the other.
Anderson pleaded guilty on August 8, 2022, to one count of fraudulent concealment of bankruptcy assets in U.S. District Court before Judge Eric C. Tostrud. Anderson’s plea agreement includes a requirement that he be voluntarily disbarred. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
On November 7, 2019, James Alan Rothers pleaded guilty to one count of fraudulent concealment of bankruptcy assets in U.S. District Court before Judge Susan Richard Nelson. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys David J. MacLaughlin and Jordan L. Sing are prosecuting the case.
Minneapolis Man Sentenced to 84 Months in Prison for Possession of a Stolen FirearmRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minneapolis man was sentenced to 84 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for possessing a stolen firearm, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on June 23, 2021, Minneapolis Police officers responded to a shots fired call. Upon arrival, officers witnessed a man, Brandon Xavier Coyour, 31, fleeing the scene. As he fled, Coyour pulled a gun from his waistband and hid it in the wheel well of a parked car. Officers saw Coyour stash the gun and recovered it from the wheel well. Officers apprehended Coyour a couple blocks away from the scene. The gun, a Springfield XD-9 9mm semiautomatic handgun, had been reported stolen one month prior by its owner in Menominee, Wisconsin. Coyour is also a convicted felon and is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
On April 12, 2022, Coyour pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a stolen firearm. Coyour was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Paul A. Magnuson. In handing down the sentence, Judge Magnuson emphasized that convicted felons “will pay a very steep penalty” for possessing firearms.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Minneapolis Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson prosecuted the case.
Los Angeles Man Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Los Angeles man has pleaded guilty to his role in an insider trading conspiracy involving a medical device company’s nonpublic business acquisition deal.
According to court documents, Afshin “Alex” Farahan, 55, of Los Angeles, admitted that beginning in January 2018 through at least August 2020, he and co-defendants Doron “Ron” Tavlin, 66, of Minneapolis, and David Gantman, 56, of Mendota Heights, willfully engaged in an insider trading conspiracy. The conspiracy involved nonpublic information about the acquisition of Company B, an Israeli-based company that specialized in robotics for spinal procedures, by Company A, an Ireland-based medical device company that primarily operated from its executive headquarters in Minneapolis. Tavlin, a former vice president of Company B, learned material, nonpublic information about Company A’s potential acquisition of Company B. In violation of his duty to the company, Tavlin tipped this information about the acquisition to his friend, Farahan, who then tipped the information to Gantman and instructed him to keep the information secret. Farahan knew that Company A’s imminent acquisition of Company B would likely result in an increase in Company B’s stock price. Farahan and Gantman used the nonpublic information to quickly purchase substantial amounts of Company B securities throughout August and September 2018. Specifically, between August 13, 2018, and September 17, 2018, Farahan purchased approximately $1,031,359 in Company B securities. On September 21, 2018, the day after Company B publicly announced its acquisition by Company A, Farahan and Gantman each sold all of their Company B securities for a combined profit of more than $500,000. Farahan’s total share of the profit was approximately $247,500.
According to court documents, Farahan further admitted that, after the acquisition occurred, Tavlin learned that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) was investigating certain trades of Company B securities that occurred prior to the publicly announced acquisition. As part of its inquiry, FINRA asked insiders who knew about the secret acquisition negotiations, which included Tavlin, whether they knew any of the parties who traded in Company B securities leading up to the public announcement. In January 2019, Tavlin responded to FINRA’s inquiry by falsely denying that he recognized any names on a list of persons and entities that purchased Company B securities, which included Farahan and Gantman’s names.
According to court documents, Farahan also admitted that it was part of the insider trading conspiracy that Tavlin and Farahan agreed that Farahan would pay money to Tavlin in exchange for the material, nonpublic information that Tavlin provided to him. For example, in October 2019, Farahan gave Tavlin a $25,000 check in exchange for the information that Tavlin had provided about Company B leading up to the acquisition.
Farahan pleaded guilty yesterday before Senior U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank to one count of conspiracy to engage in insider trading. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert and Kimberly A. Svendsen are prosecuting the case.
Minneapolis Man Sentenced to More Than 20 Years in Prison for Using Social Media to Produce Child PornographyRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man was sentenced to 255 months in prison, 20 years of supervised release, and $36,000 in restitution for using social media to produce and attempt to produce sexually explicit images and videos of children, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, between August 2018 and March 2021, Nathan Miller Dobbelmann, 40, used social media apps to contact and solicit sexually explicit images and videos from children. Dobbelmann also sent minors sexually explicit videos of himself as well as sexually graphic text messages. Dobbelmann also joined online chat rooms and platforms to discuss and trade child pornography files with others.
On March 3, 2022, Dobbelmann pleaded guilty to one count of production and attempted production of child pornography. Dobbelmann was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Donovan W. Frank.
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 the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI with assistance from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Hudleston prosecuted the case.
Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Possessing Firearms, Methamphetamine in Checked Luggage at MSP AirportRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Mexican national has been sentenced to 120 months in prison after TSA agents at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport found firearms and methamphetamine in his luggage, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on October 29, 2021, Kevin Alan Aguilar-Moreno, 21, attempted to board a Delta Airlines flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix, checking two suitcases prior to boarding. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening determined that Aguilar-Moreno’s luggage contained approximately one kilogram of methamphetamine; a FN, Model 509 9x19 pistol; a Rock Island Armory, 1911 A1-FS pistol; an AR-15 type firearm with no serial number; eight rifle and handgun magazines; and 241 rounds of .223 ammunition, of which 39 were armor piercing ammunition. Aguilar-Moreno admitted that he obtained the narcotics from an individual in Red Wing, Minnesota, and was planning to sell them in Phoenix, Arizona.
Law enforcement determined that the AR-15 type firearm was a privately made firearm (PMF). These firearms are commonly known as “ghost guns” because they do not have serial numbers, which makes them difficult for law enforcement to trace.
On March 30, 2022, Aguilar-Moreno pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Aguilar-Moreno was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Judge Eric C. Tostrud.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, Transportation Security Administration, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Dunne prosecuted the case.
Chicago Felon Indicted for Federal Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A federal grand jury returned an indictment against a Chicago man for possession of a firearm as a felon, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents and a law enforcement affidavit, on June 21, 2022, a St. Paul police officer responded to an apartment after receiving a 911 call reporting a domestic incident. The officer encountered Allen Denzel Oliver-Hall, 27, sitting on a couch with a stolen American Tactical 92 9mm pistol between his legs. Oliver-Hall did not comply when the officer ordered him to put his hands up and a struggle ensued, with Oliver-Hall pointing the handgun at the officer. Eventually, the officer was able to gain control of the gun and take Oliver-Hall into custody. Because Oliver-Hall has multiple prior felony convictions in Cook County, Illinois, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
Oliver-Hall is charged with one count of possessing a firearm as a felon. He made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court on August 2, 2022, before Magistrate Judge John Docherty.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the St. Paul Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura M. Provinzino is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Ramsey Felon Indicted for Violent Carjacking, Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A federal grand jury returned an indictment against a Ramsey man for an armed carjacking and possession of a firearm as a felon, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on June 4, 2022, Joshua Gunnar Olson, 31, armed with a Glock 19 9mm handgun, used force, violence, and intimidation to steal a black 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan from the vehicle’s owner. Olson has multiple prior felony convictions in Cass, Crow Wing, and Aitkin Counties and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
Olson is charged with one count of carjacking, one count of possessing a firearm as a felon, and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court on August 1, 2022, before Magistrate Judge John Docherty.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Minnesota State Patrol, the Anoka Police Department, the Ramsey Police Department, the Elk River Police Department, the Champlin Police Department, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, and the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily A. Polachek is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Superseding Indictment Charges Two Additional Defendants for Their Roles in a Violent Carjacking Conspiracy Targeting Uber and Lyft DriversRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – Two Minneapolis men have been arrested and charged in a 30-count superseding indictment for their roles in a series of violent carjackings and armed robberies targeting Uber and Lyft drivers, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
“As outlined in the superseding indictment, these defendants targeted and terrorized Uber and Lyft drivers. These carjackings were not one offs or random opportunities for joyriding; they were organized, calculated, violent crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Luger. “I want to acknowledge the collaborative work of federal, state, and local law enforcement in investigating and charging this violent carjacking ring.”
According to court documents, between September and October 2021, Eric Harrell Knight, 19, and Javeyon Demario Tate, 21, along with their co-conspirators Shevirio Kavirion Childs-Young, 18, and William Charles Saffold, 20, engaged in a series of violent carjackings and armed robberies, targeting Uber and Lyft drivers. As part of the scheme, members of the conspiracy lured victim-drivers to particular locations under the guise of picking up or dropping off passengers. When the victim-drivers arrived, members of the conspiracy brandished firearms and demanded the cell phones and wallets of the victim-drivers. Members of the conspiracy forced the victim-drivers at gunpoint to unlock their cell phones and provide passcodes. The conspiracy members then transferred money, via Cash App or other applications, from the accounts of the victim-drivers to the accounts of members of the conspiracy. Members of the conspiracy then carjacked the victim-drivers at gunpoint. To intimidate and force compliance, members of the conspiracy struck, pistol whipped, and threatened to kill the victim-drivers.
All four defendants are charged with conspiracy, brandishing firearms during and in relation to a crime of violence, aiding and abetting carjacking, and aiding and abetting interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act). The superseding indictment also charges Saffold with assault on a federal law enforcment officer with a Polymer 80 9 mm pistol. Additionally, Tate is charged with unlawful possession of a machinegun: a Glock model 21 .45 caliber pistol equipped with an auto sear.
Knight and Tate made their initial appearances earlier today in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge David T. Schultz. Both defendants were ordered to remain in custody pending detention hearings. Childs-Young and Saffold were indicted on April 26, 2022, and will remain in custody pending further proceedings.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Minneapolis Police Department.
U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Calhoun-Lopez are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Two Men Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Straw Purchasing Dozens of FirearmsRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – Geryiell Lamont Walker, II has been sentenced to 60 months in prison, and Jeffrey Paul Jackson has been sentenced to 48 months in prison, for their roles in a scheme that illegally straw purchased dozens of firearms over a one-year period, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, between approximately May 2020 and May 2021, Walker, 23, Jackson, 32, and their co-defendant Sarah Jean Elwood, 34, conspired together to illegally purchase dozens of firearms from various Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL) in the State of Minnesota and to provide these firearms to individuals whom they knew could not lawfully possess them. As part of the straw purchasing scheme, Elwood, who at the time had a permit-to-carry firearms, would go to various FFLs and purchase multiple firearms on behalf of Walker and others, who requested the firearms through Jackson and often provided the funds in advance of, or immediately after, the purchases. In making the purchases, Elwood knowingly misrepresented to the licensed dealers that she was the actual purchaser of the firearms, when in fact she and her co-defendants knew she was not. Walker, Jackson, and others helped arrange the deals, which included a $100 fee for each straw purchased gun. In total, the defendants illegally straw purchased approximately 95 firearms, including approximately 62 firearms in May 2021 alone. To date, 18 of these firearms have been recovered by local and federal law enforcement at various crime scenes or in the possession of persons legally prohibited from possessing firearms.
Walker was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Ann D. Montgomery. Jackson was sentenced on April 26, 2022. Elwood is scheduled to be sentenced on September 14, 2022.
Straw purchasing typically involves a buyer who is legally permitted to purchase firearms from an FFL, but who then unlawfully provides the purchased firearm to another person who is prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms. By making a straw purchase, the buyer enables a prohibited person – typically a convicted felon – to illegally obtain a firearm and avoid the national background check system.
This case was made possible in part by investigative leads generated from the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the ATF and the Blaine Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar prosecuted the case.
Duluth Man Sentenced to 8.5 Years in Prison for Covid Relief Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Duluth man was sentenced to 102 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and $284,355.54 in restitution for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, between April 2020 and August 2020, Jared John Fiege, 35, devised and executed a scheme to fraudulently obtain funds through Minnesota’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) program and the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program. As part of the scheme, Fiege submitted fraudulent applications for UI benefits and EIDL assistance by using stolen names, birth dates, and social security numbers of at least 25 individuals. In applying for EIDL assistance and advances, Fiege also invented fictional business entities, which he linked to the identities of real persons without their knowledge or consent. As part of the scheme, Fiege possessed multiple burner cell phones and registered numerous email addresses which he used to impersonate others. Fiege was also found in possession of photoshopped passports, utility bills, and other documents he used for identity verification for the programs he targeted. In order to withdraw the significant amounts of cash that were disbursed through the programs he targeted, Fiege established bank accounts in other peoples’ names, and requested bank cards to be issued by mail, which he had sent to real addresses where he would then intercept the mail before the actual residents had a chance to.
On July 14, 2021, Fiege pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Fiege was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Michael J. Davis. During the pendency of the federal case, Fiege also pled guilty in two separate stalking cases involving different women in Washington County, Minnesota and St. Louis County, Minnesota.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Duluth Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Middlecamp prosecuted the case.
Former Minneapolis Police Officers Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng Sentenced to Prison for Depriving George Floyd of His Constitutional RightsRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Justice Department announced today that former Minneapolis Police Officer Tou Thao, 36, was sentenced to serve 42 months in prison, and former Minneapolis Police Officer J. Alexander Kueng, 28, was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison, for depriving George Floyd Jr. of his constitutional rights.
On Feb. 24, 2022, following a trial that lasted nearly five weeks, a federal jury in St. Paul, Minnesota, found Thao and Kueng guilty of depriving Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from an officer’s unreasonable force when each willfully failed to intervene to stop former Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) Officer Derek Chauvin’s use of unreasonable force. The jury also found that Thao and Kueng deprived Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from a police officer’s deliberate indifference to serious medical needs when they saw Floyd restrained in police custody in clear need of medical care and willfully failed to aid him. The jury further found that both of these offenses resulted in Floyd’s bodily injury and death. Both offenses are violations of the federal criminal civil rights statute that prohibits willful violations of civil rights by a person, such as a police officer, acting in an official capacity.
The same jury also found former MPD Officer Thomas Lane guilty of depriving Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from a police officer’s deliberate indifference to Floyd’s serious medical needs, resulting in bodily injury to Floyd and his death. On July 21, 2022, Lane was sentenced to 30 months in prison for this offense.
Former Officer Derek Chauvin previously pleaded guilty to depriving Floyd and a then-14-year-old child of their constitutional rights in violation of the same federal statute. On July 7, 2022, Chauvin was sentenced to 252 months in prison for those crimes.
“All four officers involved in the tragic death of George Floyd have now been convicted in federal court, sentenced to prison, and held accountable for their crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “George Floyd’s death could have been prevented if these defendants had carried out their affirmative duty to intervene to stop another officer’s use of deadly force. While these defendants have now been held accountable, law enforcement officers and leaders must take seriously the affirmative duty under the Constitution to intervene to stop misconduct by fellow officers and the duty to render medical aid. The federal prosecution of all officers tied to the death of George Floyd should send a clear and powerful message that the Department of Justice will never tolerate the unlawful abuse of power or victimization of Americans by anyone in law enforcement.”
“Former officers Thao and Kueng each had an individual duty and opportunity to intervene in the excessive force that resulted in the agonizing death of Mr. Floyd, but both men failed to take any action,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger. “These sentences reaffirm that every law enforcement officer, whether rookie or senior, has an affirmative duty to protect individuals in their custody.”
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. It was prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel and Trial Attorney Tara Allison of the Civil Rights Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samantha Bates, LeeAnn Bell, Evan Gilead, Manda Sertich and Allen Slaughter of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.
St. Paul Felon Indicted for Illegal Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A federal grand jury returned an indictment against a St. Paul man for illegally possessing a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on May 2, 2022, Terrance Terrell Lane, 25, was found to be in possession of a Glock 30, .45 caliber handgun, equipped with an extended magazine and an auto sear, a device that turns a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic firearm. Because Lane has prior felony convictions in Hennepin County, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
Lane is charged with one count of possessing a firearm as a felon. He made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court yesterday before Magistrate Judge David T. Schultz.
This case was jointly investigated by the FBI, the Minneapolis Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Hennepin County Violent Offenders Task Force, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Dakota County Probation, and Hennepin County Probation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Middlecamp is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Robbinsdale Felon Indicted for Illegal Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A federal grand jury returned an indictment against a Robbinsdale man for illegally possessing a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, Tavaris Michael Dixon, 32, is a member of the Tre Tre Crips, a Minneapolis gang that engages in a variety of criminal activities such as murder, assaults, robberies, drive-by shootings, carjackings, and other firearm offenses. On June 22, 2022, law enforcement encountered Dixon in possession of a 9mm Glock semiautomatic pistol, equipped with a laser attachment. Because Dixon has prior felony convictions in Hennepin County, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
Dixon is charged with one count of possessing a firearm as a felon. Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung has ordered Dixon to remain in detention pending further court proceedings.
This case was jointly investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Minneapolis Police Department, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Edina Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin A. Wesley is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Isanti Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Firearms from ShipmentsRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – An Isanti man has pleaded guilty to stealing multiple firearms from shipments destined for Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) businesses, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, beginning in August 2021, law enforcement began receiving notifications of firearm thefts from shipments to FFLs. The carrier for the firearms shipments was XPO Logistics, a logistics company with facilities in St. Cloud and Fridley. On March 9, 2022, XPO Logistics contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to report an additional 11 firearms were solen from a recent shipment, including one Century Arms model Draco NAK 9 9mm semiautomatic AK pistol and ten Canik model Rival 9mm semiautomatic pistols. ATF agents later obtained surveillance video showing Jason Thomas Cikotte, who was then working as a weight inspector at the company, removing the firearms from pallets.
According to court documents, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Cikotte’s Isanti residence. Inside the house, law enforcement found the 11 stolen firearms, as well as other firearms and accessories. ATF agents determined that Cikotte had stolen a total of 185 firearms.
Cikotte pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Ann D. Montgomery to one count of theft of firearms. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 17, 2022.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the ATF and the Isanti Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Calhoun-Lopez is prosecuting the case.
Cottage Grove Man Sentenced to Prison for Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Cottage Grove man was sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for bank robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, in November 2021, Michael Thomas Prall, 43, used force, violence, and intimidation to steal thousands of dollars from three separate banks. On November 30, 2021, Prall entered a Wells Fargo bank in Cottage Grove, and presented a note to the teller directing the teller to give him the money in her cash drawer. Prall threatened that if the teller did not quickly do as he asked, he would shoot her or someone else in the bank. The teller complied with the Prall’s demand, and the defendant fled on foot. Law enforcement located and arrested Prall following a short foot chase.
According to court documents, Prall was also responsible for a bank robbery on November 5, 2021, at a U.S. Bank in Bloomington, where he stole $2,558 and a November 19, 2021, robbery at a Bremer Bank in Woodbury, where he stole approximately $4,589.
Prall was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz. Prall pleaded guilty to one count bank robbery on March 22, 2022.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Cottage Grove Police Department, the Woodbury Police Department, the Bloomington Police Department, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Washington County Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander D. Chiquoine prosecuted the case.
Former Minneapolis Police Officer Thomas Lane Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Depriving George Floyd of His Constitutional RightsRead the Press Release
St. Paul, Minn. - The Justice Department announced today that former Minneapolis Police Officer Thomas Lane, 39, was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison and two years of supervised release for depriving George Floyd Jr., of his constitutional rights.
On Feb. 24, 2022, following a trial that lasted nearly five weeks, a federal jury in St. Paul, Minnesota, found Lane guilty of depriving Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from a police officer’s deliberate indifference to serious medical needs when Lane saw Floyd restrained in police custody in clear need of medical care and willfully failed to aid him. The jury found that Lane’s failure to act resulted in bodily injury to and the death of Floyd. This offense is a violation of the federal criminal civil rights statute that prohibits willful violations of civil rights by a person, such as a police officer, acting in an official capacity. Lane was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Senior Judge Paul A. Magnuson.
The same jury also found former Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) Officers Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng guilty of depriving Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from an officer’s unreasonable force when Thao and Kueng each willfully failed to intervene to stop former MPD Officer Derek Chauvin’s use of unreasonable force, resulting in bodily injury to and the death of Floyd. Thao and Kueng were also found to have deprived Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from a police officer’s deliberate indifference to Floyd’s serious medical needs, resulting in bodily injury to and the death of Floyd. A sentencing hearing for Thao and Kueng has not yet been scheduled.
Former Officer Derek Chauvin previously pleaded guilty to depriving Floyd and a then-14-year-old child of their constitutional rights in violation of the same federal statute. On July 7, 2022, Chauvin was sentenced to 252 months in prison for those crimes.
“The tragic death of George Floyd makes clear the fatal consequences that can result from a police officer’s failure to intervene to protect people in their custody,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Had this defendant and other officers on the scene with Derek Chauvin taken simple steps, George Floyd would be alive today. This sentence should send a message that protecting people in custody is the affirmative duty and obligation of every law enforcement officer, regardless of one’s rank or seniority.”
“In the critical last minutes of George Floyd’s life, former officer Lane understood the seriousness of the situation,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota. “He knew that Mr. Floyd was in grave need of medical care, but he chose passivity rather than action. As a sworn law enforcement officer, he failed to uphold his duty to step in and save a man’s life.”
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. It was prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel and Trial Attorney Tara Allison of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samantha Bates, LeeAnn Bell, Evan Gilead, Manda Sertich and Allen Slaughter for the District of Minnesota.
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Pharmacist Pleads Guilty to Misappropriating and Adulterating Prescription Pain MedicationRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis woman has pleaded guilty to misappropriating and adulterating prescription morphine while working as a pharmacist, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on October 30, 2019, Jennifer Lee Draheim, 42, a pharmacist at Coburn’s Pharmacy in Ramsey, removed a bottle of morphine sulfate from the Scheduled Drug Cabinet and poured a quantity of the morphine from the stock bottle into a small container for her own personal use. She added water to the bottle to replace the morphine she took, thereby reducing the drug’s quality and strength. Draheim returned the diluted bottle of morphine to the Scheduled Drug Cabinet, where it was held in the pharmacy’s inventory for the purpose of filling customer prescriptions.
“The FDA oversees the U.S. drug supply to ensure that it is safe and effective, and those who knowingly adulterate medicines put patients’ health at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Lynda M. Burdelik, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Chicago Field Office. “We will continue to protect the public health and bring to justice health care professionals who take advantage of their unique position and compromise their patients’ health and comfort.”
“The diversion of pharmaceuticals is a dangerous path that can lead to addiction, overdose and even death,” DEA Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Justin C. King said. “We take diversion seriously as it impacts the person misusing the medication and also those for whom the prescription was intended. In this case, Jennifer Draheim’s actions put her life in danger and also affected those who were in need of morphine sulfate but instead received a tainted, watered-down medication. We applaud Coborn’s Inc., for alerting authorities to the diversion and our partners in the FDA for their work on this investigation.”
Draheim pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel to one count of adulteration of a drug. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren O. Roso is prosecuting the case.
Maplewood Felon Sentenced to Prison for Illegal Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Maplewood man was sentenced to 77 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for illegally possessing a firearm as a felon, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on October 12, 2021, Metro Transit Police Officers were dispatched to a report of a vehicle stuck on the light rail tracks in St. Paul. At the scene they found Deandre Lenier Neal-Hill, 35, unconscious in the driver’s seat of a maroon Chevrolet Malibu. The vehicle, with the engine still running, had a flat tire and was stuck in the tracks. Officers removed an unresponsive Neal-Hill from the vehicle and began preforming emergency medical aid until the paramedics arrived and took him to a hospital.
According to court documents, as officers extracted Neal-Hill from the vehicle, they observed a black handgun on the floorboard on the driver’s side of the vehicle, which was later determined to be an FNH USA model 503 9mm semiautomatic pistol. Neal-Hill’s pistol was loaded with one round in the chamber and seven bullets in the inserted magazine. Neal-Hill was also in possession of marijuana, methamphetamine, and oxycodone pills.
Neal-Hill has prior felony convictions, including convictions of drive-by shooting, assault, and drug sale, therefore he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
Neal-Hill was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge Wilhelmina Wright. Neal-Hill pleaded guilty to one count of illegal possession of a firearm as a felon.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the ATF, the FBI, the St. Paul Police Department, and the Metro Transit Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert and Thomas Calhoun-Lopez prosecuted the case.
Hugo Man Pleads Guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Hugo man has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on March 1, 2022, law enforcement responded to the Robbinsdale and Crystal area after receiving multiple calls of shots fired in the vicinity. Officers apprehended Brannen Michael Stafford, 34, who was armed with a fully automatic, Glock 17 nine-millimeter handgun tucked in his waistband. Police found several nine-millimeter shell casings on Highway 100 in the same vicinity. Officers later searched a Ford F-150 that Stafford and another man had been driving. They seized another Glock nine-millimeter handgun, 100 rounds of nine-millimeter ammunition, and approximately six pounds of methamphetamine.
Stafford pleaded guilty earlier today before U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson to one count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Robbinsdale Police Department, and the Crystal Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas M. Hollenhorst is prosecuting the case.
Former Ontario Provincial Police Officer Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing Minors on the Bois Forte ReservationRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A former Ontario Provincial Police officer was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for abusive sexual contact with two minors at the Fortune Bay Resort and Casino on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on June 22, 2018, Brady John Hillis, 33, a citizen of Canada, was at the Fortune Bay Resort and Casino on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation. Hillis was captured on Fortune Bay’s security surveillance video engaging in sexual contact with two minor victims who were under 12 years of age.
Hillis was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Judge John R. Tunheim. On January 18, 2022, Hillis pleaded guilty to two counts of abusive sexual contact with a child under 12 years of age.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Bois Forte Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad prosecuted the case.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco Directs U.S. Attorneys and Law Enforcement Agencies to Prioritize Violent Crime in Indian CountryRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Today, during remarks at the Trilateral Working Group on Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced a directive to all U.S. Attorneys and law enforcement component heads addressing public safety in Indian country, including violence directed at indigenous women, youth and children.
In a memorandum, Deputy Attorney General Monaco declared it a priority of the Department of Justice to address the disproportionately high rates of violence experienced by American Indians and Alaska Natives, and relatedly, the high rates of indigenous persons reported missing. The memorandum directs each U.S. Attorney with Indian country jurisdiction — along with their law enforcement partners at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) — to update and develop new plans for addressing public safety in Indian country.
“With this memorandum, we are reaffirming the department’s unwavering commitment to promoting public safety in Indian Country and to respecting Tribal sovereignty,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Tribes know best how to make their communities safer, and Tribal engagement has thus been the cornerstone of the department’s review of its policies and procedures. Federal law enforcement agencies will continue to work diligently with our Tribal partners in support of public safety in Indian Country.”
In November 2021, the department established a Steering Committee dedicated to marshalling the department’s resources and personnel to address public safety and the issues of missing or murdered indigenous persons. The Steering Committee undertook a review — in close consultation with Tribal leaders and stakeholders — of the department’s relevant guidance, policies and practices to improve the law enforcement response in Indian country.
Today’s memorandum marks the first guidance from the Deputy Attorney General to U.S. Attorneys in Indian country since 2010, when then-Deputy Attorney General David Ogden required each U.S. Attorney with Indian country jurisdiction to establish a structure and plan for addressing public safety in Indian country. Deputy Attorney General Monaco’s memorandum sets forth needed updates, which account for significant legal and legislative developments in the intervening decade, including the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, Savanna’s Act, the Not Invisible Act of 2019 and the 2013 and 2022 reauthorizations of the Violence Against Women Act. The memorandum also recognizes that the department’s law enforcement components are essential to investigating crimes in Indian country, and it directs those agencies to adopt their own guidelines, policies and protocols to address the unique public safety challenges in Indian country.
In particular, the memorandum instructs department prosecutors and law enforcement officers to update their operational plans, policies, and protocols to:
- Coordinate with Tribal, State and local law enforcement officers, as well as other federal agencies;
- Support victims, survivors and their families in a victim-centered and culturally-appropriate manner; and
- Address cases, including unresolved cases, involving missing or murdered indigenous people.
The memorandum also directs U.S. Attorneys Offices and law enforcement agencies to engage with Tribes to better address priority public safety issues, including combatting violence against women, youth and children and addressing the devastating consequences of drug trafficking and substance use disorder in Indian country.
You can read the full text of the memorandum here.
Brooklyn Center Man Indicted for Insurance Fraud After Staging a Politically Motivated Arson AttackRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Brooklyn Center man has been indicted for wire fraud after filing fraudulent insurance claims for a staged arson, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on September 23, 2020, Denis Vladmirovich Molla, 29, falsely reported to law enforcement that someone had lit his camper on fire. Molla reported that his garage door was vandalized with spray painted graffiti stating, “Biden 2020,” “BLM,” and an Antifa symbol, and that his camper was targeted because it had a Trump 2020 flag displayed on it. In reality, Molla started his own property on fire and spray painted the graffiti on his own garage.
According to court documents, Molla submitted multiple insurance claims seeking coverage for the damage to his garage, camper, vehicles, and residence caused by the fire. When Molla’s insurance company denied some of those claims, Molla submitted written complaints to the insurance company claiming that it was defrauding him and threatened to report the company to the Department of Commerce and to the Attorney General. Molla also created and allowed others to create two GoFundMe accounts to benefit Molla and his family. In total, Molla submitted more than $300,000 in fraudulent insurance claims, and he received approximately $61,000 from his insurance company. Molla also received more than $17,000 from individual donors via GoFundMe.
Molla is charged with two counts of wire fraud. He made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court earlier today before Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Brooklyn Center Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angela M. Munoz and Kimberly A. Svendsen are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Cottonwood County Farmer Charged with $46 Million Organic Grain Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Jeffers, Minnesota, man has been indicted for defrauding grain purchasers by selling non-GMO grains falsely labeled as organic, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, between 2014 and 2020, James Clayton Wolf, 64, a certified organic farmer, engaged in a scheme to defraud grain purchasers by selling them non-GMO grains falsely represented as organic. Wolf, who did not hold a legally required grain buyer’s license, repeatedly purchased non-organic corn and soybeans from a grain seller and resold the grain as organic product. As part of his scheme, Wolf also grew conventionally farmed crops using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, in violation of organic farming standards. Wolf provided grain purchasers with copies of his National Organics Program certification but withheld the material fact that the grains were not organically farmed. As a result of his fraud scheme, Wolf received more than $46,000,000 in payments from grain buyers.
Wolf is charged with three counts of wire fraud. He will make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge David T. Schultz on July 22, 2022.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General (USDA-OIG) and the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert M. Lewis is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
West St. Paul Felon Charged with Drug Trafficking, Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A West St. Paul man has been indicted for cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking and firearms violations, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on two separate occasions between January 2021 and May 2022, Christopher Allen Stengle, 32, possessed quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine as well as two semiautomatic pistols. Because Stengle has multiple prior felony convictions in Ramsey, Anoka, and Washington Counties, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
Stengle is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, one count of carrying a firearm in relation to drug trafficking, and two counts of possessing a firearm as a felon. Stengle, who appeared in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung, will remain in custody pending further court proceedings.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Eagan Police Department, and the Minnesota Department of Corrections Fugitive Unit.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan B. Gilead is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Minneapolis Man Sentenced to 210 Months in Prison for the Armed Robberies of Two Gas Stations and a HotelRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man was sentenced to 210 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for the armed robberies of two Speedway gas stations and a Super 8 Hotel, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on February 4, 2020, Keanu Dewone Ross, 30, entered a Speedway gas station in Columbia Heights, pulled what appeared to be a firearm, and demanded cash from the register and the safe. Ross stole $140 in cash, various tobacco products, and several lottery tickets, before fleeing the scene in a waiting SUV parked several blocks away with his co-defendant, Antoinette Deniece Mae Dobyne, 30. On February 12, 2020, Ross entered a Speedway in Fridley, pulled what appeared to be a firearm, and demanded cash from the register. Ross ordered the employee to the ground and kicked the employee in the face. Ross fled the store with more than $700 in cash, tobacco products, and lottery tickets. On three separate days in February, surveillance camera footage showed Ross and Dobyne cashing some of the stolen lottery tickets at two different gas stations.
According to court documents, on February 14, 2020, Ross and another man were driven to the area of the Super 8 Hotel in Brooklyn Center by Dobyne in her SUV. The men entered the hotel and ordered a hotel employee to the ground at gunpoint. Ross and the other man took the employee’s cell phone and car keys, and over $550 cash from the business. The men then told the employee to run from the scene. As the employee fled on foot, he heard gunshots. Officers recovered a discharged .380-caliber cartridge casing at the scene of the robbery. Surveillance camera footage showed the two men committing the robbery as described by the employee. The footage also showed the two men running from the hotel after the robbery toward an SUV and then fleeing on foot after the SUV got stuck in a snowbank. BCPD officers located Dobyne in the SUV at the scene. A warrant-authorized search of the SUV revealed Ross’s wallet and identification, and a black duffle bag full of various tobacco products.
According to court documents, later that same day, Ross was detained during a traffic stop by officers with the Minneapolis Police Department. Officers confiscated a Taurus Model PT738 .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol that was found on Ross’s person along with a large amount of cash. Subsequent forensic ballistics analysis using the discharged .380-caliber cartridge casing recovered at the scene of the hotel robbery revealed that the firearm confiscated from Ross’s person was the same gun that was fired during the Super 8 Hotel robbery. On January 19, 2022, Ross pleaded guilty to three counts of aiding and abetting interference with commerce by robbery and one count of using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He was sentenced yesterday by Senior U.S. District Judge David S. Doty and ordered to pay more than $1,850 in restitution to the businesses that were robbed. Dobyne’s sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Minneapolis Police Department, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Brooklyn Center Police Department, the Columbia Heights Police Department, the Fridley Police Department, and the Hennepin County Crime Lab.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar prosecuted the case.
Three Men Federally Indicted for Insider Trading, Securities FraudRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – Three men have been indicted for their roles in an insider trading conspiracy involving a medical device company’s nonpublic business acquisition deal.
According to court documents, beginning in January 2018 through at least August 2020, Doron “Ron” Tavlin, 66, of Minneapolis, Afshin “Alex” Farahan, 55, of Los Angeles, and David Gantman, 56, of Mendota Heights, willfully engaged in an insider trading conspiracy. The conspiracy involved nonpublic information about the acquisition of Company B, an Israeli-based company that specialized in robotics for spinal procedures, by Company A, an Ireland-based medical device company that primarily operated from its executive headquarters in Minneapolis. Tavlin, a former vice president of Company B, learned material, nonpublic information about Company A’s potential acquisition of Company B. In violation of his duty to the company, Tavlin tipped this information about the acquisition to his friend, Farahan, who then tipped the information to Gantman. The defendants knew that Company A’s imminent acquisition of Company B would likely result in an increase in Company B’s stock price. Farahan and Gantman used the nonpublic information to purchase quickly substantial amounts of Company B securities throughout August and September 2018. On September 21, 2018, the day after Company B publicly announced its acquisition by Company A, Farahan and Gantman each sold all of their Company B securities for a total profit of more than $500,000.
According to court documents, in October 2018, Tavlin learned that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) was investigating certain trades of Company B securities that occurred prior to the publicly announced acquisition. As part of its inquiry, FINRA asked insiders who knew about the secret acquisition negotiations, which included Tavlin, whether they knew any of the parties who traded in Company B securities leading up to the public announcement. In January 2019, Tavlin responded to FINRA’s inquiry by falsely denying that he recognized any names on a list of persons and entities that purchased Company B securities, which included Farahan and Gantman’s names.
According to court documents, it was part of the insider trading conspiracy that Tavlin and Farahan agreed that Farahan would pay money to Tavlin in exchange for the material, nonpublic information that Tavlin provided to Farahan. For example, in October 2019, Farahan gave Tavlin a $25,000 check in exchange for the information that Tavlin had provided about Company B leading up to the acquisition.
The defendants are charged with conspiracy to engage in insider trading, securities fraud in the form of insider trading, and aiding and abetting securities fraud. Tavlin and Gantman made their initial appearances yesterday in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung. Farahan will make his initial appearance at a later date.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert and Kimberly A. Svendsen are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Minneapolis Man Sentenced to 160 Months in Prison for Methamphetamine Trafficking on Mille Lacs ReservationRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man was sentenced to 160 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, between June 2019 and October 2020, Xavier Jerome Buckhanan, 47, conspired with others to traffic methamphetamine and other drugs from Las Vegas to communities in and surrounding the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation. Through the course of the investigation, law enforcement identified multiple packages containing drugs that were sent via the U.S. Postal Service from Las Vegas to a recipient in Eden Valley, Minnesota. On October 19, 2020, law enforcement conducted a controlled delivery of three packages that contained multiple bundles of methamphetamine. Officers arrested Buckhanan when he arrived to retrieve the packages.
Buckhanan was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Michael J. Davis. On December 14, 2021, Buckhanan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Mille Lacs Tribal Police Department, Meeker County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Caleb J. Dogeagle and Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad prosecuted the case.
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Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin Sentenced to More Than 20 Years in Prison for Depriving George Floyd and a Minor Victim of their Constitutional RightsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, 46, was sentenced to serve 252 months in prison with credit for time served for depriving George Floyd Jr. and a then-14-year-old child of their constitutional rights.
On Dec. 15, 2021, Chauvin pleaded guilty in federal court to violating a federal criminal civil rights statute on two separate occasions. First, Chauvin pleaded guilty to willfully depriving Mr. Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer, resulting in Mr. Floyd’s bodily injury and death. In the plea documents, Chauvin agreed that the sentencing for this crime should be based on the sentence for second-degree murder because he acted willfully and in callous and wanton disregard of the consequences to Mr. Floyd’s life.
Chauvin also pleaded guilty to willfully depriving a then-14-year-old child of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer, resulting in the child’s bodily injury.
“In no uncertain terms, George Floyd should be alive today,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Defendant Chauvin’s use of excessive force and his failure to provide medical care resulted in Mr. Floyd’s senseless murder. Chauvin’s unlawful actions in a separate incident also resulted in injury to a 14-year-old child. This sentence should send a strong message that the Justice Department stands ready to prosecute law enforcement officers who use deadly force without basis. While no amount of prison time can reverse the tragic consequences of Derek Chauvin’s violent actions, we hope that this sentence provides some small measure of justice for the families and communities impacted.”
“Derek Chauvin abandoned his sworn oath to uphold the sanctity of life when he callously took George Floyd’s life and when he violently assaulted a 14-year-old child,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger for the District of Minnesota. “Chauvin’s actions constituted a grave abuse of police authority and a clear violation of these individuals’ civil rights. To the victims, their families, and to the broader community: although the harm that Chauvin caused will never be erased, today’s sentence of more than 20 years in prison represents a measure of justice and accountability.”
In the plea agreement, Chauvin admitted that on May 25, 2020, he willfully violated Mr. Floyd’s constitutional right to be free from an officer’s use of unreasonable force. Specifically, Chauvin admitted that he held his left knee across Mr. Floyd’s neck, back and shoulder and his right knee on Mr. Floyd’s back and arm. The plea agreement stated that Mr. Floyd remained restrained, prone and handcuffed on the ground for approximately 10 minutes. Chauvin further admitted that he continued to use force even though he was aware that Mr. Floyd had stopped resisting, talking and moving, and even though he was aware that Mr. Floyd had lost consciousness and a pulse. Chauvin admitted that Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) policy and training requires officers to stop using force when a subject is not resisting and to move an arrestee from the prone position into a side recovery or seated position because the prone position may make it more difficult to breathe. Chauvin admitted that his willful use of unreasonable force resulted in Mr. Floyd’s bodily injury and death because his actions impaired Mr. Floyd’s ability to obtain and maintain sufficient oxygen to sustain Mr. Floyd’s life.
In the plea agreement, Chauvin also admitted that he willfully violated Mr. Floyd’s constitutional right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law, which includes an arrestee’s right to be free from a police officer’s deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. Specifically, Chauvin admitted that he failed to render medical aid to Mr. Floyd, although he saw that Mr. Floyd was lying on the ground, in serious medical need, and although he was aware that MPD policy required him to provide emergency medical aid, including CPR, to an arrestee who needs it. Chauvin admitted that his failure to render medical aid resulted in Mr. Floyd’s bodily injury and death.
Additionally, according to the plea agreement, Chauvin admitted that on Sept. 4, 2017, he willfully violated the then-14-year-old child’s constitutional right to be free from an officer’s use of unreasonable force. Specifically, Chauvin admitted that he held the child by the throat and struck the child multiple times in the head with a flashlight, resulting in the child’s bodily injury. In the plea agreement, Chauvin also admitted that he held his knee on the child’s neck, shoulders and upper back for between 15 and 16 minutes, even though the child was face-down on the floor, handcuffed and not resisting. Chauvin admitted that these actions resulted in the child’s bodily injury.
On Feb. 24, 2022, following a more than month-long trial, a federal jury convicted three other officers — former Minneapolis Police Officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Kiernan Lane — of violating the same criminal civil rights statute. The jury found that Thao and Kueng both willfully deprived Mr. Floyd of his constitutional rights when they failed to intervene in Chauvin’s excessive force. The jury also found that Thao, Kueng and Lane willfully deprived Mr. Floyd of his right to be free from a police officer’s deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs, by seeing Mr. Floyd in clear need of medical care and willfully failing to aid him. The jury found that Thao, Kueng and Lane’s offenses resulted in Mr. Floyd’s bodily injury and death. Thao, Kueng and Lane will be sentenced separately at a future hearing.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. It was prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel and Trial Attorney Tara Allison of the Civil Rights Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samantha Bates, LeeAnn Bell, Evan Gilead, Manda Sertich and Allen Slaughter for the District of Minnesota.
Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin Sentenced to More Than 20 Years in Prison for Depriving George Floyd and a Minor Victim of Their Constitutional RightsRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Justice Department announced today that former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, 46, was sentenced today to serve 252 months in prison, with credit for time served, for depriving George Floyd, Jr. and a then-14-year-old child of their constitutional rights.
On Dec. 15, 2021, Chauvin pleaded guilty in federal court to two violations of a federal criminal civil rights statute. First, Chauvin pleaded guilty to willfully depriving George Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer, resulting in Mr. Floyd’s bodily injury and death. In the plea documents, Chauvin agreed that the sentencing for this crime should be based on the sentence for second-degree murder because he acted willfully and in callous and wanton disregard of the consequences to Mr. Floyd’s life.
Chauvin also pleaded guilty to willfully depriving the then-14-year-old child of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer, resulting in the child’s bodily injury.
“In no uncertain terms, George Floyd should be alive today,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Defendant Chauvin’s use of excessive force and his failure to provide medical care resulted in Mr. Floyd’s senseless murder. Chauvin’s unlawful actions in a separate incident also resulted in injury to a 14-year-old child. This sentence should send a strong message that the Justice Department stands ready to prosecute law enforcement officers who use deadly force without basis. While no amount of prison time can reverse the tragic consequences of Derek Chauvin’s violent actions, we hope that this sentence provides some small measure of justice for the families and communities impacted.”
“Derek Chauvin abandoned his sworn oath to uphold the sanctity of life when he callously took George Floyd’s life and when he violently assaulted a 14-year-old child. Chauvin’s actions constituted a grave abuse of police authority and a clear violation of these individuals’ civil rights,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger. “To the victims, their families, and to the broader community: although the harm that Chauvin caused will never be erased, today’s sentence of more than 20 years in prison represents a measure of justice and accountability.”
In the plea agreement, Chauvin admitted that on May 25, 2020, he willfully violated Mr. Floyd’s constitutional right to be free from an officer’s use of unreasonable force. Specifically, Chauvin admitted that he held his left knee across Mr. Floyd’s neck, back, and shoulder and his right knee on Mr. Floyd’s back and arm. The plea agreement stated that Mr. Floyd remained restrained prone and handcuffed on the ground for approximately 10 minutes. Chauvin further admitted that he continued to use force even though he was aware that Mr. Floyd had stopped resisting, talking, and moving, and even though he was aware that Mr. Floyd had lost consciousness and a pulse. Chauvin admitted that Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) policy and training requires officers to stop using force when a subject is not resisting and to move an arrestee from the prone position into a side recovery or seated position because the prone position may make it more difficult to breathe. Chauvin admitted that his willful use of unreasonable force resulted in Mr. Floyd’s bodily injury and death because his actions impaired Mr. Floyd’s ability to obtain and maintain sufficient oxygen to sustain Mr. Floyd’s life.
In the plea agreement, Chauvin also admitted that he willfully violated Mr. Floyd’s constitutional right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law, which includes an arrestee’s right to be free from a police officer’s deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. Specifically, Chauvin admitted that he failed to render medical aid to Mr. Floyd, although he saw that Mr. Floyd was lying on the ground, in serious medical need, and although he was aware that MPD policy required him to provide emergency medical aid, including CPR, to an arrestee who needs it. Chauvin admitted that his failure to render medical aid resulted in Mr. Floyd’s bodily injury and death.
Additionally, according to the plea agreement, Chauvin admitted that on Sept. 4, 2017, he willfully violated the then-14-year-old child’s constitutional right to be free from an officer’s use of unreasonable force. Specifically, Chauvin admitted that he held the child by the throat and struck the child multiple times in the head with a flashlight, resulting in the child’s bodily injury. In the plea agreement, Chauvin also admitted that he held his knee on the child’s neck, shoulders, and upper back for between 15 and 16 minutes, even though the child was face-down on the floor, handcuffed, and not resisting. Chauvin admitted that these actions resulted in the child’s bodily injury.
On Feb. 24, 2022, following a more than month-long trial, a federal jury convicted three other officers—former Minneapolis Police Officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Kiernan Lane—of violating the same criminal civil rights statute. The jury found that Thao and Kueng both willfully deprived George Floyd of his constitutional rights when they failed to intervene in Chauvin’s excessive force. The jury also found that Thao, Kueng, and Lane willfully deprived Mr. Floyd of his right to be free from a police officer’s deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs, by seeing Mr. Floyd in clear need of medical care and willfully failing to aid him. The jury found that Thao, Kueng, and Lane’s offenses resulted in Mr. Floyd’s bodily injury and death. Thao, Kueng, and Lane will be sentenced separately at a future hearing.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. It was prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel and Trial Attorney Tara Allison of the Civil Rights Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samantha Bates, LeeAnn Bell, Evan Gilead, Manda Sertich and Allen Slaughter of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.
Two Women Charged with Wire Fraud for Stealing Millions in COVID Relief FundsRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Two women have been charged with engaging in fraud schemes to steal millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, beginning in June 2020, Tequisha Solomon, 39, of Las Vegas, and Takara Hughes, 35, of Maplewood, defrauded California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) and Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and other state agencies, by submitting fraudulent claims and applications for unemployment benefits that were authorized to provide relief to the American workforce due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, while Solomon and Hughes resided in Nevada or Minnesota, they falsely claimed that they resided in Los Angeles or San Diego and worked as hairstylists in California. As a result, California’s EDD paid Solomon at least $37,000 and Hughes at least $46,000 in unemployment benefits.
According to court documents, Solomon and Hughes also fraudulently applied for Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) small business loans, falsely claiming that they owned cleaning service businesses. As part of their fraud scheme, Solomon and Hughes submitted numerous fraudulent claims on behalf of other people and charged a fee for submitting those claims. In total, as a direct result of the material falsehoods and omissions, Solomon caused the United States and multiple state agencies to pay out at least $4.1 million in fraudulent unemployment benefits and EIDL and PPP small business loan proceeds. Hughes is responsible for at least $1.2 million in fraudulent benefits and loan proceeds.
Solomon is charged with six counts of wire fraud. In a separate indictment, Hughes is charged with five counts of wire fraud. The defendants are scheduled to make their initial appearances in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung on July 15, 2022.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the St. Paul Police Department and the California Employment Development Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew S. Ebert is prosecuting the cases.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Minneapolis Man Charged for Violent Carjacking Outside a Northeast Minneapolis RestaurantRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has been charged in a federal criminal complaint for the armed carjacking of a woman outside her place of work in northeast Minneapolis, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on June 9, 2022, Shamir Nathann Black, 18, approached a woman outside of her place of work and demanded her car keys. Black proceeded to push the victim to the ground and hit her on the head with a firearm. A bystander attempted to assist the victim but was also assaulted by Black. Black pointed his firearm at the bystander and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not discharge a bullet. Black and an accomplice got into the victim’s vehicle, but surrounding witnesses pulled Black from the driver’s seat and put him on the ground. Black and his accomplice fled the scene on foot.
After arriving at the scene, officers with the Minneapolis Police Department located a Shadow Systems 9mm semiautomatic pistol wrapped in a gray sweatshirt. The firearm had been reported stolen in Prior Lake in April 2022. Investigators reviewed a social media video that showed Black waving around a handgun that matched the firearm recovered at the crime scene. Further investigation revealed that a Volkswagen Jetta had been taken in a Prior Lake home burglary on the same night the firearm was stolen. Law enforcement later recovered the stolen Jetta from Black’s Minneapolis residence. On June 24, 2022, Black was taken into custody.
Black is charged with one count of carjacking. He made his initial appearance yesterday in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson and was ordered temporarily detained pending a formal detention hearing on June 30, 2022.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Roso is prosecuting the case.
A complaint is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Lino Lakes Felon Charged Federally with Methamphetamine Trafficking, Firearms Violations in Connection to Kidnapping, Torture CaseRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – Jose Angel Chapa-Aguilera has been charged in a federal indictment with drug trafficking and firearms violations in connection to the December 2021 kidnapping and torture of a man, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to state and federal court documents, Chapa-Aguilera, 24, of Lino Lakes, was in possession of quantities of methamphetamine and unlawfully possessed 9mm semi-automatic handguns on two different occasions.
In April 2021 Chapa-Aguilera used a false name during a traffic stop in Nobles County which later resulted in the seizure of methamphetamine and a firearm from the vehicle he was driving near Worthington, Minnesota.
On December 20, 2021, at a Brooklyn Park residence, Chapa-Aguilera allegedly confronted a man about a drug debt. During the confrontation, Chapa-Aguilera pulled out a handgun and pointed it at a victim’s head. Chapa-Aguilera then ordered the victim to the ground and tied his hands behind his back and proceeded to beat and torture the victim for hours before barricading the victim in a crawlspace under the house. The victim was eventually able to escape once Chapa-Aguilera left the house. The victim suffered extensive injuries, including numerous burns, broken ribs, a large laceration above his eye, and required a blood transfusion. Law enforcement seized methamphetamine from Chapa-Aguilera’s residence during a search warrant executed shortly thereafter. Law enforcement eventually captured Chapa-Aguilera on January 7, 2022, and found him in possession of a firearm.
Chapa-Aguilera has also been charged in Hennepin County District Court with first-degree assault and kidnapping in connection with the December 2021 incident.
The federal indictment against Chapa-Aguilera charges him with two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, one count of brandishing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, and two counts of illegally possessing firearms as a felon. Because Chapa-Aguilera has a prior felony conviction in Anoka County for second degree assault he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
Chapa-Aguilera made his initial appearance today in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson. He will remain in federal custody pending further court proceedings.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Hennepin County Violent Offender Task Force (VOTF), and the Brooklyn Park Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen A. Slaughter is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Middle School Paraprofessional Pleads Guilty to Child Sextortion SchemeRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Coon Rapids man has pleaded guilty to a sextortion scheme that targeted minors through social media and an online gaming forum, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, Glen Robert Anderson, 24, previously worked as a middle school paraprofessional in special education. Anderson used multiple internet applications and social media accounts for email, file sharing, and chatting with minors, including Snapchat and Grindr. Anderson also owned and administered an online gaming forum. To participate in the forum, users were required to submit an application, which included the age of the user. As Anderson knew, many of the users were minors. Between April 1, 2016, through August 20, 2021, Anderson used his position as the forum administrator to groom minors to produce child pornography and engage in sexual activity with him, including by providing minors with in-game perks, privileges, and other gifts. For example, Anderson coerced a 13-year-old victim to engage in sexually explicit acts for the purpose of producing images and videos. Anderson later threatened to release those sexually explicit images if the victim did not respond to Anderson’s demands.
Anderson pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz to two counts of production of child pornography, one count of enticement of a minor, and one count of interstate communications with intent to extort. Anderson was ordered to remain in detention pending his sentencing hearing on October 25, 2022.
This case is 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Anoka County Sheriff's Office, the Erie County (Ohio) Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Waterloo Regional Police Service in Ontario, Canada.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Miranda E. Dugi is prosecuting the case.
Federal Inmate Sentenced to an Additional 29 Years for Orchestrating a Methamphetamine Trafficking Operation from PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A federal inmate was sentenced to an additional 349 months in prison followed by ten years of supervised release for continuing to facilitate a methamphetamine trafficking operation from federal prison, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, in early 2017, Marco Antonio Avila, 37, was charged and convicted in federal court for his leadership role in an ongoing and extensive drug trafficking organization operating in and around Rochester. While awaiting sentencing in 2017, Avila continued his methamphetamine trafficking operations through jail calls and in-person visits, was prosecuted again, and plead guilty to a second federal drug trafficking offense on May 30, 2017. On May 21, 2018, Avila was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 26 years in Bureau of Prisons (BOP) custody.
According to court documents, from December 2019 through at least February 2020, Avila continued his operations by recruiting and directing at least one co-conspirator to purchase large quantities of methamphetamine from a Mexico-based drug supplier to distribute to customers throughout southern Minnesota. Recorded BOP phone calls revealed Avila’s interactions with his co-conspirator, including inquiring about the status of distribution efforts and instructions to pay Avila commissions for his work as a middleman. On February 23, 2020, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at one of the co-conspirator’s storage lockers in Woodbury. Inside the storage locker, agents found thirty separate one-pound packages of methamphetamine stored inside a Corvette.
Avila was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Donovan W. Frank. On March 25, 2022, Avila pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Prisons, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Rochester Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen A. Slaughter prosecuted the case.
Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Cyberstalking, Identity TheftRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Chinese national has pleaded guilty to identity theft and cyberstalking involving a Minnesota college student, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, between January 2020 and November 2021, Ki Cheung Yau, 27, created multiple online accounts on various websites, including social media platforms, dating websites, and pornography websites, using the name, photos, and personally identifying information of the victim. Yau used these accounts to communicate with strangers on the internet while posing as the victim. Yau falsely portrayed the victim on social media, dating, and sexually-focused websites as a young woman soliciting submissive or violent sexual relationships, including a desire to engage in racially-oriented submissive sexual conduct.
Yau then communicated with strangers online and tried to help them locate the victim and follow through on his invitations for dominating and violent sexual encounters. According to court documents, on two separate occasions in January 2021, a man went to the victim’s residence and asked for the victim by name, presumably because he believed he was meeting the victim for a sexual encounter. Also, Yau’s cyberstalking resulted in strangers directly messaging the victim in response to explicit accounts and posts made by Yau posing as the victim. Further, the victim’s family and friends’ names, photos, and contact information were also included in Yau’s stalking scheme. The victim was forced to move to a new residence and change her phone number.
Yau pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright to one count of cyberstalking and one count of identity theft. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the St. Paul Police Department.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Hillary A. Taylor is prosecuting the case.
Federal Prison Inmate Charged with Attempting to Obtain ContrabandRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – An inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution (“FCI”) in Sandstone has been indicted for attempting to obtain contraband in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on two separate dates in February and March 2022, Nickolas William Mihelic, 39, an inmate at FCI Sandstone, unlawfully attempted to obtain methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.
Mihelic is charged with two counts of attempting to obtain contraband in prison. If convicted, he faces a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Mihelic will make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court before a Magistrate Judge at a later date.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by Federal Bureau of Prisons and the FBI.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Hillary A. Taylor is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
St. Paul Felon Pleads Guilty, During Criminal Trial, to Shipping Drugs into Minnesota Correctional FacilitiesRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A St. Paul man has pleaded guilty, during his criminal trial, to attempted distribution of a drug analogue, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and illegally possessing firearms as a felon, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, in March 2021, the Minnesota Department of Corrections (“DOC”) initiated an internal investigation into the introduction of narcotics into multiple DOC facilities, including Stillwater, Oak Park Heights, Faribault, and Rush City prisons. Investigators identified Walter Davis, a/k/a “Disney,” 40, as the source. On April 12, 2021, Davis attempted to mail six letters to DOC inmates that contained news articles printed on high-quality Strathmore cotton paper soaked in MDMB-4en-PINACA, a synthetic cannabinoid substance which produces hallucinogenic effects when consumed. Investigators intercepted and seized the letters. Investigators obtained search warrants for two residential locations Davis frequented. Following a search of the first location, Davis’s primary residence in Eagan, investigators recovered two baggies of fentanyl, $3,000 in cash, digital scales, and a loaded Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolver. A search of the second location, an apartment in Maplewood, yielded over 400 grams of fentanyl, digital scales, a spray bottle containing MDMB-4en-PINACA, a package of Strathmore cotton paper, and a loaded Rossi .357 caliber Magnum revolver.
On June 15, 2022, Davis went to trial before U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright. On June 17, 2022, three days into the trial, Davis pleaded guilty to all counts, including one count of attempted distribution of a controlled substance analogue, one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and two counts of possessing a firearm as a felon. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allison K. Ethen, Lauren O. Roso, and Ruth S. Shnider are prosecuting the case.
Minneapolis Felon Pleads Guilty to Making Threats Against Hennepin County Government Officials, Illegal Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has pleaded guilty to making threats against Hennepin County employees and illegally possessing a firearm as a felon, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on June 24, 2021, the Hennepin County District Court issued an arrest warrant for Peter Robert Berry, 60, after he failed to appear in court for a hearing. Berry called an employee of Hennepin County Community Corrections to ask questions about his court appearance. During the call Berry became angry and began yelling and threatened to “shoot up the place.” That same day, Berry left a voice message for a Hennepin County Probation Officer in which Berry demanded a call back before he starts “killing everybody.” On June 25, 2021, Berry called a Hennepin County Service Center employee who informed him of the active warrant for his arrest due to his failure to appear in court. Upon learning about the warrant, Berry stated that he was going to “come down and kill everybody, all the judges, clerks, and deputies.” On June 29, 2021, Berry left a voice message for a Hennepin County Public Defender in which Berry expressed his dissatisfaction with the representation he received in his criminal case and threatened that people were going to die and stated that he knew where the public defender lived.
According to court documents, on July 10, 2020, and on April 7, 2021, Berry unlawfully possessed three firearms, including a Beretta .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a Smith and Wesson 9 mm pistol, and a Diamondback DB15 rifle. Because Berry has prior felony convictions in Hennepin, Dakota, and Ramsey Counties, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
Berry pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud to one count of possessing a firearm as a felon and one count of interstate transmission of a threat. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Minneapolis Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison K. Ethen is prosecuting the case.
Kenyon Bookkeeper Sentenced to More Than 9 Years Prison for $881,000 Employer Embezzlement and Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Kenyon woman was sentenced to 111 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and $1,058,777.18 in restitution for embezzling more than $881,000 from the owners of several Denny’s restaurant franchises around the Twin Cities and from a family-owned construction company in Rochester, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, in 2014, Kimberly Sue Peterson-Janovec, 59, became the Director of Operations for MI5, Inc., a Denny’s franchisee that owned and operated eight Denny’s franchises in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In this role, Peterson-Janovec had extensive managerial oversight for all eight restaurants, including payroll, cash deposits, vendor and contractor billing, marketing, and coordinating reimbursements from Denny’s Corporate.
According to court documents, from April 2014 through July 2019, Peterson-Janovec used her position to embezzle funds from MI5 and Denny’s Corporate by generating and submitting false requests for vendor payments and then diverting those payments for her own use and benefit. Peterson-Janovec also manipulated the company’s payroll system to issue herself unauthorized compensation using the names of employees who no longer worked for the company. As part of the scheme, Peterson-Janovec falsified records, created fake email accounts, and generated fake email traffic in which she impersonated employees of various purported vendors. In total, Peterson-Janovec received approximately $336,000 in bogus vendor payments and approximately $20,000 in fraudulently issued payroll submissions using the identities of other people. In addition, at sentencing, the Court held Peterson-Janovec responsible for stealing an additional $181,000 in cash deposits from MI5.
According to court documents, in July 2019, MI5, Inc., discovered aspects of Peterson-Janovec’s fraud and terminated her employment. After her termination, in early 2020, Peterson-Janovec lied about her work experience to get another bookkeeping job with a family-owned construction company in Rochester, identified as Company 3. Peterson-Janovec started as its bookkeeper, earned Company 3’s trust, and eventually was promoted to its general manager. Peterson-Janovec used her position to devise and execute a similar fraud scheme on Company 3. She used her access to Company 3’s QuickBooks to issue herself numerous payments, and she did so in a manner that made the payments appear as if they were going to Company 3 vendors. This netted Peterson-Janovec another $350,000 in as little at 18 months.
In total, Peterson-Janovec stole more than $881,000 from her employers, which she used to finance her lifestyle and hobbies, including a substantial down payment on her personal residence. Peterson-Janovec also committed tax crimes during every year of her fraud scheme, which led to over $160,000 in unpaid taxes.
Peterson-Janovec was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Chief Judge John R. Tunheim. In handing down the sentence, Judge Tunheim described Peterson-Janovec’s conduct as “brazen” and motivated by “greed,” and highlighted the need to protect the public from further criminal activity carried out by the defendant.
On February 22, 2022, Peterson-Janovec was convicted by a federal jury on 24 counts of fraud, aggravated identity theft, and tax crimes. Notably, Peterson-Janovec has a prior federal fraud conviction from 1998, when she embezzled more than $950,000 from another former employer.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Burnsville Police Department, and the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jordan L. Sing and Kimberly A. Svendsen prosecuted the case.
Twin Cities House-Flipper Pleads Guilty to $3 Million Investor Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Twin Cities house-flipper has pleaded guilty to defrauding real estate investors out of more than $3 million, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, from 2018 through December 2020, Suzanne Griffiths, 46, currently residing in Arizona, executed a scheme to defraud individuals by soliciting investments in her Minnesota-based house-flipping businesses. Griffiths was active in the house-flipping community and frequently attended seminars of a national real estate investment coaching program. Through these seminars, Griffiths networked with other individuals and pitched her own house-flipping businesses: Level 5 Properties, LLC; 45 North Investment Properties, LLC; and Our Town Properties. Griffiths frequently contacted seminar attendees about potential investment opportunities in properties owned by her companies. Griffiths promised investors various manners of repayment in return for investments. Griffiths frequently made material misrepresentations about the status of real estate projects, failed to take promised action, falsified documents, and misappropriated investments for her own use.
According to court documents, in November 2018, Griffiths solicited a $100,000 investment from an investor to finance the renovation of a property. Griffiths promised the investor that they would hold second position on the mortgage and falsely assured the investor that the necessary mortgage documents had been filed with the appropriate county. In reality, Griffiths never filed the documents and, as a result, the investor lost their entire investment.
According to court documents, in July 2020, Griffiths solicited a $70,000 investment from another investor. Months later, to facilitate the solicitation of a second investment for renovations of a property, Griffiths provided the investor with information, printed on title company letterhead, demonstrating the potential of the requested investment. The investor later contacted the title company and learned that Griffiths had altered the information provided by the title company to intentionally omit numerous preexisting encumbrances on the property. The investor lost their entire $70,000 from the first investment.
In total, Griffiths intentionally misappropriated at least $3,197,109.47 of investor funds.
Griffiths pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Joan N. Ericksen to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. A sentencing date has not been set.
This case is the result of an investigation led by IRS – Criminal Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan L. Sing is prosecuting the case.
St. Paul Man Sentenced to Prison for $841,000 COVID-Relief Scheme to Defraud the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection ProgramRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A St. Paul man was sentenced to 81 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft in connection to a more than $840,000 covid-relief fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, Kyle William Brenizer, 33, was the owner and manager of True-Cut Construction LLC (“True-Cut”), a contracting and construction company located in Brooklyn Park. In August 2018, True-Cut and Brenizer were ordered by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry to cease and desist from doing business. In December 2019, True-Cut’s contractor license expired and was never renewed.
According to court documents, on May 1, 2020, Brenizer submitted a false and misleading Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application in the name of True-Cut seeking approximately $841,000, but the application was denied. On May 12, 2020, Brenizer again submitted a false and misleading PPP application in the name of True-Cut seeking approximately $841,000 in PPP funds. This time, in order to conceal his role in submitting a fraudulent application, Brenizer submitted the application under the name of another individual whom Brenizer falsely claimed was the 90 percent owner of True-Cut. Brenizer further falsely stated that True-Cut’s average monthly payroll was $336,400 for approximately 30 employees. In support of both loan applications, Brenizer caused to be submitted to the lender fraudulent supporting documentation, such as falsified bank statements and IRS documents. In addition, Brenizer falsely certified that he was not subject to any pending criminal charges even though he was named in multiple felony charges pending in the State of Minnesota, including check forgery, identify theft, and theft by swindle. Due to these various misrepresentations and omissions, on May 13, 2020, Brenizer’s second application was approved, and he received $841,000 in PPP funds.
According to court documents, instead of using the PPP funds for authorized business expenses, such as payroll, Brenizer transferred approximately $650,000 to a bank account unrelated to True-Cut and made a $29,000 payment to purchase a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, among other impermissible expenditures and transactions.
Brenizer was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Judge Eric C. Tostrud. On January 31, 2022, Brenizer pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
The CARES Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.
The PPP allows qualifying small-businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of one percent. PPP loan proceeds must be used by businesses on payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal on the PPP loan to be forgiven if the business spends the loan proceeds on these expense items within a designated period of time after receiving the proceeds and uses at least a certain percentage of the PPP loan proceeds on payroll expenses.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by IRS – Criminal Investigations, the FBI, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General, and the Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert and Allison K. Ethen prosecuted the case.
Oakdale Man Pleads Guilty for His Role in Multi-Million Dollar Health Care Insurance Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – An Oakdale man has pleaded guilty for his role in a multi-million dollar insurance fraud scheme. Okwuchukwu Emmanuel Jidoefor, 38, along with multiple co-conspirators, participated in a scheme to defraud automobile insurance companies by recruiting patients, staging accidents, and receiving illegal kickbacks, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
Jidoefor’s role was a “runner,” someone who solicited individuals who had been in car accidents to attend treatments at co‑conspirator clinics, including Healthcare Chiropractic, Meyer Injury Center, and Morrow Accident Rehabilitation Center.
Jidoefor pleaded guilty on June 14, 2022, before Senior U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis to one count of mail fraud. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 27, 2022.
This case was a part of a larger investigation that ultimately resulted in charges against 26 individuals across seven separate metro-area chiropractic practices. Including this latest conviction, 24 of those individuals have either pleaded guilty or been found guilty following a trial.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chelsea A. Walcker and David J. MacLaughlin are prosecuting the case.
Federal Jury Finds St. Paul Felon Guilty of Methamphetamine Distribution and Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A federal jury convicted a St. Paul man of methamphetamine distribution and firearms violations, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
Following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel, William Howard Proto, Jr., 44, was convicted on two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and one count of possessing a firearm as a felon. During the trial, Proto pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a firearm as a felon. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time.
As proven at trial, on June 29, 2021, officers with the Bloomington Police Department arrested Proto after he was in the driver’s seat of a stolen Cadillac Escalade. Officers searched the vehicle and found nine pounds of methamphetamine, 200 grams of cocaine, digital scales, more than $50,000 in cash, and a loaded firearm. Following his arrest, Proto was indicted in U.S. District Court on one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm as a felon. On August 19, 2021, pursuant to a federal warrant, agents located Proto at a hotel in Woodbury. Proto was taken into custody in the hotel parking lot. At the time of the arrest, Proto had a handgun in his pocket and, in a black duffle bag, more than five pounds of methamphetamine and an assault-style rifle with no serial number.
Because Proto has multiple prior felony convictions in Dakota and Ramsey Counties, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bloomington Police Department.
This case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew S. Dunne and Joseph S. Teirab.
Corrections Officer, Inmate Charged in Methamphetamine Distribution Conspiracy Inside Stillwater PrisonRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Stillwater corrections officer and an inmate have been indicted for their roles in a methamphetamine distribution organization within the Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF)-Stillwater, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, Faith Rose Gratz, 24, a MCF – Stillwater corrections officer, and Axel Rene Kramer, 34, an inmate who is currently serving a 288-month sentence for second degree murder, conspired with each other to distribute methamphetamine within MCF – Stillwater, Minnesota’s largest high security prison facility. As part of the conspiracy, Kramer obtained wholesale quantities of prepackaged methamphetamine from sources of supply outside the prison. After Kramer and another co-conspirator inmate worked with the drug suppliers to arrange meet up times and locations, Gratz would pick up the drug packages. Gratz used her position as a prison guard to smuggle the drugs into the secure facility and then provide the drugs to Kramer while she was on duty guarding him. Gratz did this on approximately six different occasions. Gratz also smuggled into the prison multiple cell phones that she provided to Kramer. Kramer used the cell phones to communicate with people inside and outside the prison and to facilitate his drug distribution network from within the prison.
According to court documents, Gratz and Kramer exchanged hundreds of text messages with each other. The messages included communications about the drug distribution conspiracy as well as discussions about their romantic relationship. Gratz also warned Kramer about upcoming searches of inmates’ cells so that Kramer could hide his phone and drugs to avoid detection.
On April 8, 2022, after recovering Kramer’s cell phone, law enforcement officers confronted Gratz about the drug distribution operation. Officers searched Gratz’s car and recovered a half pound of methamphetamine.
Gratz and Kramer are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Gratz is also charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The defendants will make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court before a Magistrate Judge at a later date.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Bayport Police Department, and the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry M. Jacobs is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.