Eastern District of Missouri
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
St. Louis Men Admit Involvement in Armed Robbery of StoreRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Two men from St. Louis have admitted participating in the armed robbery of a store in St. Louis last year.
Orlando Perez, 37, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Tuesday to accessory after the fact to a robbery. Jason Fox, 39, pleaded guilty on September 10 to one count of possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Both men admitted that Fox robbed the store in the 3700 block of South Kingshighway Boulevard on Jan. 20, 2023. Fox brought merchandise to the counter, then produced a handgun and demanded “all the money from the registers.” The robber also stole video games and two Xbox consoles. Police traced the robber to a nearby shopping center, where they caught Perez with the keys to the vehicle used for the robbery, as well as cash and ammunition. The stolen merchandise was in the backseat of the car, and Fox was arrested nearby. Perez had 3.54 grams of methamphetamine in his pocket and admitted owning the gun.
Fox is scheduled to be sentenced December 9 and Perez is scheduled to be sentenced January 6.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.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.
St. Louis Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Fatal Shooting over Drug DebtRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Monday sentenced a man who shot someone trying to collect a drug debt to 12 years in prison.
Terrell Donta McDaniel agreed to sell 10 grams of fentanyl to Andre Nash on Nov. 2, 2022, for $500. But McDaniel did not give Nash the full amount of fentanyl, and Nash began looking for McDaniel to collect the debt.
After learning that McDaniel was staying at a vacant house in the 4100 block of Clara Place, Nash went there and entered the house. McDaniel shot and killed Nash.
McDaniel and others then wrapped Nash’s body in tarps and plastic and placed him in the trunk of a stolen car, dumping the body in the 5900 block of St. Louis Avenue that night. The body was discovered the next morning.
In court Monday, McDaniel apologized to Nash’s family. He said he was afraid for his life and had been trying to dodge Nash for four to five months.
McDaniel, now 42, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in September 2023 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of discharge of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI.
Operators of Lux Living and Big Sur Construction and Chief Accountant Indicted on Wire Fraud Charges Involving Apartment DevelopmentsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Two operators of St. Louis area apartment complex construction and development companies, along with their companies’ chief accountant, have been indicted and accused of conspiring to defraud the City of St. Louis Minority Business Enterprise and Women Owned Business Enterprise program to gain millions of dollars’ worth of City tax incentives.
Sidarth “Sid” Chakraverty, Victor Alston and Shijing “Poppy” Cao were indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis September 18 on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 11 counts of wire fraud. The indictment was unsealed Friday morning.
Chakraverty and Alston operate Big Sur Construction LLC, a construction management and development company and LuxLiving LLC, which primarily handled the development, brokerage, daily management, marketing and leasing of apartment complexes built by Big Sur. They also operate the entities which developed the Chelsea multifamily apartment development in the Pershing-DeBaliviere neighborhood of St. Louis, and the SoHo multifamily apartment development* in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis.
Cao was the chief in-house accountant for all the Big Sur-affiliated companies.
St. Louis’ Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Women Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) programs include participation goals that seek to address historical social and economic disadvantages experienced by women and members of minority groups, and to reduce barriers to participation by those groups in construction projects. Available tax incentives include sales tax exemption on the purchase of construction materials and property tax abatement once the projects are completed. The St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) reviews proposals for redevelopment projects in St. Louis and makes recommendations to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen regarding requests for tax incentives. Once incentives are approved, the SLDC enforces compliance with the City’s MBE and WBE participation goals.
The Chelsea Project
For the Chelsea project, which began in 2019 and was completed in 2021, the participation goals set out in the City ordinance granting a 10-year tax abatement were 25% for MBEs and 5% for WBEs. Big Sur was itself certified as a Subcontinent Asian American MBE, so its own reported labor and material supplies made up the majority of MBE participation on Chelsea. A WBE subcontractor was paid about $21,504 for cleaning services it provided on the project, but the indictment says the defendants falsely claimed an additional approximately $272,393 in materials and labor had been supplied by that WBE company. To conceal and carry out the fraud, Big Sur Construction LLC issued sham “joint checks” that were written to the WBE subcontractor and the non-WBE companies which had actually purchased and supplied materials and labor for the project, the indictment says. In emails, Chakraverty, Alston and Cao discussed which non-WBE companies would be willing to accept a joint check to facilitate the scheme, the indictment says. Big Sur submitted false “Utilization Reports” about MBE and WBE participation, which were required by SLDC throughout the construction phase, and a false final lien waiver and other documents claiming that the WBE had been paid $298,897. Big Sur also submitted a false “Good Faith Narrative” claiming that the company had made a good faith effort to meet the WBE participation goal, the indictment says. They did not disclose that of their claimed WBE participation on the Chelsea project, 93% of the total came from falsely attributing $272,393 in materials and labor costs to the WBE subcontractor, the indictment says.
The SoHo Project
The City ordinance approving a 10-year tax abatement for the SoHo project set a 21% participation goal by African American MBEs, an 11% participation goal for WBEs and a 0.5% participation goal for Native American MBEs. The same WBE cleaning company subcontractor that worked on Chelsea was paid approximately $60,780 for its actual labor and materials on SoHo, but defendants falsely attributed approximately $1.15 million in labor and materials supplied by non-WBE companies to that company in its reporting to SLDC, the indictment says. It also says Chakraverty met with the owner of an African American MBE and offered $10,000 to the owner to allow Big Sur to falsely represent that non-MBE work had been performed by that company. The owner refused. But the owner of another African American MBE company agreed to a 5% “markup” fee on an eventual total of $2.17 million in materials and labor supplied by non-MBE companies that were falsely attributed by defendants to that MBE company in reporting to SLDC, the indictment says. That included $1 million in appliances purchased from Home Depot by Big Sur, but falsely attributed to the African American MBE company, it says. Chakraverty met with the owner of a Native American MBE and struck a deal for the owner to receive a 6% markup fee for construction materials and labor supplied by another non-Native American MBE company, the indictment says. False information as to the materials and labor supplied by the non-Native American company, but attributed to the Native American MBE, was submitted to SLDC, the indictment says. The indictment says Big Sur also issued sham joint checks and sham purchase orders on the SoHo project and submitted false reports to the SLDC, similar to defendants’ conduct on the Chelsea project.
After SLDC officials and employees developed suspicions about false reporting by Big Sur, Chakraverty, Alston and Cao repeatedly tried to get the cleaning company WBE to falsely verify the inflated payments in reporting to SLDC, the indictment says. When they failed, they sought another WBE to act as a front company, it says.
The indictment alleges that the fraudulent conduct on the Chelsea project resulted in at least $551,022 in sales tax exemptions and a property tax abatement worth about $1.75 million. Big Sur received more than $1 million in sales tax exemptions for the SoHo project but did not receive the anticipated property tax abatement due to SLDC’s concerns about the legitimacy of their WBE claims, the indictment says. The defendants originally anticipated a tax abatement on the SoHo valued at approximately $7 million.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The conspiracy charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine. The wire fraud charges each carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith is prosecuting the case.
*There are other developments with similar names in the St. Louis area.
redacted_indictment_0.pdfAuthorities Seeing an Alarming Rise in Threats to SchoolsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Schools in the St. Louis area and around the country have seen an alarming increase in threats in recent weeks, which are draining resources from those schools and the law enforcement agencies that respond.
Although those making the threats apparently think they are being funny, the threats are traumatizing students, parents and staff.
Contrary to popular belief, law enforcement can quickly identify the source of these threats. That information is then routed to the appropriate officials. In the case of minors, who are often making the threats, the information will be sent to school districts and the appropriate juvenile court system.
“Hoax threats are not a joke,” said Special Agent in Charge Ashley T. Johnson of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Don’t think you can hide. We will find you and hold you accountable.”
Juvenile and school authorities are also taking the threats seriously. Some jurisdictions are detaining juveniles accused of making school threats. If found guilty, a minor could be placed under supervision, which is similar to probation or parole and could include GPS monitoring. They could also be removed from their home and placed in the custody of the Missouri Division of Youth Services.
Many schools suspend minors while an investigation is being conducted. They could then face a suspension of up to 180 days or expulsion from the school system.
Adults can be charged in state or federal court with a variety of crimes.
At the federal level, you can be sentenced up to 5 years in prison for making a hoax threat. If someone is injured, that sentence goes up to 20 years. If death occurs, you could be facing a life sentence.
But we also need your help. If you hear or see a threat, please do not share or repost it on social media – that only delays the process of identifying the original source of the threat, sometimes by hours or more. Call 911 or contact Missouri’s school safety threat reporting system, Courage2Report, either online at https://p3campus.com/5250, by calling 866-748-7047 or texting C2R to 738477. You can file a report to prevent a shooting or other act of violence from happening, or report things that have happened, like bullying or harassment, that could get worse if people don’t get help.
Illinois Bank President Sentenced to Jail for Falsifying RecordsRead the Press Release
BENTON, Ill. – The former president of a bank in southern Illinois was sentenced Thursday for his role in falsifying bank records to facilitate real estate loans.
Steven Cook was fined $6,000 and sentenced to 50 hours of community service and two weekends in the Jackson County jail.
He will also likely be banned from the banking industry for life.
Cook fraudulently facilitated three different sales of commercial real estate to Lawler and Maze Properties LLC in 2022. Cook was the president of SouthernTrust Bank at the time, and was also on the bank’s board of trustees and was a member of its loan committee. The bank has branches in Marion, Vienna and Goreville, Illinois.
Cook approved one loan that funded the sale of seven commercial rental properties in Williamson and Franklin counties from Results Home Buyers 2 to Lawler and Maze. The transaction was a new purchase of real estate, not a refinance, and the buyers were not using any cash to fund the purchase. But during an April 6, 2022, meeting with the seller and buyer, Cook and the others agreed to fraudulently make it appear as if the loan was a refinancing. Cook also agreed that the bank would supply the cash for the purchase. They agreed to backdate documents to falsely indicate the buyer purchased the properties on Feb. 1, 2022, for a falsely inflated price of $545,152. The documents also falsely indicated that the bank was refinancing 80% of that loan, with the buyers bringing 20% in cash to the sale. The bank’s loan to the buyers was approved by the bank’s loan committee based upon the false information.
Results Home Buyers 2 is partially owned by former Williamson County State’s Attorney Brandon Zanotti.
In August of 2022, Cook facilitated a second real estate transaction for the purchase of four properties by Lawler and Maze. Cook, the seller and Lawler and Maze agreed that the real estate contract would falsely list a sales price of $413,000 instead of the actual price of $330,400, and falsely state that the buyer would supply $82,600 in cash.
In November of 2022, Cook facilitated an additional loan to Lawler and Maze for the purchase of a property in Marion. Bank documents falsely stated that the borrowers would supply $21,500 cash.
Cook pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Benton in June to three felony counts of aiding and abetting the making of a false bank entry. Zanotti pleaded guilty in March to one count of the same crime. He was sentenced in May to two years of probation, a $5,000 fine and 20 hours of community service. His conduct we reported to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
Lawler and Maze, LLC is owned by Justin Maze and David Lawler, who each entered into a pretrial diversion program in which they acknowledged their involvement in the criminal conduct by aiding and abetting Zanotti and Cook. As a condition of pretrial diversion, Maze was required to resign from his position as Williamson County Circuit Clerk and agreed not to seek re-election to any public office. Lawler’s conduct was reported to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
“The FBI works daily to disrupt fraudulent activity and we recognize the impact it has on banking institutions,” said FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher Johnson. “FBI Springfield will continue to dedicate investigative resources for targeting fraud in its many forms to protect the integrity of the banking process.”
“FHFA-OIG will continue to relentlessly investigate and pursue the prosecution of mortgage-related fraud, no matter who commits the crimes. Officers of financial institutions who have a duty to conduct honest business must be held accountable. We are proud to have partnered with our FBI colleagues and with Special Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith,” said Korey Brinkman, Special-Agent-in-Charge of FHFA OIG’s Midwest Regional Office.
The FBI Springfield Field Office and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General investigated the case. The prosecution was handled by Special Attorney Hal Goldsmith from the Eastern District of Missouri. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois was recused from the case.Anyone with information about mortgage-related fraud can report it by contacting the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General Hotline at 800-793-7724 or via the web at https://www.fhfaoig.gov/ReportFraud#hotlineform
Two Men Admit Robbing Three Mail Carriers in St. Louis CountyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS –Two men have admitted the armed robbery of three U.S. Postal Service letter carriers in St. Louis County in 2022 as part of a conspiracy to steal checks from the mail.
Xavier Sean Boyd, 20, of Jennings, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Wednesday to three counts of robbery and two counts of possession and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a robbery.
Roy Lee Jones, 22, pleaded guilty August 13 to one count of robbery, one count of theft of a mail key and one count of possession and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a robbery.
Both men admitted being part of a group of five young adults who in the summer of 2022 engaged in a conspiracy to steal checks from the mail, illegally alter the checks and deposit them into the accounts of third parties.
“This guilty plea is a testament to the hard work and dedication by Postal Inspectors and our local partners in bringing perpetrators of violent crimes to justice,” said Acting Inspector in Charge, John Jackman, who leads the St. Louis Field Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “The Postal Inspection Service will relentlessly pursue criminals who victimize the general public and postal customers.”
A masked Boyd robbed a U.S. Postal Carrier at gunpoint on June 1, 2022, on Chambers Road in St. Louis County, stealing the “arrow” key that opens collection boxes.
The group then used that key four days later to steal mail from collection boxes in Berkeley, West Florissant, Normandy, Overland and Ferguson. They were unsuccessful in recruiting third parties to allow their bank accounts to be used, so Boyd and Jones used their own. On June 7, 2022, they deposited $19,199.60 in stolen checks into Jones' credit union account. They next day, they tried to withdraw $19,200, but only obtained a total of $8,500. The remainder was reclaimed when the fraudulent deposits were discovered. They deposited an unknown amount in Xavier Boyd 's bank account but were not able to withdraw any of the stolen funds.
On the afternoon of June 9, Boyd was driving his mother’s SUV when Jones robbed another postal carrier of his arrow key. Boyd robbed a third carrier less than 20 minutes later, but the carrier noted the license plate of Boyd’s mother’s car and police spotted the vehicle within minutes.
After a high-speed chase, Boyd crashed the SUV and both men fled, carrying pistols. Police tackled Boyd within feet of the SUV and arrested Jones on the front steps of a nearby day care center.
Jones is scheduled to be sentenced on November 15. Boyd is scheduled to be sentenced December 18.
The robbery charge is punishable by up to 25 years in prison. The theft charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The firearm charges carry a penalty of at least seven years, consecutive to all other charges.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the St. Louis County Police investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Dunkel is prosecuting the case.
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.
Woman Sentenced to One Year in Prison for Pandemic Loan FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced a woman who obtained COVID-19 pandemic loans for a fake company called the “Barbie Factory” to a year and a day in prison.
Juashayla Jane Walls, 31, of Jennings, Missouri, was also ordered to repay $55,833 and will be placed on supervised release for five years after her release from prison.
Walls was originally scheduled to be sentenced in July, but after she claimed she used some of the money for another business, Judge Schelp ordered an accounting of where every dollar of the loan money went. In one example he gave in court Tuesday, he said she spent nearly $8,000 at a casino. Walls also spent loan money on shopping trips and other personal purchases, her plea agreement says
Judge Schelp called the crime “sickening” and “disheartening,” as it came during a worldwide crisis and took money from a program that was intended to help struggling American businesses and jobs during the pandemic.
Walls submitted a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application on Aug. 25, 2020, seeking $20,000 for the “Barbie Factory.” Walls falsely claimed that the company was in operation, had four employees and a monthly payroll of $8,000. She also submitted a fraudulent Internal Revenue Service tax form that said employees had been paid a total of $96,000 in wages, tips and other compensation.
On March 2, 2021, Walls submitted a loan forgiveness application, falsely claiming that she had used the loan for payroll. Her application was approved and the loan was forgiven.
Walls’ second loan application for $20,000 was not approved.
A third application, submitted April 16, 2021, and seeking $20,833, was approved. Walls falsely claimed she was self-employed and had a gross annual income of $151,104. She successfully submitted a fraudulent loan forgiveness application on Aug. 14, 2021.
In September of 2021, Walls submitted fraudulent applications to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, a Small Business Administration program intended to help struggling business owners during the pandemic. Walls again falsely claimed the $15,000 she received would go to Barbie Factory payroll and other businesses expenses.
Walls pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one felony count of wire fraud.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman prosecuted the case.
Anyone with information about pandemic fraud should call the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or report via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Turks and Caicos Man Arrested, Accused of Sextortion of Missouri TeenRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from the Turks and Caicos has been arrested after being indicted and accused of the sextortion of a Missouri teen.
Alexander Gardiner, 23, of Providenciales, was indicted by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on May 22 on one count of coercion and enticement of a minor.
Gardiner was arrested in the Miami International Airport on August 8. He appeared in court in St. Louis Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“Although many perpetrators who seek to exploit and blackmail minors do so from overseas, we will not let borders keep us from stopping sextortion and seeking justice,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming
“A large number of sextortion investigations have identified the perpetrators as living outside of the United States,” said Special Agent in Charge Ashley T. Johnson of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Investigating sextortion is one of the top priorities in the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children program. In addition, the FBI provides support and resources to help victims and their families during their time of need.”
The indictment accuses Gardiner of attempting to coerce a minor into engaging in sexually explicit conduct between Sept. 24, 2018, and June 30, 2023.
An August 14 detention order says Gardiner is accused of making contact with a minor in Missouri via social media and enticing the minor to send him sexually explicit images. Gardiner then demanded money from the minor by threatening to send those images to others, and did post an explicit video on social media, the order says. A motion seeking Gardiner’s detention alleges that images of other teenage victims were discovered in Gardiner’s iCloud account. Gardiner used the screen name noahmonn on Snapchat, algardiner33 and algardiner22 on Google and @jewelsbaits on X, court records show.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The enticement charge is punishable by at least 10 years in prison, with a maximum term of life.
Others who believe they may have been targets of a sextortion attempt should contact local law enforcement or the FBI by calling Call 1-800-CALL-FBI, contacting your local FBI office, or reporting it online at tips.fbi.gov or cybertipline.org.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has detailed information on resources for sextortion victims, including videos and discussion guides to help explain the problem to children and adults. They also have a step-by-step guide on how to report pictures or videos of children to social media companies and flag pictures so that the companies will seek out and remove the images.
The FBI investigated the case with the assistance of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.
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 Department of Justice 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.justice.gov/psc.
Felon Caught with 215 Guns Sentenced to 72 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Tuesday sentenced a convicted felon caught buying and selling guns to 72 months in prison.
Shawn Dennis Stockard’s sentence consists of 54 months on one count of unlawful interstate transportation of firearms and a consecutive 18 months on a charge of possession with intent to sell controlled substances. Judge Fleissig also fined Stockard $85,000.
Stockard, 53, pleaded guilty to both charges, in separate cases, in June. As part of his plea, he agreed to forfeit 215 firearms, firearms accessories and a large amount of ammunition worth at least $230,000 that was seized during the investigation.
Stockard used the Federal Firearms License (FFL) belonging to William Henry Otto, owner of Bull Run Weaponry in Marble Hill, Missouri, to buy firearms at an auction house in Illinois. Stockard brought the guns to Missouri and transferred them to his wife via Otto.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents learned of gun sales by Stockard and of his connection to Otto in early 2022. During a court-approved search of Stockard’s home in Cape Girardeau County, they found the firearms and accessories and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
“This sentence acknowledges the defendant’s continued criminal conduct and sends a straightforward message that there are real and severe consequences for federal firearm and drug offenses,” said Bernard G. Hansen, Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Kansas City Field Division.
Otto, 46, and Stockard’s wife have pleaded guilty and await sentencing. A fourth person, Terry Lee Allen, also awaits sentencing. Allen, 38, repeatedly bought multiple firearms from licensed dealers. He was the last known purchaser of seven guns linked to crime scenes in several states, six of which originally came from Bull Run. Otto’s records show that he sold at least 199 guns to Allen, the vast majority of which Allen illegally sold to others. Allen pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of unlicensed firearms dealing.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis is prosecuting the case.
Two Missouri Felons Sentenced on Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Two convicted felons who were caught with firearms and homemade silencers have been sentenced to prison.
U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Friday sentenced Steven Matthew Dinzebach, 35, of Franklin County, Missouri to 72 months in prison. He will be on supervised release for three years after his release from prison.
U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Wednesday sentenced Bryan Daniel Flynn, 44, of Ballwin, to 75 months in prison. He will be on supervised release for two years after his release from prison.
Flynn pleaded guilty in April to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted being caught with 30 firearms, despite being a convicted felon who is barred from possessing guns. He also had homemade silencers, ballistic vests, stolen property and drugs.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department detectives conducted a court-approved search of Flynn’s home in Ballwin on July 25, 2023, after learning that he was participating in a stolen property ring, his plea agreement says. Detectives found 4.48 grams of cocaine, .44 grams of methamphetamine and cocaine, 10 Diazepam tablets, one Alprazolam tablet and 300 grams of psilocybin. Flynn admitted being in possession of a Ford F250 stolen from Ranken Technical College, which was stored on his property near Troy, Missouri. Detectives found 27 firearms there, as well as homemade silencers, three large containers of firearm accessories, two large containers of ammunition, five ballistic vests and stolen property.
Flynn’s cell phone led detectives to two storage units in Festus, Missouri that contained two more guns and ammunition. His boat, which was stored in a marina in St. Charles, contained another silencer, a drum magazine loaded with .22-caliber rounds and a large amount of ammunition. On Aug. 7, 2023, Flynn’s assistant turned a 7.65mm Walther firearm into law enforcement, saying Flynn had asked her to hide it at a “cabin” in Ballwin.
Dinzebach pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of one of more firearms in May. He admitted being caught by investigators with a .22-caliber handgun equipped with a homemade silencer, a .380-caliber handgun and a large amount of ammunition. He also admitted selling firearms to Flynn after first doubling their purchase price. Dinzebach told investigators that he purchased guns from a website where people conducted private firearms sales. Two of the firearms seized from Flynn were traced to Dinzebach’s wife as the purchaser.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Torrie Schneider prosecuted the cases.
"Instead of learning from their past, they chose to continue a life of crime and put our community at risk of potential gun violence,” said Bernard G. Hansen, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Kansas City Field Division. "Today’s sentencing demonstrates the outstanding partnership between ATF and the St. Louis Police Department as well as the commitment we share to work together in keeping firearms out of the hands of felons so that our streets are safer for everyone.”
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.
Southeast Missouri Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for One Fatal, One Nonfatal ShootingRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Friday sentenced a man responsible for one fatal and one non-fatal shooting in Hayti, Missouri in 2023 to 25 years in prison.
Eugene Winters, 44, of Hayti, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau in November to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Winters admitted that just before 7:30 p.m. on April 19, 2023, he shot two people outside "The Store" at 301 Washington Street in Hayti. Winters told police that he argued with one man before going to his vehicle to retrieve his gun. The victim was sitting in his vehicle and Winters believed he had a gun, Winters’ plea says. Winters and the victim argued again, and Winters shot the victim from the driver’s side of the car before walking around to the passenger side of the vehicle and shooting the victim more times, his plea agreement says. The second victim came out of the store and approached Winters, who started shooting at that second victim. Winters followed that man into the store and fired two more shots while the victim was running away.
Hayti police arrived, and Winters threw down his gun and laid on the ground.
Both victims were taken to a local hospital, then by air ambulance to the Regional One Health Trauma Center in Memphis, Tenn. due to the seriousness of their injuries. One died.
Winters was a convicted felon and thus is barred from possession of a firearm. His prior convictions include aggravated robbery and aggravated assault. Due to those crimes, Winters qualified as an “armed career criminal,” triggering a possible sentence of 15 years to life in prison.
The Hayti Police Department, Pemiscot County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Hahn prosecuted the case.
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.
Shipment of Pounds of Meth and Cocaine Leads to 134 Months in Prison for St. Louis ManRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel on Friday sentenced a man who was caught by police after a shipment of 15 pounds of methamphetamine and four and one-half pounds of cocaine was intercepted to 134 months in prison.
On March 24, 2022, Damon L. Pruitt was caught by St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers in a home where the meth and cocaine had just been delivered. Earlier in the day, the parcel delivery company opened the package due to concerns about it, found the drugs and called police. A court-approved search of the delivery address, in the 6600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue home, also found two handguns. Pruitt is a convicted felon and told police that he knew he was prohibited from possessing firearms, his plea agreement says.
There was about 6.8 kilograms of meth in the package and more than two kilograms of cocaine.
Pruitt, 38, pleaded guilty in October in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case.
Former Missouri Prison Employee Indicted on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A former employee of a Missouri state prison appeared in U.S. District Court Friday to answer drug charges.
Steven M. Reminger, 53, was indicted September 12 on three felony charges: conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances, attempt to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances and making a false statement.
He appeared in court Friday and pleaded not guilty.
The indictment alleges that the drug conspiracy began in November 2021. The indictment says Reminger made a false statement on Nov. 8, 2021, by providing a false name to employees of the U.S. Postal Service when applying for a Post Office Box in Farmington, Missouri. Reminger’s attempt to possess controlled substances occurred on May 24 and 25 of 2022, the indictment alleges. A forfeiture allegation says $19,000 in cash, knives and cellular phones were seized on May 25, 2022.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The drug charges carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine or both prison and a fine. The false statements charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Missouri Department of Corrections Office of Professional Standards, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Missouri State Highway Patrol are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Rebar is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis Man Caught with Guns and Drugs After Throwing Dog Out of Window SentencedRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Thursday sentenced a man caught with guns and fentanyl after throwing a French bulldog out of a window to 75 months in prison.
On Oct. 19, 2023, police investigating the theft of two French bulldogs set up a meeting to “buy” the dogs. Officers arrested the seller outside of her apartment in St. Louis. As police approached the apartment to try and recover the dogs, a window opened and one of the dogs was thrown out. Police entered that apartment and found Landon Allen hiding in a closet. He had a baggie with 105 capsules containing fentanyl in his pocket. Nearby were empty capsules, a press used to make pills, an AR pistol and a handgun with an extended magazine. Allen admitted as part of his plea possessing one or more of the firearms in furtherance of fentanyl distribution.
Allen, 24, pleaded guilty in June in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
The North County Police Cooperative, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Boyce prosecuted the case.
Illinois Man Found Guilty of Selling Fatal Fentanyl PillsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A jury Wednesday evening convicted a man from Belleville, Illinois of a charge related to his sale of fake Percocet pills that killed a man in St. Louis County in 2022.
A jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis found Deontae’ Tre’Von Overall, 28, guilty of one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.
Evidence and testimony at trial showed that the victim contacted Overall’s cellular phone on Dec. 3, 2022, seeking the prescription pain pill Percocet. The victim bought three pills that mimicked the appearance of Percocet from Overall at Overall’s home in St. Louis. The victim died later that evening from fentanyl intoxication caused by ingesting the fake Percocet.
The death triggered an investigation by the St. Louis County Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Investigators contacted Overall’s cellular phone to arrange additional purchases of counterfeit Percocet, which contained fentanyl. Overall ultimately sold fentanyl to an undercover task force officer on July 19, 2023, and fentanyl and methamphetamine to an officer on July 26. A court-approved search of Overall’s home in Belleville on August 3, 2023, resulted in the seizure of drug paraphernalia and approximately 60 pills resembling those sold to the victim and the undercover officer.
On September 6, the Friday before the trial began, Overall admitted the July 26 sale of drugs to the undercover task force officer and pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly and intentionally distributing one or more controlled substances to another person.
“This case involves a young adult who was lied to by a drug dealer and his life is now tragically over,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colin Dickey, head of Drug Enforcement Administration operations in Eastern Missouri. "DEA finds seven out of 10 of the pills being tested in our labs have a lethal dose of fentanyl. We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep saying it: if a pill did not come from a doctor or a pharmacy, don’t take it. Don’t be a statistic – one pill can kill.”
The distribution of fentanyl resulting in death charge is punishable by 20 years to life in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both prison and a fine. The charge of distribution of a controlled substances is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa Epplin and Jerome McDonald prosecuted the case.
Hazelwood Company Owner Sentenced to Year in Prison for U.S. Corps of Engineers Contract FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Thursday sentenced the owner of a steel company that falsely claimed parts for a Mississippi River lock and dam had passed safety tests to a year and a day in prison.
Theodore J. “Ted” Stegeman, 60, has already paid restitution of $238,059, representing the cost of removing, testing and re-installing cover plates, or flanges, that his company supplied to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractor.
Stegeman’s company, Industrial Steel Fabrication LLC (ISF), was a subcontractor on a project to repair Lock and Dam No. 25 on the Mississippi River near Winfield, in Lincoln County, Missouri. ISF was responsible for fabricating and welding cover plates for all 17 bridge spans. The flanges were supposed to undergo ultrasonic tests to identify any defects in the welded joints.
In October 2019, ISF delivered a flange that had failed an ultrasonic test. To conceal the failed test, Stegeman re-assigned ISF employees who knew about the failed test, his plea agreement says. He then altered the ultrasonic testing report to make it appear as if that flange had passed. Another flange had not been tested and Stegeman told others to falsify a test to make it appear as if the part had passed.
Stegeman pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one felony count of wire fraud.
On Thursday, Judge Clark called Stegeman’s conduct dangerous and said evidence suggested that he had knowledge of the risks that his conduct created.
The Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman is prosecuting the case.
Two Accused of $80,000 in Pandemic Loan FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – One current and one former employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs have been indicted and accused of fraudulently obtaining pandemic loans.
Kahroun Armstrong, also known as Kahroun Leflore, 48, of Black Jack, Missouri, was indicted September 4 on two counts bank fraud, two counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement. Dortatius L. Hill, 41, of St. Louis, was indicted separately on the same day on the same charges.
Armstong and Hill appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Armstrong is no longer employed by the VA.
Hill's indictment accuses him of applying for two Paycheck Protection Program loans for a company called “Dortatius Hill,” once on April 2, 2021, and again on April 9, 2021. Hill falsely claimed the company had gross income of $120,000. He received one $20,833 loan on April 16, 2021, and another on May 5, 2021. Hill later fraudulently sought loan forgiveness.
The PPP loans were supposed to be used to save jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The indictment accuses Armstrong of fraudulently seeking a PPP loan on behalf of Arm & Arm In Home Health Care Services LLC on March 29, 2021, and another on behalf of Arm & Arm Motors LLC the same day. Armstrong falsely claimed the health care company was founded in 2018 and had $145,655 in gross income and Arm & Arm Motors had gross income of $155,000, the indictment says. He falsely claimed that both loans would be used for payroll costs, rent, utilities and other expenses, it says. He received a loan for each business of $20,832, and later successfully sought forgiveness of the loans.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Bank fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine, or both prison and a fine. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Making a false statement is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Roy is prosecuting the case.
Missouri Man Admits Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – A man from the unincorporated community of Patterson, in Wayne County, Missouri on Tuesday admitted producing images and videos containing child sexual abuse material for years.
Kevin D. Carroll, 59, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. He admitted producing child sexual abuse material by taking pictures and videos of a child starting when the victim was 8 years old. Carroll said he took pictures and videos for about four years. An investigation began when deputies with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department were called to Carroll’s home for a domestic dispute and seized electronic devices containing the child sexual abuse material.
As part of the plea, both sides will recommend 25 years in prison at Carroll’s sentencing, which is scheduled for December 11.
The FBI and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter is prosecuting the case.
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 Department of Justice 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.justice.gov/psc.
Michigan Men Admit Smash-and-Grab at St. Louis County Jewelry StoreRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Two men from the Detroit, Michigan area have admitted stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of watches from a jewelry store in Ellisville, Missouri.
Kordaryl Cross, 25, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Tuesday to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. Dajuan Marcellus, 34, pleaded guilty to the same charge July 29.
Both men admitted hatching a plan to use a stolen vehicle to travel to the Ellisville store to steal Rolex watches. On Jan. 2, 2023, Marcellus bought a prepaid Visa gift card that Cross used eight days later to purchase sledgehammers at a Missouri retailer. Marcellus, Cross and at least two others stole a Dodge Ram truck from Brentwood that they then drove to Ellisville. Marcellus and one other person entered the store and used sledgehammers to smash glass cases containing the watches while Cross monitored the time. They then drove to a parking garage and abandoned the stolen truck. Cross and Marcellus took the watches to Illinois.
Marcellus is scheduled to be sentenced October 29 and Cross on December 9. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.
The Ellisville Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwendolyn Carroll is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis Man Admits Operating Long-Running Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis, Missouri man on Monday admitted operating a Ponzi scheme for almost a decade that raised $350,000.
Robert F. Rothluebbers, 68, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of wire fraud, admitting that he operated the scheme from October 2014 through January 2024. Rothluebbers solicited investments by falsely claiming that he would use their money to purchase R-22 refrigerant in bulk, at a discount, and then re-sell the refrigerant to contractors and others at a 50% profit. Rothluebbers claimed that the gradual phaseout of R-22 would enable him to increase investors’ profits.
Rothluebbers solicited investors from October 2014 to May 2017, entering into written purchase agreements in which he agreed to the purchase of specified amounts of R-22 at certain prices, and a minimum resale price. But Rothluebbers admitted using investors’ money to pay earlier investors, pay relatives or for personal purchases.
Rothluebbers provided bogus excuses for failing to pay investors, including a claim that the money had been frozen by his financial institution and the Internal Revenue Service.
Rothluebbers admitted raising at least $350,000 from four investors. He admitted paying Ponzi scheme payments of $171,450, mostly after investors discovered his scheme.
Rothluebbers is scheduled to be sentenced on December 12. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and fine.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.
Richmond Heights Hotel Manager Admits Two Frauds Seeking $324,000Read the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A manager of a Richmond Heights, Missouri hotel on Friday admitted fraudulently obtaining $153,518 by manipulating the hotel’s computer system, attempting to steal another $61,998 that way and attempting to steal $109,000 from hotel customers via credit card fraud.
Angelique Patterson, 39, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Wednesday to five counts of wire fraud. She admitted that while the hotel’s assistant general manager, she manipulated the hotel’s reservation system and altered the records of customers who had paid using cash or credit cards. Patterson retroactively changed those reservations to falsely show that the customers had used the hotel’s loyalty rewards system “points” for their stay. She then added her own credit or debit card information into the system and had the customers’ payments “refunded” to her.
Patterson admitted fraudulently refunding a total of $153,518 to herself from March through October of 2023. On Oct. 4, 2023, although not on duty, Patterson tried to use the hotel's desk computer and a coworker's credentials to fraudulently refund herself an additional $61,998.
Patterson also admitted using hotel customers’ credit card information from August through September of 2021 to make fake charges via the entertainment company she owned, Angel Entertains LLC. She obtained or tried to obtain $109,000 that way.
Patterson is scheduled to be sentenced December 5. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. She will also be ordered to repay the money.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cort VanOstran is prosecuting the case.
Credit Union Robber Sentenced to 12 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Thursday sentenced a man who robbed a credit union in Jennings, Missouri in 2018 to 12 years in prison.
Shayne McKee, 42, pleaded guilty in June to robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted committing the armed robbery of the St. Louis Community Credit Union at 7345 West Florissant Avenue in Jennings, Missouri on May 5, 2018. McKee and an accomplice entered the credit union wearing masks and McKee announced a robbery, pulled a gun on bank employees and demanded money.
McKee’s DNA linked him to the robbery. When he was arrested on Sept. 4, 2019, he had a backpack on his lap containing a loaded .45-caliber Glock pistol. As a felon, McKee was barred from possessing a firearm.
The FBI and the Saint Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Don Boyce and Cassandra Wiemken prosecuted the case.
Woman Who Embezzled from St. Louis-Area Company Before Going to Scotland Sentenced to 45 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel on Thursday sentenced a woman who stole $165,239 from a St. Louis-area company before leaving for Scotland to 45 months in prison.
Sarah Lynn Tweedie, now 49, was also ordered to repay the money. After her release from prison, she will be forbidden from working in a job where she has access to money or the financial information of other people without permission.
Tweedie, formerly known as Sarah Jauregui, pleaded guilty in June to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. She admitted that while working as the controller of a St. Louis area comic book company, she devised a scheme to steal from her employer in multiple ways. She used her company credit card and a card belonging to a former employee to make $138,137 in purchases, including a Scottish kilt and a $1,239 premium seat upgrade on her flight from Chicago to Glasgow.
Tweedie also used the corporate account to purchase $6,400 in Amazon gift cards.
Finally, she fraudulently increased her annual salary from $80,000 to $110,000 and triggered $16,086 in expense reimbursements to which she was not entitled.
Tweedie began a long-distance relationship with a Scottish man in 2015, according to extradition documents, and they became engaged in March of 2017, the month before she began working for the publishing company.
Tweedie told her employer in December of 2017 that her fiancée had been injured in a car accident and that she needed to leave to be with him, according to court documents. In reality, Tweedie had applied for and received a visa to live in Scotland and did not plan to return. She was arrested on July 9, 2019, but fought extradition until her final appeal was denied in March of 2024.
“Sarah Tweedie fled the United States to avoid accountability for her crimes. She even used the victim company’s credit card to buy her one-way airline ticket to Scotland,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Thanks to the persistence of Scottish authorities in successfully locating, arresting, and extraditing her, justice was served today.”
The Florissant Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Scottish authorities to secure the arrest and extradition of Tweedie. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman prosecuted the case.
St. Louis County Felon Caught with Stolen Gun Sentenced to 102 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Thursday sentenced a felon caught with a stolen gun to 102 months in prison.
Euron Jennings, 45, of Pagedale, pleaded guilty in May to one count of possession of a stolen firearm. He admitted that on June 19, 2022, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers tried to pull over a Jeep with expired temporary license tags at Kingshighway Boulevard and Cote Brilliante Avenue. The driver failed to pull over and continued to drive slowly as Jennings threw a firearm out of the window and onto the street. The Jeep then stopped and Jennings ran away. He was caught, then broke free and ran again before being arrested with the aid of a Taser.
Jennings, who has an extensive criminal history that includes three separate convictions for crimes of violence, had discarded a stolen Hermann Weihrauch HW 7 .22-caliber revolver.
More than 1 million firearms were stolen from private citizens between 2017 and 2021, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Stolen firearms represent the main source of gun recovered at crime scenes.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Christian Goeke prosecuted the case.
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.
Four Plead Guilty in Two St. Louis Area CarjackingsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Three men have admitted participating in one carjacking and a second has admitted involvement in two St. Louis area carjackings.
Jaymond Johnson, 20, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Thursday to one count of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Ramon D. Davis, 20, pleaded guilty in July to two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and two counts of carjacking. Tristan T. Davis, 20, and Montrell M. Jackson, 21, of Northwoods, each pleaded guilty to one count of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Tristan Davis pleaded guilty in June and Jackson pleaded guilty in December.
On Nov. 7, 2021, Ramon Davis, Montrell Jackson and a juvenile were walking past an alley near Grand Avenue and Bates Street in south St. Louis when they spotted an older man and decided to steal his car, the plea agreements say. Davis was armed with a Canik TP9 handgun that he had stolen the prior month and Jackson had a Ruger MAX-9 handgun. Davis brandished the Canik and the assailants demanded the victim’s 2006 Mazda3. The next day, the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center license plate recognition system located the stolen car. When St. Louis police caught up, Hazelwood police were pursuing the car, which was being driven by Ramon Davis. After nearly hitting a police car, Davis lost control and spun out in the middle of an intersection, but regained control and continued fleeing for more than two miles. Eventually, the Mazda struck a metal storage container at North Florissant Avenue and Branch Street and was heavily damaged. Both Davis and Jackson fled from the crash but were later arrested. Officers found a black satchel inside the Mazda that held both guns used in the carjacking.
On Nov. 11, 2022, Ramon Davis, Tristan Davis and Jaymond Johnson were in a stolen BMW when Tristan Davis spotted a 2017 Mercedes GLS550 SUV parked in front of a CVS located on Watson Road in Webster Groves. Ramon Davis had a red/burgundy AR-style pistol and confronted an occupant of the Mercedes with it before pushing her to the ground, breaking her finger. Ramon and Tristan Davis drove away in the carjacked Mercedes, their plea agreements say.
Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced December 12. The carjacking charges carry a penalty of up to 15 years in prison and the brandishing charges carry a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of seven years consecutive to any other sentence.
The St. Louis County Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI, the Webster Groves Police Department, the Hazelwood Police Department and the Normandy police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary Bluestone and Cassandra Wiemken prosecuted the case.
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.
St. Louis Felon Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison After a Shooting and Being Caught with Stolen GunRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Tuesday sentenced a convicted felon who was caught by police with a stolen gun after fleeing from a carjacked vehicle to 97 months in prison.
The sentence for Cedric Cross Sr., 43, consisted of 85 months for being a felon in possession of a firearm and 12 more months for violating his supervised release from a prior felon in possession case in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis. In 2017, he was sentenced there to 63 months in prison after being caught with a stolen pistol.
Cross pleaded guilty to the new charge in May, admitting that he was caught with a gun by Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers on Jan. 30, 2022, after jumping out of a carjacked truck. Cross was a passenger and denied being involved in the carjacking.
Judge Fleissig found by a preponderance of the evidence that Cross was also responsible for the non-fatal shooting of his paramour in the Walnut Park West neighborhood of St. Louis the day before the carjacking. Ballistics evidence from the shooting matched the handgun found with Cross the next day.
The case was investigated by the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Hoag prosecuted the case.
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.
Pair Faces Attempted Kidnapping, Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A couple has been indicted and accused of kidnapping a St. Louis woman at gunpoint earlier this month.
Jervonz L. Williams, 48, and Emma M. Cunningham, 32, were each indicted in U.S. District Court Wednesday on one count of attempted kidnapping. Williams also faces one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and Cunningham faces one count of making a false statement in connection with the purchase of a firearm and one count of transferring a firearm to a convicted felon.
They appeared in court Friday and pleaded not guilty.
The indictment accuses Williams and Cunningham of holding a woman against her will on August 5 for a financial reward. The indictment accuses Williams of possessing a firearm while a convicted felon and Cunningham of providing him a firearm, knowing that he is a felon, and falsifying paperwork while buying a gun.
A motion seeking to have both held in jail until trial says the victim was a property manager who was meeting Cunningham for a final walkthrough of her apartment. The motion alleges that Williams was armed and threatened the life of the victim in an effort to access her financial accounts via her cell phone. The victim was bound with duct tape but managed to free herself and flee.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Bluestone is prosecuting the case.
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.
Missouri Man Found Guilty of Pandemic Fraud, Witness Tampering, Clean Air Act ViolationsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A jury on Friday found a business owner from Farmington, Missouri guilty of all the charges he faced in trial this week, including bank fraud, Clean Air Act violations and threatening witnesses.
The jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis convicted Christopher Lee Carroll, 54, of three counts of bank fraud, three counts of making false statements to a financial institution, one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act, 13 violations of the Clean Air Act and two counts of threatening a witness.
A company part owned by Carroll, Whiskey Dix Big Truck Repair LLC, was also found guilty of 16 Clean Air Act violations.
"The jury found Christopher Carroll responsible for nearly $3,000,000 in pandemic relief loan fraud, poisoning the air through Clean Air Act violations and then threatening witnesses to try and cover up his crimes," said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming. “He lined his pockets with money that was supposed to save jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. He used more of the loan money to buy land and a fleet of trucks so he could start a trucking company, and then had the emissions control equipment removed to save on fuel costs. We will seek a significant prison sentence for this defendant and his company and any sentence, by law, will include mandatory restitution.”
"Christopher Carroll's company was granted millions of dollars from the PPP program but laid off dozens and dozens of its employees," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. "To add insult to injury, Carroll wouldn't have even qualified for the funds if it weren't for his employees. We thank the jury for holding Carroll accountable for fleecing the PPP program, which was designed to help people who were out of a job through no fault of their own during the pandemic."
According to evidence and testimony from the trial, Carroll and his partner, George Reed, submitted a false and fraudulent application for a $1.2 million Paycheck Protection Program loan in April of 2020 for the time share exit company they ran, Square One Group LLC. The loan application contained false statements, including that Reed and Carroll’s wives owned the company. Reed and Carroll submitted loan applications in their spouses’ names to conceal Carroll’s status as a paroled felon, which would have precluded his company from receiving PPP funds.
Carroll did not use the money to pay dozens of employees who were out of work, or keep their health insurance in effect, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwendolyn Carroll said during closing arguments Friday. Roughly two weeks later, Carroll began buying trucks and land to start a trucking company. Carroll and Reed then applied for loan forgiveness, falsely claiming that they’d spent the money on payroll and other permitted expenses.
They then sought a second loan of more than $1.6 million. When that loan was approved, Carroll and Reed took a total of $660,000 in “owner draws” from the company, the evidence showed.
But Carroll didn’t stop with pandemic loan fraud, Gwendolyn Carroll told jurors. He had emissions control equipment designed to reduce pollutants removed from Whiskey Dix’s fleet of diesel trucks. During the resulting investigation, Carroll would later ask one employee to “take the fall,” and told another that he would stop paying for his lawyer if he talked to federal agents. He did follow through on that threat.
Reed, 69, pleaded guilty to bank fraud in September of 2022 and admitted fraudulently applying for, obtaining and using the two PPP loans. He admitted that the company failed to pay a “significant number” of employees, despite their receipt of the loans that would have allowed them to do so. His plea also says Carroll terminated the health insurance benefits of at least 17 employees.
The FBI and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gwendolyn Carroll and Kyle Bateman are prosecuting the case.
Guns and Drugs Lead to 86-Month SentenceRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Thursday sentenced a felon caught with fentanyl and methamphetamine and twice with guns to 86 months in prison.
Davion Dixon, of Ferguson, Missouri, and others were in a stolen BMW on Oct. 31, 2022, when the vehicle crashed in Richmond Heights, Missouri after a shooting. Dixon had an AR-style pistol, which he discarded as he fled from the crash. He was arrested in a nearby backyard.
Dixon was arrested again on March 23, 2023, this time by the St. Louis County Police Department on a warrant from St. Louis County Circuit Court. Officers spotted Dixon with an AR-style pistol before the arrest, and found the gun inside his home, along with a 60-round magazine and an “auto sear” that would have made the gun fully automatic if installed. The auto sear, even if it has not been attached to a firearm, is defined as a machine gun under federal law. Officers also found 16.67 grams of meth, 56 capsules containing fentanyl and 2.078 grams of cocaine base.
Dixon, now 22, pleaded guilty in May to five felonies: possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, being a felon in possession of a machine gun and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The St. Louis County Police Department, the Richmond Heights Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski prosecuted the case.
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.
Four Admit Illegally Dealing in FirearmsRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – Four people, including one felon, have admitted involvement in the illegal sale of firearms, including guns that were later found at crime scenes.
Terry Lee Allen, 38, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of unlicensed firearms dealing.
On Nov. 19, 2021, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents identified Allen as someone who repeatedly bought multiple firearms from licensed dealers. He was the last known purchaser of seven guns linked to crime scenes in several states, his plea says. Six of the seven guns and 38 of the firearms Allen bought between June 24, 2018, and June 6, 2021, came from Bull Run Weaponry in Marble Hill, Missouri. Bull Run owner William Henry Otto did not report Allen’s suspicious conduct to the ATF.
Undercover ATF special agents bought firearms from Allen twice: two Glock pistols on Dec. 2, 2021, and a Pioneer Arms Corp. “Hellpup” AK-style pistol and two Glock pistols on Dec. 14, 2021. Allen had purchased all the pistols from Otto. Otto falsely reported two of the Glocks had been sold five days after Allen sold them to the ATF agent, Allen’s plea says.
During a Dec. 21, 2021, court-approved search of Allen’s home, agents found 24 firearms and $55,200 cash. Allen admitted not having a Federal Firearms License (FFL).
Otto’s records show that he sold at least 199 guns to Allen, the vast majority of which Allen illegally sold to others. Allen and Otto also exchanged messages in which they discuss Allen’s illegal firearm sales.
Otto, 46, pleaded guilty August 22 to aiding and abetting unlicensed firearms dealing and admitted knowingly aiding Allen in his illegal gun sales.
Otto also pleaded guilty in July in a separate case and admitted allowing a convicted felon, Shawn Dennis Stockard, to use his FFL to buy firearms at an auction house in Illinois. Stockard then transported the guns to Missouri and transferred them to his wife via Otto.
In early 2022, ATF agents learned of Stockard’s gun sales, and of his connection to Otto. During a court-approved search of Stockard’s home, they found 215 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition and numerous accessories, including high-capacity magazines. The Stockards have also pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
Otto is scheduled to be sentenced November 21. Allen is scheduled to be sentenced November 26.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis is prosecuting the case.
Cape Girardeau Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Selling Pounds of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced a Cape Girardeau man who sold pounds of methamphetamine to confidential informants to 12 years in prison.
Dewayne K. Clark, 57, pleaded guilty in May to two counts of distribution of methamphetamine, one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and one count of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.
In the plea, he admitted selling two pounds of meth and 20 fentanyl pills on March 23, 2023, to confidential informants working for investigators in exchange for $8,000 cash. On April 13, 2023, Clark sold two pounds of meth and 40 fentanyl pills for $8,000 to the informants.
On May 10, during a court-approved search, investigators found over one pound of meth, 978 pills containing fentanyl, 8 grams of cocaine, a stolen Glock pistol, a Smith & Wesson pistol and an AR-15-style pistol in his home. Clark admitted selling meth and said his biggest customer was a woman who bought a pound every other month, the plea agreement says.
A court filing says Clark also sold one pound of meth and 20 fentanyl pills to the informants on March 10, 2023.
The Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, the Mineral Area Drug Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, the Cape Girardeau police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter prosecuted the case.
St. Louis County Woman Admits Prostituting MinorRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A woman from St. Louis County, Missouri on Friday admitted promoting the prostitution of a minor online.
Carrie Little, 44, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of coercion or enticement of a minor. Little’s trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday.
As part of her plea, Little admitted that beginning at least as early as 2018, she recruited women and had others recruit women to engage in prostitution. Among those recruited was a minor female. Little provided the victim with a place to live and placed sexually suggestive and/or explicit photos of the minor that were taken with Little’s phone in online advertisements for commercial sex. Little took calls to arrange sexual encounters and to arrange the price. After the encounters, men paid Little or the victim, who was required to give the majority of the money to Little.
Little is scheduled to be sentenced November 26. The charge carries a penalty of at least 10 years in prison, with a maximum of life.
The St. Louis County Police Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case as part of the FBI St. Louis Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. Crisis Aid International and the International Institute of Saint Louis assisted victims associated with the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dianna Edwards and Nathan Chapman are prosecuting the case.
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 Department of Justice 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.justice.gov/psc.
St. Louis Man Sentenced for Home Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Tuesday sentenced a man who used his brother’s identity to fraudulently obtain money from the Missouri Medicaid Program to six months of incarceration and six months of house arrest.
Judge Clark also ordered Christopher J. Spencer, 46, to repay $56,173 to Missouri’s Medicaid Program.
Spencer made false statements from June 2018 to February 2022 in connection with claims for Medicaid-reimbursed personal care assistance services.
“HHS-OIG is dedicated to safeguarding taxpayers and our communities from schemes targeting the Missouri Medicaid Program,” said Linda T. Hanley, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Our ongoing partnership with the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit strengthens our collective ability to ensure resources meant for those in need are used appropriately.”
Spencer’s brother, who lived with him at the time, once provided him with personal care services, which can include housekeeping, meals, bathing, grooming and transportation. After his brother moved out in 2018, Spencer continued to submit, on a near daily basis, time sheets and Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) records falsely claiming that his brother was providing care for him. Spencer also submitted enrollment paperwork to the Medicaid vendor listing his brother as his personal care attendant and containing his brother’s forged signature. Spencer kept the debit card used by the Missouri Medicaid Program and its vendors to reimburse his brother and spent the fraudulently-obtained payments on bills, rent, groceries, shopping, hotels and other personal expenses. He also used his brother’s name and personal information to obtain loans or advances on reimbursement payments from the Medicaid vendor.
Spencer pleaded guilty in March to five counts of making false statements relating to health care benefits.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow prosecuted the case.
Missouri Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Selling Fentanyl to Overdose VictimRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced a man who sold fentanyl to someone who later suffered a fatal overdose to 10 years in prison.
Dylan C. McMikle provided several lines of powdered fentanyl that the 25-year-old victim snorted early on the morning of Dec. 16, 2022. The victim left McMikle’s home at approximately 6 a.m., after buying a capsule containing fentanyl. The victim, who had been struggling with a serious addiction, died of a drug overdose that evening.
After the victim’s death, investigators found messages between the victim and McMikle about obtaining fentanyl. McMikle consented to a search of his home and officers found a small baggie of fentanyl powder and several fentanyl pills.
McMikle, 22, of Jackson, Missouri, pleaded guilty in February to one felony count of distribution of fentanyl. Another man pleaded guilty last year and admitted buying fentanyl from McMikle.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and the Sikeston Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Koester prosecuted the case.
Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Drug-Linked Murder in Butler CountyRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced a man who fatally shot someone in Butler County, Missouri to protect a heroin conspiracy to 20 years in prison.
James Odell Johnson pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and one count of conspiracy to possess and discharge a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He admitted shooting a man in Poplar Bluff at the behest of Shanesha “Nikki” Burns in connection with a heroin distribution conspiracy. The victim’s body was discovered on May 20, 2018.
The heroin conspiracy involving Johnson and Burns began at least as early as 2018, according to their guilty pleas. James Michael Cohen and others would transport heroin from St. Louis, Missouri to Butler County twice a month. Cohen and others would then sell the heroin. Members of the conspiracy used Burns’ home just outside Poplar Bluff to sell and store heroin. Burns also sold heroin. Johnson obtained heroin for his own use and for resale from Cohen and others in half-ounce to ounce quantities. Cohen also supplied firearms to Johnson at various times during the conspiracy.
Two days before Johnson’s victim’s body was discovered, the Missouri State Highway Patrol learned that heroin was being processed and packaged at Burns’ home. The Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office went to the house and Burns agreed to let them perform a search. They found marijuana, heroin and cocaine base. Burns believed that someone who had just left the home had tipped off police and told Johnson that she wanted him killed. Johnson lured the victim to the home with drugs supplied by Burns and Cohen, and then invited the victim to a rural area to go shooting. When the victims’ gun jammed, Johnson shot him with his own 9mm handgun. Johnson was later arrested with murder weapon.
Cohen was found in the possession of drugs and guns multiple times. On Jan. 28, 2019, police stopped him and digital scales, a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, methamphetamine, heroin and $2,494 in cash. On Oct. 8, 2020, he was caught with another handgun, as well as about 444 grams of meth. On Feb. 23, 2021, Cohen was arrested at a St. Louis hotel with about 468 grams of fentanyl and 778 grams of meth. He had a pistol in his car.
Burns, now 37, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and Judge Schelp sentenced her in March to 20 years in prison. Cohen, 37, of St. Louis County, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison in February.
The sentence for Johnson runs consecutive to a 10-year term that he received for a 2018 case in which he shot a Poplar Bluff police detective / Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer in the arm. Johnson received a total of 30 years in prison in that 2018 case.
The Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, the Poplar Bluff Police Department, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Jackson Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Selling FentanylRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced a man who sold fentanyl to a federal informant to 12 years in prison.
Rodney G. Harris, 45, of Jackson, Missouri, pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl and admitted that he sold fentanyl to an individual in Cape Girardeau County twice in 2022. Unbeknownst to Harris at the time, the individual purchasing the fentanyl was working as an informant for law enforcement officials. According to court documents, Harris has multiple felony convictions, including several convictions for methamphetamine-trafficking offenses. At the time he sold the fentanyl, Harris was on parole supervision through the State of Missouri stemming from a 2013 conviction for distributing methamphetamine. After serving the 12-year sentence, Harris will be placed on a 3-year term of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office, the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration . Assistant United States Attorney Jack Koester handled the prosecution for the Government.
Cape Girardeau Postal Worker Sentenced to Prison for Stealing MailRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – A former U.S. Postal Service mail carrier who both stole and failed to deliver customers’ mail was sentenced Tuesday to 14 months in prison.
U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp also ordered Robert Gafford, 34, to pay a $5,000 fine and restitution of $1,605.
Gafford of Jackson, Missouri, was convicted by a jury in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau in February of one count of delaying or destroying mail and one count of embezzlement of mail.
Gafford worked out of the Cape Girardeau Post Office annex and was responsible for delivering mail on a rural route in or near Scott City, Missouri. In late 2021, the postmaster received complaints from a couple on Gafford’s route that they were not receiving mail and packages, according to evidence and testimony presented at the trial. The couple have Informed Delivery, a Postal Service program that provides pictures of the mail that is scheduled to be delivered that day. The couple sent postal officials images of missing mail. There were days when their mail was not delivered and officials found it at the Post Office and days in which the mail could not be located, according to evidence and trial testimony. When confronted by supervisors and told he must deliver the mail, Gafford said that he did not like the location of the victims’ mailbox, according to court records. He was also issued a written warning.
Frustrated when their mail was still not being delivered, the couple mailed an Apple AirTag tracking device to themselves and traced it to Gafford’s home after it wasn’t delivered, the trial showed. A special agent with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General then sent a test piece of mail with a tracking device. Investigators watched as Gafford stopped at his personal vehicle before leaving post office property in his mail vehicle that day. They also independently tracked Gafford’s postal vehicle as he skipped the couple’s mailbox. They tracked the test piece to Gafford’s personal vehicle after he left for the day, then pulled him over and seized the test piece and the couple’s other undelivered mail from his SUV’s glove box, the trial showed.
Gafford’s refusal to deliver the victims’ mail and eventual theft of their mail lasted months, despite postal officials “extraordinary efforts to simply get Gafford to do his job,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Hahn wrote in a sentencing memo. “The victims of Gafford’s months long failure to deliver their mail endured constant apprehension of not receiving their mail, including packages ordered from Amazon, a victim’s operator’s license from the Missouri Department of Revenue, and other mail.”
The memo says Gafford continued to steal mail after the jury’s verdict. In early 2024, the postmaster reported receiving complaints about missing mail from residents on Dalhousie Drive in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, according to the sentencing memo. The postmaster and the mail carrier for that route placed an AirTag in a package and monitored the package. On April 23, 2024, the package disappeared and the postmaster traced it to Gafford’s home, the memo says. A court-approved search on May 2, 2024, revealed the package, and two Arrow keys, which unlock U.S. Postal Service collection boxes, cluster boxes and other locks, the memo says.
The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Hahn and Christopher Shelton prosecuted the case.
Pair Accused of Kickback Scheme Involving Lab TestingRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – An indictment has accused a St. Louis County man and an Alabama woman of engaging in an illegal kickback scheme involving genetic and COVID-19 tests given to seniors.
Willie Ann Cleveland and Timothy C. Peoples were indicted August 7 in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on one count of conspiracy to receive and pay health care kickbacks. Peoples, 56, of Bridgeton, Missouri, appeared in court Friday and pleaded not guilty. Cleveland, 41, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was arrested August 14 and pleaded not guilty the same day.
From 2017 through Aug. 7, 2024, Peoples collected biological specimens for genetic and COVID-19 testing, primarily from Medicare patients at senior citizen centers in eastern Missouri, the indictment says. Cleveland introduced Peoples to laboratory personnel so that they could set up the kickback scheme, the indictment says. It says that Peoples and Cleveland created sham contracts to conceal the kickbacks as a “monthly flat marketing fee.”
Cleveland received $9,000 from a laboratory on March 1, 2022, and wired $7,000 to Peoples three days later, according to one allegation in the indictment.
The indictment also says Cleveland and Peoples offered to pay a physician a $100 kickback in exchange for each lab test ordered.
Finally, the indictment accuses both Cleveland and Peoples of lying to federal agents who were investigating.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The conspiracy charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.
Registered Sex Offender Admits Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A registered sex offender from Lake St. Louis, Missouri on Thursday admitted possessing child pornography.
Timothy Ray Dirck, 53, admitted possessing child sexual abuse material between Nov. 1, 2022, and May 3, 2023. Dirck was using peer-to-peer software that made that material available for download. On March 20, 2023, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent was able to download child sexual abuse material and traced the computer to Dirck’s address. During a court-approved search of the home, Dirck admitted possessing images and videos containing child pornography on his laptop. The computer was actively downloading and uploading files consistent with child pornography at the time of the search.
Dirck pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to count of possession of child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 20, 2025. Both sides have agreed to recommend a 10-year prison sentence.
Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Saint Charles County Police Department and the Lake Saint Louis Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Chapman is prosecuting the case.
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 Department of Justice 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.justice.gov/psc.
Woman Sentenced for Interfering with Housing Rights of St. Louis FamilyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A Missouri woman on Thursday pleaded guilty and admitted interfering with the housing rights of a St. Louis family.
U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel then sentenced to Judy Kline, 55, to five years of probation, the maximum term of probation available for the crime. During that time, she must remain in the nursing home where she is currently living and undergoing mental health treatment, or a similar facility. She is also forbidden from contacting the victims or approaching the house where they live. Kline once lived in the home decades ago and mistakenly believed her family still lived there, according to court documents.
Kline admitted as part of her plea that on Jan. 5, 2022, she broke into the victim family’s home while armed with a hammer. She entered the basement, struck the dryer with the hammer and then ran up the stairs towards one of the residents, who was able to close and lock the door before she reached the top of the stairs. Kline left the basement, went to the front of the house and hit the front door and lock with the hammer. She shouted a series of statements demanding that the Hispanic family leave the home. She admitted intimidating or interfering with the family based on their race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or natural origin.
Kline apologized during the hearing and said that she is getting help for her mental illness.
“This plea agreement holds Judy Kline accountable for her actions, while also allowing her to receive the mental health treatment she needs,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “We all have a right to live freely and safely in our homes without threats or fear for our safety. FBI St. Louis is committed to protecting all members of our community, including those targeted for who they are.”
The FBI and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug prosecuted the case.
Southeast Missouri Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography ChargeRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – A southeast Missouri man on Thursday admitted receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material.
Justin Wade Welker, 40, pleaded guilty in U.S District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of receipt of child pornography. He admitted receiving and viewing child sex abuse material, including pictures and videos, on his phone.
The investigation began when the FBI office in Detroit alerted their counterparts in St. Louis that two people were discussing engaging in sex acts with a minor on the Kik messaging and chat app. The FBI had traced one of the participants to Welker’s home in the village of Sedgewickville, in Bollinger County, Missouri. FBI agents approached Welker at work, and he admitted viewing child pornography via Kik.
Welker is scheduled to be sentenced November 12. The charge carries a penalty of five to 20 years in prison.
The FBI and the Bollinger County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter is prosecuting the case.
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 Department of Justice 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.justice.gov/psc.
Man from Hawaii Sentenced to 20 Years for Sextortion of Missouri TeenRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Thursday sentenced a man from Hawaii to 20 years in prison for the sextortion of a 14-year-old Missouri girl and the distribution of explicit images of other minors.
Gerardo Javier Montes traded child sexual abuse material with others online, including images of his former girlfriends when they were minors and other child victims that he provided with money, gift cards, clothes, sexual toys or electronics in exchange for nude images. Those victims include one girl in Oklahoma, one in Texas and one in Colorado.
Montes made posts and comments in teen-focused Reddit groups, as well as groups discussing depression and rape fantasies. He also admitted seeking child sexual abuse material from other minors online. In February of 2021, he asked someone who said she had been sexually abused as a minor for nude images of herself when she was 13. In December 2021, Montes asked a 12-year-old girl if she wanted to see his genitals and asked to see her nude.
Between Dec. 6, 2021, and Jan. 14, 2022, Montes communicated with the 14-year-old Missouri victim via Reddit. She thought he was 21 but later found out that he was 31. Montes turned their conversations to sexual matters and gave her advice on how to create nude images. He also sent her an explicit image of a 15-year-old that he said was an ex-girlfriend. At one point, she sent him an image of herself in a bra and a picture of herself topless. Montes requested more pictures from the victim. She later told Montes her full name.
On Jan. 13, 2022, the victim tried to cut off contact with Montes. He threatened to post nude photos of her on multiple social media sites and send those images to “every school in the state.” He demanded more pictures, providing a detailed list of what he wanted, and tried to get her to engage in sexual activity with a dog. He also created a fake Reddit account, pretending to be a 15-year-old girl, to try and trick the victim into providing nude images. On Jan. 15, 2022, he sent images of the victim to someone else via Discord.
An investigation began after the FBI received a tip about the sextortion and traced the blackmailer to Hawaii. They performed a court-approved search of his home and seized electronic devices that contained child sexual abuse material.
“We are not only holding Gerardo Montes accountable for his crimes, we have stopped him in his tracks from exploiting more victims,” said Acting Special Agent in Charger Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Montes spent significant time hunting and manipulating young girls who were vulnerable to his abuse. Children in our community are safer today with Montes behind bars.”
Montes, 33, pleaded guilty in March to one felony count of distribution of child pornography.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman prosecuted the case.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has detailed information on resources for sextortion victims, including videos and discussion guides to help explain the problem to children and adults. They also have a step-by-step guide on how to report pictures or videos of children to social media companies and flag pictures so that the companies will seek out and remove the images.
To report sextortion, contact local law enforcement or the FBI by calling Call 1-800-CALL-FBI, contacting your local FBI office, or reporting it online at tips.fbi.gov or cybertipline.org.
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 Department of Justice 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.justice.gov/psc.
Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Selling MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Thursday sentenced a man who sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant to 10 years in prison.
Adrian L. Lewis, 43, of Charleston, Missouri, pleaded guilty in May to one count of distribution of methamphetamine. He admitted selling two ounces of meth to a confidential informant working for the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force on Oct. 10, 2023.
Lewis was deemed a “career offender” due to prior drug offenses.
The Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis Felon Admits Committing Two Arsons in 2022Read the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon from St. Louis, Missouri on Wednesday admitted committing two arsons in St. Louis in 2022 and being caught with two firearms during the resulting investigation.
Vaely Berry, 52, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two arson charges and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. He admitted throwing a gasoline-filled bottle on the roof of a supermarket and grill in the 8300 block of North Broadway in St. Louis on July 15, 2022, igniting a fire.
Berry used two gasoline-filled bottles on Dec. 8, 2022, to set the roof of a liquor store in the 5900 block of Lillian Avenue in St. Louis on fire.
During the investigation of the fires, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agent conducting a court-approved search of Berry’s home found a revolver and a shotgun. Berry admitted knowing that as a convicted felon, he is barred from possessing firearms.
Berry is scheduled to be sentenced November 13. The arson charges are punishable by five to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine. The firearm charge is punishable bv up to 15 years in prison and the same fine.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Ware is prosecuting the case.
Jefferson County Contractor Sentenced for Financially Exploiting Elderly WomanRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Wednesday sentenced a contractor from Jefferson County, Missouri to five years of probation, 90 days of house arrest and 80 hours of community service for his role in the financial exploitation of an elderly St. Louis woman.
Austin James, of Hillsboro, was also ordered to repay $94,606 to the victim’s estate.
James aided in the crimes of Gino Rives, who the 80-year-old victim hired sometime before Jan. 17, 2021, to repair her roof for $7,500. She next hired Rives, who falsely claimed to be a licensed contractor, to renovate the interior of her home. Rives told the woman to write checks to himself and others, including James, that totaled more than $550,000 for renovations on the one-bedroom, one-bath, 1,100 square-foot home.
After being contacted by concerned bank employees due to the volume of checks being written on the victims account, the St. Louis City Building Inspector’s Office determined that any work done on the house was worth at most $50,000.
James received eight checks totaling $94,606 between January 2021 and July 2021 for purportedly performing work on the victim’s, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, basement and foundation. Photos presented during the sentencing hearing proved that he did not perform the work for which he had been paid.
James, 27, of Hillsboro, pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft.
Rives, 36, of Edmundson, in St. Louis County, was sentenced in June to 87 months in prison and ordered to repay more than $1 million to elder fraud victims.
The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case.
Anyone with concerns about suspected abuse or neglect of the elderly or disabled should contact Missouri’s Adult Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 800-392-0210.
Texas Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Stalking, Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Tuesday sentenced a man who stalked his St. Louis-area ex-girlfriends and sent them child sexual abuse material to 12 years in prison.
Cody Dean Brownlow, 41, sent threatening text and voice messages that included rape threats and files containing child sexual abuse material to an ex-girlfriend and her adult daughter in 2022, his plea agreement says. The victims reported the threats to the FBI. In April of 2023, a court-approved search of Brownlow’s home in Austin, Texas, resulted in the seizure of cell phones and other electronic devices that contained 1,601 images and 19 videos containing child pornography.
Brownlow pleaded guilty in May in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of distribution of child pornography and two counts of stalking.
During the investigation, two more ex-girlfriends reported that Brownlow had harassed and threatened them and sent them child sexual abuse material, a sentencing memo filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Chapman says. A boyfriend of one of the victims was also sent child pornography.
The FBI and the St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Chapman prosecuted the case.
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 Department of Justice 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Testing Laboratory Co-owner Sentenced for $3.8 Million in Fraudulent BillingRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Tuesday sentenced a former St. Louis County health care company owner to 20 months in prison and fined him $100,000 for submitting more than $3.8 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicaid and private health care benefit programs.
Carlos Himpler, now 44, owned or operated a series of health care-related businesses. Himpler’s co-defendant, Dr. Franco Sicuro, owned Advanced Geriatric Management LLC (AGM) in Creve Coeur, Missouri. In the fall of 2014, Himpler and Dr. Sicuro decided to open an in-house testing lab at AGM. They also opened Genotec DX, which they held out as a clinical testing laboratory, and which was in the same building and used the same testing machine as AGM’s lab.
Himpler and Dr. Sicuro sought accreditation for both labs under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), which set forth quality standards for laboratories. They did not disclose that both labs would employ the same part-time employee who would perform tests using the same machine. To convince CLIA to grant Genotec a final certificate of compliance in November 2015, Himpler participated in causing Genotec to make misrepresentations to CLIA, including that Genotec’s testing hours “changed” so that they no longer overlapped with AGM. The misrepresentations also included claims that AGM stopped lab running samples and transferred its employees to Genotec in July of 2015, and that Genotec did not begin running samples until July of 2015. In reality, the AGM lab continued operating after July 2015 and Genotec started testing months before then.
The pair concealed Sicuro’s co-ownership of Genotec from Medicare, Medicaid and private health care insurers, while referring urine specimens from Sicuro’s own practice, AGM, to Genotec.Himpler and Sicuro and other health care providers at AGM ordered urine toxicology tests for patients and referred those tests to AGM’s lab and Genotec, which in turn sent the samples to outside “reference” laboratories. Both men knew AGM and Genotec did not have the necessary testing equipment to confirm the amount of given toxin in the urine testing to a high degree of certainty, Himpler’s plea says. They then billed health insurers for the testing, despite knowing that Medicare, Medicaid and many private insurers bar “pass-through billing,” or billing for tests performed by others.
When health insurers became resistant to paying Genotec claims, Himpler and Sicuro in March of 2015 created another laboratory company, Midwest Toxicology Group LLC, for the purpose of billing health insurers. Midwest was a lab in name only and was not authorized to perform tests on human specimens. Himpler and Sicuro never obtained a CLIA certification or any lab equipment for Midwest. In many instances, Himpler caused Genotec and Midwest to each submit claims for the testing of the same specimen obtained from the same person on the same day of service. The pair also falsely used Genotec’s CLIA number on claims submitted under Midwest’s name.
Himpler admitted in his plea agreement that Medicare, Medicaid and private health care insurers paid $1.4 million in pass-through billing and $2.4 million in split billing.
“Today’s sentencing of Dr. Carlos Himpler demonstrates that HHS-OIG will continue to hold individuals who exploit federal health care programs accountable,” said Linda T. Hanley, Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). "Health care providers have a responsibility to submit accurate and honest claims to federal health care programs, to ensure that these resources are available for eligible patients.”
Himpler, now of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pleaded guilty in February in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to a felony conspiracy charge.
Dr. Sicuro pleaded guilty in November 2022 and has satisfied the restitution owed. He also agreed to forfeit $3.1 million in assets.
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dorothy McMurtry, Amy Sestric and Kyle Bateman prosecuted the case.
Tennessee Man Sentenced for Passing Fake $100 Bills in St. Louis AreaRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel on Tuesday sentenced a man who passed $3,300 in counterfeit money in Missouri stores in 2023 to 20 months in prison.
Barry Young, 45, of Memphis, Tenn., traveled to the St. Louis area in February and March of 2023, using between one and four fake $100 bills at a time at various stores to purchase merchandise. Young targeted stores in Arnold, Fenton, Brentwood, St. Louis County and Crestwood. He also victimized a store in Perryville, in southeastern Missouri.Young pleaded guilty in April to one felony count of passing counterfeit obligations.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the Arnold Police Department, the Fenton Police Department, the Brentwood Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department, the Crestwood Police Department and the Perryville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Roy prosecuted the case.
Springfield Man Admits Travelling to Have Sex with MinorRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Springfield, Missouri on Monday admitted being intercepted by police while trying to have sex with a teen from Lincoln County.
Jonathan Mauser-Campbell, 29, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to a felony charge of possession of child pornography. He admitted that on Dec. 2, 2022, he drove from Springfield to Lincoln County, Missouri, to pick up an underage girl from her home. Mauser-Campbell planned to take her to a campground to engage in sex acts with her.
During a traffic stop, however, officers with the Hawk Point Police Department rescued her after realizing the girl was underage and had run away from home to be with Mauser-Campbell. A later analysis of Mauser-Campbell’s cell phone uncovered over 300 images/videos containing child pornography.
The Hawk Point Police Department, the FBI and the St. Charles Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards is prosecuting the case.
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 Department of Justice 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.
St. Louis County Man Sentenced for Aiding FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Thursday sentenced a man who helped someone fraudulently purchase vehicles using stolen identities to one year in prison and ordered him to pay $89,263 in restitution.
Lavell Caradine, 35, worked at a Florissant car dealership at the time. From June 24, 2019, until Aug. 23, 2019, he sold three vehicles to Naquan Powers, who used the personal information of others to buy and finance the vehicles. Powers texted the victims’ personal information to Caradine ahead of time so Caradine could confirm that Powers could use that information to make the purchase, Caradine’s plea agreement says.
After using the dealership’s system to perform a credit check, Caradine discovered that some victims’ identities were unusable. In one case, the victim was deceased and in other, the person had their credit frozen, a sentencing memo filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke said.
With Caradine’s help, Powers bought a Chevrolet Tahoe with a $42,086 loan, a Chevrolet Impala with a $18,098 loan and a BMW 428 with a $29,079 loan. Powers was trying to buy a Dodge Challenger when Caradine texted him a warning that police were at the dealership.
Caradine pleaded guilty in February to two counts of bank fraud.
Powers, 27, of Hazelwood, is serving a 111-month prison term after pleading guilty and admitting involvement in the vehicle purchases, a credit card scam and pandemic fraud.
The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke prosecuted the case.