Eastern District of Missouri
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Jefferson County Chiropractor Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison, Ordered to Repay $4.3 Million for Health Care, Disability FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Friday sentenced a chiropractor from Jefferson County, Missouri to four years in prison and ordered him to repay $4.3 million lost to a disability and health care fraud scheme that involved 17 other defendants.
Beginning in 2011, Thomas G. Hobbs, now 66, fraudulently assisted patients in receiving disability benefit payments through the Social Security Administration’s Disability Trust Fund and through private disability benefit insurance providers. He also falsely claimed to have a medical license.
“This sentence is a long-awaited milestone in a complex disability fraud scheme involving facilitators and co-conspirators that our investigators worked diligently to dismantle,” said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. “Dr. Thomas Hobbs was the lead facilitator, and this sentence now holds him accountable for criminal acts that undermined the integrity of the Social Security disability insurance program. I am extremely appreciative of the tremendous work that our investigators and law enforcement partners contributed to the success of this investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in holding Dr. Hobbs and his fellow conspirators accountable for facilitating this fraud.”
Hobbs charged patients between $2,000 and $8,600 to prepare disability forms and coach them on how to lie to the Social Security Administration and insurers about their ability to perform basic daily tasks such as lifting, standing, walking, sitting, remembering and taking care of their personal needs. Hobbs submitted fraudulent medical reports, submitted fraudulent claims for reimbursement to health care benefit programs for services that were either not provided, medically unnecessary or provided by unqualified persons and used a fictitious medical license number to buttress his medical determinations and further support patients’ disability claims.
Hobbs, is co-owner of Power-Med Inc., a chiropractic clinic in Arnold, Missouri. He also admitted in his plea agreement that while falsely claiming to have a medical license, between 2011 and 2019, he purchased and dispensed prescription medications, administered injections and dispensed medications intravenously to patients. Hobbs knew he was not permitted to administer injections because the Missouri Board of Chiropractic Examiners placed him on probation for five years for fraudulently billing insurance companies for unlawfully administering injections.
Hobbs pleaded guilty in January in U.S. District Court to a conspiracy charge. Four of his co-defendants, including his wife and fellow chiropractor, Vivian Carbone-Hobbs, went to trial and were found guilty. Carbone-Hobbs is scheduled to be sentenced next month. All of the patients involved in the scheme were ordered to repay the money that they’d fraudulently obtained.
The cases were investigated by the Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracy Berry, Dorothy McMurtry Diane Klocke and Gwendolyn Carroll are prosecuting the case.
Anyone who suspects fraud involving the Disability Insurance Benefit Program is asked to contact the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General Hotline at: 1-800-269-0271 or https://oig.ssa.gov/report/.
St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Selling Fake Pain Pills Containing FentanylRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Thursday sentenced a man to 15 years in prison for selling the fake prescription pain pills containing fentanyl that killed a St. Charles County man last year.
Andrew Kendall Edwards, 27, of St. Louis County, pleaded guilty in May to one count of distribution of fentanyl and one count of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl. He admitted selling the pills containing fentanyl that killed the victim on Aug. 28, 2022.
After the man was discovered dead, investigators from the St. Charles County Police Department and the St. Charles County Regional Drug Task Force found four tablets in his bedroom. Two were imitation oxycodone tablets that contained fentanyl. Investigators also found text messages between the victim and Edwards. They then used the victim’s phone, posing as the victim, to arrange the purchase of more drugs from Edwards.
On Aug. 30, 2022, Edwards was arrested at the planned meeting spot with the tablets that he’d agreed to sell. He also had a Glock .40 caliber pistol and two more tablets in a bag inside the nearby building where he worked. Some of the tablets seized at Edwards’ arrest were imitation oxycodone tablets that contained fentanyl.
Edwards then admitted in an interview with St. Charles County Regional Drug Task Force and Drug Enforcement Administration investigators that he’d sold purported prescription tablets to the victim, who was also his friend and coworker, at least ten times, including the day before his death.
In a letter to Judge Ross, the victim’s mother wrote that her son had just started a new job and was on the road to recovery. His “life was changing, he just needed more time,” she wrote. She said her son knew the risks of fentanyl, and knew it could kill him, but was reassured by Edwards in a text message that the pills were real. The victim left behind a son, who was almost two years old at the time of the victim’s death.
"The callous disregard drug traffickers have for human life is obvious when you hear about cases like this one," said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colin Dickey, lead of Drug Enforcement Administration investigations in Eastern Missouri. "For a few dollars, this man's action took a life, someone who mattered to his family and friends. DEA’s efforts on overdose death investigations with partner agencies like the St. Charles County Regional Drug Task Force reminds drug dealers that their conduct has penalties, which include plenty of time in prison to think about the impact of their actions.”
The case was investigated by St. Charles County Regional Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha Reitz prosecuted the case.
13 Charged in St. Louis Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Thirteen people accused of involvement in a conspiracy to sell drugs including fentanyl and methamphetamine in the St. Louis area were arrested this week.
The final defendant was arrested Thursday in Miami. The final St. Louis defendants pleaded not guilty to their charges Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. Others were arrested in Texas and California.
Stanley Harris, 49; Christopher Sosa, 31, of Los Angeles; Victor Medina, 41, of Los Angeles; Alvieno Johnson, 40; and Versail Freeman, 39; were indicted August 30 on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams of more of methamphetamine and 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
Sosa; Neil Phifer, 38; Latasha Spellman, 34; Robert Smith, 64; Gary Pulcher, 71; Demetrius Gilmore, 37; Portia Everett, 35; and Michael Williams, 28; were indicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. Williams also faces a methamphetamine and fentanyl possession charge and Medina faces a fentanyl distribution charge. Everett is accused in the indictment of conspiracy to maintain drug-involved premises, namely a home in the 900 block of Rutger Street in St. Louis and a house in the 1100 block of Carraway Court in Collinsville.
During the course of the investigation, a total of $111,685 in cash, seven handguns, and two vehicles were seized, the indictment says.
A motion seeking to have Phifer and Spellman held in jail until trial says more than 25 kilograms of methamphetamine and 15 kilograms of fentanyl are directly attributable to the overall drug trafficking organization. Phifer and Spellman partnered with each other to import drugs and distribute them to others in St. Louis, the motion says. Investigators conducted several controlled purchases of multiple ounces of fentanyl which involved both people, and repeatedly seized drugs from where Phifer and Spellman were operating, the motion says. Investigators intercepted one package that had been mailed containing 4.5 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine.
A detention motion for Sosa says investigators intercepted numerous drug parcels mailed by Sosa to distributors in St. Louis, and used an intermediary to buy about 15 pounds of crystal methamphetamine from Sosa.
Marco Chavira, 35, of El Paso, Texas, was indicted separately with two counts: distributing and attempting to distribute in excess of 50 grams of methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of cocaine. A detention motion says investigators bought a kilogram of cocaine and 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine from Chavira.
Charges set forth in an indictment or a criminal complaint are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service are investigating the case with assistance from officers with the North County Police Cooperative and police departments in St. Louis, St. Louis County, Shrewsbury, Ballwin and St. Charles City. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Casey is prosecuting the case.
Woman Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for St. Louis County Armed Robbery, St. Louis CarjackingRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Wednesday sentenced a woman who robbed a St. Louis County cell phone store in 2021 and then carjacked a Jeep in St. Louis to 15 years in prison.
Kadijah McFadden, 29, pointed a gun at an employee of the Boost Mobile store at 12135 Bellefontaine Road on Aug. 9, 2021 and said, “give me everything out the drawer right now.” She stole about $630 and multiple cell phones.
On Sept. 5, 2021, at around 9 a.m., she approached a woman in the 3600 block of Bates Street who was unloading groceries from her 2017 Jeep Cherokee. McFadden pointed a handgun at the victim and demanded her purse. McFadden got the victim’s car keys and then walked to the opposite side of the Jeep, opened the passenger side door and again demanded the purse before firing four shots into the air and at the ground.
McFadden then stole the Jeep. The incident was captured on video.
McFadden was spotted about three hours later by St. Louis County police and then crashed after a pursuit. Her co-defendant, Damonta Jamall Bridges, was inside in the vehicle.
McFadden pleaded guilty in December to carjacking, discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, robbery, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Bridges, 30, pleaded guilty to a robbery charge and a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm in August. He admitted being present during the Boost robbery and possessing a 9mm handgun in the carjacked Jeep.
As part of the plea, both prosecutors and Bridges’ lawyer will recommend a sentence of 137 months in prison at his sentencing hearing, scheduled for November 28.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Walker is prosecuting the case.
Man Accused of $730,000 Pandemic Loan Fraud Appears in Federal Court in St. LouisRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Slovakia who also lists an address in St. Louis, Missouri appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Wednesday to answer an indictment that accuses him of fraudulently obtaining $730,500 in pandemic loans.
Mark Ethan Jermain, 40, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to three felony counts of wire fraud.
An August 20 indictment accuses Jermain, aka Arsene Millogo, of submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications from April 26, 2020 to July 16, 2021. The PPP loans were intended to save American businesses and jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic and the money was supposed to be spent on payroll and business expenses.
Jermain submitted a fraudulent loan application for Crazyeats LLC and two applications for Unimentors LLC , falsely inflating the monthly payroll for both companies and submitting falsified documents, including a credit card statement, to support the loan, the indictment says.
Jermain received three loans totaling $730,550, transferred the money to a Slovakian bank account and spent the money for unauthorized purposes, including personal expenses, the indictment says.
A motion seeking to have Jermain held in jail until trial says Jermain has lived overseas since 2019. Jermain returned to the U.S. on August 17, 2023, and was scheduled to fly to Poland Sept. 21 but changed his flight to Sept. 7, the day he was arrested in New York. Jermain was in the Slovak Republic at the time of the alleged fraud, the motion says.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in St. Louis has prosecuted or is involved in the investigation of at least 60 individuals who exploited pandemic-era programs.
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 FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll is prosecuting the case.
Jefferson County Man Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison on Child Pornography ChargeRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Wednesday sentenced a man from Jefferson County, Missouri to seven years in prison on a child pornography charge and ordered him to pay $57,000 to victims.
Matthew Thilges, 60, pleaded guilty June 7, 2023, to one count of receipt of child pornography. He admitted possessing images containing child sexual abuse on his cell phone and computer.
The investigation began after Thilges made a series of threats to kill employees of tech companies, including YouTube, Google, Facebook and Twitter, his plea agreement says. In the beginning of October 2020, Thilges began threatening law enforcement and children. A court-authorized search of Thilges’ home near House Springs, Missouri later that month found electronic devices, a child-like sex doll, eight assault rifles, one handgun and ammunition. Investigators found over 10,000 images containing child pornography on Thilges’ cell phone and computer and concerning images he had taken of a minor child in his home.
Judge Fleissig on Wednesday overruled Thilges’ objections to paying restitution to the victims who have been identified in the images and videos that he possessed. Those victims were notified about Thilges’ possession of the images and his criminal charge, and 17 victims requested restitution to compensate them for mental health treatment and other medical services, as well as other expenses and losses.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Lang 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 www.justice.gov/psc.
Ste. Genevieve County Man Sentenced to Serve 9 Years in Prison for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – United States District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced a man from Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri to nine years in prison on a charge of receiving child pornography.
Timothy Ray White, 61, appeared for sentencing at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau.
According to court documents, on Oct. 6, 2022, a search warrant was obtained and executed at White's residence where numerous electronic devices were seized. White was present during the execution of the warrant and admitted that he had "tons" of child pornography on his devices. Further investigation revealed thousands of photos and videos depicting child pornography. White admitted to being addicted to child pornography. After service of his 108-month sentence, White was ordered to be placed on supervised release for life. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
This case was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Assistant United States Attorney Julie Hunter handled the prosecution for the government.
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.
Missouri Residents Asked to Be on the Lookout for Firearms Stolen from Potosi StoreRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Federal and local authorities are asking the public to look out for rifles and shotguns that were stolen from a farm and home store in Washington County, Missouri in 2021. One was recently recovered in St. Louis County.
Gregory Snyder, 44, of Bismarck, in St. Francois County, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on July 26 on two felony charges: theft of 13 firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer and possession of body armor by a violent felon. The indictment accuses Snyder of stealing firearms from Dickey Bub Farm & Home on September 19 and 20 of 2021, and of possessing body armor on Sept. 20.
A motion seeking to have Snyder held in jail until trial says he was captured on video hiding in the store until closing time, when he emerged and stole a variety of items, including shotguns and rifles. One of the stolen firearms was recovered in June 2023 in Caledonia, Missouri. Police recovered another shotgun in St. Louis County following a traffic stop.
“We’re alerting the public to the existence of these stolen guns because we want gun buyers to be cautious and protect themselves against buying a stolen firearm,” said Potosi Police Chief Michael Gum. “One of the stolen shotguns was recovered only after an unsuspecting buyer purchased it from a pawn shop. If you have purchased one of these firearms, or even want to check if a gun is stolen, please contact your local police or sheriff’s department,” Chief Gum said.
The following firearms were stolen:
- American Tactical Omni Hybrid 5.56/.223 rifle, serial # NS308985
- Ruger American .243 Win. rifle, serial # 699-51880
- Savage Model 11 .243 Win. rifle, serial # K832564
- Smith & Wesson M&P 15 5.56 NATO rifle, serial # TS40690
- Smith & Wesson M&P 15 5.56 NATO rifle, serial # TS44864
- Smith & Wesson M&P 15 5.56 NATO rifle, serial # TT81658
- Springfield Armory Saint 5.56/.223 rifle, serial # ST461190
- Springfield Armory Saint 5.56/.223 rifle, serial # ST469640
- Francolin Boss-25 12-gauge shotgun, serial # 21-13942
- Francolin Warthog 12-gauge shotgun, serial # 21WH-1149
- Mossberg 510 Mini 20-gauge shotgun, serial # V1312970
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Potosi Police Department are investigating the case. Anyone with information is asked to contact the ATF at 314-768-3120 or online at www.atf.gov/contact/atf-tips or the Potosi Police at 573-438-5468.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj is prosecuting the case.
Charges set forth in an indictment or a criminal complaint are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
St. Peters, Missouri Woman Sentenced to 8 Months in Prison, Ordered to Repay $204,000 for Pandemic FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Monday sentenced a woman from St. Peters, Missouri to eight months in prison for defrauding a small business assistance program out of $204,095 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trashunda M. Harrison, 38, was also ordered to repay the money.
Harrison pleaded guilty June 6 to three counts of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud and admitted engaging in a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program from around June 2020 through April 2021. The PPP was intended to save both small businesses and jobs. Harris submitted a total of nine fraudulent applications for PPP loans in the names of three businesses: The Quiet Space LLC, Blow LLC and StrutN 80s LLC, as well as in her own name as a sole proprietor. Harrison lied on the applications about the payroll and income of the businesses and submitted fraudulent tax forms to support her false claims. On applications for additional loans, she falsely claimed to have used the first loan for payroll and other business expenses.
At the time, Harrison had only one functional business, StrutN 80s, which made substantially less than what she claimed in her PPP applications.
Harrison falsely claimed the businesses would use the money for allowed expenses such as payroll. She instead used the PPP money for unapproved purposes, including shopping, dining, rent, cash withdrawals and payments to individuals who had no affiliation with the companies, she admitted in her plea agreement.
Harrison “exploited the COVID-19 pandemic for her personal gain, at the expense of those struggling due to the economic consequences of the pandemic,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow wrote in a sentencing memo. Clow also pointed out that Harrison used the identity of someone else in two of her loan applications, without that person’s knowledge.
The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.
Former Missouri Doctor Sentenced to 22 Months in Prison for Defrauding Medicare, MedicaidRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Thursday sentenced a Moberly, Missouri doctor to 22 months in prison for falsely using his father’s name to bill Medicare and Medicaid for medical services.
Justin G. LaMonda was also ordered to repay $537,332.
LaMonda’s crimes originated after the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts suspended his medical license for 30 days in 2017 after he was accused of engaging in sexual activity with his office manager and prescribing her controlled substances “without sufficient examination and outside of the usual course of professional practice,” LaMonda’s plea agreement says.
On Dec. 20, 2018, a Medicare administrative contractor revoked LaMonda’s Medicare Part B privileges after determining that he submitted reimbursement claims for services performed when he was suspended.
LaMonda and his father, who was also a doctor, agreed to bill Medicare for services performed by LaMonda as if they had been performed by his father.
On Sept. 12, 2019, the Missouri Medicaid Audit and Compliance Unit terminated Dr. LaMonda’s provider number. LaMonda and his father then expanded their scheme to include Medicaid claims.
LaMonda instructed his billing personnel to use his father’s unique billing provider number on claims for payment, on referrals to other health care providers and on orders for durable medical equipment, falsely claiming that the father had performed the medical services or ordered additional equipment or treatment, his plea agreement says.
When LaMonda’s father received payments from Medicare and Medicaid for services purportedly performed by him, he would transfer the funds to his son.
LaMonda admitted causing total losses of $537,322 to Medicare and Missouri Medicaid.
LaMonda “flagrantly violated” the revocation of his Medicare and Medicaid billing privileges by fraudulently billing those programs, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sestric wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
“Health care professionals who intentionally submit such blatant fraudulent information can adversely affect individuals who depend on Medicare and Medicaid for access to safe and effective health care services. The laws are meant to ensure both the integrity of program funds and the provision of appropriate, quality services to patients,” stated Special Agent in Charge Curt L. Muller with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “Our agency collaborates frequently with our law enforcement partners to investigate providers who undermine our federal health care programs and the well-being of patients by submitting fraudulent claims.”
LaMonda, 42, pleaded guilty in March to two counts of making false statements related to health care matters. His medical license has been revoked. LaMonda’s father, Dr. Gary LaMonda, died in September 2021.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FBI and the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sestric prosecuted the case.
St. Louis Man Admits Involvement in Armed Carjackings, Jail Escape and Fatal Shooting of De Smet High School Football CoachRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis, Missouri pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of carjacking, two counts of discharging a firearm in furtherance of carjacking, one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of carjacking resulting in death and one count of escape.
Kurt Wallace, 30, appeared today before U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White, who set Wallace’s sentencing for Dec. 12, 2023.
According to the plea agreement, on Sept. 16, 2017, Wallace carjacked the driver of a 2005 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the 300 block of Walsh in the St. Louis. During the carjacking, Wallace shot the driver in the shoulder.
On Oct. 15, 2017, Wallace carjacked a Cadillac CTS in the 5800 block of Kennerly in St. Louis. During the carjacking, Wallace shot the driver in the leg.
The next day, Wallace was involved in the armed carjacking of a Jeep Grand Cherokee being driven by Jaz Granderson, a football coach at De Smet Jesuit High School. Wallace fatally shot Granderson during the carjacking.
Wallace was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2017 and detained in jail pending trial. While in custody, Wallace escaped from a jail on July 15, 2019. After escaping, Wallace and fellow inmate James Flannel carjacked a vehicle and led police on a multi-jurisdiction pursuit until Wallace crashed and flipped the vehicle.
As part of the plea, both sides have agreed to recommend a sentence of 60 years in federal prison.
Wednesday’s guilty pleas conclude a joint investigation by the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives into a series of violent crimes committed by Wallace and others during the fall of 2017. Wallace is the seventh individual convicted in connection with that investigation; the others include Floyd Barber, 28, Jherrica Dixon, 30, James Flannel, 43, Jerell Henderson, 33, Larenta Jones, 30, and Stephan Jones, 33.
Flannel was sentenced in November 2021 to life in prison for the fatal carjacking of Boris Iouioukine, a Laclede Cab Company driver on June 25, 2018. He awaits sentencing on the escape and carjacking.Dixon pleaded guilty May 22, 2019 to eight felonies: four counts of carjacking, three counts of discharge and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and one count of discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death. She admitted setting up a series of meetings with men so that they could be carjacked by her then-boyfriend Wallace and others. On Aug. 14, 2017, Wallace and others carjacked a 2017 Dodge Charger in the 800 block of Gustav Avenue in St. Louis. Dixon also admitted setting up the Sept. 16 and Oct. 15 carjackings and the carjacking of Granderson.
Barber pleaded guilty June 4, 2019 to two counts of carjacking, one count of discharge and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and one count of discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death. He admitted the Sept. 9, 2017 carjacking of a Kia Optima in St. Louis and admitted participating in the carjacking of Granderson and the fatal drug robbery of Ladareace Pool, 26, in the 4700 block of Goodfellow Avenue on Oct. 3, 2017.
The sentencing hearings for Dixon and Barber are pending. Dixon faces a mandatory minimum of 27 years in prison for just three of the charges. Both sides have agreed to recommend 30 years in prison for Barber.
U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey sentenced Henderson on Aug. 23, 2022 to 42 ½ years in prison for Pool’s robbery and murder. Larenta Jones was sentenced to 30 years in prison and Stephan Jones, the driver the day of Pool’s murder, was sentenced to five years in prison on a drug charge.
“ATF has no higher priority than working with our law enforcement partners to investigate and ultimately, bring to justice those who inflict violence on our communities and in our neighborhoods,” said Bernard Hansen, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Kansas City Field Division. “As this case so clearly demonstrates, we will continue to use our investigative expertise, and strong partnership with the men and women of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to ensure that St. Louis is a safer place to live and work.”
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating this case with assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, the Troy Police Department, the Saint Ann Police Department and the Saint Louis County Police Department.Missouri Man Accused of Recording Sex with MinorRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Brookfield, in Linn County, Missouri, has been accused in an indictment in U.S. District Court in St. Louis of recording himself having sexual contact with a minor.
Russell Alan Pirkey, 52, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a charge of sexual exploitation of a child and a charge of accessing with intent to view child pornography.
The indictment accuses Pirkey of coercing a minor into engaging in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of video recording it between April 1 and April 8 of 2023. It also says Pirkey accessed child pornography between Jan. 1, 2023 and April 8, 2023.
A motion seeking to have Pirkey held in jail until trial says he used his cell phone to record himself having sexual contact with a 10-year-old girl. Pirkey was being held in jail on pending charges in Linn County Circuit Court.
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 sexual exploitation of children charge carries a potential penalty of 15 to 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. The access with intent to view charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and the same fine.
The FBI, the Brookfield Police Department and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office 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.
Canadian Man Accused of Sleight-of-Hand Theft in Missouri, Illinois, ElsewhereRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Canada has been indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis and accused of stealing more than $64,000 in cash from Walmart stores across the country using sleight-of-hand.
Mohsen Akbari, 37, was indicted August 16 on one count of wire fraud and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property. He was arrested on September 5 and pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday.
The indictment says Akbari entered the United States on March 1, 2023 from South Korea on a visitor visa. Akbari then traveled across the country, entered various retail stores and used sleight-of-hand to steal cash, the indictment says. After making a small purchase, Akbari would claim that he and his family collect Unites States currency, typically $100 bills, the indictment says. Akbari would ask the cashier to show him the bills in the cash register so he could examine them, and then surreptitiously place some of the bills into his sleeve or pocket, the indictment says.
The indictment accuses Akbari of stealing about $33,700 from 30 different Walmart stores in nine states from March 23 to June 8, 2023. The indictment says Akbari then stole a total of $2,420 from a Walmart in St. Peters, Missouri on June 12, 2023, $6,900 from a Granite City, Ill. store on June 13, $420 from an O’Fallon, Missouri store on June 14 and $900 from a store in Warrenton, Missouri the same day. He stole $580 from a Walmart in Eureka, Missouri and $5,100 from an Arnold, Missouri Walmart on June 15, the indictment says. From June 20 to July 18, Akbari stole $13,992 from seven different Walmart stores in Illinois, Indiana, Virginia and Maryland.
Akbari would deposit the money in a United States bank account he opened and then wire funds to his bank accounts in Canada, the indictment says.
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 wire fraud charge carries a potential penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. The interstate transportation of stolen property charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and the same fine.
Homeland Security Investigations, the Eureka Police Department and the Arnold Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman is prosecuting the case.
Funding Awarded in Missouri for Domestic and Sexual Violence ServicesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – The need for specialized legal services is both urgent and essential for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. These services provide interventions, such as securing restraining or protective orders, that are crucial for survivor safety. U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming is proud to announce that the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) awarded $869,540 to the Eastern District of Missouri to provide legal services and improve the effective coordination of justice systems impacting survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
• OVW awarded $719,540 under the Legal Assistance for Victims (LAV) Program to the Crime Victim Advocacy Center of St. Louis. The LAV Program addresses the legal needs of survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
• OVW awarded $150,000 under the Domestic Violence Mentor Court Technical Assistance Initiative to St. Louis County. The initiative recognizes well-established specialized courts and enables them to guide newly established specialized courts and court-based programs that wish to significantly improve their responses to domestic violence cases and ensure victim safety and offender accountability.
“I’m very pleased that this money will be available for the vital work of supporting women who are the victims of domestic and other forms of violence, both in and out of the court system,” said U.S. Attorney Fleming.
“The Legal Assistance for Victims Grant, in conjunction with the Justice for Families Program and the Domestic Violence Mentor Court Technical Assistance Initiative, serve as a powerful multi-pronged strategy to transform the justice system's approach to supporting families affected by violence," stated OVW Director Rosemarie Hidalgo. "These grants enhance court-related programs, trauma-informed training, and resources, while also providing victims with specialized legal support. This includes assistance with securing protective orders and navigating complex family law matters. Collectively, these grants advance a more comprehensive approach, aimed at ensuring that survivors and their families don't merely navigate our legal system, but genuinely find a path to justice and safety.”
St. Louis County Man Admits Buying Stolen Catalytic ConvertersRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis County, Missouri on Thursday admitted buying thousands of dollars’ worth of stolen catalytic converters.
Asmir Jasarevic, 33, of Lakeshire, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of conspiracy to transport and sell stolen goods. He admitted posting a solicitation on Facebook on June 9, 2021 falsely claiming to be a licensed dealer who wanted to purchase catalytic converters. Jasarevic made a “significant” number of purchases when he had direct knowledge that the catalytic converters were stolen, he admitted in his plea. He had no place of business and bought converters at his apartment or public places such as parking lots or gas stations. He kept no records, offered no receipts and paid only in cash, offering well below market value. He conducted business at night and often conducted multiple transactions with individuals who obviously didn’t have the resources to own multiple vehicles, his plea says.
After purchasing the converters, Jasarevic took them to a recycling company in Illinois. He sold just under $50,000 worth of converters to the recycling company, $20,000 of which came from stolen property, Jasarevic admitted in his plea.
Catalytic converters contain trace amounts of precious metals and have been cut off vehicles around the country by thieves.
Jasarevic is scheduled to be sentenced December 6. The conspiracy charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Maryland Heights Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Ware is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis Area Siblings Sentenced for Pandemic FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk this week sentenced two siblings to 15 months in prison each and ordered them to repay $448,536 in pandemic loans that they’d fraudulently obtained.
Irvin Coats, 44, of Florissant, was sentenced Thursday and Pamela S. Hubbard, 46, of St. Louis, was sentenced Tuesday
Coats pleaded guilty June 5 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Hubbard pleaded guilty to the same charge May 31. Both admitted fraudulently applying for and receiving Paycheck Protection Program loans that were intended to help struggling small businesses and save jobs. The pair sought the money not for the intended purpose but to open a “Wing Strip” restaurant in Florissant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman said during Thursday’s hearings that the PPP loan program was intended to be a lifeline for millions of people who were affected by the pandemic. “While all those people were struggling, the defendant and his co-defendant found an opportunity,” he said, adding that loan money Coats and Hubbard received was not available to help others.
On May 8, 2020, Coats applied for a $53,125 loan in the name of a defunct security company, Abounding Protection LLC, that had no revenue or employees. He falsely claimed to employ 12 people and claimed he would use the loan to help pay their total monthly salaries of $21,250. He also submitted a false IRS tax form W-3 to support his application. He was successful in fraudulently obtaining the loan.
On March 5, 2021, Coats applied for and later received a second loan for $24,166. He again made false statements in the loan application and submitted a fraudulent IRS form.
On June 11, 2020, Hubbard sought and later received a $371,245 loan for Star Shyne LLC, a cleaning service. She falsely inflated the number of employees and submitted fraudulent financial reports and IRS forms and an altered check in support of her loan.
Hubbard and Coats used the money to construct the Wing Strip and for improvements on their mother’s condominium in Florissant. That condo has been sold and the $82,351 in proceeds will go towards repaying the PPP loans.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman prosecuted the case.
Leader of Murderous St. Louis Drug Organization Sentenced to 20 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White on Thursday sentenced one of the leaders of a murderous St. Louis drug trafficking organization to 20 years in prison.
Maurice Herbert Lee II, 35, obtained bulk fentanyl and crystal methamphetamine from Arizona and supplied it to his co-conspirators, who sold over 20,000 doses per week at the height of the conspiracy. Lee also offered cash bounties of between $5,000 and $15,000 for the murder of rival gang members or drug dealers.
When he pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, Lee admitted to offering and paying the bounty for the killing of two different men.
Alexander Noodel was fatally shot on May 8, 2017 by Tremayne Silas, now 30, and Jerome Lamont Fisher Jr., 30, Lee’s plea agreement says. The men fired over 100 rounds.
Lee also paid a $10,000 bounty for the murder of Kevin Davis Jr., 24, on June 30, 2017 in the 1900 block of Belt Avenue in St. Louis. Lee paid Delvin Bost, who paid Michael “Beezy” Johnson, 30, plea agreements by Lee and Bost say.
Lee also admitted supplying methamphetamine to another person who then redistributed it. He admitted being responsible for between 4 and 12 kilograms of fentanyl and between 500 grams and 1.5 kilos of methamphetamine.
Fisher and Bost were among Lee’s “runners,” who dealt fentanyl for him. Christopher Jerrin Warlick Jr., 27, Norris Douglas Jr., 31, Mikell Rayford, 26, Sherod Jacolby Tucker, 34, Jerry O. Streeter Jr., 35, and Maricus Davon Futrell, 23, were others listed as runners in Lee’s plea agreement.
Bost, 28, pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Bost is serving a nine-year sentence. Judge White sentenced both Silas and Johnson to 18 years in prison. Fisher is scheduled to be sentenced September 19, with both sides recommending 17 years in prison.
All 17 defendants who were charged in the case pleaded guilty.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul D’Agrosa and Mohsen Pasha are prosecuting the case.
More Than $319,000 Recovered in Disability Fraud CaseRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – The U.S. Attorney’s Office has successfully recovered more than $319,000 in disability payments that a Columbia, Illinois man illegally obtained via disability fraud, U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming announced Wednesday.
Gregory Vieth pleaded guilty in 2019 to one felony count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. He admitted paying a chiropractor to help him fraudulently qualify for monthly Social Security disability payments and a $100,000 long-term disability payment. At the direction of the chiropractor, Vieth underwent medically unnecessary tests to bolster his application for disability benefits. Vieth also falsely claimed on the application that he was unable to complete yardwork, lift, walk, reach, sit, bend and bathe without assistance, his plea agreement says.
On February 21, 2023, U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White sentenced the 67-year-old to three years of probation and ordered him to pay $319,687 in restitution with required monthly installment payments of at least $500. By mid-April, Vieth had only made the minimum restitution payments to his victims, so the Financial Litigation Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office began enforcing the judgment by garnishing Vieth’s retirement account held at Fidelity Investments, which contained approximately $450,000. Vieth then attempted to block the collection action by arguing the minimum monthly payments precluded the government’s garnishment. Vieth also argued the garnishment should be limited to only 25% of the funds in his retirement account, and the garnishment would cause him to incur a large income tax liability, thereby essentially wiping out his life savings.
Judge White disagreed with all of Vieth’s arguments, saying the court-ordered obligation to make minimum monthly installment payments did not bar the U.S. Attorney’s Office from initiating the garnishment, as the restitution was ordered due in full immediately at the time of sentencing. Judge White also ruled the garnishment was not capped at 25% and potential tax liability was not a valid defense. Judge White said Vieth had the assets to pay restitution, and “the public and private victims have a right to receive those funds now.” The U.S. Attorney’s office recently collected the full amount of the outstanding restitution owed to the victims in this case.
“This case demonstrates that our Financial Litigation Unit will aggressively pursue and seize the assets of criminals to make their victims whole,” U.S. Attorney Fleming said. “In this case, Gregory Vieth falsely claimed he was unable to perform the basic functions of life in order to obtain disability payments that eventually totaled $319,687. In reality, he was able to do all of those things, including travel internationally. After pleading guilty, he fought to hold on to hundreds of thousands of dollars in a retirement account instead of immediately paying the restitution he owed to his victims.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Debre prosecuted the financial recovery and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracy Berry and Dorothy McMurtry prosecuted the criminal charges against Vieth, as well as the chiropractor and others linked to him. The Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General and the FBI investigated the criminal case.
Missouri Man Found Guilty of Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Tuesday found a man from Audrain County, Missouri guilty of one count of producing child pornography and two counts of receiving child pornography.
William Dahl, 39, faces at least 15 years in prison when he is sentenced in December.
Judge Ross’ findings of fact and conclusions of law says evidence and testimony at a bench trial in May showed that Dahl photographed himself having sex with a 14-year-old girl and then emailing images to others. Dahl also received a video of a 16-year-old and a pornographic image of a 7-year-old.
Dahl met the first victim when she was 13 and he was nearly 23. Dahl took pictures of the girl in a Moberly cemetery in 2007 and sent images of his genitals to her, Judge Ross’ order says. He also sent images of her to others.
A second victim met Dahl when he was 36 and she was 16. He bought her a cell phone, alcohol and vaping pods and they exchanged nude pictures, the order says.
The third victim is a 7-year-old girl. Dahl’s co-defendant, Jennifer Huddleston, now 35, pleaded guilty in May to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. She admitted taking photographs of herself sexually abusing the sleeping girl and sending them to Dahl. She also admitted possessing child sexual abuse material downloaded from the internet. Huddleston and Dahl were in an on-and-off relationship since 2008.
The investigation began in January of 2021, when the 16-year-old victim and her family reported the inappropriate relationship between the teen and Dahl. The girl said she met Dahl through the local Civil Air Patrol. A subsequent investigation by the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team uncovered more victims.
Dahl also has pending charges in Audrain County Circuit Court.
Huddleston is scheduled to be sentenced October 3.
The cases were investigated by the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team and Donya Jackson, an investigator with the U.S. Attorney’s office at the time. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colleen Lang and Amy Sestric 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.
Man Charged with Downtown St. Louis CarjackingRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man has been indicted for a downtown St. Louis carjacking in July.
Bradley C. McKinney, 34, appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to four felonies: carjacking, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, being a felon in possession of a firearm as an armed career criminal and possession of a machine gun.
The indictment alleges that McKinney carjacked a 2015 Chevrolet Cruze on July 29 while armed and possessed a machine gun the next day.
A motion seeking to have McKinney held in jail until trial says he and another man brandished handguns with large-capacity magazines and stole the Cruze, two wallets from the driver and passenger and a cell phone. A white GMC Terrain then drove up and both it and the Cruze drove into Illinois. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers stopped the GMC the next day. McKinney was driving and officers found a Glock handgun with a large-capacity magazine, the motion says. The Glock had been illegally modified to become fully automatic with a “switch,” or auto sear, the motion says.
The carjacking charge carries a potential penalty of up to 15 years in prison. Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence carries a penalty of seven years in prison, consecutive to any other charge. The felon in possession as an armed career criminal charge carries a potential prison sentence of at least 15 years, and the machine gun charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
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 St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Bluestone is prosecuting the case.
Man Caught with Stolen IDs in Missouri Sentenced to 4 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Wednesday sentenced an Indiana man caught with dozens of fake and stolen IDs in Warren County, Missouri to four years in prison and ordered him to pay $9,825 in restitution to victims.
The prison sentence will run consecutive to any sentence Kevin Sparks, 41, of Indiana, receives for pending state charges in Texas and Indiana.
Sparks was in a 2012 GMC Acadia on Nov. 25, 2021 when the driver, Debra Blake, was pulled over by sheriff’s deputies in Warren County, Missouri. Sparks gave deputies a counterfeit driver’s license and a stolen Social Security card. Deputies then found 11 other counterfeit driver’s license with Sparks’ picture and other people’s names. They also found more than 43 genuine driver’s licenses, passports, Social Security cards and credit or debit cards that had been stolen from fitness centers and other locations in Colorado and Arizona, as well as notebooks listing personal identifying information belonging to other people.
Sparks and Blake used the stolen IDs and personal information to open new credit and debit accounts or take over existing accounts to get cash or buy merchandise.
Sparks used one of the stolen IDs to buy the GMC in Arizona. Police also found surveying equipment that had been stolen from a storage unit in Arizona and electronic equipment that had been used to produce the counterfeit driver’s licenses.
In a letter to Judge Autrey, one victim said his life was upended when Sparks took over his cell phone, bank accounts, email, and investment accounts and tried to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars. Another, a disabled U.S. Army veteran, someone spent years opening credit accounts after a home burglary.
“This sentence is a great example of what can be accomplished when federal and local law enforcement agencies collaborate,” said acting Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho for HSI Kansas City. “Coming together in these types of joint operations to arrest and disrupt illegal activities are for the betterment and safety of us all. I couldn’t be prouder of the strong relationships we have built with our law enforcement partners and applaud all of those involved for their efforts.”
Sparks pleaded guilty on May 31 to three felonies: interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle, interstate transportation of stolen property and possession of five or more identification documents.
Blake, 36, pleaded guilty July 19 to possession of five or more identification documents and interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle. She is scheduled to be sentenced October 18.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Warren County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry prosecuted the case.
Three St. Louis Area Residents Accused of Pandemic FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – The final defendant of three indicted in July and accused of defrauding pandemic assistance programs appeared in court Thursday to plead not guilty to charges.
Shanay Bolden, 32, of Florissant, Shonta Woods, 38, of St. Louis County, and Ashley Luckett, 32, of St. Louis, were each indicted July 12 on one count of wire fraud conspiracy and two counts of wire fraud. Bolden faces an additional wire fraud count.
Woods appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Thursday, where she pleaded not guilty. Bolden pleaded not guilty July 27 and Luckett pleaded not guilty July 14.
The indictment alleges two fraudulent schemes. In the first, Bolden submitted at least eight applications to Missouri’s State Assistance for Housing Relief Program, which was intended to aid renters and landlords during the COVID-19 pandemic, the indictment says. Bolden falsely claimed to be a landlord and paid Woods to electronically submit the applications, then paid kickbacks to Woods and her purported tenants, the indictment says. In addition to the kickbacks, Bolden spent part of the $126,500 she received in the scheme on personal items, including purchases that she made at Saks Fifth Avenue, the indictment says.
Woods submitted more than 12 fraudulent rental assistance applications on behalf of Bolden, Luckett and herself, the indictment says, receiving tens of thousands of dollars in return. At least two were submitted on behalf of Luckett, who received $20,400, the indictment says.
The second scheme alleged in the indictment involved the Paycheck Protection Program, which was aimed at helping small businesses and their employees. Bolden falsely claimed to own a lawn services company and Luckett falsely claimed to own a catering company, receiving PPP loans of $18,750 and $20,107 respectively, the indictment says.
Each charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine.
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 U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis Man Admits Fatally Shooting Another over a Drug DebtRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis, Missouri on Friday admitted fatally shooting someone who was trying to collect a drug debt.
Terrell Donta McDaniel, 41, pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk 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.
In the plea agreement and in court, McDaniel admitted agreeing 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 that he paid for, and Nash began looking for McDaniel to collect the debt.
When Nash learned McDaniel was staying at a vacant house in the 4100 block of Clara Place, he went there and entered the house. McDaniel shot Nash twice in the chest and once in the face, killing him.
McDaniel and several others 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 after dark that day. The body was discovered the next morning.
McDaniel is scheduled to be sentenced November 29.
The fentanyl conspiracy charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine, or both. The discharge of a firearm charge is punishable by a sentence of up to life in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI.
St. Louis County Mother, Son Accused of Disability FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis County, Missouri mother and her son were indicted this week in U.S. District Court in St. Louis and accused of defrauding the Supplemental Security Income Program with false claims of a mental disability.
Gino Rives, 35, of Edmundson, appeared in court Friday and pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud and five counts of theft of government funds. His mother, Zella Rives, 57, also of Edmundson, appeared in court Thursday and pleaded not guilty to the same charges, with the addition of one count of making a false statement.
The indictment alleges that from May 11, 2010 to August 30, 2023, the Rives defrauded the Social Security Administration’s Supplemental Security Income Program out of more than $88,000 by falsely claiming that Gino Rives had mental disabilities and had little or no income or resources. They claimed he had never worked, owned nothing, couldn’t drive and was unable to pay bills or use a bank account, the indictment says.
They concealed Gino Rives’ construction and tree trimming work, his mixed martial arts career, a 2009 conviction for financial exploitation of the elderly, his ownership of vehicles and homes and receipt of $721,000 worth of checks from an elderly individual, “A.B.,” before her death in April of 2023.
Gino Rives was charged in a separate indictment in April with one count each of access device fraud and fraudulently effecting transactions after being accused of fraudulently using A.B.’s credit card to purchase $4,788 in Southwest Airline tickets. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.
The conspiracy and wire fraud charges each carry a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. The charge of making a false statement is punishable by up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, and the theft of government funds charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and the same fine.
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 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.
St. Louis Man County Man Arrested in Connection with 2022 CarjackingRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man accused of a July 2022 carjacking has been arrested and appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Tuesday.
La’Vontray Hayes-Williams, 19, of Jennings, was indicted on Nov. 16, 2022 on one count of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He was arrested August 24, 2023 and pleaded not guilty Tuesday.
The indictment accuses Hayes-Williams of stealing a 2018 Nissan Sentra on July 7, 2022 in St. Louis County. A motion seeking to have Hayes-Williams held in jail until trial says the St. Louis County Police Department quickly spotted the car after the victim ran to a nearby gas station and called police. Hayes-Williams was caught after a chase that reached speeds of 112 mph and found with a .45-caliber Glock pistol in his satchel, the motion says.
The carjacking charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. The firearm brandishing charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, consecutive to all other charges, and a maximum of life in prison.
Hayes-Williams also faces charges in St. Louis County Circuit Court.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and are not proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis County Woman Admits Fraudulently Buying Two Cars and Leasing a HomeRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A woman from St. Louis County, Missouri on Tuesday admitted using others’ identities to buy two cars and lease a home.
Amia Hill, 26, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two counts of wire fraud. She also helped someone else fraudulently obtain a $6,500 loan, causing total losses of between $40,000 and $95,000.
On Dec. 13, 2021, Hill used the name and personal information of someone identified in the plea agreement as “S.A.” to buy a Dodge Charger for $29,989. On March 18, 2022, she did the same thing, using a different person’s name and information, to buy a $35,800 Dodge Durango.
On March 7, 2022, Hill used S.A.’s information to lease a home in the 3500 block of Park Chateau Lane in Florissant. She lived there until July 1, 2022, costing the landlord $5,768.
Hill also helped a woman obtain a $6,500 loan from First Community Credit Union on March 19, 2022 using someone else’s personal information. That woman has been indicted separately and her case is pending.
Hill is scheduled to be sentenced November 29. Each wire fraud charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
Homeland Security Investigations, the Breckenridge Hills Police Department and the Ellisville Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Roy is prosecuting the case.
Man Admits Aiding Armed Robbery in St. Louis CountyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man pleaded guilty to federal charges Monday and admitted aiding in the armed robbery of a St. Louis County Boost Mobile store in 2021.
Damonta Bridges, who is a convicted felon, also admitted possessing a firearm in a carjacked vehicle.
Bridges, 31, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to a robbery charge and a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. As part his plea, Bridges admitted being present at a Boost Mobile store at 12135 Bellefontaine Road on Aug. 9, 2021 when Kadijah McFadden pointed a firearm at a store employee and said, “give me everything out the drawer right now.” McFadden stole about $630 from the register. She and Bridges both stole mobile phones.
Bridges also admitted that on Sept. 5, 2021, he was a passenger in a 2017 Jeep Cherokee that McFadden had carjacked at gunpoint earlier that day. McFadden was driving. After police spotted the stolen vehicle, Bridges threw a Stoeger 9m pistol out of the window. Both McFadden and Bridges were caught by police after McFadden crashed the Jeep.
As part of the plea, both prosecutors and Bridges’ lawyer will recommend a sentence of 137 months in prison at his sentencing hearing, scheduled for November 28.
McFadden, then 29, pleaded guilty in December to carjacking, discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, robbery, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
She is scheduled to be sentenced on September 20.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Walker is prosecuting the case.
Franklin County, Missouri Man Indicted on Child Sex ChargeRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Franklin County, Missouri has been accused of filming a sex act with a child in June.
Brandon Daniel Espinoza, 19, made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Friday and pleaded not guilty to a charge of sexual exploitation of a child. He was indicted August 23.
The indictment accuses Espinoza of filming a sex act with a 5-year-old boy in June.
The charge carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years.
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 case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Warren County Sheriff's Department. 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.
Ferguson Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Federal Prison for Fentanyl, MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Ferguson, Missouri who was caught in 2021 with fentanyl, methamphetamine and two guns after a police chase was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison.
Derenta Street, 33, pleaded guilty in May to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He admitted fleeing from police and throwing out drugs and a gun while doing so.
On Sept. 29, 2021, St. Louis County Police Department officers spotted Street near the intersection of Trask and Crowley Drives in north St. Louis County in a Chevrolet Corvette bearing license plates that belonged to another vehicle. Officers tried to pull Street over, but he sped off. After they used spike strips to deflate his tires, Street threw out a Remington 1911-RlS, .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol, baggies containing fentanyl and methamphetamine and capsules containing fentanyl. Once Street stopped and officers arrested him, they found more fentanyl and a Glock 17 9mm pistol equipped with an illegal, aftermarket device that converted it into an automatic weapon, commonly referred to as a “switch,” his plea agreement says.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Martin prosecuted the case.
Registered Sex Offender Convicted of Gun Crime in St. LouisRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Thursday found a registered sex offender guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm after he was caught by St. Louis police with a gun during a domestic dispute.
Mario Long, now 52, was arrested Aug. 6, 2020, after St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to a home in the 4600 block of Louisiana Avenue. Long’s then-girlfriend had locked him out of the house during a dispute. Long shattered the glass on the home’s front door, assaulted his girlfriend and then got a gun from a bedroom, according to testimony at trial. The girlfriend’s daughter called police and said Long was threatening them both with the gun.
When police arrived, Long was shouting at his girlfriend. He walked into a bedroom and hid a Taurus 9mm handgun, witnesses said during the trial. Long is a convicted felon and is barred from possessing a firearm. His prior convictions include unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, assault, child molestation, statutory rape and statutory sodomy.
Long is scheduled to be sentenced later this year. The charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Catherine Hoag and John Ware are prosecuting the case.
Woman Who Aided Robber of ATM Workers in St. Louis County SentencedRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a woman who helped in the robbery of workers servicing an ATM in St. Louis County, Missouri to 56 months in prison.
Gregreonia Hampton, 21, drove the robber to the Vantage Credit Union on May 31, 2022, where he robbed two employees of ATM Solutions with a fully-automatic Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 firearm. When Hampton pleaded guilty in May to a charge of aiding and abetting a robbery, she admitted having enough foreknowledge of the robbery that she could have walked away.
The robber, 21-year-old Mark Anthony Diggs, was sentenced last month to 121 months in prison. Diggs pleaded guilty in April to one robbery charge and one count of possession and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Both Diggs and Hampton were ordered to repay the money they stole.
The St. Louis County Police Department, the FBI, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Lane is prosecuting the case.
Three Charged in Fentanyl Overdose in St. Francois County JailRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Three people have been indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on drug charges and have been accused of helping smuggle the drugs that killed a St. Francois County jail detainee in 2021.
Timothy L. Noll, 34, Garry “Will” Triplett, 36, and Alissa R. Hahn, 28, were indicted August 9 on a charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Triplett and Hahn are also facing a charge of distribution of a controlled substance and Noll is facing a charge of distributing a controlled substance resulting in death.
The indictment accuses Triplett of providing controlled substances to Hahn on July 31, 2021. Hahn and others distributed drugs to Noll the next day and on August 2, 2021, Noll provided drugs to the detainee who died as a result, according to the indictment.
A detention motion says Noll was captured on a jail video call coordinating with a drug supplier and instructing a family friend how to conceal narcotics in the spine of a bible. Noll’s cellmate later died of a fentanyl overdose within feet of the bible, according to the detention motion and statements made in court. A motion regarding Triplett says he was caught on video on July 31, 2021 supplying capsules and a bag of a crystal substance that were later hidden in the bible.
Triplett made his first appearance in court Wednesday, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges. Hahn pleaded not guilty August 17 and Noll pleaded not guilty the next day. Triplett and Noll waived detention hearings and will be held in jail until trial.
“We are working with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, who investigate overdose deaths of detainees in correctional institutions, and we will prosecute these cases,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming. “If convicted in federal court, those who supply drugs that kill could spend the rest of their lives in prison.”
The charges against Noll and Triplett carry a potential penalty of a mandatory life sentence in prison. Hahn’s charges are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
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 case was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Bluestone is prosecuting the case.
St. Louis Woman Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for Bank and Pandemic FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A woman from St. Louis, Missouri was sentenced Monday to 37 months in prison for committing both check fraud and pandemic fraud.
U.S. District Judge John A. Ross also ordered Nikia A. French, 30, to repay $57,173.
French pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud in March and admitted recruiting people on Instagram who were willing to let French use their bank accounts. French created counterfeit checks, deposited them in the accounts and withdrew the money or made debit card purchases before the bank learned that the checks were bogus.
Between February 2022 and April 2022, French deposited or attempted to deposit counterfeit checks totaling at least $73,515 and received at least $34,109 in proceeds.
French also submitted two fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications in April of 2021, seeking a total of about $23,000. She falsely inflated her gross income and submitted false documents to obtain the loans. She used the money at restaurants and clothing stores and took some out in cash.
French lied on the applications when she said she had not been convicted of a felony involving fraud in the last five years. In a 2019 bank fraud case, French was sentenced to a year and a day in prison and ordered to repay nearly $62,000. The fraud then was nearly identical to what French did in 2022, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow said in a sentencing memo.
Clow also pointed out that the first fraudulent PPP loan application was submitted about six months after French was released from prison. French exploited the pandemic for personal gain, at the expense of small businesses and employees who were at risk of losing their jobs, he wrote.
“Today’s sentence brings to a conclusion an investigation that began with one stolen check, and ultimately led to Postal Inspectors uncovering the defendant’s involvement in multiple fraud schemes,” said Inspector in Charge Ruth Mendonça who leads the Chicago Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service, which includes the St. Louis Field Office. “The defendant will now be held accountable for the thousands of dollars she obtained through various criminal enterprises.”
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.St. Louis County Man Admits Stealing from QuikTrips Five TimesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis County, Missouri on Tuesday admitted stealing cigarettes or cash from area QuikTrip stores five times.
Terrence Gleason, 52, of Bel Ridge, pleaded guilty to three robbery charges and two charges of possessing and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He admitted stealing cigarettes from or robbing three QuikTrip stores, including one in Bel Ridge that he victimized three times.
On Dec. 5, 2021, at about 2:30 a.m., Gleason entered the QuikTrip at 9099 Natural Bridge in Bel Ridge, walked behind the counter and began filling a bag with cartons of cigarettes. When the clerk moved to activate an alarm, Gleason lifted his shirt to show his holstered firearm. The clerk put his hands in the air and Gleason left with the stolen cigarettes.
The next day at about the same time, Gleason returned. The same clerk was working. Gleason had one hand in the front pocket of his coat and the clerk believed Gleason was armed, based on Gleason’s actions the night before. Gleason demanded “all the Newports,” and put a bag on the counter. The clerk put seven packages of cigarettes in the bag. Gleason then said, “Come on bro, I know you got more than that,” at which point the clerk put six or seven cartons of cigarettes in the bag. Gleason then left.
On Dec. 10, 2021, at about 3:00 a.m., Gleason and another man entered the QuikTrip at 5909 Howdershell Road in Hazelwood. Gleason and the other man walked behind the checkout counter and began removing cartons of cigarettes. When that store employee walked behind the counter to trigger the alarm, Gleason’s accomplice pulled back his jacket, displayed a firearm and said, “Press something, I dare you.” The employee backed up and put his hands in the air and Gleason and the man left with cartons of stolen cigarettes.
On Dec. 11, 2021, at approximately 4:12 a.m., Gleason returned to the Bel Ridge QuikTrip, walked up to the counter, reached over it and opened a drawer where cigarette cartons were stored. He grabbed several cartons then approached the clerk who witnessed the two prior incidents and said, “I need Newports,” while grabbing at his waistband. The clerk believed Gleason had a gun and tried to comply, but then said they did not have any more cartons. Gleason walked behind the counter, grabbed several packages of cigarettes and left.
On Dec. 12, 2021, at about 4:30 a.m., Gleason entered the QuikTrip located at 11150 St. Charles Rock Road in St. Ann and robbed the store at gunpoint, taking $85 from one cash register.
Gleason is scheduled to be sentenced January 25. The first firearm charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, consecutive to any other charge, and the second firearm charge carries a mandatory minimum consecutive term of seven years. The robbery charges are punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.
The FBI, the Normandy Police Department, the St. Ann Police Department, and the Hazelwood Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski is prosecuting the case.
Man Who Claimed Bounty for St. Louis Murder Sentenced to 9 years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White on Tuesday sentenced a man who claimed the $10,000 bounty for a 2017 murder to nine years in prison.
Delvin Bost, 28, pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He admitted calling to confirm that a bounty was still in place for Kevin Davis Jr. and then accepting the money after the fatal shooting of Davis, 24, on June 30, 2017 in the 1900 block of Belt Avenue in St. Louis. Bost said he then paid Michael “Beezy” Johnson. A witness told investigators that Johnson fired 25 shots at Davis Jr. after chasing him down the street.
On August 1, Judge White sentenced Johnson, 30, to 18 years in prison.
Both Bost and Johnson were involved in a narcotics conspiracy led by Maurice Herbert Lee II, 35, who had placed a bounty of between $5,000 and $15,000 on any rival gang members or drug dealers.
Lee pleaded guilty May 2 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. In his guilty plea, Lee admitted to offering and paying the bounty for the killing of two different men. In addition to Kevin Davis, Lee admitted that another fatal shooting occurred in furtherance of the drug conspiracy, that of Alexander Noodel on May 8, 2017.
Lee is scheduled to be sentenced September 7.
Bost also admitted selling drugs on Facebook and being caught with methamphetamine on Feb. 11, 2019. Judge White ordered Bost to pay more than $16,000 in restitution to the victim’s family.
In all, 17 defendants were charged and all pleaded guilty.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul D’Agrosa and Mohsen Pasha are prosecuting the case.
Man Admits Three St. Louis Area RobberiesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Florissant, Missouri on Tuesday admitted robbing two area banks and a fast-food restaurant with what appeared to be a handgun.
Ricardo Rusan, 56, of Florissant, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to two counts of bank robbery and one other robbery charge. As part of his plea, he admitted robbing the Church’s Chicken at 5720 South Lindbergh Boulevard in Green Park, in south St. Louis County, on Jan. 1, 2019. On April 16, 2019, he robbed the Commerce Bank at 6383 Clayton Road in Clayton. Two days later, he robbed the Bank of America at 4189 Veterans Memorial Parkway in St. Peters. Investigators found blue gloves and a mask in Rusan’s car consistent with what the robber wore in two of the robberies. Rusan’s DNA was on the mask and a glove dropped by the Church’s robber.
Rusan is scheduled to be sentenced November 30. Each charge carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department, the St. Peters Police Department, the Clayton Police Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassandra Wiemken is prosecuting the case.
Missouri Man Sentenced for Unemployment Insurance, Home Depot FraudsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Monday sentenced a man from Ste. Genevieve County to 34 months in prison for defrauding both Home Depot and Missouri’s unemployment insurance program.
Arthur Grass, 36, was also ordered to repay $207,000. Grass filed false unemployment claims for about 10 people beginning in May of 2020, claiming that the employees had been laid off from his construction company, AJE Construction. Grass cashed out the unemployment benefits, which had been placed on debit cards, and kicked some money back to the purported “workers” who had voluntarily provided him their personal information to use in the scheme. In all, the fraud reaped $142,423, including money from supplemental COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefits.
Grass also admitted defrauding Home Depot on multiple occasions by filling a cart with boxes of vinyl flooring and showing employees a fraudulent receipt claiming that he’d paid for the flooring online. Grass then sold the flooring on Facebook. Charging documents say he stole about 468 boxes of flooring that way from Home Depot stores in St. Louis and St. Louis County from Jan. 5, 2023 through Feb. 6, 2023.
“Arthur Grass conspired to defraud the Missouri Division of Employment Security (MODES) by filing fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) claims which caused MODES to pay more than $140,000 in benefits,” said Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Great Lakes Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to safeguard the UI system from those who seek to exploit these benefit programs.”
Grass was arrested on March 31, 2022 by St. Charles County police investigating catalytic converter thefts. His Jeep was in a storage lot with Grass inside. Police later found a stolen Glock 9mm pistol in a toolbox in the Jeep. Grass is a convicted felon and barred from possessing a firearm.
Grass pleaded guilty in May to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, one count of conspiracy to steal money from the United States (unemployment benefits) and one count of wire fraud.
The case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the St. Charles County Police Department, the Missouri Department of Labor, the Arnold Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department and Home Depot Retail Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Ware is prosecuting the case.
Illinois Man Accused of Dealing Fatal FentanylRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Belleville, Illinois was indicted Wednesday on charges accusing him of selling the fentanyl that killed someone in St. Louis County in December.
The two-count indictment in U.S. District Court in St. Louis accuses Deontae’ Tre’Von Overall, 27, of selling the fentanyl that killed a man in St. Louis County on Dec. 4, 2022, and of selling drugs on July 23, 2023.
Overall was initially charged by complaint on August 4. The complaint and affidavit say the victim contacted Overall on December 4 seeking the prescription pain pill Percocet, and bought four pills resembling Percocet from Overall at his home, which was then in St. Louis. The victim died later that day from fentanyl intoxication, charging documents say.
During the subsequent investigation, Overall sold suspected fentanyl and suspected methamphetamine to an undercover officer. A court-approved search of his home on August 3 found suspected fentanyl powder, suspected crystal methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and 20 to 30 pills resembling those sold to the victim and the undercover officer, the affidavit says.
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.
Charges set forth in a criminal complaint are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Hazelwood Man Sentenced to 111 Months in Prison for Schemes Seeking $404,000Read the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Thursday sentenced a man from Hazelwood, Missouri who committed a series of scams trying to steal a total of $404,415 to 111 months in prison and ordered him to repay the money.
Naquan Powers, 27, pleaded guilty in March to four felony counts of bank fraud and three felony counts of aggravated ID theft. He admitted involvement in the fraudulent purchase of vehicles, a credit card scam and fraud involving two pandemic relief programs.In 2018 and 2019, Powers accessed multiple Discover Bank accounts belonging to other people and changed information in these accounts so he could receive debit cards and bank checks for the accounts. Powers’ intended loss for this scheme was $11,754.
Powers used fraudulent Social Security cards and driver’s licenses to apply for loans to purchase three vehicles from a Florissant dealership between June 24, 2019 and August 23, 2019. Powers bought a Chevrolet Impala with a $18,098 loan, a $42,086 Chevrolet Tahoe and a BMW 428 XI for $29,079. He was arrested trying to buy a Dodge Challenger with a $38,191 loan.
After his arrest, Powers helped others to do the same thing at dealers throughout the St. Louis and southern Illinois areas, causing a total loss of $244,374.
In 2020 and 2021, Powers applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan and four Economic Injury and Disaster Loans, claiming he was a sole proprietor in the general freight trucking industry. Powers submitted a fraudulent tax form and a bank statement and received $20,832 in PPP funds.
“Mr. Powers not only stole individuals’ identities for his personal gain but led multiple fraud schemes including stealing money intended for legitimate businesses that were impacted by COVID-19,” said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. “This sentence demonstrates our diligent commitment to hold those accountable for misusing Social Security numbers.”
Five others involved with Powers’ schemes have also been charged. Four have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to between 24 and 51 months in prison. They were also ordered to pay restitution.
The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke is prosecuting the case.
Chiropractic Clinic Employees Sentenced for Disability FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – Two employees of Jefferson County, Missouri chiropractors involved in a disability fraud conspiracy have been sentenced for their roles in the case.
U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Thursday sentenced Clarissa Pogue, 40, of DeSoto, to five years of probation to include six months of home confinement. She was also ordered to repay $286,000. On August 3, Judge Autrey sentenced Christina Barrera, 64, of St. Louis, to 14 months in prison and ordered her to repay $543,315.
Pogue and Barrera were convicted by a jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in February of one felony count of conspiracy to defraud the Social Security Administration, along with chiropractor Vivian Carbone-Hobbs. Carbone-Hobbs, now 61, of Fenton, was also convicted of 10 counts of health care fraud and two counts of theft of money from the United States. Pogue was also convicted of one count of theft of money from the United States.
The three conspired with Thomas G. Hobbs, Carbone-Hobbs’ husband, and others to fraudulently obtain disability payments for patients who were not disabled or injured.
Carbone-Hobbs and Hobbs own Power-Med Inc., a chiropractic clinic in Arnold. Hobbs, now 66, pleaded guilty in January and admitted conspiring to commit the crimes of health care fraud, making false statements, theft of government funds and Social Security fraud.
Hobbs admitted that beginning in 2011, he fraudulently assisted patients in receiving more than $3.5 million in disability benefit payments through the Social Security Administration’s Disability Trust Fund and through private disability benefit insurance providers. Hobbs charged patients thousands of dollars in exchange for the preparation of disability forms. He also coached patients in how to lie to the Social Security Administration and private insurers about their ability to perform basic activities like lifting things, sitting, standing and walking. Patients also had to pay hundreds of dollars for annual appointments to keep qualifying for disability payments.
Hobbs also used a fictitious medical license number and submitted false and fraudulent medical reports to buttress patients’ disability claims. Hobbs submitted or caused to be submitted false and fraudulent claims for reimbursement to health care benefit programs for services that were not provided, medically unnecessary services or services provided by unqualified persons to make it appear that the disability patients had medical conditions.
The chiropractors, employees and patients all faced charges in the case. Hobbs and Carbone-Hobbs will be sentenced later this year.
The cases were investigated by the Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracy Berry, Dorothy McMurtry, Diane Klocke and Gwendolyn Carroll are prosecuting the case.
Anyone who suspects fraud involving the Disability Insurance Benefit Program is asked to contact the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General Hotline at: 1-800-269-0271 or https://oig.ssa.gov/report/.
St. Louis Man Sentenced to 120 Years in Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS –U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Wednesday sentenced a man from St. Louis, Missouri who produced child pornography involving three children to 120 years in prison.
Anthony Lemicy, 44, was found guilty in March by a jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis of four counts of producing child pornography. Witnesses and evidence showed that in 2019, Lemicy sexually abused a 7-year-old that he was babysitting and took pictures and videos of the abuse. He also took videos of two other children in the shower.
“This sentence will ensure that Missouri children will now be safe from Anthony Lemicy’s predatory behavior,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming. “It should also serve as a notice to others that those who prey on children will be punished severely.”
After police were alerted and before Lemicy was arrested, he fled to Tacoma, Washington. He was later found by FBI agents hiding in a clothes dryer and returned to St. Louis.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colleen Lang and 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 www.justice.gov/psc.
Missouri Woman Admits $237,000 in Pandemic FraudsRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A woman from St. Peters, Missouri on Tuesday admitted fraudulently obtaining a total of $237,000 from two pandemic assistance programs.
Regina Brand, 52, pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk to one felony wire fraud charge. She admitted submitting at least 12 fraudulent applications for rental assistance under the Missouri State Assistance for Housing Relief Program to the Missouri Housing Development Commission between Sept. 1, 2021 and at least June 30, 2022. The program was intended to provide emergency assistance to landlords and renters to prevent a wave of evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Brand admitted fraudulently listing “Angels Voices” or “Brand Construction” as the landlords and submitting fraudulent lease agreements to support the applications. Brand received $96,825.
Brand also admitted submitting four fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications between April 1, 2020 and at least August 25, 2021, again in the name of Angels Voices or Brand Construction. Brand made false representations on the applications, including when listing the average monthly payroll and number of employees employed by the companies. Based on the misrepresentations on the loan applications, PPP lenders wired a total of $140,261 to Brand’s bank accounts.
Brand is scheduled to be sentenced on November 15. The wire fraud charges carry a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. She will also be ordered to repay the money.
The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.
Man Accused of Role in Scam Targeting Elderly Couple in St. Louis AreaRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Tuesday to face a federal criminal complaint accusing him of a role in a scam that tried to steal $88,000 from an elderly Missouri couple with false child pornography claims.
Yu-Chieh Huang, 22, was charged by complaint August 11 in U.S. District Court in St. Louis with a felony charge of wire fraud. Charging documents say that a 78-year-old man trying to access his personal computer on August 9 was greeted with a pop-up message claiming that his computer was infected with a virus. The message instructed him to call a specified telephone number.
When the man and his 76-year-old wife called the number, they were told that their banking information had been compromised because someone had been accessing child pornography on the computer, and that they would have to pay $88,000 to avoid prosecution, the complaint says.
The couple was told to withdraw the money in multiple transactions from multiple branches of their financial institution, then photograph and package the money and await a visitor.
The couple became suspicious after completing the withdrawals, and when Huang arrived at their house on August 10 to collect the money, they refused to pay, the complaint says. After Huang left, the couple called police and met with an officer at their home. They called police again when Huang returned and officers found him at the home and arrested him, the complaint says.
Investigators believe Huang was a courier paid from $500 to $1,000 to pick up cash from scam victims, use a fraudulent Taiwanese passport to deposit cash into a bank account and then transfer the money to others via cashier’s checks, the complaint says. Huang picked up $40,000 from an elderly individual in Colorado and $40,000 from an elderly person in Oregon before traveling to St. Louis, the complaint says.
Court documents say Huang is from Taiwan.
“Criminals who take advantage of elderly individuals, whose income is often fixed, are absolutely appalling,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City Taekuk Cho. “These offenders are very organized and utilize a multitude of fear tactics to extort vulnerable people and oftentimes cause undue financial hardship.”
The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both prison and a fine.
Charges set forth in a criminal complaint are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case.
Man Admits Robbing Three Banks, Shooting at Jefferson County DeputiesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from Florissant, Missouri on Monday admitted robbing three banks, shooting at Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies and forcing his way into a woman’s apartment at gunpoint.
Cameron A. Thomas, 31, pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry to two counts of armed bank robbery, bank robbery, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Thomas admitted that on Oct. 24, 2020, while dressed as a woman, he handed a note that said, “put money in the bag,” to a teller at the First Community State Bank in Jefferson County.
Three days later, again while dressed as a woman, Thomas entered the Electro Savings Credit Union in St. Louis County, pointed a silver semiautomatic pistol at a teller and said, “Give me all your money.” Thomas put the money in a purse and ran out of the credit union.
The next day, Thomas returned to the First Community State Bank wearing a red coat, black pants and a surgical mask. Thomas pointed a pistol at an employee and said, “This is a robbery, put your hands up.” He then put a white plastic bag on the counter and told another employee to fill it up.
Employees called police, and a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy who was in the area tried to stop Thomas, who was in a Mercedes Benz. Thomas fled, leading authorities on a chase that ended at the Walden Pond apartments in High Ridge. Thomas fled on foot, firing multiple times at the deputies following him.
He then forced his way into a woman’s apartment at gunpoint. Deputies knocked at the door, and pulled the woman from the apartment when she signaled to them that something was wrong. Before Thomas was finally arrested, he’d changed into the woman’s clothes and hidden his 9mm pistol inside the apartment.
Thomas also admitted that two days before the robbery, he was in possession of an AK-47-style assault rifle. Police found the rifle after a traffic crash.
Thomas is a convicted felon, having been sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2012 for second-degree robbery.
Thomas is scheduled to be sentenced November 9. The discharge of a firearm count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, consecutive to any other charge, and the brandishing charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, consecutive to other charges.
The case was investigated by Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Boyce is prosecuting the case.
Three Sentenced in Conspiracy that Brought Methamphetamine to St. LouisRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Friday sentenced two of the final three defendants in a conspiracy that brought methamphetamine from California to St. Louis.
Judge Fleissig on Wednesday sentenced Darius McCullum, 33, to 10 years in prison. McCullum was the Los-Angeles based supplier of some of the methamphetamine.
McCullum pleaded guilty in April to a felony charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. He admitted obtaining pounds of methamphetamine in California and then shipping it to Eric Williams in Detroit, Michigan, who mailed the resulting proceeds back to McCullum.
Williams then sold the drug to others around the country. Lethem Thompson-Bey obtained methamphetamine from Williams via Ashley D. Gibson in Lexington, Kentucky and then sold it to Steven L. Bell and others in St. Louis.
The group transported and distributed illegal narcotics in numerous states including California, Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky and Texas and used “stash” houses in Detroit, Lexington, St. Louis, and elsewhere to store drugs.
Investigators seized about 4.8 kilograms of methamphetamine on April 21, 2021, another 8 kilograms on methamphetamine on May 4, 2021 and 3.5 kilograms on May 24, 2021. On August 23, 2021, investigators executed a court-approved search warrant at McCullum’s home in Los Angeles and found several pounds of marijuana and three guns, including one that had been stolen in Little Rock, Arkansas two years earlier, his plea agreement says.
"Drug trafficking organizations, like this one involving McCullum, will use every method they can to get their poison distributed," said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colin Dickey, lead of Drug Enforcement Administration investigations in Eastern Missouri. "DEA and our partners have shut down this operation of shipping methamphetamine from Los Angeles to the Midwest and to the network of street dealers who then distributed it into our neighborhoods. Fortunately, this is one drug dealership that we can call closed for business.”
On Friday, Judge Fleissig sentenced Jasmine C. Taylor, 35, to two years in prison and Haley B. Mason, 21 to the time she’d already served behind bars. Taylor transported money and drugs for Williams and Gibson. Mason was a courier who was caught with $65,250 cash in a suitcase at the on April 22, 2021.
Bell, 31, of St. Louis County, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in June. Williams, 32 of Jackson, Tenn., was sentenced to 186 months in prison in May. Gibson, 26, of Lexington, was sentenced to 78 months in prison in April. Thompson-Bey, 28, of St. Louis, received a 126-month sentence last August. All 20 defendants in the case pleaded guilty.
Defendants agreed to forfeit $181,000 cash seized during the investigation, as well as jewelry, ammunition, three pistols, two AR-15-style rifles and an AR-15-style pistol.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
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.
Former St. Louis County Realty Company Employee Sentenced to Prison for $487,000 FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Friday sentenced a former employee of a St. Louis County realty company to three years in prison for embezzling $487,000 from her employer.
Crystal Hendrix, 50, of Festus, was also fined $10,000 and ordered to repay the money she stole.
Hendrix handled payroll as part of her duties with the real estate company and had access to the company bank accounts. From about Jan. 8, 2018 to Dec. 9, 2020, Hendrix sent over 140 payments totaling approximately $483,037 to her own bank account. Hendrix used the money at restaurants and to buy a vehicle, her plea agreement says.
Hendrix pleaded guilty in March to three counts of wire fraud.
The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gwendolyn Carroll and Edward Dowd III prosecuted the case.
St. Louis County Man Sentenced for Fentanyl, Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Tuesday sentenced a man involved in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine to five years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release.
Nicholas L. Nixon, 23, pleaded guilty in April to one felony count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. He admitted distributing drugs and accompanying a co-defendant, Marvell Sherrell, who twice sold fentanyl and methamphetamine to a confidential source working with the Drug Enforcement Administration. He also admitted throwing a Micro Draco AK-47-style pistol and 1,181 pills containing fentanyl out of a vehicle that was being pursued by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department on May 5, 2022.
Sherrell, 23, pleaded guilty July 10 to three felony counts: conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, possessing one or more firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possession of a machine gun.
Sherrell admitted entering into an agreement to sell drugs with Nixon, Jacquez T. Love, 25, Turhan Robinson Jr., 23, Arion D. Strickland, 29, and others. He admitted selling methamphetamine or both methamphetamine and fentanyl to the DEA source three times and sending that source to another person for the drug.
Sherrell also admitted driving during the May 5, 2022 police chase, during which he drove at a high speed, violated traffic lights and crashed into another vehicle. Strickland discarded a Kel Tec rifle during the chase and a fully automatic AR-15-style weapon was found where Robinson had been sitting after the Chevrolet Impala became disabled and the chase finally ended.
Sherrell admitted that when deputy U.S. Marshals arrested Love at the apartment Sherrell, Nixon and Love shared in unincorporated St. Louis County between Maryland Heights and Creve Coeur on May 12, 2022, they found drugs and guns. They found methamphetamine and a fully automatic .40-caliber Glock handgun in Sherrell’s bedroom, along with two “switches” that convert a Glock into a machine gun.
Sherrell is scheduled to be sentenced October 10 and faces at least 10 years in prison. The three other defendants in the case also pleaded guilty and have been sentenced.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
St. Louis County Man Caught with Checks Stolen from the Mail Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Wednesday sentenced a St. Louis County, Missouri man who bought and re-sold checks stolen from the mail to 10 months in prison.
Dennis Cooperwood Jr., 19, of Country Club Hills, admitted being caught by St. Louis County Police in possession of about 179 business and personal checks on April 12, 2022 that had been taken from U.S. Postal Service collection boxes.
Officers on patrol in the Spanish Lake area spotted a vehicle stopped in the middle of the road with multiple people standing at the windows. After the crowd dispersed and the vehicle drove away, officers stopped the vehicle and found Cooperwood in the back seat wearing a shoulder bag containing a gun and the checks. Cooperwood told officers that he bought stolen checks for $5 to $10 each and would remove the writing on the checks before re-selling them for $20 to $25.
In a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow said the checks belonged to about 100 individuals and businesses, and the case comes at a time of an increase in both mail theft and associated fraud which was undermining “the public’s sense of security and confidence in a vital government service.”
In court, Clow said the impact of Cooperwood’s actions “goes beyond any sort of financial harm.” In letters to Judge Ross, five victims said the theft of their mail snarled their finances, made them fear for the security of their personal information and cost them hours of work closing checking accounts and dealing with creditors. One wedding officiant said lost wedding license documentation delayed medical treatment for a woman for nearly four months over insurance issues.
“The successful investigation of the defendant’s operation resulted in the recovery of 179 checks stolen from the U.S. mail, and the prevention of potential long-term financial harm to numerous account holders,” said Inspector in Charge Ruth Mendonça who leads the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Chicago Division, which includes the St. Louis Field Office. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and its law enforcement partners will continue to work together to hold mail thieves accountable.”
Cooperwood pleaded guilty in April to one felony count of possession of stolen mail matter.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.
Man Admits Transporting Child Pornography, Fleeing St. LouisRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis on Wednesday admitted possessing and sharing child pornography and fleeing from St. Louis while on house arrest.
Daniel Bert, 38, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of transportation of child pornography. He admitted that after receiving two tips about Bert, the FBI discovered he was discussing his sexual interest in young children on Kik Messenger. An undercover FBI special agent began communicating with Bert on another app, Wickr, and Bert sent a picture of his genitals to the agent. He also expressed his sexual interest in young children, his plea agreement says. In text messages, Bert told the agent that he had a hard drive full of child pornography. On the same day that agents obtained a search warrant for Bert’s home, Bert asked the undercover agent to join him in an online video chat during which Bert played videos containing child pornography.
The search discovered child sexual abuse material on multiple electronic devices, including laptops, phones and hard drives, Bert’s plea says.
At his sentencing, Bert faces at least five years in prison for the charge. He faces the potential for additional prison time under the recommended sentencing guidelines because he removed his GPS monitoring device while on house arrest and fled St. Louis. He was arrested in Florida on May 11.
The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman 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.
Missouri Man Sentenced to 100 Months in Prison on Methamphetamine ChargesRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced a man from Charleston, Missouri to 100 months in prison for selling methamphetamine four times.
Jonathan L. McCatrey, 32, pleaded guilty in April to four counts of distributing methamphetamine. He admitted selling the drug to an undercover Missouri State Highway Patrol sergeant on four occasions in February and March of 2022 in a parking lot in Charleston. McCatrey sold about one-quarter pound of methamphetamine on the second occasion and about one-half pound each the third and fourth time he met the sergeant, his plea agreement says.
The case was investigated by the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis prosecuted the case.