Western District of Missouri
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Arizona Woman Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Multi-Kilos of Meth, Fentanyl Aboard Bus Passing Through KCRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Phoenix, Arizona, woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to smuggling approximately 23 kilograms of methamphetamine and more than a kilogram of fentanyl aboard a bus passing through Kansas City, Mo., enroute to St. Louis, Mo.
Alexus C. Sparks, 26, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine and to one count of possessing fentanyl and methamphetamine to distribute.
According to today’s plea agreement, law enforcement officers with the Missouri Western Interdiction Task Force (MoWIN) were conducting narcotic interdiction activities at a Kansas City, Mo., bus terminal on June 6, 2022. A bus originating from Los Angeles, California,, arrived at the terminal for a brief layover. After the passengers disembarked, a detective brought his police drug-sniffing dog onto the bus. The dog alerted to a pink floral duffel bag and a white hard-side suitcase, which were sitting near each other, and which were left on the bus after the passengers had disembarked. The duffel bag and suitcase were taken off the bus and placed on a bench directly in front of the bus in order to identify the owners when reboarding commenced.
As Sparks began to reboard the bus, she picked up the duffel bag. When an officer asked her if she owned the bag, she stated, “yes.” When he identified himself as a law enforcement officer, however, she recanted. Sparks was detained for investigation, and later admitted to officers that the duffel bag belonged to her and that she was transporting illegal drugs to St. Louis.
Officers searched the duffel bag and found two bundles that contained a total of 20.4 pounds (approximately 9.2 kilograms) of methamphetamine and a rectangular brick that contained 2.3 pounds (more than one kilogram) of fentanyl.
None of the passengers claimed the suitcase, which was determined to be abandoned. When officers opened the suitcase, they found 12 bundles that contained a total of 30.4 pounds (approximately 13.8 kilograms) of methamphetamine. Officers contacted another passenger on the bus, who was seated in the seat where the suitcase had been found. The bus tickets for both Sparks and this passenger were purchased at the same time at a bus terminal in Las Vegas, Nevada. This passenger was also detained and charged as a co-defendant.
Under federal statutes, Sparks is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregg R. Coonrod and Maureen Brackett. It was investigated by the Missouri Western Interdiction Task Force (MoWIN).
Independence Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Stolen FirearmRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Independence, Mo., man who was inebriated when he fired a pistol from his apartment patio pleaded guilty in federal court today to possessing a stolen firearm.
Reggie L. Teagues, 42, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to one count of possessing a stolen firearm.
By pleading guilty today, Teagues admitted that he possessed a Kel-Tec 9mm semi-automatic pistol on Nov. 12, 2020. Independence police officers were called to his residence at approximately 4:05 p.m. that day in response to a neighbor’s 911 report of shots fired. The neighbor heard three gunshots, which he originally thought were fireworks. When he went out to his patio to investigate, he saw Teagues holding a handgun.
When officers arrived, Teagues was slumped over on the living room floor in his apartment, near the sliding glass door leading to the patio. Teagues told officers he had consumed approximately one pint of tequila since noon that day, as well as using PCP. Teagues had an injury to his elbow, which he apparently received when he fell into the bedroom window while on the patio. Officers found two spent shell casings on the patio and another spent shell casing on the floor beside Teagues.
Teagues’s girlfriend told officers the firearm belonged to her and that she had it secured in her bedroom closet on a shelf where Teagues had taken it without permission. She had rushed home after getting a frantic phone call from her daughter. She saw the firearm lying on the kitchen table, put it in her purse, and was attempting to get Teagues into the bedroom when officers arrived.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the government and Teagues agree to a sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Gibson, who is a cross-designated prosecutor from the Missouri Attorney General’s office as part of the Safer Streets Initiative to combat violent crime. It was investigated by the Independence, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Grandview Man Pleads Guilty to $4.1 Million Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Grandview, Mo., man has pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a $4.1 million drug-trafficking conspiracy, which is linked to two murders, and which distributed approximately 520 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Kansas City and St. Louis metropolitan areas.
Markus Michael A. Patterson, 39, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Monday, Oct. 24, and admitted that between Jan. 1, 2017, and September 1, 2018, he participated with others in conspiracies to distribute methamphetamine and launder drug proceeds, and to possessing a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking crime, and to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Patterson was arrested on Aug. 30, 2018, at a hotel in Phelps County, Mo. Officers found approximately one pound of methamphetamine (what remained from two pounds of methamphetamine Patterson brought to Phelps County from Kansas City, Mo.), $8,742 in cash, and drug paraphernalia in Patterson’s hotel room and car. The cash seized by officers was the proceeds of drug sales, which Patterson was supposed to return to his source in Kansas City.
The drug-trafficking organization with which Patterson was associated was responsible for two murders. In August 2018, James Hampton was seized by members of the same drug trafficking conspiracy that supplied Patterson with the Phelps County methamphetamine. Patterson was in St. Louis, Mo., with this group when Hampton was seized. Hampton was seized because conspirators thought he could help find the drugs and money stolen by co-conspirator David Richards. When they realized Hampton could not or would not help, he was restrained and beaten. Hampton was then transported from St. Louis to Kansas City, in the trunk of his car. Brittanie Broyles, who was with Hampton and witnessed him being beaten and restrained, was also taken to Kansas City.
On Aug. 6, 2018, Hampton’s car and body were discovered burning in Bates City, Mo. On Aug. 8, 2018, Broyles’s body was recovered by the Super Flea in the Northeast area of Kansas City. She had been murdered by two gunshots to her head. Witnesses and video identified Patterson following co-defendant Gerald Ginnings, 42, of Kansas City, Mo., in a co-conspirator’s car as Ginnings drove Hampton’s car to Bates City. Ginnings pleaded guilty on Friday, Oct. 21, to the same charges as Patterson.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony crime to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Patterson has prior felony convictions for involuntary manslaughter, distributing a controlled substance, and tampering with physical evidence.
Patterson is among 30 co-defendants who have pleaded guilty in this case and its companion case.
Patterson must pay a money judgment not to exceed $4,160,000, which represents the proceeds he received from the drug-trafficking conspiracy, as determined by the court at the time of his sentencing. That forfeiture amount is based on the unlawful distribution of approximately 520 kilograms of methamphetamine, based on an average price of $8,000 per kilogram.
Under federal statutes, Patterson is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bruce Rhoades and Robert M. Smith. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Sni Valley Fire Department, the Jackson, Lafayette, Buchanan, and Phelps County, Mo., Sheriff’s Departments, the FBI, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the St. James, Mo., Police Department.
Springfield Man Sentenced for Bank Robbery a Month After Release from Prison for Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for robbing a bank within a month of being released from federal prison for another bank robbery.
Charles Edgar King Jr., 58, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to five years and 11 months in federal prison without parole.
On May 31, 2022, King pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery. King admitted that he used a note to steal $8,815 from Guaranty Bank, 2109 N. Glenstone Ave., in Springfield, on July 10, 2021. King entered the bank at about 10:30 a.m. and went straight to a teller counter, where he handed the teller a handwritten note that read, “I have a gun this is a robbery.” The teller handed over cash and King left the bank and walked away through a parking lot.
Surveillance cameras in the bank captured good quality video, which show King, who was not wearing a mask, and images of his bare hands that show a tattoo of a cross on the back of his right middle finger. On the same day as the robbery, July 10, 2021, the FBI released one of the surveillance images to the media and requested assistance from the public in identifying the bank robber. King’s former probation officer saw the media coverage and contacted the FBI the same day and identified King.
King had been released from federal prison 30 days prior to robbing Guaranty Bank. King was convicted of robbing Citizen’s Bank in Rogersville, Mo., in 2012 and sentenced to seven years in federal prison without parole. He served an additional 14 months for repeatedly violating the terms of his supervised release following incarceration, according to court documents, for a total prison term of nine years and two months. King, who was released with no further supervision, had been out of custody for 30 days when he committed the Guaranty Bank robbery.
On July 19, 2021, an anonymous source contacted law enforcement with a tip that King was staying at the Springfield Inn near Kearney and North Glenstone in Springfield. Springfield police detectives and FBI agents conducted surveillance on the hotel and saw King leave the hotel driving a purple Scion Cube with no license plate. Springfield police officers conducted a car stop and detained King on an investigative arrest for robbery.
King told an FBI agent that he used the stolen money to buy the used Scion Cube for $2,400, and that he gave some of the money away and spent the rest.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.
Former Aryan Brotherhood Member Sentenced to 18 Years for Meth TraffickingRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Billings, Mo., man who belonged to the Aryan Brotherhood was sentenced in federal court today for methamphetamine trafficking.
Jimmy Jack Pinkley, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 18 years and four months in federal prison without parole.
On Dec. 16, 2021, Pinkley pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
Pinkley admitted that he was in possession of methamphetamine when he was stopped by a Christian County, Mo., sheriff’s deputy on Jan. 17, 2021. Pinkley was driving a Dodge Charger, which was later identified as a stolen vehicle, in the area of Evergreen Circle, driving down multiple roads of the trailer park and stopping briefly at multiple houses. When the deputy attempted to make a traffic stop, Pinkley pulled into a driveway and got out of the vehicle. The deputy ordered Pinkley to show his hands, but he reached with both his hands to his rear waistband. The deputy removed his firearm and again ordered Pinkley to show him his hands. After a brief pause, Pinkley lifted his hands above his head. The deputy handcuffed Pinkley and frisked him for weapons.
Pinkley appeared to be very nervous, sweating and breathing heavily. The deputy searched the vehicle and found a brown leather bag on the front passenger seat that contained approximately 177 grams of 97% pure methamphetamine in multiple individually wrapped clear plastic baggies.
Pinkley told investigators the methamphetamine was what he had left from the 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine he had obtained from his supplier in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the previous day. Pinkley, who said he had been selling methamphetamine for approximately six months, told investigators he received approximately one pound of methamphetamine during each trip to Oklahoma City. He got his methamphetamine by calling an inmate in Oklahoma State Prison, who would then tell him where to go to obtain his methamphetamine.
Pinkley also told investigators that he had been an active member of the Aryan Brotherhood for more than 20 years, and that he joined the gang during his first stint in state prison. He showed them his patch to the gang.
Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Pinkley’s residence, where they found a loaded Maverick 12-gauge shotgun leaning against a safe in the metal shop located on the property behind Pinkley’s trailer. Inside the safe, officers found a small baggie of methamphetamine and a set of digital scales.
Pinkly was also a passenger in a Pontiac Grand Prix that was stopped by law enforcement officers on Oct. 29, 2020. Officers found a brown nylon case under the front passenger’s seat that contained 11.48 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
According to court documents, since Pinkly obtained his first felony conviction for possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute in 1997, he has been convicted of either possession, possession with the intent to distribute, or manufacturing a controlled substance in eight different cases. He also has prior convictions for misdemeanor domestic abuse, misdemeanor resisting arrest, felony intimidation of a witness, two felony convictions for unlawful possession of a firearm, and two felony convictions for aggravated assault and battery.
This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron A. Beaver. It was investigated by Christian County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Stone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
KC Man Pleads Guilty to $4.1 Million Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a $4.1 million drug-trafficking conspiracy, which is linked to two murders, and which distributed 520 kilograms of methamphetamine in the metropolitan area.
Gerald Lee Ginnings, 42, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays and admitted that between Jan. 1, 2018, and October 1, 2018, he participated with others in conspiracies to distribute methamphetamine and launder drug proceeds, and to possessing a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking crime, and to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Ginnings was responsible for distributing, or assisting to distribute, at least five kilograms of methamphetamine. Proceeds of the drug-trafficking conspiracy were used to pay living expenses, buy assets, and to purchase additional drugs for distribution. Ginnings and other co-conspirators used cash during the conspiracy to conceal the true nature of the proceeds from drug distribution.
Ginnings was arrested on June 28, 2018, and again on Sept. 27, 2018. During those arrests, law enforcement officers seized over 50 grams of methamphetamine and a Kel-Tec 9 mm handgun, which Ginnings obtained by trading for methamphetamine.
The drug-trafficking organization with which Ginnings was associated was responsible for two murders. In August 2018, James Hampton was beaten, kidnapped, and transported from St. Louis, Mo., to Kansas City in the trunk of a car. Conspirators also kidnapped Brittanie Broyles, a woman who was with Hampton when he was seized and who witnessed his beating and kidnapping. Ginnings was not with co-conspirators in St. Louis or on the trip from St. Louis to Kansas City.
On Aug. 6, 2018, Hampton’s car and body were discovered burning in Bates City, Mo. On Aug. 8, 2018, Broyles’s body was recovered by the Super Flea in the Northeast area of Kansas City. She had been murdered by two gunshots to her head. Investigators learned that Ginnings, in exchange for being forgiven a $5,000 drug debt, was involved in burning Hampton’s car. Ginnings was also involved in transporting Broyles after she was brought to Kansas City, during which time someone shot her twice in the head and she died.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony crime to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Ginnings has at least three prior felony convictions for tampering with a motor vehicle.
Ginnings is among 22 co-defendants who have pleaded guilty in this case.
Ginnings must pay a money judgment not to exceed $4,160,000, which represents the proceeds he received from the drug-trafficking conspiracy, as determined by the court at the time of his sentencing. That forfeiture amount is based on the unlawful distribution of more than 520 kilograms of methamphetamine, based on an average price of $8,000 per kilogram.
Under federal statutes, Ginnings is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bruce Rhoades and Robert M. Smith. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Sni Valley Fire Department, the Jackson, Lafayette, Buchanan, and Phelps County, Mo., Sheriff’s Departments, the FBI, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the St. James, Mo., Police Department.
Independence Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for distributing child pornography over the internet, including to an undercover federal agent, whom he believed to be a 13-year-old girl.
Thomas E. Andries, 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Andries to a lifetime of supervised release following incarceration.
On Sept. 8, 2021, Andries pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography over the internet.
Andries admitted that he sent a Kik message to an FBI Child Exploitation Task Force officer in Salt Lake City, Utah, who was posing as a 13-year-old girl in an online undercover capacity, on Feb. 12, 2019. Andries sent the undercover officer two videos of child pornography.
On May 14, 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Andries’s residence and seized his cell phone. Andries admitted that he received child pornography via Kik Messenger and saved the files to his cell phone. Investigators found approximately 20 photos and 48 videos of child pornography on the cell phone, including young children and toddlers.
Investigators also found three images and 12 videos of child pornography in Andries’s Google Photos collection, and approximately 97 videos and 38 images of child pornography in his Dropbox account. Included in the Dropbox collection were pornographic images of toddlers and child bestiality.
Andries admitted to engaging with Kik groups who discussed the sexual abuse of children and exchanged child pornography files. He also admitted he exchanged his child pornography files within his group in order to receive additional files from other Kik users.
According to court documents, Andries told investigators that he communicated with three minor females via Kik beginning in 2018. He admitted to sending at least one of the minors, who lived in the United Kingdom, child pornography.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Luna. It was investigated by the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force and the Independence, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Diamond Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Sexual Exploitation of a ChildRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Diamond, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for the sexual exploitation of a child.
Terry Lee Miksell, 66, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on Thursday, Oct. 20, to life in federal prison without parole.
On March 29, 2022, Miksell was found guilty at trial of one count of producing child pornography and one count of using the internet and a cell phone to induce a child to engage in sexual activity.
At the time of the offense, Miksell was employed as a counselor at a Purdy, Mo., drug treatment facility and in a trusted position with the victim and her family.
Facebook initiated two CyberTips in September 2019 after locating sexually explicit messages and images between Miksell and a 16-year-old victim. Miksell asked the child victim in Facebook Messenger chats to send him sexually explicit images and videos. She told investigators she sent those images and videos at his request but often was reluctant to engage with the sexually explicit messages and felt bad about it. At one point she refused to send an image and Miksell used manipulation tactics to get her to continue to engage and send those images. Miksell also sent pornographic pictures of himself to the child victim.
Officers executed a search warrant at Miksell’s residence on Jan. 16, 2020, and seized several devices, including a cell phone. The cell phone contained a pornographic video of the child victim.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James J. Kelleher, Stephanie Wan, and Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Springfield Woman Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation EnterpriseRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., woman became the fifth defendant today to plead guilty in federal court to engaging in a child exploitation enterprise that victimized at least three children.
Angela Marie Brown, 39, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to engaging in a child exploitation enterprise from Jan. 1, 2017, to Nov. 6, 2019.
By pleading guilty today, Brown admitted that she engaged in a series of felony violations, including the sexual exploitation of a minor and receiving and distributing child pornography. Those felony violations, constituting three or more separate incidents and involving more than one minor victim, comprise a child exploitation enterprise.
Co-defendants Kevin Grant McMillan, 35, Christine Marie Rossiter, 36, and Amber Marie Baley, 38, all of Springfield, and Casie Dee Rice, 52, of Branson, Mo., have also pleaded guilty to the same charge.
The federal investigation began in May 2019 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified law enforcement that McMillan had uploaded three files of child pornography through his Gmail account. The Springfield Police Department was also investigating McMillan in a separate case involving an 8-year-old victim, identified in court documents as Jane Doe 2. Springfield investigators identified additional Google accounts that contained child pornography.
On Nov. 6, 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at McMillan’s residence, where they contacted a second, 15-year-old victim, identified in court documents as Jane Doe 1, and a 17-year-old minor. Officers seized five laptops, two hard drives, an Apple iPad, a cell phone, and seven USB/micro SD cards. A forensic analyst found images of child pornography depicting Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, and a third victim, a toddler identified in court documents as Jane Doe 3. There were a total of 27,542 pornographic images and videos of subjects whose age is difficult to determine and child erotica. There was a total of 682 images and videos of bestiality pornography. There were 111 videos and images of child exploitive animated pornography located on the devices.
Investigators also found MMS messages between McMillan and Brown, who lived with him on and off for a few years, from January 2017 until April 2019. McMillan said he wanted to drug and sexually assault Jane Doe 1 (who was 13 years old at the time). Brown said she would be interested in assisting him in drugging and raping children and adult women. McMillan also sent Brown sexually explicit images of Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 3. They exchanged incest-related pornography, bondage pornography, bestiality pornography, child pornography, and child erotica. They also had conversations about having sexual contact with children and about having children together and impregnating them.
Investigators found Facebook conversations in which McMillan and Brown extensively discussed engaging in sexual contact with other individuals, including children.
Under federal statutes, each of the five defendants is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Everton Man Sentenced to 21 Years for Leading Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – An Everton, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for leading a conspiracy to distribute nearly 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine in southwest Missouri.
Cheyenne W. Conn, 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 21 years in federal prison without parole.
On July 22, 2021, Conn pleaded guilty to participating in the drug-trafficking conspiracy from Nov. 22, 2016, to Sept. 26, 2018. Conn also pleaded guilty to participating in a money-laundering conspiracy.
Conn admitted he was responsible for the distribution of approximately 960 pounds of methamphetamine over a period of nearly two years. Approximately 960 pounds of methamphetamine at that time had a conservative wholesale value of more than $3.8 million and a retail value of more than $6.1 million.
During the course of the conspiracy, Conn transported approximately 10 pounds of methamphetamine per week by vehicle from California, after it had been smuggled into the United States from Mexico, to the Springfield area. Conn then distributed the methamphetamine to other dealers in the conspiracy.
Conn also admitted that he directed others to send wire transfers of drug-trafficking proceeds from multiple Walmarts and other businesses in the Springfield area to members of the drug trafficking organization in California and Mexico. This was done to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the proceeds.
Conn was arrested on Nov. 22, 2016, after two women reported the truck he was driving on Farm Road 124 in Greene County, Mo., was unable to maintain lanes and two men who occupied the truck were throwing needles out of the truck. A Greene County Sheriff’s Department lieutenant attempted to conduct a traffic stop of the truck, but Conn failed to stop. Conn jumped out of the truck onto State Highway F and was taken into custody. Officers searched the truck, which was in the ditch, and found a Lorcin .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol, 4.27 grams of methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia.
On Dec. 22, 2016, officers searched Conn’s residence and found approximately 15 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
Conn was also present on Sept. 22, 2017, when law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a business, a shop owned by co-defendant Jeremy A. Ingram, 44, of Springfield. Conn, who was in one of the garage bays, told officers he was at the shop visiting Ingram and working on motorcycles, and identified a white truck parked in the front of the shop as his vehicle. Officers searched the truck, which had been reported stolen, and found a loaded Ruger 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Officers also seized 300 rounds of 9mm ammunition, numerous rounds of various caliber ammunition, a lock pick set, a loaded Springfield Armory 9mm semi-automatic pistol, and drug paraphernalia from the shop.
Conn was stopped by an Oldham County, Texas, sheriff’s deputy on Dec. 10, 2017, while he was driving a Buick Regal with California license plates. Conn was unable to identify the owner of the vehicle and did not have a driver’s license. Conn had approximately $900 in cash in his pocket, a hypodermic needle, and a baggie that contained approximately 6.27 grams of methamphetamine. The deputy searched the car and found an SD 9mm pistol magazine hidden in the left rear quarter panel behind the carpet. He also found a black bag that contained $29,217 in cash.
Conn is among 12 defendants who have been sentenced in this case. Ginger L. Huerta, also known as Ginger L. Gray, 42, of Halfway, Mo., was sentenced on Oct. 17, 2022, to 11 years in federal prison without parole. Lloyd R. Bradley, 45, of Fordland, Mo., was sentenced on May 10, 2022, to four years and six months in federal prison without parole. Tresha R. Ahart, 33, of Springfield, was sentenced on Jan. 4, 2022, to nine years in federal prison without parole. Larry E Stapp, 43, of Springfield, was sentenced on Nov. 9, 2021, to 10 years in federal prison without parole. Shelby R. Maupin, 34, of Ozark, Mo., was sentenced on Sept. 16, 2021, to eight years and nine months in federal prison without parole. Summerlee M. Barnett, also known as Summerlee M. Lacount, 36, of Salem, Mo., was sentenced on Sept. 16, 2021, to six years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Cassidy R. Clayton, 27, of Springfield, was sentenced on Sept. 8, 2021, to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Jeremy A. Ingram, 44, Laurie B. Holmes, 40, and Lonnie J. Tinker, 37, all of Springfield, were sentenced on Aug. 5, 2021. Ingram was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole. Holmes was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Tinker was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole. Chandler B. Roberts, 23, address unknown, was sentenced on Aug. 29, 2022, to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
Four defendants have pleaded guilty in this case and await sentencing: Michael R. Housley, 30, and Megan L McNary, 27, both of Springfield; Johnathon W. Arnold, 41, of Everton; and Samuel C. Gonzalez, Jr., 29, of Bakersfield, California.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Dade County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Department, and the Oldham County, Texas, Sheriff’s Department.
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (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.
U.S. Attorney Announces Election Day ProgramRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – United States Attorney Teresa Moore announced today that Assistant United States Attorney Alan Simpson will lead the efforts of her office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming Nov. 8, 2022, general election.
Simpson has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer for the Western District of Missouri, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the district’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election, said Moore. Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The department will address these violations wherever they occur. The department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).
Moore stated that the franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, the District Election Officer will be on duty in this district while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at 816-426-4125.
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at 816-512-8200.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C. by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ .
Moore said, ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate. It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.
Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
KC Man Sentenced to 17 Years for Two Armed Robberies of Hotels on the Same DayRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for his role in two armed robberies of hotels on the same day.
Anthony Payne, Jr., 30, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on Tuesday, Oct. 18, to 17 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Payne to pay $860 in restitution.
On Jan. 20, 2022, Payne pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and abetting a robbery, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, and two counts of aiding and abetting the brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime.
Payne admitted that he and two co-defendants robbed the Arrowhead Inn, 6006 E. 31st Street in Kansas City, Mo., at gunpoint on July 2, 2018. Payne entered the hotel with co-defendants Joe Lee Nichols, 29, and Torrence Demond Key, 30, both of Kansas City, Mo. Payne and Nichols brandished handguns and the three men stole approximately $260 from the hotel.
Payne also admitted that the three men robbed Wood Springs Suites Hotel, 11301 Colorado in Kansas City, Mo., at gunpoint on the same day. Payne and Nichols again brandished handguns and the three men stole approximately $600 from the hotel.
According to court documents, Payne was previously convicted in state court for his role in the armed robbery of a Sonic restaurant. He received a suspended imposition of sentence in that case and was placed on probation for five years, but after multiple violations was eventually incarcerated.
Nichols and Key each have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bruce Rhoades and Maureen Brackett. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, and the FBI.
Additional Charge Filed Against Tennessee Man for Using Firearm in Violent Confrontation with FBI AgentsRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Tennessee man and a Warsaw, Mo., man have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges stemming from their threats of violence against immigrants and the federal government, as well as an armed assault of FBI agents.
Bryan C. Perry, 37, of Clarksville, Tennessee, and Jonathan S. O’Dell, 32, of Warsaw, Mo., were charged in a six-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City on Tuesday, Oct. 18. The federal indictment replaces separate criminal complaints filed against both men on Oct. 7, 2022, and contains both the original charges against both men and an additional charge against Perry.
Perry and O’Dell remain in federal custody without bond following separate detention hearings in which the court ruled they pose a danger to the community.
Perry is now charged with one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Perry is also charged, as in the prior criminal complaint, with one count of transmitting a threat across state lines to injure another person, one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of forcibly assaulting an FBI agent with a deadly weapon.
O’Dell is charged in the indictment, as in the prior criminal complaint, with one count of transmitting a threat across state lines to injure another person and one count of unlawfully possessing a firearm. O’Dell allegedly was in possession of a Stevens 12-gauge shotgun while under a court order of protection.
On October 7, 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant at O’Dell’s residence and took O’Dell and Perry into custody. According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, federal agents approached the property in vehicles with red and blue lights and sirens activated. As the FBI approached, an agent utilized a loudspeaker on one of the vehicles, stating that they were with the FBI and that they had a search warrant for the residence. The FBI agent began to repeat the announcement, again stating that they were with the FBI, when gunshots were fired from a front window at the lead FBI vehicle. Several rounds hit the lead FBI vehicle. FBI agents did not return fire and, after the gunshots ceased, the FBI established a perimeter and began communicating with the persons inside the residence to come out. Perry exited the residence, began walking toward agents, and was detained.
When agents searched the residence, they found an Anderson AM-15 multi-caliber rifle in a bedroom near a broken window and approximately 10 spent shell casings. This is the firearm cited in Count Three of the federal indictment, which charges Perry with using a firearm in furtherance of the violent crime of assaulting a federal law enforcement officer.
Agents also found a Ruger 9mm pistol with an obliterated serial number, which is cited in Count Two of the indictment, which charges Perry with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Perry has a prior felony conviction for aggravated robbery.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark and Trial Attorney Jacob Warren from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. It was investigated by the FBI.
New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty After Suitcase with Three Kilos of Cocaine is Found on Bus Traveling Through KCRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Jersey City, New Jersey, man whose suitcase, which contained more than three kilograms of cocaine, was found aboard a bus traveling through Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
Jose A. Cordero, 31, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Officers of the Missouri Western Interdictions and Narcotics Task Force (MoWIN) were conducting interdiction activities at a Kansas City, Mo., bus station on Oct. 22, 2018. As passengers unboarded from a bus that originated in Los Angeles, California, officers used a drug-sniffing police dog to conduct an open-air check of the luggage on the bottom compartment of the bus. The dog alerted to a black Samsonite suitcase with a Newark, N.J., destination tag. However, none of the passengers on the bus claimed ownership of the suitcase. Cordero was not a passenger on the bus.
Detectives considered the suitcase abandoned and searched its contents to identify the owner. Inside the suitcase, detectives found three sealed mailing envelopes that contained a total of 6.63 pounds (3,009.73 grams) of cocaine.
Detectives also found a United Airlines bar code label on the suitcase that identified the owner of the suitcase as “Jo Cordero Jr.” Cordero had flown on United Airlines from Newark to Los Angeles on Oct. 8, 2018. Cordero departed Los Angeles to return to Newark on Oct. 19 and the cocaine was found on the bus in Kansas City, which had traveled for 36 hours, on Oct. 22.
During a forensic examination of the suitcase and its contents, investigators identified Cordero’s DNA from the waistband of a pair of underwear and his fingerprints from one of the bundles of cocaine.
During the investigation, another individual who was on the bus, Sergio Gonzalez-Bedolla, 24, of Chowchilla, Calif., was found in possession of 2.8 kilograms of heroin in his backpack. Gonzalez-Bedolla pleaded guilty in a separate and unrelated case and was sentenced to six years in federal prison without parole.
Under federal statutes, Cordero is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 40 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley K. Kavanaugh. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the MoWIN Task Force, and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Lamar Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Illegal Firearms, Meth TraffickingRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Lamar, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing firearms and methamphetamine to distribute.
Jerold G. Lake, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 20 years in federal prison without parole. Lake was sentenced as a career offender due to his prior felony convictions.
On Nov. 17, 2021, Lake pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Lake was the passenger in a vehicle stopped by Barton County, Mo., sheriff’s deputies in Lamar on May 15, 2020. Deputies searched the vehicle and found a stolen Glock .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun under Lake’s seat.
On another occasion, Lake was driving a vehicle that Vernon County, Mo., sheriff’s deputies attempted to stop in Nevada, Mo., after observing a traffic violation on Nov. 9, 2020. Lake fled with deputies in pursuit until his vehicle struck spike strips and came to rest in a ditch. During the chase, Lake’s vehicle reached speeds between 90 and 100 miles per hour, drove on the wrong side of the road, forced oncoming traffic to evade him, swerved wildly through traffic, and failed to yield for stop signs.
Deputies arrested Lake, who was in possession of 4.2 grams of methamphetamine, 3.2 grams of marijuana, and $1,072 in cash. They found a black backpack on the driver’s seat of Lake’s vehicle that contained 35.28 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Deputies canvassed the route of the pursuit and found a Glock .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun that had been reported stolen from a law enforcement officer’s vehicle in Crawford County, Kansas. Deputies also found a bag that contained 18.2 grams of methamphetamine along the highway.
According to court documents, Lake is a member of the Southwest Honkeys, a violent gang in southwest Missouri. He has Southwest Honkeys tattoos on his chest and stomach, and a skull with “SS” lightning bolts on his back.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Lake has two prior felony convictions for possession of methamphetamine, two prior felony convictions for possession of a chemical with intent to manufacture methamphetamine, and prior felony convictions for resisting a lawful stop (in which he fled from officers at speeds up to 130 miles per hour before crashing into a yard), receiving stolen property, conspiracy to deliver or conceal a controlled substance to a correctional facility, attempting to steal a motor vehicle, first degree assault and armed criminal action. Lake also accumulated numerous violations while on probation and parole, and while incarcerated.
Lake also has cases pending for arrests during 2020 (following his release from state prison in January 2020) in Barton County for first degree domestic assault, armed criminal action, and unlawful possession of a firearm; in Vernon County for first degree assault; and in Newton County, Mo., for fleeing an attempted traffic stop.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black and Assistant U.S. Attorney Josephine L. Stockard. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Barton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Lamar, Mo., Police Department, the Vernon County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Springfield Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.
Roderick E. Hebert, 54, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Hebert was sentenced as an armed career criminal due to his prior felony convictions.
On Feb. 10, 2022, Hebert pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Hebert was stopped for speeding by a Springfield police officer on Nov. 16, 2019. At the time, Hebert had active warrants for his arrest. When he got out of his vehicle, a magazine containing .40-caliber ammunition fell out of the vehicle. Officers then searched Hebert’s vehicle and found a .40-caliber Hi Point pistol.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Hebert has 11 felony convictions, including multiple convictions for burglary and drug-related offenses. At the time of his arrest, Hebert was on state parole from convictions for forgery and possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey Clark and Shannon Kempf. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Lebanon Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Lebanon, Mo., man who crashed his vehicle and resisted arrest was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a methamphetamine conspiracy in Newton and Greene counties.
Douglas S. Ward, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 20 years in federal prison without parole.
On March 3, 2022, Ward pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Co-defendants William D. Johnson, 47, address unknown, and Joshua T. Davenport, 41, of Miami, Oklahoma, have also pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
Ward admitted that he received methamphetamine and distributed it to others during the conspiracy, which lasted from May 20 to Sept. 28, 2019. Johnson obtained large amounts of methamphetamine from a source in California and distributed it to others, including Davenport.
Ward was arrested after he crashed the car he was driving on June 18, 2019. A Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department transport officer was traveling eastbound on Missouri 96 near Route UU in Lawrence County, Mo., when Ward’s vehicle passed him, forcing another vehicle in the opposite lane off the roadway. As the officer attempted to catch up to him, Ward turned right onto County Road 1085 but missed the intersection. Ward’s vehicle traveled off the roadway and overturned.
Ward punched out the driver’s side window and crawled out of the vehicle. A man and a woman crawled out from the passenger’s side, and the officer ordered all three of them to stay down. Ward, however, reached into his pocket and pulled out a large plastic bag that contained 88.01 grams of methamphetamine, which he threw on the ground, then took off running.
The officer caught up to Ward but Ward resisted arrest. Ward was able to get away when the woman from his vehicle came up behind the officer and grabbed him. A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper who came to assist the officer eventually apprehended Ward, who was hiding in the grass.
According to court documents, Ward told officers in June 2019 that he had been getting one pound of methamphetamine per day from his source since getting out of prison in December 2018. He also admitted that, for four weeks prior to his arrest, he had obtained two pounds of methamphetamine per week for $4,000 per pound.
Ward has a prior state felony conviction for drug trafficking. Ward also has a prior conviction for domestic violence for an incident in which he picked up his girlfriend, slammed her on the floor, picked her up again, and threw her on the couch. When the victim’s 2-year-old daughter came into the room, he yelled at the child. The victim told him not to yell at her daughter, at which point he grabbed the victim from behind and began to choke her and hit her in the face. Ward has another assault conviction for an incident that occurred while he was incarcerated and attacked another inmate.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Newton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Joplin, Mo., Police Department, the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, the Apache County, Arizona, Sheriff’s Department, the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the FBI.
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (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.
Greene County Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Meth Trafficking, Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Greene County, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing methamphetamine to distribute and illegally possessing five firearms along with several high-capacity magazines.
James Dixon, 49, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 20 years in federal prison without parole.
On March 9, 2022, Dixon pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and to possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Dixon’s residence on Jan. 21, 2021, after receiving information that he was distributing up to one-quarter pound of methamphetamine per week. Officers found a Diamondback 5.56-calbier semi-automatic rifle with a high-capacity magazine, a Remington 12-gaue shotgun, a JTS 12-gauge shotgun, shotgun shells of various gauges, and an Eksen Arms 12-gaug shotgun with a loaded high-capacity drum magazine. Inside the detached garage, officers found three plastic baggies that contained a total of 106.95 grams of methamphetamine, a Remington 20-gauge shotgun, a 500-count box of 5.56-caliber ammunition, an empty 100-round high-capacity magazine for an AR-15 rifle, and drug paraphernalia.
Dixon admitted to purchasing four ounces of methamphetamine at a time for $2,000. Dixon also admitted to selling methamphetamine. Officers searched Dixon and found approximately $1,000 in cash in his wallet.
According to court documents, Dixon has five prior felony convictions for drug trafficking and three prior felony convictions for drug possession.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Former FBI Analyst Pleads Guilty to Retaining National Defense DocumentsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former analyst with the Kansas City Division of the FBI pleaded guilty in federal court today before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to two counts of unlawfully retaining documents related to the national defense in her North Kansas City, Mo., residence.
According to court documents, Kendra Kingsbury, 50, of Kansas City, Missouri, was an intelligence analyst for the FBI for more than 12 years, from 2004 to Dec. 15, 2017. Kingsbury was assigned to a sequence of different FBI squads, each of which had a particular focus, such as illegal drug trafficking, violent crime, violent gangs, and counterintelligence. Kingsbury held a TOP SECRET//SCI security clearance and had access to national defense and classified information.
Training presentations and materials specifically warned Kingsbury that she was prohibited from retaining classified information at her personal residence. Such information could only be stored in an approved facility and container.
By pleading guilty today, Kingsbury admitted that, over the course of her FBI employment, she repeatedly removed from the FBI and retained in her personal residence an abundance of sensitive government materials, including classified documents related to the national defense. In total, Kingsbury improperly removed and unlawfully and willfully retained approximately 386 classified documents in her personal residence. The documents retained by Kingsbury in her personal residence included documents in electronic format on hard drives, compact discs, and other storage media.
The national defense information that Kingsbury unlawfully retained included numerous documents classified at the SECRET level from the FBI that describe intelligence sources and methods related to U.S. government efforts related to counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and defending against cyber threats. These documents included details on the FBI’s nationwide objectives and priorities, including specific investigations across multiple field offices that were open at the time Kingsbury unlawfully retained the documents. In addition, Kingsbury retained documents relating to sensitive human-source operations in national security investigations, intelligence gaps regarding hostile foreign intelligence services and terrorist organizations, and the technical capabilities of the FBI against counterintelligence and counterterrorism targets.
The national defense information that Kingsbury unlawfully retained also included numerous documents classified at the SECRET level from another government agency. These documents described intelligence sources and methods related to U.S. government efforts to collect intelligence on terrorist groups. The documents included information about al Qaeda members on the African continent, including a suspected associate of Usama bin Laden. In addition, there were documents regarding the activities of emerging terrorists and their efforts to establish themselves in support of al Qaeda in Africa.
Kingsbury specifically admitted that she knew 20 of these documents were classified, contained national defense information, and that she did not have a “need to know” the information contained in the documents. Kingsbury knew that information in these documents could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of foreign nations. Kingsbury was not authorized to possess these documents in her personal residence and her personal residence was not a location authorized to store classified information.
Kingsbury faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to 10 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Moore for the Western District of Missouri and Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division made the announcement.
The FBI Omaha Field Office is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Edwards and David Raskin for the Western District of Missouri and Trial Attorney Scott Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
Iowa Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Online Harassment of MO TeenRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Corydon, Iowa, man pleaded guilty in federal court today to attempting to produce child pornography following his online harassment of a Calloway County, Mo., teenager over five years.
David Jonathon Dodds, 60, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps, Jr., to one count of attempting to produce child pornography. Dodds is a registered sex offender due to his conviction for the exhibition of obscene materials to minors. His sex offense conviction occurred after the conduct in this federal case.
By pleading guilty today, Dodds admitted that he initially contacted the child victim through her Instagram account when she was 13 years old, and continued contacting her through Facebook Messenger and her cell phone until she was 18 years old. Her father contacted the Calloway County Sheriff’s Department in February 2020 to report that his 18-year-old daughter had been the victim of harassment and sexual enticement for several years.
After Dodds contacted the child victim through Instagram, his behavior escalated to messaging her numerous times a day and sending her pornographic images of himself. Dodds also asked her to send nude photographs of herself, and the child victim sent several nude photos of herself in 2015, when she was 14 years old.
The child victim told investigators she became uncomfortable with the ongoing conversations with Dodds and attempted to cut off communications. He became agitated with her and he began threatening to text her parents or friends if she didn’t communicate with him. Dodds messaged her parents and left three voicemail messages on her boyfriend’s phone telling him she had been cheating on both of them. The child victim told investigators she began hiding in photos taken with friends or family that may end up on social media to avoid being seen. She began receiving contact on Facebook Messenger and her cell phone. She turned off her cell phone for durations to avoid any contact.
The child victim reported this continued harassment led to significant anxiety and caused her to quit several jobs. It became apparent that Dodds was monitoring her parents’ public posts on Facebook, harassing her about going to prom or noting how they had been at Wal-Mart looking for her. His behavior caused her to trade cell phones and delete Instagram and Facebook accounts.
The child victim eventually disclosed the harassment to her family, who contacted law enforcement.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the government and Dodds will jointly recommend a sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole. The sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by the Callaway County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, and the FBI.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Three Business Owners Charged with Wiring Drug Trafficking Money to MexicoRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The owners of three money wiring businesses in the Kansas City metropolitan area are among five new defendants charged for their roles in a $4.7 million conspiracy to distribute more than 335 kilograms of methamphetamine and 22 kilograms of heroin, and to utilize wire transfers to send the drug-trafficking proceeds to Mexico.
Ana Lilia Leal-Martinez, 46, a citizen of Mexico residing in Overland Park, Kansas, Ana Paola Banda, 50, and Maria de Lourdes Carbajal, 53, both of whom are citizens of Mexico residing in Shawnee, Kan., Javier A. Alvarez, 24, of Phoenix, Arizona, and John A. Caylor, 53, of Kansas City, Mo., were charged in a 112-count superseding indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, Sept. 20.
The superseding indictment replaces a 91-count indictment that was returned on June 1, 2022; it retains all of the original 39 defendants and charges, and includes five additional defendants and 21 additional counts. The superseding indictment was unsealed and made public today following the arrests and initial court appearances of the additional defendants.
Leal-Martinez, Banda, Carbajal, Alvarez and Caylor, along with all of the original defendants, are charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin from Feb. 28, 2020, to June 1, 2022.
In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, Leal-Martinez, Banda, and Carbajal – who each own a money wiring business – are charged with participating in a money-laundering conspiracy related to transporting or transferring the proceeds of the drug-trafficking conspiracy to Michoacán, Mexico. Leal-Martinez is the owner of Imagen Leal, located at 407 S. Parker in Olathe, Kan. Banda is the owner of La Bendicion 2, located at 2701 S. 47th St. in Kansas City, Kan. Carbajal is the owner of Azteca Imports, located at 11226 W. 75th St. in Overland Park, Kan.
Leal-Martinez, Banda, and Carbajal remain in federal custody pending a detention hearing. The government’s detention motion notes that drug-trafficking organizations that generate multi-million dollar revenues are unable to effectively operate without individuals who enable foreign drug suppliers to receive proceeds from controlled substances sold here in the United States. Money sent back to Michoacán, Mexico, further fuels the drug trade and attendant violence in communities in the United States and Mexico. Banda, Carbajal, and Leal-Martinez are citizens of Mexico unlawfully present in the United States, says the detention motion, and thus a flight risk.
In the motion for detention, the government states that investigators found numerous wire transfers that were sent in alias sender names, as directed by another member of the drug-trafficking organization, through these businesses during January, February, May, and June 2022 totaling approximately $138,914. Investigators believe this represents a very small portion of the actual drug proceeds sent by this organization.
On June 22, 2022, federal agents with IRS-Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations executed search warrants for evidence of money laundering at La Bendicion 2 and Azteca Imports. A search warrant had previously been executed at Imagen Leal.
The superseding indictment, like the original indictment, charges Mexican nationals Jose Jesus Sanchez-Mendez, also known as “Michoacano,” 41, Jesus Morales-Garcia, also known as “Don Jesus,” 43, Luis Eduardo Pineda-Zarao, 26, Juan Bernardo Galeana-Aguilar, 45, Baltazar Flores-Norzagaray, also known as “Sinaloa,” 50, Rafael Perez-Esquivel, 51, Jose Eliazar Valle-Rivera, 39, Uziel Morales-Baltazar, 31, Erick Fernando Martinez Contreras, also known as “Alex,” 34, Joel Enrique Roman, also known as “Pelon,” 44, Miguel Angel Juarez-Lopez, also known as “Chapo,” 47, Jonathan Zuniga-Villafuerte, 30, Sergio Armando Valencia-Ochoa, 36, Juan Humberto Lemus-Mejia, 24, Yuliana Del Carmen Perez Ciprian, 38, Trinidad Torres-Meza, 41, Miriam Veronica Bustos-Martinez, 37, and Liliana Valencia-Mendoza, 40, addresses unknown; Flor Gonzalez-Celestine, 52, of Kansas City, Mo.; and Jose Bernabe Zamora-Cardenas, also known as “Mufa,” 52, of Kansas City, Kan.
The superseding indictment, like the original indictment, also charges Tina Marie Cruces, 36, Lisbet Espino, 24, Frank Anthony Valdivia, 43, Melissa A. Bates, 55, and Monica L. McCubbin, 39, all of Kansas City, Mo.; Santiago Raul Mendieta-Sanchez, 41, a citizen of Honduras residing in Kansas City, Mo., Jennifer S. Lawson, 35, of Buckner, Mo.; Felton Stone Jr., 45, Donald R. Moses, also known as “Moe,” 51, Felipe Antonio Alcala, 30, Anthony C. Hughes, 37, Maria Nancy Valdez, 32, Ignacio Barragan-Vazquez, 32, Yvonne Guzman-Carpio, also known as “Morena,” 39, Kongmhink Her, 41, addresses unknown; Marco Antonio Salazar, also known as “Tono,” 29, and Nelson Alirio Garcia-Guerra, 28, both citizens of Guatemala, addresses unknown; Arantxa Sabrina Valderrama-Barros, also known as “Sabri,” 25, a citizen of Venezuela, address unknown; and Daniel Felipe Suarez-Reinoso, 30, a citizen of Colombia, address unknown.
Sanchez-Mendez, Zamora-Cardenas, Valencia-Ochoa, Valencia-Mendoza and Suarez-Reinoso, who were charged in the money-laundering conspiracy in the original indictment, are likewise charged in the superseding indictment.
Sanchez-Mendez and Morales-Garcia are also charged with engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise related to the drug-trafficking and money-laundering conspiracies and other offenses alleged in the indictment. The indictment alleges Sanchez-Mendez and Morales-Garcia occupied a position of organizer, supervisor, or manager of the ongoing criminal enterprise, from which they obtained substantial income.
The federal indictment charges various defendants in various counts of distributing heroin and fentanyl, distributing methamphetamine, possessing methamphetamine and heroin with the intent to distribute, possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm, money laundering, reentry by an illegal alien, and using cell phones to facilitate drug-trafficking crimes.
The indictment also contains forfeiture allegations that would require the defendants to forfeit to the government $4,718,700, which represents the proceeds of the alleged drug-trafficking conspiracy and criminal enterprise. The indictment alleges the conspiracy involved the distribution of more than 335.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, with an average street price of $300 per ounce, and more than 22.1 kilograms of heroin, with an average street price of $1,500 per ounce.
The forfeiture allegations would also require the defendants to forfeit to the government $277,440 that was seized by law enforcement officers from a vehicle driven by Suarez-Reinoso and $114,863 that was seized by law enforcement officers while executing search warrants at four Kansas City, Mo., residences.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Byron H. Black, Patrick C. Edwards, and Mary Kate Butterfield. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Minnesota State Patrol, the Olmsted County, Minn., Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the FBI, the Clay County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (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.
KC Metro Strike Force
This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.
Parkville Man Sentenced for $335 Million Fraud, $615,000 Tax ViolationsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Parkville, Mo., man who was charged in two federal cases was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a $335 million scheme to defraud federal programs that award contracts to firms owned by minorities, veterans, and service-disabled veterans, and in a separate case to filing false tax returns that cheated the government out of more than $615,000 in taxes owed.
“This defendant pocketed millions of dollars in profits that should have gone to firms led by disabled veterans and minority owners,” said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. “He not only stole contracts from those firms, he cheated on his taxes and thus stole from honest citizens by not paying his fair share. Now he will go to prison and he will pay back every dollar gained through fraud and deception.”
Patrick Michael Dingle, 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to eight years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Dingle to forfeit to the government $4,659,061, which represents his profit from the scheme. The court also ordered Dingle to pay $615,847 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and $82,704 in restitution to the Missouri Department of Revenue.
“The defendant’s actions impacted small business owners and veterans, hindered economic welfare and undermined the public’s faith in programs intended to help those who need them. The Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service and our law enforcement partners are dedicated to protecting the integrity of the procurement process and holding violators accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Mentavlos, DCIS Southwest Field Office. “We take these matters seriously and will continue to aggressively investigate fraud and corruption allegations that impact the DoD.”
“Conspiring to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in government contracts from programs designed to benefit service-disabled veteran business owners steals opportunities from the deserving and lines the pockets of the greedy,” said Special Agent in Charge Gregory Billingsley with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Central Field Office. “The VA OIG thanks the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners for their joint efforts to achieve justice in this case.”
“Defrauding the government is never acceptable, especially when taking advantage of programs designed to assist those minorities and veterans most in need,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Miller. “IRS-CI is proud to partner in these investigations to keep egregious schemes like this at bay.”
On Sept. 13, 2021, Dingle pleaded guilty to the charges contained in both federal cases. Dingle pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and major program fraud. Dingle also pleaded guilty, in a separate case, to one count of filing a false tax return.
$335 Million Fraud Conspiracy
Dingle admitted that he conspired with Matthew C. McPherson, 46, of Olathe, Kansas, to fraudulently obtain contracts set aside by the federal government for award to small businesses owned and controlled by veterans, service-disabled veterans and certified minorities.
Dingle was the operations manager for Zieson Construction Company located in North Kansas City, Mo. Dingle and his co-conspirators controlled and operated Zieson, which was originally formed in 2009 with Stephon Ziegler, 61, of Weatherby Lake – an African-American service-disabled veteran – as the nominal owner. Zieson’s primary business was obtaining federal construction contracts set aside for award to small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans or certified minorities. However, Ziegler did not control the day-to-day operations or the long-term decision making of Zieson. Dingle and his co-conspirators actually controlled and operated Zieson, and received most of the profits from Zieson.
Ziegler signed Zieson checks when requested to do so, signed bids for government jobs when requested to do so and served as a courier of checks and invoices when requested to do so. Ziegler did not participate in any way in the management and control of either day-to-day operations or long-term decision-making for Zieson.
Dingle and McPherson were not eligible for these set-aside contracts because they were not certified minorities or veterans. Although Zieson was not eligible, the firm received approximately 199 federal contracts set aside for award to minority-owned small businesses and veteran-owned small businesses between 2009 and 2018. The government paid Zieson approximately $335 million for those contracts, for which conspirators gained approximately $15 million in profit. Several of the set-aside contracts awarded to Zieson were valued in excess of $1 million, including a contract at Topeka, Kan., awarded on July 13, 2012, valued at approximately $4,125,800.
Dingle, McPherson, and others submitted false and fraudulent Past Performance Questionnaires in support of Zieson bids for set aside contracts.
McPherson was sentenced on Jan. 5, 2022, to two years and four months in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and major program fraud. He was ordered to forfeit to the government $5,516,786, which represents his share of the fraud proceeds.
Ziegler was sentenced on May 12, 2022, to 12 months in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to making a false statement to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
False Tax Returns
Dingle also pleaded guilty, in a separate case, to filing a false tax return. Dingle admitted that he claimed $799,425 in fraudulent business expenses on his tax return for 2016. As a result of the false and fraudulent expenses offset on Dingle’s 2016 tax return, the government suffered a loss of approximately $349,784.
Dingle also admitted that he filed false tax returns over a four-year period from 2013 to 2016, which resulted in a total loss to the government of $615,847.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul S. Becker and Stacey Perkins Rock. It was investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General; the Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. General Services Administration, Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General; the Army Criminal Investigation Command, Major Procurement Fraud Unit; the Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General; IRS-Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Secret Service; the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Procurement Fraud; the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; the Defense Contract Audit Agency - Operations Investigative Support (OIS); the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).
Physician Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements for More Than 2,000 Medicare, Medicaid PatientsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Joplin, Mo., physician pleaded guilty in federal court today to falsely certifying that products and tests were medically necessary for more than 2,000 Medicare and Medicaid patients in Missouri whom he never met or examined.
“This physician violated his oath and abused his trusted position to support a fraud scheme that cost taxpayers millions of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. “He will be held accountable for the specific and essential role he played in the deceit as the larger investigation into other aspects of this criminal scheme unfolds in other courtrooms across the nation.”
Oluwatobi Alabi Yerokun, 36, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to one count of conspiracy to make false statements related to health care matters.
“Physicians who submit false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for their own financial gain undermine the economy and integrity of federal health care programs,” said Curt L. Muller, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that bad actors are held accountable for their health care fraud schemes.”
From February 2019 to April 2021, certain individuals and entities – including marketing, physician recruiting, and telemedicine companies – developed a scheme that targeted the Medicare and Medicaid programs to obtain millions of dollars in reimbursements from those programs.
Yerokun, a physician who practiced medicine in the state of Missouri, among other places, contracted with a staffing company to work as a telemedicine provider. The firm, identified in court documents as Company A, gave Yerokun access to electronic portals so that he could receive information about the patients assigned to him. Yerokun reviewed the information and electronically signed the patient forms and orders he received from Company A.
By pleading guilty today, Yerokun admitted that he signed the patient forms and certified that durable medical equipment or genetic tests were medically necessary. For the genetic tests, he also signed a separate letter of medical necessity. Yerokun knew that his orders would be used to submit claims for payments to Medicare and Medicaid, which paid claims submitted by the durable medical equipment companies and testing laboratories.
Yerokun had no doctor-patient relationship with the Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries for whom he signed orders and certified medical necessity. He did not see or communicate with any of them. Before Yerokun signed the orders, he made little effort to find out how or from whom the patient information was obtained, who collected the information, the qualifications of any person gathering or providing the information, or whether the information was accurate and complete. Yerokun provided no follow-up care for these patients after he signed the orders for them to receive durable medical equipment or genetic testing.
By knowingly and willfully electronically signing the orders, Yerokun made false and fraudulent statements and documents certifying medical necessity. The statements and documents were false because, among other things, Yerokun did not have adequate information to assess medical necessity for the beneficiaries.
Yerokun rarely, if ever, declined to sign any orders he received from Company A. For many or most of the patients, less than a minute elapsed between when Yerokun accessed the patient’s information through the electronic portal and when he signed the order for durable medical equipment or genetic testing. Accordingly, he knew his false and fraudulent statements and documents were untrue when he made them.
The orders that Yerokun signed were submitted to durable medical equipment companies and clinical testing laboratories, many of whom paid illegal kickbacks to individuals and entities unknown to Yerokun.
Yerokun ordered durable medical equipment and genetic tests for 2,184 Medicare beneficiaries between March 2019 and April 2021. Company A paid Yerokun approximately $20 for each order that he signed, for a total of $44,860.
The orders that Yerokun signed for durable medical equipment for Medicare beneficiaries caused Medicare to be billed more than $6.2 million, and Medicare actually paid those companies almost $3.1 million.
The orders that Yerokum signed for genetic testing for Medicaid beneficiaries caused Medicaid to be billed more than $2.5 million by the laboratories, and Medicaid actually paid those companies almost $525,000.
Under federal statutes, Yerokun is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cindi Woolery. It was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Missouri Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Marshfield Sex Offender Sentenced to 15 Years for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Marshfield, Mo., man who is a registered sex offender was sentenced in federal court today for downloading child pornography to his cell phone.
Michael Ray Jones, 60, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Jones to serve 10 years on supervised release following incarceration. Jones has a prior conviction for possessing child pornography.
On Oct. 12, 2021, Jones pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography. Jones admitted that he used his cell phone to access and download child pornography.
Jones was stopped by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper on U.S. Highway 60 in Webster County, Mo., on July 28, 2020, because the Ford F-150 he was driving had expired license plates. During the stop, Jones showed his cell phone to the trooper, which included multiple images in a photo gallery, and the trooper realized that some of the images were child pornography. During a forensic examination of Jones’s cell phone, investigators found numerous images of child pornography.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
KC Man Sentenced to 18 Years for Meth Conspiracy, Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a nearly $10 million conspiracy to distribute almost 1,000 kilograms of methamphetamine.
Jesus Banuelos, 23, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 18 years and nine months in federal prison without parole.
On Aug. 23, 2021, Banuelos pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, one count of distributing methamphetamine, and one count of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm.
Banuelos admitted that he was responsible for the distribution of at least 436.19 grams of pure methamphetamine. Banuelos was involved in the sale of approximately half a pound of methamphetamine to a confidential human source on two occasions in April and May 2019. When Banuelos was arrested during a traffic stop on May 8, 2019, Kansas City police officers could smell the odor of marijuana emanating from the driver’s side window of his vehicle and saw marijuana roaches in the ash tray in plain view. Officers searched his vehicle and found a Glock 9mm handgun. Banuelos told officers he used marijuana three or four days a week.
The court also ordered Banuelos to forfeit to the government $23,974, which represents the proceeds of illegal drug trafficking. Banuelos admitted that he sold 436.19 grams of pure methamphetamine at a price of $2,300 per half pound. The court also held Banuelos responsible for trafficking an additional approximately 1.9 kilograms of methamphetamine, for a total of almost 2.4 kilograms (about 5.2 pounds) of methamphetamine. At $2,300 per half pound, this results in a total amount of $23,974.
At the time of this federal offense, Banuelos was on state probation for stealing an Olympic Arms AR-15 from a pawn shop.
Banuelos admitted he was part of the drug-trafficking organization led by Mirza Alihodzic, 36, of Kansas City, Mo., who pleaded guilty on July 18, 2022, and awaits sentencing. Alihodzic acknowledged that he was responsible for the distribution of at least 45 kilograms of methamphetamine during the conspiracy, which lasted from Sept. 1, 2018, to Nov. 5, 2019.
Banuelos is among five defendants who have been sentenced in this case. Additionally, 13 co-defendants have pleaded guilty, and await sentencing, in two separate indictments that resulted from this investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley K. Kavanaugh and Sean T. Foley and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Bradshaw. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the FBI, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Mid-Missouri Drug Task Force.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, and local law enforcement to specifically identify criminals responsible for significant violent crime in the Western District of Missouri. A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods is an evidence-based program that identifies the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develops comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, Project Safe Neighborhoods focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
KC Man Sentenced to 17 Years for Secretly Recording Child VictimRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for secretly video recording a 14-year-old victim in the victim’s bedroom.
Jonathan Rodger Nelson, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 17 years and six months in federal prison without parole.
On Nov. 2, 2021, Nelson pleaded guilty to one count of the attempted production of child pornography. Nelson admitted that he placed a camera, hidden in an alarm clock, in the child victim’s bedroom to secretly record the victim.
The investigation began on March 30, 2018, when a reporting party told police officers she looked at Nelson’s cell phone and saw what appeared to be video footage of the child victim’s bedroom. The reporting party then found a camera hidden in an alarm clock that Nelson had purchased online and placed in the bedroom several weeks before.
During a forensic examination of Nelson’s computer hard drive, investigators found more than 400 video and graphics files from the hidden camera. Investigators also found approximately 85 files from various livestream apps in which Nelson asked females of various ages, including children, to perform certain acts while on camera. For example, Nelson recorded his interaction with a minor female in which he promised her a phone and makeup to undress and engage in sexually explicit behavior.
Additionally, other images or videos of child pornography were found on Nelson’s devices. Nelson admitted using peer-to-peer software to download child pornography, including children as young as seven or eight years old. He admitted to looking for chat groups sharing child pornography.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison D. Dunning. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Florida Man Pleads Guilty to $223,000 Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Homosassa, Florida man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a $223,000 money-laundering conspiracy, which was part of an email hacking scheme that targeted a program at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., as well as victims in Tennessee and Idaho.
Franklin D. Huggins, 54, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Huggins admitted that he participated in a money-laundering conspiracy related to a $223,427 wire fraud scheme from Jan. 1, 2017, to Jan. 28, 2019. Huggins’s co-conspirators targeted Fort Leonard Wood and two businesses through a business email compromise scheme. In a business email compromise scheme, conspirators hack into a business email account, then send an email from what appears to be an employee of the business, instructing that money be sent to certain bank accounts.
Conspirators sent emails to individuals associated with businesses in an attempt to gain unlawful access to business email accounts. After hacking the email accounts, conspirators then utilized the business email accounts to portray themselves as those businesses and individuals. Under such assumed identities, conspirators engaged in what seemed to be normal financial transactions with other victim businesses, individuals, and entities, requesting money for certain purposes. These victims, believing they were conducting business with the real individuals, sent money to the conspirators based upon those false representations.
Huggins received the victims’ money in one of his own bank accounts. He withdrew cash, used the proceeds for his own personal benefit, and transferred the money to other individuals or entities, for purposes other than what was represented to the victims.
Huggins and his co-conspirators stole $164,568 from the Fort Leonard Wood branch of the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation. Conspirators hacked the email of an Illinois business that provided charter bus services then sent emails to Fort Leonard Wood purportedly from the business, which provides transportation for military service members during the winter holidays – including round-trip bus transportation to airports for military service members to be with their families during the holidays.
Huggins and his co-conspirators also stole $9,000 from an individual in Tennessee, and stole $49,859 from a business in Idaho.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Huggins must forfeit to the government a money judgment of $223,427.
By pleading guilty today, Huggins admitted that he conducted a financial transaction in excess of $10,000 in value, through a financial institution, that involved the proceeds of wire fraud, knowing that the transaction was designed in part to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the proceeds. Huggins admitted that, while conducting the financial transaction, he knew the proceeds were of some form of unlawful activity.
Under federal statutes, Huggins is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.
This case is part of the Department of Justice’s Money Mule Initiative. The Money Mule Initiative targets networks of individuals through which international fraudsters obtain proceeds of fraud schemes. These individuals, sometimes referred to as money mules, receive money from fraud victims and forward the illicit funds, often to overseas perpetrators. By receiving and transferring illicit funds, money mules facilitate a wide range of fraud schemes, including those that often predominately impact older Americans — like romance scams and lottery fraud — and those that target companies through business email compromise schemes.
More information about money mules is available at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch/money-mule-initiative.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark. It was investigated by the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, the Citrus County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office, and the Belle Meade, Tenn., Police Department.
Jury Convicts Four Members of KC Street Gang of Drug-Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Four Kansas City, Mo., men who were part of 246, a violent street gang, were convicted by a federal jury for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy.
Ladele D. Smith, also known as “Dellio” and “Dog,” 35; David J. Duncan, IV, also known as “Deej” or “DJ,” 33; Roy Franklin, Jr., 31; and Gary O. Toombs, 42, were found guilty of participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine, oxycodone, and marijuana from Jan. 1, 2011, to Oct. 1, 2019. Smith, Duncan, and Franklin were also convicted of multiple counts that charged them with various drug-trafficking and firearms crimes, to include drive-by shooting and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Toombs was convicted of multiple counts that charged him with various drug-trafficking and firearms crimes as well.
The investigation into the 246 street gang, operating in the Kansas City metropolitan area, began in June 2017. The gang is an alliance of gang members from the 24th, 43rd, and 68th streets of Kansas City, Mo. Smith was identified as a leader of the gang, and Duncan, Franklin and Toombs as members of the gang.
Smith and Duncan are local rap artists who often posted to social media platforms, such as YouTube, with references to the 246 gang. In some of the videos, Smith and others show firearms and large amounts of cash. The social media posts also portrayed Smith and others wearing expensive jewelry, watches, hats, clothing and plate carrying vests that depicted 246 gang affiliation.
Members of the 246 gang used a residence in the 4400 block of Kensington, which is within 1,000 feet of George Washington Carver Dual Language School, a public elementary school, for gang and drug-trafficking business. No one utilized the house as a primary or permanent residence. On Oct. 2, 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the house and seized heroin as well as two assault rifles and a stolen vehicle that had been used in a drive-by shooting. Officers also found a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a Century Arms International 7.62x39mm pistol under the couch in the living room and a Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol on the kitchen cabinet.
Smith was arrested at his apartment on Oct 2, 2019. Officers searched his residence and found codeine, $31,601 in cash, and jewelry valued at over $40,000.
Duncan was also arrested at his apartment on Oct. 2, 2019. Officers searched his residence and found a Zastava 7.62 x 39mm rifle, a Norinco 7.62 x 39mm rifle, a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol, two loaded rifle magazines, and a loaded handgun magazine under the bed in a bedroom. Officers found $7,100 in cash and four bags of pills that contained oxycodone in the living room.
Smith, Franklin and Toombs also were found guilty of participating in a conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Smith also was found guilty of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, one count of distributing marijuana, one count of distributing marijuana near a school (within 1,000 feet of George Washington Carver Dual Language School), four counts of distributing heroin, and four counts of distributing heroin near a school (within 1,000 feet of George Washington Carver Dual Language School).
Franklin also was found guilty of two counts of distributing marijuana and two counts of distributing marijuana near a school (within 1,000 feet of George Washington Carver Dual Language School).
Duncan also was found guilty of possessing oxycodone the intent to distribute, one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and five counts of money laundering related to the purchases of money orders with drug-trafficking proceeds.
Toombs also was found guilty of maintaining a residence for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, and using controlled substances.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for about six hours over two days before returning guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, ending a trial that began Aug. 29, 2022.
Eleven co-defendants in this case have pleaded guilty and been sentenced.
Sirrico L. Franklin, 31, of Raytown, Mo., was sentenced on May 31, 2022, to five years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Terrance Garner, 36, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced on June 21, 2022, to 10 years in federal prison without parole. Joshua Marchbanks, 32, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced on May 24, 2022, to three years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. Carleeon D. Lockett, 30, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced on May 31, 2022, to six years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Kenneth D. Scott, 26, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced on March 24, 2021, to three years and six months in federal prison without parole. Cordell Edwards, 34, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced on March 7, 2022, to five years in federal prison without parole. Michael E. Sims, 36, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced on June 28, 2022, to five years and five months in federal prison without parole. Cordarrel L. Scott, 36, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced on Dec. 15, 2020, to 18 months in federal prison without parole. Marco R. Maddox, 38, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced on May 27, 2022, to three years and five months in federal prison without parole. Cornelius Phelps, 36, of Lee’s Summit, Mo., was sentenced on April 27, 2022, to three years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. Herman G. Bell, 67, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced on June 22, 2022, to three years of probation.
Co-defendant Martin C. Garner, 35, of St. Louis, Mo., pleaded guilty on May 26, 2022, to his role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy and awaits sentencing.
Under federal statutes, Smith, Duncan, Franklin and Toombs each are subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashleigh Ragner, Mary Kate Butterfield and Ben Hurst. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
KC Metro Strike Force
This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.
Jefferson City Man Indicted in $27.1 Million Dollar Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Jefferson City man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for a more than $27.1 million fraud scheme that included more than $12.4 million in PPP loans for four businesses, as well as a fraudulent loan for a development in Indiana.
Tod Ray Keilholz, 59, was charged in a 52-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City on Wednesday, Sept. 14. That indictment was unsealed and made public today after Keilholz was arrested without incident at his home.
Keilholz remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Sept. 20, 2022. The court granted the government’s motion for a detention hearing, which cited evidence that Keilholz posed serious risks of flight and obstruction of justice, as well as a threat to the safety of other persons and the community.
The federal indictment charges Keilholz with eight counts of bank fraud, six counts of making false statements to a financial institution, and four counts of making false statements to the Small Business Administration. These charges are related to four fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans and a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme related to a development in Valparaiso, Indiana.
The indictment also charges Keilholz with 24 counts of money laundering related to financial transactions of funds derived from his bank fraud scheme, and with 10 counts of aggravated identity theft related to the use of other people’s identities during the commission of his bank fraud scheme.
On March 27, 2020, The CARES Act established several new temporary programs and provided for the expansion of others to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these programs, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) authorized forgivable loans to small businesses to retain workers and maintain payroll, make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments.
Keilholz was the sole owner of TRK Construction, LLC, TRK Valpo, LLC, TL Builders, LLC, and Project Design, LLC.
According to the indictment, Keilholz received a total of $12,430,932 in PPP loans for his four businesses. In each of those loan applications, the indictment says, Keilholz failed to disclose his ownership in the other three businesses, and made materially false and fraudulent claims in the loan applications and supporting documentation. Keilholz allegedly inflated the income of those businesses and claimed payrolls for employees who did not exist or no longer worked for him. Additionally, the indictment says, Keilholz applied for a $7,818,705 PPP loan for TRK Valpo but the loan was denied by the bank.
Keilholz received a $1,706,260 PPP loan for TRK Construction, a $3,618,815 PPP loan for TL Builders, a $3,903,857 PPP loan for Project Design, and a $3,202,000 PPP loan for TRK Valpo.
Keilholz also applied for second round PPP loans for TRK Construction, TL Builders, and Project Design. Each loan was rejected by the bank. Each loan would have been limited to $2 million based on each application.
Keilholz allegedly used PPP loan proceeds for unauthorized purposes other than legitimate payroll, lease and mortgage interest, and utilities as required by the PPP. Keilholz, through TRK Construction, had accrued substantial and delinquent indebtedness to a number of lenders, the indictment says, and all or part of these debts were satisfied by PPP loan proceeds.
The indictment also alleges that Keilholz identified his wife as an employee of TRK Construction, TRK Valpo, and Project Design, while she worked as a full-time employee of the state of Missouri as a budget analyst. Between May and December 2020, Keilholz’s wife received a total of $325,000 from TRK Construction, TRK Valpo, and Project Design funded with PPP loan proceeds.
In addition to the four fraudulent PPP loans, the indictment alleges that the fraud scheme included $3,526,771 in a loan and line of credit related to a development in Valparaiso.
According to the indictment, Keilholz signed a promissory note with Hawthorn Bank in 2017 for $550,000 for TRK Valpo, which financed the purchase of and was secured by the real property in Valparaiso. Keilholz signed another promissory note, for more than $1 million, in 2018 for TRK Construction as a line of credit secured by the Valparaiso property. This line of credit was ultimately increased to $2 million. Keilholz signed another promissory note for $976,771 for TRK Construction as a line of credit in 2018, which was secured by the Valparaiso property and two properties in Jefferson City.
On Feb. 7, 2020, the Hawthorn Bank loan officer responsible for those loans wrote a memorandum to those loan files that stated, in part, that Keilholz “needed to bring the loans current and demonstrate that the project remains viable or the bank would move forward with aggressive collection or liquidation of collateral.” Hawthorn Bank entered into a forbearance agreement with TRK Construction and TRK Valpo, and with Keilholz and his wife as guarantors of the three of those loans, on April 28, 2020.
On July 3, 2020, Keilholz allegedly used PPP loan funds to purchase a $3,302,830 cashier’s check, which was applied to the outstanding balances on the Hawthorn Bank loans.
The indictment alleges that Keilholz provided materially false information to Hawthorn Bank to obtain loans, loan extensions, loan renewals, and loan forbearance. Keilholz allegedly provided Hawthorn Bank with an insufficient funds check for payment of interest on loans.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Keilholz to forfeit to the government any property involved in, or derived from the proceeds of, the alleged offenses, including five properties in Jefferson City, one property in Valparaiso, one property in La Porte, Ind., six vehicles (a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado, a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe, two 2021 Chevrolet Silverados, a 2019 BMW X5, and a 2017 Ford F250 Lariat), a 2020 John Deer ZTrak, a 2020 John Deere Tractor, a Kubota Compact Track Loader, two utility trailers and two enclosed cargo trailers.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Inspector General; the Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General; the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; the FBI; and IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Nixa Physician Sentenced after Taking Bribes from Drug ManufacturerRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Nixa, Mo., physician was sentenced in federal court today after taking bribes from a drug manufacturer in exchange for prescribing its fentanyl drug to his patients so often that he ranked highest in the state in net sales of the product.
Randall Halley, 65, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to one year and one day in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Halley to pay $400,565 in restitution to Medicare and to pay a fine of $150,000.
On Dec. 7, 2021, Halley pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to Medicare to obtain insurance coverage for a fentanyl prescription and to one count of conspiracy to use his DEA registration number for his employees to issue Schedule II controlled substances to patients in his absence.
Halley, a licensed physician, was employed by Ozark Community Hospital - Christian County Clinic in Nixa from 2004 to June 2019. He also was employed by several area skilled nursing facilities and residential care facilities.
According to court documents, Halley was only present at the Nixa practice, at most, two days of each week, as he was paid to provide care at several area nursing homes and regularly accepted additional money to travel and speak on behalf of pharmaceutical companies. One of the pharmaceutical companies he agreed to speak for was Insys, which produced a fentanyl medication, Subsys, that Medicare only approved for active cancer patients who were currently suffering from breakthrough cancer pain.
Halley accepted bribes from Insys in exchange for prescribing Subsys to his patients. Halley’s participation in Insys’s speakers program was a front designed to conceal the bribes Insys paid to Halley and other doctors. As long as Halley continued to prescribe Subsys, to increasing numbers of patients and in increasing dosages, Insys paid him to speak for them, increasing his compensation over time due to his prescriptions. There was a direct correlation between Insys’s payments to Halley and his issued Subsys prescriptions.
Halley had the highest net sales of Subsys of any physician in the state of Missouri and ranked 38th in the United States at one time. Altogether, Insys paid Halley $92,225 in bribes during their relationship.
The sham nature of this program was exhibited by the fact that Insys paid him for a program he never attended and labeled him as a “National” speaker at a higher payment rate despite the fact he only twice traveled outside the state of Missouri to speak for Insys, to neighboring Arkansas and Illinois. After the program Halley did not attend, he signed a sheet affirming that he attended and spoke at the program when, in fact, he had not. This led to Insys paying him $2,400 for the program.
Halley made false statements on pre-approval forms to ensure Medicare coverage of the expensive drug for these patients.
Halley also conspired with his employees at the clinic to use his registration number so they could provide prescription medication in his absence. Despite Halley’s absence at his clinic on three days of the week, and sometimes more due to his Insys travel, he directed clinic employees to continue scheduling patient visits on those days. Some of these patient visits were conducted by employees of the clinic who could not legally prescribe Schedule II controlled substances. Halley directed them to write out prescriptions several days ahead of these office visits and he would pre-sign these prescriptions. Then, when the patient came into the clinic for their office visit, the employees would conduct the visit and issue the pre-signed prescriptions, all without Halley conducting an examination of the patient.
Former employees Nga A. Nguyen, 43, and Susan G. Morris, 64, both of Springfield, and Amber N. Moeschler, 39, of Ozark, Mo., have pleaded guilty and await sentencing for illegally using Halley’s DEA registration number in connection with the distribution of a controlled substance. Former employee Kimberly G. Hoffer, 50, awaits trial in December for related charges.
Halley disregarded the dangerousness of Subsys. Fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin. It is a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the United States. The drug is so dangerous that all prescribers and patients who prescribe and receive Subsys must participate in the government-mandated Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy program, involving education, the prescriber’s contractual commitment to mandatory prescribing rules, and compulsory patient disclosures.
Numerous patients received dangerous fentanyl medication they did not need, nor did they qualify for under Medicare, and Medicare was defrauded out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. In his plea agreement, Halley specifically admitted that he prescribed Subsys to a patient and submitted a request to Medicare for payment coverage of the prescription, falsely stating that the patient had a diagnosis of cancer. Halley knew that the patient did not have a diagnosis of cancer at that time, and was not being treated for breakthrough cancer-related pain – two conditions that Medicare required for payment coverage of Subsys. Due to Halley’s false statement, Medicare paid a total of $11,945 to cover the patient’s prescription and subsequent Subsys prescriptions. Halley committed similar conduct with additional payments, leading Medicare to pay hundreds of thousands of more dollars for Subsys prescriptions.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey Clark and Nhan D. Nguyen. It was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Ash Grove Woman Sentenced for $1.3 Million Theft, Tax SchemeRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – An Ash Grove, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for a wire fraud scheme in which she embezzled more than $362,000 from her Springfield, Mo., employer and failed to pay nearly $1 million in business payroll taxes and personal income taxes.
Carrie Leigh Long, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to three years and five months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Long to pay $1,329,440 in restitution -- $362,175 to her employer and $1,071,802 to the IRS. The court also ordered Long to forfeit to the government $362,175.
On April 25, 2022, Long pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of failure to pay over employment taxes.
Long was employed by Executive Coach Builders, Inc. to provide in-house accounting services to the company and to Executive Bus Builders, Inc. The companies are headquartered in Springfield but do business worldwide with factories and sales offices in Missouri and California. The companies build luxury buses, coaches, and limousines. Long was hired in April 2014.
Long admitted that she stole at least $362,175 from the companies from February 2016 to September 2020. Long also admitted that she failed to pay approximately $902,226 of employment taxes the companies owed to the IRS. By not making these payments, Long created a pool of funds in the companies’ bank accounts from which she continued her embezzlement scheme.
Long used her position as an in-house accountant for the companies, and her access to the companies’ check stock, to regularly write checks against the companies’ bank accounts for unauthorized payments to herself. Long stole money from the companies by filling in unauthorized amounts on some pre-signed checks and making such checks payable to herself. Long also stole money from the companies by forging signatures on the companies’ checks, filling in unauthorized amounts on the checks, and making such checks payable to herself.
According to court documents, Long stole from the companies at least 198 times. When the companies’ owner confronted her with evidence that she had stolen from the companies and that she had not paid over the companies’ employment taxes, she continued to lie to him, forcing him to hire an accounting firm to investigate.
As part of the scheme, Long did not claim the unauthorized payments as personal income on her individual income tax returns from 2016 through 2020. This resulted in a loss to the IRS of $65,039.
Beginning in April 2019, Long ceased to make regular payments to the IRS for the employment taxes the companies owed the IRS. Long concealed her actions from company officials by altering the companies’ bank account statements and misrepresenting on her financial reports that the payments had been made. Long caused the companies to fail to pay over to the IRS approximately $902,226 of taxes (including both the employer portion and the funds withheld from the companies’ employees’ paychecks) owed to the IRS for two quarters of 2019 and one quarter of 2020.
When an agent from the Internal Revenue Service attempted to collect those delinquent tax payments, Long falsely claimed they had been paid and provided forged bank account statements.
According to court documents, Long was convicted in state court of similar conduct with a previous employer and was still on probation for that crime at the time of this federal offense. On Oct. 21, 2013, she pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court of Laclede County, Mo., to stealing more than $88,000 from a client of her then-accounting firm employer. As in this federal case, she stole by forging checks made payable to herself and endorsed in her own name against the victim’s bank account. Long received a suspended five-year sentence, was ordered to serve 90 days shock time, placed on probation for five years, and ordered to pay restitution to her victim within 30 days of her sentencing.
Long’s mother actually paid her court-ordered restitution on her behalf in the state case. Long used the money she stole from the companies in this scheme to pay her mother back for the prior victims’ restitution payment.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Kempf. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI.
Jefferson City Man Sentenced for Meth Trafficking, Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Jefferson City man was sentenced in federal court today for drug trafficking and illegally possessing a firearm.
Mark Allan Moots, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
On April 19, 2022, Moots pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Jefferson City police officers executed a search warrant at Moots’s residence on June 26, 2020. Moots, who was arrested, was found attempting to hide in a bathroom shower. Officers found a loaded .410 Mossberg shotgun and .8 grams of methamphetamine in the dining room. Officers also found a backpack in the living room that contained 177 grams of pure methamphetamine and a loaded Ruger .380-caliber handgun. Officers found 2.4 grams of methamphetamine in the pocket of a pair of shorts in the laundry room and approximately 576 grams of packaged marijuana in the bedroom.
According to court documents, Moots has an extensive criminal history that includes numerous felony drug convictions and a conviction for a firearm offense.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Columbia Sex Offender Sentenced to 20 Years for Sending Obscenity to a MinorRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Columbia man who is a registered sex offender was sentenced in federal court today for sending obscenity to a minor over Skype.
Matthew Ray Stone, 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 20 years in federal prison without parole.
Stone is required to register as a sex offender following his military court martial in 2001 for sodomy with a child, indecent acts or liberties with a child, and possession of child pornography. He was also convicted in state court in 2015 of possessing child pornography and failing to register as a sex offender.
On Feb. 17, 2022, Stone pleaded guilty to one count of transferring obscene materials to a minor and to an additional count of committing the offense as a registered sex offender.
The investigation began when a Boone County sheriff’s detective received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Stone had uploaded an image of child pornography to his Skype account. A search warrant was executed at Stone’s residence and officers found Stone’s laptop computer was currently logged into his Skype account. A computer forensic examiner located Skype conversations in which Stone discussed sexual fantasies involving children.
Stone acknowledged he did not report his Skype account as required by his sex offender registration. Officers seized Stone’s electronic devices and investigators discovered several chat conversations that were sexually explicit, including conversations with juveniles. Stone admitted that he sent sexually explicit images of himself to a minor via Skype, and discussed the minor running away from home and staying with him. Stone also possessed child erotica and child pornography depicting children as young as infants and toddlers.
Stone was arrested and convicted in state court of possessing child pornography and failing to register as a sex offender. He was judged to be a sexually violent predator and involuntarily civilly committed within the Missouri Department of Mental Health for treatment. Stone will be subject to federal incarceration upon his release from the Sex Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment program.
According to court documents, Stone was dishonorably discharged from the United States Air Force on July 1, 2008, following his 2001 court martial and incarceration. While an enlisted member of the Air Force, he had been involved with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. When Stone turned in his military-assigned computer, it contained 44 images of child pornography and more than 900 pages of email communications containing sexually explicit stories that involved young boys. At least four children were identified as victims of Stone’s sexual abuse.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the FBI.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Carthage Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual ExploitationRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Carthage man pleaded guilty in federal court today to sexually exploiting a child from Michigan whom he met online.
Charles Ward Kuentzel, 26, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of the sexual exploitation of a child.
By pleading guilty today, Kuentzel admitted that he used a child victim to produce child pornography from Sept. 1, 2020, to April 21, 2021.
According to today’s plea agreement, the mother of the child victim, identified in court documents as Jane Doe 1, contacted law enforcement in Michigan because her daughter was in an inappropriate online relationship with an adult man. The child victim told investigators she met Kuentzel in a public Discord game server, through which they communicated. FBI agents in in the Detroit division were able to identify Kuentzel in the online chats, in which Kuentzel and the child victim sent one another sexually explicit images of themselves. Kuentzel engaged in video chats and sexual conversations with the victim.
Officers executed a search warrant at Kuentzel’s residence on Aug. 26, 2021, and seized his cell phone and microSD card. Numerous images of the child victim, including child pornography, were found on the cell phone and the microSD card.
During the forensic examination, investigators also found several sexually explicit images of another child victim, identified in court documents as Jane Doe 2. She told investigators she was 14 years old when she met Kuentzel on Omegle, and they communicated through the Snapchat and Kik applications. Kuentzel requested nude images from Jane Doe 2, which she provided.
Under federal statutes, Kuentzel is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 30 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the FBI, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the Canton, Mich., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
California Man Sentenced for ‘Extraordinary Quantity’ of MethRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A California man was sentenced in federal court today for transporting what court documents describe as “an extraordinary quantity of methamphetamine” in a borrowed car as he traveled from California through Missouri.
Johnny Jordan Thompson, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Thompson was sentenced as a career offender due to his prior felony convictions.
On Dec. 21, 2021, Thompson pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Thompson admitted that he was transporting approximately 28 pounds of methamphetamine in the vehicle he was driving when he was pulled over by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper on Sept. 12, 2019.
The trooper stopped Thompson, who was driving a loaned vehicle from a dealership in Ontario, Calif., on Interstate 70 in Cooper County. The trooper searched the vehicle and found 11 packages of methamphetamine, which weighed approximately 20 pounds (8.87 kilograms), in the trunk. Another approximately eight pounds (almost 3.3 kilograms) of methamphetamine was later found hidden under the carpet of the passenger floorboard.
According to court documents, Thompson has spent most of the past 20 years in prison on offenses ranging from vehicle theft to armed bank robbery to, most recently, attempted murder (after he was hired to kill someone). He was discharged from parole in the attempted murder case in California in December 2018 and committed this federal offense less than a year later.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren E. Kummerer. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Three Defendants Sentenced for $2.1 Million Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Mexican nationals and a St. Joseph man were sentenced in federal court today for their roles in a $2.1 million conspiracy that distributed more than 100 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Kansas City metropolitan area and in northwest Missouri.
Juan Guzman, also known as Daniel Solorio and as “Flaco,” 41, of Kansas City, Mo., and Maria De La Cruz Nava, 26, of Kansas City, Kan., both citizens of Mexico, and John Paul Gnat, 32, of St. Joseph, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes. Guzman was sentenced to 26 years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Nava was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Gnat was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison without parole.
Guzman and Nava were found guilty at trial on Nov. 9, 2021, of participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and in a money-laundering conspiracy over a nearly four-year period from Jan. 1, 2015, to Nov. 14, 2018. In addition to the conspiracies, Guzman and Nava were found guilty of possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. Guzman was also found guilty of illegally reentering the United States after having been deported.
Guzman was the supplier for the drug-trafficking conspiracy, selling multiple kilograms of methamphetamine on a regular basis, sometimes daily, to multiple co-conspirators who then distributed methamphetamine to others. Guzman also involved others in storing methamphetamine. The jury found Nava assisted Guzman in his drug trafficking and money laundering activities.
The court found Guzman directly responsible for the distribution of at least 45 kilograms of methamphetamine. Based on a street price of $600 per ounce, the court ordered Guzman to forfeit to the government $954,000, which represents the proceeds of illegal drug trafficking. The court also ordered Nava to forfeit to the government $15,000.
Guzman, Nava, and several others were arrested at Guzman’s residence on Oct. 18, 2018. At the time of their arrest, officers seized two rifles, five handguns (one with an extended drum magazine), ammunition, 688 grams of methamphetamine, cash, and drug paraphernalia – including drug ledgers and drug packaging – from Guzman’s residence.
Gnat pleaded guilty on June 17, 2020, to his role in the drug-trafficking and money-laundering conspiracies. Gnat admitted that he supplied methamphetamine to several individuals on a daily basis, sometimes pound quantities twice a day, for several months.
Co-defendant Luis Carlos Ramos Caraveo, 27, a citizen of Mexico residing in Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced on July 1, 2022, to 16 years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Co-defendant Jacob Dale Walsh, 36, of Denton, Kan., was sentenced on Sept. 1, 2022, to 13 years and seven months in federal prison without parole.
Co-defendants Chanthacone Senthavy, 48, a citizen of Laos residing in Independence, Mo., and Christopher Shawn Sharp, 44, of St. Joseph, each have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Bruce Rhoades and Robert M. Smith. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Buchanan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force, Midwest HIDTA, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the FBI.
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (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.
Springfield Man, Woman Sentenced for Sex Trafficking a ChildRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield man and woman were sentenced in federal court today for the sex trafficking of a child.
Joseph W. Gibson, 43, and Danna Marie Rodriguez, 37, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes. Gibson was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison without parole, followed by 25 years of supervised release. Rodriguez was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole, followed by 25 years of supervised release.
Gibson and Rodriguez each pleaded guilty to one count of the sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of the sex trafficking of a minor.
Gibson and Rodriguez admitted they sex trafficked a 15-year-old female, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe 1.” They also asked the child victim to recruit some of her friends to participate, but her friends refused to be involved.
Rodriguez took sexually explicit photos of Jane Doe 1, which she sent to Gibson. Gibson and Rodriguez gave ecstasy and marijuana to the child victim prior to her meeting an unidentified man for sex at a local hotel, for which the child victim was paid $70. Gibson and Rodriguez kept the rest of the payment.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, and the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Merriam Woods Man Sentenced to 17 Years for Sexual Exploitation of Two ChildrenRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Merriam Woods man was sentenced in federal court today for the sexual exploitation of two child victims.
Billy Rae Clark, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 17 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Clark to 30 years of supervised release following incarceration.
On April 12, 2022, Clark pleaded guilty to two counts of the sexual exploitation of a child. Clark admitted that he secretly recorded a 15-year-old minor, identified in court documents as Jane Doe 1, while she was in the bathroom taking a shower. Clark positioned his cell phone in the bathroom so that it faced the shower and used it to record video of the child victim. Jane Doe 1 discovered the cell phone and the video; she reported it to another person, who then contacted law enforcement.
When investigators searched Clark’s cell phone, they also found 19 images of a second child victim, an 11-year-old identified in court documents as Jane Doe 2, including images of child pornography.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Taney County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Kentucky Man Sentenced to 16 Years for Meth Trafficking in Jasper CountyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Louisville, Kentucky, man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing more than two kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in a rental vehicle after he was stopped on Interstate 44 in Jasper County, Mo.
Quennel A. Young, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 16 years and eight months in federal prison without parole.
On Feb. 14, 2022, Young was found guilty of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute following a one-day bench trial that was held on Feb. 9, 2022.
Young was arrested on July 26, 2020, when he was pulled over by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper on Interstate 44 in Jasper County after the trooper observed Young commit multiple traffic violations.
The trooper searched Young’s vehicle. When the trooper searched the trunk, he saw the trunk lid liner was not secured tight against the trunk lid sheet metal. He pulled back the corner of the formed liner and found two duct-taped bundles that contained approximately 2.2 pounds of methamphetamine. In a later search of the vehicle, officers found three additional duct-taped bundles of methamphetamine hidden under the center console gear shift cover. All five bundles of methamphetamine weighed a total of approximately 5.59 pounds (2.539 kilograms).
According to court documents, Young has a prior felony conviction for second-degree manslaughter after he and three others attacked the victim, causing the victim to suffer severe head injuries. The victim later succumbed to his injuries and died. Young also has a prior felony conviction for three counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument, and a felony conviction for attempted possession of a forged instrument.
Young also has two prior misdemeanor convictions for assault in which he struck a woman in the face. In one of the assaults, Young sent the victim a text message threatening to kill her before appearing at the victim’s home and striking her in the face with such force that the victim required stiches to her lip and a root canal on two teeth as they were knocked back.
This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron A. Beaver and Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Chalifoux. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Joplin, Mo., Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
KC Man Involved in Two Shootings Sentenced for Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man involved in two separate shootings on the same day has been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing firearms.
Deion D. Alford, 22, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs on Tuesday, Aug. 30, to six years and 10 months in federal prison without parole.
On March 7, 2022, Alford pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms. By pleading guilty, Alford admitted he was in possession of a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber handgun and a Glock .40-caliber handgun on February 3, 2021. Alford was also involved in two shootings, one of which resulted in injury to a victim.
On the afternoon of January 28, 2021, Kansas City, Mo. police officers responded to a shots-fired call in the area of East 40th Street and South Benton Avenue. Officers contacted a victim, who was in the driver’s seat of a white pickup and had been shot in his left leg. A nearby residence had also been struck by errant gunfire. Officers recovered six nine-millimeter shell casings near the scene.
Detectives identified Alford as a suspect in the shooting. The owner of the red SUV told detectives that Alford had been driving the SUV at the time of the shooting. The owner also told investigators that Alford had been shot the previous year, and when Alford saw the victim’s car, had stated that was the person who shot him. A shell casing recovered from the red SUV matched the shell casings recovered from the scene of the shooting.
Alford was also involved in another shooting later that same day, in the area of East 31st Street and Benton Boulevard. Kansas City, Mo. police officers heard gunshots and received reports that individuals in a red vehicle (later determined to be the same red SUV from the earlier shooting) were firing shots. Officers located a red SUV with multiple bullet holes in its windshield, abandoned in the middle of a nearby street. Witnesses told officers that two individuals had fled the vehicle on foot. Officers found one of the suspects, as well as a Glock handgun nearby. The Glock was later linked to 9 mm shell casings recovered from the scene of the shooting, as well as 9 mm shell casings found in the back seat of the red SUV. During her interview, the owner of the red SUV told detectives that Alford had borrowed her SUV prior to the second shooting.
Alford was arrested a week later, at his grandmother’s house. When officers searched the residence they found a backpack that contained the loaded Smith & Wesson .40-caliber handgun and the loaded Glock .40-caliber handgun.
According to court documents, Alford was affiliated with the Click Clack/Foot Soldier gang.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearms or ammunition. In December 2017, Alford was convicted in Iowa state court of first-degree theft and felony eluding, related to his distribution of stolen cars. Two months later, in February 2018, while on probation in connection with the Iowa case, Alford was arrested in Jackson County, Mo., for possessing a stolen gun, resulting in a felony conviction for receiving stolen property. Evidence in that case indicates Alford had also been firing the gun. Alford also has a number of misdemeanor convictions for charges ranging from fleeing police, obstructing/resisting arrest, providing false information, and unlawful use of a weapon. Alford’s convictions involve multiple instances of flight from law enforcement, including several high-speed pursuits, as well as brandishing and firing guns and other violent conduct.
According to court documents, Alford has been involved in multiple physical altercations with other inmates while in custody pending sentencing in this case.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie C. Bradshaw. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
KC Metro Strike Force
This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.
Jury Convicts St. Joseph Man of Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A St. Joseph man was convicted by a federal trial jury today of illegally possessing a firearm.
Earl B. Penn, 30, was found guilty of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Penn was in possession of a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol on June 22, 2020.
A St. Joseph Police Department detective and a patrol officer contacted Penn, who had an outstanding warrant for violations of his federal supervised release, on June 22, 2020. Penn struggled and resisted being arrested. Penn struck the officer in the face with the back of his head multiple times and managed to pull the OC spray from the officer’s vest. The detective had to physically remove the OC spray from Penn’s hand in order to prevent him from discharging it.
After Penn was restrained, the detective saw the loaded handgun in Penn’s sweatshirt pouch.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for 45 minutes before returning the guilty verdict to U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips, ending a trial that began Monday, Aug. 29.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Penn has prior felony convictions for residential burglary, arson, and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and cocaine. Those convictions for two violent felonies and a serious drug offense subject Penn to be sentenced as an armed career criminal.
Under federal statutes, Penn is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon E. Gibson, who is a cross-designated prosecutor from the Missouri Attorney General’s office as part of the Safer Streets Initiative to combat violent crime, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Marquez. It was investigated by the St. Joseph, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Versailles Sex Offender Sentenced to 15 Years for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Versailles man who is a registered sex offender was sentenced in federal court today for possessing child pornography.
Mylon Duane Addis, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Addis has prior state felony convictions for child molestation, which involved multiple occasions of sexual abuse of a 10-year-old victim, and a prior federal felony conviction for possessing child pornography.
On Dec. 9, 2021, Addis pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography. The investigation began on July 8, 2019, when the Lake Area Cyber Crimes Task Force received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Addis had uploaded a video that contained child pornography. Deputies with the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at Addis’s residence on July 16, 2019, and seized his cell phone, a laptop computer, an external hard drive, an LG tablet, and three flash drives. The laptop, tablet, hard drive, and a flash drive contained images of child pornography.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Lake Area Cyber Crimes Task Force.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Jefferson City Woman Sentenced for Throwing Molotov Cocktails into Two HomesRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Jefferson City woman was sentenced in federal court today for throwing Molotov cocktails into two homes occupied by young children and elderly residents.
Iasha Denise Cannady, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 12 years in federal prison without parole.
On Dec. 16, 2021, Cannady pleaded guilty to two counts of maliciously using explosive materials to damage buildings and one count of possessing a Molotov cocktail (an unregistered destructive device).
By pleading guilty, Cannady admitted that she used Molotov cocktails to set fire to two rental properties in Jefferson City on July 27, 2020. A witness told investigators that Cannady was upset that her daughter was involved in a fight at Capital City Mall. According to the witness, Cannady stated that she was going to find the people involved and throw bombs at their houses.
The first property, in the 800 block of Lafayette Street, was rented by a victim identified in court records as “V.C.” Also living in the residence was V.C.’s boyfriend, her 3-year-old granddaughter, her disabled elderly mother, and her elderly aunt. After firefighters extinguished the fire at approximately 1 a.m., investigators found a broken window and a vodka bottle on a bedroom floor. Surveillance videos showed Cannady lighting a bottle and putting it on the windowsill. Cannady’s minor son then threw the bottle through the window.
Firefighters and police officers then responded to a call in the 1200 block of East Walter Street. A victim identified as “N.P.,” who rented the residence and lived there with her 13-year-old daughter, told investigators her window was broken and some of the siding was melted. There were also char marks on the front porch. Investigators found a burnt clear bottle on the front window of the residence which had an odor of gasoline and a Cognac bottle that contained gasoline with a rag sticking out of the top.
Police officers found Cannady driving in the area, with her son and nephew in the vehicle. Officers searched Cannady’s vehicle and found a tequila bottle filled with accelerant with a wick and a pink rag inside, three lighters, a white rag soaked with accelerant, a lid to a D’usse Cognac bottle and a Tropical Fantasy Lemonade bottle.
Cannady has a prior felony conviction for arson for setting her daughter’s car on fire, as well as several prior felony convictions for domestic assault, drug trafficking and stealing.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron M. Maness. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department, the Jefferson City, Mo., Fire Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Mexican National Sentenced to 17 Years for Child Sexual ExploitationRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Mexican national who was illegally in the United States has been sentenced in federal court for soliciting pornographic images and videos from an 11-year-old victim over Facebook Messenger.
Alejandrino Velazquez-Hernandez, 34, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Tuesday, Aug. 16, to 17 years and six months in federal prison without parole. Velazquez-Hernandez had been ordered removed from the United States on Nov. 19, 2013, after failing to appear for his immigration hearing.
On Feb. 8, 2022, Velazquez-Hernandez pleaded guilty to the sexual exploitation of a child. Velazquez-Hernandez admitted that he used an 11-year-old child, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe,” to produce child pornography in Greene County, Mo., from Oct. 1, 2020, through April 1, 2021.
Velazquez-Hernandez communicated with the child victim on the Facebook Messenger application, through which she sent him pornographic images and videos at his request. They made several plans to meet but they were never able to be alone.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
KC Man Sentenced for Resisting Arrest After Deliberately Crashing Stolen Truck into Federal Deputy Marshals While Attempting to Flee in Stolen TruckRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man who injured two United States deputy marshals by crashing into them while attempting to flee in a stolen truck was sentenced in federal court today for forcibly resisting federal law enforcement officers.
Ray E. Clevenger, 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 10 years and 10 months in federal prison without parole.
On Jan. 5, 2022, Clevenger pleaded guilty to two counts of forcibly resisting a federal law enforcement officer.
Law enforcement officers located Clevenger, who was being sought on a state felony arrest warrant, at a Quality Inn in Kansas City, Mo., on Dec. 30, 2020. Clevenger left his hotel room shortly after noon with a woman and got into a Ford Explorer, which was later identified as stolen. Officers activated their flashing multi-colored police emergency lights and sirens as they approached Clevenger.
Clevenger quickly accelerated the Explorer from the parking space it had been backed into, and struck the front of a police vehicle. Clevenger continued to attempt to escape while recklessly driving the Explorer at a high rate of speed. Clevenger drove across the hotel’s parking lot with his tires squealing and drove near the exit on the west side of the property. A federal deputy marshal attempted to prevent Clevenger from leaving the parking lot by positioning his police vehicle in front of the exit and striking the Ford Explorer, causing Clevenger to lose control of his vehicle. Clevenger regained control of the vehicle, then fled across the hotel’s lawn and sidewalk toward the east side of the property. Another deputy marshal struck Clevenger’s vehicle on the passenger rear wheel well to prevent his escape. Clevenger continued to flee and returned to the west side of the property, where he rammed one of the police vehicles for the second time with enough force to push the SUV into a fence that surrounded the parking lot. Clevenger pushed the police vehicle with enough force that it also struck another police vehicle, which in turn struck a deputy marshal who was on foot.
Clevenger’s vehicle then stopped, and he was arrested. Officers searched Clevenger’s stolen vehicle and found a Springfield .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun that had been reported stolen, loaded with an extended magazine, a makeup case that contained approximately 69 grams of methamphetamine and marijuana, and drug paraphernalia.
The two deputy marshals suffered physical injuries because of Clevenger’s reckless driving while attempting to avoid arrest. Those injuries required one of the deputy marshals to be treated by emergency medical officials at the scene. The other deputy marshal was provided medical care and instructed to seek follow-up medical care.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stefan C. Hughes. It was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI.
KC Man Sentenced for Arson of Apartment BuildingRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for setting the arson fire of an apartment building in which several residents were injured.
Rodney Boyles, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to eight years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Boyles to pay $12,500 in restitution to one of the apartment building residents who was intubated for approximately nine days in the hospital while being treated for smoke inhalation injuries she sustained from the fire.
On Feb. 10, 2022, Boyles pleaded guilty to one count of arson. Boyles admitted that he intentionally set fire to a four-story apartment building at 1102-1104 Benton Boulevard in Kansas City, Mo., on Jan. 13, 2021. The apartment building was occupied at the time of the fire. Three occupants of the apartment building sustained serious injuries because of the fire and were transported to the hospital for treatment. The building sustained significant fire damage on all four floors of the structure.
Fire investigators determined the fire had been intentionally set. One of the residents of the apartment building told investigators that Boyles had been staying in one of the apartments with his girlfriend and her son. Investigators interviewed Boyles on Thursday, May 27, and arrested him.
Boyles told investigators he was under the influence of a controlled substance when he used a cigarette lighter to start the fire in a storage room in the apartment. After starting the fire, Boyles said, he quickly left the building with his girlfriend, their 4-year-old son, and another female.
Investigators interviewed several victims of the arson. One resident, identified in court documents as “TN,” exited her third-floor apartment using the interior stairwell. She recalled the smoke being so thick in the interior stairwell that she could not see her hand in front of her face. She was transported to the hospital, where she was intubated for approximately nine days while being treated for smoke inhalation injuries she sustained from the fire.
Another resident, identified in court documents as “BF,” was asleep in the living room when he woke up and smelled smoke. He passed out in the apartment and was rescued by firefighters. He was treated at the hospital for partial thickness burns to his face, acute respiratory failure with hypoxia, carbon monoxide and cyanide poisoning, pneumonia, and volume overload. He was placed in a medically induced coma during his hospitalization.
Two residents, identified in court documents as “RF” and “NF,” were forced by heavy smoke to exit their apartment through a front window that provided access onto a second-floor overhang so they could jump to safety. RF broke his wrist and ankle after jumping onto the ground below; he was hospitalized for 14 days as a result of his injuries.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Michael Green. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Fire Department, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Kansas Man Indicted for Fentanyl TraffickingRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Pittsburg, Kansas, man who led Kansas authorities on a motorcycle chase before being apprehended in Missouri has been indicted by a federal grand jury for possessing fentanyl to distribute.
Justin T. Lapping, 47, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Tuesday, Aug. 16, with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute.
A Crawford County, Kan., sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop Lapping on Aug. 9, 2022, but he fled on his motorcycle. Soon after entering Barton County, Mo., on Highway 160, Lapping abandoned his motorcycle and fled on foot from law enforcement officers. Officers deployed tasers and Lapping was taken into custody. He was allegedly carrying a Ziploc baggie that contained approximately 202 grams of cocaine and fentanyl.
According to the indictment, Lapping has a prior serious drug felony conviction in Taney County, Mo., which would qualify for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole.
The charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by the FBI, the Barton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, and the Crawford County, Kan., Sheriff’s Department.
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (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.
KC Man Pleads Guilty to Falsely Claiming to Hire Ex-Cons for Non-profit AgencyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man who operates a non-profit agency has pleaded guilty in federal court to falsely claiming to employ convicted felons who were on federal court supervised release.
Michael A. Green, 51, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Tuesday, Aug. 16, to one count of transferring a false identification document and one count of making false statements to a federal probation officer.
By pleading guilty, Green admitted that he told a federal probation officer on May 6, 2019, that Kansas City Community Source, Inc., a non-profit corporation operated by Green, had hired the probation officer’s supervisee. Kansas City Community Source purports to employ convicted felons after release from incarceration. Various individuals under court-ordered supervision reported Kansas City Community Source as their employer in order to fulfill their employment obligations. Green’s statements to the probation officer were false. The supervisee was never employed by Green or by Kansas City Community Source. Instead, Green created false pay stubs for a fee.
Green also admitted that he sold fake pay stubs to an individual for $50 each on Oct. 16, 2019. The individual wanted the fake pay stubs in order to rent an apartment. Green also sold a false Texas driver’s license to the same individual for $800.
Under federal statutes, Green is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Blackwood. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Final Defendant Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Transport Stolen Catalytic Converters Across State LinesRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A former Springfield woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to her role in a conspiracy to transport tens of thousands of stolen catalytic converters across state lines as part of a multi-million-dollar business.
Danielle Ice, 34, of Columbia, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to participating in a conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines.
Ice is the last of seven defendants indicted in this case to plead guilty. Ice’s husband and co-defendant Leslie Ice, 37, as well as co-defendants Cody Ryder, 31, Enx Khoshaba, 29, and Eric Kaltenbach, 37, all of Springfield, and Evan Marshall, 24, and Camren Joseph Davis, 25, of Rogersville, also have pleaded guilty.
By pleading guilty today, Danielle Ice admitted that she and Leslie Ice stole at least 50 catalytic converters and sold them directly to Marshall. Marshall paid Danielle and Leslie Ice approximately $20,000 for stolen catalytic converters.
The Ices began stealing catalytic converters for Marshall in October 2020 and continued stealing catalytic converters, and selling them to Marshall, through at least March 2021. They photographed the victims’ catalytic converters while the catalytic converters were still attached to the victims’ vehicles and sent the photographs via SMS text message to Marshall. Marshall would then determine whether the victims’ catalytic converters were valuable. If Marshall responded that a catalytic converter was valuable, Leslie Ice removed the victim’s catalytic converter by cutting it from the victim’s vehicle’s exhaust system using a battery-powered reciprocating saw. Leslie and Danielle Ice then sold the stolen catalytic converter to Marshall.
Marshall provided Leslie Ice with a list of vehicles, by year, make, and model, that had valuable catalytic converters so that he could target specific vehicles from which to steal catalytic converters.
Marshall also gave Danielle Ice approximately $1,500 in cash in January 2021 so she could post Leslie Ice’s bond in a state criminal case in which he was being detained. Marshall provided Leslie Ice’s bond money so that he would be released from custody and could continue to steal catalytic converters and sell them to Marshall.
Marshall admitted that he transported stolen catalytic converters, valued at $1 million or more, across state lines from December 2019 to October 2021. Marshall also admitted that he bought tens of thousands of stolen catalytic converters directly from his co-defendants and from other thieves, and sold the stolen catalytic converters for a total of approximately $1 million.
Under federal statutes, Danielle Ice is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shannon T. Kempf and Megan W. Chalifoux. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Christian County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Webster County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri Department of Revenue and the Greene County, Mo., Prosecuting Attorney.
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (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.
Springfield Company Pays $1 Million Related to Federal Embezzlement, Bribery InvestigationRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield company will pay more than $1 million in forfeiture to the federal government under the terms of a non-prosecution agreement announced today, which acknowledges the criminal conduct of two former executives who are involved in a related criminal investigation.
“Company owners and executives abused their leadership positions in an unrelated charity to illegally enrich themselves and their for-profit company,” said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. “More than $1 million from the health care charity, primarily funded by Medicaid reimbursements, was siphoned to Pro1 through a series of illicit payments over several years. Pro1 has accepted responsibility for the criminal conduct of its former executives and cooperated with the federal investigation. Those embezzled funds will be recouped by the government under the terms of this non-prosecution agreement.”
“When federal funds are misappropriated, it harms the U.S. government and its taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation’s St. Louis Field Office. “Pro1 executives abused their positions by causing federal funds meant for charitable purposes to become part of a scheme designed for their own financial gain. This non-prosecution agreement holds Pro1 accountable and restores the funds to the federal government.”
“This non-prosecution agreement holds Pro1 accountable for its actions in a scheme that directly benefited Pro1 and certain owners of the company in over $1 million in cost-savings and reduced expenses,” said FBI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Charles Dayoub. “It reiterates that public funds provided to non-profit organizations and companies are not to be abused and the FBI, alongside other federal agencies, is committed to ensuring the public’s money is not used for inappropriate purposes or personal gain.”
“The diversion and theft of over $1 million of federal sourced funds, designated for employment training, behavioral healthcare and other public services by former executives of Preferred Family Healthcare and Pro1, was a gross abuse of the positions of trust they once held,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Steven Grell, Dallas Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. “They chose their own personal gain and benefit over the greater good of the public and the nonprofit organization whom they served. This agreement demonstrates Pro1’s willingness to take corrective actions regarding the fraudulent actions of its former executives.”
“Our investigation uncovered a scheme spanning several years to siphon money from a community-based health center to a for-profit company,” said Special Agent in Charge William J. Hannah of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Chicago Field Office. “Today, we’re holding Pro1 accountable for this scheme and recovering over $1 million in ill-gotten gains. This non-prosecution agreement reiterates government funds are provided to these charitable organizations to benefit the public, and self-enriching schemes to steal from these government programs will not be tolerated.”
Pro1 IAQ, Inc., a Missouri corporation with operations in Springfield and Boulder, Colorado, designs and sells indoor thermostats nationwide. By signing the non-prosecution agreement, representatives of Pro1 admitted that former executive officers engaged in a conspiracy to embezzle funds from Preferred Family Healthcare, Inc., a Springfield-based nonprofit corporation, from 2008 to November 2017. Pro1 benefited from acts of alleged criminal misconduct by the executives, who were also executives of the charity and channeled funds from Preferred Family Healthcare to financially enrich the firm.
Under the terms of the non-prosecution agreement, Pro1 must forfeit $1,057,617 to the federal government, which is the amount Pro1 gained from the conspiracy.
Among the specific actions acknowledged in the non-prosecution agreement, executives and employees of Preferred Family Healthcare were utilized to complete tasks related to Pro1 operations, sometimes working full time for Pro1 while being paid by the charity. Additionally, the charity paid Pro1 for the lease of a warehouse for approximately three years, and provided office space in the charity’s main office building at no cost to Pro1 for more than a year.
While Pro1 did not provide appropriate oversight regarding the actions of its agents, which could be considered willful blindness, many of the actions taken by Pro1’s executives were done without specific knowledge of the president and the corporate board of directors. Pro1, as a part of this investigation, has discontinued the leadership roles of those executives and has cooperated fully with the federal criminal investigation.
Preferred Family Healthcare agreed earlier this year to pay more than $8 million in forfeiture and restitution to the federal government and the state of Arkansas under the terms of a non-prosecution agreement, which likewise acknowledges the criminal conduct of its former officers and employees.
Several former executives of Preferred Family Healthcare, former members of the Arkansas state legislature, and others have been convicted in federal court as part of the multi-jurisdiction, federal investigation. As part of the federal investigation, the former chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Preferred Family Healthcare were indicted by a federal grand jury on March 29, 2019. They pleaded not guilty, and are awaiting trial, which is scheduled to begin on Oct. 3, 2022.
The separate criminal cases are being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall Eggert and Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon T. Kempf of the Western District of Missouri, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich of the Western District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Mazzanti of the Eastern District of Arkansas.
IRS-Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and the Offices of the Inspectors General from the Departments of Justice, Labor, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) investigated the cases. This is a combined investigation with the Western District of Missouri, the Western District of Arkansas, and the Eastern District of Arkansas.