Western District of Missouri
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Sex Offender Indicted for Producing Child Porn Overseas, Distributing Child Porn OnlineRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a prior sex offender was indicted by a federal grand jury today for producing child pornography with five child victims in the Philippines and for distributing child pornography over the Internet.
Kenneth Gaylord Stokes, 68, a U.S. citizen who resided near the city of Cebu in the Philippines, was charged in a seven-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a federal indictment that was returned under seal on Nov. 7, 2012 and contains five additional counts of traveling overseas to engage in illicit sexual conduct (the production of child pornography).
The original indictment was unsealed on March 4, 2013, when Stokes was transported to the U.S. District Court in Springfield for his initial appearance. He has been in federal custody since his arrest on Dec. 3, 2012 and is being held without bond. Stokes has a prior conviction for the statutory rape of a 7-year-old child in the state of Washington.
According to court documents, a federal agent located a Craigslist advertisement offering photography services in the Philippines in July 2012. Given the nature of the advertisement, the agent suspected that Stokes was actually engaged in illegal activities involving child pornography. The agent later exchanged messages via e-mail in which Stokes allegedly asserted that he had married a Filipino woman to get to her daughter and that he had “no limits” in terms of his photography services.
On July 10 and July 26, 2012, according to court documents, Stokes sent the agent e-mails containing photographs of child pornography.
On Dec. 3, 2012 the agent met Stokes at his residence in the Philippines. Stokes, who allegedly told the agent that he sexually abused many prepubescent children, was arrested.
A forensic examination of Stokes’ computer is ongoing. In a motion filed with the court, the government asserts that the preliminary examination suggests that Stokes used child victims to produce a large quantity of movies and images of child pornography.
Today’s indictment maintains the original charges against Stokes, who was charged in the original indictment with two counts of distributing child pornography over the Internet to Greene County, Mo., on two separate occasions in July 2012.
Stokes is also now charged with five additional counts of traveling overseas to produce child pornography. Between Sept. 26, 2009, and Dec. 3, 2012, Stokes allegedly used five separate child victims (identified as Jane Doe #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5) to produce child pornography.
Under federal statutes, today’s charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in federal prison without parole for each count of distributing child pornography (due to Stokes’ prior sex offense), up to a sentence of 40 years in federal prison without parole for each count. Each of the five counts of traveling overseas to engage in illicit sexual conduct carries a maximum penalty of 60 years in federal prison without parole.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
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."Joplin Woman Indicted for $88,000 Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Joplin, Mo., woman was indicted by a federal grand jury today for embezzling more than $88,000 from her employer, Frank Fletcher Ford, in a wire fraud scheme.
Kathryn M. Stayton, 36, of Joplin, was charged with 10 counts of wire fraud in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo.
Today’s indictment alleges that Stayton embezzled $88,000 between September 2009 and September 2011, while employed as a controller and managing the accounting department at Frank Fletcher Ford, part of the Ford Auto Group in Joplin.
As a controller, Stayton had access to the dealership’s blank disbursement check stock and was an approved signor of manual checks. The dealership’s policy requires two signatures on each manual check, regardless of amount. Stayton allegedly wrote 131 checks totaling approximately $46,664 from Fletcher Ford’s bank account to herself or her family members then deposited the checks in her own bank accounts. She attempted to disguise the nature of these transactions by forging the second required authorizing signature on the checks.
In addition, the indictment says, Stayton took cash payments totaling approximately $41,365 that were made to Fletcher Ford. She allegedly attempted to disguise the theft of the cash payments through fraudulent journal entries in Fletcher Ford’s accounting records.
The total amount of loss to Fletcher Ford for both unauthorized check payments and theft of cash was approximately $88,030.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 Gary Milligan. It was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Joplin, Mo., Police Department.Iowa Company, Employees Indicted for Releasing Contaminated Water into Duenweg SewerRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Des Moines, Iowa, company and two of its employees were indicted by a federal grand jury today for releasing thousands of gallons of gasoline-contaminated water into the city sewer system of Duenweg, Mo.
Seneca Companies, Inc., a petroleum and hazardous materials handling company headquartered in Des Moines, along with company employees Robert Morrison, 31, of Cowgill, Mo., a maintenance technician, and Greg Gill, 50, of Overland Park, Kan., a maintenance technician supervisor, were charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield.
According to today’s indictment, Seneca agreed to repair a gasoline line at Casey’s General Store, 8084 E., 7th Street, in Duenweg. This gasoline line failure had allowed gasoline to accumulate into a containment sump on Casey’s property. Morrison and Gill were responsible for safely repairing Casey’s gasoline line failure and safely disposing of any hazardous material in conformity with state and federal regulations.
On Dec. 16, 2010 they allegedly pumped gasoline-contaminated water out of Casey=s containment sump and into the sewer system without a permit.
The defendants are charged with one count of violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act by unlawfully disposing of a hazardous substance and one count of violating the Clean Water Act by introducing a hazardous substance into a sewer system.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 Abram McGull II. It was investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Criminal Investigation Division, the Duenweg, Mo., Fire Department, the Joplin, Mo., Fire Department and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.Callaway County Man Pleads Guilty to Drug-trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Callaway County, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a drug-trafficking conspiracy in Boone, Callaway and Cooper counties.
Jason Randall Holloway, 33, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matt J. Whitworth to participating in a conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and five kilograms or more of cocaine from 2007 to September 2010. Holloway also pleaded guilty to three additional counts of possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute, distributing marijuana and possessing marijuana and cocaine with the intent to distribute.
Holloway admitted that he had been acquiring approximately 50 pounds of marijuana and one kilogram of cocaine each month for the past two years from his sources in Kansas City, Mo. – primarily Jaime Cerros-Perez, also known as Leonel Espinoza, Jr., 31. Cerros-Perez was sentenced on Sept. 27, 2012, to seven years and three months in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to his role in the conspiracy.
According to today’s plea agreement, Holloway stored bulk amounts of marijuana at another person’s residence in Columbia, Mo. Law enforcement officers seized 117 pounds of marijuana from that residence on July 10, 2010.
On July 26, 2010, a cooperating law enforcement source purchased approximately 10 pounds of marijuana from Holloway. On Sept. 6, 2010 Holloway and others traveled from Columbia to Kansas City, Mo., where they picked up Cerros-Perez then traveled to Kansas City, Kan. While under surveillance, Holloway and Cerros-Perez obtained approximately one kilogram of cocaine. The group then traveled to an apartment building, where they obtained a suitcase that contained approximately 50 pounds of marijuana. After dropping Cerros-Perez back at his vehicle, they returned to the Boone County area, where they were stopped. Officers then located the cocaine beneath the front passenger seat where Holloway was sitting.
Under federal statutes, Holloway is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to life 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 Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Kummerer. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, MUSTANG (the Mid-Missouri Unified Strike Team And Narcotics Group), the Fulton, Mo., Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Columbia, Mo., Police Department, the Callaway County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.KC Employee Pleads Guilty to Fraud Scheme to Cheat Health Insurance ProgramRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., employee pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a scheme in which hundreds of public employees defrauded their health insurance program of more than $300,000 by falsely claiming to have run marathons and competed in triathlons for cash incentives.
Michael King, 31, of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to one count of wire fraud.
King, who was employed by the city in the water department, received health insurance coverage from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas City. As an insured, King was eligible to participate in a wellness program offered by Blue Cross called Points to Blue. The program offered gift cards to King and other insureds based upon entries made to the Points to Blue Web site, logging various exercise programs and diet programs completed by the insureds. Every 1,000 points earned translated to one dollar towards a gift card, up to a maximum of $250 annually for each insured. The more strenuous exercises earned more points.
King admitted that he and other employees submitted false entries to the Points to Blue Web site, claiming they completed extremely strenuous activities in order to fraudulently obtain the maximum gift card of $250. To make even more money in this scheme, King admitted, he and others submitted false entries for other employees and their eligible dependents, in exchange for receiving a portion of the fraudulent gift card proceeds.
King made fraudulent Points to Blue submissions on behalf of 51 employees, resulting in 79 gift cards worth a total of $12,745. Among the fraudulent submissions, on Dec. 3, 2010 King submitted an activity entry to Points to Blue stating that he had completed three duathlons, three marathons, two half marathons, one Olympic lifting competition, and four triathlons.
Under federal statutes, King is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Co-defendant Matt Tholen, 29, of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty to the same charge on May 13, 2013. Tholen, an emergency medical technician, admitted that he made fraudulent Points to Blue submissions on behalf of 62 employees, resulting in 144 gift cards worth a total of $17,600. Among the fraudulent submissions, on Jan. 16, 2011 Tholen submitted an activity entry to Points to Blue stating that 5-year-old “TJ” had completed two marathons and two triathlons.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Cowles. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Task Force, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Overland Park, Kan., Police Department.
Jefferson City Attorney Indicted for Marriage Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Jefferson City, Mo., attorney has been indicted by a federal grand jury for enlisting a U.S. citizen to marry a Ukrainian national (who is also charged in the indictment) so that she could remain in the United States and seek citizenship.
James Douglas Barding, 60, of Jefferson City, and Darya Chernova, 38, of Chandler, Ariz., were charged in a four-count indictment that was returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City on May 22, 2013. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon Barding’s arrest and initial court appearance.
Both Barding and Chernova were previously indicted on similar charges related to a different marriage fraud conspiracy in a separate case on April 24, 2013. The status of that case is not effected by the more recent charges contained in the May 22, 2013 federal indictment.
According to the indictment, Barding (an attorney and a married U.S. citizen) had a long-running affair with Chernova, a Ukrainian national who entered the United States on a student visa and attended Lincoln University before earning a master’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Chernova formerly lived a couple of blocks from the Jefferson City residence where Barding and his wife resided; she has moved to Arizona and the two children live with Barding.
Barding and Chernova allegedly approached at least one U.S. citizen to marry her so that she could remain in the United States. The citizen (“TD”) agreed to marry her, the indictment says, and “TD” and Chernova were married on March 13, 2005 in Cape Girardeau County, Mo., at a ceremony attended by Barding. The purpose of the arranged marriage, according to the indictment, was to allow Chernova to assert that she was married to a U.S. citizen so that she would be permitted to remain in the United States. “TD” and Chernova allegedly entered into the marriage for the purpose of evading a provision of the immigration laws. Barding allegedly told “TD” that he and Chernova could get a divorce after she had gained sufficient status to allow her to remain in the United States unmarried.
During the conspiracy, the indictment alleges, Chernova and “TD” filed paperwork with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS); as a result, Chernova was granted conditional permanent resident status on Nov. 27, 2008, which was later extended. As a result of these filings, Chernova was allowed to remain in the United States and permitted to attend school and to work. From time to time, Chernova and “TD” would have to file additional paperwork or attend hearings, meetings or tests in support of her applications for conditional permanent resident status, lawful permanent resident status, and eventual citizenship in the United States, and also to allow her to remain in the United States and work.
Among the information provided by Chernova and “TD,” the indictment says, they claimed to be living together; in reality, however, Chernova never resided with “TD.” Chernova and “TD” allegedly opened accounts or placed Chernova’s name on materials to give the appearance that she was living with “TD.”
In December 2005 (more than nine months after she married “TD”) Chernova gave birth to a child. Barding was named as the father and he provided support for the child. In September 2009 Chernova had a second child, the indictment says, and falsely claimed on the birth certificate, on paperwork filed with USCIS, and during a hearing under oath, that “TD” was the father. She claimed to have not had sexual relations with anyone other than “TD.” Later, “TD” denied being the father of the second child. DNA testing revealed that he was not the father, the indictment says, and Barding admitted that he was the father. On Oct. 18, 2011, Barding was found by order of the court to be the father of the child and the birth certificate was changed.
According to the indictment, Barding and Chernova, along with others, committed the crime of conspiracy to defraud the United States in early 2007, in that they began looking for and enlisting a U.S. citizen to marry a male friend (“OD”) so that he could remain in the United States without having to depart, and also to attempt to gain permanent resident status and potentially United States citizenship. They approached several persons and, in March 2007, procured a marriage license with one of the candidates. This individual later in the month declined to enter the sham marriage. However, Chernova and Barding enlisted another U.S. citizen who did marry “OD.” This alleged scheme, which is cited in the introduction of the current indictment, is the subject of a conspiracy charge in the April 24, 2012 federal indictment.
In addition to the conspiracy, Chernova is charged with make a false statement relating to naturalization and with unlawfully procuring naturalization. Barding is also charged with making false statements under oath in an immigration matter.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 Anthony P. Gonzalez. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department.Warrensburg Man Indicted for Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Warrensburg, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for attempting to distribute child pornography over the Internet.
Jonathan R. Gilbert, 24, of Warrensburg, was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, May 21, 2013.
The federal indictment alleges that Gilbert attempted to distribute child pornography over the Internet on Sept. 14, 2011. Gilbert is also charged with receiving child pornography over the Internet on Oct. 9, 2011 and with possessing child pornography on Oct. 20, 2011.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 Joseph M. Marquez. It was investigated by the FBI 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."Independence Woman Indicted for Violating Civil Rights of Family by Torching their HomeRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, and Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, announced that an Independence, Mo., woman was indicted by a federal grand jury today for violating the civil rights of an African-American family by setting fire to their residence.
Victoria A. Cheek-Herrera, 33, of Independence, was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo.
Today’s indictment charges Cheek-Herrera with participating in a conspiracy to threaten and intimidate an Independence family from exercising their constitutional right to reside in their home because of their race or color. It also charges Cheek-Herrera with committing a racially-motivated arson and with using fire during the commission of a felony.
According to the indictment, Cheek-Herrera conspired with others on June 26, 2008 to injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate Larry Davis, Stacey Little and the couple’s minor children in the free exercise of their Constitutional right to occupy and rent their home in Independence, because of their race and color. Davis, Little and their children are all African American.
The indictment alleges that Cheek-Herrera discussed with others her desire to set fire to the home of Davis and Little, and that Cheek-Herrera and a co-conspirator drew a swastika and wrote the words “White Power” on the driveway to Davis and Little’s residence. Cheek-Herrera allegedly asked a juvenile acquaintance for gasoline then helped create a Molotov cocktail by filling a glass bottle with gasoline and inserting a rag into the bottle to serve as a wick. Cheek-Herrera and a co-conspirator then allegedly lit the wick and threw the gasoline-filled bottle into the side of the house that Davis and Little were renting, which set the residence on fire.
If convicted, Cheek-Herrera faces a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for one charged count of conspiracy against rights, a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for one charged count of interference with housing rights, and a penalty of 10 years imprisonment consecutive to any other sentence and a fine of $250,000 for one charged count of using fire during the commission of a felony.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 First Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Ketchmark and Trial Attorney Shan Patel of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. It was investigated by the FBI.Business Owners Indicted for $2.8 Million Scheme to Defraud the ArmyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Kansas City, Mo., business owner and her employee are among three individuals and two businesses have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a $2.8 million fraud scheme to sell counterfeit and modified computer equipment to the U.S. Army.
Virgie Dillard, 70, of Lee’s Summit, Mo., her business, Missouri Office Systems and Supplies, Inc., and an employee, Roland Evans, 43, of Lee’s Summit, and Mark Morgan, 45, of Newport Coast, Calif., and his business, PRM Technology Equipment, LLC, were charged in a 12-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City on Wednesday, May 22, 2013. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon the arrests and initial court appearances of Evans and Morgan. Dillard is expected to self-surrender to federal authorities.
The federal indictment alleges that, after receiving a series of contracts in 2009 and 2010 to provide the Army with products from Cisco Systems, Inc., Missouri Office Systems and Supplies (MOSS) instead provided counterfeit products and Cisco products that were used and modified post-manufacture and were obtained outside Cisco’s authorized distribution channels.
The Army Recreation Machine Program (ARMP) contracted with MOSS to provide Cisco network hardware – such as transceivers and switches – that allows computers to communicate with other computers.
Dillard is the president and CEO of MOSS, located in Kansas City, which advertises itself as a company specializing in selling all types of office machines, including computers, software and other office furniture and supplies. Evans handled all of the contracts MOSS had for Cisco products, including all of the contracts MOSS had with ARMP for Cisco products.
MOSS fulfilled 13 contracts for ARMP between August 2009 and August 2010, totaling $2,828,126. The largest of these was a $2,156,548 contract for more than 2,500 Cisco parts to be shipped to 23 ARMP locations around the country. In each of these contracts, according to the indictment, MOSS sourced products from PRM Technology Equipment.
PRM, which does business through several entities created by Morgan, was headquartered in Charlotte, N. Carolina, at Morgan’s former residence. (In July 2012, Morgan moved to California.) PRM holds itself out to be a wholesale distributor of Cisco and other computer products, and claims to have substantially discounted pricing on new equipment due to direct relationships with manufacturers.
Morgan allegedly obtained products from several sources that provided counterfeit Cisco products and Cisco products that were used and modified post-manufacture outside of Cisco authorized distribution channels. Morgan allegedly purchased counterfeit computer products from sources in China and Hong Kong and imported them into the United States.
According to the indictment, Morgan paid Evans a total of $83,403 in a series of bonus payments for products ordered from PRM.
When asked by representatives from ARMP and Cisco as to the source of these products, the indictment says, Dillard and Evans falsely stated the products were new, genuine Cisco goods and services, provided from Cisco’s authorized distribution channels and protected by full Cisco warranties. The indictment alleges that Dillard and Evans repeatedly made false representations in meetings, phone conferences, and other communications to employees of the U.S. Army, ARMP, and Cisco that MOSS had supplied goods and services as required by contract.
Morgan allegedly helped Dillard and Evans conceal him as the true source of the products. Morgan, Dillard and Evans repeatedly made false representations through fraudulent documentation (including fraudulent purchase orders and invoices) that was provided to the U.S. Army, ARMP, and Cisco, according to the indictment.
The indictment quotes from a telephone call that Dillard allegedly made to Morgan on Aug. 24, 2011, in response to a Cisco employee again requesting documents to show where the products had been sourced. Dillard left Morgan a voicemail stating, “Hey Mark. This is Virgie. I need you to call me and help me figure out what to tell these people as to where I got this stuff from to keep from tell (sic) them I got it from you … I’m hoping you would call me back and help me figure out what to say.”
When an employee from ARMP notified Evans that 40 percent of the transceivers were failing, the indictment says, Evans e-mailed an employee of ARMP regarding the return of faulty items and misrepresented that Morgan was working for Cisco.
In addition to the conspiracy, the defendants are charged together in 10 counts of wire fraud. Evans is also charged with being a felon in possession of firearms. The indictment alleges that Evans, who has a prior felony conviction, was in possession of a Lorcin .380 pistol and a Winchester 12-gauge shotgun on Nov. 15, 2011.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require all of the defendants to forfeit any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged offenses, including a $2,828,126 money judgment.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 Matthew P. Wolesky. It was investigated by the FBI, the Department of Defense – Office of Inspector General and the Department of Homeland Security.
16 Men Indicted for Murder-for-hire, Drug-trafficking ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that several Kansas City, Mo., area residents are among 16 defendants indicted by a federal grand jury today for their roles in a large drug-trafficking conspiracy and in an unsuccessful conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.
Andre Taylor, also known as “Dre,” 47, and his relatives, Harlan Taylor, also known as “Bub,” 35, Raymond Taylor, 30, and Darryl Taylor, also known as “Cash Image” or “Cash,” 35, all of Kansas City, Mo., and Carl Taylor, also known as “Biggs,” 34, of Leavenworth, Kan.; as well as Kenneth Vaughn Cooper, 30, Eric Union, also known as “E,” 29, Bryant Willis, also known as “Spaghetti,” 33, Daniel Howard, also known as “Saw,” 39, and Tyrone A. Rock, 41, all of Kansas City, Mo.; Robert Taylor, also known as “R,” 32, of Grandview, Mo.; Marlon M. Minton, also known as “M,” 40, of Raymore, Mo.; Gregory Johnson, also known as “G,” 34, of Kansas City, Kan.; Allen L. Sanchez, also known as “Homey,” 25, of Overland Park, Kan.; Ruben Machiche, also known as “Cowboy,” 53, of Tucson, Ariz.; and Richard Schoen, also known as “Steve” or “White Guy,” 51, of Cortez, Colo. were charged in a 10-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo.
Today’s indictment alleges that most of the defendants – with the only exceptions of Cooper and Union – have participated in a conspiracy to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana and five kilograms or more of cocaine since Feb. 1, 2010.
Andre Taylor, Cooper and Union are charged with participating in a conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. Today’s indictment alleges they conspired in August 2012 to murder Billy Brown for a payment of $10,000, although the murder was not carried out.
Andre Taylor and Cooper are also charged with possessing a machine gun during a crime of violence. The indictment alleges that they were in possession of a .45 ACP M10-type machine gun on Aug. 21, 2012, in furtherance of the conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. Cooper is also charged with being an unlawful drug user in possession of ammunition. The indictment alleges that Cooper, a user or addict of marijuana, was in possession of 18 rounds of .45-caliber ammunition on Aug. 21, 2012.
In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, Andre Taylor and Howard are charged together in one count of distributing cocaine and Howard is charged with two additional counts of distributing cocaine. Andre Taylor and Ray Taylor are also charged together in one count of distributing cocaine and Raymond Taylor is charged with one additional count of distributing cocaine.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require the defendants to forfeit to the government any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged violations, including residential property in Kansas City, Mo.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 Stefan C. Hughes. It was investigated by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Lee’s Summit, Mo., Police Department and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.KC Man Pleads Guilty to Bungled Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a bungled bank robbery attempt.
Martron E. Bailey, 26, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to the charge contained in a Dec. 4, 2012 federal indictment.
By pleading guilty today, Bailey admitted that he aided and abetted another person to rob United Missouri Bank, 6400 Independence Ave. in Kansas City, Mo., on Nov. 6, 2012.
According to court documents, Bailey and another man came out of the bushes near the door of the bank as an employee arrived at about 7:20 a.m. The employee, visibly pregnant, screamed as she was backed into a corner of the doorway. Bailey ordered the employee to open the door, an affidavit says, but she told the robbers that she couldn’t open the door. Bailey pushed her toward the door and again ordered her to open it. She told the robbers that an employee inside the building had to let her in the door. At that point, an affidavit says, the other employee had seen the activity outside the bank and already called 911.
“Tell her to let you in!” Bailey insisted. “I can’t,” the employee replied, “she sees you on the camera and she’s not going to let me in!” While the other robber backed into the opposite corner of the doorway, Bailey backed away from the employee and asked, “Can she see me now?” The bank employee replied: “Yes, she’s not going to open the door!”
“So we need to leave?” Bailey asked. “Yes, you do,” the employee replied.
According to an affidavit, the robbers fled back to the bushes and around a fence. As they ran toward their car, which was parked a couple of blocks away, a neighborhood resident saw them and became suspicious. The resident, who had seen the unfamiliar vehicle parked nearby and heard sirens in the area, thought they were acting suspiciously. The resident took photos of them getting into their car as well as photos of the green Chevrolet Malibu and the rear license plate. Those photos were given to law enforcement officers.
Officers reviewed bank surveillance video, which matched the individuals in the photos taken by the resident. They learned that the vehicle was registered to Bailey.
Later that day, a civilian police department employee received a call from her father about a green Chevrolet that was parked without permission in the backyard of another relative’s house. The police department employee learned that officers were attempting to locate a green vehicle, and when she checked the license plates, she learned that the parked vehicle was registered to Bailey, her cousin.
Police officers met with the homeowner, who did not know who the vehicle belonged to and had not given permission for it to be parked in his backyard. Officers showed him the photo taken by the bank robbery witness, and he identified Baily, his nephew, as the person who was photographed getting into the car. Bailey was also identified by other family members. After photos were broadcast on television, an anonymous tip was received by the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers that provided Bailey’s residential address.
Under federal statutes, Bailey is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. 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 David A. Barnes. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Springfield Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Porn on his Cell PhoneRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man who was recently released after serving a prison term for possessing child pornography pleaded guilty in federal court today to downloading additional child pornography onto his cell phone.
Lattrell Anthony Morris, 29, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to the charge contained in a Feb. 27, 2011 federal indictment. Morris was sentenced in 2007 to serve 70 months in federal prison for possessing child porn, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. Morris had been on supervised release for only a few months when he engaged in this criminal conduct.
Morris received a cell phone in September 2012, approximately four months after being released from federal prison. Despite Morris’s supervised release restrictions against Internet services, Morris paid $50 a month for unlimited Internet access through his cell phone.
Morris admitted that he used his cell phone daily to conduct Internet searches for child pornography. Law enforcement officers examined Morris’s cell phone and found more than 15 images of child pornography.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the government and Morris will jointly recommend to the court 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 Assistant U.S. Attorney Abram McGull II. It was investigated by the FBI, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office.
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."Joplin Man Pleads Guilty to Child PornRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Joplin, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.
Rodney Russell, 41, of Joplin, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to the charge contained in an Oct. 3, 2012 federal indictment.
By pleading guilty today, Russell admitted that he received and distributed child pornography over the Internet between Oct. 4 and Dec. 21, 2011.
Under federal statutes, Russell is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. 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 James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) 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."Former KC Man Indicted for Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former Kansas City, Mo., resident was indicted by a federal grand jury today for producing child pornography.
Paul Leslie Kannarr, 68, formerly of Kansas City, was charged in a 10-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City.
Today’s indictment alleges that Kannarr used a minor, identified as “Jane Doe,” to produce child pornography on six separate occasions between Dec. 19, 1999 and Sept. 23, 2000. The indictment also charges Kannarr with two counts of posting a notice online that offers to display or distribute child pornography, one count of transporting child pornography over the Internet and one count of possessing child pornography.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 Katharine Fincham. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the FBI 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."Waynesville Couple Indicted for Meth Conspiracy; Officers Seized $414000 as Drug ProceedsRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Waynesville, Mo., couple has been indicted by a federal grand jury for their role in a nearly $414,000 conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Pulaski and Laclede counties.
Bruce Conant, 58, and his wife Rendy Conant, 52, both of Waynesville, were charged in a four-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on May 8, 2013. That indictment was unsealed and made public upon the couple’s arrest and initial court appearance on Thursday, May 16, 2013.
The federal indictment alleges that the Conants participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Pulaski and Laclede counties from Feb. 20 to July 16, 2012. In addition to the conspiracy, they are charged with possessing 50 grams or more of pure methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
Bruce Conant is also charged with two counts related to the illegal possession of a Charter Arms .38-caliber revolver. Conant is charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes and with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The indictment also contains forfeiture allegations, which would require the Conants to forfeit to the government any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged offenses, including $413,945, which was seized by law enforcement officers. According to the indictment, $84,165 was seized from the Conants on July 16, 2012 and $329,780 was seized from a storage facility rented by the Conants on July 17, 2012. The Conants would also be required to forfeit their residence in Waynesville, a 1995 Mustang Cobra, a 1998 BMW and a 1995 Chevrolet 1500. The Conants would also be required to forfeit personal property seized from their residence, including security and surveillance equipment, a coin collection, a flat screen television, police scanners, a telescope, a pair of binoculars, and night vision optics and scopes.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 Ami Harshad Miller and Cynthia Hyde. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS – Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Laclede County Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Pulaski County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Waynesville, Mo., Police Department and the Pulaski County, Mo., Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Springfield, Kirbyville Men Charged with K2 ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man and a Kirbyville, Mo., man were charged in federal court today for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute synthetic marijuana, commonly referred to as K2.
Travis E. Butchee, 37, of Springfield, and Michael J. Saguto, 42, of Kirbyville, were charged with one count of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute a controlled substance analogue and one count of mail fraud in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Springfield. Saguto remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing. An arrest warrant has been issued for Butchee, who is a fugitive from justice. The public’s assistance is being sought to locate Butchee.
Butchee opened The Man Cave, a retail business at 1927 S.Glenstone in Springfield, in February 2013. Butchee and Saguto are the owners of Southern Spice, LLC.
According to an affidavit filed in support of today’s federal criminal complaint, Southern Spice manufactured synthetic cannabinoids (under such labels as Red Eyed, Blazed, Donkey Punch, Jolly Grape Giant, South of the Tracks, Baby Face and Devilz Lettuce), which was distributed to several businesses for resale. Search warrants were executed from January to December 2012 at several businesses – including Doobies (at two Springfield locations), Zak’s Place in Springfield, Beer and Bottle liquor store in Hollister, Mo., and Big E’s in Lebanon, Mo. – at which law enforcement officers seized hundreds of packages of K2 manufactured by Southern Spice, which were being sold by the businesses.
The affidavit cites four undercover purchases of K2 from The Man Cave by law enforcement officers in April and May 2013.
On Thursday, May 16, 2013 law enforcement officers executed search warrants at the residences of Saguto and Butchee, as well as at a Merriam Woods residence owned by Butchee. At Saguto’s residence, officers seized the components of a synthetic cannabinoid manufacturing laboratory and a significant amount of cash contained in an ammo box. At the Merriam Woods residence, officers seized three five-gallon buckets containing a plant substance identified as synthetic cannabinoids as well as packages filled with a substance believed to be synthetic cannabinoids, which were labeled Hillbilly Hay.
Saguto received numerous parcels through the mail on a frequent basis, the affidavit says, including frequent international parcels. Many of the international parcels originated in China. Many of the chemicals used to manufacture synthetic cannabinoids are produced in and distributed from China. The affidavit cites one package from China that was intercepted by law enforcement officers. The package, which was delivered to Saguto’s residence, contained two foil bags, each with approximately one kilogram of a chemical compound used to manufacture synthetic marijuana.
According to the affidavit, a total of $169,859 in checks from various head shops, tattoo parlors and other businesses were deposited into the Southern Spice bank account between April 10 and Nov. 20, 2012. Money was wired by Southern Spice to accounts in Hong Kong and China. An analysis of transactions from this bank account, the affidavit says, also showed purchases of other herbal products that are typically used as the plant ingredient in K2.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this complaint 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 U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FDA-Office of Criminal Investigation, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, the DEA Task Force and the COMET (Combined Ozarks Multi-jurisdictional Enforcement Team) Task Force.
Synthetic Designer Drugs
Over the past several years, smokable herbal blends marketed as being “legal” and providing a marijuana-like high have become increasingly popular, particularly among teens and young adults, because they are easily available and, in many cases, they are more potent and dangerous than marijuana. These products consist of plant material that has been coated with dangerous psychoactive compounds that mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. These synthetic cannabinoids are sold at a variety of retail outlets, in head shops and over the Internet. Brands such as K2, Spice, Blaze, and Red X Dawn are labeled as incense to mask their intended purpose. However, they have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for human consumption or for medical use, and there is no oversight of the manufacturing process.
While many of the designer drugs being marketed today are not specifically prohibited in the Controlled Substances Act, the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act allows these drugs to be treated as controlled substances if they are proven to be chemically and/or pharmacologically similar to a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance. This analogue provision specifically exists to combat these new and emerging designer drugs.
Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Child Porn, Faces at least 15 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Grandview, Mo., man who is a registered sex offender pleaded guilty in federal court today to receiving child pornography over the Internet.
Robert E. Shepherd, 40, of Grandview, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple to the charge contained in a Nov. 27, 2012 federal indictment.
Shepherd was on state parole at the time of the federal offense after being convicted on state charges of statutory rape and statutory sodomy in Cass County in 2000 and of statutory sodomy in Clay County in 1999. He absconded from state parole during the federal criminal investigation and was a fugitive from justice for almost four years. Shepherd was arrested at the Mexican border and his parole revoked in December 2011, for which he served a year in state prison before being indicted and taken into federal custody.
Shepherd brought his laptop computer to a computer repair facility in April 2008. Approximately a week later, a technician at the facility discovered at least one image of child pornography on the computer. The technician notified law enforcement officers, who retrieved the computer and obtained a search warrant for Shepherd’s residence. Officers seized additional computers and electronic media at Shepherd’s residence. Two videos of child pornography were discovered on the computers.
Due to his prior convictions of abusive sexual conduct involving a minor, Shepherd is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 40 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. 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 Katharine Fincham. It was investigated by the Grandview, Mo., Police Department and the Lee’s Summit, 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."Petro AmericaRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that five defendants were convicted in federal court today for their roles in a $10.2 million securities fraud and wire fraud conspiracy that victimized thousands of investors across the United States and Canada who bought shares in Petro America Corporation, which was purported to be a profitable company with $284 billion in assets.
“Petro America was a sham company from the beginning, a get-rich-quick scheme that preyed on its investors,” Dickinson said. “Despite the wildly exaggerated claims made by these defendants, Petro stock was worth about as much as a handful of used Kleenex.”
More than 12,000 victims invested in excess of $10.2 million in Petro America. Contrary to the fraudulent representations the defendants made to victim-investors, Petro America had no oil, no realistic prospects for obtaining, transporting or storing large amounts of oil, no significant assets, no revenue and no employees other than the CEO.
Isreal Owen Hawkins, 57, and Martin Roper, 47, both of Kansas City, Kan.; William Miller, 42, of Independence, Mo.; Johnny Heurung, 59, of Saint Paul, Minn.; and Teresa Brown, 55 of Bandera, Texas were found guilty of all 15 counts contained in a June 15, 2011 federal indictment. Hawkins was taken into custody immediately after the verdicts were returned, pending a bond hearing next week when the court will rule on the government’s motion to revoke his bond. The other co-defendants were continued on bond until the sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.
In addition to the five co-defendants convicted at trial, nine co-defendants have pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme.
Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that the defendants participated in a conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud that began Sept. 1, 2008. They promoted Petro America and sold shares to investors, although none of them had ever been licensed to sell securities and despite cease and desist orders from both Missouri and Kansas.
In an attempt to enable Petro to continue selling its stock after the Missouri cease and desist order was issued on Nov. 12, 2008, and to enable the conspirators to continue to profit, Hawkins gifted billions of shares to co-defendants. These secondary sellers agreed to sell the stock and they often returned some of the proceeds as kick-back payments to Hawkins and others. The secondary sellers often represented that they were merely investors selling their own shares; they did not disclose that cease and desist orders had been issued, nor did they disclose that most or all of the shares had been gifted to them. Almost no investor proceeds were being reinvested by Petro; instead, conspirators were spending investor proceeds on personal expenditures.
The defendants used religious language in their pitches and often recruited through churches. Hawkins cultivated relationships with numerous ministers, whom he dubbed the Ministers Alliance. The Ministers Alliance was a group of about 15 ministers (most of whom resided in the Kansas City area) who supported and promoted Petro America. He gave them white fedora hats and millions of Petro shares, which he encouraged them to sell secretly, accepting kick-backs from the proceeds. Members of the Ministers Alliance sold Petro shares to their congregants and others. The Ministers Alliance frequently met at restaurants and participated in weekly conference calls with hundreds of investors in dozens of states.
Roper, a member of the Ministers Alliance, was involved with Petro from its inception. Hawkins gifted a large amount of shares to Roper, who was named in the Missouri cease and desist order; other persons sold shares for Roper and split the proceeds with him. He also continued to sell shares himself. Roper spent $111,296 from his bank account and gave some of the proceeds to Hawkins. In April 2007, Roper bought a Hummer H2 for $20,970 and put on a vanity license plate APETRO2.@
Miller, who was also involved from the beginning, sold Petro stock to at least 43 investors from Aug. 18, 2009, to Nov. 8, 2010, receiving at least $104,375 in proceeds. Miller accepted 50 million shares from Hawkins for bringing his multi-level marketing contacts to Petro.
False Claims
The sale of Petro America stock was accomplished by making innumerable false misrepresentations and omissions to investors. For example, defendants falsely claimed that Petro America was worth $284 billion and Petro America stock was worth $24 per share in order to induce people to invest. There was no basis for those numbers.
Hawkins approved a series of press releases that were materially misleading and failed to disclose material facts related to investing in Petro America.
Heurung and Brown sent e-mails to investors in June 2009, falsely claiming that Petro America had gone public and its stockholders had become millionaires. In reality, Petro America had not been publicly listed on any exchange, nor had it merged with any company that was publicly traded.
Defendants fraudulently attempted to create the appearance that Petro America had tangible assets. This was done by swapping stocks for speculative, unvested, future interests in mining claims (which they called mines), non-producing oil fields, and other so-called assets, in order to falsely claim that Petro presently had tangible assets.
Personal Expenditures
From September 2008 through April 2010, Hawkins received nearly $2 million from Petro investors into accounts he controlled. Hawkins made large withdrawals of investor proceeds for personal expenses whenever he wished. Very little of these funds were reinvested into the company. Instead, Hawkins used investor money to purchase such items as a Chrysler 300, a Hummer H3, a 2004 Mercedes S430, 19 designer suits totaling $10,303 that were purchased on eBay and a $5,700 fur coat. In October 2009, Hawkins attempted to purchase a lakefront house in Kansas City, Kan. The purchase fell through, but Hawkins continued to make monthly rental payments of $3,025, which totaled at least $42,815. In addition, Hawkins paid himself a salary of $595,000 and had a contract that provided a guaranteed bonus of $175,000, a company car and a dining card.
From June 2009 through April 2010, Brown spent at least $542,197 of Petro America investor proceeds on personal expenditures, including a boat, an SUV, travel to Switzerland, Cape Cod, Europe, Panama and elsewhere, several expensive handbags, designer luggage, home design items, more than $81,000 worth of jewelry and the mortgage on a timeshare in Virginia Beach.
Additional Charges
In addition to the criminal conspiracy, Hawkins was convicted of one count of money laundering, two counts of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud and one count of structuring financial transactions in order to evade federal reporting requirements. Brown was also convicted of six counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud. Heurung was also convicted of one count of wire fraud. Miller was also convicted of one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
Each of the defendants must forfeit to the government any property derived from the proceeds of the offenses, including money seized from various bank accounts, several vehicles, jewelry and a 13-piece set of Louis Vuitton luggage.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for about eight hours over two days before returning the guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes, ending a trial that began April 17, 2013.
Under federal statutes, each of the defendants is subject to a sentence up to five years in federal prison without parole on the conspiracy count, plus sentences for any additional counts. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.
Additional Defendants
In addition to the five co-defendants who were convicted today, nine co-defendants have pleaded guilty to their roles in the criminal conspiracy.
The Rev. Edward D. Halliburton, 58, of Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy. He received nearly $400,000 from the sale of Petro stock. Halliburton, who has been a pastor for more than 20 years, was the president of the Ministers Alliance. He sold millions of shares to investors. He represented that he was selling his own shares, when in reality most of the shares had been gifted to him for that purpose as an attempt to work around the cease and desist orders. He failed to disclose to investors that he was not licensed to sell stock. From October 2009 to October 2010, Halliburton sold at least $369,605 in Petro America stock to more than 100 investors in the United States and Canada. Halliburton paid approximately $50,000 in kick-backs to co-conspirators from the proceeds of those sales.
Joseph Harrell, 51, of Waco, Texas, who acted as the CFO of Petro America, pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy. He received nearly $400,000 from the sale of Petro stock. Harrell, a minister, was also associated with the Ministers Alliance. He sold millions of shares to investors. He represented that he was selling his own shares, when in reality most of the shares had been gifted to him for that purpose as an attempt to work around the cease and desist orders. He failed to disclose to investors that he was not licensed to sell stock. Harrell sold stock to at least 90 investors, depositing $385,460 into his bank account. Harrell tried to protect his newly-acquired assets by placing them in LLCs. He drove nice cars and was living significantly better than prior to his involvement in Petro. He bought World Series tickets, for example, and rented cars for $423 per week. He frequently used Petro money to pay for meals at expensive restaurants for himself and others. During this time, Harrell was receiving an income-dependant Social Security disability benefit. Until at least May 2010, Harrell was receiving food stamp benefits. Acting as CFO of Petro, Harrell wrote checks for purported Petro expenditures that he knew were not legitimate business expenses.
Russell Hopkins, 49, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy. Hopkins promoted Petro America and sold shares to investors, despite cease and desist orders from both Missouri and Kansas, although he was never licensed to sell securities. From June 2009 through February 2011, Hopkins made at least $673,465 from the sale of Petro stock to at least 61 investors throughout the United States.
Allen Collins, 56, of Raymore, Mo., pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy. Collins promoted Petro America and sold shares to investors, despite cease and desist orders from both Missouri and Kansas, although he was never licensed to sell securities. From September 2009 through October 2010, Collins made at least $172,774 from the sale of Petro stock to at least 57 investors throughout the United States, in addition to $13,300 that he received from Petro for consulting fees and other payments. Collins, a retired welder, was part of the Minister’s Alliance.
Teresa Hill, 56, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty to her role in the conspiracy. Hill was a team leader who began recruiting investors for Petro America in 2008, although she has never been licensed to sell securities. Initially, team leaders like Hill would hold their own small meetings with the shareholders they brought in. In September 2008, conspirators began holding weekly meetings for all shareholders.
Charles Hooker, 50, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy. Hooker was a team leader who recruited investors and sold shares of stock for Petro America. Hooker knew the Petro stock shares were not registered when he started selling them. Hooker has never been licensed to sell securities and did not check with the state of Missouri or with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to determine whether the company was registered, or whether it was legal for them to sell shares. After Hooker found out about the Missouri cease and desist order, he never contacted state regulators or an attorney to find out if it was legal to sell the shares. Hooker’s friends and family agreed to invest in Petro. Hooker’s plea agreement also refers to an investor in Beverly Hills, Calif., whom he persuaded to invest $150,000 in Petro America. Hooker, a minister, attended meetings of the Minister’s Alliance. Hooker did not purchase shares of Petro, but was gifted 80 to 90 million shares for bringing in investors. Hooker sold those shares for $100 for 100,000 shares. By April 2010, Hooker had sold all his shares and began selling shares that had been gifted to co-defendant Teresa Hill. The proceeds that weren’t spent were kept at the house, not in a bank. Hooker did not use a bank account and dealt mainly in cash.
Hooker and Hill sold their shares together in concert. A total of $67,258 in cash went into Hill’s accounts in 2007 and 2008. After that period, Hooker received at least $25,000 from the sale of Petro shares in concert with co-defendant Halliburton. The minimum loss attributable to Hooker and Hill’s conduct is $77,000, and the maximum is $144,258.
Brian Langenbach, 44, of Globe, pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy. Langenbach was not licensed to sell securities. He was self-employed as a cattle rancher during this time and he has not filed a federal tax return since 2003. Langenbach admitted that he sold Petro America stock to at least 180 investors, receiving at least $400,000 in proceeds, from Aug. 20, 2009, to March 2, 2010.
Curtis White, 57, of Independence, Mo., pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy. White was a minister in Grandview, Mo., when he became involved with Petro in September 2008. He was part of the Ministers Alliance. White received free shares of Petro stock and was told he would receive unlimited replacement shares as he sold his shares. From at least April 1, 2010, to Nov. 15, 2010, White sold almost 40 million shares of purported Petro stock to at least 156 investors. Most of these investors were not affluent. He sold his shares for $100 for 100,000 shares. Most paid for the stock in cash, and therefore the total amount of money that White made from Petro America is not clear. But his bank records show that White received at least $75,300 from his involvement in Petro.
Clarence D. Moore, 64, of Atlanta, Ga., pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy. Moore admitted that he lied to investors about his credentials as a Certified Public Accountant. Moore does not have a college degree, he has never been a Certified Public Accountant, and he is not a licensed tax preparer. In February 2010, however, Moore began doing accounting work on behalf of Petro America. He signed false documents related to Petro’s supposed assets, and other documents were signed on his behalf. These included investor “lulling letters” and false tax returns, which were designed to make investors believe that Petro’s supposed billions of dollars’ worth of assets had been verified by a professional C.P.A. Moore also signed an additional letter containing false representations about his credentials. In exchange, he received payments of at least $3,500. Moore was supposed to receive an additional $5,000 retainer, but never did.In January 2010, Moore was asked to help determine a valuation for Petro America’s assets and stock. Over the phone and without examining any documents or conducting any due diligence, Moore agreed on a figure of $24 per share. A letter was then circulated under Moore’s signature that indicated Petro had been valued by Moore, whom the letter falsely represented was a C.P.A., at $284 billion and $24 per share. In an introduction to the letter, on Petro America letterhead, Moore was described as a 1976 graduate of Atlanta College, a licensed C.P.A. in the state of Georgia, and “the first African-American accountant for Gulf Oil and also a former auditor for Exxon.” This letter was used to induce numerous investors to purchase purported stock in Petro America.
In actuality, Moore is not and has never been a C.P.A. Moore dropped out of Clark College after one semester following an incident where he was shot in the back of the head. Moore has had balance and equilibrium problems since that time. Recently, he has been homeless. Moore has spent time in prison or jail in each of the last three decades primarily for criminal forgery and fraud. He worked briefly as an accounting clerk for Gulf Oil in the 1970s. In 1972, he worked for Exxon, where he examined receipts from cash registers at service stations.
In the spring of 2010, Moore drove from Atlanta to Kansas City, Mo., to prepare tax returns for Petro America. Although the filing system was “atrocious” and the returns contained false, incomplete, and misleading information, Moore nevertheless signed the returns and filed them with the IRS. The returns contained unsupported, sky-high valuations for Petro.
Web Site Support For Fraud Victims
Two Web sites have been established to collect information from the victims of the alleged securities fraud scheme and to provide information about the status of the case. Investors of Petro America are encouraged to provide information via an online form at www.postalinspectorsurvey.com/PetroAmerica. Due to the volume of expected responses, this process has been automated and placed online; all communication from potential victims regarding the case should be made via this Web site. Updates about the status of the case will be posted at www.justice.gov/usao/mow/divisions/petro.htm
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel M. Nelson and Kathleen D. Mahoney. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Office of the Missouri Securities Commissioner.
Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to Life in Prison for Producing Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Blue Springs, Mo., man who is a registered sex offender was sentenced in federal court today for creating videos of his sexual assault of a child.
William G. Weiss, 40, of Blue Springs, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to life in federal prison without parole.
Weiss was required to register as a sex offender due to his prior felony convictions for attempted statutory sodomy of two other child victims. This case marked the first prosecution in the Western District of Missouri under a federal statute that classifies violent crimes against children. The statute mandates a life sentence if a defendant with a prior sex conviction (in which the victim was a child) is convicted of a federal sex offense in which the victim is a child.
On Nov. 21, 2012 Weiss pleaded guilty to producing child pornography. Weiss admitted that he used an 8-to-9-year-old minor, identified as Jane Doe, to produce child pornography.
Law enforcement officers discovered a video of child pornography on Weiss’s cell phone during an investigation into his sexual assault of another minor. (Weiss has been charged in Jackson County Circuit Court with statutory sodomy and attempted statutory rape related to this conduct.) Investigators found a self-produced video of Weiss having sexual intercourse with Jane Doe, whom he identified as the daughter of a friend. Investigators found two more child pornography movies that depicted the same child victim, Jane Doe, on Weiss’s computer. Weiss admitted that he had sexually assaulted her eight to 10 times.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. It was investigated by the Lee’s Summit, 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."Lebanon Trucking Company Owners Sentenced for $800,000 Scheme to Defraud Tracker MarineRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that that the owners of a Lebanon, Mo., trucking company have been sentenced for their roles in a conspiracy to defraud Tracker Marine, a Springfield, Mo.-based manufacturer of boats and trailers sold throughout North America.
James Keith Ivey, 53, and his wife, Melinda Kay Ivey, 43, both of Lebanon, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner on Friday, May 10, 2013. James Ivey was sentenced to five years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. Melinda Ivey was sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison without parole. The Iveys are jointly and severally liable to pay $797,325 in restitution.
On Aug. 15, 2012 the Iveys were found guilty following a bench trial before U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr. The Iveys and co-defendant Paul Ray Hunting, 40, of Paso Robles, Calif., devised a scheme to defraud Tracker Marine, LLC, from January 2006 to April 2009, by inflating purchase orders and shipping invoices. During that time, the Iveys and Hunting caused more than 2,550 fraudulent invoices to be submitted to Tracker, which created a total loss of at least $797,325 to Tracker.
The Iveys owned and operated J&M Trucking, Inc., in Lebanon. Tracker contracted with J&M to transport boats and trailers to Tracker’s dealers located throughout North America. Hunting, formerly of Laclede County, Mo., was promoted to transportation manager for Tracker in 2006.
Hunting pleaded guilty to his role in both a wire fraud conspiracy and a money-laundering conspiracy as well as to failing to file an income tax return. Hunting, who was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison, was ordered to pay $294,496 in restitution.
J&M’s compensation from Tracker was determined primarily by the distance its trucks traveled. Hunting caused Tracker to make payments to J&M in excess of the contract amount by listing an inflated and false number of billable miles on purchase orders. In exchange, James Ivey paid Hunting a portion of the revenue generated by the fraudulently increased billable miles, in cash. From 2006 to 2008, James Ivey paid Hunting a total of $265,775.
At the beginning of the scheme there was no set amount for Hunting’s increases to the billable miles on purchase orders. However, in April 2006, James Ivey and Hunting agreed on a set amount of 158 miles as being the amount Hunting would add to each purchase order, because when multiplied by the then-applicable reimbursement rate of $1.90 per mile, the result was an additional $300 per trip. This amount allowed for an even three-way split between Hunting, James Ivey and Melinda Ivey. The defendants continued the practice of inflating billable miles by 158 miles per trip, even after the reimbursement rate was increased to $2.10 per mile in January 2007.
However, J&M paid its drivers for the actual miles they drove, not the number of miles for which J&M invoiced Tracker.
In addition to the fraud conspiracy, James and Melinda Ivey were found guilty of a money-laundering conspiracy related to the cash payments to Hunting, which involved the proceeds of the mail and wire fraud conspiracy. Approximately every two weeks James Ivey, often accompanied by Melinda Ivey, met Hunting (usually in a parking lot in Lebanon) and paid Hunting his share of the proceeds generated from the fraudulent invoices, in cash. Hunting claimed some of those payments on his federal income tax return as income from a catering business, which was false. The Iveys claimed the payments represented a percentage of revenue generated by two trucks they claimed Hunting owned and was leasing to J&M, which was also false.
In addition to the fraud and money-laundering conspiracies, James and Melinda Ivey were convicted together in nine counts of wire fraud and James Ivey was convicted of 10 additional counts of wire fraud. The Iveys were each convicted of one count of making false statements to federal agents.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich. It was investigated by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation.
KC Employee Pleads Guilty to Fraud Scheme to Cheat Health Insurance ProgramRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., employee pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a scheme in which hundreds of public employees defrauded their health insurance program of more than $300,000 by falsely claiming to have run marathons and competed in triathlons for cash incentives.
Matt Tholen, 29, of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to one count of wire fraud.
Tholen, who was employed by the city as an emergency medical technician, received health insurance coverage from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas City. As an insured, Tholen was eligible to participate in a wellness program offered by Blue Cross called Points to Blue. The program offered gift cards to Tholen and other insureds based upon entries made to the Points to Blue Web site, logging various exercise programs and diet programs completed by the insureds. Every 1,000 points earned translated to one dollar towards a gift card, up to a maximum of $250 annually for each insured. The more strenuous exercises earned more points.
Tholen admitted that he and other employees submitted false entries to the Points to Blue Web site, claiming they completed extremely strenuous activities in order to fraudulently obtain the maximum gift card of $250. To make even more money in this scheme, Tholen admitted, he and others submitted false entries for other employees and their eligible dependents, in exchange for receiving a portion of the fraudulent gift card proceeds.
Tholen made fraudulent Points to Blue submissions on behalf of 62 employees, resulting in 144 gift cards worth a total of $17,600. Among the fraudulent submissions, on Jan. 16, 2011 Tholen submitted an activity entry to Points to Blue stating that 5-year-old “TJ” had completed two marathons and two triathlons.
Under federal statutes, Tholen is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. 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 John E. Cowles. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Task Force, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Overland Park, Kan., Police Department.
Neosho Man Sentenced to 14 Years for Child PornRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Neosho, Mo., man with nearly 1,000 videos and images of child pornography on his computer has been sentenced in federal court for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.
Dustin William Merriman, 26, of Neosho, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner on Thursday, May 9, 2013 to 14 years in federal prison without parole.
Merriman, who pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2012, was identified in two separate and unrelated investigations into the distribution of child pornography over the Internet conducted by the FBI in El Paso, Texas and the New Zealand National Police.
Law enforcement officers confronted Merriman at his place of employment. He admitted that he had hundreds of videos and images of child pornography on his laptop, which was kept in a locker at work. A Joplin police detective searched the laptop and located more than 1,000 video files; he viewed over 50 of these video files, which all depicted child pornography. The average age of the children depicted in the videos was between five and seven years old.
Merriman was arrested and officers seized his cell phone, which also contained child pornography.
Investigators conducted a full forensics examination of Merriman’s laptop computer and discovered 386 movies of child pornography and 560 images of child pornography.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert. It was investigated by the FBI, the Joplin, Mo., Police Department and the New Zealand National Police.
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."61 Defendants Charged with Illegal Firearms, Drugs in ATF-KCPD Undercover OperationRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that 61 Kansas City, Mo.-area residents have been charged with firearms violations, drug trafficking or other crimes as the result of a nearly year-long undercover operation by the ATF and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
“This was the largest federal round-up ever conducted in this district as the result of a single investigation,” Dickinson said. “We are taking dozens of violent criminals off the street and hundreds of illegal guns out of circulation. Kansas City is a safer city today as a result of this operation.”
More than 150 law enforcement officers from local, state and federal agencies arrested 28 defendants in a three-day sweep this week. In addition, eight federal defendants are already in custody on earlier indictments resulting from this investigation and one defendant is already in federal custody in an unrelated case. Ten defendants are already in state custody on unrelated charges.
The remaining 14 defendants who are not in custody are considered fugitives from justice and are actively being sought by law enforcement. The public’s assistance is requested to locate these fugitives. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the TIPS hot line at 816-474-8477.
“This investigation is a testament to the NoVA partnership and is just the beginning. These indictments demonstrate our message that violence will not be tolerated,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Marino F. Vidoli. “ATF is committed to utilize every resource to keep the citizens of Kansas City safe. Be warned, if you are committing violent crime in this city, we will not rest until you are off the streets.”
During the course of the investigation, agents seized 222 firearms (including handguns, assault rifles and sawed-off shotguns). Some of those firearms have been identified as having been used in multiple violent crimes, including unsolved homicide investigations, and some had been reported stolen. Agents also seized or purchased various quantities of marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, PCP and various other narcotics.
“This is a significant operation that should have a major impact on gun crime in our city,” said Jean Peters Baker, Jackson County Prosecutor.
Baker added that the operation will also be significant in pressing the new KC NoVA (No Violence Alliance) effort that involves federal, state and city law enforcement agencies as well as community leaders. The undercover operation provided information that will be used in the future by NoVA.
NoVA tells those involved in groups associated with crime here that law enforcement is working closely together to win the most severe punishment possible for violent crime, Baker noted. “This operation shows we mean what we say,” she said.
“I applaud the efforts of all law enforcement officers from each respective agency who have worked on this operation,” said Kansas City, Mo., Police Chief Darryl Forté. “It is my hope that through these proactive efforts, those involved in violent crimes are located and arrested and those considering that choice are provided a different path to follow. Through operations like this, I believe this is being accomplished.”
“We pledged at NoVA’s inception that law enforcement, prosecutors and community partners would be united in stamping out violent crime, and we’re delivering on that promise,” Dickinson said. “NoVA is a carrot-and-stick approach, and what you’re witnessing this week is the stick. We are bringing the full weight of our resources to bear on the level of violence in Kansas City.”
Following this week’s law enforcement action, NoVA partners will directly approach those individuals who have been identified in a network of associates of known criminals. These individuals, who were neither charged nor arrested this week, will be offered resources and services to assist them if they desire to renounce a life of crime, rehabilitate themselves and become productive members of the community.
According to Dickinson, two-thirds of the defendants charged in the operation (41 defendants) have prior felony convictions and more than half of the defendants are currently on probation or parole. Under federal statutes, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to possess any firearm or ammunition. It is also a federal offense for drug traffickers and users of controlled substances to possess any firearm or ammunition.
“This operation targeted armed career criminals, violent felons who are carrying guns,” Dickinson said. “We know that the same guns are often used over and over again to commit violent crimes. Every weapon taken out of the hands of a convicted felon represents lives saved and violent crimes prevented.”
Dickinson noted that the large sudden influx of federal cases requires the U.S. Attorney’s Office to work closely with the District Court, the U.S. Marshal’s Office and the Office of Probation and Parole. “We appreciate the coordination of everyone at the courthouse as we implement some creative solutions to insure that the administration of justice continues efficiently under these extraordinary circumstances,” said Dickinson.
Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in these indictments 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.
The federal cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Barnes, Stefan C. Hughes, Bruce Rhoades, Charles E. Ambrose, Jr., Bruce E. Clark, Cathleen Connelly, Christina Y. Tabor, David DeTar Newbert, Rudolph R. Rhodes IV, D. Michael Green and Brent Venneman and by Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sydney Sanders, Jalilah Otto, Leena Ramana and Sarah A. Castle. They were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Independence, Mo., Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations.
Liberal Man Indicted for Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Liberal, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.
Timothy Curless, 52, of Liberal, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Curless on April 22, 2013.
Today’s indictment alleges that Curless received and distributed child pornography over the Internet between Nov. 4, 2012 and April 19, 2013.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, a law enforcement officer was conducting an undercover investigation into the distribution of child pornography by suspect(s) using file-sharing software. On two separate occasions the officer allegedly downloaded images of child pornography from Curless’s computer. Among those images, the affidavit says, were children who have not reached puberty and a child as young as three years of age. When officers executed a search warrant, the affidavit says, they learned that Curless had been using his neighbor’s wi-fi network in order to access the Internet.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture count, which would require Curless to forfeit to the government a desktop computer, two laptop computers, a hard disk drive, 69 CDs, three flash drives and two floppy disks.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crime 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."Everton Man Indicted for Money-laundering Scheme from Stolen Cooking OilRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Everton, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for laundering the proceeds of a scheme to sell spent cooking oil that had been stolen from restaurants and for being a felon in possession of firearms.
John Arnold, 61, of Everton, was charged in a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo.
Today’s indictment charges Arnold with three counts of money laundering. Arnold allegedly sold $237,036 of stolen spent cooking oil to recyclers from May 2010 through August 2011 and used the proceeds of that illegal activity to purchase several vehicles.
Spent cooking oil is the byproduct of cooking oil that restaurants used for frying foods. Restaurants have collection boxes on site in which their used cooking oil is stored. Many restaurants contract with various companies for the collection and removal of spent cooking oil. Arnold operated a spent cooking oil business under the name of J&A located on his property. This business would buy and sell spent cooking oil received from drivers who allegedly stole it from various restaurants, the indictment alleges.
According to the indictment, Arnold used $22,300 of those proceeds to purchase a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado in 2010, $18,100 to purchase a 2009 Chevrolet G3500 in 2010 and $45,100 to purchase a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado in 2011.
The indictment also charges Arnold with being a felon in possession of firearms. Arnold, who has prior felony convictions, was in possession of five firearms on Dec. 3, 2012. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Arnold allegedly was in possession of a Ruger .45-caliber revolver, a Mossberg .12-gauge shotgun, a Savage .22-caliber rifle with no serial number, a Savage .16-gauge shotgun with no serial number and an 8mm Mauser.
The indictment also contains forfeiture allegations, which would require Arnold to forfeit to the government the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado, $90,000 in cash, all of the firearms and 156 rounds of assorted ammunition.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 Abram McGull II. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.New York Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking in over $4 Million of Contraband CigarettesRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a New York man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a conspiracy to traffic in more than $4.1 million worth of contraband cigarettes.
Keith Donald Stoldt, 59, of Cowlesvilel, N.Y., waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan to a federal information that charges him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and contraband cigarette trafficking.
Stoldt and his wife operate the Totem Smoke Shop, located on the Tonawanda Seneca Indian Reservation in Basom, N.Y. By pleading guilty today, Stoldt admitted that he participated in the conspiracy from July 1, 2011 to Jan. 28, 2012.
Stoldt placed orders for more than $4.1 million of unstamped cigarettes (that is, cigarettes that did not carry the mandated tax stamps because the New York excise tax of $4.35 per pack of cigarettes was not paid) from the president of an Oklahoma tobacco company that manufactured and distributed its own brand of cigarettes. (The Oklahoma company is not identified in court documents; the president of the tobacco company is identified only as an unindicted co-conspirator.) This unindicted co-conspirator would then place orders for those unstamped cigarettes from a Florida business (owned and operated by another unidentified, unindicted co-conspirator) who in turn ordered unstamped cigarettes from a cigarette wholesale business in Independence, Mo. (operated by another unidentified, unindicted co-conspirator).
After the orders had been placed, the Florida business owner would pick up the unstamped cigarettes at either the Independence company’s warehouse or another location in the Kansas City, Mo., area and transport them to the Oklahoma tobacco company. From there, the unstamped cigarettes would be transported to a Nebraska tobacco distribution company then transported by a Nebraska transportation logistics company (both under the same Nebraska parent corporation) to the Totem Pole Smoke Shop in New York.
Stoldt knew that the New York state excise tax of $4.35 per pack would not be paid. This allowed Stoldt to sell the unstamped, untaxed cigarettes at his Totem Pole Smoke Shop at a considerable discount and deprived the state of New York of its tax revenue. As a result of this conspiracy, the amount of Stoldt’s forseeable excise tax loss to the state of New York was approximately $4.37 million.
Under the terms of today’s binding plea agreement, Stoldt must forfeit $247,080 to the government, which represents the proceeds of the conspiracy, and must pay restitution. If the court accepts the plea agreement, Stoldt will be sentenced to a term of probation. 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 Paul S. Becker and Justin G. Davids. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and FDIC-Office of Inspector General.
Jefferson City Woman Pleads Guilty to Attempted Jail EscapeRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Jefferson City, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to her role in a conspiracy to help an inmate at the Morgan County jail in an unsuccessful escape attempt.
Amanda Leigh Lesh, 35, of Jefferson City, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matt J. Whitworth to the charge contained in a Dec. 13, 2012 federal indictment.
By pleading guilty today, Lesh admitted that she smuggled a hacksaw blade into the cell shared by Mitchell Atterberry, who was being held in the jail on federal charges related to distributing methamphetamine. Atterberry’s cellmate, Steven Pyykola of Springfield, was also part of the escape attempt. Pyykola was convicted of three state murder charges and is serving three consecutive life sentences without parole.
Sheriff’s deputies received a tip on Nov. 14, 2012 and searched Atterberry’s cell. They found that the window had been damaged. The metal support beam had been cut most of the way through. They also found a 10-inch saw blade in the mat on the top bunk of the cell and a smaller two-inch saw blade that appeared to have broken off the larger blade.
Authorities reviewed telephone calls that Atterberry and Pyykola made to Lesh, in which they asked her to purchase saw blades and deliver them to the jail underneath their second story window. Atterberry and Pyykola would then slide a string out of a hole that had been made in the window to the ground where Lesh would tie on the items and they would pull them up and in through the window. Lesh also made references to picking up the two after the escape and buying them clothes to wear.
On Nov. 13, 2012, Atterberry told Lesh in a recorded telephone conversation that they “worked on it late last night, couldn’t get it done” and in a later call that day said they hoped to get it done “by tonight.” The next day, authorities received the tip about the escape plans.
Under federal statutes, Lesh is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. 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 Steven R. Berry. It was investigated by the Morgan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the DEA.
Ozark Attorney Pleads Guilty to Failing to Pay TaxesRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Ozark, Mo., attorney pleaded guilty in federal court today to willfully failing to pay both the payroll taxes he deducted from his employees’ paychecks and his personal income taxes.
Michael C. Stoffregen, 51, of Ozark, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of willfully failing to pay over his employees’ payroll taxes to the government and one count of willfully failing to file tax returns.
Stoffregen was the sole owner of The Disability and Elder Law Center (formerly the Law Offices of MC Stoffregen), located in Springfield, Mo. Stoffregen admitted that he deducted and withheld taxes from his employees’ paychecks (including federal income taxes and Social Security and Medicare taxes), but did not pay that money over to the IRS. Stoffregen failed to pay over $12,251 in employment taxes for the years 2009-2011.
Stoffregen also admitted that he willfully failed to file federal individual income tax returns for the years 2008-2011. Since the law office is an S-corporation, all profits (or net losses) are passed on to Stoffregen as the sole shareholder. According to the plea agreement, the law office had total gross profits during this time of $802,720.
Under federal statutes, Stoffregen is subject to a sentence of up to six years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $35,000 and an order of restitution. 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 Patrick Carney. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Former St. Joseph Jail Employee Indicted for Illegally Using Food Stamp Benefits, Distributing HydrocodoneRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a former civilian employee of the St. Joseph, Mo., Police Department has been indicted by a federal grand jury for distributing hydrocodone and for illegally using Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards.
Kathleen “Kat” P. Blakely-Polk, 49, of St. Joseph, was charged in an eight-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, May 1, 2013. That indictment was unsealed and made public upon Blakely-Polk’s arrest and initial court appearance.
Blakely-Polk was employed as a booking desk officer at the St. Joseph Police Department Law Enforcement Center during the time of the alleged violations. The federal indictment charges her with five counts of illegally using EBT cards and three counts of distributing hydrocodone.
The indictment alleges that Blakely-Polk illegally used an EBT card on May 2 and May 3, 2011.
The indictment alleges that Blakely-Polk distributed hydrocodone on June 30, 2011 and that she illegally used an EBT card on July 1, 2011.
The indictment alleges that Blakely-Polk distributed hydrocodone on July 21, 2011 and that she illegally used an EBT card on July 23, 2011.
The indictment alleges that Blakely-Polk distributed hydrocodone on Aug. 4, 2011 and that she illegally used an EBT card on Aug. 5, 2011.
The indictment alleges that Blakely-Polk used federal benefits – specifically, benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the food stamp program – in an unauthorized manner. In 1998, the USDA (through the Missouri Division of Social Services) converted from a traditional paper food stamp coupon system to the EBT card system. Instead of being issued food stamp coupons, SNAP recipients were issued EBT cards that could be used at participating retailers. EBT cards, which are similar to credit and debit cards, are linked to a recipient’s benefit account, and credited with the recipient’s allocated benefits on a monthly basis. The recipient can then redeem the benefits at participating authorized retailers. The redemption of SNAP benefits is done in a fashion similar to a credit or debit card transaction.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jalilah Otto. It was investigated by the Buchanan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the St. Joseph, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Springfield Firm Sentenced for Importing Thousands of Products with Counterfeit Safety Labels, must Forfeit Lamps worth $1.8 MillionRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., company was sentenced in federal court today for importing thousands of lamps from its manufacturer in China bearing counterfeit safety certification labels.
GuildMaster, Inc., represented in court by company president Stephen Crowder, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner.
GuildMaster is a manufacturer and importer of furniture, lighting, accessories and wall art. On July 15, 2013, the company pleaded guilty to the felony offense of trafficking in goods with counterfeit marks.
GuildMaster must forfeit to the government 5,585 lamps that were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, valued at approximately $1,831,918, and serve a five-year term of probation. U. S. Customs and Border Protection will not impose penalties, but will apply the full amount of the $43,786 in cost bonds previously posted by GuildMaster to defray the government’s expenses in storing the lamps.
In December 2011, U.S. Customs and Border Protection discovered that lamps imported by GuildMaster bore counterfeit Underwriters Laboratories (UL) labels. UL is an independent product safety certification organization accredited for safety testing by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). For lamps meeting UL safety requirements, manufacturers are authorized to affix labels bearing the words “Portable Luminaire” and featuring the UL mark. The use of this “Portable Luminaire” label with the UL mark is the manufacturer’s representation and advertisement to the public that the lamp as a whole was certified by UL as meeting UL’s safety requirements.
Federal agents began to intercept and seize shipments of GuildMaster lamps bearing counterfeit UL labels. Between Jan. 10 and March 21, 2012 agents seized 10 shipments originating from Dongguan, China, bound for GuildMaster in Springfield. They also executed a search and seizure warrant at GuildMaster’s business office and warehouse in Springfield. The 11 seizures contained an approximate total of 5,018 lamps bearing the counterfeit “Portable Luminaire” labels with UL marks. Also, in three seizures a total of approximately 567 lamps were seized that were affixed with genuine but unauthorized “Portable Luminaire” labels bearing the UL Mark, which had been provided by UL to another company for its exclusive use and were not authorized for GuildMaster’s use.
GuildMaster was founded in Springfield in 1982. GuildMaster, which was formerly a client of UL, stopped producing its own lamps in 2005. At that time GuildMaster relocated its warehouse and closed its production facility in Springfield. Since 2005, GuildMaster has purchased lamps manufactured in China and imported them into the United States under the GuildMaster label.
GuildMaster established a Hong Kong-based trading company, Westway Enterprises Pvt. Limited, as a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2001. In May 2011, MeiHao Times Trading Co. Ltd. (located in Shenzhen, China) was established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Westway to broker sales with Dongguan factories. This was required by Chinese law before GuildMaster could establish a mainland Chinese factory as a subsidiary.
Dongguan Yangming Hardware Crafts Limited was a manufacturer of lamps located in Dongguan City, Guangdong, China. In April 2009 GuildMaster (through Westway) began paying rent on the Dongguan factory. On Nov. 22, 2010 GuildMaster (through Westway) signed a formal three-year lease for the factory. On Oct. 11, 2011 GuildMaster (through Westway and MeiHao Times Trading Co.) purchased Dongguan Yangming Hardware Crafts Limited, including its name and export license, and operated a factory entity at that location.
GuildMaster maintains that none of its agents or employees had personal knowledge that they violated U. S. laws by importing the lamps. However, GuildMaster acknowledges that the knowledge and actions of Westway employees and agents are attributed to GuildMaster because Westway was GuildMaster’s wholly-owned subsidiary. GuildMaster also acknowledges that the knowledge and actions of Dongguan employees and agents are attributed to GuildMaster because Dongguan was a wholly-owned subsidiary of MeiHao Times Trading Co. Ltd., which was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Westway.
UL certification was an important issue in the importation of electrical appliances into the United States, and Westway tracked whether each of the vendors from which it purchased lamps and components was UL certified. As of December 2009, Westway personnel knew the Dongguan factory was not UL-certified.
Before the federal seizures, GuildMaster did not inspect lamps coming from China to ascertain the authenticity of the “Portable Luminaire” certification marks placed upon the lamps. GuildMaster acknowledges that had it inspected the lamps it would have seen counterfeit and unauthorized UL marks.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven M. Mohlhenrich and Cynthia J. Hyde. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).Springfield Felon Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a MinorRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to the sexual exploitation of a minor.
Ezra Robert Gramm, 39, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to the charge contained in an Oct. 3, 2012 federal indictment.
By pleading guilty today, Gramm admitted that he made contact with the 13-year-old victim, identified as “Jane Doe,” via an Internet chat room in late 2009. Gramm and the child victim engaged in online chat sessions and exchanged text messages with one another. During the course of this interaction, Gramm asked Jane Doe to take sexually explicit photographs of herself and transmit the photographs to him. Jane Doe complied with his request.
Gramm’s cell phone was seized by law enforcement officers and found to contain multiple images of Jane Doe engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Jane Doe was interviewed and acknowledged taking the digital images of herself and transmitting them to Gramm at his request.
Under federal statutes, Gramm 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, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. 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 James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by 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 Pleads Guilty to $1 Million Drug-Trafficing Conspiracy, Faces at least 15 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a drug-trafficking conspiracy that totaled more than $1 million over the past year and to illegally possessing a firearm.
Corbin J. Bosiljevac, 36, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple to his role in a conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense.
According to today’s plea agreement, police detectives stopped one of Bosiljevac’s drug-trafficking customers as he was leaving Bosiljevac’s residence and found drugs in the vehicle. Officers executed a search warrant at Bosiljevac’s residence and found marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, and hundreds of pills of various prescription drugs. Officers also found a Kel-Tec 9mm handgun and $1,863 in Bosiljevac’s residence.
Bosiljevac admitted that he sold $20,000 worth of drugs each week. He had separate sources to supply the cocaine and the pills, he told officers. He stated that he bought cocaine for re-sale on a weekly basis, getting an average of four ounces per week (although he admitted getting 16 ounces on the last transaction).
Under federal statutes, Bosiljevac 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, plus a fine up to $4,250,000. 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 Charles E. Ambrose, Jr. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Blue Springs Man Pleads Guilty Illegal Sexual Activity, Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Blue Springs, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to transporting a minor across state lines for illegal sexual activity and to receiving child pornography over the Internet.
Dennis W. Myers, 53, of Blue Springs, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Maughmer to the charges contained in a Feb. 20, 2013, federal indictment. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Myers must also plead guilty to the charges of statutory sodomy in the first degree and attempted enticement of a child in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Mo.
Myers formerly served as a youth director at Christ United Methodist Church in Independence, Mo., and at First United Methodist Church in Springdale, Ark.
By pleading guilty today, Myers admitted that he engaged in illicit sexual activity with a 16-year-old victim, identified as Jane Doe #1, and that he transported her across state lines.
Myers met Jane Doe #1 when he was youth director at the First United Methodist Church in Springdale. Myers left his employment with the church and started a DJ business in approximately 1993-94, when Jane Doe #1 was 15 years old. He was training Jane Doe #1 to assist him in that business. At that time, Myers admitted, he and Jane Doe #1 were engaging in some sexual activity. From November 1994 to November 1995, when Jane Doe #1 was approximately 16 years old, Myers transported her from Arkansas to the Kansas City, Mo., area, where they engaged in sexual intercourse.
Years later Myers moved to Blue Springs. Following complaints by two adolescents of inappropriate sexual activity, law enforcement officers searched his home on Sept. 5, 2011, and seized his computer. Forensic examiners found a video of child pornography that had been downloaded from the Internet and viewed on the computer.
Under federal statutes, Myers is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 30 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office will recommend a sentence of 10 years on each of the two state counts to run concurrently with each other and with the federal sentence. A federal 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 Katharine Fincham. It was investigated by the Blue Springs, 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."Lee's Summit Soccer Coach Indicted on Additional Charges of Producing Child PornRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Lee’s Summit, Mo., youth soccer coach was indicted by a federal grand jury today on additional charges related to producing child pornography by secretly videotaping members of his soccer team.
Joel D. White, 40, of Lee’s Summit, was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against White on April 23, 2013. White, who coached a girls under-12 soccer team and a girls under-15 soccer team through the Lee’s Summit Soccer Association, remains in federal custody. The Lee’s Summit Soccer Association has cooperated fully with law enforcement officers during this investigation.
Today’s indictment charges White with three separate counts of attempting to produce child pornography. White allegedly attempted to use three child victims – identified in the indictment as Jane Doe #1, Jane Doe #2 and Jane Doe #3 – to produce child pornography between May 1, 2012 and March 20, 2013. Each of the three counts contained in the indictment carries a mandatory minimum sentence upon conviction of 15 years in federal prison without parole.
Under Department of Justice guidelines, the attempted production of child pornography is ordinarily charged in cases that involve surreptitious recordings. The statutory penalties for producing child pornography are the same as the penalties for attempting to produce child pornography.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, law enforcement officers in Commerce City, Colo., discovered videos of nude minors on White’s camera. White was at a soccer stadium in Colorado last month for a World Cup qualifying game when the cameras were seized by law enforcement officers as part of a criminal investigation.
Several videos allegedly depict White positioning a video camera in a bedroom of his residence in such a way that the camera is hidden. Shortly after White leaves the room, the affidavit says, the videos depict several minors, approximately 11 or 12 years old, entering the room and changing their clothes. Minors are fully nude in the videos and do not appear to know they are being videotaped.
White allegedly told police that he videotaped nude minors 10 to 15 times without their consent from May to October 2012. According to the affidavit, at least four child victims have been identified so far in the investigation.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 Teresa A. Moore. It was investigated by the Lee’s Summit, Mo., Police Department and the Commerce City, Colo., 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 to 30 Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
Project Ceasefire
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Kansas City, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing a firearm that was involved in a triple homicide last year.
Anthony Walker, 46, of Kansas City, was sentenced on Monday, April 29, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 30 years in federal prison without parole. Walker was sentenced as an armed career criminal due to his prior felony convictions.
On Aug. 1, 2012, Walker pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Walker admitted that he sold a Hi-Point semi-automatic .40-caliber handgun and a box of ammunition to a confidential law enforcement source for $200 on Jan. 26, 2012. According to court documents, the firearm and ammunition was sent to the Kansas City Regional Crime Lab for examination. Lab results indicated that the handgun matched ballistic evidence taken from the scene of a triple homicide that occurred on Jan. 16, 2012. The results also indicated that the firearm was the same gun used to kill three individuals. The Winchester ammunition purchased from Walker matched the casings recovered at the scene of the triple homicide.
Walker was arrested on Feb. 1, 2012. Court documents state that the shoes Walker was wearing when arrested matched shoe impressions taken from inside the residence where two of the three killings occurred.
On July 17, 2012 Walker was charged in a separate case in the Circuit Court of Jackson County with three counts of first degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action and one count of burglary.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Walker has two prior felony convictions for burglary and prior felony convictions for stealing, escape, unlawful use of a weapon, forgery and robbery.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Project Ceasefire
Project Ceasefire, launched in October 1999, is a cooperative initiative by federal and local law enforcement and the Kansas City Crime Commission that targets for federal prosecution persons who unlawfully use or possess firearms.Jury Convicts California Man of Possessing Cocaine found aboard Greyhound BusRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a California man was convicted by a federal jury today of possessing about a kilogram of cocaine that was discovered hidden in his suitcase aboard a Greyhound bus as he traveled through Kansas City.
Rene Alexandor Meras, 32, of California, was found guilty of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute.
Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Meras was transporting more than two pounds of cocaine from Los Angeles, Calif., to Cleveland, Ohio. Meras was riding a Greyhound bus from Los Angeles that arrived in Kansas City for a layover on Aug. 29, 2012. Law enforcement officers approached Meras and asked to see his ticket and identification. Meras showed the officers his ticket (which included a baggage claim check), but did not have any identification. Meras initially gave officers a false name (which did not match his ticket) and told them he didn’t have any luggage, but later acknowledged that he did have a roller bag.
Meras gave his consent for officers to search his bag. At the bottom of the bag were two pieces of plywood sandwiched together and sewn into the liner. An officer removed the plywood and discovered the cocaine taped to the underside of the top piece of plywood.
Meras refused to give his name and any biographical information about himself, but his identity was confirmed through his fingerprints, utilizing the FBI database. A woman who was traveling with Meras denied any knowledge of the cocaine and was not charged.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for about an hour before returning the guilty verdict to U.S. District Judge Ortrie D. Smith, ending a trial that began Monday, April 29, 2013.
Under federal statutes, Meras 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, plus a fine up to $5 million. 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 David DeTar Newbert and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jalilah Otto. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Jefferson City Attorney Indicted for Marriage Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Jefferson City, Mo., attorney has been indicted for his role in a conspiracy to commit marriage fraud in order to evade immigration laws.
James Douglas Barding, 60, of Jefferson City, was charged in a superseding indictment that was returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City on April 24, 2013. The superseding indictment was unsealed and made public today in conjunction with Barding’s initial court appearance. Barding is a practicing attorney.
The superseding indictment adds Barding as a co-defendant with Oleksandr Nikolayevich Druzenko, also known as “Alex” or “Sasha,” 32, of Jefferson City, Patricia Anne Ewalt, 60, of El Paso, Texas, and Darya Chernova, 38, of Chandler, Ariz. Barding’s co-defendants were originally charged in an Oct. 3, 2012 federal indictment. The superseding indictment also includes additional charges against some of the defendants.
According to the indictment, Barding (a married U.S. citizen) was having an affair with Chernova, a Ukrainian national who entered the United States on a student visa and attended Lincoln University before earning a master’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Barding allegedly assisted Chernova to enlist a U.S. citizen to marry her so that she could remain in the United States.
Barding and Chernova were friends of Ewalt (a U.S. citizen) and Druzenko, a Ukrainian national who entered the United States on a student visa in August 2004 and attended college in Missouri and elsewhere. Druzenko is currently employed at the Missouri Office of Administration in Jefferson City.
Barding and Chernova allegedly assisted Druzenko in early 2007 to find a U.S. citizen to marry him so that he could remain in the United States and attempt to gain permanent resident status and potentially U.S. citizenship. They approached several persons, the indictment says, including one person with whom Druzenko procured a marriage license but who then declined to enter the sham marriage.
According to the indictment, Druzenko was introduced to Ewalt in March 2007. Druzenko and Ewalt were married on June 22, 2007, the indictment says, for the sole purpose of allowing Druzenko to remain in the United States. Under his student visa, Druzenko would have had to depart the United States within 60 days after graduation. Because of his marriage to Ewalt, Druzenko obtained lawful permanent resident status on Jan. 2, 2008.
Barding, Druzenko, Ewalt and Chernova are charged with participating in a conspiracy to defraud the United States, to commit marriage fraud, and to gain resident status and citizenship through false statements.
In addition to the conspiracy, Barding, Druzenko, Ewalt and Chernova are charged together in one count of marriage fraud. Druzenko and Ewalt are also charged together in three counts that are related to making false statements on immigration forms.
Barding, Druzenko and Chernova are also charged together in one count of attempting to unlawfully procure citizenship or naturalization. This charge is related to the unsuccessful attempt in early 2007.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 Anthony P. Gonzalez. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department.
Columbia Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Heroin Resulting in Death, Faces 22 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Columbia, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to distributing heroin, which resulted in the death of another Columbia man last year.
Ellison Lee Hutchison, Jr., also known as “Lucky,” 37, of Columbia, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matt J. Whitworth to the charge contained in a June 27, 2012 federal indictment.
By pleading guilty today, Hutchison admitted that he distributed heroin to Maximillion Shackelford on Jan. 23, 2012, and that Shackelford died as a result of using that heroin.
Under the terms of today’s binding plea agreement, Hutchison will be sentenced to 22 years in federal prison without parole and is subject to a fine up to $1 million. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Columbia police officers were called to the apartment where Shackelford lived with his mother on Jan. 23, 2012. Shackelford was deceased when officers arrived at his apartment. Officers found two syringes lying with Shackelford on the bed, and two recent injection sites were visible on his right wrist. An autopsy was conducted and the medical examiner declared the cause of death to be an overdose of heroin.
Officers examined Shackelford’s cell phone and learned that he had made arrangements earlier that evening to meet Hutchison. Shackelford’s brother told investigators that Hutchison was a heroin dealer with whom he and the victim had prior dealings. Investigators also interviewed the person who drove Shackelford to the location where the drug transaction occurred.
Columbia police officers and Boone County, Mo., sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant at Hutchison’s residence on Jan. 25, 2012. Hutchison, who was arrested, was in possession of two cell phones, $3,892 in cash and a small baggie of marijuana. A search of Hutchison’s residence resulted in a number of items being seized, including a surveillance system, an electronic scale, two containers of Dormin (a common cutting agent for heroin), a large number of plastic baggies with the corners removed (consistent with having been used to package drugs) and $17,740 in cash. The electronic scale was later sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab and found to have residue of heroin, cocaine and THC (the active ingredient in marijuana). Investigators examined the cell phones and found text messages between Shackelford and Hutchison, apparently referencing prior drug deals.
Hutchison was questioned and eventually admitted that he sold Shackelford a quarter gram of heroin for $45.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven R. Berry, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Morrell (an assistant prosecutor for the Boone County Prosecutor’s office who was appointed for this case) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Gonzalez. It was investigated by the Columbia, Mo., Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Boone County, Mo., Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Boone County, Mo., Medical Examiner’s Office.
Jury Convicts Joplin Man of Disaster Fraud in Failed Attempt to get Tornado BenefitsRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Joplin, Mo., man has been convicted in federal court of disaster fraud and making false statements to FEMA in a failed attempt to get federal disaster benefits following the May 22, 2011 tornado.
Scott Bradley Olsen, 58, of Joplin, was found guilty on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 of both counts contained in an April 3, 2012 federal indictment.
Olsen originally filed for disaster assistance on May 26, 2011, claiming a Joplin residence was his secondary residence where he stored property that was damaged in the tornado, but FEMA found him ineligible for disaster assistance. After being denied, Olsen twice submitted documents to FEMA in an attempt to prove that the property was his primary residence. Olsen was again denied assistance on July 27, 2011.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Springfield, Mo., deliberated for less than two hours before returning the guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple, ending a trial that began Monday, April 22, 2013.
Under federal statutes, Olsen is subject to a sentence of up to 35 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. 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 Steven M. Mohlhenrich. It was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security-Office of Inspector General, the FBI and the Joplin, Mo., Police Department.
Disaster Fraud Hotline
Anyone with information about disaster fraud related to the Joplin tornado should call the National Center for Disaster Fraud hotline at 866-720-5721, the Joplin Police Department at 417-623-3131, or the FBI’s Joplin office at 417-206-5700.
Jury Convicts Columbia Man of Two ArsonsRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Columbia, Mo., man was convicted in federal court today for two arsons that damaged a building on the Stephens College campus in Columbia and the Ellis Library at the University of Missouri–Columbia.
Christopher Curtis Kelley, 27, of Columbia, was found guilty of both counts contained in a June 27, 2012 federal indictment.
Evidence presented during the trial indicated that Kelley deliberately set fires at 10 different locations inside the Ellis Library, which is the main library at the University of Missouri, at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 10, 2011. Some of the fires didn’t take or caused minimal damage, while other fires caused significant damage. Kelley also vandalized property at the library, including computer monitors, security cameras and windows. Human feces and urine were found on top of one of the study desks. The overall cost to repair the damage to the library was estimated between $750,000 and $1 million.
Photos taken from the library’s security cameras were distributed to the media and the college community. Law enforcement officials received several telephone calls in response from individuals who identified Kelley. At about noon on the same day as the arson, Kelley turned himself in to the University of Missouri Police Department.
During the investigation into the Ellis Library arson, law enforcement officers recovered stolen computer equipment at Kelley’s residence that had been taken from Stephens College during an earlier arson on that campus.
Kelley was also convicted today of starting a fire in a classroom of the Audrey Webb Child Study Center on the Stephens College campus at approximately 4 a.m. on May 18, 2011. Firefighters responded to a small fire inside a classroom and heavy smoke in the building. There was moderate smoke damage in the basement area directly below the classroom.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo., deliberated for two hours before returning the guilty verdict to U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips, ending a trial that began Monday, April 22, 2013.
Under federal statutes, Kelley is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole on each of the two counts, up to 40 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. 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 Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the University of Missouri Police Department, the Columbia, Mo., Police Department, the Columbia, Mo., Fire Department, the Stephens College Security Department, the University of Missouri Ellis Library Security Department, the U.S. Department of Education and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.2013 Crime Victim's Rights WeekRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, presented the Crystal Kipper & Ali Kemp Memorial Award today to Assistant Jackson County Prosecutor Alison Dunning for her work on behalf of protecting children.
Today’s award ceremony was part of an annual event hosted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and VictimNet, a coalition of victim service providers and others committed to meeting the needs of crime victims in Jackson County, in conjunction with the observance of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. This year’s theme, “New Challenges, New Solutions,” celebrates the spirit that will advance the progress these heroes achieved. It also captures the spirit and highlights the need for us to assist and serve each and every victim in need of hope and help.
“I have been a prosecutor the majority of my legal career, and I have seen first-hand the devastating effect crime has on victims and the need to ensure the rights of victims are respected,” Dickinson said. “I applaud those who work every day to ensure that the voice of the victim is heard at every stage in the legal process, in the hospital, in the police station and in the courtroom.
“We can’t turn back the clock to erase the tragedy suffered by victims of crimes,” Dickinson said in presenting the Crystal Kipper & Ali Kemp Memorial Award to Dunning. “What we can do – what we are committed to doing – is to pursue justice on their behalf. This award is intended to be a small reminder of both the value of justice and the pain shared by victims of crime.”
Dunning has devoted most of her 15-year career as a prosecutor to seeking justice on behalf of child victims. Most recently, Dunning was responsible for the successful prosecution of Matthew Nelson, an elementary school teacher in Grain Valley, Mo., who was convicted of 16 felony counts of statutory sodomy and child molestation. On March 13, 2013, Nelson pleaded guilty to all charges involving 11 child victims. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25, 2013.
“I know first-hand the difficulty of investigating and prosecuting these types of cases,” Dickinson said. “It takes an enormous amount of courage and dedication to prosecute child victim cases. It is heart-breaking enough to deal with adult victims of crimes, but when it comes to the most vulnerable victims, our children, it becomes even more horrendous.”
The Crystal Kipper & Ali Kemp Memorial Award is presented by the U.S. Attorney’s Office each year during the local observance of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week to recognize the outstanding work of an individual or organization in protecting children from exploitation. The award was presented to Dunning in memory of Crystal Kipper and Ali Kemp, two young women who were both fatal victims of tragic crimes. Anna Rhea, Kipper’s mother, participated in today’s presentation.
“By honoring these two young crime victims whose deaths profoundly touched us all,” Dickinson said, “we pay our respects to all victims of crime, as well as recognizing those who work diligently to prevent and bring justice to those who exploit children.
“Just as the Kipper and Kemp cases highlight the need to protect children from criminals who prowl our highways and neighborhoods,” she added, “Matthew Nelson’s case reminds us that child predators can be anywhere, even in our children’s schools.”
Today’s event at the KC Live Stage in the Power and Light District also featured comments from Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker and Nathan Ross, a child abuse survivor and child welfare system advocate.
The event showcased a variety of art created by youth who participate in the MyARTS program, which serves at-risk teens. The event also included a showcase of various local victim service providers and a victims’ memorial walk led by the Kansas City Mounted Patrol.
The Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA), enacted in 2004, grants victims in federal criminal proceedings certain enforceable rights, including the right to be reasonably heard at public court proceedings and to receive full and timely restitution as provided by law. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has a dedicated Victim/Witness Unit that serves federal crime victims across the district’s 66 counties. Members of this unit notify victims of significant case events through the Department of Justice’s Victim Notification System (VNS). Such notice enables victims to participate in court proceedings and make their voices heard. Victim/Witness personnel accompany victims to court hearings and trials to ensure that victim participation in court proceedings is meaningful and to answer questions and explain the federal judicial process.
In addition to notification and court accompaniment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Victim/Witness Unit provides essential services to victims, such as making referrals for counseling, securing temporary housing, assisting with access to victim compensation funds, and accompanying victims to court to provide support and guidance during the proceedings. These services provide tools victims need to reshape their futures.
Further information about National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is available at http://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ncvrw/.
The Crystal Kipper & Ali Kemp Memorial Award
Crystal Kipper was an 18-year-old Gladstone, Mo., resident who was murdered after her car broke down on Interstate 29, just north of Platte City, on Feb. 24, 1997. Ali Kemp was a 19-year-old Blue Valley North High School graduate who was murdered on June 18, 2002, while she worked at the Foxborough neighborhood swimming pool in Leawood, Kan.
Lee's Summit Soccer Coach ChargedRead the Press Release
Project Safe Childhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Lee’s Summit, Mo., youth soccer coach was charged in federal court today with producing child pornography by secretly videotaping members of his soccer team.
Joel D. White, 40, of Lee’s Summit, was charged with producing child pornography in a criminal complaint that was filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo. White, who coaches a girls under-12 soccer team and a girls under-15 soccer team through a local soccer association, remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing.
According to an affidavit filed in support of today’s criminal complaint, law enforcement officers in Commerce City, Colo., discovered videos of nude minors on White’s camera. White was at a soccer stadium in Colorado last month for a World Cup qualifying game when the cameras were seized by law enforcement officers as part of a criminal investigation.
Several videos allegedly depict White positioning a video camera in a bedroom of his residence in such a way that the camera is hidden. Shortly after White leaves the room, the affidavit says, the videos depict several minors, approximately 11 or 12 years old, entering the room and changing their clothes. Minors are fully nude in the videos and do not appear to know they are being videotaped.
White allegedly told police that he videotaped nude minors 10 to 15 times without their consent from May to October 2012. According to the affidavit, at least four child victims have been identified so far in the investigation.
Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint 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 Teresa Moore. It was investigated by the Lee’s Summit, Mo., Police Department and the Commerce City, Colo., 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."Former Student Pleads Guilty to Computer Hacking at University of Central MissouriRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former student of the University of Central Missouri pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a computer hacking conspiracy.
Joseph A. Camp, 28, of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to the charge contained in a Nov. 18, 2010 federal indictment. Camp has been in state or federal custody since his prior arrest in a New York investigation in December 2009. Federal charges are still pending in the Western District of New York.
By pleading guilty today, Camp admitted that he participated in an unlawful computer hacking scheme at UCM from March 2009 to March 2010. Camp, who had been a student at UCM in the fall semester of 2009, conspired with Daniel J. Fowler, 23, of Kansas City, Mo., a student and community advisor at UCM. Fowler pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy on June 22, 2011 and awaits sentencing. In addition to the computer hacking conspiracy, Fowler also pleaded guilty to one count of computer intrusion causing damage (computer hacking).
Camp and Fowler gained unlawful and unauthorized access to the UCM computer network, which allowed them to view and download large databases of faculty, staff, alumni and student information. They were also able to transfer money to their student accounts and attempted to change grades.
Camp and Fowler developed a computer virus, which they used to infect UCM computers B including an attempt to infect the computer used by the university’s president. They used several strategies to infect computers, such as offering to show vacation photographs on a thumb drive that contained the virus. They successfully distracted and misled at least one UCM administrator and were able to use a thumb drive to download their virus onto his UCM computer. They monitored the administrator’s computer activity and captured his username and password. They used their remote access of this administrator’s computer to remotely turn on the webcam to watch and photograph the administrator sitting at his desk in his office and to download his e-mails. They also obtained the username and password of a residence hall director and used that information to exploit the university’s computer system to conduct financial transactions in an attempt to unlawfully credit their student accounts with UCM funds.
Camp and Fowler successfully used the identities of fellow students, along with their university computer network permissions, to gain access to various portions of the computer network to which they would otherwise not have access. This also enabled them to mask their activities and mislead university authorities as to the identities of those conducting the attacks on the computer network.
Camp and Fowler manually installed the virus on several UCM computers in public areas, such as computer labs and the library. Once the virus was successfully installed on a computer, Camp and Fowler could obtain remote access to the computer, capture a user’s keystrokes, download any of the user’s files and remotely turn on the user’s webcam to watch and photograph the user of the infected computer.
Camp also admitted that he and Fowler obtained access to the affidavit used in support of a search warrant on Camp’s room. Camp used the information in that affidavit to make posts on Facebook.com to communicate threats and harass potential witnesses against them.
Camp was arrested when he traveled to New York in December 2009 to meet another person in order to sell the lists of UCM personal information. He was transported to the Western District of Missouri after the grand jury returned the indictment on Nov. 18, 2010. According to the indictment, Camp offered to sell 90,000 identities to a person in New York for $35,000. After learning that Camp had been arrested in New York, Fowler encrypted and destroyed computer evidence that he thought could be used against him.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Camp will be sentenced to three years in federal prison without parole and must pay $61,500 in restitution.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew P. Wolesky. It was investigated by the University of Central Missouri Police Department and the FBI.Two Sentenced, Two Plead Guilty in $5 Million Conspiracy to Provide Thousands of Identity Documents to Illegal AliensRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that two Carthage, Mo., men were sentenced and a St. Joseph, Mo., woman and a Carthage man pleaded guilty in federal court this week related to their roles in a more than $5 million conspiracy that utilized the Missouri Department of Revenue license office in St. Joseph to provide more than 3,500 fraudulent identity documents to illegal aliens across the United States.
Nelson Dariseo Bautista-Orozco, a citizen of Guatemala who is unlawfully in the United States and resided in Carthage, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner today to three years and six months in federal prison without parole. Ranfe Adaias Hernandez-Flores, also known as “Miguel,” 23, also a citizen of Guatemala who is unlawfully in the United States and resided in Carthage, was sentenced on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 to two years in federal prison without parole. They are each jointly and severally liable for a $5,250,000 money judgment, which represents proceeds from the conspiracy.
Sherri E. Gutierrez, 46, of St. Joseph, Mo., pleaded guilty on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 to being a leader or manager of the conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, to unlawfully produce identification documents, to unlawfully transfer another person’s identification and to commit Social Security fraud from November 2009 to January 2012. Elder Enrique Ordonez-Chanas, also known as “Flaco,” 31, also a citizen of Guatemala who is unlawfully in the United States and resided in Carthage, pleaded guilty on Monday, April 8, 2013 to participating in the conspiracy. The government contends that Ordonez-Chanas is also a leader or manager of the conspiracy. In addition to the conspiracy, Gutierrez and Ordonez-Chanas each pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft.
It is estimated that more than 3,500 licenses were issued to illegal aliens by the Department of Revenue license office in St. Joseph. The state licenses could then be used by the illegal aliens to remain unlawfully in the United States, to unlawfully obtain employment and for other unlawful purposes.
Bautista-Orozco pleaded guilty on Sept. 12, 2012 to his role in the conspiracy and to aggravated identity theft. He admitted that he received packages in the mail from co-conspirators who sent him identity documents, such as birth certificates and Social Security cards. Those identity documents were used by illegal aliens to obtain Missouri driver’s or non-driver’s licenses. Bautista-Orozco also received payments from the illegal aliens who purchased the identity documents from his co-conspirators.
Hernandez-Flores pleaded guilty on Oct. 15, 2012 to his role in the conspiracy. Hernandez-Flores admitted that he transported illegal aliens to the St. Joseph license office.
By pleading guilty, Gutierrez admitted that she transported illegal aliens to the St. Joseph license office, under the guise of being a translator, in order to assist them with obtaining a Missouri driver’s or non-driver’s license. She also instructed and assisted the illegal aliens to practice memorizing the information on the birth certificates and Social Security cards and to practice signing the name on those documents so that the signatures would be similar. They also assisted the illegal aliens to prepare for potential questions from the license office employees. They also assisted the illegal aliens who did not live in Missouri by providing them with a Missouri residential address to use.
Gutierrez and Ordonez-Chanas each admitted that they assisted illegal aliens in obtaining birth certificates and Social Security cards in the names of others. These identity documents were used to obtain either a Missouri driver’s or non-driver’s license at the St. Joseph license office. Ordonez-Chanas requested document sets (of a specific age range for either a male or a female that corresponded with the illegal alien who was the customer) from co-defendants Julio Cesar Llanas-Rodriguez, 38, and Martin Alejandro Llanas-Rodriguez, 30, both of whom are citizens of Mexico unlawfully present in the United States and resided in San Antonio, Texas. Ordonez-Chanas then mailed the documents sets to Gutierrez and others.
Julio Cesar Llanas-Rodriguez and Martin Alejandro Llanas-Rodriguez have also pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and to aggravated identity theft. Their role in the conspiracy was to obtain state-issued birth certificates, usually from the state of Texas, which they purchased from willing individuals. They would also obtain a Social Security card in the name of the individual on the birth certificate, so they would have a matching document set. They mailed the documents to Gutierrez and others.
Gutierrez and others collected money from the illegal aliens for the fraudulent identity documents. The money would usually then be paid to Ordonez-Chanas or Bautista-Orozco, who would then pay others. The illegal aliens were usually charged between $1,500 and $1,600 for the document sets and the Missouri driver’s and non-driver’s licenses. It is estimated that more than $5,250,000 in gross proceeds was paid by illegal aliens to members of this conspiracy.
Under federal statutes, Gutierrez and Ordonez-Chanas are each subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole for conspiracy, plus a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in federal prison without parole for aggravated identity theft, plus a fine up to $500,000. They must forfeit to the government $5,250,000, which represents proceeds from the conspiracy. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.
They are among 13 co-defendants who have pleaded guilty in this case.
Luis Adalberto Felipe-Lopez, 30, a citizen of Guatemala who was unlawfully in the United States and resided in Mt. Olive, N.C., pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy as well as to aggravated identity theft. The government contends that Felipe-Lopez is a leader or manager of the conspiracy. Felipe-Lopez admitted that he transported illegal aliens between St. Joseph and North Carolina. Felipe-Lopez admitted that he assisted illegal aliens in obtaining birth certificates and Social Security cards in the names of others. These identity documents were used to obtain either a Missouri driver’s or non-driver’s license at the St. Joseph license office.
Deborah J. Flores, 47, and her children, Jessica M. Gonzalez, 22, Sara M. Gonzalez, 21, Christina Michelle Gonzalez, 24, and Stephen E. Vanvacter, 25, all of St. Joseph, as well as Jon L. Grippando, 25, of Atkins, Ark., formerly of St. Joseph, have also pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Flores also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft. They admitted that they accompanied illegal aliens to the St. Joseph license office, under the guise of being translators, in order to assist them with obtaining a Missouri driver’s or non-driver’s license.
Flores and her children also admitted that they instructed and assisted the illegal aliens to practice memorizing the information on the birth certificates and Social Security cards and to practice signing the name on those documents so that the signatures would be similar. They also assisted the illegal aliens to prepare for potential questions from the license office employees. They also assisted the illegal aliens who did not live in Missouri by providing them with a Missouri residential address to use in order to obtain the Missouri driver’s or non-driver’s license.
Christina Gonzalez was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison without parole and ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution. Jessica Gonzalez was sentenced to three years of probation.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jess E. Michaelsen. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, the Buchanan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the St. Joseph, Mo., Police Department, the Platte County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri Department of Revenue Investigation Bureau, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security.
Strip Club Owner Sentenced for Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the former owner of a strip club in Sunrise Beach, Mo., was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing 31 firearms.
Jimmy Duane Davis, 57, of Sunrise Beach, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan to two years and six months in federal prison without parole. Davis was the owner of the now-defunct Eclipse Gentleman’s Club.
On July 24, 2012, Davis pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms.
Federal law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Davis’s residence and neighboring business on Aug. 19, 2010 after receiving a report that Davis was in possession of firearms. A gun safe in the basement contained 30 shotguns, rifles and handguns. Agents also observed numerous rounds of ammunition around the room, and a Springfield Armory 9 mm semi-automatic pistol in a case on top of the gun safe. In addition, five shotgun shells were found in an upstairs bedroom.
According to his plea agreement, Davis purchased 12 firearms-specific hunting permits between 2006 and 2009.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearms or ammunition. Davis has two prior felony convictions for trafficking in methamphetamine and a prior felony conviction for selling marijuana.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and IRS-Criminal Investigation.Joplin Woman Sentenced for Disaster Fraud Related to Tornado BenefitsRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Joplin, Mo., woman has been sentenced in federal court for fraudulently receiving federal disaster benefits following the May 22, 2011 tornado.
Amber Nicole Peters, 22, of Joplin, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 to 14 months in federal prison without parole, followed by five years of supervised release. The court also ordered Peters to pay $3,596 in restitution.
Peters pleaded guilty on Oct. 23, 2012, to disaster fraud. Peters admitted that she applied for federal disaster benefits by falsely claiming that her home and property had been damaged or destroyed in the May 22, 2011 tornado. In reality, Peters met a FEMA inspector at the tornado-damaged home belonging to her recently-deceased grandmother, which she falsely claimed was her primary residence. FEMA authorized payment in the amount of $3,596, of which $2,658 was for loss of personal property and $938 was for rental assistance. Peters was paid by electronic funds transfer on June 7, 2011.
As a result of Peters’s false claim, FEMA initially denied the legitimate claim later filed by her aunt, who lived at the home with Peters’s grandmother.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich. It was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General, the FBI and the Joplin, Mo., Police Department.
Disaster Fraud Hotline
Anyone with information about disaster fraud related to the Joplin tornado should call the National Center for Disaster Fraud hotline at 866-720-5721, the Joplin Police Department at 417-623-3131, or the FBI’s Joplin office at 417-206-5700.
Former Attorney Pleads Guilty to Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former Jackson County, Mo., attorney pleaded guilty in federal court today to bank fraud, which involved stealing funds from the Sam and Lindsey Porter foundation, as well as bankruptcy fraud.
Harley Kent Desselle, 62, of Raytown, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple to one count of bank fraud and one count of making a false oath in a bankruptcy proceeding. He also admitted that he defrauded the widow of a longtime friend in an investment fraud scheme.
“A disbarred attorney took advantage of his clients, including a grieving mother and a friend’s widow, to line his own pockets,” Dickinson said. “He abused his clients and he abused the legal system for a client who declared bankruptcy. With today’s guilty plea, he will be held accountable for his flagrant misconduct.”
“Concealing assets in a bankruptcy proceeding is a crime that threatens the integrity of the bankruptcy process and public confidence in that process, especially when the concealment is done by the attorney responsible for assuring full disclosure,” stated Nancy J. Gargula, United States Trustee for Missouri, Arkansas and Nebraska (Region 13). “We are grateful to all of our law enforcement partners in this case, and in particular to U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson for her commitment to pursuing those who commit bankruptcy fraud and cause harm to consumers.”
At the time of the fraud schemes, Desselle was an attorney in private practice and operated an investment company called New Century Investments. Desselle was suspended from the practice of law in December 2008 and disbarred by the Missouri Supreme Court in April 2009.
Porter Foundation Scheme
Sam and Lindsey Porter were the children of Tina Porter. They disappeared in 2004. Their bodies were not discovered until 2007, when their father admitted his role in their deaths and pleaded guilty to murder. Beginning in 2007, donations were made to a bank account opened at the Bank of Grain Valley under the name of samandlindsey.org, Inc. Funds donated to the bank account were intended for use in building a children's playground.
Desselle charged $2,500 for the initial set up of samandlindsey.org, Inc. He began managing the samandlindsey.org, Inc., bank account in September 2007. At the time the foundation was established, Desselle told Tina Porter he would take care of everything on the account. He was the only person who could sign foundation checks. Porter asked Desselle, on numerous occasions, for bank statements and/or documents related to the account, but Desselle refused to produce documents and would not disclose the bank account information.
On Oct. 25, 2007, Desselle wrote a $12,000 check drawn on the foundation’s account and deposited it into his law firm trust account. Porter did not authorize the $12,000 check. On Oct. 29, 2007, Desselle wrote a $7,500 check drawn on the foundation’s account, made payable to New Century Investments and deposited into his New Century account. Porter was not aware of and did not authorize the $7,500 check.
When Porter learned of the $19,500 in misappropriations she insisted that Desselle return the funds to the foundation’s account. Desselle deposited two checks into the foundation account – a $19,500 check with “original investment” listed in the memo and a $2,238 check with “balance of investment with interest” listed in the memo. The $2,238 check actually came from legal fees earned by Desselle in his law practice and/or money borrowed from friends or family members instead of interest earned on the account.
Nunez Bankruptcy Scheme
Desselle acted as the attorney for Christina Nunez in her bankruptcy filing in 2008. Nunez owned a motorcycle that would not have been exempt under bankruptcy law. Desselle directed Nunez to sell the motorcycle and give him the proceeds, which she believed would be placed in the law firm’s trust account and used to pay down debt due her creditors. Desselle told Nunez the motorcycle sale proceeds would be exempt from bankruptcy creditors and not part of the estate.
Nunez sold the motorcycle for $13,500; she kept $500 and gave the remaining $13,000 to Desselle. Desselle used the $13,000 deposited in trust for Nunez for his own personal expenses rather than payment of Nunez's creditors.
Desselle filed Nunez's bankruptcy on Oct. 13, 2008. Nunez testified at a subsequent bankruptcy hearing that she never reviewed the bankruptcy petition and never signed the schedules. The bankruptcy schedules submitted by Desselle on Nunez's behalf did not include the $13,000 he received from Nunez for the sale of the motorcycle.
On May 12, 2009, the bankruptcy court ordered Desselle to refund all the money withdrawn from Nunez's trust account to the bankruptcy trustee. (Desselle refunded $7,251, but kept the remaining $5,749.) During the hearing, the court stated Desselle was involved in "...numerous acts of malpractice, deceit, and ...stealing," and "...likely falsified all of the bankruptcy schedules and statements and the various documents that had to be filed in order to initiate a bankruptcy filing."
Clifton Life Insurance Scheme
In addition to the two specific counts of the indictment to which Desselle pleaded guilty today, his plea agreement also acknowledges that he defrauded Nancy Clifton, who received $750,000 in life insurance proceeds in 1996 when her husband was killed in a motor vehicle accident. Desselle, a longtime friend of Clifton’s husband, offered to invest the life insurance proceeds for Clifton in New Century and promised her high yields on the investment.
Clifton received only two investment statements from Desselle, one in 2006 and one in 2007. Those statements were both false and fraudulent. Desselle created both documents to lull Clifton into believing her money was safe. In reality, Clifton's funds were lost by Desselle several years earlier, between 1998 and 2000.
Desselle made “interest payments” on Clifton’s investments by creating false documents to lull her into believing she was receiving interest payments, when the funds actually came from Desselle’s law firm or from funds Desselle solicited from family members. One of those payments came from the samandlindsey.org, Inc., account.
When Clifton read newspaper reports of Desselle’s handling of the Porter foundation account in 2008, she told Desselle to liquidate her investments as soon as possible. Desselle eventually admitted that her investments had all been lost.
Under the terms of today's plea agreement, Desselle must pay $343,045 in restitution to Nancy Clifton and $5,759 in restitution to the bankruptcy trustee in the Nunez case. The total restitution due is $348,794. The government and Desselle agree to recommend a sentence of 33 to 41 months 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 Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Pansing Brown. It was investigated by FBI and the U.S. Trustee for Region 13 and the Kansas City Office of U.S. Trustee. Region 13 of the U.S. Trustee Program is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., with additional offices in St. Louis, Mo., Little Rock, Ark. and Omaha, Neb. The U.S. Trustee Program is the component of the Justice Department that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws.
Two Truck Drivers Indicted for Child Sex TrafffickingRead the Press Release
Human Trafficking Rescue Project
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that two St. Joseph, Mo., area commercial truck drivers – one of whom is a registered sex offender – have been indicted on charges related to the commercial sex trafficking of a child.
Tony Eugene Wardlow, 54, of St. Joseph, and Thomas Farrell, 48, of DeKalb, Mo., were charged in a six-count indictment that was returned under seal by a federal grand jury on March 13, 2013. The indictment was unsealed and made public today upon the arrests and initial court appearances of Wardlow and Farrell. Wardlow remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing.
Wardlow is a registered sex offender who was convicted in Nodaway County, Mo., of sexual misconduct involving a minor and endangering the welfare of a child. Wardlow is self-employed as a commercial truck driver, doing business as Prideco, LLC. Farrell is also self-employed as a commercial truck driver, doing business as Farrell Trucking & Hay, LLC.
The federal indictment alleges that Wardlow caused a child victim (identified as “CV”) to engage in prostitution between Aug. 1, 2011 and Sept. 30, 2011. Wardlow is also charged with enticing a minor to engage in prostitution and with transporting a minor across state lines from Missouri to Texas to engage in prostitution. The indictment charges Farrell with enticing the victim to engage in prostitution and with transporting the victim across state lines from Missouri to Texas to engage in prostitution.
Wardlow is also charged 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. Wardlow was allegedly in possession of a Marlin .22-caliber rifle on Dec. 12, 2012. Wardlow has prior felony convictions for sexual misconduct, endangering the welfare of a child and being a felon in possession of 17 firearms.
In a motion filed with the court, the government seeks to hold Wardlow in federal custody without bond. The motion states that Wardlow is charged with multiple offenses for which the maximum sentence is life imprisonment. Wardlow’s prior sex conviction, in which the victim was a minor, may result in a mandatory life sentence.
According to the detention motion, the government will present evidence during the detention hearing of Wardlow’s repeated sexual intercourse with the child victim, transportation to and through other states to engage in this prostitution activity with himself and others, and violent threats against the child victim should she ever inform anyone else of these incidents.
At the detention hearing, the government will also present evidence that the child victim informed law enforcement that Wardlow injured her on multiple occasions, either during or separate from their sexual activity. Beyond the physical injuries, the motion says, Wardlow often threatened the child victim in an effort to keep her from ever going to the authorities, violent threats that included the threat of death. Wardlow allegedly pointed out rivers as he transported the child victim across the country and told her that if she ever told law enforcement, he would dump her body in those rivers.
Dickinson cautioned that 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 Patrick D. Daly. It was investigated by the FBI, the Prairie Village, Kan., Police Department, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Overland Park, Kan., Police Department in conjunction with the Human Trafficking Rescue Project.
Mt. Vernon Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Joplin Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Mt. Vernon, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for robbing a Joplin, Mo., bank.
Wesley Charles Osborne, 35, of Mt. Vernon, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Osborne to pay $2,240 in restitution to United Missouri Bank.
On Sept. 12, 2012 Osborne pleaded guilty to robbing United Missouri Bank in Joplin on June 18, 2012. According to court documents, Osborne walked to the teller counter and presented a demand note to a bank teller. He jumped the teller counter, ordered bank employees to the ground and ordered a bank employee to open a teller drawer. Osborne grabbed money from the drawer, jumped back over the teller counter and left the bank.
On June 19, 2012 Osborne was arrested at the Downstream Casino in Quapaw, Okla., after security personnel at the hotel where Osborne was staying responded to a complaint made by another hotel guest. Osborne was arrested for allegedly assaulting a female he had registered with at the hotel. After his arrest, Osborne was transported to the Ottawa County Jail in Miami, Okla. The next day an anonymous caller identified Osborne as the man who robbed United Missouri Bank.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Joplin, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.
Liberty Couple Charged with $2.8 Million Embezzlement, Check Kiting Scheme to Fund Gambling, Lavish SpendingRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Liberty, Mo., husband and wife were charged in federal court today with a nearly $2.8 million embezzlement and check kiting scheme and with filing a false tax return.
Laura Dejong, 54, and her husband, Craig Dejong, 55, both of Liberty, waived their right to a grand jury in a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Maughmer and were charged in a two-count federal information. Laura Dejong is charged with one count of mail fraud and both of the Dejongs are charged in one count of filing a false tax return.
Laura Dejong allegedly embezzled $2,679,227 from her employer, Kansas City Screw Products, Inc., from January 2003 to November 2011. Kansas City Screw Products is a family-owned and -operated metal fabrication business in Kansas City. Laura Dejong, who was employed as a secretary and bookkeeper for approximately 23 years, allegedly forged checks drawn on the company’s bank accounts.
According to today’s information, Laura Dejong engaged in a check kiting scheme between the company’s two banks in order to falsely inflate the company’s bank account balances, thereby increasing the amount of money she could embezzle. Her check kite allegedly began in late June 2011. The total amount of checks written by Laura Dejong to cause the check kite increased from $44,000 in June 2011 to $847,000 in November 2011, the information says. The total loss from the check kite to Central Bank was $96,000.
The total combined loss for Kansas City Screw Products and Central Bank was $2,775,227.
According to court documents, significant gambling activity was identified for the Dejongs, well into the millions of dollars, from January 2002 to December 2011. The majority of the Dejongs’ gambling was at slot machines.
Records indicate that the Dejongs took at least eight cruises and spent more than $100,000 on payments for the cruises, vacations and airfare between 2005 and 2011. During the time of the embezzlement scheme, according to court documents, the Dejongs used the stolen money to purchase a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe, a 2009 Honda Accord, a 1997 Crownline boat (20-foot fiberglass runabout), a 1997 Prestige boat trailer, a 1985 Chevrolet RV/motor-home (now a KC Chiefs party bus), a 2008 Jayco travel trailer, four Ameriprise Brokerage accounts; four Kansas Speedway season tickets (for Passholder seats, parking passes, and track passes), four Kansas City Chiefs Club Level season tickets and parking passes, membership to the Chiefs Wolfpack Club, an exclusive members-only facility, and their residence.
According to today’s information, the Dejongs filed joint tax returns for tax years 2005-2010 but did not declare any of the embezzled money as income. During this time, Laura Dejong’s gross annual salary at Kansas City Screw Products ranged from $22,752 to $33,333. Craig Dejong was unemployed for four years and listed no income for the two years in which he claimed to be employed as a computer programmer.
As a result of filing false tax returns in those six years, the information alleges, the Dejongs owe the Internal Revenue Service a total of approximately $482,711.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Pansing Brown. It was investigated by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation.