Western District of North Carolina
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Monroe, N.C. Man Is Sentenced to More Than Eight Years for Firearms OffenseRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced today Marcus Damar Massey, 34, of Monroe, N.C. to 100 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release for a firearms offense, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Charlotte, and Chief J. Bryan Gilliard of the Monroe Police Department, join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
On September 5, 2019, Massey pleaded guilty to possessing two firearms, a loaded 12 gauge shotgun, and a 9mm pistol. Massey has prior felony convictions and is prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition. At today’s sentencing hearing, Massey received an enhanced sentence in accordance with the United States Sentencing Guidelines, based on evidence presented by the government in support of an attempted murder enhancement. According to information contained in court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, Massey was found in possession of the two weapons on May 12, 2018. At the time, officers with the Monroe Police Department were investigating a shooting incident that occurred two weeks prior on April 29, 2018, at the intersection of Fairly Avenue and Morgan Mill Road, in Monroe. Law enforcement officers investigating the incident collected five 9mm shell casings at the scene, and observed three bullet holes in the passenger side of the vehicle driven by the victim. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement identified Massey as the shooter and the 9mm pistol as the weapon used in the April 29th shooting.
Massey is currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked HSI and the Monroe Police Department for handling the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bozin, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
Federal Indictment Charges Charlotte Man with Sex Trafficking A Minor and Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A bill of indictment was unsealed in federal court today, charging Bryan Lee Ragon, 43, of Charlotte, with sex trafficking of a minor, production of child pornography, transportation of a minor, and receipt of child pornography, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The indictment was returned by a grand jury sitting in Charlotte on Tuesday, February 18, 2020, and was unsealed following Ragon’s arrest this morning.
Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Charlotte, and Robert Schurmeier, Director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
The criminal indictment charges Ragon with allegedly sex trafficking a minor in the Western District of North Carolina, Wisconsin, and elsewhere, from December 16, 2015, to December 31, 2015. The indictment also alleges that in December 2015, Ragon knowingly produced a visual depiction of the minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and that he knowingly transported the minor across state lines for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity. The indictment further alleges that, in December 2015, Ragon received material containing child pornography.
Ragon had his initial appearance in federal court in Charlotte before U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler and remains in federal custody. Ragon’s next court hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday, February 25, 2020, at 11:35 a.m.
The sex trafficking of a minor charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison. The production of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison. The transportation of a minor charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison. The receipt of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison.
The charges contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray commended HSI and SBI for their investigation of this case, which led to the federal charges, and thanked the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for their assistance with Ragon’s arrest today. U.S. Attorney Murray also thanked the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation for their invaluable assistance and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin for their continued cooperation and coordination.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Wasserman, of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Charlotte, is handling the prosecution.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
North Wilkesboro Man Is Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Prison on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
STATESVILLE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced yesterday Ronnie Dean Brown, 36, of North Wilkesboro, N.C., to 121 months in prison on child pornography charges, announced the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. Brown was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release and was ordered to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.
Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of ICE/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina, and Sheriff Chris Shew of the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office, join the U.S. Attorney’s office in making today’s announcement.
According to filed documents and statements made in court, in September 2018, law enforcement became aware that an individual, later identified as Ronnie Brown, was accessing child pornography online. In October 2018, law enforcement approached Ronnie Brown, who was at Charlotte Douglas Airport on his way to Las Vegas. Court records show that Ronnie Brown refused to cooperate with law enforcement, and afterwards contacted his wife, Kelly Brown, and instructed her to “get rid of his laptop.” Kelly Brown did as instructed and gave the laptop to another individual, who later turned it over to law enforcement.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Ronnie Brown’s residence and seized a computer and portable storage media. According to court records, a forensic examination of the seized items revealed that Ronnie Brown possessed more than 4,100 images of children, including infants and toddlers, engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Some of the child pornography depicted sadistic and masochistic conduct.
On October 3, 2019, Ronnie Brown pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography. He is currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
Kelly Brown previously admitted to giving her husband’s laptop to another individual according to his instructions, in an attempt to prevent law enforcement from seizing it. Kelly Brown further admitted that when she followed Ronnie Brown’s instructions, she and her husband were both aware that law enforcement were conducting an investigation into child pornography. Kelly Brown has pleaded guilty to a federal felony related to her obstruction of the investigation and is currently awaiting sentencing.
HSI and the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfredo De La Rosa, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice, aimed at combating the growing online sexual exploitation of children. By combining resources, federal, state and local agencies are better able to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue those victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
"The Sanctuary Policies of the Mecklenburg and Buncombe County Sheriffs Are Reckless and Pose Increased Harm to the Public and to Law Enforcement"Read the Press Release
"The Sheriffs of Mecklenburg and Buncombe Counties have adopted ‘sanctuary’ policies that endanger our communities and shield criminals from immigration enforcement.
"In 2019, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office alone failed to honor over 200 detainers issued by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE), which means that more than a couple of hundred criminal aliens charged with criminal offenses were released back to the community. And those are the ones we can account for.
"By ignoring federal immigration detainers and administrative warrants, and refusing to simply inform ICE officers when an unlawful alien who has committed a criminal act is due to be released to the community, the Sheriffs of Mecklenburg and Buncombe Counties prioritize the protection of criminal aliens above the safety and protection of our communities.
"Rather than uphold our nation’s laws, the Sheriffs compromise the safety of the people they swore to serve and protect. Regardless of the crime the removable aliens have committed; regardless of whether they assaulted women or raped children; regardless of whether they trafficked deadly drugs; and regardless of the likelihood they will commit more crime as soon as they return to the community, criminal aliens are permitted to walk out of prison, free to reoffend in communities they had no right to be in the first place.
"The common-sense approach of removing illegal aliens who have committed a criminal act currently in place in other North Carolina jurisdictions works extremely well. After illegal aliens have been arrested and charged with a crime, they are fingerprinted and booked into jail. When federal immigration authorities learn that a criminal alien who has been arrested is in a jurisdiction’s custody, ICE officers issue a detainer request accompanied by a civil arrest warrant, and ask the sheriff’s office to either notify them before the criminal alien is released, or hold the charged individual long enough to arrange a transfer to federal custody in a safe setting.
"But Mecklenburg and Buncombe County Sheriffs refuse to honor ICE detainers, purporting their hands are tied because these formal detainers are not sufficiently ‘legal’ enough to hold criminal aliens in custody. Their stance is so extreme, that the Sheriffs not only fail to honor a detainer by briefly holding a criminal alien of interest for ICE, they refuse to even make a courtesy call to ICE officers notifying them that a defendant has either satisfied bail conditions or served a jail sentence and is being processed for release.
"So, instead of protecting their communities and cooperating with law enforcement partners, the Sheriffs play the blame-game and instead point their fingers at a flawed judicial system and the absence of federal criminal charging documents for the criminals they have chosen to let loose.
"This blame-game is a complete fallacy. The Sheriffs are well aware that state crimes are not necessarily federal offenses, and even if they are, ICE needs additional time to verify the proper identification of the criminal alien along with prior criminal history and deportations, and gather any additional evidence before presenting a case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Once a case is in the federal prosecutors’ hands, an internal review process, which includes supervisory oversight, ensures federal charges are appropriate and the defendant’s identity and status have been thoroughly vetted.
"The Sheriffs claim that releasing into our communities criminal aliens – many of whom have extensive criminal histories - boosts the confidence of immigrant communities in law enforcement, increases their trust in law enforcement, and sends the message that law enforcement are working hard to make their streets safer. That notion is false and dangerous. Upon release from custody, criminal aliens oftentimes seek a safe harbor by returning to the same immigrant communities, where they are prone to reoffend. Ultimately, the Sheriffs’ misguided stance puts the very communities they purport to respect and protect in increased danger, and puts the lives of our law enforcement officers and the public at large at an increased risk of harm.
"When criminal aliens are released, law enforcement officers are forced to go into unknown and potentially dangerous situations to locate and re-arrest the same criminals that could have been taken into custody in the controlled and weapon-free environment of a jail. Instead, the Sheriffs’ current nonsensical policy protects criminals and needlessly endangers the lives of their fellow law enforcement officers, who simply want to do their jobs well and as safely as possible, so that they, too, can return to their loved ones at the end of their work day.
"Equally noteworthy is the fact that collateral consequences are also a real possibility whenever law enforcement attempts to place someone in custody in a dynamic environment like a vehicle stop or a residential arrest. Innocent bystanders in the vicinity are at risk of harm when a known criminal chooses "fight or flight" rather than peaceful compliance with law enforcement. As we’ve seen in recent months, such dangerous encounters can lead to police stand-offs and shootings.
"I urge the Sheriffs of Mecklenburg and Buncombe Counties to do the job they were elected to do, protect every single member of the community from increased risk of harm, and stop needlessly and irresponsibly thrusting fellow law enforcement officers into harm’s way.
"The people of our communities deserve more and have a right to expect their Sheriffs to do all they can to make our streets safe, and our communities a place where we can live, work, and raise our families.
"As a former federal law enforcement officer with the U.S. Coast Guard, a former District Attorney for Mecklenburg County, and currently as U.S. Attorney for Western North Carolina, I can attest that cooperation and coordination between local, state, and federal law enforcement is the only effective strategy that can make our crime fighting efforts successful and stem the tide of increased violence. United we stand and divided we fail.
"I call upon the Sheriffs of Mecklenburg and Buncombe Counties to abandon their misguided sanctuary policies that do nothing but shield criminals, put at risk the safety of our neighborhoods, and jeopardize the lives of law enforcement officers.
Let’s work together to make all of our communities as safe as possible and let’s do everything in our power to prevent the loss of innocent life."
South Carolina Man Is Sentenced to 14 Years for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. sentenced a South Carolina man to 168 months in prison and four years of supervised release for trafficking heroin and crack cocaine, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Veto Omar Martin, 41, of Anderson, S.C., received an enhanced prison sentence and was sentenced as a Career Offender due to his multiple prior drug trafficking convictions.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief David Zack of the Asheville Police Department (APD), join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, on November 30, 2018, officers with the Asheville Police Department’s Drug Suppression Unit executed a search warrant at a residence, and a vehicle parked in the driveway of the residence, in Asheville. While executing the search warrant, law enforcement recovered from inside the home narcotics and various drug paraphernalia. Law enforcement also arrested Martin, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of the parked vehicle. Inside the vehicle, law enforcement located heroin, crack cocaine, and other narcotics. According to court records, over the course of the investigation, Martin admitted to selling drugs in Asheville and surrounding areas, and using the Asheville residence to sell narcotics.
In October 2019, Martin pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute narcotics. He is currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the FBI and APD for handling the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Pritchard, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville, prosecuted the case.
Cherokee Man Is Sentenced to More Than Four Years for Sexually Abusing A Minor on Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – David Paul George Sr., 56, of Cherokee, N.C., was sentenced today to 51 months in prison for the sexual abuse of a minor in Indian Country, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to the prison term imposed, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. also ordered George to serve 15 years under court supervision, and to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.
Chief Doug Pheasant, of the Cherokee Indian Police Department, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, between March and May 2018, George, who is an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, sexually abused a minor female entrusted in his care. As George previously admitted in court, the defendant sexually abused the victim on multiple occasions. The sexual abuse took place in Swain County, within the boundaries of the Indian reservation.
George has been in federal custody since June 2019. He will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the Cherokee Indian Police Department for their investigation of this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Pritchard, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville, prosecuted the case.
Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 24 YearsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Late yesterday, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. sentenced Garlin Raymond Farris, 57, of Mathews, N.C. to 288 months in prison and five years of supervised release for trafficking large amounts of methamphetamine, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Vincent C. Pallozzi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from 2016 through the summer of 2017, Farris trafficked significant amounts of methamphetamine throughout Western North Carolina. Court records show that Farris supervised a network of distributors, who sold his drugs throughout Mecklenburg, Watauga, Catawba, and Alexander Counties. Farris and his distributors made frequent trips to supply sources located in Atlanta, Georgia. During those trips, Farris personally picked up at least 50 kilograms of methamphetamine and then brought the drugs back into North Carolina for distribution.
In April 2019, a federal jury convicted Farris of conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine. He is currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the ATF for handling the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Lindahl, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
Bulk Trafficker of Heroin and Crystal Methamphetamine Is Sentenced to 20 YearsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Otequise Lenard Miller, 34, of Concord, N.C. was sentenced today to 240 months in prison and five years of supervised release on drug trafficking conspiracy resulting in an overdose death and money laundering charges, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Charlotte District Office; Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Charlotte; Chief Gary J. Gacek of the Concord Police Department; and Interim Chief Terry Spry of the Kannapolis Police Department join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from 2015 until his arrest on August 22, 2018, Miller was part of a drug conspiracy that trafficked bulk crystal methamphetamine and heroin into Mecklenburg County. During the relevant time period, Miller trafficked approximately seven to nine kilograms of heroin, and 14 to 18 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine. In addition to drug trafficking, Miller concealed and laundered the drug proceeds.
Court records show that, in December 2017, Miller sold heroin to a victim identified in court documents as “W.M.,” which resulted in the victim’s overdose death. As described further in court documents, Miller continued to sell narcotics even after he became aware of the victim’s death. Miller is a repeat offender, and was previously convicted of drug trafficking charges.
Miller is currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
This case is part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office initiative to combat the opioid abuse epidemic in the Western District of North Carolina through prosecution, enforcement and prevention.
In June 2019, U.S. Attorney Murray announced the formation of the Western District’s Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Enforcement (H.O.P.E.) Task Force. This multi-agency team of experienced federal and state investigators located in the Western District of North Carolina work with federal prosecutors to identify abusive practices by participants in the opioid pharmaceutical supply chain, and to prosecute drug trafficking networks that distribute lethal heroin and opioids into our communities.
The Task Force focuses on coordinating investigations, information sharing, identifying trends throughout the region, investigating whistleblower complaints, and the creation of cross-agency investigative teams so each agency task force member can bring its area of expertise on investigations.
The Task Force builds upon existing partnerships between the agencies, and its work reflects a heightened effort to reduce heroin and opioid abuse, to increase prevention through outreach efforts, and to educate the public about the dangers of counterfeit drugs, heroin abuse and opioid addiction.
This prosecution is also part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), targeting the importation of narcotics from Mexico into Western North Carolina.
OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
DEA, HSI, the Concord Police Department, and the Kannapolis Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sanjeev Bhasker, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is in charge of the prosecution.
Mount Holly Woman Is Sentenced to More Than Four Years in Prison for $1 Million Car Loan SchemeRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Kimberlie L. Flemings, 51, of Mount Holly, N.C., was sentenced today to 57 months in prison and two years of supervised release, for her role in a $1 million fraudulent car loan scheme, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. also ordered Flemings to pay more than $600,000 in restitution.
In October 2018, a federal jury convicted Flemings of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, wire fraud affecting financial institutions, and multiple counts of financial institution fraud.
Two of Flemings’s co-conspirators, Stanley Reginald Barron, and Brian Lyles, previously were sentenced to 18 months and 15 months in prison, respectively, for their involvement in the scheme.
According to today’s sentencing hearing, filed court documents, and evidence presented at Flemings’s trial, from at least 2012 to 2015, Flemings, Barron, Lyles, and others submitted dozens of fraudulent automobile and personal loan applications in their own names, as well as the names of more than 30 other individuals, to at least 19 banks and credit unions. As part of the scheme, loan applications were submitted in the name of a deceased individual and a disabled, elderly veteran. To facilitate the fraud, the co-conspirators created fake automobile dealerships that purported to be the sellers of vehicles purchased with the fraudulent loans. The co-conspirators also set up bank accounts, websites, and addresses associated with these fake automobile dealerships, and created fictitious purchase orders, which were submitted to the financial institutions as part of the loan application. As a result of the fraudulent applications, the co-conspirators obtained more than $1 million in fraudulent loan proceeds.
Flemings, Barron and Lyles generally deposited the fraudulently obtained checks from the financial institutions into accounts Barron controlled. After keeping a portion of the proceeds, Barron distributed the rest to Flemings, Lyles, and others. According to court records, the majority of the loans defaulted, causing losses to the defrauded financial institutions. To cover up the fraud, the co-conspirators made false statements to the banks and credit unions that attempted to collect on the debts, including that borrowers had been the victims of identity theft and that they had not authorized the loans.
In announcing Fleming’s sentence, Judge Conrad highlighted Flemings’ “many acts of fraudulent conduct” over the course of several years and emphasized the need to further the sentencing goals of general and specific deterrence and to protect the public from future crimes.
In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Office of Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency for their investigation of the case, and recognized the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles for their assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Ryan and Taylor J. Philips of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are in charge of the prosecution.
Congress Must Ban Fentanyl AnaloguesRead the Press Release
In 2017, nearly 50,000 Americans died from an opioid overdose. In 2018, synthetic opioids accounted for over 28,000 overdose fatalities across the United States. Hundreds of those victims died here, in the Carolinas. They were our friends, our colleagues, our neighbors. And while we are encouraged by a recent decline in the reported death toll, the untimely loss of any life to this drug scourge is too great of a tragedy. As law enforcement leaders, this epidemic requires our continued and sustained attention.
One of the deadliest synthetic opioids is fentanyl, a drug 50 times more potent than heroin, and 100 times more powerful than morphine. Incredibly small quantities – measured like the grains of salt – can kill the average person.
Illegal fentanyl is manufactured in high-volume labs in China and Mexico, and its chemical structure is easily altered to create new drugs, called fentanyl analogues. Analogues can be created simply by altering just a single molecule.
Prior to 2018 drug traffickers were able to run sophisticated operations and evade law enforcement and prosecution by altering the chemical composition of fentanyl just enough to skirt the law. Even more frightening, the compounding done in illicit labs varies so much that no one can be sure of the amount they are ingesting.
To address this problem, in 2018, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) used its authority to temporarily ban all fentanyl-related substances and closed a loophole used by drug traffickers to exploit our laws and profit off our people.
At the same time, it is important to note that the Trump Administration was able to persuade the Chinese government to prohibit fentanyl analogues as well.
However, the DEA’s order expires on February 6, 2020, and, unless Congress acts, many fentanyl analogues will become legal. Congress’s inaction will deliver a serious blow to our efforts to prosecute drug organizations and dealers who traffic in fentanyl. Further, it will make it more difficult to put behind bars those responsible for the deaths of our loved ones.
The United States Senate recently approved a temporary extension of the DEA’s temporary order. That is a good start. But, in order to stem this deadly epidemic, we need Congress to act decisively and permanently declare all fentanyl analogues illegal. Congress’ action will permanently arm law enforcement with the tools necessary to protect our communities from these deadly illicit drugs.
Critics of a permanent ban argue that the bill does not include a public health approach to the overdose crisis. We wholeheartedly agree that only a comprehensive approach will stem the tide of this public health crisis. Indeed, each of our U.S. Attorney’s offices collaborates with health care professionals, social services providers, and a wide range of community groups to implement comprehensive solutions to address this problem. But, strong criminal laws are a critical component of the Nation’s response to this crisis, and time is short. Mexican and Chinese drug traffickers eagerly await the expiration of the DEA’s temporary order to flood our communities with their increasingly deadly analogue poisons.
We join U.S. Attorney General William Barr and our fellow United States Attorneys across the country in calling upon Congress to permanently ban all fentanyl-related drugs. The lives of countless Carolinians depend upon swift and decisive action.
Messrs. Higdon, Martin and Murray are the United States Attorneys for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina, respectively. Mr. Crick is the Acting United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina.
Charlotte Woman Is Sentenced to More Than Two Years for Stealing over $458,000 from Retirees' AccountsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Cynthia Williams-Singleton, 42, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 27 months in prison and two years of supervised release for stealing more than $458,000 from the accounts of retirees, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to the prison term imposed, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. also ordered Williams-Singleton to pay $462,265.40 as restitution.
Reginald A. DeMatteis, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from December 2016 to June 2018, Williams-Singleton was a customer service representative with a call center located in Charlotte, for a company identified in court documents as “Company 1.” As a call center representative, Williams-Singleton worked on accounts associated with “Client A,” and had access to Company 1’s data systems that contained, among other things, retirement fund records for Client A’s benefit plan participants and their beneficiaries, including the participants’ personally identifiable information (PII).
According to court documents, Williams-Singleton carried out the fraud by accessing a participant’s account when the participant contacted the call center. After speaking with the participant and discovering that the participant was unsure or unaware of his or her account balance, Williams-Singleton informed the participant that the participant’s account was either empty, or had less funds than it did. She then added herself, her relatives and others, as beneficiaries of that participant’s account. Using her access to customers’ PII and retirement fund records, Williams-Singleton made unauthorized transfers of funds from Client A’s plan participants’ retirement accounts into bank accounts in her own name or under her control. During the course of the scheme, Williams-Singleton fraudulently withdrew approximately $458,772.88 in participant and beneficiary funds from approximately eight participant accounts without authorization. Generally, the holders of the participant accounts victimized by Williams-Singleton were persons over the age of 70.
Williams-Singleton pleaded guilty to wire fraud in June 2019. She will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving her sentence upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation was handled by the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny Sugar, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
In March 2019, Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced the Office’s Elder Justice Initiative, which aims to combat elder financial exploitation by expanding efforts to investigate and prosecute financial scams that target seniors; educate older adults on how to identify scams and avoid becoming victims of financial fraud; and promote greater coordination with law enforcement partners. For more information please visit: /usao-wdnc/elder-justice-initiative
Court Sentences North Carolina Bloods Gang Members for Racketeering Conspiracy Involving MurderRead the Press Release
Four North Carolina members of the United Blood Nation (UBN or Bloods) street gang were sentenced in Charlotte, North Carolina, after pleading guilty to federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy charges, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray of the Western District of North Carolina.
Tyquan Ramont Powell, aka Savage, 24, of Charlotte, North Carolina, Lamonte Kentrell Lloyd, aka Murda Mo and Moo, 26, of Scotland Neck, North Carolina, Thomas Oliver, aka T.O., Recon, Rex, and Mr. Trippbadd, 34 of Gastonia, North Carolina were each sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Frank D. Whitney to serve 35 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. Each of these defendants pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy charges involving murder. Judge Whitney also sentenced Marquel Michael Cunningham, aka Mayhem, 23, of Kings Mountain, North Carolina, to 15 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release following his guilty plea to RICO conspiracy and his role in an attempted murder.
According to court documents and evidence presented at May 2018 and October 2019 trials of co-defendants, the UBN is a violent criminal street gang operating throughout the east coast of the United States since it was founded as a prison gang in 1993. UBN members are often identified by their use of the color red, and can also often be identified by common tattoos or burn marks. The UBN has a militaristic structure, with positions of Godfather, High, Low, Five-Star to One‑Star Generals and soldiers. UBN members use distinct hand signs and written codes, which are used to identify other members and rival gang members, as well as to try to thwart law enforcement efforts against them.
Members of the UBN are expected to conduct themselves and their illegal activity according to rules and regulations set by their leaders. Prominent among these is a requirement to pay monthly dues to the organization, often in the amounts of $31 or $93. UBN gang dues are derived from illegal activity performed by subordinate UBN members including narcotics trafficking, robberies and wire fraud, among other forms of illegal racketeering activity.
According to court documents, Powell and Lloyd were members of the UBN and together committed two murders and three attempted murders in January and February of 2016. Powell and Lloyd committed the first murder in Scotland Neck, North Carolina, by shooting into a car with three occupants because they believed one of the occupants was cooperating with law enforcement and intended to testify in a criminal case against a close associate of the defendants. Bullets struck all three occupants and the intended target of the shooting was killed. The defendants then fled to, among other places, Charlotte, North Carolina, where they received refuge and resources from UBN members and associates while attempting to evade arrest.
Powell and Lloyd also committed murder in Gastonia, North Carolina, while attempting to rob four victims using handguns. When the victims resisted the defendants’ robbery attempt, Powell fired his gun and killed one of the victims, who was attempting to flee to safety. Powell and Lloyd also attempted to rob another victim in Charlotte, North Carolina. Lloyd shot the victim in the back of the head, but the victim was effectively treated for his injuries at the hospital and lived.
According to court documents and evidence presented at an October 2019 trial of a co-defendant, Oliver drove himself and four other UBN members from Cleveland County, North Carolina, to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in order to rob an 18-year-old victim of marijuana and money. Oliver coordinated the crimes as a local UBN leader, and was present when his fellow gang members shot and killed the robbery victim and attempted to kill the victim’s friend, who survived a gunshot wound to his arm.
Also according to court documents, Cunningham committed an armed robbery for the UBN, as well as an assault of a fellow UBN member for violating UBN gang rules. Court documents and evidence presented at sentencing also showed that Cunningham was present in a car with UBN co‑conspirators in November 2014 when they saw a man who Cunningham believed to be a member of the rival gang called the Crips. Cunningham pointed the man out to his fellow Bloods and flashed UBN gang hand signs. Occupants of the car then opened fire on the victim, exited the car, and chased the victim while shooting approximately a dozen times. No one was injured in the attempted murder.
In May 2017, 83 UBN gang members were indicted in the Western District of North Carolina for RICO conspiracy and other crimes. In all, 82 defendants have been adjudicated guilty from the investigation. A jury convicted three top leaders of the UBN of racketeering conspiracy in May 2018, one defendant was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy at a bench trial in July 2019, and a jury convicted four defendants of racketeering conspiracy and other charges in October 2019.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office; the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department; the Shelby Police Department; the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office; the Gastonia Police Department; the North Carolina State Highway Patrol; the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office; the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Adult Corrections and Juvenile Justice; North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles; Scotland Neck Police Department; the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office; the U.S. Federal Probation; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the IRS Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Office of Special Investigations. Trial Attorney Beth Lipman of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Warren and Christopher Hess for the Western District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Two Men Sentenced to Prison for Their Roles in an Investment Fraud Scheme Targeting Elderly VictimsRead the Press Release
Two men were sentenced to prison for their roles in a multimillion-dollar investment fraud scheme targeting the elderly and other vulnerable victims.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray of the Western District of North Carolina and Inspector in Charge David McGinnis of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Charlotte Division made the announcement.
Robert Leslie Stencil, 62, of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Michael Allen Duke, 51, of Richardson, Texas, were each sentenced by U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. of the Western District of North Carolina. Stencil was sentenced to 135 months in prison, and was also ordered to pay $2,745,239 in restitution and to forfeit $868,317.58. Duke was sentenced to 70 months in prison, and was ordered to pay $1,635,485 in restitution.
Following a three-week trial in January 2019, Stencil and Duke were each found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. In addition, Stencil was found guilty of 13 counts of mail fraud, 13 counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering. Duke was found guilty of three counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
According to the evidence presented at trial, from 2012 through 2016, Stencil, Duke and their co-conspirators sold millions of dollars of worthless stock in a sham company named Niyato Industries Inc. (Niyato). Stencil played the role of Niyato’s chief executive officer. Duke was Stencil’s top salesperson. Together with their co-conspirators, Stencil and Duke portrayed Niyato as a leader in its field, manufacturing electric vehicles and converting gasoline vehicles to run on compressed natural gas. Stencil, Duke and their co-conspirators told victims that Niyato was run by a team of high-profile executives, and that Niyato had patented technology, state-of-the-art facilities and valuable contracts. They also told victims that Niyato would use 97 percent of the money it raised selling stock to grow its business and expand operations. Stencil, Duke and their co-conspirators used high-pressure tactics when pitching Niyato stock to victims, the evidence showed. Among other things, they sold victims on the opportunity to “get in on the ground floor,” offering them a portion of a supposedly limited supply of pre-IPO stock at $.50 per share and promising them a 10- to 16-fold return when Niyato went public. From 2012 to 2016, Stencil, Duke and their co-conspirators repeatedly told victims that an IPO was imminent, the evidence showed.
In reality, Niyato had no patents, facilities, products or plans to commence an IPO. Niyato’s true business was the sale of worthless stock. Stencil, Duke and their co-conspirators used nearly all of the money raised by selling Niyato stock for their own personal benefit, with Stencil paying salespeople – like Duke – half or nearly half of the money they solicited from each investor on behalf of Niyato. Moreover, Stencil used Niyato’s bank account as his own personal piggybank, the evidence showed.
The evidence showed that, together, Stencil, Duke and their co-conspirators sold approximately $2.8 million in stock to approximately 140 victims, many of whom were elderly or vulnerable for other reasons.
Five other defendants have pleaded guilty in this matter and have already been sentenced, namely Nicholas Fleming, 64, of Northridge, California; Martin Delaine Lewis, 53, of Frisco, Texas; Paula Saccomanno, 62, of Boca Raton, Florida; Kristian F. Sierp, 48, of Costa Rica; and Dennis Swerdlen, 65, of Boca Raton, Florida. Daniel Thomas Broyles Sr., 62, of Beverly Hills, California, was also charged and remains a fugitive. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Trial Attorney Christopher Fenton of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.
The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section plays a pivotal role in the Department of Justice’s fight against white collar crime around the country.
Individuals who believe that they may be a victim in this case should visit the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness website for more information.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Members of $11 Million International Telemarketing Scheme Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
Three individuals were sentenced to prison for their roles in an $11 million telemarketing scheme that defrauded primarily elderly victims in the United States from call centers in Costa Rica.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray of the Western District of North Carolina, Inspector in Charge David M. McGinnis of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Charlotte Division, Special Agent in Charge Bryant Jackson of IRS Criminal Investigation’s (CI) Cincinnati Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of IRS-CI’s Charlotte Field Office and Special Agent in Charge John Strong of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office made the announcement.
Donald Dodt, 76, originally of Cleveland, Ohio, Thomas Sniffen, 58, originally of Peekskill, New York, and Michael Saxon, 50, originally of Ontario, Canada, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. of the Western District of North Carolina to 90 months, 114 months and 75 months in prison, respectively. Judge Cogburn also ordered restitution in the amount of $7 million for Dodt, $11,236,857.65 for Sniffen and $2,593,574.02 for Saxon to be paid jointly and severally with their co-conspirators.
Following a five-day trial in May 2019, Dodt was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, two counts of mail fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit international money laundering and 10 counts of international money laundering. In April 2019, Sniffen pleaded guilty to all charges in the 31-count indictment charging conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, substantive counts of mail fraud and wire fraud, international money laundering and conspiracy to commit international money laundering. In May 2019, Saxon pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
According to the evidence presented at both Dodt’s trial and the sentencing hearings, and the factual bases in support of Sniffen’s and Saxon’s guilty pleas, Dodt, Sniffen and Saxon conspired together to commit the fraud and worked in a call center in Costa Rica. While falsely posing as federal judges, representatives of the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and other federal agencies, including the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, they contacted victims in the United States — primarily senior citizens — to tell them that that they had supposedly won a substantial “sweepstakes” prize. After convincing victims that they stood to receive a significant financial reward, the members of the conspiracy told victims that they needed to make a series of up-front cash payments before collecting, purportedly for items like insurance fees, taxes and import fees. The co-conspirators used a variety of means to conceal their identity, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services provided by Dodt that made it appear as if they were calling from Washington, D.C., and other places in the United States.
At sentencing, it was determined that Dodt, Sniffen, Saxon and their co-conspirators collectively stole more than $11 million in total from victims.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, IRS-CI, the FBI with assistance from the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Jennifer Farer and Philip Trout of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. Former Fraud Section Trial Attorney William Bowne previously prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina provided substantial assistance with this matter.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Charlotte Man Is Sentenced to More Than 19 Years for Armed Robbery of Two Fast Food RestaurantsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Elijah Stevarus Hallman, 30, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 231 months in prison in connection with the armed robberies of two fast food restaurants, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray. Hallman was also ordered to serve three years under supervised release after he is released from prison.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents, trial evidence, and statements made in court, Elijah Hallman recruited his cousin and co-defendant, Cameron Hallman, to commit the robberies. Trial evidence established that, over the course of the armed robberies, Cameron Hallman operated as the getaway driver, and Elijah Hallman acted as the gunman.
According to court records, around 2:00 a.m. on April 11, 2018, the two men drove to a Wendy’s restaurant located at 7900 Arrowridge Blvd in Charlotte, where Cameron Hallman placed a drive-through order while Elijah Hallman concealed himself nearby. When Cameron Hallman pulled up to the window, Elijah Hallman walked up and stuck a pistol through the drive-through window, pointed it at the cashier, and demanded money. Cameron Hallman then pulled off as though he was not associated with Elijah Hallman, and a short while later the pair met up across the street.
Trial evidence established that the Wendy’s robbery was largely unsuccessful, as the cashier threw five dollars at Elijah Hallman and ran away to another part of the restaurant. As a result, the co-conspirators decided to commit a second armed robbery. About 30 minutes after the Wendy’s robbery, Elijah and Cameron Hallman stopped at a McDonald’s restaurant located at 4440 S. Tryon Street in Charlotte. They executed the same plan in the same manner, however, in this robbery, Elijah Hallman ripped out the entire cash drawer and carried it off. The robbery netted the pair approximately $360. According to trial evidence, while leaving the McDonald’s parking lot to meet up with Cameron Hallman, Elijah Hallman dropped some loose change from the cash drawer and a cell phone. At trial, evidence established that the recovered cell phone belonged to Elijah Hallman, who had used it to communicate with Cameron Hallman, and that the cell phone was in the vicinity of the restaurants during both robberies.
In April 2019, a federal jury convicted Elijah Hallman of Hobbs Act robbery, which is the robbery of a business engaged in interstate commerce; conspiracy to commit robbery; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of the robbery. Cameron Hallman previously pleaded guilty for his role in the robberies and was sentenced to 180 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Elijah Hallman is currently in federal custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The FBI and CMPD handled the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Kelly and Cortney Randall, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted Elijah Hallman’s case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Kaufman handled Cameron Hallman’s prosecution.
Asheville Man Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud and Money Laundering for $22 Million Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Hal H. Brown Jr., 70, of Asheville, N.C., pleaded guilty to securities fraud and transactional money laundering in federal court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler, for orchestrating a $22 million Ponzi scheme, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to admission made in plea documents and today’s plea hearing, from at least 2006 through September 2019, Brown fraudulently obtained more than $22 million from dozens of victims, some of whom were at, or near, retirement age, by engaging in an investment scheme through his company Oodles Inc. and its various affiliates (collectively, “OODLES”). Individual victims invested anywhere from a few thousand to a few million dollars in OODLES. To induce victims to invest their money, Brown falsely represented that OODLES owned hundreds of millions of dollars in intellectual property, namely family entertainment shows and movies. As part of the scheme, Brown repeatedly lied to victims about the imminent sale of those intellectual properties to various well-known media companies. To perpetuate the fraud, Brown developed marketing material seeking investments or loans for OODLES that claimed large returns on funds invested or lent to the company.
As Brown admitted in court today, to convince victims the scheme was legitimate and to appease investors who sought an explanation about delays in payouts, Brown provided victims with a number of fraudulent and misleading statements and fictitious information, including fake bank statements and falsified company agreements, among others.
Brown used a substantial part of victim money on personal expenses unrelated to purported OODLES transactions. He also used funds contributed by new investors to make payments to existing investors, commonly referred to as “Ponzi” payments.
A sentencing date for Brown has not been set. The securities fraud charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a $5 million fine. The transactional money laundering charge carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a fine of not more than twice the amount of criminally derived property in the transaction or $250,000.
The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office handled the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Ryan and Mark Odulio of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are prosecuting the case.
In March 2019, Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced the Office’s Elder Justice Initiative, which aims to combat elder financial exploitation by expanding efforts to investigate and prosecute financial scams that target seniors; educate older adults on how to identify scams and avoid becoming victims of financial fraud; and promote greater coordination with law enforcement partners. For more information please visit: /usao-wdnc/elder-justice-initiative.
Charlotte Man Is Sentenced to Three and A Half Years in Prison for Stealing Thousands of Pieces of MailRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Erik Raymond Magana, 34, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 42 months in prison for stealing thousands of pieces of mail from at least 1,300 victims in North and South Carolina, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray. Magana was also ordered to serve one year in supervised release, and to pay $77,304 as restitution. Magana pleaded guilty on April 2, 2019, to mail theft and aggravated identity theft.
U.S. Attorney Murray is joined in making today’s announcement by David M. McGinnis, Inspector in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
According to filed court documents and statements in court, from at least 2016 until November 2018, Magana routinely stole mail from residential mailboxes in neighborhoods in North and South Carolina. Magana typically targeted affluent neighborhoods, and committed the theft in the middle of the night or pre-dawn to avoid detection. Among the pieces of mail Magana stole were personal and business checks and credit cards, which he used to commit bank fraud and identity theft.
Court records show that Magana dumped some of the stolen mail at various locations in Charlotte, but hoarded the majority of it in his apartment. After cataloguing the mail recovered over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that Magana had stolen mail from at least 1,300 victims. According to statements made in court during Magana’s sentencing hearing, this was the largest recovery of stolen mail conducted by USPIS in the Charlotte region in at least 15 years. Due to the unsanitary conditions in Magana’s apartment, some of the recovered mail could not be properly identified or delivered to the intendent recipients, court records show.
Magana is currently in federal custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Charlotte, and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, and noted that the case is the result of the Charlotte Financial Crimes Task Force (CFCTF). The task force was formed in early 2016 by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and currently comprises over 25 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies located in the Western District of North Carolina. The goal of the taskforce is to focus on the identification and development of financial fraud investigations in the Charlotte area. Based on crime trends in the area, the task force began to focus its efforts on violent offenders with lengthy criminal histories who are committing fraud.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
North Carolina Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Preparing False ReturnsRead the Press Release
A Charlotte, North Carolina, tax return preparer pleaded guilty today to aiding and assisting in filing a false tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray of the Western District of North Carolina.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Ramonda Byrd owned and operated Divine Financial Solutions, a Charlotte, North Carolina, tax preparation business with locations on Beatties Ford Road and Central Avenue. From 2012 through 2017, Byrd prepared false tax returns on behalf of her clients. By reporting fictitious business income and expenses as well as false medical expenses, charitable contributions, and child and dependent care expenses, she sought to cause the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to pay inflated refunds. Byrd’s fee was then often deducted from the client’s refund. In all, Byrd’s conduct caused a tax loss to the United States of more than $270,000.
Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date. At sentencing, Byrd faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison. She also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Murray thanked special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Jessica Kraft of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley, who prosecuted the case.
Fourth Charlotte Man Pleads Guilty in Check-Cashing SchemeRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Omontie Rowe, 22, of Charlotte, pleaded guilty in federal court to aggravated identity theft, for his role in an extensive check-cashing scheme that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses to at least five financial institutions, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge David S. Cayer presided over today’s plea hearing.
David M. McGinnis, Inspector in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
From January 2018 through June 2019, Rowe and his three co-defendants, Jacoby Berry, Fredrick Clark, and Fabio Wolfe, executed the check cashing scheme by obtaining business and personal checks that were stolen, counterfeit or altered by members of the conspiracy. After depositing the worthless checks into various bank accounts, the co-conspirators made multiple cash withdrawals and purchases before the victim banks detected the fraud.
Court records show that the four defendants called themselves the “All Profit Group,” or “AP Group,” and bragged about their successful check fraud scheme on social media, by posting images of themselves with handfuls of cash. They also used social media to recruit “straw account holders,” by posting to social media websites and approaching individuals with the promise of an easy pay day. According to court records, the recruited straw account holders were promised a payment of $100 to $1,500, in exchange for allowing the co-defendants to use the account holders’ new or existing bank accounts to perpetuate the fraud.
All four co-defendants have pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and are awaiting sentencing. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory minimum prison term of two years. A sentencing date has not been set.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked USPIS for their investigation of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maria Vento and William Miller, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is in charge of the prosecution.
Federal Complaint Charges Honduran National with KidnappingRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that Luis Analberto Pineda-Anchecta, 37, a Honduran national, has been charged with kidnapping via a federal criminal complaint filed in federal court in Charlotte.
Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Charlotte, and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to allegations contained in the criminal complaint, on or about May 15, 2019, CMPD officers arrested Pineda-Anchecta on several state charges, including Assault on a Female and Communicating Threats against his ex-girlfriend, identified in court documents as F.M. Two days following his arrest, the complaint alleges that Pineda-Anchecta was released from state custody on bond.
As alleged in the criminal complaint, in the evening of May 21, 2019, F.M. was approached by two masked men as she was walking to her vehicle parked at her apartment complex in Charlotte. The victim recognized one of the masked men as the defendant, who allegedly proceeded to grab the victim by the arm, stuff a cloth in her mouth, and then wrap a cord or rope around her head so the cloth would stay in place. The complaint alleges that Pineda-Anchecta and the other masked man then forced F.M. against her will into the passenger seat of a vehicle. As alleged in the complaint, Pineda-Anchecta then told F.M. “I love you and I’m going to kill you.” The complaint alleges that the other masked individual did not accompany Pineda-Anchecta and F.M. in the vehicle.
According to allegations in the criminal complaint, Pineda-Anchecta drove his vehicle on Lancaster Highway. While Pineda-Anchecta was driving, the complaint alleges that he maintained a tight grip on the plastic rope tied around the victim’s face. According to the complaint, after traveling a short while on Lancaster Highway, Pineda-Anchecta parked his vehicle on the side of the road near a wooden area and turned off the vehicle’s engine. Pineda-Anchecta maintained his grip on the plastic rope around F.M.’s face, and allegedly pulled the victim out of the car and dragged her toward the wooded area near the road.
The complaint alleges that, following a struggle between Pineda-Anchecta and F.M., the victim was able to escape and run into the middle of the highway, and was assisted by motorists who stopped to offer help. According to allegations in the complaint, the victim identified Pineda-Anchecta as the person who had assaulted her.
The complaint further alleges that Pineda-Anchecta left the scene on foot. After obtaining a search warrant, CMPD officers searched Pineda-Anchecta’s vehicle, from which they recovered a spool of plastic rope similar to the rope wrapped around the victim’s face during the course of the kidnapping. Law enforcement also located the victim’s phone in Pineda-Anchecta’s vehicle.
Pineda-Anchecta is currently in federal custody. He was previously convicted of illegal reentry by a deported alien, and, on January 7, 2020, he was sentenced to seven months in prison. Pineda-Anchecta will appear in federal court on the new federal charges on Friday, January 10, 2020. The kidnapping charge carries a maximum term of life in prison.
The charges contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray commended ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations and CMPD for their investigation of this case. He also thanked ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations for their assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Smith is in charge of the prosecution.
Waxhaw, N.C. Man Charged with Orchestrating $800,000 Investment Scheme Appears in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Kamlesh Gopal Pardasani, 49, of Waxhaw, N.C., appeared in court this morning in Charlotte, on federal charges related to an $800,000 investment scheme he allegedly orchestrated, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The federal indictment was filed on June 19, 2018, in the Western District of North Carolina, and was unsealed on November 30, 2019, after Pardasani was arrested at the Philadelphia International Airport upon entering the United States from India.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to allegations contained in the indictment, from August 2016 to June 2017, Pardasani executed a scheme to defraud at least five victims of more than $800,000, by inducing the victims to invest in his company, FreightGuru.com LLC (FreightGuru). As alleged in the indictment, to induce his victims to invest their money, Pardasani falsely represented that he would use the investors’ money to fund a specific shipment of goods, and that, once the shipment cleared, the victims’ return rate on their initial investment would be between 15% and 20%. Pardasani also lied to victims by falsely assuring them that their funds were secure and safe, when in fact he used the victims’ money to fund his lifestyle, pay off personal creditors, and to engage in high-risk securities trading in his personal trading account. The indictment also alleges that after failing to invest the victims’ funds as promised, Pardasani continued to make additional false and fraudulent representations to lull victims and provide excuses for failing to return the victims’ money.
Pardasani is charged with wire fraud, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and a $250,000 fine, and money laundering, which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a fine of not more than twice the amount of criminally derived property in the transaction or $250,000.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.
Career Offender Is Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
STATESVILLE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that Keyon Shaqual Miller, 29, of Statesville, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on drug charges. In addition to the prison term imposed, Miller was ordered to serve three years under court supervision upon completion of his prison term.
Court records show that, from at least November 2018 to December 2018, Miller was trafficking narcotics in Statesville and surrounding areas. According to statements made in court and in filed court documents, over the course of the investigation, Miller sold crack cocaine and firearms – including two SKS type rifles – to an individual working with law enforcement. On October 7, 2019, Miller pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. At today’s hearing, Miller’s sentence was enhanced because of his prior felony convictions, which include Common Law Robbery and Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon, which classified Miller as a career offender under the United States Sentencing Guidelines.
Miller is currently in custody. He will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his sentence, upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Statesville Police Department, and the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation of this case.
U.S. Attorney Murray also thanked Sarah M. Kirkman, District Attorney for Iredell County, for her office’s assistance in this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hess, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
Two Statesville Area Men Are Sentenced to Prison for Theft of FirearmsRead the Press Release
STATESVILLE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell handed down prison terms today to two Statesville-area men for the theft of four firearms, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western district of North Carolina.
Niseem Booquan Clay, 19, was sentenced to 57 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Clay pleaded guilty on September 26, 2019, to conspiracy to steal or carry away any firearm from a Federal Firearms Licensee and steal or carry away any firearm from a Federal Firearms Licensee. Devin Quamaine Templeton, 23, was ordered to serve 48 months in prison and two years of supervised release. Templeton pleaded guilty on September 17, 2019, to possession of a firearm by a felon.
According to admissions made in court in connection with their guilty pleas and information introduced today at their sentencing hearing, on September 19, 2018, in the early morning hours, Clay and Templeton broke into Mr. G’s Pawn & Trade, a business located in Taylorsville, N.C. The defendants stole four firearms from the pawn shop, and drove away in a stolen SUV vehicle. Five days later, on September 24, 2018, witnesses called 911 to report that an attempted armed robbery was taking place at a closed gas station in Haywood County. A short time later, law enforcement in Buncombe County initiated a traffic stop of the same stolen SUV vehicle. Templeton was the driver of the vehicle, and Clay was a passenger in the back seat. Over the course of the traffic stop, law enforcement recovered three of the four stolen firearms, and 52 rounds of ammunition.
Clay and Templeton are currently in custody. They will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving their sentence, upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Taylorsville Police Department, the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office, and the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation of this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hess, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
South Carolina Woman Sentenced to Three Years for Embezzling More Than $2.4 Million Worth of Computer Equipment from Her EmployerRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jolynn Denise McHone, 45, of Fort Mill, South Carolina, was sentenced late yesterday to three years in prison and two years of supervised release for embezzling more than $2.4 million worth of computer equipment from her employer, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western district of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. also ordered McHone to pay more than $2.4 million in restitution.
Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong, of the FBI Charlotte Field Office, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to the filed court documents, from 2006 to 2017, McHone was employed by a Florida-based company as an information technology (IT) procurement manager. In that capacity, McHone was responsible for negotiating IT equipment purchases and lease agreements with the company’s IT vendors, managing IT equipment and purchases for the company and its subsidiaries throughout the United States, including North Carolina, and managing the company’s IT operating budget.
Court records show that from 2012 to 2017, McHone defrauded her employer by using company funds to order new IT equipment for supposedly legitimate company business, which she had delivered to a company subsidiary located in Concord, North Carolina. McHone intercepted the deliveries of the equipment, then met a co-conspirator in Charlotte, to whom she sold the equipment for cash, often for as little as 60 percent of the retail value of the equipment. During the relevant time period, McHone admitted that she engaged in dozens of fraudulent IT equipment purchase or lease transactions. Through this scheme, McHone obtained hundreds of fraudulently-acquired pieces of equipment, and caused losses of more than $2.4 million to the company.
On April 4, 2019, McHone pleaded guilty to wire fraud. McHone will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving her sentence, upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bozin, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, handled the prosecution.
Matthews, N.C. Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Gino Aristoteles Costa, 43, of Matthews, N.C. was sentenced late yesterday to 121 months in prison for transportation of child pornography, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney also ordered Costa to serve a lifetime of supervised release and to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.
Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Charlotte joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and information introduced at the sentencing hearing, in November 2017, Costa was using a peer-to-peer network to access and transport multiple files containing child pornography. HSI agents were able to successfully download multiple files of child pornography from Costa during this time period. During a subsequent search of Costa’s residence, law enforcement seized Costa’s computer. Costa admitted he downloaded child pornography videos for several months, some depicting the sexual abuse of children as young as toddlers.
Costa pleaded guilty on July 8, 2019, to transportation of child pornography. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked HSI for conducting the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfredo De La Rosa of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Georgia Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Alejandro Javier Chaves, 44, of Douglasville, Georgia, to 360 months in prison, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Reidinger also ordered Chaves to serve five years under court supervision after he is released from prison.
Joining U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement are Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Asheville District Office; Gregory Forest, United States Marshal for the Western District of North Carolina; Director Robert Schurmeier of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; Sheriff Chip Hall of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office; Sheriff Robert Holland of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office; and Sheriff Quentin Miller of the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, in 2017, Chaves was serving a sentence in the Georgia Department of Corrections related to nine felony convictions, including convictions for trafficking methamphetamine and threatening to kill a member of law enforcement. Between January and February 2017, while incarcerated in Georgia, Chaves used a contraband cell phone to orchestrate multi-ounce methamphetamine deals with a narcotics trafficker located in the Western District of North Carolina. Following an investigation into that criminal activity, Chaves was indicted in October 2017 by a grand jury in Asheville, and was transferred to the Western District of North Carolina to face the federal charges.
In May 2018, Chaves pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Court records show that, while he was in federal custody at the Buncombe County Detention Center, Chaves used a phone within the detention center to orchestrate additional methamphetamine deals, accounting for another four and half kilograms of methamphetamine. According to court records, Chaves arranged the drug deals between the date he entered his guilty plea and the date of his sentencing hearing.
Chaves remains in custody. Upon designation of a federal facility he will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The DEA in Asheville conducted the investigation. The U.S. Marshals Service, the SBI, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Buncombe County Sheriff’s office also assisted with the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Kent of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.
Former College Professor Sentenced to 10 Years for Enticement of A MinorRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Michael Edwin Dorcas, 56, of Huntersville, N.C., was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for enticement of a minor, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to the prison term imposed, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. also ordered Dorcas to serve 30 years of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.
According to court documents and today’s court proceedings, on January 29, 2016, Dorcas befriended a 12-year-old female online and began chatting with her. Over the course of their communication, Dorcas – who knew the victim was 12 years old– suggested they communicate via video chat. Dorcas led the minor to believe that he was a 15-year-old male, and convinced the minor to use her web cam, which allowed him to see her. Dorcas lied to the minor, telling her that his video cam was not working, and instead sent her pictures of a teenage male claiming it was him. Court records show that during their exchange, Dorcas convinced the minor to expose herself by removing articles of clothing.
On April 7, 2016, agents with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) executed a search warrant at Dorcas’ residence, and seized electronic devices. A forensic examination of the devices revealed that, in addition to the 12-year-old victim, Dorcas had chatted with other minors as well.
Dorcas pleaded guilty on February 28, 2019, to enticement of a minor. He will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his sentence upon designation of a federal facility. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray commended the SBI for their investigation of this case and thanked Homeland Security Investigations for the assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Cortney Randall, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Four Men Convicted of Firearms Offenses as Part of Federal Anti-Violence Initiative Are Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that four defendants were sentenced to prison for firearms violations. The defendants were prosecuted as part of Project Guardian, the Justice Department’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce gun laws.
U.S. v. Elroy Marshall
Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced today Elroy Lee Marshall, 39, of Hamlet, N.C., to 105 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. According to court records, on October 15, 2017, Marshall possessed a Ruger Model LC9, 9mm pistol, which he carried in his pocket. Marshall has a prior federal conviction for his involvement in an armed postal robbery, and he is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Gleason and Anthony Enright, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
U.S. v. Zacharias Lee
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenced Zacharias Lee, 27, of Charlotte, to 70 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. According to court documents, on March 26, 2018, Charlotte Mecklenburg police officers responded to a suspicious vehicle call. Upon locating the vehicle, the officers observed Lee, who was the driver of the vehicle, trying to hide a firearm under the vehicle while he was talking to the officers. A second firearm was recovered from the backseat of the vehicle. Upon further investigation, law enforcement determined that Lee had stolen a total of four firearms, by breaking into parked vehicles belonging to firefighters, at three fire departments in Mecklenburg County. Lee has two other prior state convictions for Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, and is prohibited from possessing a firearm. Court records show that Lee was on probation for his second Possession of a Firearm by a Felon conviction when he broke into the vehicles and stole the firearms.
The case was investigated by ATF and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD). Assistant U.S. Attorney Cortney Randall, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
U.S. v. Santario Boyd
Judge Conrad also sentenced yesterday Santario Boyd, 29, of Charlotte, to 68 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. According to court documents in this case, on January 31, 2018, Boyd shot a victim in the leg in response to something the victim said to Boyd. On February 21, 2018, CMPD’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team arrested Boyd for the shooting, and a firearm was located in the bedroom where Boyd was found. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that the recovered firearm was the same one Boyd used to shoot the victim. On January 31, 2019, Boyd pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon.
ATF and CMPD handled the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelly was in charge of the prosecution for the United States.
U.S. v. Marcus Watkins
Yesterday, Judge Conrad sentenced Marcus Bernard Watkins, 29, of Charlotte, to 68 months in prison and three years of supervised release. According to court documents, on August 30, 2017, probation officers with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) and CMPD officers conducted a warrantless search and compliance check at Watkins’ residence, who at the time was under state supervision. Over the course of the search, law enforcement located a loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol in Watkins’ bedroom. Due to his prior conviction, Watkins was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
ATF, NCDPS and CMPD handled the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hess, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
* * *
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the law enforcement agencies involved in the aforementioned prosecutions, and noted that these cases are part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.
Initiated by Attorney General William P. Barr, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the ATF when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.
Federal Jury Convicts Boone, N.C. Man for Transporting and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
STATESVILLE, N.C. – A federal jury in Statesville has convicted Thomas Arthur Rittenhouse, 75, of Boone, N.C. of transporting and possessing child pornography, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell Sr. presided over the trial.
“Protecting the most vulnerable amongst us, our children, remains a top priority of my Office,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “This defendant sought out, possessed, and transported images of the rape and abuse of children for his sordid personal use. Along with our law enforcement partners, my Office will ensure that this defendant, and anyone else engaged in similar horrific conduct, are brought to justice.”
According to filed court documents and evidence presented at trial, between 2014 and 2017, Rittenhouse used peer-to-peer computer networks to obtain dozens of videos depicting children being sexually abused. Rittenhouse then made child abuse videos available for download by other users of the peer-to-peer network. Evidence at trial showed that the computer Rittenhouse used to transport and possess child pornography reflected that Rittenhouse had used search terms associated with child abuse material to seek out such videos and images. A forensic analysis of video files seized from Rittenhouse’s computer showed adult men sexually abusing prepubescent children.
Rittenhouse was convicted of two counts of transporting child pornography, which carries a minimum term of five years and a maximum term of 20 years in prison per count, and a $250,000 fine. He was also convicted of one count of possessing child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor or a minor under the age of twelve, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the Boone Police Department and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation for their investigation of this case, and Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their assistance.
Assistant United States Attorneys Alfredo DeLaRosa and Taylor J. Phillips prosecuted the case for the United States.
Urine Drug Test Laboratory Sales Manager Agrees to Pay $649,407 to Settle False Claims Allegations with United StatesRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina announced that it has settled claims with Manoj Kumar, a former sales representative and manager for Physician’s Choice Laboratory Services (PCLS), a defunct urine drug testing laboratory that was based in Charlotte, N.C.
Kumar has paid $649,407 to resolve claims that he participated in schemes to illegally induce physicians to send medically unnecessary urine drug tests to PCLS. Kumar was a defendant in a civil complaint filed by the United States against Kumar, PCLS and other agents of the company.
The United States alleged that Kumar, along with other agents of PCLS, provided benefits to physicians to induce them to send urine samples to PCLS for drug testing that was not medically necessary. The complaint alleges that Kumar’s actions violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, which makes it illegal for any person to knowingly and willfully solicit or receive, or offer or pay any remuneration in exchange for the referral of items or services that are paid for by a federal health care program. The United States alleged that PCLS then submitted claims to Medicare for these tests in violation of the False Claims Act.
“Tests and other services should be ordered by physicians based on sound medical judgment, not on financial benefit,” said Andrew Murray, United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. “Paying inducements to obtain orders for tests and other services corrupts medical decision-making and causes unnecessary costs to federal healthcare programs.”
The United States alleged that Kumar received payments from PCLS to channel urine drug tests to PCLS from physician practices that he managed. The United States further alleged that Kumar, along with a co-defendant in the case, provided equipment and related services to physicians in exchange for those physicians sending urine drug samples to PCLS.
“The Ant-Kickback Statute is meant to protect patients and federal health programs from medical decision-making corrupted by financial motive,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “My office will aggressively pursue such claims.”
The United States Complaint in Intervention was filed in the qui tam case United States ex rel. Hartnett & Shoched v. Physicians Laboratory Services, LLC et al. (Civil Case No. 17-cv-37) which was consolidated with the qui tam case United States ex rel. Jenkins et al. v. Physician’s Choice Laboratory Services et al. (Civil Case No. 17-cv-46). The two qui tam cases were originally filed in the Middle District of Florida and the Eastern District of Tennessee, respectively, but transferred to the Western District of North Carolina in January, 2017. Additional defendants remain in the case which is currently in litigation. The Settlement Agreement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by Kumar.
Hickory Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Narcotics on the Dark Web & Agrees to Forfeit Virtual CurrencyRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that Travis Justin Stout, 35, of Hickory, N.C., appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer and pleaded guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute narcotics on the Dark Web.
Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of ICE/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and the Carolinas, David M. McGinnis, Inspector in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Chief Thurman Whisnant the Hickory Police Department join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to information contained in filed court documents and today’s plea hearing, in 2016, law enforcement began investigating Stout for trafficking narcotics in the greater Hickory area. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that Stout was purchasing narcotics, including MDMA (Ecstasy), methamphetamine, amphetamine, and marijuana, on the Dark Web, using various forms of cryptocurrency. Court records show that Stout used the Dark Web to traffic narcotics throughout the United States and internationally, including on the AlphaBay Market, and stored the drug proceeds in multiple virtual currency wallets. Stout was arrested after he received a dark web drug delivery. Law enforcement seized his computer and recovered cryptocurrency drug proceeds associated with these crimes, which Stout has agreed to forfeit to the U.S. Government.
The drug trafficking conspiracy charge carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison, and a $1,000,000 fine. The possession with intent to distribute charge also carries a maximum prison term of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. A sentencing date for Stout has not been set.
In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray thanked HSI in Charlotte, USPIS, and the Hickory Police Department for their investigation on this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sanjeev Bhasker and Seth Johnson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are in charge of the prosecution.
U.S. Attorney Murray Announces That the Justice Department Has Awarded More Than $333 Million to Fight the Opioid CrisisRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs today announced awards of more than $333 million to help communities affected by the opioid crisis, of which more than $3.5 million will help public safety and public health professionals in the Western District of North Carolina to combat substance abuse and respond effectively to overdoses. OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan and U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray made the announcement.
“The opioid crisis has destroyed far too many lives and left too many Americans feeling helpless and hopeless,” said PDAAG Sullivan. “This epidemic—the most deadly in our nation’s history—is introducing new dangers and loading public health responsibilities onto the public safety duties of our law enforcement officers. The Department of Justice is here to support them during this unprecedented and extremely challenging time.”
With more than 130 people dying from opioid-related overdoses every day, the Department of Justice has made fighting addiction to opioids—including heroin and fentanyl—a national priority. The Trump Administration is providing critical funding for a wide range of activities—from preventive services and comprehensive treatment to recovery assistance, forensic science services and research—to help save lives and break the cycle of addiction and crime.
“Opioid abuse and addiction are rampant nationwide, and unfortunately, Western North Carolina is not immune from this national epidemic. Federal funding provided by the Justice Department to counties in this district will go a long way toward providing much-needed services to the communities hardest hit by the widespread abuse of opioids,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.
The awards announced today support an array of activities designed to reduce the harm inflicted by these dangerous drugs. Grants will help law enforcement officers, emergency responders and treatment professionals coordinate their response to overdoses. Funds will also provide services for children and youth affected by the crisis and will support the nationwide network of drug and treatment courts. Other awards will address prescription drug abuse, expand the capacity of forensic labs and support opioid-related research.
The following awards, totaling $3,555,478, were made to agencies and counties in the Western District of North Carolina, to support comprehensive abuse site-based programs, and/or adult drug court and treatment court for veterans.
- Buncombe County Health and Human Services - $878,803.
- Rutherford County - $600,000.
- Burke County - $600,000.
- Appalachian District Health Department - $551,257.
- Catawba County - $500,000.
- Cleveland County Health Department - $425,418
Information about the programs and awards announced today is available here. For more information about OJP awards, visit the OJP Awards Data webpage.
The Office of Justice Programs, directed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan, provides federal leadership, grants, training and technical assistance, and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal and juvenile justice systems. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
Sex Offender Is Sentenced to 30 YearsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. –U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenced today April Nicole Pitchford, 31, of Mint Hill, N.C., to 30 years in prison, followed by 30 years of supervised release for producing child pornography, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Pitchford was also ordered to register as a sex offender after she is released from prison.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, between October 18 and October 19, 2016, Pitchford sexually abused a four-year-old victim. Court records show that Pitchford created a video depicting sexually explicit conduct with the minor, and sent it via text message to another individual.
On November 27, 2018, Pitchford pleaded guilty to production of child pornography. She is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentencings are served without the possibility of parole.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, and the Mint Hill Police Department for investigating this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cortney Randall of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
North Carolina Man Sentenced to 78 Months for Attempted Possession of Radioactive MaterialRead the Press Release
U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. ordered today Bryant Riyanto Budi, 28, of Matthews, North Carolina, to serve 78 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, for attempted possession of radioactive material with intent to cause death or serious bodily injury to another person.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina, John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Charlotte Division, and Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of ICE/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and the Carolinas made the announcement.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from April 22, 2018, to June 1, 2018, Budi attempted to possess radioactive material, and did so with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury to another person. Court documents show that Budi contacted an FBI online covert employee via the internet to purchase a lethal dose of a radioactive substance. In his communications with the covert employee, Budi expressed his intent to use the radioactive substance to kill an unnamed individual. On May 31, 2018, a package containing an inert substitute for the radioactive material ordered by Budi was delivered to an address in Charlotte as instructed by Budi. Budi was arrested on June 1, 2018, after he came into possession of the package, and pleaded guilty on Nov. 30, 2018. Separately, Budi also contacted an HSI undercover agent (UCA) via the internet and hired the UCA to murder a specified victim.
In making today’s announcement Assistant Attorney General Demers and U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the FBI in Charlotte and supporting FBI field offices; the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate in Washington, D.C.; HSI in Buffalo, New York and Charlotte; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.
North Carolina Man Sentenced to 78 Months for Attempted Possession of Radioactive MaterialRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. ordered today Bryant Riyanto Budi, 28, of Matthews, North Carolina, to serve 78 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, for attempted possession of radioactive material with intent to cause death or serious bodily injury to another person.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina, John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Charlotte Division, and Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of ICE/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and the Carolinas made the announcement.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from April 22, 2018, to June 1, 2018, Budi attempted to possess radioactive material, and did so with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury to another person. Court documents show that Budi contacted an FBI online covert employee via the internet to purchase a lethal dose of a radioactive substance. In his communications with the covert employee, Budi expressed his intent to use the radioactive substance to kill an unnamed individual. On May 31, 2018, a package containing an inert substitute for the radioactive material ordered by Budi was delivered to an address in Charlotte as instructed by Budi. Budi was arrested on June 1, 2018, after he came into possession of the package, and pleaded guilty on Nov. 30, 2018. Separately, Budi also contacted an HSI undercover agent (UCA) via the internet and hired the UCA to murder a specified victim.
In making today’s announcement Assistant Attorney General Demers and U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the FBI in Charlotte and supporting FBI field offices; the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate in Washington, D.C.; HSI in Buffalo, New York and Charlotte; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Gleason of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is in charge of the prosecution, assisted by Trial Attorney Bridget Behling, of the National Security Division.
FBI Arrests Former Bank Employee Charged with Stealing Cash from Bank VaultRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A criminal indictment was unsealed this week in federal court in Charlotte, following the arrest of Arlando M. Henderson by the FBI in San Diego, California. Henderson, 29, of Charlotte, is charged with financial institution fraud and related charges, for stealing more than $88,000 in cash from the vault of the bank where he was employed, and then committing a separate loan fraud in connection with the purchase of a luxury automobile.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to allegations contained in the indictment, Henderson was employed by a financial institution in Charlotte, and had access to the cash vault. The indictment alleges that on at least 18 occasions in 2019, Henderson stole cash from deposits made by bank customers from the bank vault, and used the money to pay for personal expenses and to make a large cash down payment on a luxury vehicle. On numerous days on which Henderson stole money, he also made cash deposits at an ATM near his worksite, the indictment alleges. It is further alleged in the indictment that Henderson destroyed certain documents and made, or caused others to make, false entries in the bank’s books and records to cover up the theft. According to the indictment, Henderson stole more than $88,000 from the bank vault.
The indictment also alleges that throughout July and August 2019, Henderson used a social media account to post several pictures of him holding large stacks of cash. On or about July 2019, after Henderson had allegedly stolen more than $70,000 in cash from the bank vault, Henderson made a $20,000 cash down payment on a 2019 Mercedes-Benz, and obtained a car loan for the remaining balance from another financial institution, by providing false information and falsified documents, including falsified bank statements.
FBI agents arrested Henderson in San Diego on December 4, 2019. Henderson had his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gallo, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
Henderson is charged with two counts of financial institution fraud, 19 counts of theft, embezzlement and misapplication, and twelve counts of making false entries, which carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine, per count; and transactional money laundering, which carries a penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Ryan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.
Two Brothers Convicted of Shooting A U.S. Postal Carrier Are Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced that two brothers convicted of shooting a U.S. Postal Carrier were sentenced to prison today. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenced Rashawn Donnell Williams, 31, of Charlotte to 28 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay $$3,396 as restitution. Judge Conrad ordered Dion Lamar Williams, 28, also of Charlotte, to serve 15 years in prison, and three years of supervised release. Both defendants previously pleaded guilty to attempted murder of a federal employee. Rashawn Williams also pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm during, in relation to, and in furtherance of a crime of violence.
David M. McGinnis, Inspector in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
“The Williams brothers knowingly and intentionally attempted to kill an innocent U.S. postal carrier while he was performing his official duties. This was a reprehensible crime and the punishment reflects the severity of the violent act. I want to thank our law enforcement partners for their thorough investigation of this case, which has led to the federal convictions,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.
"Protecting the employees of the Postal Service is a top priority of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. When someone attempts to take the life of one of our employees, we stop at nothing to identify those responsible,” stated Inspector in Charge McGinnis. We extend our appreciation to all our law enforcement partners for their assistance and would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their continued support in the prosecution of those who assault postal employees.”
According to filed court documents, on August 31, 2017, Rashawn Williams and Dion Williams conspired to kill a U.S. Postal Carrier. As part of the conspiracy, Dion Williams picked up Rashawn Williams at a location on Executive Street in Charlotte. The two men traveled to the Days Inn located at 4924 Sunset Road in Charlotte, where Rashawn Williams obtained a firearm. Then, the defendants traveled to Archer Avenue in Charlotte, where they located the victim, and attempted to kill the victim while he was delivering mail on his mail route.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray commended USPIS for their investigation of the case. U.S. Attorney Murray and Inspector McGinnis thanked the FBI, ATF, the U.S. Probation Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for their invaluable assistance with this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Dillon, of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
New Mexico Man Is Sentenced to 15 Years for Transporting A Minor with Intent to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Late yesterday, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced an Albuquerque, New Mexico man to 180 months in prison for transporting a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Reidinger also ordered Jacob Gardea, 24, to serve 10 years of supervised release and to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents and yesterday’s sentencing hearing, beginning in August 2018, Gardea met the minor on the internet. Court records show that Gardea, who knew the victim was a 13-year-old female residing in Rutherford County, initially told the victim he was 16 years old. Also according to court records, in November 2018, Gardea traveled 1,500 miles, from New Mexico to North Carolina, picked up the minor, and traveled west toward New Mexico with her. Following an intense four-day search by law enforcement, Gardea was arrested by the FBI in Oklahoma.
Gardea is currently in federal custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentencings are served without the possibility of parole.
The FBI, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Marshals Service led the investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.
Federal Judge Sentences Eight Involved in Drug Conspiracy Operating in Mecklenburg CountyRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenced eight defendants today on drug conspiracy charges for their involvement in a narcotics distribution ring operating in Mecklenburg County.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearings, from 2015 until the 2018, the 10 defendants operated as a drug conspiracy responsible for trafficking methamphetamine and heroin in Mecklenburg County and surrounding areas. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that the conspiracy trafficked hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine to the greater Charlotte area. Those sentenced to date are:
- Angelo Mejia, 28, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 235 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
- Rodolfo Felix Medina, 49, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 188 months in prison and five years of supervised release (sentenced on 9/30/19).
- Julio Cesar Sanchez, 28, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 180 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
- Emilio Mejia, 30, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 168 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
- Jose Javier Reyes, 21, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 78 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
- Mauco Contreras, 22, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 72 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
- Alejandro Jose Lopez Ceballos, 20, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
- Kevin Eliezer Velasquez Melendez, 23, of Concord, N.C., was sentenced to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
- Edgar Jesus Magana, 26, of Charlotte was sentenced to 41 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
- Martha Olivia Placencia Beltran, 39, of Mexico, was sentenced to 14 months in prison (sentenced on 5/1/19).
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray praised the outstanding efforts of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, Charlotte Field Office (IRS-CI); the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department; the Gastonia Police Department; the Monroe Police Department; and the Union County Sheriff’s Office under the direction of Sheriff Eddie Cathey. U.S. Attorney Murray also noted the invaluable assistance provided by the North Carolina National Guard Counterdrug Program.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Dillon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Lindahl of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
Law Enforcement Arrest Eight Involved in Drug Trafficking Organization Operating in and Around Union CountyRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Federal criminal complaints were unsealed today in federal court, following the arrest of eight individuals involved in a drug trafficking organization operating in and around Union County, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Agents and officers with the FBI, ATF, DEA, ICE-ERO, the Monroe Police Department, the Union county Sheriff’s Office, and the Wadesboro Police Department executed the arrest warrants yesterday, during an early morning round-up.
According to allegations contained in the criminal complaints, the eight individuals arrested are members of the Garcia Family drug trafficking organization (DTO). Over the course of the investigation, which began in April 2019, the defendants operated as a drug conspiracy and allegedly trafficked narcotics, including heroin and methamphetamine, in Union County and surrounding areas. The complaints charge the eight defendants with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Those arrested and charged are:
- Elio Garcia Godinez, 30, of Monroe, N.C.
- Ivan Jardon Trujillo, 47, of Monroe, N.C.
- Ivan Trujillo Garcia, 21, of Monroe, N.C.
- Eleonel Castrejon Garcia, 23, of Monroe, N.C.
- Estefani Garcia Sandoval, 25, of Monroe, N.C.
- Luis David Bravo, 36, of Monroe, N.C.
- Miguel Benitez Castrejon, 39, of Monroe, N.C.
- Matilde Isaias Cruz Portillo, 35, of Atlanta, Georgia.
The defendants had their initial appearance this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer. Their next court appearance is scheduled for December 11, 2019.
The penalty associated with the drug conspiracy charge carries a minimum term of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison and a $10,000,000 fine.
The charges contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI, ATF, DEA, the Monroe Police Department and the Union County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation which led to the federal charges. U.S. Attorney Murray also noted the assistance provided by ICE – Enforcement & Removal Operations and the Wadesboro Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Lindahl of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
Federal Jury Convicts Black Mountain, N.C. Man for Communicating A Death Threat on TwitterRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A federal jury in Asheville has convicted Joseph Cecil Vandevere, 53, of Black Mountain, N.C. for using social media to communicate interstate threats, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney Office for the Western District of North Carolina.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
“Using social media to communicate threats does not qualify as free speech,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “A threat is a threat, whether it’s communicated face-to-face, in writing, or online. My office will hold accountable those who use any online form of communication to transmit threats.”
“Social media allows you to share your views with the world in seconds, but it does not give you the right to threaten violence against others. The FBI stands ready to investigate whenever threatening language crosses the line to a crime,” said Special Agent in Charge Strong.
According to filed court documents and evidence presented at trial, on March 13, 2018, Twitter user @DaDUTCHMAN5, later identified as Vandevere, used his social media account to send a message that contained a threat to injure an individual identified in court records as Q.R. In the message, Vandevere sent Q.R. a picture of a lynching accompanied by a death threat. According to trial evidence, FBI agents interviewed Vandevere on July 18, 2018, at which time he admitted to using social media under pseudonyms to send threatening messages. Trial evidence further established that Vandevere sent the death threat to Q.R. because he did not agree with Q.R.’s beliefs.
Vandevere was convicted of making a threatening communication to injure another person through interstate commerce, which carries a maximum prison term of five years and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date has not been set.
In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the FBI for their investigation of this case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case for the United States.
Tax Return Preparers Plead Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced that Gregory Doneal Mack, 56, of Charlotte, appeared in federal court today and pleaded guilty to preparing false tax returns while working for a tax return preparation business. The owner of the tax preparation business, Sean Dalton Williams, 48, of Charlotte, previously pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting the preparation of a false tax return.
U.S. Attorney Murray is joined by Matthew D. Line, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI), in making today’s announcement.
“Tax preparers are the gatekeepers of our tax system, tasked with safeguarding its integrity and complying with our nation’s tax laws, not using their expertise to help clients evade their tax obligations at the expense of honest taxpayers. My office’s tax prosecutors are dedicated to uncovering tax fraud and holding cheats accountable for their actions,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.
“Taxpayers should choose carefully when hiring a tax return preparer. While most return preparers are honest and provide excellent service, a few unscrupulous tax preparers file false returns to defraud the government and their clients. All taxpayers should know that IRS Criminal Investigation will vigorously pursue those dishonest tax return preparers and hold them accountable for their illegal actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Line.
According to filed plea documents and today’s plea hearing, from 2012 to 2017, Mack worked as a tax return preparer at SW Financial Group (SWFG), a Charlotte-area tax preparation business owned and operated by Williams. According to court records, while working at SWFG, Mack and Williams prepared fraudulent U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns, Forms 1040, and related IRS Schedules and Forms, that contained fabricated and/or fraudulent items on Schedules A and C. As a result, the defendants’ clients’ tax liabilities were reduced, resulting in inflated refunds.
According to court records, the tax loss to the government associated with the inaccurate tax returns prepared by Mack for tax years 2012 to 2017 is approximately $282,967. The tax loss associated with the fraudulent tax returns prepared by Williams for tax years 2012 to 2015 is $276,540. Court records show that during the time that Williams perpetrated the tax fraud, he was also on pretrial release on federal charges related to a mortgage fraud scheme.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting the preparation of a false tax return. The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date for Mack and Williams has not been set.
* * *
In a separate case, Cletise Hammonds, 48, of Charlotte, has pleaded guilty to preparing false tax returns. Court documents filed in this case show that, from 2011 to 2017, Hammonds owned and operated Accurate Tax and Bookkeeping LLC (Accurate Tax), a tax preparation business located in Charlotte. As Hammonds previously admitted in plea documents, through Accurate Tax, Hammonds prepared and filed false tax returns for clients that included fraudulent Schedule C income expenses, education credits, and dependents, among other things. The false and fraudulent items resulted in the fraudulent reduction of the clients’ tax liabilities, and the receipt of fraudulently inflated refunds. According to court records, Hammonds charged between $200 to $700 for preparation of tax returns, and his tax preparation fees were taken directly from the clients’ tax refunds. According to court records, the tax loss associated with the fraudulent returns prepared and filed by Hammonds is $329,568. Hammonds has pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns and is currently awaiting sentencing.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray commended IRS-CI for handling these investigations.
Assistant United States Attorney Caryn Finley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the cases.
Sylva Man Is Sentenced to More Than 13 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Late yesterday, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced Frank Michael Lucas, 33, of Sylva, N.C. to 160 months in prison on drug trafficking charges, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Reidinger also ordered Lucas to serve five years under court supervision and to pay a $10,000 fine.
Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Charlotte District Office; Sheriff Chip Hall of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office; Sheriff Curtis Cochran of the Swain County Sheriff’s Office; Chief Chris Hatton of the Sylva Police Department; and Chief Doug Pheasant of the Cherokee Indian Police Department join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to information contained in filed court documents and yesterday’s sentencing hearing, on June 28, 2018, deputies with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office were responding to a domestic call at the defendant’s camper located in Sylva. While there, law enforcement observed a firearm inside the camper. Lucas, who was at the time on probation for a state conviction, was prohibited from possessing a firearm. Subsequently, a North Carolina probation officer conducted a warrantless search and recovered from inside the camper several grams of methamphetamine, which Lucas possessed with the intent to distribute, four firearms, one of which was loaded, ammunition, and $7,468 in cash. Court records also show that on October 11, 2018, Lucas was also found to be in possession of a kilogram of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it to others, and on October 25, 2018, Lucas possessed an additional firearm. In May 2019, Lucas pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.
Lucas is currently in custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the DEA, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the Swain County Sheriff’s Office, the Sylva Police Department and the Cherokee Indian Police Department for their investigation of this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Kent of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.
U.S. Attorney's Office Partners with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to Host Youth Summit for High School StudentsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The United States Attorney’s Office partnered with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to host a youth engagement summit for high school students, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The one-day summit was co-sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America, the Beasley Media Group, and Atrium Health.
Approximately 200 students selected from Charlotte-Mecklenburg High Schools attended the summit, which was held on the campus of UNCC-Charlotte. The goal of the summit was to encourage high school students to discuss the culture and climate within their schools, to share their experiences with classmates, and to develop solutions for creating a positive school environment for all students.
“All students deserve the opportunity to excel within their schools, without the fear of harassment or violence,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “Schools need to be safe places, where skillsets are honed, knowledge is expanded, futures are shaped, and today’s dreams become tomorrow’s accomplishments. Empowering students to proactively address conflict within their schools can foster a more positive school experience, so all students can strive and thrive to be their best.”
During the one-day summit, students discussed their concerns about their school’s current environment, and developed strategies to address social pressures, including bullying. Over the course of the summit, students participated in student-led discussions, brainstormed on ways to help support their classmates have a positive school experience, and will utilize the information gained today to develop action plans to address the needs of their schools.
In addition to the interactive workshops, students also heard from Professor Michelle Horton of Wake Forest University and Founder & CEO of YOUniversity; Dr. David Jacobs, Medical Director of Trauma Services for Atrium Health; Reginald Coles, Director of Student Discipline and Behavior Support for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools; Charles Whitfield, Director of Live Events & Community Outreach at Beasley Media Group in Charlotte; and Lambert Guinn, Assistant United States Attorney, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked UNCC-Charlotte for hosting the summit and giving the students an opportunity to gather, and the Boy Scouts of America, the Beasley Media Group, and Atrium Health for their support of this very important initiative.
Owners of Charlotte-Based Fraudulent Debt Collection Company Are Sentenced to Prison for Collecting More Than $5.7 Million from Unsuspecting Victims - Including Older Adults - Using Abusive and Intimidating TacticsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Laurence A. Sessum, 46, of Matthews, N.C., and Jacqueline Dianne Okomba, 51, of Salisbury, N.C., were sentenced to 135 months and 72 months in prison, respectively, for defrauding victims throughout the United States of at least $5.7 million through their fraudulent Charlotte-based debt collection company, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. also ordered the defendants to serve two years under court supervision after they are released from prison.
In April 2019, a federal jury convicted Sessum and Okomba of wire fraud conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Sessum was also convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and wire fraud.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte Division, joins the U.S. Attorney’s Office in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents, trial evidence and witness testimony, and today’s sentencing hearing, from October 2013 to January 2017, Sessum was the owner and operator of Direct Processing LLC (Direct Processing) a fraudulent debt collection company with offices in Mecklenburg County. Sessum was also the leader and organizer of the debt scheme. Okomba, was the registered agent and member-owner of Direct Processing, who also worked as a manager in charge of overseeing other company collectors and managed the finances and bank accounts of Direct Processing.
As part of the scheme, Sessum purchased lists of purportedly outstanding accounts, which the codefendants used to make fraudulent debt collections. Sessum intentionally sought out lists of old and unenforceable debts. Direct Processing used a dialer service to leave automated messages for victims, many of whom were elderly, directing them to contact the company to resolve the purported debts. To induce victims to call back, the automated messages often contained fraudulent and misleading information, including that there was “possible pending litigation” against the victims, or that there was a “process server” attempting to locate them.
When the victims returned the calls, they were connected with collectors working for Direct Processing. The collectors made similar threats and fraudulent statements about the purported debts and regularly used prepared scripts, including scripts handed out by Direct Processing management, that were designed to scare and intimidate victims to pay the purported debts. The defendants’ scheme harmed many elderly and retired victims, several of whom testified at trial about the lies and threats they were told to induce them to make payments.
Direct Processing also sent victims fraudulent documents, prepared to look like legal documents that had been filed in court, demanding restitution. Using threats and other intimidating tactics, company collectors regularly collected amounts that were not owed or they were not authorized to collect. One victim testified during trial that Direct Processing’s aggressive and fraudulent collections tactics made her feel “devastated” out of concern that she would be sent to jail if she failed to pay. That victim lost $1,250 in the scheme.
To disguise the fraudulent nature of the business, collectors often used fake company names when communicating with victims. In addition, Sessum directed others to establish nominee bank accounts, which were used to pay operational and other expenses associated with the fraudulent debt collection company.
When Sessum learned the FBI had seized funds held in an account associated with Direct Processing, Sessum, Okomba, and others removed Direct Processing computers, documents, and records from a location associated with the company in order to impede the federal investigation. When FBI agents arrived at the location to execute a search warrant, they found computer accessories, such as monitors, at collectors’ cubicles but no desktop units. When FBI agents questioned Okomba about the computers that had been removed, Okomba falsely told the agents that Direct Processing did not own any computers.
At today’s sentencing hearings, Judge Conrad said that the conduct was “heinous,” and the collection calls were “wicked.” He also stated that this was “a criminal spree that involved great deception.”
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys William M. Miller and Maria Vento, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
In March 2019, Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced the Office’s Elder Justice Initiative, which aims to combat elder financial exploitation by expanding efforts to investigate and prosecute financial scams that target seniors; educate older adults on how to identify scams and avoid becoming victims of financial fraud; and promote greater coordination with law enforcement partners. For more information please visit: /usao-wdnc/elder-justice-initiative.
Convicted Felon Is Sentenced to More Than 11 Years on Drug and Gun ChargesRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that Quinton Oshumond Littlejohn, 31, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 135 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release on drug and gun charges. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. presided over the hearing.
Vincent C. Pallozzi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents, evidence presented at trial, and today’s sentencing hearing, Littlejohn had been previously convicted in federal court of possession of a firearm by a felon, and was sentenced to 37 months in prison, and two years of supervised release. On September 21, 2017, officers with the U.S. Probation Office and the North Carolina Department Public Safety were conducting a routine check at Littlejohn’s residence. While searching the premises, probation officers discovered marijuana, a violation of Littlejohn’s conditions of release. CMPD officers obtained a search warrant for Littlejohn’s residence and vehicle. While executing the search warrant, the officers seized various items from the vehicle and the residence, including crack cocaine, digital scales, drug paraphernalia, $4,095 in cash, and a stolen firearm, loaded with five rounds of ammunition.
In February 2019, a federal jury convicted Littlejohn of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the ATF and CMPD for their investigation of this case, and the U.S. Probation Office and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for their invaluable assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Hess and Erik Lindahl, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
Sex Trafficker of Three Underage Girls Is Sentenced to 30 YearsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Zerrell Ross Fuentes, 24, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking three minor females, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to the prison term imposed, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ordered Fuentes to serve a lifetime under court supervision after he is released from prison.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, between April 28, 2016 and May 8, 2016, Fuentes, his wife, Brianna Wright, and his mother, Tanya Marie Fuentes, engaged in the sex trafficking of three minor victims. Court records show that, while he was in jail on state charges, Zerrell Fuentes devised a scheme to involve three underage girls in prostitution so that they could earn money for his bond. Zerrell Fuentes arranged for his wife to transport the minor victims from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts while they were in Myrtle Beach.
According to court records, Wright, accompanied by Zerrell Fuentes’ mother, Tanya Fuentes, drove the three minors from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach. While in Myrtle Beach, Tanya Fuentes paid for lodging. Brianna Wright drove the minors to meet clients for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts for money, and her phone was used to post prostitution advertisements for the minor victims on the Internet. While in Myrtle Beach, at least two minor victims committed sexual acts.
“Zerrell Fuentes, his wife, and his mother ran a depraved family business engaged in the sex trafficking of young girls for profit,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “Children are not commodities to be advertised and traded for the financial benefit of wicked adults. The protection of helpless and impressionable minors should be an adult’s priority. Anyone who violates the trust of children for their financial gain deserves to spend three decades behind bars, if not longer, where they can no longer destroy young lives.”
Zerrell Fuentes is currently in federal custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
On August 26, 2019, Wright was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and Tanya Fuentes was ordered to serve 24 months in prison, for their involvement in the case.
In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray commended the law enforcement agents and officers from ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department who are members of the FBI’s Human Trafficking Task Force for their investigation. He also thanked the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their assistance in this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani Ford, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.
Repeat Sex Offender Is Sentenced to 15 Years for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Matthew Stacks, 45, of Charlotte, was sentenced late yesterday to 15 years in prison for transportation of child pornography, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. also ordered Stacks to serve a lifetime of supervised release and to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and information introduced at the sentencing hearing, on January 3, 2018, Stacks was using a peer-to-peer network to access and transport multiple files containing child pornography. During a subsequent search of Stack’s residence, law enforcement seized electronic and storage devices. Forensic analysis of the items seized revealed that Stacks possessed over 27,000 images and 32 videos of child pornography, some of which depicted children as young as toddlers being sexually abused.
Stacks has prior convictions in North Carolina, including Second Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in 2012. He was also convicted in 2013 for a sex offender registry violation.
Stacks pleaded guilty on May 15, 2019, to transportation of child pornography. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The FBI led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cortney Randall of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Attorney General Announces Launch of Project Guardian – A Nationwide Strategic Plan to Reduce Gun ViolenceRead the Press Release
Today, Attorney General William P. Barr announced the launch of Project Guardian, a new initiative designed to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws across the country. Specifically, Project Guardian focuses on investigating, prosecuting, and preventing gun crimes.
Reducing gun violence and enforcing federal firearms laws have always been among the Department’s highest priorities. In order to develop a new and robust effort to promote and ensure public safety, the Department reviewed and adapted some of the successes of past strategies to curb gun violence. Project Guardian draws on the Department’s earlier achievements, such as the “Triggerlock” program, and it serves as a complementary effort to the success of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In addition, the initiative emphasizes the importance of using all modern technologies available to law enforcement to promote gun crime intelligence.
“Gun crime remains a pervasive problem in too many communities across America. Today, the Department of Justice is redoubling its commitment to tackling this issue through the launch of Project Guardian,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Building on the success of past programs like Triggerlock, Project Guardian will strengthen our efforts to reduce gun violence by allowing the federal government and our state and local partners to better target offenders who use guns in crimes and those who try to buy guns illegally.”
“As U.S. Attorney, reducing gun violence and addressing violent crime throughout the Western District are among my highest priorities,” said Andrew Murray. “One of the key elements of Project Guardian is using modern day tools and technologies to identify and prevent felons and prohibited persons from accessing firearms that can be used to commit gun crimes. Building upon best practices we’ve developed to date to reduce violent crime, this new initiative ensures that our investigative and prosecutorial resources are focused in areas where they will have the greatest impact in reducing the threat of gun violence in our communities.”
“ATF has a long history of strong partnerships in the law enforcement community,” said Acting Director Regina Lombardo. “Make no mistake, the women and men of ATF remain steadfast to our core mission of getting crime guns off of our streets. ATF and U.S. Attorneys nationwide will leverage these partnerships even further through enhanced community outreach initiatives and coordination with local, state, and tribal law enforcement and prosecutors to cut the pipeline of crime guns from those violent individuals who seek to terrorize our communities. Project Guardian will enhance ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence, to include identifying, investigating and prosecuting those involved in the straw purchases of firearms, lying on federal firearms transaction forms, and those subject to the mental health prohibition of possessing firearms.”
Project Guardian’s implementation is based on five principles:
- Coordinated Prosecution. Federal prosecutors and law enforcement will coordinate with state, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecutors to consider potential federal prosecution for new cases involving a defendant who: a) was arrested in possession of a firearm; b) is believed to have used a firearm in committing a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime prosecutable in federal court; or c) is suspected of actively committing violent crime(s) in the community on behalf of a criminal organization.
- Enforcing the Background Check System. United States Attorneys, in consultation with the Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in their district, will create new, or review existing, guidelines for intake and prosecution of federal cases involving false statements (including lie-and-try, lie-and-buy, and straw purchasers) made during the acquisition or attempted acquisition of firearms from Federal Firearms Licensees.
Particular emphasis is placed on individuals convicted of violent felonies or misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence, individuals subject to protective orders, and individuals who are fugitives where the underlying offense is a felony or misdemeanor crime of domestic violence; individuals suspected of involvement in criminal organizations or of providing firearms to criminal organizations; and individuals involved in repeat denials.
- Improved Information Sharing. On a regular basis, and as often as practicable given current technical limitations, ATF will provide to state law enforcement fusion centers a report listing individuals for whom the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) has issued denials, including the basis for the denial, so that state and local law enforcement can take appropriate steps under their laws.
- Coordinated Response to Mental Health Denials. Each United States Attorney will ensure that whenever there is federal case information regarding individuals who are prohibited from possessing a firearm under the mental health prohibition, such information continues to be entered timely and accurately into the United States Attorneys’ Offices’ case-management system for prompt submission to NICS. ATF should engage in additional outreach to state and local law enforcement on how to use this denial information to better assure public safety.
Additionally, United States Attorneys will consult with relevant district stakeholders to assess feasibility of adopting disruption of early engagement programs to address mental-health-prohibited individuals who attempt to acquire a firearm. United States Attorneys should consider, when appropriate, recommending court-ordered mental health treatment for any sentences issued to individuals prohibited based on mental health.
- Crime Gun Intelligence Coordination. Federal, state, local, and tribal prosecutors and law enforcement will work together to ensure effective use of the ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Centers (CGICs), and all related resources, to maximize the use of modern intelligence tools and technology. These tools can greatly enhance the speed and effectiveness in identifying trigger-pullers and finding their guns, but the success depends in large part on state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners sharing ballistic evidence and firearm recovery data with the ATF.
Federal law enforcement represents only about 15% of all law enforcement resources nationwide. Therefore, partnerships with state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the communities they serve are critical to addressing gun crime. The Department recognizes that sharing information with our state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners at every level will enhance public safety, and provide a greater depth of resources available to address gun crime on a national level.
For more information on Project Guardian, see the Attorney General’s memorandum at: https://video.ibm.com/doj.
- Coordinated Prosecution. Federal prosecutors and law enforcement will coordinate with state, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecutors to consider potential federal prosecution for new cases involving a defendant who: a) was arrested in possession of a firearm; b) is believed to have used a firearm in committing a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime prosecutable in federal court; or c) is suspected of actively committing violent crime(s) in the community on behalf of a criminal organization.
Charlotte Private School Owner Is Sentenced to Prison for Scheme Involving Student VisasRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Evelyn P. Mack, the owner and principal of a Charlotte-area private school, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on charges of conspiracy to harbor aliens, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. also ordered Mack, 65, of Charlotte, to serve one year under court supervision upon completion of her prison term.
Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Charlotte, and Edwin Guard, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from March 2011 to December 2016, Mack was the owner, operator and principal of the Evelyn Mack Academy (EMA), a private school located in Charlotte. Court records show that EMA was approved and authorized by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to enroll foreign national students in grades nine through twelve, with Mack as the school’s Primary Designated School Official (PDSO).
According to court records, as the school’s PDSO, Mack had the authority to issue I-20 forms for foreign national students to enroll in and attend EMA on a full-time basis. The I-20 forms are necessary for potential foreign national students to obtain their F-1 student visas. In addition to preparing immigration forms and other necessary documents for incoming foreign students, Mack was also responsible for creating and maintaining student records for new and existing students in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, used by DHS to ensure that foreign national students in the United States are in compliance with the terms and conditions of their F-1 visa status.
Court records show that Mack conspired with other individuals, many of whom were basketball coaches and recruiters with organizations in the United States and other countries, to use Mack’s status as PDSO to admit foreign national students without complying with the terms of the F-1 student visa program. As part of the scheme, Mack falsely represented that approximately 75 foreign students were full-time students at EMA, when in fact the majority of the students, who were minors, were mostly recruited as athletes by the co-conspirators. Mack was paid by her co-conspirators an administrative enrollment fee of $1,000 per student and other benefits, in exchange for her participation in the scheme.
On June 25, 2018, Mack pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor aliens. She will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility to begin serving her sentence. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the ICE-HSI, and Greensboro Resident Office of the Diplomatic Security Service, for their investigation of this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Smith, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.