District of New Hampshire

CONCORD, N.H. – Jason Pratt, 30, of Hampton, New Hampshire, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 41 months in prison for unarmed bank robbery and conspiracy to commit unarmed bank robbery, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.
            
            On March 22, April 3, and April 20, 2013, Pratt walked into three banks in Hampton and Seabrook, New Hampshire, where he presented a handwritten note demanding money, and made off with a grand total of $11,740 in stolen funds.

            Special Agents Laura Hanlon and John Ennis led the investigation for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in collaboration with the Police Departments of Hampton and Seabrook, New Hampshire.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nick Abramson.

  CONCORD, N.H. – Delano Nelson, 50, of Compton, California, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to armed robbery charges, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.                               

In October and November of 2011, the defendant committed the armed robbery of Hannoush Jewelers in Manchester and Kay Jewelers in Tilton.  In July of 2012 he was apprehended in Compton, California, and indicted by a federal grand jury in August, 2012. Walter Williams, also of Compton, California and Shyloe Johnson of Sanbornton, New Hampshire previously pled guilty and were sentenced for their participation in the robberies.

  CONCORD, N H:   Justin Madigan, 31, of Barrington, was sentenced  in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire  to 5 years in prison after pleading guilty to  transportation of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            In November of 2008 the Portsmouth Police received information that an individual was using America On Line (AOL) to send numerous emails containing images and videos depicting the sexual assault of children.

A further investigation was conducted by the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children and a search warrant for Madigan’s residence was executed.  Computer evidence seized was examined and found to contain hundreds of images depicting the sexual assault of young children.

             This case was brought in furtherance of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

             This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Helen White Fitzgibbon.

   CONCORD, N.H. –Christian Gonzalez, 35, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 21 months in prison for aiding and abetting the making of false statements in connection with the acquisition of firearms, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            Gonzalez admitted that he was not able to legally purchase a firearm so he solicited another individual, or “straw purchaser,” to purchase firearms for him.  On seven different occasions, Gonzalez drove the “straw purchaser” to a federally licensed firearms dealer in New Hampshire and provided him the money to purchase eleven firearms.  Gonzalez took possession of the firearms immediately after the purchases were made. Two of the firearms were later recovered in Malden, Massachusetts.

CONCORD, N.H. – Jonathan Tanguay, 42, of Bartlett, New Hampshire, was sentenced in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 84 months in prison, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            In February of 2010, a search warrant executed at Tanguay’s home revealed a laptop computer, external hard drive and compact disc containing child pornography images.  Tanguay was convicted of knowingly possessing those images in October 2013 after a three-day jury trial.

            Special Agent Phil Bleezarde led the investigation for the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customers Enforcement Division, and Concord Police Detective Mark Dumas, a member of the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, was the lead computer forensic examiner on the case.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth R. Aframe and Nick Abramson.

This case was being prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.   Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

  CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –Daniel Preston, 36, of Monument, Colorado, pled guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and the distribution of methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

In January 2011, Preston shipped ounce quantities of methamphetamine from Colorado to Milton, New Hampshire.  After the methamphetamine arrived in New Hampshire, it would be repackaged and distributed in gram quantities. Preston shipped over 500 grams of methamphetamine to New Hampshire from Colorado during a one (1) year time-frame.

Preston is facing up to 20 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced in May, 2014.    The case was investigated by the New Hampshire State Police and the United States Postal Inspection Service, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Terry L. Ollila. 

   Concord, NH –Nutveena Sirirojnananont plead guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to federal gun trafficking/export violations that include conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), making a false statement in connection with a firearm purchase, and unlicensed firearms dealing, announced United States Attorney, John P. Kacavas.
 
The investigation revealed that from August 2010 through September 2011, Sirirojnananont was involved in the illegal trafficking/export of approximately eight (8) firearms from the United States to Thailand. These export-controlled articles are on the U.S. Munitions List (USML) items, as defined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).  These charges carry a maximum sentence of twenty years and a maximum fine of $1,000,000.00.

"The federal regulations involving the sale and export of firearms are specifically designed to prevent guns and other weapons from falling into the wrong hands," said Bruce Foucart, special agent in charge for ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Boston. "This case clearly demonstrates that we are allied with our federal and local law enforcement partners, including the men and women of the ATF and Portsmouth Police Department. Together, we will continue to target those who attempt to profit by circumventing these laws."

The investigation involved by the cooperative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Manchester Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Resident Agent in Charge Manchester Office, and U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Hampshire (USAO-NH). This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra M. Walsh.

   CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE:   Eric Morrison, 22, pled guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to one count of sexual exploitation of children, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

The investigation began in 2013 when the Manchester Police received information from the United States Air Force, Office of Special Investigations, that the defendant, a member of the United States Air Force stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, was communicating with Erin Upham, a resident of Manchester.  Specifically, the Air Force Special Agents informed the Manchester Police that the defendant’s communication was of a sexual nature and involved a minor child.

Search warrants were obtained for various electronic items belonging to Morrison and Upham and a forensic examination of the items revealed digital images of a minor child engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  On June 19, 2013, a federal grand jury indicted both Morrison and Upham for conspiracy to produce child pornography.  Morrison faces a minimum term of fifteen years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8, 2014.

The charge was the result of an investigation by the United States Air Force, Office of Special Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Manchester and Derry Police Departments and is being prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.   Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Helen White Fitzgibbon who is the U.S. Attorney’s coordinator for Project Safe Childhood.

CONCORD, N.H. – Mark McLaughlin, 49, of Wolfeboro, has pleaded guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to making false statements to obtain federal employee disability benefits, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

McLaughlin admitted in annual reports he submitted to the Office of Workers’ Compensation Program (“OWCP”) that from June 2007 to July 2013, he failed to disclose income he received while working for a landscaping business. Consequently, he fraudulently received disability payments totaling $119,649.79 from the OWCP.

The United States Department of Labor, (“OWCP”) provides benefits to employees of the United States Postal Service who are totally or partially disabled due to injuries sustained during the course of their employment.  While receiving the benefits, a disabled employee is required to report all employment for which he received a salary, wage or payment of any kind.  This information is important to the OWCP because the amount of the disability benefit paid to the employee depends on the employee’s ability to earn money from other types of work.

McLaughlin is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30, 2104.  He is facing up to five years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine.

   CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE:   Erin Upham, 21, of Manchester, pled guilty In United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to one count of sexual exploitation of children, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

The investigation began in 2013 when the Manchester Police received information from the United States Air Force, Office of Special Investigations that the defendant, a resident of Manchester, was communicating with a member of the armed services who was stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.  Specifically, the Air Force Special Agents informed the Manchester Police that they had information that the defendant’s communication was of a sexual nature and involved a minor child.  A federal search warrant was obtained for the search and seizure of various electronic items belonging to the defendant, including a lap top and cell phones. A forensic examination of the items revealed digital images of the defendant and a minor child engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The defendant is facing a minimum term of fifteen years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29, 2014 at 10:30. 

            The charge was the result of an investigation by the United States Air Force, Office of Special Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Manchester and Derry Police Departments and is being prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.   Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

CONCORD, N.H. – Jose Armando Juarez-Garcia, 28, pleaded guilty in United States District Court in for the District of New Hampshire to reentering the United States after having been deported to his home country of Mexico, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            Juarez-Garcia was found in Manchester in December of 2013 by Immigration Enforcement Officers of the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement despite having been deported to Mexico five times since September 2006.

            Juarez-Garcia faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.  He will also be subject to further deportation proceedings after he serves his sentence.  After accepting his guilty plea, the court ordered that Juarez-Garcia held in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which was scheduled for April 23, 2014.  

                This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark S. Zuckerman.

    CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –Sean Brown, 40, of Nashua, New Hampshire was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to ten years in prison after a jury found him guilty of three counts of unlawful distribution of cocaine base (“crack”), announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            During February, 2010, Brown made three sales of cocaine base (“crack”) to an individual assisting the Nashua, New Hampshire Police Department in their investigation into the illegal sale of drugs within the city. The three sales took place in the vicinity of 73 Elm Street, which was Brown’s residence at the time. Brown was arrested outside of the residence on February 24, 2010 as police executed a search warrant on his residence.

            In sentencing Brown to a ten year sentence, Judge McAuliffe noted that while Brown dealt small quantities of drugs, he was a “persistent” drug dealer, having been previously convicted in federal court in 1997 with unlawful possession with the intent to distribute cocaine base (“crack”), heroin and methamphetamine, for which he received a 46 month term of imprisonment in federal prison, and again in Hillsborough County Superior Court in 2005 for four counts of unlawful sale of heroin, for which he received a 3 ½ to 7 year sentence in the New Hampshire State Prison.

     CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE:   Dana Moody, 57, of New Boston, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 72 months in prison after pleading guilty to possession and distribution of child pornography, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            The investigation into Moody began in November of 2011 when the FBI was notified by the New Haven, Connecticut, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that an undercover officer had intercepted images of child pornography being transmitted by a computer user located in New Boston, New Hampshire.

Upon receiving the information, the FBI conducted a further investigation and secured a search warrant for Moody’s residence in New Boston.  Computer evidence seized from Moody’s home was examined and found to contain several thousand images depicting the sexual assault of young children.

            This case was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

             This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Helen White Fitzgibbon.

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owner and manager of rental apartments in Jaffrey, N.H., for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against families with children.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, alleges that Bruce R. Edwards, as Trustee of the Bruce R. Edwards Revocable Trust of 2004 and in his personal capacity, engaged in a pattern or practice of violating the Fair Housing Act or denied rights protected by the Act.  According to the complaint, the defendant allegedly established and implemented a discriminatory “no children” policy for prospective tenants in a boarding house that he owned and managed.  The suit also alleges that the defendant violated the Fair Housing Act by enforcing the “no children” provision of the lease against a tenant and requiring the tenant to immediately find other housing arrangements for his daughter, who visited the boarding house on weekends.

“This lawsuit demonstrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to ensuring fair and equal access to housing for all New Hampshire citizens and attempts to erect discriminatory barriers to this fundamental civil right will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney John P. Kacavas for the District of New Hampshire.

“The Fair Housing Act protects tenants with children from facing unfair terms and conditions of rental that do not apply to tenants without children,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division.  “The Justice Department will continue its vigorous enforcement of fair housing laws that ensure that tenants can secure rental housing for their families without fear of discrimination.”

This lawsuit arose as a result of a complaint filed with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by a tenant who lived in the defendant’s boarding house and had joint custody of his minor daughter.  The defendant’s lease stated that no children were allowed in the building, and the defendant made additional oral statements to the tenant that children were not permitted.  After receiving noise complaints about the tenant’s child, the defendant notified the tenant in a letter marked “Eviction Notice” that he was enforcing the “no children” provision of the lease and that the tenant had to immediately find other arrangements for his daughter on the weekends.  As a result, the tenant began taking his daughter to stay with family members, which resulted in both economic and emotional costs.  After HUD investigated the complaint, it issued a charge of discrimination and the matter was referred to the Justice Department.

“It’s surprising that 25 years after Congress outlawed housing discrimination against families with children, many landlords don’t know it’s illegal or don’t take the law seriously,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Bryan Greene for HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.  “HUD will continue work alongside the Department of Justice in educating people on the law and obtaining housing relief for families denied housing."

The lawsuit seeks a court order prohibiting future discrimination by the defendant, monetary damages for those harmed by the defendant’s actions and a civil penalty.  Any individuals who have information relevant to this case are urged to contact the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section of the Civil Rights Division at 1-800-896-7743, ext. 3.

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability.  More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt.  Individuals who believe that they have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected] or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777.

The complaint is an allegation of unlawful conduct.  The allegations must still be proven in federal court.

      CONCORD, N.H. –Daniel Hufstetler, 34, formerly of 36 High Street in Berlin, New Hampshire was convicted in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire of robbing the Guardian Angel Credit Union, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            On November 14, 2011, Hufstetler robbed the Guardian Angel Credit Union, which is located at 200 Coos Street in Berlin, New Hampshire.  Hufstetler was arrested on state armed robbery charges two days after the crime, but those charges were later dismissed and the defendant was prosecuted in federal court.

            Hufstetler is in custody pending sentencing which is scheduled for April 1, 2014.

            This investigation involved the cooperative efforts of federal and local law enforcement entities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Hampshire State Police, the Berlin Police Department, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office, and the New Hampshire Drug Task Force.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Farley.

CONCORD, N.H. – Bradford Mullane, 32, of Nashua, New Hampshire, has entered a guilty plea in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to one count of bank robbery, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            Mullane walked into a TD Bank in Nashua, New Hampshire, on July 15, 2013, where he presented a handwritten note demanding money, and made off with more than $1,200 in stolen funds.  Mullane, who faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison and criminal fines of up to $250,000, will be detained pending sentencing, which is presently scheduled for March 12, 2014.

            This prosecution arose from an investigation by the Nashua, New Hampshire Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nick Abramson.

CONCORD, N.H. – Derek Kucinski, 27, formerly of Cape Neddick, Maine, was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to serve a minimum mandatory 22 years in federal prison following his conviction for armed bank robbery, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

On Saturday, January 12, 2012, Kucinski entered the TD Bank on Woodbury Avenue in Newington, New Hampshire wearing a black ski mask, gloves and armed with a loaded .32 caliber revolver.  He ordered several customers to the ground as he repeatedly pointed the handgun at tellers and demanded money.  After spending several minutes in the bank, Kucinski fled with approximately $5000.00 and was apprehended by Newington and Portsmouth police following a brief car and foot chase.

At the time of his arrest, Kucinski was on supervised release after having served five years in federal prison for nine prior bank robberies committed in 2006.  He was not armed in the commission of those robberies.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Newington and Portsmouth Police Departments, with invaluable assistance provided by the Somersworth Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

CONCORD, N.H. – David M. Kwiatkowski, 34, a former employee of Exeter Hospital, was sentenced today to 39 years in prison for his conduct in causing a widespread Hepatitis C outbreak in numerous states, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas and Barry R. Grissom, United States Attorney for the District of Kansas.

After working as a health care technician at several medical facilities in Michigan between 2003 and 2007, the defendant became a “traveling” radiologic technician, using various placement agencies to find employment at medical facilities in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Arizona, Kansas, Georgia, and New Hampshire.  While employed as a “traveler,” he stole syringes of Fentanyl – a powerful anesthetic to which he did not have authorized access – intended for patients undergoing certain medical procedures.  He replaced the stolen syringes with syringes that he had stolen from previous procedures and refilled with saline, after having injected himself with the Fentanyl intended for his patients.

The defendant engaged in this diversion and tampering despite knowing that he was infected with Hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that can cause serious damage to the liver as well as other complications.  Precisely when he contracted the virus remains an open question.  However, the defendant learned no later than June of 2010, while employed at Hays Medical Center in Kansas, that he was infected with Hepatitis C.  Despite that knowledge, he continued to inject himself using stolen Fentanyl syringes, in the process causing those syringes to become tainted with his infected blood.  He refilled those tainted syringes with saline and replaced them for use on unsuspecting patients undergoing subsequent procedures.  Consequently, instead of receiving their prescribed dose of Fentanyl with its intended anesthetic effect, those patients actually received saline tainted with the defendant’s strain of the Hepatitis C virus.

As a “traveler,” the defendant worked in no fewer than eight different states and he engaged in this diversion and/or tampering in each of them.  His criminal conduct only came to light when several unexplained cases of Hepatitis C were detected at Exeter Hospital in New Hampshire in May of 2012.  That discovery triggered a massive public health investigation in which authorities in New Hampshire, other states in which the defendant had been employed, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sought to identify the scope of the defendant’s criminal conduct.  All told, the CDC recommended that more than 12,000 patients seek testing to determine whether the defendant infected them.  Testing to date has revealed that 32 patients who were treated at Exeter Hospital, six patients who were treated at Hays Medical Center in Kansas, six patients who were treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, and one patient who was treated at the VA Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland carry a strain of Hepatitis C that has been genetically linked to the viral strain with which the defendant is infected.

An individual who has a personal relationship with one of the Exeter Hospital victims also has become infected with the same strain of the virus.  Additionally, Hepatitis C contracted from the defendant has been identified as a contributing factor in the death of an elderly Kansas patient.

The defendant’s 40-year sentence was imposed on his pleas of guilty to eight counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud and eight counts of tampering with a consumer product.  Fourteen of those charges were initiated in New Hampshire and two charges were transferred from the District of Kansas.  This sentence is believed to be the highest sentence ever received for a crime of this nature.

            United States Attorney John P. Kacavas said, “The 40-year sentence imposed today ensures that this serial infector will no longer be in position to harm innocent and vulnerable people, extinguishing once and for all the pernicious threat he posed to public health and safety.  This prosecution surely heightened public awareness of the problem of drug diversion in medical settings, and the defendant’s convictions and sentence represent a major step forward in redressing the catastrophic consequences of his selfish and reckless behavior.  While no sentence of incarceration can restore his victims to their former state of health, I hope that bringing this defendant to swift and certain justice will give them some peace of mind as they confront the uncertainty of living with the Hepatitis C virus.”      

            United States Attorney Barry R. Grissom said, “The defendant learned he had Hepatitis C while he was working at Hays Medical Center in Kansas.  A patient in Kansas died and a medical examiner found that Hepatitis C contributed to the death.  Many patients and their families still are living with the harm inflicted by the defendant’s reckless choices.”

Special Agent in Charge Vincent Lisi, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division said ,“This was a heinous crime that touched so many of us in New Hampshire and in several states throughout the country. When you go into a hospital for treatment, you should be able to trust that someone like DAVID KWIATKOWSKI will not steal pain medication intended for you and infect you with a deadly disease.  We are pleased to see justice served today, and we hope this lengthy sentence will deter others who might be tempted to prey on vulnerable patients. We are grateful to all the Federal, State, and local investigating agencies that took part in this unprecedented investigation and to the leadership of both United States Attorney John Kacavas and Assistant United States Attorney John Farley who worked tirelessly to bring justice to the many victims in this case. Most of all, we are deeply thankful to the numerous victims who selflessly shared their time and extremely personal information with investigators under such difficult circumstances.  They are the true heroes in this investigation.  Though faced with difficult circumstances themselves, their extraordinary cooperation and information was the backbone for the investigation.”

“Patients put their trust in the safety of this country’s health care system,” said Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General region including New Hampshire.  “When the reckless actions of Mr. Kwiatkowski compromised the safety of some patients in federally funded health care programs, we joined with our law enforcement partners to protect people from the defendant.”  

            In addition to his term of incarceration, the defendant will be placed on supervised release for three years following his release from prison.  He also must pay a $1,600.00 special assessment and restitution in the amount of nearly $25,000.00.

            This investigation involved the cooperative efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations of the Food and Drug Administration, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, the New Hampshire State Police, and the Exeter, New Hampshire Police Department.  Assistance also was provided by the New Hampshire Drug Task Force, the Marlborough, Massachusetts Police Department, the Boxborough, Massachusetts Police Department, and the United States Attorney’s Offices in the District of Massachusetts, the District of Kansas, the District of Maryland, and the Middle District of Georgia.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Farley.  The Kansas aspects of the case were handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway.

CONCORD, N.H. – James Murphy, 30, of Massachusetts, entered a guilty plea in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire for possessing crack cocaine with intent to distribute, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            On February 3, 2013, Murphy was pulled over on Interstate 95 near Spaulding, New Hampshire, for driving erratically and disobeying a police officer.  A subsequent search of Murphy’s person resulted in the discovery of a substantial amount of crack cocaine, bagged for distribution.

            Murphy faces a maximum sentence of forty years in prison and criminal fines of up to $250,000.  Murphy will be detained pending sentencing, which is presently scheduled for February 12, 2014.

            Murphy’s prosecution arose from a vehicle stop and investigation by the New Hampshire State Police.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nick Abramson.

      CONCORD, N.H. – Robert Joubert, 60, of Manchester, was found guilty on three counts of sexual exploitation of a child, and one count of possession of child pornography following a three-day jury trial in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

The investigation began in March of 2012 when the York, Maine, Police Department received an e-mail from a New Hampshire resident warning them that Joubert, a youth baseball coach, had a history of inappropriate contacts with children.  At the time, Joubert was instructing at the Seacoast Baseball Academy in York, Maine, after having been previously employed at a baseball academy in Newington, New Hampshire.   The ensuing investigation led to interviews with numerous young men who told authorities that Joubert had sexually assaulted them.  One man reported being sexually assaulted by Joubert in the 1980s.

A search of Joubert’s property in June of 2012 revealed numerous photographs and videotapes of adolescent boys.  One videotape contained film of Joubert sexually molesting a young boy.  Evidence at trial revealed that Joubert had been the child’s baseball coach and developed a close friendship with the family of the victim.  The victim, now 21, testified that Joubert sexually assaulted him over a two year period. He was unaware that Joubert had filmed the abuse.  

United States Attorney John P. Kacavas praised the jury’s verdicts and said, “This defendant is a quintessential predator.  He deliberately sought out and insinuated himself into the lives of the most vulnerable young boys, gaining their trust by portraying himself as a coach and father figure.  He then betrayed that trust by sexually exploiting those boys to produce child pornography.  Identifying, finding, and prosecuting predators like the defendant has been, and will continue to be, among the highest priorities of my office.”

Joubert is scheduled to be sentenced on February 18, 2014 at 10:00 am.

            This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Concord Police Department, The Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office, Manchester Police Department, York, Maine Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Helen Fitzgibbon.

            Criminal charges related to this investigation are pending against Joubert in Hillsborough and Merrimack Counties.

      CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE:   Jonathan Tanguay, 42, a former selectman of Bartlett, New Hampshire, was convicted in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire on one count of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            A search warrant executed at Tanguay's home revealed a laptop computer, external hard drive and compact disc containing child pornography images. Tanguay is facing a maximum term of ten years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 30, 2014.

            Special Agent Phil Bleezarde led the investigation for Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division and Concord Police Detective Mark Dumas, a member of the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, was the lead computer forensic examiner on the case. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth R. Aframe and Nick E. Abramson.

            This case was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.   Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

CONCORD, N.H. –Timothy LaFond, 35, formerly of 3 Pleasant Street in Rochester, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to possessing stolen firearms, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

During the plea hearing, Lafond admitted that on February 25, 2012, he met with an undercover law enforcement officer in Rochester, New Hampshire and sold him two stolen firearms: (1) a Stag Arms, Model STAG-15, 5.56 caliber rifle and (2) a Bushmaster, Model XM15-E2S, .223 caliber rifle for $1,300.  Both of these weapons had been reported stolen from Seacoast Gun and Pawn in Rochester on February 23, 2013. LaFond faces up to ten (10) years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 21, 2014.

                This investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Rochester, New Hampshire Police Department, and the New Hampshire Drug Task Force, with assistance from the York County, Maine Sheriff’s Office.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Farley.

        CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –Raymond Negron, 32, of Manchester, New Hampshire was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire  to twelve years in  prison for unlawful distribution of oxycodone and cocaine, unlawful possession with the intent to distribute oxycodone and cocaine, sale of a firearm to a prohibited person, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and possession of an unregistered firearm, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            The investigation began in 2011, when Negron was suspected of trafficking drugs within the city of Manchester. During the course of the investigation, Negron sold quantities of oxycodone tablets and cocaine on four separate occasions.  During one of the drug sales, Negron also sold an SKS 7.62 caliber rifle to an individual he knew to have a prior felony conviction. The investigation further revealed that the firearm had been stolen from a pawn shop in Miami, Florida.

            On March 20, 2012, a search warrant was executed at Negron’s Hanover Street residence, where investigators discovered quantities of oxycodone tablets and cocaine as well as items used for packaging and distributing narcotics and a “sawed off” Mossberg 20 gauge bolt action shotgun which had an obliterated serial number.

CONCORD, N.H. – Betty Dugan, 54, of Concord, New Hampshire has pled guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to charges that she knowingly used false information to obtain benefits from government programs that are solely intended to provide financial assistance to impoverished individuals and families, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            From January 2003 to April 2012, Dugan received benefits totaling more than $250,000 from the Social Security Administration’s Supplemental Income program, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 8 Housing program, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Stamp program, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Financial Assistance to Needy Families and Aid to Permanently Disabled Persons programs.

            Dugan admitted that she obtained the benefits by falsely reporting to the affected government agencies that her husband was not a member of her household and that he did not contribute any income to the household when, in fact, her husband was a member of the household and his annual salary ranged from $69,500 to $89,000.

Dugan is facing a up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. She is scheduled to be sentenced on January 21, 2014.

            The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General; the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General; the New Hampshire Housing and Finance Authority and; the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Kinsella.

CONCORD, N.H.  James Jones, 49, of Dorchester, Massachusetts, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to uttering and possessing counterfeit securities, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

 On June 25, 2009, Jones attempted to use a counterfeit $100 American Express Traveler’s Check to buy a sandwich at a grocery store in Salem, New Hampshire.  The cashier who received the check reported the matter to his supervisor.  As the supervisor examined the check, Jones left the store and was arrested in the store’s parking lot by a Salem police officer.

            After Jones was transported to the Salem Police Department, he admitted to a police officer and a Special Agent for the United States Secret Service that the check was counterfeit.

Jones was sentenced to time served and two years of supervised release.

            The case was investigated by the Salem Police Department and the United States Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Kinsella.

CONCORD, N.H. – Bonnie Johnson, 45, of Claremont, New Hampshire, entered a guilty plea in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire for fraudulently procuring more than $600,000 in funds from her employer, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            For more than two decades, Johnson was employed by the North Country Smokehouse in Claremont, New Hampshire, as an administrative assistant.  In addition to her administrative responsibilities, Johnson had access to the company’s bank account and American Express corporate credit card, and was authorized to use those accounts and credit lines for business purposes in cases of financial exigency.  Between July 1, 2005, and April 30, 2013, Johnson engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain money from North Country Smokehouse.  To accomplish and carry out the scheme, Johnson fraudulently endorsed company checks made payable to herself, which she then deposited directly into her personal bank account.  The funds, totaling $606,011.77 over the course of approximately eight years, were subsequently used by Johnson for various personal expenditures.

            Johnson faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison and criminal fines of up to $250,000.  Johnson will be released pending sentencing, which is presently scheduled for January 16, 2013.

            Johnson’s prosecution arose from an investigation by the Claremont Police Department, the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation office in Manchester, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nick Abramson.

CONCORD, N.H. – James Bender, 49, of Sharon, Massachusetts, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 24 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

Bender, a former Senior Vice President of Trade Finance for Sovereign Bank, was convicted in May of conspiring to defraud foreign customers of more than $200,000.00. He conspired with Paul Wilson, the former Manager of International Trade Finance for Goss International Americas Corporation, to defraud several Latin American customers. Goss manufactures commercial printing presses.  One component of Wilson’s job was to facilitate international sales by arranging financing for foreign purchasers of Goss’s products and working with the Export-Import Bank of the United States to obtain credit insurance for loans extended to Goss’s foreign customers.  Bender arranged for Sovereign Bank to purchase most of the loans Goss extended to its foreign customers.

Bender and Wilson formed two shell companies called Zephyr Capital LLC and Zephyr Financial LLC, through which they defrauded two Brazilian and two Mexican businesses that purchased presses from Goss.  Bender and Wilson used the shell companies to send fraudulent invoices to these businesses charging them for loan underwriting services that were either never rendered or that Wilson performed as part of his job at Goss.  The invoices totaled over $200,000 in bogus charges.  Most of the victim companies wired payments for the fraudulent invoices to Zephyr bank accounts in the United States, which Bender and Wilson divided between themselves over a four year period.

Bender was also fined $7,500.00, ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $195,457.67 and sentenced to serve three years of supervised release.

Wilson pleaded guilty last year to three counts of wire fraud in connection with this scheme and was later sentenced to one year and one day in prison.

WASHINGTON – Adrian-Tiberiu Oprea, 29, of Constanta, Romania, and Iulian Dolan, 28, of Craiova, Romania, were sentenced today to serve 15 years and seven years in prison, respectively, for participating in an international, multimillion-dollar scheme to remotely hack into and steal payment card data from hundreds of U.S. merchants’ computers, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney John P. Kacavas of the District of New Hampshire; and Holly Fraumeni, Resident Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Manchester, N.H., Resident Office.

         On May 7, 2013, Oprea, who was extradited to the United States from Romania, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit access device fraud.  On Sept. 17, 2012, Dolan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit access device fraud.

        Court documents state that, from approximately 2009 to 2011, Oprea conspired with Dolan and Cezar Butu, 27, of Ploiesti, Romania, to hack into hundreds of computers located in the United States to steal credit, debit and payment account numbers and associated data (collectively “payment card data”) that belonged to U.S. cardholders.

According to court documents, Oprea and Dolan remotely hacked into hundreds of U.S. merchants’ point-of-sale (POS) or “check out” computer systems, where customers’ payment card data was electronically stored.  Specifically, Oprea, who was the leader of the scheme, and Dolan, who was his trusted aide, first used the Internet to identify U.S.-based vulnerable POS systems.  After identifying a vulnerable system, Oprea and Dolan would gain access and install software programs called “keystroke loggers” (or “sniffers”) onto the POS systems.  These programs would record, and then store, all of the data that was keyed into or swiped through the merchants’ POS systems, including customers’ payment card data.
       
Oprea and Dolan retrieved the card data and then electronically transferred it to various electronic storage locations (“dump sites”) that Oprea had set up.  Oprea later attempted to use the stolen payment card data to make unauthorized charges on, or transfers of funds from, the accounts.  He also attempted to transfer the stolen payment card data to other co-conspirators for them to use in a similar manner.  During the course of the conspiracies, the co-conspirators hacked into several hundred U.S. merchants’ POS systems, including 250 Subway restaurant franchises, and stole payment card data belonging to more than 100,000 U.S. cardholders.  Their criminal conduct caused losses of at least $17.5 million in unauthorized charges and remediation expenses.

        The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, with assistance from the New Hampshire State Police and Romanian authorities.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold H. Huftalen of the District of New Hampshire.  Significant assistance was provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.

CONCORD, N.H. –David M. Kwiatkowski, 34, a former employee of Exeter Hospital, pleaded guilty today to eight counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud and eight counts of tampering with a consumer product, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

During the plea hearing, Kwiatkowski admitted that he had been employed as a health care technician in Michigan between 2003 and 2007.  Beginning in November 2007, he became a “traveling technician,” working through various placement agencies at medical facilities in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Arizona, Kansas, Georgia and New Hampshire.

 Kwiatkowski also admitted that, in June of 2010, he became aware that he was infected with the Hepatitis C virus.  It is unknown when Kwiatkowski contracted the infection.  Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus that can cause serious damage to the liver.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hepatitis C causes more deaths annually in the United States than HIV.

Kwiatkowski admitted that while employed as a health care technician at Exeter Hospital in 2011 and 2012, he devised a scheme to divert and steal the controlled substance Fentanyl for personal use and abuse.  Fentanyl is a powerful anesthetic intended for patients undergoing medical procedures, among other uses.  Kwiatkowski admitted that he would surreptitiously take syringes of Fentanyl prepared for patients, inject himself with the drug and refill the syringes with saline, causing the syringes to become tainted with his infected blood.  He then replaced the tainted syringes for use on unsuspecting patients.  Consequently, instead of receiving the prescribed dose of Fentanyl together with its intended anesthetic effect, patients actually received saline that was tainted with the same strain of Hepatitis C carried by Kwiatkowski.

Kwiatkowski also admitted that he engaged in this conduct at several other hospitals, including Hays Medical Center in Kansas and Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Maryland.

            Kwiatkowski’s conduct initially came to light after several unexplained cases of Hepatitis C were detected at Exeter Hospital in May of 2012.  As part of the public health investigation of this Hepatitis C outbreak, at least 32 patients who were treated at Exeter Hospital, six patients from Hays Medical Center, six patients from Johns Hopkins, and one who was treated at the VA Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland have been found to have a strain of Hepatitis C that has been genetically linked to the strain carried by Kwiatkowski.  Kwiatkowski was arrested on July 19, 2012, and he has remained in custody since that date.

Kwiatkowski pled guilty to all 14 charges in the indictment pending against him in New Hampshire.  At the same time, he agreed to have two charges recently filed against him in Kansas transferred to New Hampshire and he pled guilty to them as well.  Kwiatkowski is scheduled to be sentenced on December 3, 2013 at 9:30 a.m.

            United States Attorney John P. Kacavas commented on the defendant’s guilty pleas, saying, “This development marks another step on the road to justice for this defendant and for his many victims.  Tragically, for his victims the defendant’s admissions of guilt are too little, too late. I am grateful to New Hampshire’s public health authorities, who finally put a stop to the defendant’s serial conduct by reporting it to law enforcement.  And his guilty pleas today are a direct reflection of the strength of a case built by the dedicated investigative efforts of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, to whom I am also deeply grateful.”

            Kwiatkowski faces up to ten (10) years in prison for each count of tampering with a consumer product and up to four (4) years in prison for each count of obtaining controlled substances by fraud.  Each offense also is punishable by a fine of $250,000.00 and a term of supervised release following any sentence of imprisonment.

            This investigation, which remains active and ongoing, has involved the cooperative efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement entities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations of the Food and Drug Administration, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, the New Hampshire State Police, and the Exeter, New Hampshire Police Department.  Assistance also was provided by the New Hampshire Drug Task Force, the Marlborough, Massachusetts Police Department, the Boxborough, Massachusetts Police Department, and the United States Attorney’s Offices in the District of Massachusetts, the District of Kansas, the District of Maryland, and the Middle District of Georgia.

CONCORD, N.H. –Omar K. Patterson, 43, of Cleveland Ohio has been sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 36 months in prison for wire fraud, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.  

        Between December 2009 and August 2011, Patterson travelled across the country with others cashing payroll checks at the customer service desks of Wal-Mart stores knowing the payroll checks were counterfeit.  The counterfeit checks were payable to actual persons whose identities Patterson and his co-conspirators had misappropriated.  Patterson facilitated the transactions by presenting counterfeit driver’s licenses with his photograph but listing the names of the payees of the checks on them.  The scheme involved the negotiation of hundreds of counterfeit checks and resulted in actual losses of several hundred thousand dollars.

Patterson was arrested on August 23, 2011, when the Tilton, New Hampshire, police stopped his rental vehicle for investigation as it was leaving a local retail mall. The vehicle was found to contain counterfeiting equipment, hundreds of counterfeit checks and fake identifications.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Tilton, New Hampshire Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Morse.

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Seven defendants have been sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire following their guilty pleas to charges of  conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to unlawfully distribute marijuana, hashish and MDMA, commonly known as “ecstasy”, conspiracy to use the U.S. Mail to facilitate drug trafficking offenses, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, all of which occurred in the Districts of New Hampshire, Vermont, Nevada, and the Eastern District of California, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

Braedon Bellavance, 25, of Mansfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 37 months in prison; his brother Shane Bellavance, 28, also of Mansfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 33 months in prison; Elton Bonneville, 24, of Beckett, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 24 months in prison; Lucas Mohr, 22, of Keene, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 21 months in prison; and James Mayer, 23, of Lyndonville, Vermont, was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Taylor Canaday, 21, of Chesterfield, New Hampshire, was sentenced to two years’ probation and Steven Lauder, 24, of Breckinridge, Colorado, was sentenced to three years’ probation. James Murray, 25, of Lyndonville, Vermont, and Brian Sawyer, 25, of Marlboro, Massachusetts are awaiting sentencing. Murray will be sentenced upon completion of the United States District Court’s LASER Docket, an intensive drug court program.

During the plea hearings, the defendants admitted that, in 2009, Braedon Bellavance and Bonneville, both students at Lyndon State College in Vermont, received high grade marijuana from sources in California via U.S. Postal Service “express mail” packages. They, in turn, sold the marijuana to buyers, including Murray and Mayer.  Bonneville later moved to California and began shipping marijuana and hashish to the Bellavance brothers via USPS express mail packages.  The Bellavance brothers, in turn, distributed the drugs to buyers in the Lyndonville, Vermont area and in New Hampshire, including to Mohr, Lauder-a Keene State College student-and Sawyer-a Plymouth State College student.

The Bellavance brothers moved to California in 2010, joining Bonneville in shipping marijuana and hashish, as well as ecstasy to Murray for distribution in the Lyndonville area.  They also shipped marijuana to Mohr in New Hampshire.  Mohr eventually joined his co-conspirators in California and shipped quantities of marijuana to Lauder and Canaday for distribution in the Keene area.  Proceeds from the drug sales in New Hampshire and Vermont were returned to Bonneville and the Bellavance brothers in California via the USPS express mail service.  In October, 2010, an express mail package containing $27,300 in cash intended for Braedon Bellavance was intercepted at the Ashland, New Hampshire Post Office.

In November, 2010, the DEA and USPIS intercepted two suspicious express mail packages shipped by Braedon Bellavance in California intended for Mayer in Lyndonville.  The packages, containing marijuana, hashish and MDMA, were delivered to Mayer by an undercover law enforcement agent acting as a postal employee, after which a search warrant was executed at the residence.

  In addition to hashish and MDMA, the investigation revealed that, from 2009 through 2011, the conspirators shipped approximately 80 kilograms of marijuana with an approximate street value over $500,000 from California to Vermont and New Hampshire.

CONCORD, N.H. – Christian Jennings, 27, of Portsmouth was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 64 months in prison for possession of methylenedioxy methamphetamine (MDMA or “Ecstasy”) and marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

      During a routine traffic stop in Portsmouth on January 2, 2011, Portsmouth police officers found distribution quantities of both MDMA and marijuana and other controlled substances in Jennings’ car, more than $42,000 in cash, and drug distribution paraphernalia.  At the time of the traffic stop, Jennings was carrying a fully loaded Smith & Wesson, .38 caliber revolver in the waistband of his pants.  A search of Jennings’ Portsmouth home yielded three additional firearms and additional quantities of controlled substances.

     This case was investigated by the Portsmouth Police Department and was prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal program to reduce gun violence in New Hampshire by aggressive investigation and prosecution of firearm offenders, education of the public, and training of law enforcement officers about federal firearm laws.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bill Morse.

CONCORD, NH – Raymond Negron, 32, of Manchester, pled guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to four counts of unlawful distribution of oxycodone and cocaine, one count of unlawful possession with the intent to distribute oxycodone and cocaine, the sale of a firearm to a prohibited person, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            Beginning in December, 2011, law enforcement began an investigation into Negron’s suspected drug trafficking within the city of Manchester. During the course of the investigation, Negron sold quantities of oxycodone tablets and cocaine.  During one of the drug sales, Negron also sold an individual assisting in the investigation a SKS 7.62 caliber rifle that had previously been stolen from a pawn shop in Miami, Florida, knowing the individual had a prior felony conviction.

            On March 20, 2012, a search warrant was executed at Negron’s residence.  Located in Negron’s residence were additional quantities of oxycodone tablets and cocaine, items used for packaging and distributing narcotics and a “sawed off” Mossberg 20 gauge bolt action shotgun which had an obliterated serial number.

            Negron is scheduled to be sentenced on September 16, 2013.  He is facing a maximum statutory sentence for each of the drug charges of twenty years, a maximum statutory sentence for the selling of the firearm and possessing an unregistered firearm of ten years and up to five years for   possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

CONCORD, NH –Ulrick Lucien, 25 was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to eighteen months in prison for providing false information in connection with the acquisition of three firearms, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

Lucien, a Massachusetts resident, presented a false New Hampshire address in order to purchase three firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer in Manchester, New Hampshire. He was indicted and charged with one count of making a false statement during the acquisition of a firearm, and one count of making a false statement in information required to be kept by a federal firearms dealer.  After a three-day trial, the jury returned guilty verdicts against Lucien on both counts presented.

Lucien’s prosecution arose from an investigation undertaken by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Walsh and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Abramson.

CONCORD, N.H. – Lisa Biron, 43, of Manchester, was sentenced today in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 40 years in federal prison on child exploitation charges, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

Following a three-day jury trial in January, Biron was convicted of transportation of a child for illegal sexual conduct, sexual exploitation of a child, and possession of child pornography

The investigation began in September 2012, when an 18-year-old male reported to the Manchester Police Department that he met Biron via a Craigslist personal ad that she had placed.  The young male reported that he smoked marijuana and had sex with Biron, following which she introduced him to a young female as her “18-year-old roommate,” who in fact was barely 14-years old.  Biron subsequently encouraged the young male to engage in sexual activity with the minor female while Biron video recorded them.

The male also reported that Biron showed him videos of the minor female engaged in sexual activity with another young man.  Based on this information, law enforcement initiated an investigation, which included the search of Biron’s residence and her computer.  The search revealed videos and photographs of the minor female engaged in sexual activity with this other young male.  Evidence at trial revealed that Biron had transported the minor female to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada in May of 2012, for the purpose of manufacturing the videos of the minor female engaged in sexual activity with this young male.  The search of Biron’s computer also revealed a video of Biron herself engaged in sexual activity with the minor female.

United States Attorney Kacavas observed that “this case represents yet another example of our resolve to identify, prosecute and seek long federal prison terms for those who, like the Defendant, exploit minors for sexual purposes.  As for this Defendant, her sentence effectively removes her from society for the balance of her life and eradicates the threat she poses to minors and adolescents.  As for like-minded individuals who prey on our children, or who manufacture, distribute and possess images of child sexual exploitation, let this sentence serve as a warning that you will face swift and certain justice in New Hampshire.”  

            This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office, the Manchester Police Department, the Strafford County House of Corrections and the Ontario Provincial Police.  The case was prosecuted by United States Attorney John P. Kacavas and Assistant United States Attorney Helen Fitzgibbon.

CONCORD, N.H. –Nazar Lopushansky, 30 of Manchester, has been sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to one year and one day in prison, after pleading guilty to six counts of mail fraud, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            In 2009, Lopushansky owned a financially distressed construction business, Engelwood Construction, Co. Inc., that had a business office in Manchester, New Hampshire.  In January 2009, a certified public accountant created a financial statement on Lopushansky’s behalf that falsely increased Engelwood’s cash assets by $450,000.  Thereafter, through conduct that involved the use of the United States Postal Service and competitive contract bidding procedures, Lopushansky acquired four contracts that required bonding for Engelwood from state and local government agencies.  To acquire these bonds, Lopushansky provided a copy of the fraudulent financial statement to Bond Safeguard, a bond company in Tennessee.  Engelwood did not finish the projects as required by the contracts and as a result, Bond Safeguard was required to pay claims totaling $253,585.62.

The case was investigated by the United States Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General and the United States Postal Inspection Service.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bob Kinsella.

WASHINGTON – A Romanian national pleaded guilty today to participating in an international, multimillion-dollar scheme to remotely hack into and steal payment card data from hundreds of U.S. merchants’ computers, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Hampshire John P. Kacavas and Holly Fraumeni, Resident Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Manchester, N.H., Resident Office.

Adrian-Tiberiu Oprea, 29, of Constanta, Romania, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in the District of New Hampshire to one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit access device fraud.

The indictment to which Oprea pleaded guilty charges that, from approximately 2009 to 2011, he conspired with co-defendants Iulian Dolan and Cezar Butu to hack into hundreds of U.S.-based computers to steal credit, debit and payment account numbers and associated data (collectively “payment card data”) that belonged to U.S. cardholders.

According to the indictment, Oprea and Dolan remotely hacked into U.S. merchants’ “point-of-sale” (POS) or “check out” computer systems, where customers’ payment card data was electronically stored.   Specifically, Oprea used the Internet to identify vulnerable POS systems that were based in the United States.  After identifying a vulnerable system, Oprea gained access to the system and installed software programs called “keystroke loggers” (or “sniffers”) onto the POS systems.  These programs recorded and stored all of the data that was keyed into or swiped through the merchants’ POS systems, including customers’ payment card data.

Oprea retrieved the card data and then electronically transferred it to various electronic storage locations (“dump sites”) that he had set up.  Oprea later attempted to use the stolen payment card data to make unauthorized charges on, or transfers of funds from, the accounts.  He also attempted to transfer the stolen payment card data to other co-conspirators for their use for similar purposes. 

During the course of the conspiracy, the co-conspirators hacked into several hundred U.S. merchants’ POS systems and stole payment card data belonging to more than 100,000 U. S. cardholders.

Dolan and Butu previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme.  Dolan is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 15, 2013.  In his plea agreement, Dolan agreed to be sentenced to serve seven years in prison.  On Jan. 7, 2013, Butu was sentenced to serve 21 months in prison.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, with the assistance of the New Hampshire State Police and Romanian authorities.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold H. Huftalen of the District of New Hampshire.  Significant assistance was provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.

CONCORD, N.H. – Frank Hsiao Chien Ku, 31, of San Gabriel, California, and Danny Chin Hao Hsu, 33, of West Covina, California, have plead guilty to federal mail fraud charges and violations of U.S. Customs laws for their roles in an illegal scheme to purchase new, high-end motor vehicles under false pretenses, title and register them in New Hampshire, and unlawfully export them to China for resale at a substantial profit, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            Under U.S. Customs laws and regulations, the export of new motor vehicles is prohibited.  As a result, most dealerships are contractually prohibited by the manufacturer from selling new automobiles intended for export, and dealerships are required to prevent such sales or suffer financial and other penalties imposed by the manufacturer.  One method dealerships often use to ensure the sale of new motor vehicles for domestic use only is a “no-export agreement” signed by the purchaser, prohibiting the vehicle’s export for a certain period of time.  The defendants and their agents engaged in an elaborate fraud to circumvent these export prohibitions.

            According to charges unsealed today, from October 2009 to March 2012, the defendants operated a San Gabriel, California company, CFLA, Ltd., that financed the purchase of new automobiles from dealerships in New Hampshire and elsewhere on the pretext that the automobiles were intended for domestic use only.  The scheme required the defendants and their agents in California to obtain New Hampshire driver’s licenses in their own names or those of others, using fabricated leases and utility bills to falsely establish residency in New Hampshire.  Once the defendants and their non-resident agents obtained New Hampshire driver’s licenses, they purchased luxury automobiles at dealerships in New Hampshire and other states, signing “no-export” declarations attesting that the automobiles were not intended for export.  In order to reinforce the false impression that the non-resident agents were residents of New Hampshire, the defendants caused monies to be transferred from a CFLA, Ltd. bank account in California to a bank account in New Hampshire for use in purchasing the motor vehicles.  In addition to employing non-resident agents, the defendants also employed New Hampshire residents to act as straw buyers, purchasing new luxury automobiles in their own names for the benefit of the defendants and CFLA, Ltd.

            Once the defendants, their agents, or the straw buyers purchased the new motor vehicles, the defendants had the vehicles transported directly from a dealership to the port of Long Beach, California for export to China.  With respect to those motor vehicles purchased from out-of-state dealerships, the vehicle itself never physically entered the State of New Hampshire.  Meanwhile, the defendants fraudulently registered the vehicles in New Hampshire, or caused them to be fraudulently registered in New Hampshire, using the fraudulently obtained driver’s licenses and New Hampshire straw buyers as proof of residency.  They also filed fraudulent title applications in their own names with the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles (NH-DMV), and caused to be filed fraudulent title applications in the names of the non-resident agents and New Hampshire straw buyers.  The defendants then caused the fraudulently obtained titles issued by the NH-DMV to be forwarded to California for filing with U.S. Customs, together with other export documentation known as a “Shipper’s Export Declaration,” or SED.  Taken together, the title and the SED made it falsely appear that the motor vehicles involved were used and, therefore, lawfully exportable to China.

            Altogether, the defendants’ scheme involved ninety-three (93) motor vehicles, fourteen (14) of which were seized at the port of Long Beach before they were exported.  The total value of those 14 vehicles exceeds $750,000.00.  In their plea hearings, the defendants admitted that they defrauded motor vehicle dealerships in New Hampshire and elsewhere, obtained or caused to be obtained New Hampshire drivers’ licenses, automobile titles and registrations by deception, and violated U.S. Customs laws and regulations by using SED’s to further their unlawful activities.

            In announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Kacavas said, “The defendants’ scheme and others like it seek to exploit New Hampshire’s lack of sales tax and compulsory automobile insurance in order to maximize their ill-gotten gains.  In addition to defrauding the N.H. Division of Motor Vehicles, and diverting valuable federal and state law enforcement resources to identify, disrupt and dismantle such illegal export rings, out-of-state scammers like the defendants pursue a quick buck at the expense of New Hampshire’s businesses and citizens.  Dealers that are duped into selling new motor vehicles to an exporter may suffer manufacturer-imposed “charge-backs” for each vehicle unwittingly sold and unlawfully exported, reductions in future vehicle allocations and inventory, and the loss of service-generated revenue, all of which has a negative impact on a dealership’s sales and service workforce and, ultimately, its viability.  Federal law enforcement will continue to partner with the N.H. State Police and the Division of Motor Vehicles to bring such scammers to justice and ensure that New Hampshire remains an inhospitable venue for their illegal trade.”        

            U.S. Attorney Kacavas wishes to thank Special Agent-in-Charge Bruce Foucart of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, Commissioner John Barthelmes of the New Hampshire Department of Safety, Colonel Robert Quinn of the New Hampshire State Police, and Director Richard Bailey, Jr., of the Division of Motor Vehicles for their close cooperation in the investigation of this case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Gunnison.

CONCORD, N.H. – Willy Valentin, 27, of Manchester, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 37 months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of distribution of heroin, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            In the summer of 2011, the Manchester Police Department conducted an investigation into the sale of heroin in the Manchester area.  In August and September of 2011, a confidential informant purchased 1.13 grams of heroin from the defendant.  The defendant was arrested and admitted that he had been selling heroin beginning in June of 2011.  The defendant engaged in the heroin distribution while he was on supervised release from a previous federal conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and distribution of more than five grams of cocaine.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Debra M. Walsh.

CONCORD, N.H. – Jimmy F. Ambrosi, 32, of Lowell, Massachusetts, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 57 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and five counts of distribution of cocaine base (crack) and cocaine, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            The Hampton Police Department and the New Hampshire Drug Task Force conducted an investigation of the sale of illegal drugs in the Hampton Beach area, targeting a cocaine trafficking and distribution network in which Jimmy F. Ambrosi was identified as a main target.  From June 2011 through March 2012, a confidential informant made 3 purchases of crack cocaine from Ambrosi’s co-defendant, Andrew Wojtowicz.  The confidential informant introduced an undercover police officer to Wojtowicz who introduced the undercover police officer to Ambrosi.  Twenty-four additional purchases of illegal controlled substances, including cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana and oxycodone were made from Ambrosi, Wojtowicz and their associates.  Ambrosi sold the undercover police officer illegal controlled substances on 5 occasions in New Hampshire and once in Massachusetts.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Debra M. Walsh.

CONCORD, N.H. – Basil O. Proctor, 46, of Miramar, Florida, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to five years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            In September, 2008, the Massachusetts State Police uncovered information that the defendant was involved in the distribution of oxycodone in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and that he would be arriving in a private jet, which traveled to the Manchester- Boston Regional Airport in Manchester. Upon arrival, the defendant was approached by the Massachusetts State Police and was found to be carrying $314,380.00 in United States currency. The defendant subsequently admitted that he transported oxycodone from Florida to Massachusetts and New Hampshire for distribution.

The Internal Revenue Service conducted a parallel investigation that revealed that the defendant instructed co-conspirators to deposit drug money into nominee accounts in order to hide the illegal drug profits.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Debra M. Walsh.

CONCORD, NH – Douglas McCullom, 52, of East Wakefield, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to serve three years of probation as a result of his conviction for fraudulently obtaining controlled substances, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

            McCullom is a doctor of osteopathic medicine who is licensed to practice medicine in Maine.  He worked as a physician for the Department of Veterans Affairs in New Hampshire.  In 2010, McCullom wrote approximately 17 prescriptions for oxycodone and OxyContin that were not documented in the medical records of one of his patients.  Some of these prescriptions were written for the patient after McCullom was placed on worker’s compensation leave.  The patient has stated that he later provided some of these pills to McCullom.

            McCullom had a registration with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that allowed him to write prescriptions for controlled substances.  As part of his plea agreement, McCullom has agreed to surrender his DEA registration and never to seek another DEA registration.  He also must advise the licensing authorities in Maine about his conviction.

In November of 2012, McCullom entered into a separate civil settlement agreement to resolve allegations that he violated federal regulations when he issued prescriptions that were not for a legitimate medical purpose and were outside the scope of his DEA registration.  While not admitting any wrongdoing, McCullom paid $25,000 to resolve his potential civil liability.

The case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  The Office of Inspector General of the Office of Personnel Management also provided assistance in this investigation.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Farley.

CONCORD, NH:-  Sirous Sorat, 58, a California resident, self-surrendered today to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving a thirty-seven month sentence for wire fraud, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

The sentence stems from Sorat's conviction in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire for participating in a scheme to defraud companies that purchased fraudulent health insurance claims that Sorat represented were legitimate.

These claims were generated when Los Angeles area doctors purportedly gave workers compensation patients certain cream compound for joint and muscle pain.  The government investigation revealed that, in fact, the doctors had not delivered the creams to the patients but Sorat nevertheless claimed to have purchased the resulting health insurance claims from the doctors.  Sorat then sold the purported insurance claims to companies in Massachusetts and Florida, who, through a New Hampshire billing agent, submitted the claims to various insurance companies for potential reimbursement.

In addition to his jail sentence, Sorat was ordered to pay forfeiture and restitution of over $2.3 million.

CONCORD, NH –Hoang O. Hoang, 45, of Seabrook, pled guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to charges that he paid a bribe to an agent of the Internal Revenue Service, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

       On December 9, 2011, Hoang met with an IRS Revenue Agent, who was conducting an audit of a nail salon business in Newington owned by Hoang.  Over the course of multiple conversations, Hoang offered to pay the agent personally, not the IRS, $4,000 if the agent could reduce the business’ tax liability.  On January 12, 2012, Hoang met with and paid the IRS agent $2,295 for the purpose of corruptly influencing the agent in the exercise of his official duties, specifically the outcome of the agent’s IRS audit of Hoang’s business.

Hoang is facing a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, 3 years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10, 2013.

The case was investigated by the office of the United States Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold H. Huftalen.

CONCORD, NH- Monadnock Community Hospital of Peterborough, New Hampshire, without admitting liability, has entered into a settlement agreement to resolve allegations that it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) by failing to provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services (such as sign language interpreters) that were necessary to ensure effective communication with deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas

              Amy Dauphinais is deaf and communicates primarily via American Sign Language.  She alleged that the hospital failed to provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services when necessary for effective communication.  She alleged that she was unable to communicate adequately with hospital personnel while she was receiving medical treatment at the hospital in 2010 because she was not provided with a sign language interpreter or other adequate auxiliary aids.  She also alleged that she was required to use her minor daughter to interpret for her.

As part of the settlement, the hospital, which cooperated in the investigation, agreed to establish a program to ensure that it provides effective communication to deaf and hard-of-hearing patients in the future.   This includes the appointment of Program Administrators to answer questions and provide appropriate assistance regarding immediate access to and proper use of appropriate auxiliary aids and services required by the settlement agreement.  The hospital has agreed to make efforts to determine the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals and to provide them with appropriate auxiliary aids and services (including qualified interpreters) in a timely fashion.  Among other things, the hospital has agreed to provide training for the staff and to provide reports to the U.S. Attorney’s Office regarding its compliance with the agreement. The hospital also agreed to pay $5,000.00 to the complainant, Amy Dauphinais.

            Under the ADA, health care providers must furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities.  The ADA applies to all hospital programs and services, such as emergency room care, inpatient and outpatient services, surgery, clinics, educational classes, and cafeteria and gift shop services.  Wherever deaf patients or their companions are interacting with medical staff, a health care provider is obligated to provide effective communication.  When complex communication is involved (such as when discussing complex medical issues), the ADA often requires health care providers to provide sign language interpreters for deaf or hard-of-hearing patients or other deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals (such as the deaf parents of a minor child).  More information about the ADA may be found at www.ada.gov.

            “The Department of Justice takes these civil rights violations seriously,” said Eve L. Hill, Senior Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.  “The U.S. Attorneys are key partners in stopping discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the critical area of health care and we are very pleased to be working with them.”

United States Attorney John P. Kacavas observed that “full and proper access to health care for people with disabilities is a civil right and my office will continue to eradicate the barriers to such access wherever they may arise.”

            This agreement is part of the Department of Justice’s Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, a multi-faceted initiative that addresses access to health care for people with disabilities, including individuals with hearing and mobility disabilities and for people with HIV.  It is a partnership of the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorneys’ offices across the nation, to target enforcement efforts on a critical area for individuals with disabilities.  The initiative, launched on the 22nd anniversary of the ADA in July 2012, includes the participation of more than 40 U.S. Attorneys’ office, including the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire. Information about the initiative can be found by visiting www.ada.gov/usao-agreements.htm.

CONCORD, N.H. – Renee Pelletier, 59, of Weare, pleaded guilty to bank fraud in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.
           
From June 2008 to August 2011, Pelletier was employed as a part-time bookkeeper by an excavation company in Merrimack, New Hampshire, that maintained a checking account at St. Mary’s bank, a federally insured credit union.
           
While working for the company, Pelletier used a variety of dishonest methods to steal money from the company’s bank account.   Without receiving permission or authority from the company’s owner, Pelletier forged the owner’s endorsements on 315 checks, totaling $32,504.04, that were drawn on the company’s account, and used the money for her personal benefit.  On 233 other occasions, Pelletier used the credit union’s on-line banking system to make payments totaling $19,103.15 from the company’s account to business entities to whom she owned money.

Pelletier is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9, 2013 and is facing a prison term of up to 30 years and a fine of up to $1,000,000.

            The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bob Kinsella.

CONCORD, N.H. – Steven D. Lewis, 61, of Loxahatchee, Florida, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 63 months in prison for a wire fraud, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.
 
From approximately November 2003 to July 2010, Lewis and another person, William Orestis, solicited money on behalf of a sham investment company, Equivest, LLC.  Lewis and Orestis falsely assured investors that their money would be used to purchase foreign currencies and to support Equivest’s business activities.  They provided bogus account statements to investors that falsely claimed that impressive profits had been earned in Equivest accounts by other investors.  Lewis and Orestis also falsely assured some investors that their accounts would earn 12 percent interest annually.  They also falsely promised other investors that their accounts would earn income at rates as high as 18 percent annually.

Lewis and Orestis fraudulently obtained $764,282 from investors, but they used only a portion of that money to buy foreign currencies.  They also made payments totaling approximately $124,715 to some investors in order to lull them into a false sense of security regarding the performance of their Equivest accounts.  As a result, the investors lost $639,567.

            Lewis is currently serving a 28 month sentence in Florida for a larceny related offense.  He will begin serving his 63 months upon completion of his current sentence.

CONCORD, N.H. – Former Portsmouth, N.H., restaurateur Brian Pearson, 30, pleaded guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to wire fraud, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

Pearson acknowledged that, from approximately January 2011 to May 23, 2011, he processed more than 1400 unauthorized credit and debit fraud transactions against the accounts of individuals who had previously dined at his now defunct Portsmouth restaurant, Bella Sol.  Pearson obtained the credit and debit card numbers from the hard drive of his restaurant’s point-of-sale system where they were stored.  Pearson was a resident of Chocorua, N.H., until he was arrested on charges relating to the credit and debit card fraud.

Pearson is facing a maximum prison sentence of twenty years and a fine of $250,000.  Pearson is scheduled to be sentenced on July 8, 2013 and has been detained pending sentencing.

This case arose from an investigation jointly undertaken by the U.S. Secret Service and the Portsmouth Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bill Morse.

CONCORD, NH – James Nelson Lund, 37, of Tilton & Berlin, NH, and formerly of Vassalboro, ME, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 21 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

On February 7, 2001 Lund pled guilty in Maine State Court to one count of sexual abuse of a minor, As a result of which he is a sex offender under SORNA and required to register in any state to which he moves.

On May 30, 2012 law enforcement received information that Lund might be living at 9 School St., Apartment #1 in Tilton, NH as an unregistered sex offender. When officers from the Tilton Police Department went to that apartment his wife advised that he was not at home.  Later that evening, a Tilton police officer saw Lund driving a pick-up truck packed with personal belongings and arrested him.  At the time of his arrest, Lund advised that he preferred to live a “transient lifestyle” and that he and his wife planned to move to the Midwest.

After serving his 21 month prison sentence, Lund will be required to register as a sex offender for life. The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and the Tilton, NH Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold H. Huftalen.

CONCORD, NH –Heidi Lacerte, 48, of Weare, has been sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 13 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $55,000 in restitution for embezzling Social Security Administration and Veterans Affairs benefits, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

       Lacerte pleaded guilty in November of 2012. She admitted that while she was employed by the Office of Public Guardian (OPG) (a private non-profit corporation that provides guardianship and advocacy services to hundreds of legally incapacitated adults in New Hampshire, including those with developmental disabilities, mental illness, dementia and traumatic brain injury) she embezzled more than $52,000 of federal benefits that had been paid to OPG for the benefit of 23 individuals for whom OPG was guardian.  Lacerte also admitted that she accomplished the embezzlement by: 1) having checks written to herself drawn against beneficiaries' funds; 2) having gift cards purchased using money from beneficiaries' accounts; and, 3) taking cash intended for beneficiaries' accounts, and then converting the proceeds for her own benefit, or for the benefit of others.  Lacerte, who has been released on bail since being charged, was ordered to report to federal prison to start serving her sentence on April 12, 2013.

            The case was investigated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division, the United States Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigation, and the Concord, NH Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold H. Huftalen.