District of New Jersey
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Passaic County, New Jersey, Man Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Distributing Images of Child Sexual Abuse over the InternetRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Wayne, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 78 months in prison for sharing images of child sexual abuse from his home computer, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Manuel Fernandez, 34, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares to one count of an indictment charging him with distributing images of child pornography over the Internet. Judge Linares imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
Fernandez admitted that between March 2011 and January 2012, he was a member of an online peer-to-peer file sharing network. Fernandez also admitted he made images and videos of child pornography available for other members to download from his “shared” folder. On March 24, 2011, an undercover law enforcement agent successfully downloaded multiple images and videos of child sexual abuse from Fernandez’s computer.
On Jan. 25, 2012, federal law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Fernandez’s residence. The agents recovered a 1-terabyte hard drive and a 250-gigabyte computer tower, both of which contained numerous images and videos of minor children being sexually abused.
As part of his guilty plea, Fernandez agreed to forfeit the computers and computer accessories he used to commit the offense. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Linares sentenced Fernandez to serve five years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HIS), under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: Chris Adams Esq. Holmdel, New JerseyNew York Securities Lawyer and Owner of Registered Broker-Dealer Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Orchestrating Microcap Stock Manipulation SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New York corporate and securities lawyer was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for orchestrating a stock market manipulation scheme designed to artificially inflate the stock price of two publicly traded companies through manipulative trading and other fraudulent means, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Adam S. Gottbetter, 46, of New York and Boca Raton, Florida, pleaded guilty on Sept. 3, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares to conspiracy to commit securities and mail fraud. Judge Linares imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
Two other men, Kenneth David Stevenson, 55, and Mitchell G. Adam, 47, both of Vancouver, Canada, have also been charged for their roles in the scheme. Stevenson pleaded guilty before Judge Linares on Dec. 9, 2013, to conspiracy to commit securities and mail fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 28, 2015 at 10 a.m. Adam was charged by criminal complaint on May 15, 2015, with conspiracy to commit securities, mail and wire fraud. He was arrested on May 20, 2015, at the Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Texas.
According to the documents filed in these cases and statements made in court:
Gottbetter was a licensed attorney and the managing partner of Gottbetter & Partners LLC, a New York-based securities and corporate law firm, which he founded. Gottbetter marketed himself as an expert in taking private companies public through a reverse merger process, which he referred to as an “Alternative Public Offering,” or his trademarked “Gottbetter Public Offering.” Gottbetter owned Gottbetter Capital Markets LLC, a registered broker-dealer, and Gottbetter Capital Group Inc., a firm which provided a variety of corporate transactional services to its clients.
Between June 2012 and November 2013, Gottbetter directed a scheme to manipulate the price and trading volume of Dynastar Holdings Inc. (DYNA), a social media company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, and HBP Energy Corp. (HBPE), a developmental stage company based in Houston, Texas, to create the false appearance of market interest in, and to artificially inflate the value of, both securities. Gottbetter conspired with others to manipulate the price and volume of these securities to, among other things, make the companies more attractive to potential investors in various private offerings that Gottbetter would broker and which would generate substantial fees and other illicit gains to Gottbetter, his law firm and his broker-dealer, and to sell the stocks at the fraudulently inflated prices to the investing public for a profit.
Gottbetter and his conspirators obtained and concealed control of a significant portion of free-trading shares of DYNA and HBPE stock, agreed to fraudulently inflate the price and trading volume of the stocks through a variety of means – including disseminating false or misleading promotional materials to the investing public and engaging in manipulative trading of the stocks to create the appearance of market interest – and planned to sell the stocks at the fraudulently inflated prices or use the fraudulently inflated value of the companies to solicit private investments, thereby profiting at the expense of the investing public.
To assist in manipulating the stock of DNYA and HBPE, Gottbetter recruited a stock promoter and trader who owned a broker-dealer in New York and who claimed to have experience in various manipulative and fraudulent trading strategies. Unbeknownst to Gottbetter, however, this individual (“the CW”) was cooperating with law enforcement. During the DYNA manipulation, Gottbetter instructed the CW to create “volume” in DYNA’s stock so that the stock would eventually trade “on its own.” Gottbetter agreed that the CW would trade DYNA stock among various accounts that the CW controlled to “build a chart” for DYNA stock – in other words, to create the fake appearance of legitimate trading activity, which would be touted as “market” activity to unsuspecting investors in a later promotional mailer. Gottbetter reviewed a draft of a promotion that the CW created in connection with the DNYA scheme. The mailer contained numerous materially false and misleading statements and material omissions. During a meeting with the CW, Gottbetter was offered a copy of the mailer, but refused to keep it, stating that he “never saw it.”
Later in the scheme, the CW informed Gottbetter that the CW had developed an algorithmic trading system, or black box, for the purpose of manipulating the price of stocks. The CW controlled 32 online brokerage accounts that were opened in the names of foreign nominees, and that a computer program that the CW created and controlled could trade between those accounts to create the appearance of massive volume in any stock. Gottbetter directed the CW to use the black box in connection with the DYNA scheme
In July 2013, before Gottbetter and the CW had launched the DYNA promotional campaign and completed the manipulative trading of DYNA’s stock, Gottbetter recruited the CW to participate with him, Stevenson and Adam in another, more profitable and elaborate market manipulation scheme involving HBPE. Like DYNA, Gottbetter and others conspired to manipulate the price and volume of HBPE’s stock through a variety of fraudulent means, including manipulative trading through the CW’s black box. Gottbetter, Stevenson and Adam also planned an elaborate promotional campaign that would take place after HBPE’s stock was manipulated to a certain level, including international “call rooms,” listing HBPE’s stock on foreign exchanges, a “road show” and other activities. Law enforcement intervened before the HBPE promotion could take place.
Nonetheless, Gottbetter, Stevenson and Adam expected to realize significant profits by selling HBPE stock at fraudulently inflated prices. Gottbetter also anticipated generating substantial fees to his law firm and broker-dealer in connection with financing deals that he would close for HBPE after the stock price had been artificially inflated to certain levels. In one consensually recorded conversation with the CW, Gottbetter commented that the only other way to make as much money as he and his conspirators expected to make manipulating HBPE’s stock would be by “robbing a bank.”
In addition to the prison term, Judge Linares sentenced Gottbetter to one year of supervised release, fined him $60,000 and ordered him to forfeit $344,967. Gottbetter also forfeited $4,595,333 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The conspiracy counts with which Adam and Stevenson are charged each carry a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s sentence and the related charges against Stevenson and Adam. He also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office under the direction of Andrew Calamari.
The government is represented by Gurbir S. Grewal, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas P. Grippo of the Economic Crimes Unit.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint against Adam are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Attorney for Home Health Care Company Admits Stealing over $2.6 Million from His EmployerRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – The former in-house counsel of an Ocean County, New Jersey-based home health care company today admitted using his attorney trust account to steal over $2.6 million from his employer, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Matthew S. Neugeboren, 39, of Manalapan, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2006 through 2013, Neugeboren was in-house counsel for Company A, a home health care company in Ocean County. As such, Neugeboren maintained an attorney trust account to pay for Company A’s expenses. To cover those expenses, Neugeboren requested checks and wire transfers be made from Company A’s bank accounts into his attorney trust account.
As part of the scheme, Neugeboren caused Company A to transfer more money into his attorney trust account than was necessary to cover company expenses. Neugeboren admitted that he used the additional money for his personal benefit, including gambling. Neugeboren admitted that from January 2008 through December 2012, he stole approximately $2,644,911.91 from Company A.
In addition to the wire fraud scheme, Neugeboren knowingly and willfully filed a false tax return that failed to include approximately $630,000 in gross income that he received in calendar year 2011 from his scheme to defraud Company A.
The wire fraud count to which Neugeboren pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The false tax return count is punishable by a maximum penalty of three years in prison. Both charges carry a maximum fine of $250,000. Neugeboren has already returned some of the money from the scheme. As part of his plea agreement, he must pay remaining restitution in the amount of $1,404,962.91. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 3, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel, and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fabiana Pierre-Louis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
Defense counsel: Justin P. Walder Esq., Roseland, New Jersey
Monmouth County, New Jersey, Man Sentenced to 121 Months in Prison for Possessing Images of Child Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A previously convicted sex offender was sentenced today to 121 months in prison for uploading images of child sexual abuse to an online file-sharing network, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Layne Bracht, 32, of Highlands, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas to an information charging him with one count of possession of child pornography. Judge Irenas imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:Bracht, who pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in 2006, admitted that on Oct. 28, 2013, he knowingly placed images and videos depicting child sexual abuse into shared folders that others could access via a peer-to-peer network. Special agents of the FBI executed a search warrant at his residence in Highlands on Jan. 15, 2014 and seized digital evidence that contained numerous videos and images depicting child sexual abuse, including material involving prepubescent minors and sadistic or masochistic conduct. The digital evidence seized included three files previously downloaded from Bracht by law enforcement agents working in an undercover capacity on the peer-to-peer network.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Irenas sentenced Bracht to serve 15 years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark, New Jersey, and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fabiana Pierre-Louis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
Defense counsel: Assistant Federal Public Defender Brian P. Reilly Esq., TrentonFormer Postal Worker Charged with Stolen Identity Refund FraudRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A former postal worker who allegedly used stolen identities to assist in the filing of fraudulent tax returns to generate false U.S. Treasury checks was charged today for his involvement in the scam, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Luis Martin, 24, of Trenton, New Jersey, was arrested this morning by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, postal inspectors from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, special agents of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and special agents of the U.S. Secret Service. He is charged by complaint with one count of stealing government funds. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Mannion in Newark federal court.
According to the complaint:
Background on Stolen Identify Refund Fraud
Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) is a common type of fraud committed against the United States government that involves the use of stolen identities to commit tax refund fraud. SIRF schemes generally share a number of hallmarks:
- SIRF perpetrators obtain personal identifying information, including Social Security numbers and dates of birth, from unwitting individuals, who often reside in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
- SIRF perpetrators complete Form 1040 tax returns using the fraudulently obtained information and falsifying wages earned, taxes withheld, and other data, always ensuring that the fraudulent tax return generates a refund.
- They direct the U.S. Treasury Department to mail refund checks to locations that the perpetrators control or can access.
- With the fraudulently obtained refund checks in hand, SIRF perpetrators generate cash proceeds by depositing the checks into bank accounts that they control.
The Investigation
From June 2014 through February 2015, Martin allegedly caused to be filed 13 fraudulent Form 1040s, claiming $75,380 in fraudulent tax refund payments from the U.S. Treasury. He allegedly used his position as a postal worker in Monmouth County, New Jersey, to facilitate the scheme.
The count of theft of government funds with which Martin is charged is carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates; special agents of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Monica S. Weyler; and special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl Agnelli, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest and charge.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Wangenheim and Elisa Wiygul of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the Defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense counsel: Carl J. Herman Esq., West Orange, New Jersey
- SIRF perpetrators obtain personal identifying information, including Social Security numbers and dates of birth, from unwitting individuals, who often reside in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Two People Charged in Connection with Stolen Identity Refund Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Two people allegedly involved in an extensive scheme to obtain U.S. Government funds through fraudulently obtained refund checks issued by the U.S. Treasury were charged today for their involvement in the scam, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Jhan Luis Mejia Marcelino, 25, and Odanys Orlando Rojas, a/k/a “El Fuerte,” 37, both of Bronx, New York, were arrested this morning by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, postal inspectors from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, special agents of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and special agents of the U.S. Secret Service. They are charged by complaint with conspiracy to steal government funds.
Both defendants made their initial court appearances today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Mannion in Newark federal court. Rojas was ordered detained and Marcelino was released on $250,000 unsecured bond.
According to the complaint:
Background on Stolen Identify Refund Fraud
Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) is a common type of fraud committed against the United States government that involves the use of stolen identities to commit tax refund fraud. SIRF schemes generally share a number of hallmarks:
- SIRF perpetrators obtain personal identifying information, including Social Security numbers and dates of birth, from unwitting individuals, who often reside in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
- SIRF perpetrators complete Form 1040 tax returns using the fraudulently obtained information and falsifying wages earned, taxes withheld, and other data, always ensuring that the fraudulent tax return generates a refund.
- They direct the U.S. Treasury Department to mail refund checks to locations that the perpetrators control or can access.
- With the fraudulently obtained refund checks in hand, SIRF perpetrators generate cash proceeds by depositing the checks into bank accounts that they control.
The Investigation
Marcelino, Rojas and others allegedly have obtained stolen identities that they used to file, and to assist in the filing of Fraudulent Form 1040s to generate Fraudulent Treasury Checks. From Jan. 31, 2014, through Nov. 22, 2014, the defendants caused to be filed 132 fraudulent Form 1040s, claiming $917,284 in false income tax returns, and causing $14,520 in fraudulent treasury checks to be issued directly from the U.S. Treasury.
Rojas was allegedly responsible for filing 73 Fraudulent Form 1040s, claiming total tax returns of $589,621, on April 22, 2014, alone. From Jan. 31, 2014, through Nov. 22, 2014, the Preparer Tax Identification Number, or “PTIN,” associated with those filings was also used to file 16,037 fraudulent Form 1040s, which claimed $115,455,061 in tax refunds, and caused $2,943,329 in U.S. Treasury refund checks to be issued.
Marcelino was responsible for filing 59 fraudulent Form 1040s, claiming total tax returns of $327,663, on Sept. 2, 2014, alone. From May 4, 2014, through Nov. 21, 2014, the PTIN associated with those filings was also used to file 1,356 fraudulent Form 1040s, claiming $8,416,206 in tax refunds, and causing $572,548 in U.S. Treasury refund checks to be issued.
The conspiracy charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison. The charge is also punishable by a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates; special agents of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Monica S. Weyler; and special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Carl Agnelli; with the investigation leading to today’s arrests and charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Wangenheim and Elisa Wiygul of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the Defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense counsel:
Marcelino: John Yauch Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
Rojas: Timothy R. Anderson Esq., Red Bank, N.J.- SIRF perpetrators obtain personal identifying information, including Social Security numbers and dates of birth, from unwitting individuals, who often reside in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Owner of Parsippany-Based Diagnostic Testing FacilityRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. - A Morris County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 12 months in prison for his role in a scheme to bill for diagnostic testing services he did not render and to enable a cardiologist to evade the Medicare program’s pre-payment review of his claims, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Vijay Patel, 57, of Parsippany, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to an information charging him with one count of health care fraud. Judge Salas imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2009 to the present, Patel has been the owner of a diagnostic testing facility in Parsippany called Mobile Diagnostic Testing of NJ LLC (Mobile Diagnostic). He was also a participant in Medicare.
Patel had an associate identified as “S.A.,” who was a cardiologist and also a participant in the Medicare program. From around 2009 through 2012, S.A.’s Medicare contractor had placed him on so-called “pre-payment review,” which was initiated to ensure that S.A. was submitting claims within established rules and regulations and consistent with appropriate medical decision-making, and which required S.A. to submit medical and other documentation to support the services being billed to Medicare. Under pre-payment review, claims for reimbursement that did not have the documentation necessary to support the services being billed are rejected by the Medicare contractor.
From November 2009 through October 2012, Patel and S.A. engaged in a scheme to defraud Medicare whereby S.A. paid Patel substantial sums of money to enable S.A. to evade Medicare’s prepayment review. Patel admitted in court that he submitted claims to Medicare for diagnostic testing services that S.A. had performed as if Mobile Diagnostic had performed the services instead of S.A. Once Medicare paid Patel and Mobile Diagnostic for diagnostic testing services that S.A. had actually provided, Patel then transferred a portion of the payment to S.A. and kept a substantial portion for himself.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Salas sentenced Patel to two years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tom O’Donnell, for the investigation leading today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott B. McBride, Deputy Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Economic Crimes Unit.
New York Man Arrested for Allegedly Defrauding Investors Out of More Than $2 Million for Crossfit Business VenturesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. - A New York man involved in several CrossFit training businesses was arrested this morning by the FBI in connection with a scheme to defraud various potential investors, lenders and business partners out of over $2 million, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Joshua Bryce Newman, 35, is charged by criminal complaint with two counts of wire fraud. Newman is scheduled to make his initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Mannion in Newark federal court.
According to the complaint:
Newman was a self-styled entrepreneur who engaged in a variety of business ventures, including venture capital work, a film production company and businesses that offer CrossFit training, a popular strength and conditioning program typically run in facilities known as “boxes.” Newman found himself facing mounting legal and financial troubles largely as a result of judgments and liens filed against him and his film production company, Cyan Pictures, after its project about the New York Yankees failed. For example, a civil lawsuit filed against Newman alleges that he and others lied about the amount of money they raised for the project and that they had diverted funds meant for the film into their personal accounts.
The criminal complaint alleges that from 2012 through April 2015, Newman made material misrepresentations to solicit investments for CrossFit business enterprises and used the funds for personal expenses, including paying back others who invested in his prior projects. Using doctored or bogus documentation, Newman lulled his victims into believing that their investment money was safe or that he was in a position to repay their loans. The false documents included doctored operating agreements, false statements of ownership percentages held by various individuals and bogus Schedule K-1s purporting to show the amount of annual partnership gains or losses reported to the IRS. Newman also deceived his potential partners, purported investors and lenders into believing that one of his CrossFit ventures had raised millions of dollars in funding.
When investors and lenders raised concerns about Newman’s sincerity or threatened legal action to recoup their funds, he typically gave them false assurances or agreed to return the funds. In reality, he often had no funds to return and made various excuses, including blaming his lack of payment on wire transfers delays. He also stalled for time by giving his victims checks drawn on accounts with insufficient funds and even sent a picture of a purported wire transfer order for $165,000 that never existed.
The complaint alleges that even after his partners removed him from one of the CrossFit companies because of suspected fraudulent activity and willful misconduct, Newman continued to solicit investments on behalf of the company that he used for personal expenses.
The investigation to date has revealed that Newman defrauded numerous investors, creditors and potential partners out of more than $2 million.
Newman faces a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison on each count, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense and a mandatory restitution order in the full amount of the loss to the victims.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s charges.
The charges in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul A. Murphy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
Essex County, New Jersey, Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Role in $15 Million Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for conspiring to defraud financial institutions and launder stolen funds as part of a $15 million mortgage fraud scam that used phony documents and “straw buyers” to make illegal profits on overbuilt condos, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Timothy Ricks, 47, of East Orange, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before Judge Jerome B. Simandle to a superseding indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Judge Simandle imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Ricks was among 11 defendants charged in July 2012 with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Ricks and others located oceanfront condominiums overbuilt by financially distressed developers and negotiated a buyout price with the sellers. They then caused the sales prices for the properties – located in Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood, New Jersey, other locations in New Jersey and in Naples, Florida – to be much higher than the buyout price to ensure large proceeds. Other defendants helped conceal the true sales prices of certain properties through inflated sales contracts and sale and finder’s fee agreements.
Ricks and others recruited straw buyers to purchase certain properties at the inflated rates. The straw buyers had good credit scores but lacked the financial resources to qualify for mortgage loans. The conspirators created false documents, such as fake W-2 forms, pay stubs, bank statements and investment statements, to make the straw buyers appear more creditworthy than they actually were in order to induce the lenders to make the loans.
Ricks and others also caused fraudulent mortgage loan applications in the name of the straw buyers, including the supporting documents, to be submitted to mortgage brokers that the brokers knew were false. Once the loans were approved and the mortgage lenders sent the loan proceeds in connection with real estate closings, Ricks and others received a portion of the proceeds after conspirators had funds wired or checks deposited into various accounts they controlled.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Simandle sentenced Ricks to serve five years of supervised release. Restitution will be determined at a hearing scheduled for July 9, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark; and IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, in Newark, for their roles in the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew T. Smith and Jacqueline M. Carle of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
Defense counsel: Joshua Markowitz Esq., Princeton, New Jersey
Two Former Watch Manufacturer Employees Charged with Using False Invoicing Scheme to Steal Company MerchandiseRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Two former employees of a Bergen County, New Jersey, watch manufacturer were charged today with orchestrating a scheme to defraud their employer out of hundreds of thousands of dollars of watches and watch parts using falsified documents and doctored corporate records, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Cynthia Espejo, 49, of Kissimmee, Florida, and Lissette Delarosa, 36, of Woodland Park, New Jersey, are each charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Espejo is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karla R. Spaulding in Orlando, Florida, federal court. Delarosa is scheduled to appear this afternoon in Newark federal court.
According to the criminal complaint:
From May 2003 through July 2010, Espejo and Delarosa abused their positions in the manufacturer’s Bergen County customer service department to fraudulently obtain company merchandise. Espejo and Delarosa created hundreds of fictitious invoices for watch parts in the manufacturer’s invoice system and directed those parts to be sent to addresses associated with Espejo, Delarosa, and others. The watch manufacturer received no payment related to these invoices and no legitimate basis existed for providing the parts free of charge.
Espejo and Delarosa also created dozens of fictitious customer complaints in the watch manufacturer’s invoice system, which resulted in “replacement” watches being shipped to addresses associated with Espejo and Delarosa.
The mail fraud conspiracy count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the amount of loss caused by the offense.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited postal inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Tyler of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Seventy-One Defendants Charged in Long-Running Investigation of Grape Street Crips Street GangRead the Press Release
Seventy-one people have been charged in connection with a long-running, coordinated federal, state and local investigation into the New Jersey set of the Grape Street Crips, a street gang allegedly responsible for violence and wide-spread drug trafficking in the northern New Jersey, announced U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey.
Today’s charges and arrests culminate three waves of arrests that started May 6, 2015, and resulted in 14 federal complaints charging 50 members and associates of the Grape Street Crips in that two-week span. These 50 defendants and their associates, along with another 21 defendants arrested previously and facing federal and state charges, actively controlled drug trafficking and other illegal activities in various neighborhoods and public-housing complexes in Newark, New Jersey.
The charges are the result of a long-running investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the FBI, in conjunction with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Newark Police Department and Essex County Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Narcotics. The defendants arrested today are scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judges Steven C. Mannion, Mark Falk and James B. Clark III in federal court in Newark.
“As this investigation demonstrates, the New Jersey Grape Street Crips are allegedly one of the largest and most dangerous street gangs in Newark as well as a prolific narcotics trafficking organization that floods the streets New Jersey with heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “The narcotics activities that the gang and its associates allegedly engage in directly affect the quality of life of law-abiding citizens who reside in cities and suburbs of northern New Jersey.”
“This criminal gang used violence and intimidation to maintain their drug enterprise in Newark,” said Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski of the DEA’s New Jersey Division. “The residents of Newark can be assured that the DEA will continue to pursue those people and organizations that cause them to live in fear.”
“Gangs are the mechanism by which drugs are transmitted to the ‘bad seeds’ in our cities, and are at the root of the violent crime problem,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bradley W. Cohen of the FBI’s Newark Division. “The FBI Newark Field Office is committed to making Newark and its surrounding communities, a safe place to be. The most effective way to combat this epidemic of violence is through cooperation; the efforts of all law enforcement agencies with the support and understanding of the citizens to whom we protect and serve.”
In addition to controlling drug trafficking across large swaths of Newark, the Grape Street Crips routinely engaged in acts of violence — including murder, shootings, aggravated assaults and witness intimidation. A federal grand jury has returned a second superseding indictment charging two of the defendants – Kwasi Mack also known as Welchs, 26, of Belleville, New Jersey, and Corey Batts, also known as C-Murder and Cee, 30, of Newark, two leaders of the Grape Street Crips – with numerous violent crimes in aid of racketeering, including attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Batts and other gang members controlled drug trafficking and other criminal activities near the Oscar Miles public-housing complex located on Court Street. Batts is charged by complaint with plotting to murder one of the FBI special agents investigating the gang.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, the Grape Street Crips are a nationwide street gang, founded in Los Angeles and operating in New Jersey. In addition to engaging in drug trafficking and other criminal activities to enrich themselves and fellow gang members, the rules governing the gang provide that members must retaliate against individuals who cooperate with law enforcement. As a result, gang members routinely engage in acts of intimidation and violence against witnesses, individuals who are believed to be cooperating with law enforcement and law enforcement officers themselves.
In March 2015, during the lawful wiretap of a cell phone used by Ahmed Singleton, 25, also known as Gangsta-Mu and Mooshie, a member of the Grape Street Crips, the DEA intercepted Singleton detailing his efforts to intimidate a witness against him. Singleton was facing trial for aggravated assault in connection with a shooting. Singleton bragged about how he had “beat trial” by intimidating the main witness against him, saying he “had the goons in the back seat so, so he [the witness] recognized all the goons…lined up in the back, like, ‘Oh he got them goons in here, like,’ word up.” As a result, Singleton explained, the witness “ain’t wanna look at nobody eyes, you heard son?” Singleton also said that the attorney for the witness had told Singleton and Singleton’s attorney that the witness would “do the right thing,” meaning refuse to testify against Singleton, so that Singleton would not “take that [expletive] shit off when he come home for telling.” Singleton went on to brag, “I walked out of court free, [expletive], who you know do that?...Who you know cause ruckus on these [expletive] streets, come home, do whatever the [expletive] they want, and still be out here son?” As a result of Singleton’s witness intimidation, the state charges against Singleton had to be dismissed.
In late 2013, a senior member of the New Jersey Grape Street Crips used a social media account to identify an individual as having previously cooperated with a murder investigation conducted by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. Several days after that social media post, several members of the Grape Street Crips repeatedly shot and nearly killed the individual who had been identified as having cooperated.
In late 2013, following the arrest of numerous gang members, law enforcement officials learned that members of the Grape Street Crips on the street had directed those members of the enterprise who were incarcerated at a county correctional facility to physically harm an individual who was believed to have cooperated with the law enforcement investigation.
On Oct. 2, 2014, a federal grand jury returned an 18-count second superseding indictment charging Mack and Batts with a variety of violent crimes in aid of racketeering, including attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault with a deadly weapon — multiple counts of using firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes and crimes of violence, conspiracy to distribute heroin and possessing firearms after previously having been convicted of felony offenses.
The attempted murder charges stem from a dispute between the leadership of the Grape Street Crips and a long-time rival of the enterprise.
Batts was charged by federal criminal complaint with plotting to kill an FBI special agent and with solicitation of a crime of violence against the special agent. Batts was attempting to smuggle images of the special agent — obtained from the pretrial discovery turned over to Batts in connection with the above charges — to another gang member in order to kill the special agent.
To protect their gang and drug territory, the Grape Street Crips operating in the Sixth Avenue and North Fifth Street area of Newark used “community guns” that were easily accessible to gang members. DEA special agents seized numerous firearms, including a .410 caliber assault rifle, a.45 caliber Thompson semi-automatic carbine, a 7.62 caliber assault rifle and numerous semi-automatic handguns.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Kotowski, and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel, for the investigation leading to the charges. U.S. Attorney Fishman also thanked prosecutors and detectives of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray, police officers and detectives of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Director Eugene Venable and Chief Anthony Campos, and the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Armando B. Fontoura, for their work on the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Osmar J. Benvenuto, Elizabeth M. Harris, Jose Almonte and Barry Kamar of the District of New Jersey’s Criminal Division in Newark.
The case against Batts for plotting to murder and soliciting a crime of violence against a special agent of the FBI is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Carletta and Chief Zach Intrater of the Criminal Division’s General Crimes Unit.
This case was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
The charges and allegations contained in the federal criminal complaints and indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Seventy-One Defendants Charged in Long-Running Investigation of Grape Street Crips Street GangRead the Press Release
Charges Include Plot to Kill FBI Agent, Attempted Murders, Shootings in Aid of Racketeering, Drug Trafficking, and Witness Intimidation
NEWARK, N.J. –Seventy-one people have been charged in connection with a long-running, coordinated federal, state, and local investigation into the New Jersey set of the Grape Street Crips, a street gang allegedly responsible for violence and wide-spread drug-trafficking in the northern New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today.
Today’s charges and arrests culminate three waves of arrests that started May 6, 2015, and resulted in 14 federal complaints charging 50 members and associates of the Grape Street Crips in that two-week span. These 50 defendants and their associates, along with another 21 defendants arrested previously and facing federal and state charges, actively controlled drug-trafficking and other illegal activities in various neighborhoods and public-housing complexes in Newark.
The charges are the result of a long-running investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI, in conjunction with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Newark Police Department and Essex County Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Narcotics. The defendants arrested today are scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judges Steven C. Mannion, Mark Falk and James B. Clark III in Newark federal court.
“As this investigation demonstrates, the New Jersey Grape Street Crips are allegedly one of the largest and most dangerous street gangs in Newark as well as a prolific narcotics trafficking organization that floods the streets New Jersey with heroin, cocaine, and crack cocaine,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “The narcotics activities that the gang and its associates allegedly engage in directly affect the quality of life of law-abiding citizens who reside in cities and suburbs of northern New Jersey.”
“This criminal gang used violence and intimidation to maintain their drug enterprise in Newark,” Carl J. Kotowski, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division said. “The residents of Newark can be assured that the DEA will continue to pursue those people and organizations that cause them to live in fear.”
“Gangs are the mechanism by which drugs are transmitted to the ‘bad seeds’ in our cities, and are at the root of the violent crime problem,” FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bradley W. Cohen said. “The FBI Newark Field Office is committed to making Newark, and its surrounding communities, a safe place to be. The most effective way to combat this epidemic of violence is through cooperation; the efforts of all law enforcement agencies with the support and understanding of the citizens to whom we protect and serve.”
In addition to controlling drug-trafficking across large swaths of Newark, the Grape Street Crips routinely engaged in acts of violence — including murder, shootings, aggravated assaults, and witness intimidation. A federal grand jury has returned a second superseding indictment charging two of the defendants – Kwasi Mack, a/k/a “Welchs,” 26, of Belleville, New Jersey, and Corey Batts, a/k/a “C-Murder,” a/k/a “Cee,” 30, of Newark, two leaders of the Grape Street Crips – with numerous violent crimes in aid of racketeering, including attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Batts and other gang members controlled drug-trafficking and other criminal activities near the Oscar Miles public-housing complex located on Court Street. Batts is charged by complaint with plotting to murder one of the special agents of the FBI investigating the gang.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The Grape Street Crips are a nationwide street gang, founded in Los Angeles, California, and operating in New Jersey. In addition to engaging in drug-trafficking and other criminal activities to enrich themselves and fellow gang-members, the rules governing the gang provide that members must retaliate against individuals who cooperate with law enforcement. As a result, gang members routinely engage in acts of intimidation and violence against witnesses, individuals who are believed to be cooperating with law enforcement, and law enforcement officers themselves.
In March 2015, during the lawful wiretap of a cell phone used by Ahmed Singleton, 25, a/k/a “Gangsta-Mu,” a/k/a “Mooshie,” a member of the Grape Street Crips, the DEA intercepted Singleton detailing his efforts to intimidate a witnesses against him. Singleton was facing trial for aggravated assault in connection with a shooting. Singleton bragged about how he had “beat trial” by intimidating the main witness against him, saying he “had the goons in the back seat so, so he [the witness] recognized all the goons … lined up in the back, like, ‘Oh he got them goons in here, like,’ word up.” As a result, Singleton explained, the witness “ain’t wanna look at nobody eyes, you heard son?” Singleton also said that the attorney for the witness had told Singleton and Singleton’s attorney that the witness would “do the right thing,” meaning refuse to testify against Singleton, so that Singleton would not “take that [expletive] shit off when he come home for telling.” Singleton went on to brag: “I walked out of court free, [expletive], who you know do that? . . . . Who you know cause ruckus on these [expletive] streets, come home, do whatever the [expletive] they want, and still be out here son?” As a result of Singleton’s witness intimidation, the state charges against Singleton had to be dismissed.
In late 2013, a senior member of the New Jersey Grape Street Crips used a social media account to identify an individual as having previously cooperated with a murder investigation conducted by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. Several days after that social media post, several members of the Grape Street Crips repeatedly shot and nearly killed the individual who had been identified as having cooperated.
In late 2013, following the arrest of numerous gang members, law enforcement officials learned that members of the Grape Street Crips on the street had directed those members of the enterprise who were incarcerated at a county correctional facility to physically harm an individual who was believed to have cooperated with the law enforcement investigation.
On Oct. 2, 2014, a federal grand jury returned an 18-count second superseding indictment charging Mack and Batts with a variety of violent crimes in aid of racketeering, including attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault with a deadly weapon — multiple counts of using firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes and crimes of violence, conspiracy to distribute heroin, and possessing firearms after previously having been convicted of felony offenses.
The attempted murder charges stem from a dispute between the leadership of the Grape Street Crips and a long-time rival of the enterprise. (The attached table sets forth the charges and potential penalties.)
Batts was charged by federal criminal complaint with plotting to kill an FBI special agent and with solicitation of a crime of violence against the special agent. Batts was attempting to smuggle images of the special agent — obtained from the pretrial discovery turned over to Batts in connection with the above charges — to another gang-member in order to kill the special agent.
To protect their gang and drug territory, the Grape Street Crips operating in the 6th Avenue and North 5th Street area of Newark used “community guns” that were easily accessible to gang members. DEA special agents seized numerous firearms, including a .410 caliber assault rifle, a.45 caliber Thompson semi-automatic carbine, a 7.62 caliber assault rifle, and numerous semi-automatic handguns.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Kotowski, and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel, for the investigation leading to the charges. Fishman also thanked prosecutors and detectives of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray; police officers and detectives of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Director Eugene Venable and Chief Anthony Campos; and the Essex County Sheriff’s Office under the direction of Armando B. Fontoura, for their work on the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Osmar J. Benvenuto, Elizabeth M. Harris, Jose Almonte, and Barry Kamar of the Criminal Division in Newark.
The case against Batts for plotting to murder, and soliciting a crime of violence against, a special agent of the FBI is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Carletta and Chief of the General Crimes Unit Zach Intrater, both of the Criminal Division.
This case was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, a partnership, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
The charges and allegations contained in the federal criminal complaints and indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Name
Gang / Street Name(s)
Age
Residence
Date Charged
Charge(s) (Potential Term of Imprisonment)
Federal Prosecutions
Kwasi Mack
Welchs
26
Belleville
10/2/2014
- Attempted murder (2 counts) (10 years each)
- Conspiracy to commit murder (10 years)
- Assault with a deadly weapon (3 counts) (20 years each)
- Heroin conspiracy (5 year man. min up to 40 years)
- Using firearm during a crime of violence and a drug trafficking crime (2 counts) (30 year man. min. up to life)
- Felon in possession of a firearm (10 year)
Corey Batts
C-Murder, Cee
30
Newark
10/2/2014
- Solicitation to murder FBI agent (20 years)
- Retaliation against a federal official (10 years)
- Attempted murder (2 counts) (10 years each)
- Conspiracy to commit murder (10 years)
- Assault with a dangerous weapon (2 counts) (20 years each)
- Heroin conspiracy (10 year man. min. up to life)
- Heroin distribution (3 counts) (30 years each)
- Using a firearm during a crime of violence and a drug trafficking crime (2 counts) (35 year man. min. up to life)
- Felon in possession of a firearm (10 year)
Hakeem Vanderhall
Keem
31
East Orange
5/5/2015
- Running a continuing criminal enterprise (20 year man. min. up to life)
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Eric Concepcion
E-Wax, Wax, Eddie Arroyo
28
Clifton
5/5/2015
- Running a continuing criminal enterprise (20 year man. min. up to life)
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
- Conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin (5 year man. min. up to life)
Jamar Hamilton
Gunner
26
Tottowa
5/5/2015
- Running a continuing criminal enterprise (20 year man. min. up to life)
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
- Conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin (5 year man. min. up to life)
Tyquan Clark
Tah
28
Newark
5/5/2015
- Running a continuing criminal enterprise (20 year man. min. up to life)
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Justin Carnegie
Dew Hi
27
East Orange
5/5/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin (10 year man. min. up to life)
Ahmed Singleton
Gangsta-Moo
25
Newark
5/5/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin (10 year man. min. up to life)
Hanee Cureton
City
30
Springfield
5/13/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin (10 year man. min. up to life)
Khalil Stafford
Homicide, Stod
30
Newark
5/13/2015
- Distribution of heroin (up to 20 years)
Toma Williams
T-Dubs
38
Newark
10/4/2014
- Conspiracy to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin (10 year man. min. up to life)
Dennis Wright
Hersh
32
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin (5 year man. min. up to life)
Leonardo Arroyo
Leo
31
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack-cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
- Conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine (5 year man. min. up to 40 years)
Ahmad Mann
P.O., P-Easy
36
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin (5 year man. min. up to life)
James S. Gutierrez
Bad News, Stevie G
24
Newark
5/5/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
- Conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin (5 year man. min. up to life)
Sharod Caraway
Hot Rod
29
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin (5 year man. min. up to 40 years)
Larry D. Coleman
LA
27
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin (5 year man. min. up to 40 years)
Hakim S. Thomas*
Dollar
34
Newark
5/20/2015
- Distribution of heroin (20 years)
Antonio Foye*
Steel
29
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Darrell Johnson
Scrilla
26
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Ernest Valentine
Bop
30
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Trae K. Roberts*
Trae Pound
22
Irvington
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Christopher Coelho
Brazil
27
Newark
5/5/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Tauheed Satchell*
Tah
26
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Willie T. Brooks
Animal
23
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Rakeem Hankerson
Rocco
24
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Max LaRue*
Max
25
East Orange
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Jarod Ravenell*
Roddy
27
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Louis Coston
Real Rell
25
Newark
5/7/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin (10 year man. min. up to life)
Tamir White*
Trauma
19
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Milton Latham
Murder
40
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin (5 year man. min. up to life)
Gabriel Henderson*
Gabe
35
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin (5 year man. min. up to life)
Vincent Carter
Vince, Vin
NA
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin (5 year man. min. up to life)
Raheem Powell
Nutty
32
Newark
5/20/2015
- Distribution of heroin (20 years)
Brian Mitchell
Slash
25
Newark
5/20/2015
- Distribution of heroin (20 years)
Earl Bullock
Ish
30
Newark
5/20/2015
- Distribution of heroin (20 years)
Eugene Clemons*
65
Newark
5/20/2015
- Distribution of heroin (20 years)
Hyshawn Butler
S-Dot
40
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Fatimah Johnson*
Faddy
25
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Vincent Livingston*
Double O
49
Irvington
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Samuel Cureton
Sammy
24
Irvington
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Jafforn Rock
Two Times
34
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Anthony Mosely
Stretch
20
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Freddy Brown*
Freddy
35
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Tyrone Dunson*
Rudy
28
Orange
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Oneil Concepcion
Bori
33
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine (5 year man. min. up to 40 years)
Wilfred Mendez*
Will
47
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine (5 year man. min. up to 40 years)
Monesha Johnson*
Smoove
35
Newark
5/20/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Keith Bowens*
Weefy
42
Jersey City
5/13/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin (10 year man. min. up to life)
Tarence Burks
Barack
42
Jersey City
5/13/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin (10 year man. min. up to life)
Jerome Lewis*
Pete
37
Jersey City
5/13/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin (10 year man. min. up to life)
Tequan Small
Tequan
29
Jersey City
5/13/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin (10 year man. min. up to life)
George Bell*
Nino
37
Jersey City
5/13/2015
- Conspiracy to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin (10 year man. min. up to life)
Todd Carter
Oink
29
Newark
- Distribution of heroin (20 years)
Tedmond Ashe
Wild Boy
34
Newark
12/31/2013
- Felon in possession of a firearm (10 years)
Dwayne Harper
Buck
31
Newark
5/28/2014
- Smuggling contraband into federal prison (sentenced to 1 year and 1 month in federal prison)
Mookadeen Cheeseboro
28
Newark
2/20/2014
- Felon in possession of a firearm (sentenced to 5 years and 10 months in federal prison)
Bernard Anderson
BA
31
Newark
6/4/2014
- Distribution of heroin (20 years)
Jihad Coles
Half Dead
30
Newark
11/18/2014
- Conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack-cocaine (10 year man. min. up to life)
Marvin Eure
Man Man
21
Newark
2/11/2015
- Distribution of heroin (20 years);
- Felon-in-possession of a firearm (10 years)
Haneef Sanders
22
Newark
10/7/2014
- Felon in possession of a firearm (sentenced to 4 years and 2 months in federal prison)
Talib-Deen Kennedy
Tabills
21
Newark
6/20/2014
- Use of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crime (sentenced to 5 years in federal prison)
Prosecution by Essex County Prosecutor’s Office
Ahmad Manley
Fresh, Moddi-G
29
Summit
3/18/2014
- Murder
Kevin Francis
Tweakset
21
Newark
5/20/2015
- Distribution of heroin
Rashan Washington
Shoota
25
Newark
4/6/2014
- Aggravated assault with deadly weapon
Timothy Wright
Tim Tim
49
Newark
5/20/2015
- Distribution of heroin
Terrence King
D-Bo
25
Newark
5/20/2015
- Distribution of heroin
Alfatier Ward
Bones
30
Newark
5/30/2014
- Distribution of heroin
Yasim Greene
Ya-Ya
23
Newark
05/20/2015
- Distribution of heroin
Olajuwon Tillery
Chance
26
Newark
05/20/2015
- Distribution of heroin
Devon Logan
Duncan
27
Newark
5/20/2015
- Distribution of heroin
*Denotes federal defendant at-large
Pennsylvania Contractor Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Extorting Kickbacks from Employees and Authorizing the Hit-And-Run of A Site ManagerRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Pennsylvania construction company supervisor was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for extorting kickbacks from employees and giving the “go ahead” for the vehicular assault of a site manager critical of his company’s performance on a reconstruction project at the Ft. Dix military base in Burlington County, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today.
Richard Cottone, 40, of Windsor, Pennsylvania, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to obtain kickbacks from public works employees and one count of travel in interstate commerce to commit a crime of violence. Judge Rodriguez imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Cottone is the son-in-law of Leonard Santos, 68, of Yardley, Pennsylvania, who owned Sands Mechanical Inc. of Bristol, Pennsylvania. Between November 2009 and September 2010, Sands Mechanical was a subcontractor on the restoration and rehabilitation of the Marine Corps Reserve Training Center at Joint Base-McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington County. Sands Mechanical provided HVAC and plumbing services. The general contractor was a company headquartered in Marriotsville, Maryland.
In order to increase the profitability of the project, Santos, with the aid of Cottone and Michael Featherston, 45, of Bridgeton, New Jersey, demanded that certain employees kickback a percentage of their weekly paychecks or face termination. In February 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) was tipped off that the Sands Mechanical employees were being forced to kickback portions of their salary and were not being paid the prevailing wage for Burlington County. Santos conceded that Sands Mechanical failed to pay the proper prevailing wage to its employees and agreed to repay $80,000 to those deprived employees. Santos cut settlement checks to those employees who were owed back wages. However, Cottone and Featherston warned those employees not to cash their settlement checks. Instead, Cottone and Featherston took the employees to a nearby check cashing business, where they endorsed their checks over to Cottone, who cashed them and returned the funds to Santos.
The general contractor’s site manager was routinely critical of the work performance of Sands Mechanical’s employees, which, at times, necessitated that work be done over. Cottone was told to physically incapacitate the site manager so that he could no longer supervise the work site. Afterwards, Cottone recruited an assailant to physically attack the site manager. On June 10, 2010, the assailant opted instead to hit the site manager with his car and called Cottone for permission to carry out the deed. After Cottone gave the “go-ahead” the assailant and two friends ran down the site manager while he was riding his bike. The victim sustained multiple serious injuries.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Rodriguez sentenced Cottone to serve three years of supervised release.
Santos pleaded guilty on April 14, 2014 and awaits sentencing. Featherston pleaded guilty on Jan. 10, 2012 and was sentenced to one year in prison on Feb. 10, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Garcia; the Department of Labor-Wage and Hour Division, under the direction of Acting Regional Administrator Mark Watson Jr.; the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leo S. Lamont, Northeast field office; and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent Seth Neville, detachment commander, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel V. Grady O’Malley and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Bruck of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime-Gangs Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Richard Sparaco Esq., Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Nigerian Man Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Role in Computer Hacking Scheme That Targeted Government EmployeesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. - A Nigerian man was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for his role in a computer hacking and identity theft scheme that defrauded vendors of nearly $1 million of office products after “phishing” e-mail login information from government employees, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Abiodun Adejohn, a/k/a “James Williams,” a/k/a “Olawale Adeyemi,” a/k/a “Abiodun Ade John,” a/k/a “Abiodun Ade-John,” 31, of Nigeria, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud conspiracy. Judge Walls imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The scheme employed “phishing” attacks, which used fraudulent e-mails and websites that mimicked the legitimate e-mails and web pages of U.S. government agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Employees of those agencies visited the fake web pages and provided their e-mail account usernames and passwords.
Adejohn and his conspirators used these stolen credentials to access the employees’ e-mail accounts in order to place fraudulent orders for office products, typically printer toner cartridges, in the employees’ names from vendors who were authorized to do business with U.S. government agencies. Adejohn and his conspirators directed the vendors to ship the fraudulent orders to individuals in New Jersey and elsewhere to be repackaged and ultimately shipped to overseas locations controlled by Adejohn and his conspirators. Once the orders were received in Nigeria, Adejohn and his conspirators sold the toner cartridges to another individual on the black market for profit.
Adejohn was arrested in Arizona on Sept. 24, 2013, and has been detained since his arrest. In addition to the prison term, Judge Walls sentenced Adejohn to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $630,806.48 in resitution.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas Muskett; General Services Administration OIG, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Paul Walton; Department of Commerce OIG, under the direction of Todd J. Zinser; Department of Defense, Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Director James Burch; and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana W. Chen, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Assistant Federal Public Defender John Yauch Esq., Newark
Essex County, New Jersey, Man Sentenced to 148 Months in Prison for Armed Carjacking and Bribing A Corrections Officer to Smuggle Contraband into Essex County JailRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Newark, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 148 months in prison for his role in an armed carjacking and subsequent involvement in a scheme to bribe a corrections officer to smuggle contraband, including marijuana and cell phones, into the Essex County Correctional Facility, a federal pretrial detention facility, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Quasim Nichols, 30, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper to an information charging him with one count of committing an armed carjacking and one count of conspiring with others, including Essex County Corrections Officer Stephon Solomon, 27, of Irvington, New Jersey, to commit extortion under color of official right. Judge Cooper imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to the documents filed in this case, other cases, and statements made in court:
On May 28, 2012, Nichols and three men were traveling in a gray Dodge Magnum toward Elizabeth, New Jersey. Nichols was driving the vehicle. Upon arriving in Elizabeth, the three men exited the car and approached a 2005 BMW 645. The men pointed handguns in the direction of the BMW’s passengers and ordered them out of the car. Two of the men then entered the BMW and drove it away. The third man re-entered the Dodge Magnum driven by Nichols. The third man was carrying a black Taurus Millennium semi-automatic handgun and a cell phone that had been stolen from one of the occupants of the BMW. Nichols and the third man drove away and followed the stolen BMW.
While driving away from the scene, multiple police vehicles activated their overhead lights and turned on their sirens in an effort to stop Nichols. Nichols continued to drive the Dodge Magnum at a high rate of speed from Elizabeth into Newark, drove through a red light and struck a vehicle at the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Market Street. The driver of the other vehicle suffered serious injury. Nichols and the other man then attempted to flee the area on foot.
Subsequently, while detained at the Essex County Correctional Facility on the armed carjacking charge, Nichols conspired with others, including Solomon, Dwayne Harper, 31, of Newark, and Darsell Davis, 29, of Newark, to pay cash bribes to Solomon so that he would smuggle contraband – including cell phones, tobacco, and marijuana – into the Essex County Correctional Facility. After Davis and Harper collected the contraband, Davis delivered the items and cash bribes to Solomon, who then smuggled the contraband to Nichols. Nichols ultimately sold the marijuana and cell phones to other inmates. The inmates purchasing marijuana and cell phones had their friends and family pay for the items by sending Western Union money transfers to Nichols, who enlisted Davis and others to retrieve those payments. Davis obtained at least $4,300 in Western Union payments for Nichols.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cooper sentenced Nichols to serve five years of supervised release.
Solomon pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit extortion under color of official right and was sentenced to 18 months in prison on March 25, 2015. Davis pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit extortion under color of official right and was sentenced to 15 months in prison on March 23, 2015. Harper pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle marijuana into the Essex County Correctional Facility and was sentenced to 12 months in prison on March 23, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark; investigators with the Internal Affairs Division of Essex County Correctional Facility, under the leadership of Warden Roy Hendricks; the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Director Eugene Venable and Chief Anthony Campos; and the Elizabeth Police Department, under the direction of Director James Cosgrove, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jim Donnelly and Rob Frazer of the Criminal Division, Organized Crime/Gangs Unit, and Rahul Agarwal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Special Prosecutions Division, in Newark.
Defense counsel: Michael J. Pappa Esq., Hazlet, New Jersey
‘Dirty Block’ Atlantic City, New Jersey, Gang Member Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison on Drug Conspiracy and Weapons ChargesRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – An Atlantic City, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 156 months in prison for distributing heroin on behalf of a criminal street gang that used threats, intimidation and violence to maintain control of the illegal drug trade in Atlantic City, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Saeed Zaffa, a/k/a “Seed,” 25, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas to a superseding information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and one count of possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon. Judge Irenas imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this and other cases and statements made in court:
Zaffa was a member of a gang known as “Dirty Block,” a/k/a “Crime Fam,” “3.6.6.12,” or “3.6,” which operated in a geographic area of Atlantic City that includes the public housing apartment complexes of Stanley Holmes Village Public Housing Complex, Renaissance Plaza and Schoolhouse Apartments.
From October 2010 through February 2013, Zaffa received heroin from Mykal Derry, 34, of Atlantic City, one of the gang’s leaders, and distributed the drugs to other conspirators throughout Atlantic City. Zaffa, a previously convicted felon, was also found in possession of a .40 caliber handgun when he was stopped by Atlantic County police officers on March 11, 2013.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Irenas sentenced Zaffa to serve 10 years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Division, Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor James P. McClain; the Atlantic City Police Department, under the direction of Chief Henry White; and the South Jersey Safe Streets Violent Incident and Gang (Safe Streets) Task Force, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
He also thanked the N.J. State Police; the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Northfield Police Department; the Vineland Police Department; the Brigantine Police Department; the Millville Police Department; the Mullica Township Police Department; the South Jersey Transportation Authority; and the U.S. Secret Service for their contributions.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Askin and Justin Danilewitz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Edmund Burgos of the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
Defense Counsel: Edward F. Borden Esq., Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Union City, New Jersey, Man Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Operating Supposed Charity as Illegal Bank, Falsifying TaxesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. - A Union City, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for operating a supposed charitable organization, or “gemach,” as an unchartered bank, accepting millions of dollars in deposits – including nearly $1 million of his own money – which he shielded from state or federal regulation, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Moshe Schwartz, 34, a/k/a “David Schwartz” or “Gedalya David Schwartz,” previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares to two counts of an information: operating an unchartered bank and aiding and assisting in the filing of a false 2007 tax return. Judge Linares imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to the information and statements made in court:
Schwartz operated Gemach Shefa Chaim (GSC), purportedly to provide interest-free loans to needy members of the Sanz community in Union City. During his guilty plea proceeding, Schwartz admitted he operated GSC as a bank, with millions of dollars in deposits and more than 350 client accounts by July 2009.
To operate a bank in the United States, a bank is required to obtain a charter from the United States or the state in which the bank operates. Chartered banks are subject to oversight, regulation, and periodic review by federal and state authorities. Neither Schwartz nor GSC had such a charter.
Schwartz admitted that, in operating GSC as a bank, he accepted deposits and credited clients’ accounts, wrote checks from GSC as directed by clients, made transfers between accounts, disbursed client funds upon request, negotiated GSC checks presented by persons other than the named payees, conducted wire transfers, provided clients with receipts of transactions, charged clients a fee for bounced checks and provided overdraft notices to clients. Schwartz also admitted that he opened and maintained various bank accounts at financial institutions in or around North Jersey in the name of GSC and used those institutions to deposit client funds, negotiate checks, provide clients with GSC checks and conduct wire transfers. Because client funds were deposited into and commingled within GSC’s bank accounts at financial institutions, the funds could only be traced back to GSC, thereby concealing the true ownership, nature and source of the funds. Many clients were thus able to use their GSC accounts to engage in suspicious and, at times, illegal activities, including evading federal taxes and money laundering.
Schwartz also admitted that he provided false and fraudulent information to his tax preparer in Union City concerning his income for tax year 2007, falsely representing that his income was $24,475 when it was approximately $208,845. Schwartz admitted that he used his own GSC account and a false identity to conceal his income and assets from the IRS, causing a $74,889 tax loss.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Linares sentenced Schwartz to serve two years supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $74,889 and a $60,000 fine.
GSC bank accounts were seized in July 2009 and approximately $500,000 was ultimately forfeited. The accounts had been used by Moshe Altman, 45, Itzak Friedlander, 47, and Shimon Haber, 39, to launder proceeds that cooperating witness Solomon Dwek, 42, had purported to be the proceeds of illegal activities. Altman pleaded guilty in December 2010, to, among other things, conspiring to launder monetary instruments and was sentenced in March 2011 to 41 months in prison. Friedlander pleaded guilty in April 2010 to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and was sentenced in April 2011 to 24 months in prison. Haber pleaded guilty to the same charge in January 2010 and was sentenced in May 2010 to five months in prison.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing; as well as the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Francis L. Mace; and the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Ryan, for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark J. McCarren of the Special Prosecutions Division and Frances C. Bajada of the Criminal Division in Newark.
South Jersey Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Tax FraudRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Salem County, New Jersey, tax preparer today admitted her role in a conspiracy to prepare false and fraudulent income tax returns, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Grace Garrett, 63, of Pittsgrove, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden federal court to an information charging her with conspiring to aid and assist others in the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns for the tax years 2007 through 2011.
Garrett was a tax preparer at Pender Tax Services in Rosenhayn, New Jersey, through which she and others committed crimes resulting in tax losses of more than $340,000.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
For the tax years 2007 through 2011, Garrett and a conspirator sought to generate increased referrals, enhance their business, and enrich themselves by preparing and filing income tax returns based on false information. They used a number of fraudulent practices, including falsely claiming a filer was a “head of household;” inventing and inflating deductions; creating fictitious dependents; and creating false credits for education and childcare.
Although taxpayers generally met with Garrett or the conspirator to provide information to prepare their tax returns, it was routinely the conspirator whose name appeared as preparer of the return. The bogus returns resulted in a tax loss to the government of more than $340,000.
The conspiracy charge to which Garrett pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 11, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
Defense counsel: Christopher O’Malley Esq., Camden
garrett_grace_information.pdf (304.81 KB)
Former Vice President at Traffic Safety Equipment Company Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A former vice president at a South Plainfield, New Jersey, traffic safety equipment business was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for evading income taxes on more than $2 million in withdrawals he made from the business for his own use, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Anthony R. Pecoraro, 52, of Colts Neck, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to an information charging him with one count of tax evasion. Judge Walls imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Pecoraro worked in 2008 and 2009 at Traffic Safety Service LLC, which provided traffic safety equipment and other traffic related services to local and state municipalities and private businesses. In connection with his position as a vice president, he had access to the company’s business account.
During his guilty plea proceeding, Pecoraro admitted he wrote checks for unauthorized cash withdrawals for a total of approximately $2,126,200 between June 2008 and December 2009, which he took for personal use. Pecoraro acknowledged he failed to report this money as taxable income for calendar years 2008 and 2009 in the amounts of $563,800 and $1,562,400, respectively, and that if he had reported the additional cash on his income tax returns he would have owed the government approximately $733,970.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Walls sentenced Pecocaro to serve three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $1,241,604.91in restitution to the IRS.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Newark Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly; and special agents with IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lakshmi Srinivasan Herman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: John McDonald Esq., Somerville, New Jersey
Drug Trafficking Organization Distributor Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Sell Heroin in New JerseyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Brick, New Jersey, member of a large-scale drug trafficking organization was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for distributing heroin in Ocean and Monmouth counties and elsewhere in New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Richard Durham, 28, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to distribute heroin. Judge Sheridan imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
In March 2014, 19 other alleged members of the drug trafficking organization of which Durham was a member were charged by criminal complaint with conspiring to distribute heroin. The complaint referred to the drug trafficking organization as the “Britt-Young DTO,” after its leaders, Robert Britt, a/k/a “True,” and Rufus Young, a/k/a “Equan,” a/k/a “E-Money,” a/k/a “Kintock.” Of those 19 individuals, 14 have pleaded guilty.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From November 2013 through March 2014, Durham conspired with Rufus Young and others to distribute heroin in Ocean and Monmouth counties as part of the Britt-Young DTO. At his plea hearing, Durham admitted he possessed and distributed between 60 and 80 grams of heroin.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Sheridan sentenced Durham to serve three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, Red Bank Resident Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Grippo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense Counsel: Scott Krasny Esq., West Trenton, New Jersey
Continuance Ordered in U.S. V. Baroni and KellyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Upon the joint application of the government and defense counsel, U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton today issued a continuance order in the case of U.S. v. William E. Baroni Jr. and Bridget Anne Kelly.
The order sets a new trial date of Nov. 16, 2015, and sets out a schedule for pretrial motions. The order is attached.
baroni_-_kelly_continuance_order.pdf (106.23 KB)
Two New York Men Convicted of Defrauding Home Depot Through Elaborate ‘Double-Dipping’ SchemeRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – Two Brooklyn, New York, men were convicted today of defrauding Home Depot out of more than $250,000 through an elaborate “double-dipping” scheme that they committed at various Home Depot locations throughout the United States, including New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Renauld Medard, 74, and Wesly Dieudonne, 30, were convicted on all counts of an indictment charging each defendant with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. They were convicted following a four-day trial before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court. The jury deliberated for four hours before returning the verdict.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:
As part of the scheme, Medard and Dieudonne purchased various items from Home Depot locations in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Connecticut and Pennsylvania using cash, credit cards or store credit. Medard and Dieudonne also went to Home Depot stores and compiled identical sets of goods as listed in receipts from previous purchases. Under the guise that they had forgotten to purchase an item, usually an inexpensive one, they used receipts from previous purchases to deceive cashiers into believing that the new sets of goods had already been bought.
Medard and Dieudonne also went to Home Depot to return items stolen in the scheme. In some instances, they presented a receipt in order to effectuate the return. In other instances, they obtained a refund for store credit without presenting a receipt. From July 2009 through November 2011, Medard and Dieudonne fraudulently obtained Home Depot store credit and refunds totaling over $250,000.
The counts of wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for July 30, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Carl Agnelli, for the investigation leading to today’s verdict.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Eskew and Andrew D. Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
Two Members of ‘Dirty Block’ Atlantic City, New Jersey, Gang Each Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison on Drug Conspiracy and Weapons ChargesRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – Two Atlantic City, New Jersey, men were each sentenced to 240 months in prison today for their roles in a criminal street gang that used threats, intimidation and violence to maintain control of the illegal drug trade in Atlantic City, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Lamar Macon, 26, and Dominique Venable, 25, were previously convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, brandishing and discharging firearms in furtherance of the conspiracy and using a cellular telephone in furtherance of the conspiracy. Macon, Venable, Kareem Bailey, 21, and Terry Davis, 26, all of Atlantic City, were each convicted following a six-week trial before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas, who imposed the sentences for Macon and Venable today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence presented at trial:
The four men are members of a gang known as “Dirty Block,” a/k/a “Crime Fam,” “3.6.6.12,” or “3.6,” which operated in a geographic area of Atlantic City that includes the public housing apartment complexes of Stanley Holmes Village Public Housing Complex, Renaissance Plaza and Schoolhouse Apartments.
The defendants participated in a violent street-level drug trafficking organization that controlled heroin sales through the possession of dozens of firearms and the use of gun violence, including at least one homicide and several non-fatal, drug-related shootings.
In addition to the prison terms, Judge Irenas sentenced both Macon and Venable to serve 10 years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Division, Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor James P. McClain; the Atlantic City Police Department, under the direction of Chief Henry White; and the South Jersey Safe Streets Violent Incident and Gang (Safe Streets) Task Force, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
He also thanked the N.J. State Police; the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Northfield Police Department; the Vineland Police Department; the Brigantine Police Department; the Millville Police Department; the Mullica Township Police Department; the South Jersey Transportation Authority; and the U.S. Secret Service for their contributions.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Askin and Justin Danilewitz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Edmund Burgos of the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
Defense Counsel:
Macon: William Spade Esq., Philadelphia
Venable: James Murphy Esq., Princeton, New Jersey
New Jersey Doctor Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison for Taking Bribes in Test-Referrals Scheme Involving New Jersey Clinical LabRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A doctor with a medical practice in Montclair, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 14 months in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for test referrals as part of a long-running and elaborate scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), of Parsippany, New Jersey, its president and numerous associates, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Franklin Dana Fortunato, 65, of Montville, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to violating the Federal Travel Act, as well as filing a false tax return. Judge Chesler imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
Including Fortunato, 38 people – 26 of them doctors – have pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies. The investigation has so far recovered more than $11 million to date through forfeiture.
According to documents filed in this and related cases and statements made in court:
Furtunato admitted he accepted bribes in return for referring patient blood specimens to BLS. Fortunato received more than $100,000 in bribe payments – often more than $5,000 per month – from BLS disguised through sham lease and sham service agreements between 2006 and 2009. BLS made more than $430,000 through testing on blood specimens referred by Fortunato.
Fortunato admitted that he failed to report those bribes as income. From 2004 to 2008, he also failed to disclose and report as income $540,000 in patient co-pays and other monies paid to him by other health care providers. Fortunato failed to pay more than $160,000 in taxes he owed as a result of that unreported income.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Fortunato to one year of supervised release and ordered him to pay a fine of $75,000. As part of the plea deal, he must forfeit more than $635,000.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert; IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; and inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates, with the ongoing investigation.
The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Andrew Leven; Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph N. Minish; Jacob T. Elberg, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Ward, Chief of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman reorganized the health care fraud practice at the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office shortly after taking office, including creating a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses. Since 2010, the office has recovered more than $635 million in health care fraud and government fraud settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other statutes.
Defense counsel: Ricardo Solano Esq., Newark
Former Warren County, New Jersey, Title Agent Sentenced to 66 Months in Prison for Her Role in Multi-Million Dollar Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. - A former real estate title agent was sentenced today to 66 months in prison for carrying out a mortgage fraud scheme in which she obtained seven loans, totaling more than $3.7 million, on two properties located in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey and Belvidere, New Jersey, U.S Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Ania Nowak, 48, of Belvidere, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to Count One of the superseding indictment charging her with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Judge Chesler imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Ania Nowak was the owner and operator of A.N. Title Agency LLC and was an agent for Stewart Title Guaranty Company. Nowak had a duty to review a property’s title to determine ownership and the existence of any prior liens and truthfully disclose them in the title insurance documents. She also had a duty to issue title insurance policies to lenders guaranteeing there were no other liens so that they would be first in line to have the property sold if the borrower stopped making mortgage payments. Nowak also acted as a settlement agent and was required to disburse loan money in accordance with lender instructions, pay off any existing liens and record loan documents in the appropriate county clerk’s office.
Nowak admitted her role in obtaining seven mortgage loans through fraudulent means, including: an April 2005 loan for her sham sale of the Wood-Ridge property to her husband, Zbigniew Cichy, 46, of Belvidere; a November 2005 refinancing loan for the Wood-Ridge property; a 2005 construction loan to build a house on the Belvidere property owned by Cichy; an August 2006 loan on the Belvidere property; May 2007 loans for a sham sale of the Belvidere property to another conspirator in the scheme, Kim Salvemini, 60, of Wallington, New Jersey ; Salvemini’s May 2007 refinancing loan on the Belvidere property; and Cichy’s November 2007 refinancing loan on the Belvidere property. Nowak admitted that, for each of the seven loans, she lied on loan documents, failed to pay off prior mortgages at closing, failed to record the mortgages and any deeds and that most of the loans went into default for non-payment.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Nowak to serve three years of supervised release and ordered her to pay restitution of $2,050,975.34.
Salvemini previously pleaded guilty to her role and was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay restitution of $881,324.00 on May 6, 2015. Cichy also pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme and was sentenced to four months in prison and ordered to pay $2,050,975.34 in restitution on May 5, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shirley U. Emehelu and Senior Litigation Counsel Leslie F. Schwartz of the Economic Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.
Today’s sentencing is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorney’s offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
Defense counsel: Peter R. Willis Esq., Jersey City, New Jersey
Union County, New Jersey, Man Admits Recruiting A Girl to Work as A ProstituteRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Plainfield, New Jersey, man today admitted arranging sexual encounters involving a 15-year-old girl in return for payment, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Ronald Garris Jr., 30, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of sex trafficking of a minor.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Garris admitted that on June 14, 2013, he met a 15-year-old girl at a Best Western Hotel in South Plainfield, New Jersey, and recruited her to work as a prostitute. On June 18, 2013, Garris posted an advertisement on backpage.com that contained explicit photographs of the girl, including her telephone number and the town in which she was located. Garris admitted arranging “dates” in which the girl was expected to perform sexual acts in exchange for payment. Garris also admitted that on June 21, 2013, the girl went to the Howard Johnson Express Inn in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for sexual encounters that he arranged.
The count of sex trafficking of a minor is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison. It also carries a maximum fine of $250,000. Garris must register as a sex offender. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 18, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; the New Brunswick Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office with the investigation leading to today’s plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith Williams and Danielle Corcione of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: Assistant Federal Public Defender Linda Foster Esq., Newark
garris_ronald_information.pdf (72.37 KB)
Two Employees of Information Technology Companies Arrested for Harboring Foreign WorkersRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. –Two employees of SCM Data Inc. and MMC Systems Inc. were arrested today for their alleged roles in a scheme that fraudulently used the H1-B visa program to reduce skilled labor costs, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Hiral Patel, 32, and Shikha Mohta, 31, both of Jersey City, New Jersey, were each charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to bring in and harbor aliens and to obstruct justice. They are scheduled to make their initial court appearances this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Falk in Newark federal court.
According to the complaint:
SCM Data and MMC Systems offered consultants to clients in need of IT support. Both companies recruited foreign nationals, often student visa holders or recent college graduates, and sponsored them for H-1B visas. The H1-B program allows businesses in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers with specialized or technical expertise in a particular field, such as accounting, engineering or computer science. As part of the H-1B program, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) require employers to meet specific labor conditions to ensure that American workers are not adversely impacted, while the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division safeguards the treatment and compensation of H-1B workers. Congress sets a numerical cap for the admission of skilled workers into the United States.
Patel, Mohta and other conspirators recruited foreign workers with purported IT expertise who sought work in the United States. The conspirators then sponsored the foreign workers’ H1-B visas with the stated purpose of working for SCM Data and MMC Systems’ clients throughout the United States. When submitting the visa paperwork to the DHS, the conspirators falsely represented that the foreign workers had full-time positions and were paid an annual salary, as required to secure the H-1B visas. Contrary to these representations and in violation of the H-1B program, Patel, Mohta and others paid the foreign workers only when they were placed at a third-party client who entered into a contract with SCM Data or MMC Systems.
In some instances, Patel, Mohta and others generated false payroll records to create the appearance that the foreign workers were paid full-time wages. On multiple occasions the conspirators required workers to pay SCM Data or MMC Systems their gross wages in cash. In exchange, SCM Data or MMC Systems would subtract taxes and fees and issue payroll checks to the foreign workers in a smaller amount. The conspirators then encouraged the foreign workers to submit the bogus payroll checks to the DHS as proof that the workers were engaged in full-time work despite the fact that they were not working for SCM Data and MMC Systems.
This scheme provided Patel, Mohta and others with a labor pool of inexpensive, skilled foreign workers who could be used on an “as needed” basis. The scheme was profitable because it required minimal overhead, and SCM Data and MMC Systems could charge significant hourly rates for the foreign workers’ services. The conspirators earned a substantial profit margin when a foreign worker was assigned to a project and incurred few costs when a foreign worker was without billable work.
The conspiracy charge with which Patel and Mohta are charged carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly, and the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Garcia, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony Moscato and Francisco J. Navarro of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
patel_hiral_and_mohta_shikha_complaint.pdf (1.18 MB)
Leader of Drug Trafficking Organization Admits Conspiring to Sell Kilograms of Heroin in New JerseyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A leader of a large-scale drug trafficking organization today admitted conspiring to distribute heroin in Ocean and Monmouth counties and elsewhere in New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Rufus Young, a/k/a “Equan,” a/k/a “E-Money,” of Asbury Park, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with conspiring to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.
In March 2014, 19 other alleged members of the drug trafficking organization of which Young was a leader were charged by criminal complaint with conspiring to distribute heroin. The complaint referred to the drug trafficking organization as the “Britt-Young DTO,” after its leaders, Young and Robert Britt, a/k/a “True.” Of those 19 individuals, 14 have pleaded guilty.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between February 2013 and March 2014, Young conspired with others to distribute heroin in Ocean and Monmouth counties as part of the Britt-Young DTO. Young was a leader of the organization and was responsible for, among other things, supplying heroin to various sub-dealers who distributed the heroin to others. To carry out Britt-Young DTO’s drug trafficking business, Young maintained several stash house locations that he and his conspirators used to package, store and sell heroin, including a recording studio in Toms River and two apartments in Neptune, New Jersey. Young was responsible for distributing between one and three kilograms of heroin during the conspiracy.
The narcotics conspiracy charge to which Young pleaded carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 19, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, Red Bank Resident Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; officers of the Brick Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Nils R. Bergquist: and officers of the Toms River Police Department, under the direction of Chief Mitchell Little, with the investigation. He additionally credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George P. Belsky; inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates; officers of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni; and officers of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato. He also thanked the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office and the Neptune Township, Asbury Park, Marlboro, Long Branch and Freehold police departments for their roles in the case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Grippo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: Stacy A. Biancamano Esq., West Orange, New Jersey
young_rufus_information.pdf (712.75 KB)
Five Essex County Men Charged in Heroin Distribution RingRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Five Essex County, New Jersey, men were arraigned today on charges they ran an illegal drug mill that distributed at least one kilogram of heroin, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman announced.
On April 28, 2015, a federal grand jury in Newark indicted each of the following defendants with one count of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute, and one count of conspiring to distribute, one kilogram or more of a mixture and substance containing heroin:
a. Lateef Grimsley, 25, of Newark, previously arrested and charged by complaint on Nov. 13, 2013.
b. Daquwann Walker, 24, of Newark, previously arrested and charged by complaint on Nov. 15, 2013.
c. Rassol China, 33, of Newark, previously arrested and charged by complaint on Nov. 22, 2013.
d. Bryant Rudd, 26, of Newark, previously arrested and charged by complaint on Feb. 11, 2014.
e. Shakur Billinghurst, 21, of Newark, previously arrested and charged by complaint on April 6, 2015.
The defendants were arraigned today before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares in Newark federal court.
According to the indictment, other documents filed in this case, and statements made in court:
During a drug trafficking investigation, special agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) obtained information that the third-floor apartment of a building located in Newark was being used as a heroin mill. DEA special agents seized from the heroin mill more than one kilogram of heroin and a variety of drug paraphernalia and packaging materials.
Each of the two counts with which the defendants are charged carries a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison and a maximum term of life, and a $10 million fine.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Special Agent in Charge Carl Kotowski in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry A. Kamar of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel:
Grimsley: Angelo Servidio Esq., Nutley, N.J.
Walker: David A. Holman AFPD, Newark
China: Peter R. Willis Esq., Jersey City, N.J.
Rudd: Vincent J. Lapaglia Esq., Hoboken, N.J.
Billinghurst: Bruce S. Rosen Esq., Florham Park, N.J.
grimsley_lateef_et_al._indictment.pdf (195.55 KB)
Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for His Role in $65 Million Stolen Identity Income Tax Refund Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Hazleton, Pennsylvania, man was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for his role in one of the nation’s largest and longest-running stolen identity refund fraud schemes ever prosecuted, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Porfirio Paredes, 47, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, one count of theft of government funds and one count of aggravated identity theft. Judge Cecchi imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
The conspiracy caused more than 8,000 fraudulent U.S. income tax returns to be filed, which sought more than $65 million in tax refunds and resulted in losses to the United States of more than $12 million.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) is a common type of fraud that results in over $2 billion in losses annually to the U.S. Treasury. SIRF schemes generally share a number of hallmarks:
- SIRF perpetrators obtain personal identifying information, including Social Security numbers and dates of birth, from unwitting individuals, who often reside in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
- SIRF participants complete Individual Income Tax Return 1040 Forms using the fraudulently obtained information and falsifying wages earned, taxes withheld and other data. Perpetrators use data to make it appear that the “taxpayers” listed on the fraudulent 1040 form are entitled to tax refunds – when in fact, the various tax withholdings indicated have not been paid and no refunds are due;
- SIRF perpetrators direct the U.S. Treasury Department to issue the refunds through checks to locations they control or can access, in various ways;
- SIRF perpetrators generate cash proceeds. Some sell the checks at a discount to face value. The buyers then cash the checks at banks or check cashing businesses or deposit them into bank accounts.
Federal law enforcement agencies, recognizing that SIRF was a serious problem, created a multi-agency task force in New Jersey comprised of investigators from the IRS and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, along with the U.S. Secret Service, and with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration (the “New Jersey Task Force”).
An investigation led by the New Jersey Task Force with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations has revealed that starting as early as 2007, dozens of individuals in the New Jersey and New York area have been engaged in a large-scale, long-running SIRF scheme.
Members of the conspiracy obtained personal identifiers, such as dates of birth and Social Security numbers, belonging to Puerto Rican citizens. They used those identifiers to create fake 1040 forms, which falsely reported wages purportedly earned by the “taxpayers” and taxes purportedly withheld, to create the appearance that the “taxpayers” were entitled to tax refunds. The returns were filed electronically. By tracing the specific IP addresses that submitted them, law enforcement officers learned just a handful of IP addresses created many of the fraudulent forms that led to the issuance of tax refund checks.
Paredes and the other members of the conspiracy then gained control of checks, sometimes bribing mail carriers to intercept checks and deliver them to other members of the conspiracy. Paredes used conspirators in Michigan and North Carolina to negotiate the fraudulently obtained treasury checks that he bought and sold.
During the course of the investigation, members of the task force identified certain “hot spots” of activity and intercepted more than $22 million in fraudulently applied for refund checks before they were delivered to members of the conspiracy.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Paredes to serve two years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $1,887,912.98.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates; the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Carl Agnelli; and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Carl. J. Kotowski, for the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Alfonzo Walsman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Health Care and Government Fraud Unit.
Defense counsel: Alex Jardines Esq., Union City, New Jersey
Two Members of Drug Trafficking Organization Admit Conspiring to Sell Heroin in New JerseyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – Two members of a large-scale drug trafficking organization today admitted conspiring to distribute heroin in Ocean and Monmouth counties, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Robert Ketcham, 28, of Bayville, New Jersey, and Kenneth Greenhow, 41, of Asbury Park, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to separate informations charging them each with one count of conspiring to distribute heroin.
In March 2014, 21 alleged members of the “Britt-Young DTO,” a drug trafficking organization named after its leaders, Robert Britt and Rufus Young, were charged by criminal complaint with conspiring to distribute heroin. Of those 21 individuals, 14 have pleaded guilty.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between February 2013 and December 2013, Ketcham conspired with Young and others to distribute heroin in Ocean and Monmouth counties as part of the Britt-Young DTO. From October 2013 through March 2014, Greenhow also conspired with Young and others to distribute heroin on behalf of the Britt-Young DTO. Ketcham and Greenhow were collectively responsible for distributing between 60 and 100 grams of heroin.
The narcotics conspiracy charge to which Ketcham and Greenhow pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and $1 million fine. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for Aug. 18, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, Red Bank Resident Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty pleas.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Grippo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense Counsel:
Ketcham: Michael A. Armstrong Esq., Willingboro, New Jersey
Greenhow: Mark G. Davis Esq., Hamilton, New Jersey
Union County, New Jersey, Man Federally Charged with Robbing One Bank and Attempting to Rob Another While Using A FirearmRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Union County, New Jersey, man who allegedly robbed one bank and attempted to rob another at gunpoint has been charged federally, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Marlon Peek, 39, of Plainfield, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of bank robbery, one count of attempted bank robbery, and one count of using and brandishing a firearm during the commission of the attempted bank robbery. Peek was arrested by the Linden Police Department on May 6, 2015. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is adopting the case for federal prosecution. Peek will have his initial court appearance in Newark federal court at a date to be determined.
According to the complaint:
On April 21, 2015, Peek allegedly robbed a PNC Bank in South Plainfield, New Jersey, of cash, including certain bills whose serial numbers had been recorded in advance (bait money). Later that day, at an address associated with Peek, law enforcement observed a vehicle registered to Peek. The defendant exited his vehicle and fled on foot. Law enforcement later found some of the bait money from the PNC Bank robbery as well as Peek’s driver’s license, among other items, in the vehicle.
On May 6, 2015, Peek allegedly attempted to rob a Bank of America in Linden, New Jersey. He allegedly entered the Bank of America, pointed a gun directly at a teller, and demanded money. Due in part to the Bank of America branch having bullet-proof glass in front of the teller station, the teller refused to turn over money to Peek.
Peek fled the bank and allegedly attempted to carjack three cars, all at gunpoint, on or near Route 1 in Linden. After the three unsuccessful attempts to commandeer a car, Peek took a hostage and held a gun to the hostage’s head. Officers of the Linden Police Department, who had by then arrived on the scene, ordered Peek to drop his gun. Peek complied and was taken into custody. A loaded firearm was recovered.
The bank robbery and attempted bank robbery charges each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of brandishing a weapon during the attempted robbery of Bank of America carries a mandatory seven-year sentence to be served consecutively with any other sentence.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel, for the investigation leading to the arrest and charges. He also thanked the Linden, Edison, South Plainfield, Middlesex, Dunellen, and Springfield Police Departments for their excellent work in this case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisa T. Wiygul of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and the allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
peek_marlon_complaint.pdf (341.28 KB)
New Jersey Summer Camps Must Reasonably Accommodate Children with DisabilitiesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – With summer approaching, parents are making arrangements to send their children to camps. To help ensure that children with disabilities receive the opportunity to attend summer camp, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today that it has sent the attached flyer to hundreds of summer camps located within the District of New Jersey, reminding them of their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“A disability is no reason to deny a child a chance to enjoy the friendships and learning experiences available at summer camps,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “Reasonable accommodations are not an option; they are a requirement under the law.”
Under the ADA, summer camps, both private and those run by municipalities, must make reasonable modifications to enable campers with disabilities to participate fully in all camp programs and activities. This generally means that children with disabilities are entitled to attend any camp or activity that non-disabled children attend, that camps must evaluate each child on an individual basis, and that camps must train their staff in the requirements of the ADA. Camps are obligated to pay for the cost of any reasonable modifications necessary for disabled children to participate in camp activities, and parents should not be charged any additional fee beyond standard camp enrollment costs.
Additional information about the ADA is available at www.ada.gov and http://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement.
camp_ada_flyer.pdf (58.21 KB)
Member of ‘Dirty Block’ Atlantic City, New Jersey, Gang Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison on Drug Conspiracy and Weapons ChargesRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A member of a criminal street gang that used threats, intimidation and violence to maintain control of the illegal drug trade in Atlantic City, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 240 months in prison on drug conspiracy and weapons charges, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Terry Davis, 26, of Atlantic City – was convicted in January 2015 of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, brandishing and discharging firearms in furtherance of the conspiracy and being a felon in possession of a weapon following a six-week trial before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas in Camden federal court. The jury deliberated approximately five hours before returning the verdicts.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence presented at trial:
Davis is a member of a gang known as “Dirty Block,” a/k/a “Crime Fam,” “3.6.6.12,” or “3.6,” which operated in a geographic area of Atlantic City that includes the public housing apartment complexes of Stanley Holmes Village Public Housing Complex, Renaissance Plaza and Schoolhouse Apartments. He participated in a violent street-level drug trafficking organization that controlled heroin sales through the possession of dozens of firearms and the use of gun violence, including at least one homicide and several non-fatal, drug-related shootings.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Irenas sentenced Davis to 10 years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Division, Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor James P. McClain; the Atlantic City Police Department, under the direction of Chief Henry White; and the South Jersey Safe Streets Violent Incident and Gang (Safe Streets) Task Force, with the investigation leading to today’s convictions.
He also thanked the N.J. State Police; the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Northfield Police Department; the Vineland Police Department; the Brigantine Police Department; the Millville Police Department; the Mullica Township Police Department; the South Jersey Transportation Authority; and the U.S. Secret Service for their contributions.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Askin and Justin Danilewitz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Edmund Burgos of the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
The charges and allegations against the other defendants arrested in this investigation are merely accusations and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense Counsel: Gina Capuano Esq., Philadelphia
Former Louis Berger Group Inc. Chairman, CEO, and President Sentenced to One Year of Home Confinement, Fined $4.5 Million, for 20-Year Conspiracy to Defraud Federal GovernmentRead the Press Release
Scheme Involved International Environmental Consulting Contracts, Including Reconstruction Contracts in Afghanistan and Iraq
TRENTON, N.J. – The former president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board of a New Jersey-based international engineering consulting company was sentenced today to 12 months of home confinement and fined $4.5 million for conspiring to defraud the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) with respect to billions of dollars in contracts over a nearly 20-year period, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Derish Wolff, 79, of Bernardsville, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson to a superseding information charging conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims. Judge Thompson imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Wolff, the former president and CEO of Morristown, New Jersey-based Louis Berger Group Inc. (LBG), and the former chairman of LBG’s parent company, Berger Group Holdings Inc. (BGH), led a conspiracy to defraud USAID by billing the agency on so-called “cost-reimbursable” contracts – including hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts for reconstructive work in Iraq and Afghanistan – for LBG’s overhead and other indirect costs at falsely inflated rates.
USAID, an independent federal government agency that advances U.S. foreign policy by supporting economic growth, agriculture, trade, global health, democracy, and humanitarian assistance in developing countries, including countries destabilized by violent conflict, awarded LBG hundreds of millions of dollars in reconstruction contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as in other nations. LBG calculated certain overhead rates and charged USAID and other federal agencies these rates on cost-reimbursable contracts, which enabled LBG to pass on their overhead costs to the agency in general proportion to how much labor LBG devoted to the government contracts.
From at least 1990 through July 2009, LBG, through Wolff and other former executives, intentionally overbilled USAID in connection with these cost-reimbursable contracts. The scheme to defraud the government was carried out by numerous LBG employees at the direction of Wolff.
Wolff targeted a particular overhead rate, irrespective of what the actual rate was, and ordered his subordinates to achieve that target rate through a variety of fraudulent means. From at least as early as 1990 through 2000, Wolff ordered LBG’s assistant controller to instruct the accounting department to pad its time sheets with hours ostensibly devoted to federal government projects when it had not actually worked on such projects.
At an LBG annual meeting in September 2001, Salvatore Pepe, who was then the controller and eventually became chief financial officer (CFO), presented a USAID overhead rate that was significantly below Wolff’s target. In response, Wolff denounced Pepe, called him an “assassin” of the overhead rate and ordered him to target a rate above 140 percent, meaning that for every dollar of labor devoted to a USAID contract, LBG would receive an additional $1.40 in overhead expenses supposedly incurred by LBG.
In response, Pepe and former controller Precy Pellettieri, with Wolff’s supervision, hatched a fraudulent scheme from 2003 through 2007 to systematically reclassify the work hours of LBG’s corporate employees, including high-ranking executives and employees in the general accounting division, to make it appear as if those employees worked on federal projects when they did not. At his plea hearing on Dec. 12, 2014, Wolff admitted that Pepe and Pellettieri, at Wolff’s direction, reclassified these hours without the employees’ knowledge and without investigating whether the employees had correctly accounted for their time, and at times did so over an employee’s objection.
In addition to padding employees’ work hours with fake hours supposedly devoted to USAID work, Wolff instructed his subordinates to charge all commonly shared overhead expenses, such as rent, at LBG’s Washington, D.C., office to an account created to capture USAID-related expenses, even though the D.C. office supported many projects unrelated to USAID or other federal government agencies.
On Nov. 5, 2010, Pepe and Pellettieri both pleaded guilty before then-U.S. Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz to separate informations charging them with conspiring to defraud the government with respect to claims. Also on that date, LBG resolved criminal and civil fraud charges related to Wolff’s and others’ conduct. The components of the settlement included:
• a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), pursuant to which the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey suspended prosecution of a criminal complaint charging LBG with a violation of the Major Fraud Statute; in exchange, LBG agreed, among other things, to pay $18.7 million in related criminal penalties; make full restitution to USAID; adopt effective standards of conduct, internal controls systems, and ethics training programs for employees; and employ an independent monitor who would evaluate and oversee the company’s compliance with the DPA for a two‑year period;
• a civil settlement that required the company to pay the government $50.6 million to resolve allegations that LBG violated the False Claims Act by charging inflated overhead rates that were used for invoicing on government contracts; and
• an administrative agreement between LBG and USAID, which was the primary victim of the fraudulent scheme.
In the settlement, the government took into consideration LBG’s cooperation with the investigation and the fact that those responsible for the wrongdoing were no longer associated with the company.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of USAID-Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Daniel Altman; the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Richard M. Frankel; the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Craig W. Rupert; and the former Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, under the direction of former Special Inspector General Stuart W. Bowen Jr., for the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland, and the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division for their roles in the case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott B. McBride, Deputy Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Economic Crimes Unit, and Joyce M. Malliet of the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Unit.
Defense counsel: Herbert J. Stern Esq.; Mark W. Rufolo Esq.; Jeffrey Speiser Esq.; Florham Park, New Jersey
U.S. Attorney’s Office Files Civil Complaint Against Heathcare Commons Inc. for Failure Re-Employ Returning ServicememberRead the Press Release
Alleges Violation of Employment Rights of Sergeant in Army National Guard
CAMDEN, N.J. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today it has filed a civil complaint against a South Jersey company for failing to re-employ a former employee when she returned from a National Guard deployment, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul J. Fishman announced.
The civil lawsuit, filed in Camden federal court, alleges that Healthcare Commons Inc., of Carneys Point, New Jersey, willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). USERRA protects the rights of uniformed servicemembers to retain their civilian employment following absences due to military service obligations and provides that they shall not be discriminated against because of their military obligations.
“The men and women who serve in our armed forces here and abroad do so at great personal sacrifice,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “Because of that sacrifice, federal law guarantees that they have the opportunity to resume their careers when they’ve completed their service. When companies seek to skirt their obligations to re-employ our returning veterans, we will hold them accountable.”
“No person should lose their job for serving our country, but according to our complaint that’s exactly what happened to a National Guard member here,” Acting Associate General Stuart F. Delery said. “Today’s filing is one more example of the Department of Justice’s commitment to protecting the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces from discrimination and unlawful actions.”
“The filing of this case reinforces the commitment of the Department of Justice to the vigorously enforce the prohibition of employment discrimination based on military service,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division, said. “I want to thank the Department of Labor for referring this case to the Department of Justice. I’m hopeful that through the department’s newly created Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative, we will continue to build on our strong ties with federal partners and continue using every tool at our disposal to protect the rights of the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces.”
According to the complaint:
Megan Toliver, 32, of New Castle, Delaware, is a former employee of Healthcare Commons. She joined the U.S. Army National Guard in September 2004 and, most recently, had served as a sergeant, with honorable service as a mental health specialist. When Toliver returned from her military deployment in May 2014, Healthcare Commons willfully violated USERRA by not re-employing her as a mental health screener or in another comparable position.
The case was referred by U.S. Department of Labor following an investigation by the department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service.
The plaintiff is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Campion, U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey, and Special Litigation Counsel Andrew Braniff, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Employment Law Section.
In March 2015, the Attorney General created of the Service Members and Veterans Initiative, which is led by three dedicated career Justice Department attorneys with strong ties to the military community. They will further the Department’s existing efforts by coordinating and expanding enforcement, outreach, and training efforts on behalf of service members, veterans, and their families. The initiative will address the unique challenges that service members face while on active duty, that veterans face upon returning home, and that families face when a loved one is deployed.
Additional information about USERRA can be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office website at www.justice.gov/usao-nj and the Justice Department’s websites at www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp and www.servicemembers.gov, as well as on the Labor Department’s website at www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/main.htm.
Middlesex County, New Jersey, Member of Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Conspiring to Sell HeroinRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Perth Amboy, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for conspiring to distribute hundreds of grams of heroin throughout Monmouth and Ocean counties, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Rashawn Ramos, 38, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and 500 grams or more of cocaine. Judge Sheridan imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
In March 2014, 21 alleged members of the “Britt-Young DTO,” a drug trafficking organization named after its leaders Robert Britt and Rufus Young, were charged by criminal complaint with conspiring to distribute heroin. Of those 21 individuals, 12 have pleaded guilty.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Ramos admitted that from November 2013 through March 2014, he received numerous packages of heroin and cocaine at his residence in Perth Amboy. The packages were sent from California via the U.S. Mail. Ramos later transferred the packages to another conspirator, who distributed the narcotics to others in New Jersey, including members of the Britt-Young DTO. Altogether, Ramos received at least 1,000 grams of heroin and 1,500 grams of cocaine.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Sheridan sentenced Ramos to serve four years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, Red Bank Resident Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Grippo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense Counsel: Ramos: Anthony Simonetti Esq., Hightstown, New Jersey
Cape May County, New Jersey, Man Admits Possessing Images of Child Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. - A West Wildwood, New Jersey man today admitted possessing images and videos of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Jeffrey Spicer, 44, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of knowingly possessing child pornography.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Spicer admitted that he possessed images and videos of child sexual abuse on electronic and digital media that were seized from his residence pursuant to a search warrant executed on March 19, 2014. According to a forensic examination of these items, numerous images and videos of child sexual exploitation were discovered, including images on his cellular telephone, which he saved by taking screenshot photos with the telephone. The forensic examination further revealed that Spicer was using a password-protected “app” on his cell phone to store the child pornography.
As a previously convicted sex offender in New Jersey and Delaware, Spicer faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 11, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly; the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Robert L. Taylor; the Lower Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief William Mastriana; and the West Wildwood Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jackie Ferentz, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Skahill of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Camden.
Defense counsel: Lisa Evans Lewis Esq., Camden
Alabama Man Sentenced to 17 and A Half Years in Prison for His Role in $15 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme, Including Attempted Murder of A WitnessRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Ventress, Alabama, man was sentenced today to 210 months in prison for conspiring to defraud financial institutions and launder stolen funds as part of a $15 million mortgage fraud scam that used phony documents and “straw buyers” to make illegal profits on overbuilt condos, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Kinard Henson, 43, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle to a second superseding indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of attempted murder of a witness in a federal case. Judge Simandle imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Henson was among 11 defendants charged in July 2012 with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Henson’s conspirators located oceanfront condominiums overbuilt by financially distressed developers and negotiated a buyout price with the sellers. They then caused the sales prices for the properties – located in Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood, New Jersey, other locations in New Jersey and in Naples, Florida – to be much higher than the buyout price to ensure large proceeds. Other defendants helped conceal the true sales prices of certain properties through inflated sales contracts and sale and finder’s fee agreements.
Henson and others recruited straw buyers to purchase certain properties at the inflated rates. The straw buyers had good credit scores but lacked the financial resources to qualify for mortgage loans. The conspirators created false documents, such as fake W-2 forms, pay stubs, bank statements and investment statements, to make the straw buyers appear more creditworthy than they actually were in order to induce the lenders to make the loans.
Henson’s conspirators also caused fraudulent mortgage loan applications in the name of the straw buyers, including the supporting documents, to be submitted to mortgage brokers that the brokers knew were false. Once the loans were approved and the mortgage lenders sent the loan proceeds in connection with real estate closings, Henson received a portion of the proceeds after his conspirators had funds wired or checks deposited into various accounts they controlled.
Henson learned of a subpoena seeking documents in connection with a straw buyer’s purchases of real estate properties shortly after it was served by federal law enforcement agents on a mortgage brokerage firm. Henson, who had recruited the straw buyer, contacted another individual to kill the straw buyer. They then lured the straw buyer to a wooded area in Mobile, Alabama. At Henson’s direction and using Henson’s firearm, the other individual shot the straw buyer multiple times.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Simandle sentenced Henson to serve five years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark; and IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew T. Smith and Jacqueline M. Carle of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
Defense counsel: Stanley King Esq., Woodbury, New Jersey
Two Doctors Each Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for Taking Bribes in Test-Referrals Scheme with New Jersey Clinical LabRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Two doctors were sentenced to prison today for accepting bribes in exchange for test referrals as part of a long-running and elaborate scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), of Parsippany, New Jersey, its president and numerous associates, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Eugene DeSimone, 60, of Eatontown, New Jersey, who practiced in Secaucus, and Franz Goyzueta, 67, of New York, who practiced in New York, were each sentenced to 37 months in prison. DeSimone and Goyzueta previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to separate informations charging them each with one count of accepting bribes. Judge Chesler imposed both sentences today in Newark federal court.
Including DeSimone and Goyzueta, 38 people – 26 of them doctors – have pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies. The investigation has so far recovered more than $10.5 million to date through forfeiture.
According to documents filed in this and related cases and statements made in court:
DeSimone accepted $1,500 in cash per month between August 2010 and March 2013 in return for referring patient blood specimens to BLS, for which BLS received $980,000. Goyzueta accepted as much as $3,000 per month from BLS between December 2013 and March 2013 in return for patient blood specimen referrals, for which BLS received approximately $713,249.
In addition to the prison terms, Judge Chesler sentenced both DeSimone and Goyzueta to serve one year of supervised release; he fined Goyzueta $75,000 and DeSimone $5,000. As part of their guilty pleas, DeSimone must forfeit $260,500 and Goyzueta must forfeit $72,000.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert; IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; and inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates, with the ongoing investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph N. Minish, Senior Litigation Counsel Andrew Leven, and Jacob T. Elberg, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Ward of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman reorganized the health care fraud practice at the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office shortly after taking office, including creating a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses. Since 2010, the office has recovered more than $635 million in health care fraud and government fraud settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other statutes.
Former Stockton College Police Officer Sentenced to 31 Months in Prison for Distributing OxycodoneRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. - A former Richard Stockton College of New Jersey police officer was sentenced today to 31 months in prison for selling oxycodone-based pills to an undercover officer and a witness who was cooperating with law enforcement officers, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Marcus Taylor, 41, of Sicklerville, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb to an information charging him with distributing and possessing with intent to distribute oxycodone. Judge Bumb imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between November 2012 and January 2013, Taylor sold 537 oxycodone-based prescription pills to either an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer or the cooperating witness over five meetings, each of which occurred in Clementon, New Jersey. Taylor arranged the meetings with the undercover officer through a series of text messages. Taylor discussed the price of the pills and his hope of fostering a long-term drug distribution relationship. At the Nov. 28, 2012, meeting, Taylor told the undercover officer that the 30-milligram oxycodone pills he sold the officer were obtained through a prescription issued by a doctor, and “if you gonna be a good customer for me and buy these every 28 days for 15 bucks, I won’t give these to nobody.”
None of the transactions involved students or took place at the Stockton College campus, nor was Taylor ever in uniform when the drug sales were made. He resigned in April 2014.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Bumb sentenced Taylor to serve three years of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit $8,775.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents and officers assigned to the Camden High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area team, under the direction of the DEA Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski, for the investigation. He also thanked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office; the Westampton Township, Camden, Burlington City and Richard Stockton College police departments; the Delaware River Port Authority; and the N.J. Division of Criminal Justice for their work on the case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Skahill of the Special Prosecutions Division in Camden.
Member of ‘Dirty Block’ Atlantic City, New Jersey, Gang Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Drug Conspiracy and Weapons ChargesRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – An Atlantic City, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 241 months in prison for his role in a criminal street gang that used threats, intimidation and violence to maintain control of the illegal drug trade in Atlantic City, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Kareem Bailey, 21 was previously convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, brandishing and discharging firearms in furtherance of the conspiracy and using a cellular telephone in furtherance of the conspiracy. Bailey, Terry Davis, 26, Lamar Macon, 26, and Dominique Venable, 25, all of Atlantic City, were each convicted following a six-week trial before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas, who imposed Bailey’s sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence presented at trial:
The four men were members of a gang known as “Dirty Block,” a/k/a “Crime Fam,” “3.6.6.12,” or “3.6,” which operated in a geographic area of Atlantic City that includes the public housing apartment complexes of Stanley Holmes Village and Schoolhouse Apartments.
The defendants participated in a violent street-level drug trafficking organization that controlled heroin sales through the possession of firearms and the use of gun violence, including at least one homicide and several non-fatal, drug-related shootings.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Irenas ordered Bailey to serve 10 years of supervised release. Davis, Macon, and Venable still await sentencing.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Division, Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor James P. McClain; the Atlantic City Police Department, under the direction of Chief Henry White; and the South Jersey Safe Streets Violent Incident and Gang (Safe Streets) Task Force, with the investigation leading to today’s sentence.
He also thanked the N.J. State Police; the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Northfield Police Department; the Vineland Police Department; the Brigantine Police Department; the Millville Police Department; the Mullica Township Police Department; the South Jersey Transportation Authority; and the U.S. Secret Service for their contributions.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Askin and Justin Danilewitz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Edmund Burgos of the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
Defense Counsel: John Holliday Esq., Hamilton, New Jersey
Former Mayor of Manalapan, New Jersey, Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Mortgage Fraud, Identity Theft and Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – The former mayor of Manalapan, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for defrauding an investment client of $250,000 and submitting a falsified loan application in order to purchase farmland in Monmouth County, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Andrew Lucas, 37, was previously convicted by a federal jury on all 11 counts of an indictment charging him with wire fraud, an illegal monetary transaction, loan application fraud, false statements to the IRS, aggravated identity theft, obstruction of a grand jury investigation and falsification of records in a federal investigation. Lucas was convicted following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson, who imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:
On Dec.15, 2009, Lucas submitted a loan application to a New Jersey bank requesting $525,000 to finance his purchase of the Burke Farm property in Manalapan. Lucas provided the bank with falsified versions of his 2007 and 2008 tax returns, as well as a falsified version of a 2007 tax return for a relative whose name was also on the loan application. Lucas also falsely reported that he had a total of $210,000 in cash.
Lucas owned and operated Lucas Capital Advisors LLC (Lucas Capital), through which he served as an investment advisor and manager to multiple individuals. To obtain the $250,000 down payment for the property, Lucas approached Bobby Janowski, who was a client of Lucas Capital, to pitch an investment in an entity called VLM Investments LLC (VLM). On Feb. 15, 2010, Lucas presented a written note to Janowski, which stated that the $250,000 investment was to be secured by “…interest in the equipment, fixtures, inventory and accounts receivable” of VLM. However, Lucas failed to inform Janowski that at the time the note was signed, VLM did not exist. Lucas also failed to disclose to Janowski that Lucas intended to make personal use of the funds. It was not until three days later, on Feb. 18, 2010, that Lucas created VLM by registering it with the State of New Jersey and the IRS, using the name and Social Security number of Lucas’ out-of-state relative, Thomas Littlefield, without his knowledge or permission.
On Feb. 22, 2010, Lucas authorized the wiring of $250,000 from Janowski’s Lucas Capital investment account to a VLM bank account that had Lucas as the only authorized signer. On March 1, 2010, Lucas withdrew this money in the form of a bank check, which he provided the next day to the closing attorney for the purchase of the Burke Farm property.
Lucas also filed tax returns for VLM for tax years 2011 and 2012, both times listing Littlefield’s name and Social Security number without Littlefield’s knowledge or permission.
Federal investigators served Lucas with subpoenas on Feb. 7, 2013, for the records of VLM and Lucas Capital Advisors. In response, Lucas provided federal authorities with a fabricated and back-dated letter purporting to be from Littlefield concerning a transaction for the purchase of the Burke Farm property.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wolfson sentenced Lucas to serve three years of supervised release and forfeit Burke Farm.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI Red Bank Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; and investigators with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, for the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Skahill in Camden and Rahul Agarwal in Newark, both of the U.S. Attorney’s Special Prosecutions Division.
Defense counsel: Mario F. Gallucci Esq., and Michael DeSantis Esq., of Staten Island, New York
Former Deputy Executive Director of Port Authority and Former Deputy Chief of Staff in N.J. Governor’s Office IndictedRead the Press Release
Allegedly Misused Government Property to Punish Fort Lee Mayor for Not Endorsing Gov. Christie’s Re-election
Second Former Port Authority Official Pleads Guilty in Connection with His Role in Scheme
NEWARK, N.J. – A former top official of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a former member of Gov. Christopher J. Christie’s senior staff have been charged with a scheme to misuse Port Authority resources to facilitate and conceal the causing of traffic problems in Fort Lee, New Jersey, to punish the borough’s mayor for not endorsing the Governor’s re-election.
The charges were announced today by U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman, along with Inspector General Michael Nestor of the Port Authority, Office of Inspector General, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel, Newark Division.
William E. Baroni Jr., former deputy executive director of the Port Authority, and Bridget Anne Kelly, former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Christie, were each charged by a federal grand jury in a nine-count indictment unsealed today. David Wildstein, the former director of Interstate Capital Projects at the Port Authority, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to a separate information charging him with two counts of conspiracy for his role in the scheme.
“Public officials must use government resources for proper government purposes,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “The indictment alleges, and Wildstein admitted, that the three defendants used Port Authority resources to exact political retribution against a public official who would not endorse the Governor for re-election, and concocted and promoted a bogus cover story to execute their plan and to cover their tracks.”
“William Baroni, Bridget Anne Kelly, and David Wildstein were held to a high standard of conduct due to the power they were entrusted with by the public,” Special Agent in Charge Frankel said. “These individuals breached that trust and as a consequence should be held accountable.”
“These high level government officials misused the Port Authority, its employees, and their public positions for political purposes with total disregard of the negative consequences it would have on the public and Port Authority,” Inspector General Nestor said. “This case should serve as a wake-up call and warning to those public servants who might consider abusing their official positions for their personal benefit, or the benefit of others.”
Baroni and Kelly are each charged with conspiring to misuse, and actually misusing, property of an organization receiving federal benefits; conspiring to commit, and actually committing, wire fraud; conspiring to injure and oppress certain individuals’ civil rights, and acting under color of law to deprive certain individuals of their civil rights. All of the charges relate to the defendants’ alleged scheme to manufacture traffic problems in Fort Lee by, without public warning, reducing from three to one the number of local access lanes, located in Fort Lee, to the upper level of the George Washington Bridge, and the toll booths servicing those lanes. It is alleged this was done to punish Mayor Sokolich for not endorsing Gov. Christie’s re-election bid. Wildstein pleaded guilty to conspiring to misuse the property of an organization receiving federal benefits and conspiring to injure and oppress certain individuals’ civil rights in connection with his role in causing traffic problems to punish Mayor Sokolich.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In August 2013, after Kelly confirmed that Mayor Sokolich would not be endorsing Gov. Christie for re-election in November 2013, Baroni, Kelly, and Wildstein decided to punish the mayor by deliberately causing significant traffic problems in Fort Lee under the false pretense of a traffic study.
From the morning of Sept. 9, 2013, to Sept. 13, 2013, the conspirators allegedly caused the local access lanes to be reduced so that only one toll booth, instead of the usual three, was accessible to the approach to the bridge for local traffic traveling through Fort Lee. To maximize the congestion and the punitive impact on Mayor Sokolich, the conspirators caused these lane and toll booth reductions to start on the first day of the school year without any advance notice to Mayor Sokolich, the Fort Lee chief of police or borough residents. The lane and toll booth reductions resulted in significant traffic in Fort Lee, for motorists intending to access the George Washington Bridge from local lanes and for residents, whose streets were choked with traffic.
The conspirators allegedly agreed to disregard any inquiries from Mayor Sokolich and other Fort Lee officials about the lane and toll booth reductions. They purposely ignored communications from Mayor Sokolich, including his pleas for help, requests for information, and repeated warnings about the increased risks to public safety. On Sept. 9, 2013, after Baroni received an email that Mayor Sokolich had called about an urgent matter of public safety, Wildstein sent an email to Baroni reiterating that Baroni should maintain “radio silence” toward the mayor. When Kelly was made aware of Mayor Sokolich’s communication regarding an urgent matter of public safety, she thanked Wildstein for confirming that Baroni had maintained “[r]adio silence” toward Mayor Sokolich. As alleged in the indictment, on Sept. 12, 2013, Baroni instructed a Port Authority employee through coded language that the employee should not contact Mayor Sokolich.
The conspirators concocted and promoted a sham story that the lane reductions were for a traffic study. They created and advanced this cover story so they could use Port Authority property, including the time and services of unwitting Port Authority personnel and other resources, to implement the lane and toll booth reductions and conceal their true punitive purpose.
On Nov. 25, 2013, with Kelly’s and Wildstein’s knowledge, Baroni provided false and misleading testimony about the lane and toll booth reductions to the N.J. Assembly Transportation, Public Works, and Independent Authorities Committee. Baroni knowingly and intentionally made misleading statements and false representations, including: (1) communications between members of the Port Authority Police Department and Wildstein triggered the lane and toll booth reductions; (2) the lane and toll booth reductions were part of a one-week traffic study; and (3) the failure to communicate with Fort Lee and the executive director of the Port Authority was simply the result of communication breakdowns at the Port Authority.
On the count of conspiracy to misuse property of an organization receiving federal benefits, the defendants and Wildstein each face a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. On the count of misusing property of an organization receiving federal benefits, the defendants each face a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. On each of the wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud counts, the defendants face a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 per count. On the count of conspiring to injure and oppress certain individuals’ civil rights, the defendants and Wildstein each face a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. On the count of acting under color of law to deprive certain individuals of their civil rights, the defendants face a maximum potential penalty of one year in prison and a fine of $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited criminal investigators of the Port Authority, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Inspector General Nestor; special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Frankel; and criminal investigators of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, for the investigation leading to today’s charges and guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lee M. Cortes Jr., Vikas Khanna, and Senior Litigation Counsel J Fortier Imbert of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Murphy and David W. Feder of the Criminal Division.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense counsel:
William E. Baroni: Michael Baldassare Esq., Newark
Bridget Anne Kelly: Michael Critchley Sr. Esq., Roseland, New Jersey
David Wildstein: Alan L. Zegas Esq., Chatham, New Jersey
Puerto Rican Woman Admits Smuggling Cocaine into New JerseyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A woman from Puerto Rico today admitted trying to smuggle 2.9 kilograms of cocaine through Newark Liberty International Airport, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Kenia Diaz, 24, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an indictment charging her with one count of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On May 22, 2013, Diaz arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport on a flight from Puerto Rico. During a routine inspection, a canine detected a controlled substance inside Diaz’s suitcase. After searching the suitcase, agents recovered approximately 2.9 kilograms of cocaine.
The narcotics charge to which Diaz pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 11, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the DEA, Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Kearney of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Kevin Carlucci Esq., Newark
diaz_kenia_plea_indictment.pdf
Ocean County, New Jersey, Man Admits Conspiring to Export Firearms Parts from the United StatesRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Toms River, New Jersey, man today admitted his role in a conspiracy to smuggle more than $200,000 worth of firearms parts out of the United States, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Abelardo Delmundo, 53, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act and U.S. anti-smuggling laws.
According to the documents filed in this case, other cases and statements made in court:
Delmundo admitted that from 2008 through October 2013, he and other conspirators he met through an internet forum agreed to ship firearms and firearms parts from the United States to the Philippines. Kirby Santos, 38, of the Republic of the Philippines and others allegedly used credit cards and other forms of payment to purchase firearms parts from suppliers in the United States. Knowing that they would not ship to the Philippines, Santos and others arranged for the suppliers to send the firearms parts to Delmundo’s Toms River address in order to make it appear as if it were a domestic sale.
Delmundo also admitted that after receiving the firearms parts, he falsely labeled the contents of the package as food or other home goods and exported the firearms parts to the Philippines for ultimate delivery to the other conspirators. To disguise his role in the conspiracy, Delmundo used the alias “Teng Flores”when sending the packages containing prohibited items. Upon receiving the firearms parts, Delmundo was paid through cash payments and wire transfers to Delmundo’s relatives in the Philippines.
During the course of the nearly five-year long conspiracy, Delmundo and others purchased and directed the unlawful exportation of more than $200,000 worth of defense articles from the United States to the Philippines without the required export license.
Santos is charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act and U.S. anti-smuggling laws. He made his initial appearance in Camden federal court on April 22, 2015 and was detained. The charges and allegations against Santos are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The conspiracy charge to which Delmundo pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 7, 2015.
The Arms Export Control Act prohibits the export of defense articles and defense services without first obtaining a license from the U.S. Department of State and is one of the principal export control laws in the United States.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (DHS-HSI), under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly, and special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George P. Belsky Jr., with the investigation leading to today’s plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden and Trial Attorney Nathan M. F. Charles of the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
Defense counsel: David Schlendorf Esq., Toms River
Essex County, New Jersey, Man Convicted for Multiple Armed CarjackingsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark man was convicted today for his role in three gunpoint carjackings and an attempted carjacking within a 10-day period, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Jamie Manning, 29, was convicted on all nine counts of a superseding indictment: one count of conspiracy to commit theft of a motor vehicle by force, violence and intimidation; three counts of carjacking; one count of attempted carjacking; and four counts of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Manning was convicted following a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls in Newark federal court. The jury deliberated for six hours before returning the verdict.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Dec. 20, 2012, Manning and another conspirator approached the owner of 2004 Honda Accord. Manning pressed a firearm into the victim’s side and demanded that the victim give him keys to the car. Manning and the other conspirator took the victim’s keys and purse, demanded the PIN to the victim’s debit card and attempted to push the victim into the Accord’s trunk. Manning and the other conspirator got into the Accord and fled.
During the early morning hours of Dec. 26, 2012, Manning and Corey Thermitus, 22, of Newark, approached two individuals entering a parked, 2002, four-door Nissan Altima on a street in Newark. Manning pointed a firearm at one of the victims and both Manning and Thermitus ordered the victims to get out of the car. After robbing and threatening the victims, Manning and Thermitus fled the area in the carjacked vehicle.
On Dec. 28, 2012, Thermitus approached an individual sitting in a 2011, four-door Honda Accord that was parked in the driveway of a home in Newark. Thermitus pointed a firearm at the victim and ordered the victim out of the car. After threatening to shoot the victim, Thermitus, Manning and another man fled the area in the victim’s car.
Later that night, Thermitus, Manning and a third man drove in the carjacked Honda Accord to a residential area in Newark. Thermitus and Manning approached two individuals, one of whom was a young child, who were sitting in a parked, 2006, four-door Nissan Pathfinder in the driveway of a residence. Thermitus pointed a gun at the driver of the vehicle while Manning approached the rear passenger side of the vehicle, but the driver managed to escape in the car. As the assailants fled in the Honda Accord, Thermitus fired a gun in the direction of an individual who had come outside of a residence to investigate.
The conspiracy count carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison. The carjacking and attempted carjacking counts each carry a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison. The charge of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other prison term. Each additional firearms charge carries a mandatory 25 years which must run consecutively to any other prison term. Each count also carries a maximum $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 25, 2015.
Thermitus previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with three counts of theft of a motor vehicle by force, violence and intimidation; one count of attempted theft of a motor vehicle by force, violence and intimidation; and one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime. His sentencing is scheduled for May 19, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray; and the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Director Eugene Venable, with the investigation leading to today’s verdict.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dara Aquila Govan of the Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark and Senior Litigation Counsel Vincent Grady O’Malley of the Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: Frank Arleo Esq., West Orange, New Jersey
manning_jamie_superseding_indictment.pdf
Essex County Corrections Officer Admits Accepting Cash Bribes in Exchange for Smuggling Contraband into the Essex County JailRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County corrections officer today admitted accepting bribes in exchange for smuggling contraband, including cell phones and tobacco, into the Essex County Jail, a federal pretrial detention facility, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
John Grosso, 41, of Belleville, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to commit extortion under color of official right.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Grosso, a corrections officer at the Essex County Jail, admitted that in December 2013, he agreed to accept cash bribes in return for his assistance smuggling cell phones and cigarettes to an inmate. Grosso met with the inmate’s relative in Secaucus, New Jersey, to accept the contraband and bribe before delivering the items to the inmate.
The conspiracy charge to which Grosso pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Grosso also must forfeit the $1,000 bribe he received in December 2013. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 19, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark, and the Internal Affairs Division of Essex County Correctional Facility, under the leadership of Warden Roy Hendricks, with the investigation leading to today’s plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rahul Agarwal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division and Robert L. Frazer of the Criminal Division, Organized Crime/Gangs Unit, in Newark.
Defense counsel: Elizabeth H. Smith Esq., Mendham, New Jersey.
New Jersey Doctor Sentenced to One Year and One Day in Prison for Taking Bribes in Test-Referral Scheme with New Jersey Clinical LabRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A doctor with practices in Wall Township and Howell Township, New Jersey, was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for test referrals as part of a long-running scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), of Parsippany, New Jersey, its president and numerous associates, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Anthony DeLuca, 52, of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to an information charging him with one count of accepting bribes. Judge Chesler imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
Including DeLuca, 38 people – 26 of them doctors – have pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies. The investigation has so far recovered more than $10.5 million to date through forfeiture.
According to documents filed in this and related cases and statements made in court:
DeLuca admitted he accepted bribes in return for referring patient blood specimens to BLS and was paid approximately $1,500 per month, which he received from another person in his medical office engaged in the same activity.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced DeLuca to serve one year of supervised release and ordered him to pay a $5,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert; IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; and inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates, with the ongoing investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph N. Minish, Senior Litigation Counsel Andrew Leven, and Jacob T. Elberg, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Ward of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman reorganized the health care fraud practice at the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office shortly after taking office, including creating a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses. Since 2010, the office has recovered more than $635 million in health care fraud and government fraud settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other statutes.
Defense counsel: Patrick Egan Esq., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Bergen County, New Jersey, Man Admits Defrauding Foreign Nation of More Than $3.5 MillionRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A former international legal advisor and New York-licensed attorney today admitted his orchestration of a scheme to defraud a foreign nation of more than $3.5 million, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Bobby Boye, a/k/a “Bobby Ajiboye,” a/k/a “Bobby Aji-Boye,” 51, of Mahwah, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
As part of his employment as an international legal advisor for the victim nation, which is referred to in the information as “Country A,” Boye served on a committee responsible for reviewing and evaluating bids, solicited in February 2012, for a multimillion-dollar contract to provide legal and tax accounting advice to Country A. In order to secure the lucrative contract for himself, Boye created a sham New York law and accounting firm called Opus & Best Law Services LLC (Opus & Best) that, unbeknownst to Country A, was secretly controlled by Boye.
In March 2012, Boye caused Opus & Best to submit by email a bid for the contract with Country A. The bid documents contained multiple, material misrepresentations and omissions, including: (1) a false claim that Opus & Best was founded in 1985 and was registered as a legal and accounting services provider in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; (2) a fraudulent listing of several purported employees of Opus & Best; and (3) a reference to prior consulting work purportedly performed by Opus & Best for another foreign country. In reality, Boye created Opus & Best for the purpose of submitting the fraudulent bid documents. Opus & Best employed no one other than Boye, let alone the professionals identified in the bid, and had never provided consulting services to the foreign country listed as a reference. The bid documents failed to disclose that Boye’s affiliation with Opus & Best created a conflict of interest and rendered him a third-party beneficiary of the proposed contract.
Unaware that Opus & Best was a sham firm secretly controlled by Boye, and relying on the recommendation of Boye, Country A awarded the contract to Opus & Best in June 2012. Under the terms of the consulting contract, Boye was one of the two project coordinators acting on behalf of Country A and had authority to receive and approve invoices for payment.
Between June 2012 and December 2012, Country A wired more than $3.5 million to Opus & Best’s New York business checking account, which was controlled by Boye. He used a substantial part of the money to purchase four properties in New Jersey for more than $1.5 million in cash, three luxury vehicles (a 2012 Bentley for $172,000, a 2012 Range Rover for $100,983, and a 2011 Rolls Royce for $215,000), and two designer watches for almost $20,000.
The conspiracy count to which Boye pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for August 13, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Garret Mountain Resident Office in Woodland Park, New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shirley U. Emehelu of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Economic Crimes Unit in Newark and Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Ward of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.
This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.stopfraud.gov
Defense counsel: K. Anthony Thomas, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark