District of New Jersey
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Bergen County Man Charged with Money Laundering Conspiracy After Seizure of More Than $5 Million in Narcotics ProceedsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man made his initial court appearance today on charges of conspiring to commit money laundering, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Ramfis Minaya, 23, of Englewood, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He appeared by videoconference today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Since 2019, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has been investigating a drug trafficking and money laundering organization (“DTO/MLO”) operating in Mexico, New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere. During the course of this investigation, law enforcement learned that the organization conducts money laundering transactions through the use of couriers with the objective of repatriating narcotics proceeds to narcotics source countries.
In August 2020, law enforcement identified Minaya as a member of the organization, responsible for the transportation and delivery of significant quantities of narcotics proceeds. Since August 2020, law enforcement has seized more than $5 million from money laundering transactions and stashes of narcotics proceeds in which Minaya was directly involved.
For example, on Oct. 27, 2020, law enforcement officers observed Minaya exit his residence and provide another individual (Individual-2) a bag that was eventually determined to contain approximately $100,000 in narcotics proceeds. Officers later saw Minaya exit his home with a bag that was determined to contain another $100,000 in narcotics proceeds.
The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $500,000 fine, or twice the amount of money involved in the offense, whichever is greater.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents and Task Force Officers with the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson, with the investigation leading to these charges.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Travers of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force/Narcotics Unit in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Three Men Charged with Federal Sex Crimes After Attempting Sexual Contact with Children They Met OnlineRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Three men have been charged with various sex offenses after attempting to have sexual contact with individuals they believed to be children they met online, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Quentin Anthony Blount, 28, of Easton, Pennsylvania, Jesus Modesto Sanchez, 29, of New York City, and Ryan Lee, 35, of Trenton, New Jersey, are charged in separate complaints: Blount is charged with interstate travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and attempted sex trafficking of a minor; Modesto Sanchez is charged with interstate travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and possession of child pornography; and Lee is charged with attempted online enticement and attempted transfer of obscene materials to minors. Blount and Lee made their initial appearances by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III on Oct. 23, 2020, and were detained. Modesto Sanchez is expected to make his initial appearance later this week.
“Sexual crimes against children are among the most difficult cases we handle,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said. “I am proud my office is working hand in hand with our partners at the FBI and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office to make sure these predators are identified and prosecuted with all the tools at our disposal.”
“Our children and their online safety is the utmost concern to us at the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office,” Somerset County Prosecutor Michael Robertson said. “Social media apps allow predators into our homes and as law enforcement, we must do what we can to make it a safer environment. We hope that this operation will continue to be eye-opening for parents. Although, 12 online child predators have been arrested, parents must learn the apps that their children are using and the inherent dangers within.”
“Children are our most vulnerable population, and crimes such as these are unthinkable,” Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. of the FBI Newark Division said. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will stop at nothing to prevent these heinous crimes, safeguard our children, and bring justice to all.”
According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court:
Special agents of the FBI and local law enforcement engaged in an operation targeting individuals who use the internet to exploit children. Blount, Modesto Sanchez and Lee were among several individuals identified and arrested.
On Oct. 15, 2020, Blount used an internet-based application to communicate with an individual who he believed was offering her 14-year-old daughter for sex in exchange for money. Unbeknownst to Blount, he was communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer. Blount travelled from Easton to a location in Somerset County, New Jersey, to meet with the mother and the minor. Upon his arrival, he provided a sum of cash to the undercover officer, who Blount believed was the child’s mother, and was arrested by law enforcement.
In mid-October 2020, Modesto Sanchez used an internet-based application to communicate with an undercover officer who Modesto Sanchez believed was a 13-year-old child. During the conversation, Modesto Sanchez offered to perform various sex acts. On Oct. 17, 2020, Modesto Sanchez travelled from New York to a location in Somerset County to meet with the child. Law enforcement identified Modesto Sanchez as he approached the location where he believed the minor to be, at which time he was arrested by law enforcement. A search of Modesto Sanchez’ cellular telephone revealed over 200 videos depicting the graphic sexual exploitation of children.
In mid-October 2020, Lee used an internet-based application to communicate with an undercover officer, who Lee believed was a 13-year-old child. During the conversations, which were sexual in nature, Lee repeatedly asked the individual who he believed was 13 to send him nude photographs, while also sending multiple photographs of his penis to the undercover officer. On Oct. 17, 2020, Lee travelled from Trenton to a location in Somerset County where he believed the minor was located. Law enforcement identified Lee as he approached the location and arrested him.
The charges of attempted sex trafficking of a minor and attempted online enticement each carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. The charge of interstate travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. The charge of transferring obscene materials to a minor carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison. The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Each count carries a fine of up to $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr.; detectives with the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson and Chief John W. Fodor, and officers with the Somerville, Bound Brook, and Hillsborough Police Departments with the investigation leading to these charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Barnes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense counsel:
Blount and Lee: Rahul Sharma Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, NewarkFourth Employee in Cash Flow Partners’ Bank Fraud Conspiracy Admits Role in Multimillion-Dollar Loan SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, woman today admitted participating in a scheme that involved the creation of false documentation to secure over $4 million in bank loans, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Gladys Collins, 43, of Wayne, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to an information charging her with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between March 2016 and September 2019, Cash Flow Partners LLC, a business consulting firm with offices in New York and New Jersey, released internet advertisements and held seminars offering to assist customers in obtaining bank loans, including loans insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). When customers submitted documentation supporting their bank loan applications to Cash Flow Partners, Collins and others created false documentation to make customers’ loan applications appear more financially viable than they actually were. Victim banks sustained losses of over $4 million.
Three of Collins’ conspirators, Edward Espinal, Jennie Frias, and Raymundo Torres, have previously pleaded guilty to charges relating to their role in the Cash Flow bank fraud conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing.
The conspiracy to commit bank fraud charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for March 8, 2021.
Individuals who believe they may have information about this case may contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FDIC-Office of the Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patricia Tarasca in New York, and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Stephen Ferketic of the Opioids Unit and Ari B. Fontecchio of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Lawrence M. Fisher Esq., New York
Bergen County Man Charged with Distribution of Images of Child Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man was charged with distributing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Joseph Ganaro, 42, Lodi, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of distribution of child pornography. He appeared by videoconference today before U.S. District Judge Leda Dunn Wettre and was detained.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From Feb. 1, 2019 through Oct. 27, 2020, Ganaro received and distributed material containing images of child sexual abuse, via the BitTorrent Network, a publicly available online peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing network of linked computers. Users must download P2P software, which is widely available for free on the Internet. The software allows the user to place files into a designated “shared” folder on his or her hard drive, from which other BitTorrent users can then download those files directly to the “shared” folders of their own computers. Users can then browse, search, select, and directly download, those files. The software typically keeps a log of each download event.
Law enforcement used special software to access the BitTorrent Network and downloaded 10 video files containing child pornography from an IP address assigned to an internet service provider account associated with Ganaro’s residence.
The count with which Ganaro is charged carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years of in prison, a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina, and inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Raimundo Marrero, with the investigation leading to today’s charges. He also thanked the Lodi Police Department for its assistance with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Calle of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force/Narcotics Unit in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Announces Election Day Program to Combat Fraud and Protect Voting RightsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today that Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allan Urgent, Mark McCarren and Gabriel Vidoni will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program.
“The right to vote without interference or discrimination, and to have that vote counted, is a cornerstone of our democracy,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said. “We will not tolerate voter intimidation, voter bribery, election fraud or theft of ballots. We take seriously our responsibility to maintain the integrity of the election process.”
In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights concerns, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, the public can call the Election Day Hotline – 888-636-6596. This number will be active Oct. 30, 2020, through Nov. 6, 2020, and will be staffed live on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020.
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or illiteracy).
AUSAs Urgent, McCarren and Vidoni serve as the District Election Officers (DEOs) for the District of New Jersey, and in that capacity are responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights concerns in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open through Election Day.
In addition to the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Hotline, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day. The FBI Newark field office can be reached by the public at 973-792-3000. The public may also call the FBI’s national tip line – 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), and calls will be routed as appropriate. The public may also submit online tips or complaints to the FBI via https://www.fbi.gov/tips .
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ .
In the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate. It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available to my Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.”
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Colorado Man Charged with Smuggling Cocaine into the United States through Newark AirportRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Colorado man will make his initial appearance today on charges that he smuggled approximately two kilograms of cocaine into the United States, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Leandre Kemont Jefferson, 23, of Denver, Colorado, was arrested on Oct. 23, 2020. He is charged by complaint with one count of importation of controlled substances and is scheduled to appear by videoconference today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Oct. 23, 2020, Jefferson arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport aboard a flight from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. During a screening, law enforcement officers discovered that Jefferson possessed approximately two kilograms of cocaine concealed inside of 12 vacuum packed bags, which were themselves wrapped in foil, and which was further concealed inside of clothing.
The count with which Jefferson is charged carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a potential maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, and a $5 million fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina; and officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Troy Miller, director of Field Operations, New York Field Office, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean M. Sherman of the Criminal Division in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: Peter Carter Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
Fourteen People Charged with Scheming to Defraud Banks and Individuals with Counterfeit CARES Act Stimulus ChecksRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Fourteen people have been charged with scheming to defraud banks and individuals with counterfeit economic stimulus checks purportedly issued by the Treasury Department pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Charged by complaint with conspiracy to commit bank fraud are:
Defendant
Age
Residence
Justin Ezeiruaku
23
Berlin, New Jersey
Torri Pedro
24
Sicklerville, New Jersey
*Akume Ehoggi
25
Glassboro, New Jersey
Kassan Knight
23
Newark
Nakirah Matthews
21
Paulsboro, New Jersey
*Qwan Taylor
22
Pennsauken, New Jersey
*Kwaeson Watts
24
Lindenwold, New Jersey
*Nasir Johnson
23
Newark
*Daeson Monroe
25
Philadelphia
Daron Curry
24
Westville, New Jersey
Talib Crump
26
Philadelphia
*Noah Brent-Magri
21
Somerset, New Jersey
Isaiah White
23
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Ali Shoultz
23
Clementon, New Jersey
*denotes at-large
Knight, Pedro, Shoultz, Matthews and Curry made their initial appearances Oct. 22, 2020, by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ann Marie Donio. Ezeiruako will make his appearance on Oct. 26, 2020. Crump is in custody in Philadelphia. White was arrested in Virginia and will have an initial appearance at a date to be determined.
According to documents filed in this case:
U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) postal inspectors and special agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), uncovered a nationwide scheme involving counterfeit economic stimulus checks deposited into bank accounts with the intent to defraud the banks. A network of individuals posted advertisements on Instagram and Snapchat offering people the ability to make “quick cash” if they banked at certain institutions. Some members of the conspiracy acquired individuals’ banking information using a ruse, while others printed the counterfeit stimulus checks that they deposited into the accounts. Members of the conspiracy used ATM machines, and peer-to-peer bank transfers, as well as debit cards, to make large purchases and large cash withdrawals. Individuals financed purchases of luxury cars and paid for their apartments with the stolen funds. In many cases, the individuals whose accounts were compromised suffered financial losses and credit problems, while others were complicit in the fraud.
The count of bank fraud conspiracy is punishable by a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited inspectors with the USPIS Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Damon Wood, and Eastern Area, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Kenneth Cleevely; special agents of HSI, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina in Newark; special agents of HSI, Norfolk, Virginia, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Raymond Villanueva, in Washington, D.C.; special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez in Newark; the U.S. Marshals Service, District of New Jersey, under the direction of U.S. Marshal Juan Mattos; the office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew McKay; the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, under the direction of Attorney General Josh Shapiro; the Glassboro Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Polillo; the Winslow Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief George M. Smith; the Gloucester Township Police Department, Special Investigations Unit, under the direction of Chief David J. Harkins; the Pennsauken Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jon Nettleton; the Paulsboro Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gary Kille; the Lindenwold Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael McCarthy; the West Whiteland Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Lee Benson; the Pennsylvania State Police, under the direction of Capt. James Kemm; the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Gaming Enforcement, under the direction of Lt. Kevin Conrad; and the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisa Shver of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Twelve Individuals Charged with Scheme to Steal Checks and Defraud BanksRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Twelve people have been charged for their participation in a scheme to steal and alter checks from the mail and engage in bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Aaron Llody Northern, a/k/a “Bossdon Butta,” 28, of Reisterstown, Maryland; Corey Bond, a/k/a “Teddy Brown,” 27, of New York, New York; Tyrell Baker, 23, of the Bronx, New York; Andre Tyrone Wallace, 31, of the Bronx, New York; Michellian Thompson, 34, of the Bronx, New York; Achiel Morgan, a/k/a “Ace Skrap,” 22, of the Bronx, New York; Quinton Sessions, a/k/a “Q Doggy Widda Hoddie,” 27, of the Bronx, New York; Brian Adjavon, a/k/a “CarlosSlimm,” a/k/a “sasuforever,” 30, of the Bronx, New York; Dashawn Danforth, a/k/a “Shawn Moneyy Marley,” 31, of Staten Island, New York; Simone Cordero, 29, of the Bronx, New York; Stephanie Lee Sanchez, 25, of New York, New York; and Hans Pierre, a/k/a “hustlehans,” 32, of Brooklyn, New York; were each charged with one count of bank fraud conspiracy (Count One), one count of conspiracy to receive and possess stolen mail (Count Two); and one count of conspiracy to possess and receive interstate altered securities (Count Three).
Northern, Sessions, Adjavon, Danforth, and Pierre were also charged with one count of money laundering conspiracy (Count Four), and Northern and Cordero were additionally charged with one count of aggravated identity theft (Count Five).
Baker, Thompson, Morgan, Adjavon, Danforth, Sanchez, Cordero, and Wallace were arrested today and are scheduled to appear by videoconference before the U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III this afternoon. Northern was arrested this morning in Maryland and is scheduled to appear in the District of Maryland on Oct. 23, 2020. Bond, Sessions, and Pierre have not yet been arrested.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In 2018 and 2019, the defendants and others conspired to steal checks from the mail, alter the payee and/or amount written on the stolen checks, possess and transport the stolen and altered checks outside of, or into, New Jersey, through interstate commerce, and deposit the checks into bank accounts to take money that did not belong to them. Some of the defendants then laundered the stolen money by concealing it through different financial accounts.
Surveillance footage shows certain defendants and others stealing mail from U.S. Postal Service collection boxes in Newark. After stealing checks from the mail, defendants and others, including Adjavon and Cordero, altered and deposited the checks into other people’s bank accounts. The stolen money was then transferred to another account or withdrawn as cash. The victims include the New Jersey branch of a non-profit network of public charter schools, which experienced fraudulent activity on its bank accounts after placing checks in the mail.
Count One carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. Counts Two and Three each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the pecuniary gain to the defendant or loss to the victim, whichever is greater. Count Four carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000, or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater. Count Five carries a mandatory term of two years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed, along with a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice to pecuniary gain to the defendant or loss to the victim, whichever is greater.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Newark Division, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Raimundo Marrero; the U.S Postal Inspection Service New York Division, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Phil Bartlett; the U.S. Secret Service Long Island Resident Office, under the direction of Resident Agent in Charge Steven Choma; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Peter Rendina; the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina, the Co-Op City Department of Public Safety, under the direction of Chief Joseph R. Riley; and the New York City Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Dermot Shea; with the investigation and arrests.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie L. Hoxie of the Criminal Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint against the defendants are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel:
Tyrell Baker: Michael V. Calabro Esq., Newark
Andre Tyrone Wallace: Geoffrey St. Andrew Stewart Esq., New York
Michellian Thompson: James A. Plaisted Esq., Hackensack, New Jersey
Achiel Morgan: Blair R. Zwillman Esq., Morristown, New Jersey
Brian Adjavon: Gary Mizzone Esq., Little Falls, New Jersey
Dashawn Danforth: Adalgiza A. Nunez Esq., Newark
Simone Cordero: Jacqueline E. Cistaro Esq., Red Bank, New Jersey
Stephanie Lee Sanchez: Joseph Rubino Esq., Union, New Jersey
South Jersey Member of Philadelphia Crime Family Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Selling Illegal DrugsRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Cape May, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for distributing approximately 300 grams of crystal methamphetamine and thousands of pills containing heroin and/or fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Joseph Servidio, a/k/a “Joey Electric,” 60, of Marmora, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including 50 grams or more of crystal methamphetamine. Judge Kugler imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Law enforcement sources have identified Servidio as a member of La Cosa Nostra (LCN), the Mafia. Servidio distributed pills that contained heroin and/or fentanyl along with conspirator Carl Chianese. The pills they distributed were stamped with markings that made them look similar to prescription opioid pills (Oxycodone or Percocet). Servidio and Chianese were also involved in the distribution of multiple-ounce quantities of crystal methamphetamine. Servidio and Chianese sold the pills and crystal methamphetamine on multiple occasions to an FBI undercover agent in exchange for cash payments. In total, Servidio was responsible for the distribution of over 200 grams of fentanyl and heroin and approximately 300 grams of crystal methamphetamine.
Chianese, 80, was sentenced by Judge Kugler in March 2020 to 10 years in prison and ordered to forfeit the firearm and United States currency, as part of the sentence imposed. Salvatore Piccolo, 68, another member of the Philadelphia LCN who sold crystal methamphetamine to the FBI undercover agent, was sentenced by Judge Kugler in November 2019 to 150 months in prison.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Kugler sentenced Servidio to five years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch, Jr., Newark Field Office, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick C. Askin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Camden Office.
South Carolina Man Admits Running $900,000 Foreign Currency Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A South Carolina man today admitted defrauding at least 20 individuals by soliciting investments in what he claimed were highly successful, algorithm-based trading pools in foreign currency derivatives (“forex”) and other financial instruments, and then using the bulk of the money for personal expenditures and to pay off other victims, Attorney for the United States Rachael Honig announced.
Thomas Lanzana, 51, of Pawleys Island, South Carolina, and formerly of New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez Count 1 of the indictment returned against him in August 2019, charging him with wire fraud.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Lanzana fraudulently solicited approximately $900,000 from at least 20 customers to invest in forex pools beginning as early as 2013. Lanzana misrepresented to prospective customers that he was a successful forex trader when, in fact, he was not. To keep his customers’ trust, Lanzana, among other things, (1) sent false account statements to his customers, (2) posted false monthly account statements to his companies’ websites showing balances and trading activity for forex trading accounts that did not exist, and (3) generated and sent false tax documents to customers reporting earnings that did not exist. Lanzana misappropriated approximately $350,000 in customer funds, using some to repay earlier investors in the manner of a Ponzi scheme, and to pay for his personal expenses, including purchases on Amazon.com, payments to a luxury car dealer and a jewelry retailer, and golf expenses.
The count of wire fraud to which Lanzana pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the pecuniary gain to the defendant or loss to the victims. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2021.
Attorney for the United States Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Michael Montanez, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Enforcement for its role in the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Torntore, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Cybercrime Unit.
Previously Convicted Felon Admits Unlawfully Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Monmouth County, New Jersey, man today admitted to being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Jakim Stradford, 27, of Neptune City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before Chief U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson to an indictment charging him with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Feb. 26, 2020, officers from the Neptune City Police Department responded to the home of a local resident who reported trespassers in her patio. Officers found Stradford – a convicted felon prohibited from possessing a firearm – and another man in the enclosed patio of an apartment. The officers ordered the men to stop, but Stradford attempted to run. Officers arrested and searched Stradford, finding marijuana, pills and a Hi-Point 9mm caliber pistol. Examination of the pistol revealed that the serial number had been obliterated.
The felon in possession of a firearm charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 25, 2021.
This case is part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensured that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson, Newark Field Division, Trenton Field Office, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni, and the Neptune City Police Department, under the direction of Chief Matthew Quagliato for their assistance with the investigation.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Matthews of the Criminal Division in Trenton.
Former Inmate Charged with Conspiring to Use Drones to Smuggle Contraband into Fort Dix Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Union County, New Jersey, man has been charged with conspiring to use drones to smuggle contraband, including tobacco, cell phone chargers, and a cell phone, into the federal correctional facility at Fort Dix, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Johansel Moronta, 27, of Linden, New Jersey, an inmate at Fort Dix from April 2018 to March 2019, was charged by complaint, unsealed today, with one count of conspiring to smuggle contraband into the prison and to defraud the United States and one count of being a federal inmate possessing and obtaining, and attempting to possess and obtain, contraband. Moronta will be scheduled to appear on a date to be determined by the court.
Three other men, Adrian Goolcharran, a/k/a “Adrian Ahoda” and “Adrian Ajoda,” Nicolo Denichilo, and Jason Arteaga Loayza, a/k/a “Juice,” previously have been charged with participating in the scheme to use drones to smuggle contraband into Fort Dix.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General (DOJ-OIG) obtained evidence that in October 2018, while incarcerated at the federal prison at Fort Dix, Moronta participated, along with Arteaga, a former Fort Dix inmate, Goolcharran, and others, in a scheme to use unmanned aircrafts, or drones, to deliver contraband to inmates. Moronta’s role in the scheme was to coordinate the drone drops with Goolcharran and Arteaga from within the prison, and then retrieve the contraband after the drone, piloted by Goolcharran, had dropped the contraband inside the facility.
On Oct. 30, 2018, at approximately 1:40 a.m., Fort Dix officers observed a drone with fishing line hovering above the rooftop of an inmate housing unit. Officers found Moronta leaving a bathroom in the area where the bag of contraband dropped from the drone had been found, along with bolts that secured an open rooftop hatch used to access the delivery. Officers also found a cell phone that Moronta used to coordinate drone drops with Arteaga and Goolcharran. The phone contained numerous text messages and phone calls exchanged between Moronta, Goolcharran and Arteaga in the days leading up to the drop. On Oct. 27, 2018, Moronta sent a text message to Goolcharran referring to himself as “Joe [expletive] in fort dix on the rooftop.” On Oct. 30, 2018, at 12:07 a.m., Moronta sent a text message to Goolcharran asking “U in the area,” and Goolcharran responded “Yea.,” likely meaning that Goolcharran was near Fort Dix and available to make the drone drop. At 12:36 a.m., Goolcharran messaged Moronta “How we lookin,” and Moronta responded a few minutes later with “It ok.” Moronta also sent messages to Arteaga at 12:57 a.m., stating “Two trip,” likely referring to the number of drone flights planned, and “Same cop from last week,” likely referring to the corrections officer on duty.
Moronta also coordinated other drone drops with Arteaga and Goolcharran. Location data from Goolcharran’s cell phone confirmed that Goolcharran’s cell phone was in the Fort Dix area during the early morning hours of October 24, 2018, and began to depart the area by about 1:54 a.m. that same morning. In addition, evidence obtained from Moronta’s cell phone revealed numerous communications between Moronta, Arteaga, and Goolcharran on Oct. 23 and Oct. 24, 2018, showing the three men coordinating multiple drone drops.
The offenses charged in the complaint carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and maximum fine of $250,000 for the conspiracy count and one year in prison and $100,000 maximum fine for the possessing or obtaining contraband count.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited agents of DOJ-OIG, New York Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Guido Modano; DOJ-OIG’s Cyber Investigations Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Keith Bonanno; the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 307 under the direction of Superintendent Jonathan Jackson; and the U.S. Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Douglas Shoemaker, with the investigation leading to the charges.
He also thanked Federal Bureau of Prisons personnel at Fort Dix, under the direction of Warden David Ortiz; agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr.; investigating agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Supervisory Special Agent Thomas J. Mahoney; and officers with the Pemberton Borough Police Department, under the direction of Chief Edward Hunter; the Pemberton Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Jantas; and Chesterfield Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Kyle Wilson, for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cari Fais and Jeffrey J. Manis of the Office’s Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Crime Family Associate Admits Cocaine DistributionRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – An alleged crime family associate today admitted possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Jason Vella, 39, of Toms River, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
On Sept. 19, 2019, investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutors Office executed a search warrant on Vella’s residence and recovered in excess of 150 grams of cocaine, drug paraphernalia, $2,295 in cash and pieces of jewelry.
The charge of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 26, 2021.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited the members of the FBI’s Organized Crime Task Force under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; and investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel V. Grady O=Malley of the U.S. Attorney=s Office’s Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.
Bronx Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute CocaineRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bronx, New York, man was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Steven Justo, 33, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In August 2019, Justo conspired with others to distribute cocaine in New Jersey. Justo and a conspirator travelled from the Bronx into Bergen County, New Jersey, to deliver approximately two kilograms of cocaine before being identified and arrested by agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Justo to four years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Barnes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Registered Sex Offender Charged with Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, man is scheduled to make his initial appearance today after being charged with possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Robert Klemt, 34, of Wayne, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of possession of child pornography. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance this afternoon by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In June 2020, agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, approached Klemt at his residence after receiving information suggesting that Klemt had accessed a website containing child pornography. Law enforcement subsequently discovered over 70 images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children on Klemt’s laptop computer.
Klemt was previously convicted of endangering the welfare of a child/distribution of child pornography in Essex County in 2014. The charge of possession of child pornography, for a repeat offender, carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, a maximum of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with HSI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Barnes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
New Jersey Man Charged with Fraudulently Obtaining Unemployment Insurance BenefitsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark man made his initial appearance today on charges of engaging in fraud by illegally obtaining unemployment insurance benefits, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Jefferson Robert, 30, was arrested on Oct. 20, 2020, by inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and the FBI. He is charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud and appeared by videoconference for his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law. The CARES Act created a new temporary federal unemployment insurance program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which provided unemployment insurance benefits for individuals who were not eligible for other types of unemployment (e.g., self-employed, independent contractors, gig economy workers). The CARES Act also created a new temporary federal program called Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (FPUC) that provided an additional $600 weekly benefit to those eligible for PUA and regular unemployment insurance benefits. The Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) administered and managed the regular unemployment and PUA programs in the State of Washington.
On Aug. 6, 2019, Robert opened a bank account at Bank 1 in the name of “Johny Eto” using a fake United Kingdom passport. On May 8, 2020, an application was made to ESD for unemployment benefits in the name of an individual (Victim 1) using Victim 1’s personal identification information. On May 12, 2020, pursuant to instructions by the individual purporting to be Victim 1, the State of Washington sent a wire transfer into a bank account in the amount of $7,930.
This bank account received additional funds from a Business Enterprise Compromise scheme as well as IRS payments resulting from fraudulent activity. Between March 11, 2020, and May 1, 2020, a debit card associated with the bank account was used to purchase approximately 57 U.S. Postal Service money orders totaling $52,000. The “from” information on most of the money orders listed the name “Jefferson Robert” and an address in Newark. Records from New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission reflect that Robert provided that address when obtaining a driver’s license.
Robert also used the fraudulent UK passport to open bank accounts at three other banks. These accounts were all frozen or closed due to suspicious activity. For example, on Sept. 19, 2019, a check payable to “Johny Eto” in the amount of $27,400 was deposited into one of those bank accounts. The check was drawn on an account in the name of an individual, who stated that he did not open the account and does not know either Johny Eto or Robert.
Robert and his conspirators caused losses of more than $500,000.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited inspectors of the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Raimundo Marrero, in Newark; special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael C. Mikulka, in New York, and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrime Unit in Newark.
Please report COVID-19 fraud, hoarding or price-gouging to the National Center for Disaster Fraud’s National Hotline at (866) 720-5721, or e-mail: [email protected].
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Justice Department Announces Global Resolution of Criminal and Civil Investigations with Opioid Manufacturer Purdue Pharma and Civil Settlement with Members of the Sackler FamilyRead the Press Release
Today, the Department of Justice announced a global resolution of its criminal and civil investigations into the opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP (Purdue), and a civil resolution of its civil investigation into individual shareholders from the Sackler family. The resolutions with Purdue are subject to the approval of the bankruptcy court.
“The abuse and diversion of prescription opioids has contributed to a national tragedy of addiction and deaths, in addition to those caused by illicit street opioids,” said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen. “With criminal guilty pleas, a federal settlement of more than $8 billion, and the dissolution of a company and repurposing its assets entirely for the public’s benefit, the resolution in today’s announcement re-affirms that the Department of Justice will not relent in its multi-pronged efforts to combat the opioids crisis.”
“Today’s resolution is the result of years of hard work by the FBI and its partners to combat the opioid crisis in the U.S.,” said Steven M. D’Antuono, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Purdue, through greed and violation of the law, prioritized money over the health and well-being of patients. The FBI remains committed to holding companies accountable for their illegal and inexcusable activity and to seeking justice, on behalf of the victims, for those who contributed to the opioid crisis.”
“The opioid epidemic remains a significant public health challenge that impacts the lives of men and women across the country,” said Gary L. Cantrell Deputy Inspector General for Investigations at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General. “Unfortunately, Purdue’s reckless actions and violation of the law senselessly risked patients’ health and well-being. With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to combat the opioid crisis, including holding the pharmaceutical industry and its executives accountable.”
“This resolution closes a particularly sad chapter in the ongoing battle against opioid addiction,” said Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Assistant Administrator Tim McDermott. “Purdue Pharma actively thwarted the United States’ efforts to ensure compliance and prevent diversion. The devastating ripple effect of Purdue’s actions left lives lost and others addicted. DEA will continue to work tirelessly with our partners and the pharmaceutical industry to address the damage that has been done, and bring an end to this epidemic that has gripped the nation for far too long.”
Purdue Pharma has agreed to plead guilty in federal court in New Jersey to a three-count felony information charging it with one count of dual-object conspiracy to defraud the United States and to violate the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and two counts of conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute. The criminal resolution includes the largest penalties ever levied against a pharmaceutical manufacturer, including a criminal fine of $3.544 billion and an additional $2 billion in criminal forfeiture. For the $2 billion forfeiture, the company will pay $225 million on the effective date of the bankruptcy, and, as further explained below, the department is willing to credit the value conferred by the company to State and local governments under the department’s anti-piling on and coordination policy. Purdue has also agreed to a civil settlement in the amount of $2.8 billion to resolve its civil liability under the False Claims Act. Separately, the Sackler family has agreed to pay $225 million in damages to resolve its civil False Claims Act liability.
The resolutions do not include the criminal release of any individuals, including members of the Sackler family, nor are any of the company’s executives or employees receiving civil releases.
While the global resolution with the company is subject to approval by the bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York, one important condition in the resolution is that the company would cease to operate in its current form and would instead emerge from bankruptcy as a public benefit company (PBC) owned by a trust or similar entity designed for the benefit of the American public, to function entirely in the public interest. Indeed, not only will the PBC endeavor to deliver legitimate prescription drugs in a manner as safe as possible, but it will aim to donate, or provide steep discounts for, life-saving overdose rescue drugs and medically assisted treatment medications to communities, and the proceeds of the trust will be directed toward State and local opioid abatement programs. Based on the value that would be conferred to State and local governments through the PBC, the department is willing to credit up to $1.775 billion against the agreed $2 billion forfeiture amount. The department looks forward to working with the creditor groups in the bankruptcy in charting the path forward for this PBC so that its public health goals can be best accomplished.
The Criminal Pleas
As part of the plea, Purdue will admit that from May 2007 through at least March 2017, Purdue conspired to defraud the United States by impeding the lawful function of the DEA by representing to the DEA that Purdue maintained an effective anti-diversion program when, in fact, Purdue continued to market its opioid products to more than 100 health care providers whom the company had good reason to believe were diverting opioids and by reporting misleading information to the DEA to boost Purdue’s manufacturing quotas. The misleading information comprised prescription data that included prescriptions written by doctors that Purdue had good reason to believe were engaged in diversion. The conspiracy also involved aiding and abetting violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by facilitating the dispensing of its opioid products, including OxyContin, without a legitimate medical purpose, and thus without lawful prescriptions.
In addition, Purdue will admit to conspiring to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute. Between June 2009 and March 2017, Purdue made payments to two doctors through Purdue’s doctor speaker program to induce those doctors to write more prescriptions of Purdue’s opioid products. Similarly, from approximately April 2016 through December 2016, Purdue made payments to Practice Fusion Inc., an electronic health records company, in exchange for referring, recommending, and arranging for the ordering of Purdue’s extended release opioid products – OxyContin, Butrans, and Hysingla.
The Civil Settlements
The department’s civil settlements resolve the United States’ claims as to both Purdue and its individual shareholders, members of the Sackler family.
The civil settlement with Purdue provides the United States with an allowed, unsubordinated, general unsecured bankruptcy claim for recovery of $2.8 billion. This settlement resolves allegations that from 2010 to 2018, Purdue caused false claims to be submitted to federal health care programs, specifically Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and the Indian Health Service. The government alleged that Purdue promoted its opioid drugs to health care providers it knew were prescribing opioids for uses that were unsafe, ineffective, and medically unnecessary, and that often led to abuse and diversion. For example, Purdue learned that one doctor was known by patients as “the Candyman” and was prescribing “crazy dosing of OxyContin,” yet Purdue had sales representatives meet with the doctor more than 300 times. It also resolves the government’s allegations that Purdue engaged in three different kickback schemes to induce prescriptions of its opioids. First, Purdue paid certain doctors ostensibly to provide educational talks to other health care professionals and serve as consultants, but in reality to induce them to prescribe more OxyContin. Second, Purdue paid kickbacks to Practice Fusion, as described above. Third, Purdue entered into contracts with certain specialty pharmacies to fill prescriptions for Purdue’s opioid drugs that other pharmacies had rejected as potentially lacking medical necessity.
Under a separate civil settlement, individual members of the Sackler family will pay the United States $225 million arising from the alleged conduct of Dr. Richard Sackler, David Sackler, Mortimer D.A. Sackler, Dr. Kathe Sackler, and Jonathan Sackler (the Named Sacklers). This settlement resolves allegations that, in 2012, the Named Sacklers knew that the legitimate market for Purdue’s opioids had contracted. Nevertheless, they requested that Purdue executives recapture lost sales and increase Purdue’s share of the opioid market. The Named Sacklers then approved a new marketing program beginning in 2013 called “Evolve to Excellence,” through which Purdue sales representatives intensified their marketing of OxyContin to extreme, high-volume prescribers who were already writing “25 times as many OxyContin scripts” as their peers, causing health care providers to prescribe opioids for uses that were unsafe, ineffective, and medically unnecessary, and that often led to abuse and diversion.
The civil settlement also resolves the government’s allegations that from approximately 2008 to 2018, at the Named Sacklers’ request, Purdue transferred assets into Sackler family holding companies and trusts that were made to hinder future creditors, and/or were otherwise voidable as fraudulent transfers.
Today’s resolution does not resolve claims that states may have against Purdue or members of the Sackler family, nor does it impede the debtors’ ability to recover any fraudulent transfers.
Today’s announcement was made by Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen; Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division Jeffrey Clark; U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont Christina Nolan; and First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael Honig. The criminal investigation was conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of New Jersey and Vermont, the Consumer Protection Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, and the FBI’s Washington, D.C. and Newark Field Offices, with assistance by the DEA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio. The civil settlements were handled by the Fraud Section of the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of New Jersey and Vermont, with assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of General Counsel and Office of Counsel to the Inspector General; the Defense Health Agency; and the Office of Personnel Management. The Purdue bankruptcy matter is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Corporate/Finance Section.
Except to the extent of Purdue’s admissions as part of its criminal resolution, the claims resolved by the civil settlements are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability in the civil matters.
Justice Department Announces Global Resolution of Criminal and Civil Investigations with Opioid Manufacturer Purdue Pharma and Civil Settlement with Members of the Sackler FamilyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Today, the Department of Justice announced a global resolution of its criminal and civil investigations into the opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP (Purdue) and a civil resolution of its civil investigation into individual shareholders from the Sackler family. The resolutions with Purdue are subject to the approval of the bankruptcy court.
“For years, Purdue placed profits over patient safety by marketing and selling its dangerous opioid products to healthcare providers that it had good reason to believe were diverting those opioids to abusers,” Attorney for the United States Rachael A. Honig, District of New Jersey, said. “Purdue deceived the DEA about its measures to prevent such diversion, and it used that deception to gain higher limits on the amount of its products it was legally permitted to sell. Purdue also paid kickbacks to providers to encourage them to prescribe even more of Purdue’s products. Purdue is in bankruptcy now, but it still must be held responsible for these actions. The resolution we announce today does just that.”
“The abuse and diversion of prescription opioids has contributed to a national tragedy of addiction and deaths, in addition to those caused by illicit street opioids,” Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen said. “With criminal guilty pleas, a federal settlement of more than $8 billion, and the dissolution of a company and repurposing its assets entirely for the public’s benefit, the resolution in today’s announcement re-affirms that the Department of Justice will not relent in its multi-pronged efforts to combat the opioids crisis.”
“Purdue’s expansive criminal conduct included paying a kickback in exchange for designing medical software to influence unwitting physicians,” Christina E. Nolan, United States Attorney for the District of Vermont, said. “Purdue’s drug marketers paid to invade the sanctity of the physician-patient relationship so that it could influence medical decisions and increase prescriptions of its most potent opioids. As it is now prepared to plead guilty for a second time to conduct involving unlawful marketing of highly addictive opioid pills, this resolution will serve as a reminder that the company put profits before people during the height of the opioid crisis.”
Purdue Pharma has agreed to plead guilty in federal court in New Jersey to a three-count felony information charging it with one count of dual-object conspiracy to defraud the United States and to violate the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and two counts of conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute. The criminal resolution includes the largest penalties ever levied against a pharmaceutical manufacturer, including a criminal fine of $3.544 billion and an additional $2 billion in criminal forfeiture. For the $2 billion forfeiture, the company will pay $225 million on the effective date of the bankruptcy, and, as further explained below, the Department is willing to credit the value conferred by the company to State and local governments under the Department’s anti-piling on and coordination policy. Purdue has also agreed to a civil settlement in the amount of $2.8 billion to resolve its civil liability under the False Claims Act. Separately, the Sackler family has agreed to pay $225 million in damages to resolve its civil False Claims Act liability.
The resolutions do not include the criminal release of any individuals, including members of the Sackler family, nor are any of the company’s executives or employees receiving civil releases.
While the global resolution with the company is subject to approval by the bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York, one important condition in the resolution is that the company would cease to operate in its current form and would instead emerge from bankruptcy as a public benefit company (PBC) owned by a trust or similar entity designed for the benefit of the American public, to function entirely in the public interest. Indeed, not only will the PBC endeavor to deliver legitimate prescription drugs in a manner as safe as possible, but it will aim to donate, or provide steep discounts for, life-saving overdose rescue drugs and medically assisted treatment medications to communities, and the proceeds of the trust will be directed toward State and local opioid abatement programs. Based on the value that would be conferred to State and local governments through the PBC, the Department is willing to credit up to $1.775 billion against the agreed $2 billion forfeiture amount. The Department looks forward to working with the creditor groups in the bankruptcy in charting the path forward for this PBC so that its public health goals can be best accomplished.
The Criminal Pleas
As part of the plea, Purdue will admit that from May 2007 through at least March 2017, Purdue conspired to defraud the United States by impeding the lawful function of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) by representing to the DEA that Purdue maintained an effective anti-diversion program when, in fact, Purdue continued to market its opioid products to more than 100 health care providers whom the company had good reason to believe were diverting opioids and by reporting misleading information to the DEA to boost Purdue’s manufacturing quotas. The misleading information comprised prescription data that included prescriptions written by doctors that Purdue had good reason to believe were engaged in diversion. The conspiracy also involved aiding and abetting violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by facilitating the dispensing of its opioid products, including OxyContin, without a legitimate medical purpose, and thus without lawful prescriptions.
In addition, Purdue will admit to conspiring to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute. Between June 2009 and March 2017, Purdue made payments to two doctors through Purdue’s doctor speaker program to induce those doctors to write more prescriptions of Purdue’s opioid products. Similarly, from approximately April 2016 through December 2016, Purdue made payments to Practice Fusion Inc., an electronic health records company, in exchange for referring, recommending, and arranging for the ordering of Purdue’s extended release opioid products – OxyContin, Butrans, and Hysingla.
The Civil Settlements
The Department’s civil settlements resolve the United States’ claims as to both Purdue and its individual shareholders, members of the Sackler family.
The civil settlement with Purdue provides the United States with an allowed, unsubordinated, general unsecured bankruptcy claim for recovery of $2.8 billion. This settlement resolves allegations that from 2010 to 2018, Purdue caused false claims to be submitted to federal health care programs, specifically Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and the Indian Health Service. The government alleged that Purdue promoted its opioid drugs to health care providers it knew were prescribing opioids for uses that were unsafe, ineffective, and medically unnecessary, and that often led to abuse and diversion. For example, Purdue learned that one doctor was known by patients as “the Candyman” and was prescribing “crazy dosing of OxyContin,” yet Purdue had sales representatives meet with the doctor more than 300 times. It also resolves the government’s allegations that Purdue engaged in three different kickback schemes to induce prescriptions of its opioids. First, Purdue paid certain doctors ostensibly to provide educational talks to other health care professionals and serve as consultants, but in reality to induce them to prescribe more OxyContin. Second, Purdue paid kickbacks to Practice Fusion, as described above. Third, Purdue entered into contracts with certain specialty pharmacies to fill prescriptions for Purdue’s opioid drugs that other pharmacies had rejected as potentially lacking medical necessity.
Under a separate civil settlement, individual members of the Sackler family will pay the United States $225 million arising from the alleged conduct of Dr. Richard Sackler, David Sackler, Mortimer D.A. Sackler, Dr. Kathe Sackler, and Jonathan Sackler (the Named Sacklers). This settlement resolves allegations that, in 2012, the Named Sacklers knew that the legitimate market for Purdue’s opioids had contracted. Nevertheless, they requested that Purdue executives recapture lost sales and increase Purdue’s share of the opioid market. The Named Sacklers then approved a new marketing program beginning in 2013 called “Evolve to Excellence,” through which Purdue sales representatives intensified their marketing of OxyContin to extreme, high-volume prescribers who were already writing “25 times as many OxyContin scripts” as their peers, causing health care providers to prescribe opioids for uses that were unsafe, ineffective, and medically unnecessary, and that often led to abuse and diversion.
The civil settlement also resolves the government’s allegations that from approximately 2008 to 2018, at the Named Sacklers’ request, Purdue transferred assets into Sackler family holding companies and trusts that were made to hinder future creditors, and/or were otherwise voidable as fraudulent transfers.
Today’s resolution does not resolve claims that States may have against Purdue or members of the Sackler family, nor does it impede the Debtors’ ability to recover any fraudulent transfers.
Today’s announcement was made by Deputy Attorney General Rosen; Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division Clark; United States Attorney for the District of Vermont Nolan; and First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Honig. The criminal investigation was conducted by the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of New Jersey and Vermont, the Consumer Protection Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington, DC and Newark Field Offices, with assistance by DEA. The civil settlements were handled by the Fraud Section of the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, and the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of New Jersey and Vermont, with assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of General Counsel and Office of Counsel to the Inspector General; the Defense Health Agency; and the Office of Personnel Management. The Purdue bankruptcy matter is being handled by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Corporate/Finance Section.
The government is represented in the District of New Jersey by Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division Nicholas Grippo, Chief of the Health Care Fraud Unit Lee M. Cortes Jr., Chief of the Opioids Unit Melissa Wangenheim, and assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Ferketic, Sean Sherman, Marihug P. Cedeño and Nicole Mastropieri.
Except to the extent of Purdue’s admissions as part of its criminal resolution, the claims resolved by the civil settlements are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability in the civil matters.
IRS Agent Charged with Cocaine DistributionRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An IRS supervisory revenue agent was arrested today on charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Michael Shelli, 41, of Albany, New York, was arrested at his home by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). He is charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and appeared by videoconference today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.
According to the complaint:
Since March 2020, officials of the DEA have been investigating a drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating in New Jersey and elsewhere. In April 2020, law enforcement identified a residence in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, as a location from which members of the DTO were dealing cocaine. The investigation revealed that Shelli had a courier pick up cocaine from the residence and deliver it to his residence in Albany. Shelli would then repackage the cocaine for sale in the area.
The conspiracy to distribute cocaine charge is punishable by a maximum penalty of life in prison and a fine of up to $10 million.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the DEA-New York Division and DEA-Albany District Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Raymond Donovan; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, under the direction of Acting U.S. Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon; the office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, under the direction of William Kalb; the New York State Police, under the direction of Superintendent Keith M. Corlett; officers of Troop K, Danbury, Connecticut, Police Department, under the direction of Chief Patrick Ridenhour; officers of the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael J. Colaneri; and officers of the Saddle Brook Police Department, under the direction of Chief Robert Kugler, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Naazneen Khan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crimes and Gangs Unit in Newark.
Postal Service Employee Admits Stealing MailRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Gloucester County, New Jersey, man today admitted to stealing gift cards and cash from mail that passed through post offices where he was employed, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Daniel Talorico, 40, of Sewell, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference today before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to an information charging him with one count of theft of mail by a postal employee.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Talorico was employed by the U.S. Postal Service as a laborer custodian in post offices in Burlington County and Camden County, New Jersey. Between May 2019 and October 2019, Talorico stole gift cards and cash from greeting cards and other mail that passed through the post offices where he worked.
The theft of mail by a postal employee charge carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for March 1, 2021.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Eastern Area Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Kenneth Cleevely, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel A. Friedman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.
Newark City Council Member Charged with Scheming to Obtain Bribes and Kickbacks; Co-Schemer Admits Wire Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A member of the Newark Municipal Council and Board of Directors of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC) was charged today with scheming to obtain bribes and kickbacks, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Joseph A. McCallum Jr., 65, of Newark, is charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud for allegedly devising a scheme, using interstate wire communications, to defraud Newark and the NCEDC of the right to McCallum’s honest services. McCallum is scheduled to appear on a date that will be determined by the court.
Malik Frederick, 60, of Newark, a participant in the scheme, pleaded guilty today by videoconference before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini to Count 1 of a four-count information, charging conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, and Count 3, charging him with subscribing to a false personal federal tax return for 2017 for intentionally not reporting over $100,000 in income.
According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court:
As a member of the Newark city council, representing the West Ward, and of the NCEDC (now known as Invest Newark!), from 2017 through February 2020, McCallum schemed to receive concealed bribes and kickbacks from Frederick, funded by developers, contracting companies, and other businesses seeking contracts and approvals principally related to development, construction, and real estate projects and deals in Newark. These developers and others were solicited by Frederick to hire his consulting company for “access,” and were introduced to McCallum as the councilman behind the particular project or deal of interest to them. McCallum then received and planned to receive concealed bribes and kickbacks derived from the fees that Frederick obtained from those who retained his company.
In exchange, McCallum used his official positions to provide assistance to those who retained Frederick’s company. For those who refused or hesitated to pay, McCallum and Frederick intended to prevent them from obtaining contracts and work from the NCEDC and the City of Newark. McCallum and Frederick used interstate emails and phone calls to further this scheme and took significant steps to conceal these bribes and kickbacks.
The bribes and kickbacks received and sought by McCallum through Frederick included the following:
- A $16,000 bribe funded by a payment from a contracting company;
- a $25,000 bribe and kickback funded by a payment from a developer’s company;
- $500 in cash to cover travel expenses for an out-of-country trip and an attempt to receive part of a $50,000 payment from a second developer;
- and an attempt to obtain payments from a seller of property in the West Ward and a developer who was seeking to buy and develop the property.
Frederick also sought to have a modular home company that was in negotiations with the NCEDC on a development project in Newark retain Frederick’s company and obtain a $40,000 payment from the company. Frederick intended to share the $40,000 payment with an NCEDC official (Co-Conspirator 2) who referred Frederick to the modular home company and expected a portion of whatever Frederick would be paid. After the modular home company refused to retain Frederick’s company, it did not receive a contract from the NCEDC.
The honest services wire fraud charge alleged in the criminal complaint against McCallum and the wire fraud conspiracy charged in Count 1 of the information to which Frederick pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the pecuniary gain to the defendant or loss to the victims, whichever is greater. The false tax return charge to which Frederick pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of three years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine, or twice the pecuniary gain to the defendant or loss to the victim, whichever is greater. Sentencing for Frederick is scheduled for March 2, 2021.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge in Newark George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi, with the investigation leading to today’s charges against McCallum and guilty plea by Frederick.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jihee G. Suh, Jeffrey Manis, and Elaine K. Lou of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint against McCallum are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Medical Assistant Admits Role in Genetic Testing Kickback and Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Pennsylvania medical assistant today admitted participating in a conspiracy to receive bribes and kickbacks in exchange for ordering genetic tests, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Shanelyn Kennedy, 25, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson to an information charging her with one count of conspiring to violate the anti-kickback statute. Kennedy is the second defendant to plead guilty in bribery and kickback schemes involving doctors and medical employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, area.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Kennedy worked as a medical assistant for Yitzachok “Barry” Kurtzer, a primary care physician with separate offices in the Scranton area. From at least 2018, Kurtzer and his wife, Robin Kurtzer accepted monthly cash kickbacks and bribes in exchange for collecting DNA samples from Medicare patients and sending them for genetic tests to clinical laboratories in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The cash kickbacks ranged up to $5,000, and the Kurtzers typically accepted the cash in one of Kurtzer’s offices, at times behind locked doors.
Even as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic substantially reduced in-patient visits, the Kurtzers continued with their scheme. They went from receiving hand-delivered cash kickbacks and bribes to accepting payments by wire and through a mobile phone money-transfer application.
Kennedy participated in the conspiracy with another employee, Amber Harris, who has previously pleaded guilty for her role in the scheme. They both helped collect the DNA swabs in exchange for also receiving kickbacks and bribes, both in cash and later using the money-transfer application.
As a result of the scheme, Medicare paid $755,241 for genetic tests generated from Kurtzer’s practice.
The count of conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback statute is punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss derived from the offense, whichever is greater. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2021.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez in Newark; and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Philadelphia Regional Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the FBI Scranton Field Office, FBI Philadelphia Division, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua L. Haber of the Health Care Fraud Unit in the Criminal Division, Newark.
The charges against and allegations in the information pertaining to the Kurtzers are merely accusations, and those defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Previously Convicted Felon Admits Unlawfully Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Monmouth County, New Jersey, man today admitted to being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Rashon Alexander, 42, of Long Branch, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp to an indictment charging him with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Jan. 13, 2020, officers from the Eatontown Police Department received information that a man fitting Alexander’s description was staying in a local hotel and was in possession of a firearm. The officers observed Alexander – a convicted felon prohibited from possessing a firearm – and another man approaching the hotel. Officers approached Alexander, who admitted to being in possession of marijuana. Officers searched Alexander and found a quantity of marijuana in his sweatshirt pocket. Officers placed Alexander under arrest and searched him, recovering an RG Industries .22 caliber revolver from his pants pocket.
The felon in possession of a firearm charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for February 22, 2021.
This case is part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensured that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson, Newark Field Division, Trenton Field Office, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni, the Eatontown Police Department, under the direction of Chief William P. Lucia, III, and the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan for their assistance.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Matthews of the Criminal Division in Trenton.
Defense counsel: Andrea D. Bergman Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Trenton
Man Arrested for Threatening to Injure Federal JudgeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man was arrested Oct. 18, 2020, for threatening to injure a federal judge, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
William Kaetz, 56, of Paramus, New Jersey, was charged by criminal complaint with making an interstate communication containing a threat to injure a person and with threatening to assault and murder a federal judge. Kaetz is scheduled to have his initial appearance this afternoon by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor.
According to the criminal complaint filed in this case:
On Sept. 24, 2020, Kaetz sent a communication via U.S. Mail to a federal district judge’s house, claiming to have a pending civil matter before the judge and requesting that the judge expedite the case. Kaetz was interviewed that day by investigators and admitted to being concerned about the status of his pending lawsuit before the judge. Kaetz also asked for the judge to be recused and stated that he had acquired the judge’s home address using a paid internet-based service. Kaetz further stated that the excessive delay on his pending case was unacceptable to him.
On Sept. 30, 2020, Kaetz left a voicemail for the judge, at the judge’s office, stating that he had cases pending before the judge, that the judge should have decided his matters weeks ago, and that he wanted the judge off his cases and off the bench. Kaetz further stated that he would not take “no” for an answer.
On Oct. 18, 2020, Kaetz sent an email to the judge’s personal email account and to others, including general email address for the U.S. Marshals Service. In that email, Kaetz claimed that the judge had been “avoiding and stonewalling” his case, that the judge was a “traitor,” that being a traitor “has a death sentence,” and that “there will come a time to take down those people that fail to do their job.” Kaetz further stated that he had pending motions before the judge and that he would try his best “not to harm the traitor” judge but that the “traitor” judge needed to be dealt with. Kaetz then threatened to publicly reveal the judge’s home address and stated: “God knows who has a grievance and what will happen after that.”
The charge of making an interstate communication containing a threat to injure a person carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The charge of threatening to assault and murder a federal judge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Both charges also carry a maximum fine of $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., and deputy U.S. Marshals for the District of New Jersey, under the direction of U.S. Marshal Juan Mattos Jr., with the investigation leading to today’s charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean Sovolos of the Office’s National Security Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Two New Jersey Men Charged with Roles in Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Two alleged ranking members off the Bloods street gang have been charged with conspiring to distribute fentanyl and heroin in Newark, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Leonard Wade, a/k/a “Clap,” 49, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Ezra A. Strong, a/k/a “Doonka,” 30, of Brick, New Jersey, are charged in separate complaints with conspiracy to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl and more than 100 grams of heroin. Wade is also charged with possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.
Wade appeared for an initial appearance by videoconference today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer. Strong appeared for an initial appearance by videoconference on Oct. 14, 2020, before Judge Hammer. Both men are currently detained.
According documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Law enforcement officials have seized 831 grams of suspected fentanyl and 612 grams of suspected heroin, as part of an investigation into a drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating in Monmouth and Middlesex counties, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere.
The investigation has revealed that Wade, allegedly a ranking member of the Sex Money Murder (SMM) subset of the Bloods street gang, is a leader of the DTO. Strong, allegedly a ranking member of the Fruit Town Brims, also a subset of the Bloods street gang, distributes fentanyl and heroin on behalf of the DTO.
On Oct. 1, 2020, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant of Wade’s residence and recovered a 9mm caliber semi-automatic polymer “privately made” handgun, along with 50 rounds of 9mm ammunition and five rounds of .45 caliber ammunition.
The count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a $10 million fine. The ammunition offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Monmouth/Ocean HIDTA Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson, with the assistance of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Gang and Criminal Enterprise Unit, with the investigation leading to the arrests.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren E. Repole of the U.S. Attorney’s Office 4OCDETF/Narcotics Unit.
The charges and allegations in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Hudson County Man Arraigned on Drug and Weapons ChargesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey man was arraigned today after being indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple narcotics and weapons offenses, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Hector Gonzalez, 68, of Jersey City, New Jersey, was indicted on Oct. 5, 2020, on one count of possessing with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine; one count of being a prior felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Gonzalez had been charged by criminal complaint on Oct. 24, 2019. He appeared for his arraignment by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer and pleaded not guilty.
According to documents filed in this case:
On June 22, 2019, members of the Jersey City Police Department executed a search warrant at Gonzalez’s apartment and discovered three firearms, ammunition, 148 glassine folds of heroin, cocaine, and over $1,300.
The narcotics charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The felon-in-possession charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison. The charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited members of the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director James Shea; the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez; and special agents and task force officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson, Newark Field Division, with the investigation leading to the indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Trombly of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Tax Preparer Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Conspiring to File False Income Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A former employee of Tax Pro’s and Tax Solutions & Associates, tax preparation businesses located in Essex and Union counties, was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States by filing false income tax returns, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Angelo Thompson, 39, of Reistertown, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court to Count 1 of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to defraud the IRS.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From at least 2009 to April 2015, Joseph Kenny Batts was co-owner, along with Damien Askew, of Tax Pro’s, a tax return preparation and payroll business in Essex County, where Thompson, Tony V. Russell, Rudolph Sanders, Batts, and Askew prepared tax returns. In order to boost their business, Thompson and these others conspired to falsify their clients’ federal income tax returns for the purpose of generating refunds from the IRS in amounts that their clients were not entitled to receive. The fraudulent practices that Thompson, Russell, Sanders, Batts, and Askew used to inflate tax refunds included fabricating and inflating credits for education and child care; deductions, such as charitable contributions and unreimbursed employee expenses; and Schedule C business losses.
Thompson and other members of the conspiracy also permitted Batts to use their Paid Taxpayer Identification Numbers (PTIN) – the identification number that paid tax preparers are required to place on tax returns that they have prepared – when preparing tax returns to conceal Batts’ identity as the actual tax return preparer, due to, among other things, Batts’ prior federal tax fraud conviction.
After law enforcement executed a search warrant at Tax Pro’s in or about April 2015, Batts discontinued Tax Pro’s and opened Tax Solutions and Associates in Union, where Thompson, Russell, and Batts continued preparing false federal income tax returns.
By fraudulently inflating the amounts of the tax refunds, Thompson and his co-conspirators caused a total tax loss to the IRS in excess of $1.6 million.
Askew, Sanders, and Russell, have pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme. Batts was convicted at trial in September 2019 of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and five counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false federal income tax returns. Russell has been sentenced to four years in prison; Askew, Sanders and Batts are awaiting sentencing.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Shipp sentenced Thompson to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $103,320.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cari Fais and Jihee Suh of the Special Prosecutions Division.
Essex County Man Arrested for Stealing Checks and Cash from Post OfficeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man working as a contract custodian at a U.S. Post Office in Maplewood, New Jersey, was arrested today for bank fraud and theft of government property, including stealing nearly $15,000 in checks and cash from the Maplewood Post Office and fraudulently depositing the checks, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Mark Gregory Jr., 27, of East Orange, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of bank fraud and two counts of theft of government property. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer.
According to documents filed in this case:
Between March 2019 and July 2019, Gregory stole certain checks placed into the stream of mail by customers at the Maplewood Post Office, and cash paid by customers and held at the Maplewood Post Office, and subsequently deposited those checks, in New Jersey and elsewhere, into bank accounts that he controlled.
The bank fraud charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. The theft of government property charges are punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, Northeast Area Field Office, and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Raimundo Marrero, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tazneen Shahabuddin of the Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Union County Man Admits Making Corrupt Payments to City of Orange Public OfficialRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Union County, New Jersey, man today admitted making corrupt payments to a public official of the City of Orange Township, New Jersey, as a reward for that public official’s favorable treatment in connection with an Orange municipal project, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Jeanmarie Zahore, 56, of Rahway, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to Count 1 of an indictment against him, charging Zahore with making corrupt payments to an agent of a local government receiving federal funds, whom Zahore identified as Willis Edwards III.
On Sept. 29, 2020, Edwards, the former acting business administrator for Orange, was charged in a superseding indictment in connection with payments allegedly made by Zahore, as well as other charges.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Zahore was the sole owner of JZ Nettech, a computer consulting business which he operated out of his residence in Rahway. On Sept. 15, 2015, the Orange City Council passed a resolution awarding JZ Nettech, without competitive bidding, a $350,000 emergency contract to install a computer networking system at a municipal complex that housed the Orange Municipal Court and the Orange Police Department (the “Municipal Complex Project”).
Edwards, as an Orange public official, assisted Zahore in obtaining the contract for the Municipal Complex Project and facilitated the payment of money from Orange to JZ Nettech in connection with the Municipal Complex Project.
Edwards agreed to arrange an advance on the money from Orange for Zahore because Zahore did not have the money to begin working on the Municipal Complex. At Edwards’s instruction, on Sept. 18, 2015, Zahore emailed an Orange employee an invoice for $115,000 in connection with Municipal Complex Project to obtain an advance payment for himself. Typically, vendors are not pre-paid by Orange to purchase supplies for a project.
On Sept. 18, 2015, Zahore received a check from Orange for $115,000 payable to JZ Nettech and deposited that check into JZ Nettech's bank account. Shortly after receiving the $115,000 Orange check, Zahore and Edwards went out together at night to celebrate the award of the $350,000 contract to JZ Nettech.
In October and November 2015, Zahore received two additional payments from Orange in connection with the Municipal Complex Project, one for $140,000 and the other for $95,000.
On more than one occasion Edwards told Zahore, in substance, that Edwards had taken care of Zahore and that Zahore should consider that and do something. Zahore understood those comments by Edwards to be solicitations and demands that Zahore pay Edwards to reward Edwards for Edwards’s assistance in connection with the Municipal Complex Project.
In November 2015, Zahore gave Edwards approximately $10,000 in cash. After accepting the cash payment, Edwards indicated that he was disappointed with the amount and expected more. Zahore made a second cash payment to Edwards for approximately $10,000. Zahore made those two cash payments with the intent to reward Edwards for his assistance.
The charge to which Zahore pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the pecuniary gain to the defendant or loss to the victims. Sentencing is scheduled for March 3, 2021.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi; and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cari Fais and J Fortier Imbert of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division.
The charges and allegations against Edwards are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Passaic County Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Role in Business Email Compromise SchemeRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for his role in a business email compromise (BEC) scheme in which he and others opened bank accounts to function as conduits for stolen funds, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Lawrence Espaillat, 42, of Clifton, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Judge Sheridan imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this and other cases and statements made in court:
From March 2017 to June 2018, Espaillat, conspirators Corry Pringley and Amanda Suazo, and others, participated in a scheme to steal more than $1 million dollars from individual and corporate victims. The scheme involved recruiting “mules” – including Espaillat, before he rose to the level of recruiter – Suazo and Pringley, to provide their personal identifying information. This information was used to incorporate sham businesses with the N.J. Department of the Treasury under the mules’ names. The mules eventually opened bank accounts in the names of the sham corporations.
A related cyberattack aspect of the scheme involved creating email addresses mimicking – but differing slightly from – legitimate email addresses of supervisory employees at various companies, vendors that did business with those victim companies, mortgage lenders that dealt with individuals in connection with real estate purchases, and brokerage firms and accountants who provided financial services. The conspirators used these deceptive email addresses to send emails that appeared to be requests for payment of legitimate invoices or debts owed by the victims. The victims were deceived into transferring funds by wire into the bogus bank accounts opened by the money mules and controlled by the conspirators. After the victims complied with the fraudulent wiring instructions, Espaillat, Suazo and Pringley, under the direction of other conspirators, quickly debited thousands of dollars from the accounts through in-person and ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases. They also transferred the funds to foreign bank accounts they controlled. Espaillat, Suazo and Pringley kept a fraction of the proceeds as payment.
For example, over a three-day period in April 2018, a corporate victim in Texas deposited $3.8 million dollars in a bank account opened by Pringley and controlled by Espaillat, Pringley and Suazo, who withdrew or transferred more than $1 million from the account.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Sheridan sentenced Espaillat to three years of supervised release, ordered him to pay restitution of $1.7 million and forfeit $12,000.
Suazo and Pringley pleaded guilty on Jan. 17, 2019, and Feb. 14, 2019, respectively, to separate informations charging each with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Today, Pringley was sentenced by Judge Sheridan to one year and one day in prison, three years of supervised release, restitution of $1.28 million and forfeiture of $8,000. Suazo is awaiting sentencing.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, and special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Mark McKevitt, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric A. Boden of the U.S. Attorney’s Trenton office.
Medical Device Maker to Pay $18 Million to Settle Allegations of Improper Payments to PhysiciansRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A medical device maker has agreed to pay $18 million to resolve allegations that the company caused the submission of false claims to the Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE programs by paying kickbacks to physicians and hospitals to induce the use of its products, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the Department of Justice announced today.
The settlement resolves allegations that, for over six years, Merit Medical Systems Inc. (MMSI), of South Jordan, Utah, engaged in a kickback scheme to pay physicians, medical practices, and hospitals to induce their use of MMSI products in medical procedures performed on Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE beneficiaries. The federal Anti‑Kickback Statute prohibits offering or paying anything of value to induce the referral of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and other federal healthcare programs. The statute is intended to ensure that medical providers’ judgments are not compromised by improper financial incentives.
“Merit Medical provided millions of dollars of advertising and other marketing support to healthcare providers to induce sales of its products,” Attorney for the United States Rachael A. Honig said. “Unlawful kickbacks like these distort the market for medical devices upon which our healthcare system depends. For years, Merit Medical ignored internal warnings and refused to abide by the rules that apply to every other medical device company. With today’s settlement, they are paying the price for that refusal.”
“Paying kickbacks to doctors in exchange for referrals undermines the integrity of federal healthcare programs,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division said. “When medical devices are used in surgical procedures, patients deserve to know that their device was selected based on quality of care considerations and not because of improper payments from manufacturers.”
Under the guise of an internal program known as the Local Advertising Program, MMSI allegedly provided remuneration to healthcare providers in the form of millions of dollars in free advertising assistance, practice development, practice support, and purported unrestricted “educational” grants to induce the healthcare providers to purchase and use a wide variety of MMSI products. These products included MMSI’s EmboSphere devices, which generally were used for uterine fibroid embolization procedures, and its QuadraSphere devices, which generally were used for other types of embolization procedures. Despite publicly claiming that its financial assistance was designed to “increase th[e] awareness” of medical treatments, MMSI allegedly provided it only to select healthcare providers to reward past sales, induce future sales, and steer business to MMSI and away from MMSI’s competitors. The government alleged that MMSI disregarded numerous warnings that its conduct may violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, including warnings from MMSI’s own Chief Compliance Officer, during the course of the alleged kickback scheme. Of the $18 million to be paid by MMSI, $15.21 million will be returned to the federal government, and a total of $2.79 million will be returned to individual states, which jointly funded claims involving MMSI devices that were submitted to state Medicaid programs.
Along with the civil settlement, MMSI entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). The CIA requires MMSI to hire a compliance expert and an independent review organization to analyze its systems and transactions.
“No health care company’s compliance program can be effective without commitment and support from the company’s leaders,” HHS-OIG Chief Counsel Gregory Demske said. “As happened here, ignoring your compliance officer’s concerns about payments to referral sources is a great way to become a defendant in a kickback case.”
The allegations were originally made in a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Charles J. Wolf M.D., the former chief compliance officer of MMSI. The act permits private parties to sue for false claims on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. Wolf will receive $2.65 million from the federal share of the settlement.
The government’s pursuit of this lawsuit illustrates its efforts to combat healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800‑HHS‑TIPS (800-447-8477).
The settlement with Merit Medical was the result of a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, with investigative support from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the FBI.
The government is represented in the District of New Jersey by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Caffrey of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Healthcare Fraud Unit.
The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Wolf v. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Essex County Man Indicted for Armed Robbery of Three PharmaciesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A federal grand jury today indicted an Essex County, New Jersey, man for his role in three armed robberies of pharmacies in West Orange, Belleville and East Orange, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Malik Conley, 27, of Newark, is charged with three counts of Hobbs Act robbery, three counts of brandishing firearms in furtherance of the robberies and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He will be arraigned on a date to be determined.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Oct. 21, 2019, Conley and a conspirator entered a pharmacy in West Orange, New Jersey, while wearing face masks. One of the men entered the pharmacy holding a silver handgun pointed at employees. The men demanded cash from the register as well as prescription medication. Conley and his conspirator fled the pharmacy with stolen medication and cash.
On Dec. 3, 2019, Conley entered a pharmacy in Belleville, New Jersey, while wearing a face covering and pointing a silver gun at employees. He demanded cash from the register as well as prescription medication, and ultimately fled the pharmacy with stolen medication and cash. Law enforcement recovered the firearm believed to be used in this robbery later that day in Conley’s girlfriend’s car.
On Jan. 13, 2020, Conley and a conspirator entered a pharmacy in East Orange, New Jersey, while both wearing face masks. One of the men entered the pharmacy holding a gun pointed at employees. Both men demanded cash and prescription medication, and ultimately fled the pharmacy with stolen medication and cash. Conley was arrested later that evening with the car keys to the vehicle believed to be used in the East Orange robbery in his pocket. Law enforcement searched the vehicle and recovered prescription medication traceable to the East Orange Pharmacy.
Each count of Hobbs Act robbery carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Each count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a bank robbery carries a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie Patterson in Newark; the West Orange Police Department, under the direction of Chief James P. Abbott; the Belleville Police Department, under the direction of Chief Mark Minichini; and the East Orange Police Department, under the direction Chief William C. Robinson, with the investigation leading to today’s indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emma Spiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.
The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito Announces Reduction in Gun-Related Violence through ‘Project Guardian’Read the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. –The Department of Justice today announced it charged more than 14,200 defendants with firearms-related crimes during Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, despite the challenges of COVID 19 and its impact on the criminal justice process. Of those cases, 342 have been brought by the District of New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
These cases have been a Department priority since November 2019 when Attorney General William P. Barr announced his commitment to investigating, prosecuting, and combatting gun crimes as an important part of the Department’s anti-violent crime strategy. These firearms-related charges are the result of the critical law enforcement partnership between United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, led by Acting Director Regina Lombardo, who has made firearms-related investigations a priority.
“The number one priority of government is to keep its citizens safe,” Attorney General Barr said. “By preventing firearms from falling into the hands of individuals who are prohibited from having them, we can stop violent crime before it happens. Violating federal firearms laws is a serious crime and offenders face serious consequences. The Department of Justice is committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals, who illegally buy, sell, use, or possess firearms. Reducing gun violence requires a coordinated effort, and we could not have charged more than 14,000 individuals with firearms-related crimes without the hard work of the dedicated law enforcement professionals at the ATF, our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country, and especially all of our state and local law enforcement partners.”
“When I became U.S. Attorney more than two years ago, I emphasized that our most important job is protecting the public,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said. “Project Guardian is one of the best strategies we have to accomplish that mission. By coordinating with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, we have pursued and prosecuted those who violate our firearms laws, and helped to reduce gun violence in our state.”
“Protecting the public from violent crime involving firearms is at the core of ATF’s mission,” ATF Acting Director Regina Lombardo said. “Every day the men and women of ATF pursue and investigate those who use firearms to commit violent crimes in our communities, many of whom are prohibited from possessing firearms from previous convictions. ATF, in collaboration with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the nation, is committed to bringing these offenders to justice for their egregious and violent criminal acts.”
The Department of Justice announced its commitment to decreasing gun violence and enforcing federal firearms laws in an effort to make the communities in America safer through Project Guardian. As part of this strategy, Project Guardian focuses on close coordination with all law enforcement partners to investigate, prosecute and prevent gun crimes, including the illegal acquisition or attempted acquisition, possession, use, and trafficking of firearms.
Under federal law, it is illegal to possess a firearm if you fall into one of nine prohibited categories including being a felon, illegal alien, or unlawful user of a controlled substance. Further, it is unlawful to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense or violent crime. It is also illegal to purchase – or even to attempt to illegally purchase - firearms if the buyer is a prohibited person or illegally purchasing a firearm on behalf of others. Lying on ATF Form 4473, which is used to lawfully purchase a firearm, is also a federal offense. The Department is committed to prosecuting these firearms offenses as well as using all modern technologies available to law enforcement such as the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, known as NIBIN, to promote gun crime intelligence.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey has continued its long-standing partnerships with federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies to implement Project Guardian and has renewed its commitment to prosecute firearms offenses. For example:
On May 6, 2020, Jonathan Brown, 26, of Covington, Georgia, was arrested for trafficking multiple firearms from Georgia to Jersey City, New Jersey, which were subsequently used in acts of violence. Brown was charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit the unlicensed sale of firearms. Brown led a scheme to purchase firearms in or around Georgia and traffic those firearms to individuals in Jersey City. Brown, who is barred from purchasing firearms himself due to multiple prior felony convictions, used straw purchasers in Georgia to obtain the firearms so that Brown could sell those firearms to others. On multiple occasions, Brown brought firearms from Georgia to New Jersey for sale. Within months of Brown’s trips to Jersey City, law enforcement arrested numerous individuals in Jersey City in possession of firearms purchased by Brown’s straw purchasers. At least one of the weapons trafficked by Brown was later used in the shooting of another person in Jersey City. At least one of the individuals in possession of one of Brown’s guns had a prior felony conviction, and was therefore barred from possessing a firearm. To date, law enforcement has recovered seven firearms allegedly trafficked by Brown in Jersey City.
On May 29, 2020, a New Jersey man with a prior felony conviction was charged with unlawfully possessing dozens of firearms, including handguns, rifles, a silencer, ammunition, and high-capacity magazines. Darick Nollett, 30, of Heislerville, New Jersey, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and one count of knowingly receiving and possessing a firearm that was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Law enforcement officers executing a court-authorized search warrant of Nollett’s residence recovered the following, in addition to a firearm silencer:
• A Remington 710 .270 caliber rifle;
• A Savage 93R17 .17 caliber rifle;
• An Aero Precision DTOM 15 rifle;
• A CMMG Inc. MK4 rifle;
• A Del-Ton DTI-15 rifle;
• An Aero Precision DTOM 15 rifle;
• A Keltec rifle;
• A Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver;
• A Ruger LCP .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol;
• A Colt Python .357 caliber revolver;
• A Taurus PT738 .380 caliber handgun;
• A Sig Sauer P226 .22 caliber handgun;
• A Glock 20 10mm handgun;
• A Heckler & Koch VP9 tactical pistol;
• A Smith & Wesson M&P40 .40 caliber handgun;
• A Springfield XD-40 .40 caliber handgun;
• A Springfield XD-45 .45 caliber handgun;
• A Taurus PT111 G2 9mm handgun;
• A Browning BPS 12 gauge shotgun;
• A Winchester Model 120 12 gauge shotgun;
• A Hatsan Arms Escort PS Magnum 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun;
• A Remington 870 20 gauge shotgun;
• A Mossberg 500E .410 gauge shotgun;
• A Rossi 520 20 gauge shotgun;
• A New England Firearms Pardner SBI 12 gauge shotgun;
• A Fabrica Aguirre y Aranzabal JC Higgins Model 100 12 gauge shotgun;
• A Savage Model 720 12 gauge shotgun;
• A Springfield Armory Model 1896 rifle;
• A Ruger Model 10-22 .22 caliber rifle;
• A Remington 7615 Police .223 caliber rifle;
• A Winchester Model 1864 30 30 rifle; and
• A Mossberg 500 12 gauge shotgun;
Law enforcement officers also recovered an assembled AR-15 style rifle with scope that did not bear a serial number, along with unassembled parts for another AR-15 style rifle.
On June 1, 2020, Ibraaheem Islam, a/k/a “Ish,” 32, was charged by superseding complaint with three counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (Counts One through Three), one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (Count Four), and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime (Count Five). Those charges stemmed from Islam’s involvement in narcotics trafficking activity on a regular basis in the vicinity of Chadwick Avenue, Newark. Law enforcement obtained warrants to search two vehicles and one residence associated with Islam. On May 30, 2020, law enforcement recovered a 5.7x28 millimeter caliber FN Herstal model “FN Five-Seven” pistol, loaded with 17 rounds of ammunition, 194 vials containing suspected cocaine base, and 64 glassine envelopes containing suspected heroin.
On July 20, 2020, Tevin Browning, 29, of Newark, was charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit carjacking, one count of attempted carjacking, one count of discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon following his alleged involvement in a July 9, 2020 attempted carjacking in Jersey City during which a victim was shot in the abdomen. Specifically, at approximately 5:00 p.m. on July 9, 2020, a carjacking occurred in the area of Tonnelle and Broadway avenues in Jersey City. Browning and an armed conspirator attempted to forcibly enter an Acura MDX. As the passenger entered the Acura, Browning and his conspirator forcibly attempted to enter the vehicle. Browning attempted to enter the rear right passenger side of the Acura, and punched the passenger in the head. At that point, the driver quickly attempted to drive away from the area. As the driver drove away, the gunman attempted to enter the front passenger side of the Acura and held onto the Acura. After a short distance, the gunman shot the driver in the abdomen, and then fell off the Acura as its driver was able to escape. Moments later, a Dodge Challenger arrived at the scene and picked up the gunman before fleeing the area. Police officers found a spent .45 caliber shell casing stamped “Blazer .45 Auto” in the area where the gunman had fallen to the ground. A lawful search warrant of the Challenger produced a .45 caliber Hi-Point Model JHP semiautomatic handgun, bearing serial number 406099, which was loaded with four rounds of ammunition. Two of the rounds were stamped “Blazer .45 Auto” on the shell casing.
On Oct. 7, 2020, Benjamin Daye, 34, admitted to robbing a Camden barbershop at gunpoint on November 23, 2019. Upon entering the barbershop, Daye grabbed a juvenile customer, pointed a loaded gun at the customer’s head, and demanded cash and belongings from employees and customers. Daye fled and was apprehended shortly thereafter next to a bag containing the handgun and the stolen items.
These are just a few examples of the cases brought in the District of New Jersey under Project Guardian. Between October 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020, this office charged 342 individuals with gun offenses. Of those individuals, 252 were prior convicted felons who were prohibited from possessing firearms and almost 90 possessed firearms in furtherance of, or in relation to, drug trafficking offenses or crimes of violence, such as carjackings and shootings.
The charges and allegations pending against all defendants are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
For more information on the lawful purchasing of firearms, please see: https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/atf-form-4473.
Two Passaic County Men Indicted for Committing Multiple Armed Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A federal grand jury today indicted two men for their roles in two armed bank robberies in Passaic and Little Falls, New Jersey, respectively, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Nicholas Ortiz, 37, of Paterson, New Jersey, and Jose Soto, 49, of Passaic, New Jersey, are each charged with two counts of bank robbery, conspiracy to commit bank robbery, and brandishing firearms in furtherance of the bank robberies. They will be arraigned at a date to be determined.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Feb. 6, 2020, Ortiz and Soto, while wearing ski masks and holding umbrellas, entered the PNC Bank in Passaic and ordered everyone to get down on the floor. One of the men entered the bank brandishing a silver and black handgun. The other man entered the bank and jumped over the teller counter, demanding that the teller turn over all cash in the drawers.
On Feb. 27, 2020, Ortiz and Soto entered the Valley National Bank in Little Falls, New Jersey. One of the men entered brandishing a silver and black gun. The other man jumped over a teller counter, and began rifling through various drawers. Ortiz and Soto forced the bank employees, at gunpoint, to open the vault, and began retrieving cash from the bank vault. They forced all employees into the bank vault and then fled through the rear door of the National Valley Bank.
Each bank robbery charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Each count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a bank robbery carries a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; the Passaic Police Department, under the direction of Chief Luis A. Guzman; and the Little Falls Police Department, under the direction of Chief Ronald Petrie, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emma Spiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.
The charge and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Inmate Arrested in Scheme to Use Drones to Smuggle Contraband into Fort Dix Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey, man was arrested for conspiring to use drones to smuggle contraband, including tobacco and cell phone chargers, into the federal correctional facility at Fort Dix, and for possessing with the intent to distribute narcotics, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Jason Arteaga Loayza, a/k/a “Juice,” 29, of Jersey City, New Jersey, was charged by complaint in November 2019 with one count of conspiring to smuggle contraband and to defraud the United States and one count of possessing with the intent to distribute a substance containing heroin and fentanyl. Arteaga was arrested on Oct. 12, 2020, in Vermont by federal marshals, and is scheduled to have his initial appearance on Oct. 14, 2020, before U.S. Magistrate John M. Conroy in Burlington, Vermont, federal court.
According to the documents filed in this case:
The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General (DOJ-OIG), obtained evidence that Arteaga, an inmate at Fort Dix from June 2017 to September 2018, participated in multiple drone deliveries of contraband meant for inmates between October 2018 and April 2019.
On Oct. 30, 2018, Fort Dix officers observed a drone with a fishing line hovering above the rooftop of a housing unit. Underneath the hatch to the rooftop, which had the bolts removed, responding officers recovered a bag that contained tobacco, cell phone chargers, and USB charging cables. In the same area officers found a cell phone that was likely used to coordinate the drone drop, which was in frequent communication with Arteaga leading up to the drop. An inmate found near the rooftop hatch had wet knees, consistent with being on the wet rooftop to retrieve the contraband package. Arteaga’s iCloud account contained screenshots of google search results for “fort dix weather” in October 2018 and screenshots of live chats with CC-1 taken days before the drop in which the inmate appeared to be inside of Fort Dix and wearing a prison uniform.
A few days earlier, Jersey City police officers had encountered a man in the common area of Arteaga’s residence with multiple plastic bags containing numerous cell phones. The man told police that he came to the address to meet Juice.
During a search of Arteaga’s residence in June 2019, agents discovered a kitchen closet with packages of empty cell phone boxes, cell phone chargers, empty boxes of SIM cards, and several phones, including a box that had been shipped to Arteaga the day before the drop. The kitchen closet also contained a tobacco box consistent with the tobacco that had been recovered in drone drops. Each of the drone drops that followed the Oct. 30, 2018, drop contained cell phones or cell phone equipment, and one additional drone drop contained tobacco. Arteaga also had a suitcase in his bedroom that contained his driver’s license, 20 packets of Suboxone Sublingual Film, a prescription opiate, and a plastic bag containing over 21 grams of a substance containing heroin and fentanyl.
One of the cell phones obtained during the search of Arteaga’s residence contained communications with a contact saved as “Adogfy,” in which Arteaga and Adogfy likely coordinated drone drops on Fort Dix. For example, the phone showed communications and a call between Arteaga and Adogfy on April 15, 2019; the next morning, a package of contraband with a cord attached to it was found in Fort Dix. The package contained packets of Hydroxycut drink mix, vacuum-sealed bags of tobacco, cellphone batteries, reading glasses, and a cell phone. On April 22, 2019, Adogfy sent Arteaga a photo that appeared to be an aerial shot of Fort Dix. Approximately two minutes later, Arteaga sent back the same photo marked with two yellow lines, and a message: “Behind the buildind [sic] where the yellow is the long yellow line is a fence.” Approximately one minute later, Adogfy sent Arteaga another aerial photo that appeared to be Fort Dix, with orange target marks over several housing units. Arteaga responded with the same photo, marked with a black dot behind a particular housing unit, and a message stating, “Black dot.” Later that week, Arteaga sent Adogfy a message asking, “U think that u cud do something 2m.” Adogfy responded, “2m too windy 20 mph.”
Two other men, Adrian Goolcharran, a/k/a “Adrian Ahoda” and “Adrian Ajoda,” and Nicolo Denichilo, have also been charged with participating in the scheme to use drones to smuggle contraband into Fort Dix. They have been released on bail pending further proceedings.
The offenses charged in the complaint carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and maximum fine of $250,000 for the conspiracy count and 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine for the narcotics count.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited agents of DOJ-OIG, New Jersey area office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Guido Modano; the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 307, under the direction of Superintendent Jonathan Jackson; and the U.S. Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Douglas Shoemaker, with the investigation leading to the charges.
He also thanked Federal Bureau of Prisons personnel at Fort Dix, under the direction of Warden David Ortiz; agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr.; investigating agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Supervisory Special Agent Thomas J. Mahoney; and officers with the Pemberton Borough Police Department, under the direction of Chief Edward Hunter; the Pemberton Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Jantas; and Chesterfield Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Kyle Wilson, for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cari Fais and Jeffrey Manis of the Office’s Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Monmouth County Company Sued for Illegally Obtaining Government ContractsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – The Justice Department today sued a Monmouth County, New Jersey, company for allegedly defrauding the United States by falsely claiming to be eligible for more than $16.5 million in government contracts set aside for service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
VE Source LLC, based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, and its owners, Sherman Barton and Chris Neary, along with a related company, Vertical Source Inc., allegedly defrauded the government by falsely claiming that VE Source was eligible for government contracts set aside for companies owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans.
To promote contracting opportunities for United States veterans, Congress has authorized federal agencies to make contracts available exclusively to service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses, known as “SDVOSBs.” Small businesses must be both majority-owned by and controlled on a long-term and day-to-day basis by service-disabled veterans.
According to the complaint:
VE Source obtained contracts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), a component of the U.S. Department of Defense. Under the DLA contract, VE Source was paid to deliver fire-retardant coveralls for the U.S. Navy; under the USDA contract, VE Source was paid to deliver aprons and apron strings to the USDA. Both contracts were set-aside for SDVOSBs. VE Source’s owners falsely certified that the company was controlled by Sherman Barton, a service-disabled veteran, when the company was in fact controlled by Christopher Neary, who is not a service-disabled veteran. By diverting contracts and benefits intended for businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans towards an ineligible company, the defendants undercut the express congressional purpose in enacting laws intended to encourage the awards of federal contracts to SDVOSBs.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the General Services Administration, Office of Inspector General, acting under the direction of Inspector General Carol F. Ochoa; The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Inspector General Phyllis K. Fong; and the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leigh-Alistair Barzey, with the investigation leading to the filing of this civil fraud complaint.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David V. Simunovich and Mark C. Orlowski of the U.S. Attorney’s Government Fraud Unit in Newark.
New Jersey Man Admits Armed Robbery of BarbershopRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A New Jersey man today admitted robbing a Camden barbershop at gunpoint, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Benjamin Daye, 34, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler to an information charging him with one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Nov. 23, 2019, Daye entered a barbershop in Camden armed with a loaded handgun. He grabbed a juvenile customer, pointed the gun at the customer’s head, and demanded cash and belongings from employees and customers. Daye fled and was apprehended shortly thereafter next to a bag containing the handgun and the stolen items.
The Hobbs Act charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The brandishing a firearm charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years which must be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 9, 2021.
This case is part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensured that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson in Newark; the Camden County Police Department, under the direction of Chief Joseph Wysocki; and the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Jill S. Mayer, with the investigation leading to today’s charges. This investigation was a joint effort of the ATF Camden Field Office and the Camden County Police Department (CCPD) Shooting Response Team (SRT). ATF and CCPD have formulated a partnership composed of special agents, detectives, and intelligence analysts that investigate shooting incidents in real time.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel A. Friedman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.
Illinois Man Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Cocaine and HeroinRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Illinois man was sentenced today to 57 months in prison for conspiring to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and 500 grams or more of cocaine, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Jesus Henoc Castaneda Soberanis, 26, of Chicago, Illinois, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and 500 grams or more of cocaine. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On June 6, 2019, Soberanis conspired with others to distribute narcotics, agreeing to pay a conspirator approximately $1,000 to drive Soberanis, together with approximately one kilogram of cocaine and approximately two kilograms of heroin, from Illinois to the East Coast. The investigation revealed that Soberanis would have distributed at least one of these kilograms of narcotics in New Jersey, were the narcotics not interdicted by law enforcement.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Soberanis to two years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan in New York, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The arrest was the result of an investigation by the New York Strike Force, a crime-fighting unit comprising federal, state and local law enforcement agencies supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
The Strike Force is housed at the DEA’s New York Division and includes agents and officers of the DEA; the New York City Police Department; the New York State Police; Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations; the U. S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; U.S. Secret Service; the U.S. Marshals Service; New York National Guard; the Clarkstown Police Department; U.S. Coast Guard; Port Washington Police Department; and New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime /Gangs Unit in Newark.
Ecuadorian Man Admits Conspiring to Import Cocaine into United StatesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Ecuadorian man today admitted his role in a conspiracy to import several kilograms of cocaine from Ecuador into the United States, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Jorge Giklin Arauz Velasquez, 45, of Ecuador, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to one count of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to import five kilograms or more of cocaine into the United States.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From March 2018 through January 2019, Velasquez worked with members of a drug trafficking organization operating out of Ecuador to import cocaine from Ecuador throughout the United States. For several months, Velasquez discussed the possibility of importing kilogram quantities of cocaine into the United States into the New Jersey area. In November 2018, Velasquez told another individual that he could smuggle cocaine onto a flight leaving Ecuador and arriving in Florida.
In December 2018, Velasquez and another associate discussed that several kilograms of cocaine could be shipped on a plane leaving Guayaquil, Ecuador, and arriving in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The cocaine would be contained in luggage on the flight. Later, Velasquez sent a message containing the flight number where the cocaine shipment would be located, along with a description of the luggage tag for the luggage that would contain the cocaine. Law enforcement in Florida located the luggage from the identified flight, which contained approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine.
The count to which Velasquez pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a $10 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 10, 2021.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited specials agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; Colombian National Police DIJIN-GESIN; the Ecuadorian National Police; Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations, under the direction of Field Office Director John Tsoukaris; officers of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose; and the New Jersey National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, under the direction of Col. Paul Rumberger, with the investigation. U.S. Attorney Carpenito also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for their assistance with the case.
This case was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies dedicated to identifying and dismantling the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie L. Hoxie of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Postal Employee Arrested for Dumping Mail, Including Election Ballots Sent to West Orange ResidentsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier from Hudson County was arrested today for discarding mail, including 99 general election ballots sent from the County Board of Elections and intended to be delivered to West Orange residents, from his assigned routes in Orange and West Orange, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Nicholas Beauchene, 26, of Kearny, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of delay, secretion, or detention of mail and one count of obstruction of mail. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Approximately 1,875 pieces of mail – including 627 pieces of first class, 873 pieces of standard class, two pieces of certified mail, 99 general election ballots destined for residents in West Orange, and 276 campaign flyers from local candidates for West Orange Town Council and Board of Education – were recovered from dumpsters in North Arlington and West Orange on Oct. 2, 2020, and Oct. 5, 2020. The mail had been scheduled to be delivered on Sept. 28, Oct. 1, and Oct. 2, 2020, to addresses on certain postal routes in Orange and West Orange. On the delivery dates for which mail was recovered, Beauchene was the only mail carrier assigned to deliver mail to the addresses on the recovered mail.
The recovered mail was placed back into the mail stream for delivery to its intended recipients. Copies of the recovered mail were made and retained as evidence.
The delay of mail charge is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The obstruction of mail charge is punishable by a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the USPS-Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, Northeast Area Field Office, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest. He also thanked the North Arlington Police Department, under the direction of Scott Hedenberg, for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara F. Merin of the Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
The charge and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Nevada Man Admits Role in Defrauding Banks in $9 Million Shotgun Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Henderson, Nevada, man today admitted his role in a scheme to use bogus information and simultaneous loan applications at multiple banks – known as “shot-gunning” – to attempt to obtain home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Joseph A. Gonzalez, 46, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to Count One of an indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Gonzalez is the sixth person to plead guilty as part of the scheme.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
From 2010 through 2018, Jorge Flores and Simon Curanaj, a real estate broker in the Bronx who has previously pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, ran a mortgage fraud scheme in which they applied for more than $9 million in HELOCs from banks on residential properties in New Jersey and New York.
Gonzalez and Flores used a property in Jersey City, New Jersey, as part of the scheme. Gonzalez had been allowed by the owner of the property to live there in exchange for management services, but neither he nor Flores owned the property. Gonzalez also recruited an individual with good credit to act as a straw buyer (Individual 1). Unbeknownst to the owner of the property, a “quitclaim” deed – which contains no warranties of title – was prepared transferring the property to Individual 1. The signatures on the deed were forged.
Gonzalez and Flores then applied for two HELOCs from multiple banks using the Jersey City property as collateral in Individual 1’s name. They concealed the fact that the property offered as collateral was either already subject to senior liens that had not yet been recorded, or that the same property was offered as collateral for a line of credit from another lender. The applications also contained false information concerning Individual 1’s income, which was stated to be higher than his actual income. At the time the applications were made, the value of the property was less than the amount of the HELOC loans for which Gonzalez and Flores applied.
The victim banks eventually issued loans to Individual 1 in excess of $500,000. After the victim banks funded the HELOCs and deposited money into Individual 1’s bank account, Individual 1 disbursed almost all of it to Gonzalez, Flores, and others. Gonzalez used $43,000 of the illicit proceeds to buy a luxury car. Individual 1 eventually defaulted on both HELOC loans.
The conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1 million or twice the gross pecuniary gain to the defendants or twice the gross pecuniary loss to others, whichever is greater. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 10, 2021.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Robert Manchak; and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
The government is represented by Senior Trial Counsel Jason S. Gould of the U.S. Attorney’s Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin DiGregory of the FHFA, Office of the Inspector General.
Monmouth County Man Admits Unlawfully Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Monmouth County, New Jersey, man today admitted illegally possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Ahmed A-Hady, 36, of Keyport, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Court Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an information charging him with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Dec. 10, 2019, there was a mass shooting in Jersey City in which two individuals, David Nathaniel Anderson and Francine Graham, killed three civilians after earlier killing a law enforcement officer. After the shooting, law enforcement recovered from Anderson’s right rear pants pocket a handwritten note that contained a telephone number ending in 4115, and a Keyport, New Jersey, address. Law enforcement also recovered several weapons carried by Anderson and Graham, including an AR-15 rifle.
FBI agents determined that the phone number ending in 4115 contained on the note belonged to A-Hady. Law enforcement also determined that the Keyport address listed on the note was a storefront for a pawn shop. On the evening of Dec. 13, 2019, law enforcement officers traveled to the pawnshop and interviewed A-Hady and two of his relatives.
Law enforcement lawfully searched both the pawnshop and A-Hady’s private residence. During the search of the pawnshop, law enforcement recovered multiple rifles, handguns, and one shotgun. In addition, during the searches of the pawnshop and A-Hady’s private residence, law enforcement recovered over 400 rounds of ammunition, including a large number of hollow point bullets.
One of the weapons recovered from the pawnshop was a Sig Sauer .22 caliber rifle capable of accepting a large capacity magazine. Records showed that A-Hady purchased this rifle in Florida on Oct. 23, 2012, a time when he, as a convicted felon, was prohibited from possessing firearms. The purchase of this rifle came approximately five months after A-Hady was convicted in New Jersey Superior Court of a crime that was punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than one year.
As part of the guilty plea, A-Hady also agreed to forfeit his interest, if any, in the firearms recovered during the search of the pawnshop.
The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 9, 2021.
U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson in Newark; the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General, under the direction of Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal; and the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation leading to the plea. U.S. Attorney Carpenito also thanked the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez, and the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Director James Shea, for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronnell Wilson, Chief of the National Security Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dean C. Sovolos and Thomas S. Kearney, also of the National Security Unit.
Bergen County Postal Employee Arrested for Bank Fraud and Mail TheftRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employee was arrested today for stealing mail and committing bank fraud, including stealing checks sent through the mail and fraudulently depositing those checks without authorization, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Juan Torres, 27, of Hackensack, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of bank fraud and one count of mail theft. He is scheduled to appear/appeared this afternoon via videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From November 2019 to Jan. 11, 2020, certain checks addressed to third-party victims and mailed to addresses on postal routes in Hackensack, Leonia, and Maywood, New Jersey, were stolen on or about the same dates that Torres was delivering mail on those routes and subsequently were fraudulently deposited by Torres, in New Jersey and elsewhere, into a bank account that he controlled.
The bank fraud charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. The mail theft charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, Northeast Area Field Office, and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge James Buthorn, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest. He also thanked special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez, and the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew McKay, for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine K. Lou of the Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Bergen County Man Charged with Conspiring to Steal More Than $7.8 Million Worth of HIV Medication from Veterans Affairs Medical CenterRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man was charged for his role in stealing prescription HIV medication from the pharmacy of the East Orange VA Medical Center, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Wagner Checonolasco, a/k/a “Wanny,” 33, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey was charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to steal government property, specifically HIV medication. Checonolasco had his initial appearance by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor and was released on $250,000 unsecured appearance bond.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From January 2018 through November 2019, Checonolasco conspired with another person to steal prescription HIV medication from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in East Orange, New Jersey. The conspirator, who was employed as a pharmacy procurement technician at the VAMC pharmacy, placed large orders for HIV medication, purportedly on behalf of VAMC. After the medication was delivered, the conspirator stole it. Checonolasco and the conspirator met, frequently at the conspirator’s residence, so that Checonolasco could purchase the stolen HIV medication, which he then sold. Checonolasco and the conspirator conspired to steal $7.85 million worth of HIV medications.
The charge of conspiracy to steal government property is punishable by a potential penalty of five years in prison and fine of a $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri, with the ongoing investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole F. Mastropieri of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Two Former New Jersey Public Education Employees Sentenced in Connection with Health Care Fraud Conspiracy Targeting State Health Benefits ProgramsRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – Two former New Jersey state public education system employees were sentenced today to prison terms for defrauding New Jersey state health benefits programs by submitting fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary compounded prescriptions, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Richard McAllister, 45, a former schoolteacher, and James Wildman, 46, a former maintenance worker for the public school system, both of Marmora, New Jersey, were sentenced to 37 months and 46 months in prison, respectively. Both McAllister and Wildman previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler to separate criminal informations charging them with conspiring to commit health care fraud. Judge Kugler imposed the sentences today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Compounded medications are specialty medications mixed by a pharmacist to meet the specific medical needs of an individual patient. Although compounded drugs are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), they are properly prescribed when a physician determines that an FDA-approved medication does not meet the health needs of a particular patient, such as if a patient is allergic to a dye or other ingredient.
In 2015 and 2016, McAllister and Wildman served as recruiters in the conspiracy and persuaded individuals in New Jersey to obtain very expensive and medically unnecessary compounded medications from a Louisiana pharmacy, Central Rexall Drugs Inc. (Central Rexall). The chief executive officer of Central Rexall, Hayley Taff, pleaded guilty on Aug. 12, 2020, to health care fraud conspiracy, and Central Rexall executives Christopher Kyle Johnston, Trent Brockmeier, and Christopher Casseri were indicted on Sept. 16, 2020 for conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit identity theft, and money laundering charges.
The members of the conspiracy, including McAllister and Wildman, learned that certain compound medication prescriptions – including pain, scar, antifungal, and libido creams, as well as vitamin combinations – were reimbursed for up to thousands of dollars for a one-month supply. The conspirators also learned that some New Jersey state and local government and education employees, including teachers, firefighters, and state troopers, had insurance coverage for these particular compound medications. An entity referred to in the information as the “Pharmacy Benefits Administrator” provided pharmacy benefit management services for the State Health Benefits Program, which covers qualified state and local government employees, retirees, and eligible dependents, and the School Employees’ Health Benefits Program, which covers qualified local education employees, retirees, and eligible dependents.
McAllister, Wildman, and their conspirators recruited public employees and other individuals covered by the Pharmacy Benefits Administrator to fraudulently obtain compounded medications from Central Rexall without regard as to their medical necessity. Given that McAllister and Wildman were employees of the State’s public education system, they had access to and recruited others in the public education system to participate in the scheme. The prescriptions were faxed to Central Rexall, which filled the prescriptions and billed the Pharmacy Benefits Administrator. In return for the obtaining the prescriptions, the pharmacy paid certain conspirators a percentage of each prescription filled and paid by the Pharmacy Benefits Administrator, which was then distributed to McAllister, Wildman, and other members of the conspiracy.
The conspiracy resulted in over $50 million in fraudulent insurance claims for compounded medications that were not medically necessary, including over $3.4 million for prescriptions submitted by McAllister and his cohorts and over $4.8 million for prescriptions submitted by Wildman and his cohorts. McAllister received over $450,000 and Wildman received over $650,000 in illicit profits from the scheme.
In addition to the prison terms, Judge Kugler sentenced McAllister to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $3.4 million in restitution and to forfeit $456,806. Judge Kugler also sentenced Wildman to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $4.86 million in restitution and to forfeit $657,040.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited agents of the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez in Newark, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, New York Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael C. Mikulka. He also thanked the Division of Pensions and Financial Transactions in the State Attorney General’s Office, under the direction of Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and Division Chief Aimee Nason, for its assistance in the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys R. David Walk Jr. and Christina O. Hud of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
Morris County Woman Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Illegally Export Aircraft Components to IranRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Morris County, New Jersey, woman was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for her role in a scheme to illegally smuggle millions of dollars’ worth of aircraft parts from the United States to Iran, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Joyce Eliabachus, a/k/a “Joyce Marie Gundran Manangan,” 53, of Morristown, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to an information charging her with one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) in connection with her role in an international procurement network that smuggled over $2 million worth of aircraft components to Iran. Judge Arleo imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Eliabachus, Peyman Amiri Larijani, 34 – a citizen and resident of Iran – and others were part of an international procurement network that surreptitiously acquired large quantities of aircraft components from United States-based manufacturers and vendors and unlawfully exported them to entities in Iran using freight-forwarding companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Turkey. Larijani is charged by complaint with one count each of conspiracy to violate Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR), conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States. Larijani was also charged in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in two separate indictments unsealed June 4, 2019.
Eliabachus was the principal officer and operator of Edsun Equipments LLC, a purported New Jersey-based aviation parts trading company run out of her Morristown residence. Larijani was the owner of an Iran-based procurement firm and served as operations and sales manager of a network of supply and engineering companies in Tehran, Iran, and Istanbul, Turkey.
From May 2015 through October 2017, Eliabachus, Larijani, and their conspirators facilitated at least 49 shipments containing 23,554 license-controlled aircraft parts from the United States to Iran, all of which were exported without the required licenses.
Eliabachus conspired with Larijani, whose international network helped initiate the purchase of United States-origin aircraft components on behalf of Larijani’s clients in Iran. The network’s client list included Iranian airline companies, several of which have been officially designated by the United States as a threat to national security, foreign policy, or economic interests. One company, Mahan Air Co., has been subject to sanctions by the United States for providing financial, material and technological support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), and allegedly ferrying arms and reinforcements to designated terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.
Eliabachus used her company to finalize the purchase and acquisition of the requested components from the various United States-based distributors. She repackaged and shipped the components to shipping companies in the UAE and Turkey, where Larijani and other Iranian conspirators directed the components to locations in Iran.
In order to obscure the extent of the network’s procurement activities, Eliabachus routinely falsified the true destination and end-user of the aircraft components she acquired. She also falsified the true value of the components being exported in order to avoid filing export control forms, which further obscured the network’s illegal activities from law enforcement.
The funds for the illicit transactions were obtained from the Iranian purchasers, funneled through Turkish bank accounts held in the names of shell companies controlled by the Iranian conspirators. The money was ultimately transferred into one of Edsun Equipments’ accounts in the United States. The network’s creation and use of multiple bank accounts and shell companies abroad was intended to conceal the true sources of funds in Iran, as well as the identities of the Iranian entities who were receiving U.S. aircraft components.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Arleo sentenced Eliabachus to one year of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina in Newark, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Carson in New York, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dean C. Sovolos of the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Unit, and Sarah Devlin, Chief of the office’s Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit, with assistance from Trial Attorney David Recker of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
The charges still pending against Larijani are only allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Four Union County Men Arrested in Scheme to Steal Mail, Commit Credit Card Fraud and Defraud the United StatesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Four Union County, New Jersey, men were arrested today for their roles in a conspiracy to steal mail and possess stolen mail, including credit cards and pandemic relief credit cards, fraudulently use the stolen credit cards without authorization, and defraud the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Jarid Brooks, 27, Justin Brooks, 21, Kyjuan Hutchins, 21, and Kyle Williams, 35, all of Vauxhall, New Jersey, are charged by complaint with conspiracy. They are scheduled to appear by this afternoon by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From July 2019 to August 2020, Williams allegedly stole credit cards from the U.S. mail in the course of his employment for the U.S. Postal Service, provided those credit cards to Jarid Brooks, Justin Brooks, and Hutchins, and the defendants thereafter fraudulently activated those credit cards and then used those credit cards to make and attempt to make purchases without the cardholders’ authorization, including buying gift cards and electronics. The investigation to date has revealed that the victims have incurred over approximately $80,000 in intended and actual loss from fraudulent purchases made using their stolen credit cards. The defendants also schemed to fraudulently use over $11,000 of funds pre-loaded onto Economic Impact Payment (EIP) cards issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury and sent in the U.S. mail pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act that were stolen from the mail.
The conspiracy charge is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge James Buthorn; special agents with the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, Northeast Area Field Office; and special agents with the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Andrew McKay, with the investigation leading to today’s arrests. He also thanked the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, the Caldwell Police Department, the Fairfield Police Department, the Boonton Police Department, and the Millburn Police Department.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine K. Lou of the Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Two Jersey City Gang Members Charged with Murdering Pregnant Woman and Two OthersRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Two members of the Neighborhood Bloods street gang, which operated in Jersey City, New Jersey, have been indicted for the Jan. 16, 2017, murder of three Jersey City residents, including a pregnant 25-year-old woman, Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Markell Brown, a/k/a “Sayboy,” 32, and Terence Shaw, a/k/a “Sweet Meat,” 32, both of Jersey City, are each charged with conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, three counts of murder in aid of racketeering, three counts of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and three counts of causing death through use of a firearm.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Jan. 16, 2017, Brown and Shaw allegedly murdered a rival gang member with whom they had been feuding, as well as the gang member’s pregnant girlfriend and their own associate, who had accompanied them to commit the murders. Brown and Shaw used a stolen U-Haul truck and two-way walkie-talkie radios during the murders. They used their associate to obtain access to the rival gang member’s apartment. After entering that residence on Fulton Avenue in Jersey City shortly after 10:00 p.m., Brown and Shaw executed the rival gang member, shooting him in the back of the head, the left arm, and the right shoulder. They also shot the woman in the back of the head and the chest. As Brown and Shaw left, they shot their associate in the chest in order to eliminate the possibility that he would provide information to law enforcement.
Brown and Shaw each face a potential mandatory life sentences for each of the counts charging murder in aid of racketeering. For each count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, they face a potential mandatory consecutive sentences of 10 years in prison. The count of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The counts of causing death through use of a firearm each carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez, and the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director James Shea, as well as special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges.
This investigation was conducted as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The VCI was formed in 2018 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Jersey City Police Department, for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Jersey City. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate to strategize and prioritize the prosecution of violent offenders who endanger the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Division, the U.S. Marshals, the Jersey City Police Department, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole Board, the Hudson County Jail, and the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Desiree Grace Latzer, Acting Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Violent Crime Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Ringleader of Gloucester City Drug Ring Admits Trafficking Oxycodone, Adderall, and Xanax and Engaging in SNAP FraudRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Gloucester City, New Jersey, man today admitted conspiring to distribute and selling oxycodone, Adderall, and Xanax and defrauding the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in connection with his role in a drug trafficking ring, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Rocco DePoder, 67, of Gloucester City, pleaded guilty today by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb to an information charging him with conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone, distributing a quantity of oxycodone, and unlawfully acquiring SNAP benefits in exchange for controlled substances and unlawfully using and possessing those and other SNAP benefits.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
DePoder admitted that on multiple occasions from June 2019 to March 2020, he worked with Erick Bell and others to sell oxycodone in New Jersey. DePoder obtained 60 80 mg. oxycodone pills for $25 per pill from Bell on February 3, 2020, with the intention of distributing the pills to other people. DePoder also admitted to purchasing resale quantities of oxycodone, Adderall, and Xanax from conspirators and reselling the pills to others, serving as a leader of criminal activity in that conspiracy. DePoder admitted to selling oxycodone, Adderall, and Xanax pills to another person in exchange for a total of $8,374 in SNAP benefits, which were on Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, and then personally using some of those SNAP benefits and selling and giving EBT cards to others so they could unlawfully use the SNAP benefits. SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp program, is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. EBT cards are similar to debit cards and are used to make food purchases with SNAP benefits – when an EBT card is swiped at a food store authorized for participation in the SNAP program, the amount of the purchase is deducted electronically from the SNAP benefits reserved for the customer and the purchase amount is credited to the retailer’s designated bank account.
The drug conspiracy count carries a maximum potential punishment of 20 years in prison; the count of drug distribution carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison; both counts are also punishable by a fine of $1 million, or twice the gross loss or gain caused by the offenses. The count of SNAP benefits fraud carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. As part of his guilty plea, DePoder will forfeit multiple items, including $6,598 in currency, and pay $8,374.42 in restitution. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 8, 2021.
Five other defendants – Marcus Rushworth, 47, of Gloucester City, New Jersey; Kenneth Rushworth, 59, of Gloucester City, New Jersey; Wayne Muse, 74, of Lindenwold, New Jersey; Robert Pratt, 57, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, formerly of Blackwood, New Jersey; and Steven Walker, 47, of Camden, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before Judge Bumb to informations charging them with drug trafficking offenses involving the distribution of prescription drugs. They are awaiting sentencing.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of FBI Philadelphia Division, South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Driscoll; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert; the Camden County Sheriff's Office, under the direction of Sheriff Gilbert L. Wilson; the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, under the direction of Director Jared M. Maples; the Camden County Police Department, under the direction of Chief Joseph Wysocki; and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Bethanne M. Dinkins, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
He also thanked the FBI Newark Division, New Jersey State Police, Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gabriel J. Vidoni of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Camden Office and Sara F. Merin of the Special Prosecution Division in Newark.
Illinois Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and HeroinRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Illinois man was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for conspiring to transport heroin and cocaine to New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Daniel Gonzalez Maldonado, 25, of Carpentersville, Illinois, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and 500 grams or more of cocaine. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence today by videoconference.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On June 6, 2019, a conspirator paid Maldonado approximately $1,000 to drive the conspirator and a quantity of narcotics from Illinois to the East Coast. Maldonado allowed the conspirator to store approximately one kilogram of cocaine and approximately two kilograms of heroin in a Norristown, Pennsylvania, hotel room that was reserved in Maldonado’s name. The investigation revealed that at least one of these kilograms of narcotics would have been distributed in New Jersey.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Maldonado to two years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan in New York, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The arrest was the result of an investigation by the New York Strike Force, a crime-fighting unit comprising federal, state and local law enforcement agencies supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
The Strike Force is housed at the DEA’s New York Division and includes agents and officers of the DEA; the New York City Police Department; the New York State Police; Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations; the U. S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; U.S. Secret Service; the U.S. Marshals Service; New York National Guard; the Clarkstown Police Department; U.S. Coast Guard; Port Washington Police Department; and New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force/Narcotics Unit in Newark.