District of New Jersey

TRENTON, N.J. – Two men have admitted their roles in a drug distribution conspiracy in connection with the seizure of fentanyl and heroin at a New Jersey rest stop, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Luis Aponte, 48, of Riverside, California, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and heroin. Denny Diaz, 29, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before Judge Sheridan on Sept. 10, 2019. 

According to the documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

Aponte drove a tractor-trailer truck to a rest stop in Bloomsbury, New Jersey, on March 1, 2019. The next day, he met Diaz in a car and gave Diaz approximately six kilograms of fentanyl. Both men were arrested shortly thereafter. Law enforcement officers searched Aponte’s truck at the rest stop and found an additional two kilograms of fentanyl and 11 kilograms of heroin inside. 

The charge to which the defendants have pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and a maximum fine of $10 million. Sentencing for Aponte is scheduled for Feb. 6, 2020, and for Diaz, Dec. 16, 2019.  

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, New York Division; New York City Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill; and N.Y. State Police Acting Superintendent Keith M. Corlett with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas. This case is being investigated by the DEA’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, comprising agents and officers of the DEA, New York City Police Department and New York State Police.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Macurdy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Jersey City, New Jersey, man was charged today with allegedly receiving images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Benigno Gonzalez-Mendoza, 35, is charged by complaint with one count of receipt of child pornography. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Mannion in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From March 9, 2019, through July 27, 2019, Gonzalez-Mendoza knowingly received images and videos of child sexual abuse, including videos of prepubescent children engaged in sexual acts with adults.   

The charge of receipt of child pornography carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, a minimum penalty of five years in prison, and a maximum $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emma Spiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

CAMDEN, N.J. – The retired chief of the Bordentown Township Police Department was convicted today of lying to FBI agents who were questioning him about violating an 18-year-old man’s civil rights during an arrest; the jury will return to court tomorrow to resume deliberations on the hate crime and civil rights counts, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. 

Frank M. Nucera Jr., 62, of Bordentown, New Jersey, was convicted of one count of making false statements to FBI agents who were interviewing him about an arrest that occurred Sept. 1. 2016. Nucera is also charged by indictment with one count of hate crime assault and one count of deprivation of civil rights under color of law; the jury will return to court tomorrow to continue deliberating on those counts.

According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:

On Sept. 1, 2016, two Bordentown Township police officers responded to a phone call from the Bordentown Ramada, complaining that two teenagers had stayed in a room at the hotel without paying. The teens were listed in the complaint as “Civilian 1,” an 18-year-old African American teenager, and “Civilian 2,” a 16-year-old African American girl. After the officers arrived and questioned the teenagers, the situation allegedly escalated into a physical confrontation, with both teens attempting to resist arrest. The officers called for backup, and numerous officers, including then-Chief Nucera, arrived on the scene.

After Civilian 1 was handcuffed and was being escorted out of the hotel by police, Nucera allegedly approached him from behind and slammed the man’s head into a metal doorjamb. During a video recorded interview by FBI special agents, Nucera falsely stated multiple times that he did not touch Civilian 1 during the arrest.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s conviction.

The remaining two counts of the indictment on which Nucera was tried are merely accusations, and he remains innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly S. Lorber and Senior Trial Counsel R. Joseph Gribko of the Office’s Criminal Division.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Hoboken, New Jersey, today man admitted his role in a conspiracy to promote a voter bribery scheme during a municipal election in Hoboken, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

William Rojas, 69, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiring with others to use the mail to promote a voter bribery scheme during the 2015 municipal election in Hoboken.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Under New Jersey law, registered voters are permitted to cast a ballot by mail rather than in person. To receive a mail-in ballot, voters must complete and submit to their county clerk’s office an Application for Vote By Mail Ballot (VBM Application). After the VBM Application is processed, voters receive a mail-in ballot.

From September 2015 through November 2015, Rojas worked for a candidate for the Hoboken City Council (Candidate 1). At Candidate 1’s direction, Rojas and a conspirator, Matthew Calicchio, agreed to pay certain Hoboken voters $50 each if those voters applied for and cast mail-in ballots for the November 2015 Hoboken municipal election. Rojas provided these voters with VBM applications and told them they would get paid $50 for casting mail-in ballots. After receiving the completed mail-in ballots from voters, Rojas and Calicchio reviewed them to ensure that voters had voted for Candidate 1. After the election, Rojas delivered $50 checks to the voters whose mail-in ballots he collected. Calicchio previously pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 7, 2019.

Rojas faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Farrell of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.

Defense Counsel: Kevin F. Carlucci Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark

NEWARK, N.J. – A Morris County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for his role in producing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Colin M. Skeele, 33, of Florham Park, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an information charging him with one count of producing child pornography. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Skeele previously worked as a counselor at a boys’ summer camp in Hardwick, New Jersey, and as a teacher at parochial schools in Boonton, New Jersey, and Stirling, New Jersey.

In 2011, Skeele became Facebook friends with a boy that Skeele met while working as a counselor at a boys’ summer camp. In Facebook messages with the minor, Skeele offered to pay money for the minor to take sexually explicit photographs to send to Skeele. In one instance, Skeele paid the boy approximately $100 to send nude images of himself. Skeele later sent at least one pornographic image of that minor to another minor that had also attended the summer camp.

On multiple occasions between 2012 and 2014, Skeele communicated online with individuals located in the Philippines to purchase live child sexual abuse shows, which Skeele directed and viewed in real time via an online video and chat service. Instant messages obtained during the investigation revealed that Skeele used an online fund transfer service to purchase live sexual abuse videos of young children.

Anyone with information regarding possible victims of this activity is urged to contact the Department of Homeland Security in Newark, New Jersey, at 973-776-5500.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Skeele to 20 years of supervised release. He must also register as a sex offender and cannot have contact with anyone under age 18.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael, with the investigation that led to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan M. Peck of the U.S. Attorney’s Criminal Division.

Defense counsel: Jay V. Surgent Esq., Parsippany, New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. – The former business manager of a Morris County, New Jersey, assisted living facility was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for stealing approximately $237,000 from an elderly victim under her care, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Marcella Drakeford, 46, most recently of Fort Pierce, Florida, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to Count One of an indictment charging her with mail fraud. Judge Hayden imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

Beginning in December 2016, Drakeford agreed to help manage her victim’s financial affairs and pay for her care. She was granted limited access to the victim’s checking account. Unbeknownst to the victim or the victim’s guardian, Drakeford already had fraudulently gained access to the victim’s credit card account and had several cards issued in her name. Drakeford then used the credit cards for personal expenditures, including luxury clothing, jewelry, automobiles, dental work, rent, and utilities. Drakeford paid off the credit card bills with checks drawn on the victim’s checking account, all without permission.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Hayden sentenced Drakeford to three years of supervised release and ordered her to pay restitution of $237,258.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service under the direction of Inspector in Charge James V. Buthorn, for the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, and the Morristown Police Department, under the direction of Acting Police Chief Darnell Richardson, for their work on the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney David W. Feder, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Cybercrime Unit.

On Oct. 4, 2019, the Department of Justice unveiled a new public service announcement created in collaboration with AARP and the Oak Ridge Boys to raise awareness about fraud schemes targeting older Americans.

Defense counsel: David Holman Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark

NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark man was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Richard D. Williams, 41, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to an indictment charging him with one count of possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon. Judge Vazquez imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Feb. 18, 2017, law enforcement officers spotted a white Infiniti car that matched the make, model, color and year of a car that had previously been reported stolen. When police ran the license plate on the vehicle, they determined it belonged to a different car, suggesting that the license plate on the Infiniti had been switched. Police officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but it took off at a high rate of speed. The police pursued the car in a high-speed chase through Newark and into East Orange, New Jersey. Several other police cars and a Newark police department helicopter joined the pursuit.

The police chased the car for 10 minutes until it was traveling east on South Orange Avenue near Bergen Street in East Orange, New Jersey. The car crossed into oncoming traffic and collided head on with an unmarked Newark police department vehicle. The crash caused both the Infiniti and Newark police vehicle to catch fire. The three Newark police officers inside the police vehicle all suffered injuries but exited their vehicle safely.

Williams got out of the Infiniti and tried to flee, but was quickly caught and detained by a Newark police officer until a N.J. State Police trooper joined him. Williams was found to have a black .38-caliber revolver, loaded with four bullets, in his waistband. Williams had at least one prior felony conviction in federal court.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Vazquez sentenced William to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited task force officers of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked officers of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose, for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason S. Gould and Catherine R. Murphy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

NEWARK, N.J. – Seventeen people have been charged for their roles as members and associates of a Paterson-based street gang involved in the distribution of narcotics, including heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine base, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

Nine defendants were arrested today and seven were already in state custody. One defendant remains at large. Those arrested today are scheduled to have their initial appearances this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court. (See chart below.)

“Gang members who traffic in narcotics pump poison into New Jersey streets and put our citizens at risk of addiction and violence,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said, “The charges announced today result from the combined work of our federal, state, and local partners, and will help ensure that these defendants no longer threaten our communities with these harms and instead are held responsible for their crimes.”

“Today’s arrests are a direct result of the hard work and collaboration between ATF, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and our local, state, and federal partners in addressing gangs and their associative violence,” ATF Special Agent-In-Charge Charlie J. Patterson said. “Without question, gangs destroy communities. Let these arrests serve as a deterrent to those who think they have free reign to utilize the illegal drug trade to facilitate violence and spread fear in hopes of creating strongholds in our communities. ATF will continue to make addressing violent crime a priority and will stand together with our partners to make the City of Paterson a safer place for all of us.”

“The removal of these gang members from the streets of Paterson have made the city a safer place,” Susan A. Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division, said. “The DEA and our law enforcement partners will continue to target those individuals and organizations who choose to put communities at risk by dealing dangerous narcotics.”

The complaint charges the defendants – all Paterson residents – in three interrelated drug conspiracies involving the distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine base in the Passaic County area. One defendant, Tawan Grier, is additionally charged with distribution of cocaine base and heroin, and two of the defendants, Najier Boone and Davine Campbell, are charged with distribution of cocaine base.

According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

The defendants are all members and associates of the 230 Boys street gang, which operates primarily on Rosa Parks Boulevard and Godwin Avenue in Paterson. Through numerous controlled purchases of narcotics, consensually recorded telephone calls and text messages, physical surveillance, and the analysis of telephone call detail records, law enforcement determined that from September 2018 through Oct. 1, 2019, the defendants conspired to distribute narcotics, including heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine base.

The counts of conspiracy to distribute at least 100 grams of heroin and 28 grams of cocaine base each carry a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a fine of at least $5 million. The counts of conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl, and the distribution of heroin and cocaine base, carry a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $1 million.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents and task force officers with the ATF, Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patterson; special agents of the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gibson in Newark; officers of the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; officers of the Paterson Police Department, under the direction of Director Jerry Speziale and Police Chief Troy Oswald; detectives of the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Camelia Valdes, and the Passaic County Sheriff's Department, under the direction of Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bergen County Sheriff's Office and the Belleville and Livingston police departments for their assistance with the case.

This case is being conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s OCDETF Unit.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

DEFENDANTS AND CHARGES

*denotes at large

NAME

AGE

CHARGE

Aaryn Abrams

23

Count One: Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

Najier Boone

23

 

Count One: Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

Count Four: Distribution of Cocaine Base

Carl Brown

25

Count One: Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

*Keith Brinkley

29

Count One: Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

Zikeme Brooks

26

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

Davine Campbell

38

Count Four: Distribution of Cocaine Base

 

Shaquille Fabor

26

Count One: Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

Count Three: Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl

Tawan Grier

20

Count One: Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

Count Three: Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl

Counts Four: Distribution of Heroin

Count Five: Distribution of Cocaine Base  

Isaiah Hargrove

20

Count One: Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

Count Three: Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl

Tyson Jacobs

20

Count One: Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

Count Three: Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl

Amir Jones

20

Count One: Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

Dashion Kelson

39

Count One: Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

Count Three: Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl

Dwayne Northern

34

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

 

Wyzier Peterson

22

Count One: Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

Count Three: Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl

Jimir Ricks

25

Count One: Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

Count Three: Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl

 

Maurice Tisdale

26

Count One: Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

Cequan Wharton

25

Count One: Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin

Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

 

CAMDEN, N.J. – Four people, including two doctors, are scheduled to appear in court today on charges they defrauded New Jersey state health benefits programs and other insurers of $4.5 million by submitting fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary prescriptions, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. A fifth individual, a physician’s assistant, has pleaded guilty to participating in the health care fraud conspiracy.

Steven Monaco, 37, of Sewell, New Jersey; Daniel Oswari M.D., 48, of Bordentown, New Jersey; Michael Goldis D.O., of Mt. Laurel, New Jersey; and Aaron Jones, 25, of Willingboro, New Jersey, were all charged in a 33-count indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Monaco, Oswari, and Goldis also were each charged with individual acts of health care fraud and wire fraud, and Jones was charged with 10 false statement counts. Monaco and Oswari were charged with a conspiracy involving kickbacks for referrals for laboratory work.

The cases are assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler in Camden. The indicted defendants are expected to appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen M. Williams in Camden federal court.

According to the indictment:

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.

From January 2014 through April 2016, the conspirators recruited individuals in New Jersey to obtain very expensive and medically unnecessary compounded medications from a Louisiana pharmacy, identified in the indictment as the “Compounding Pharmacy 1,” and a Pennsylvania pharmacy, identified in the indictment as “Compounding Pharmacy 2.” The conspirators learned that certain compound medication prescriptions – including pain, scar, antifungal, and libido creams, as well as vitamin combinations – were reimbursed for 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, municipal police officers, and state troopers, had insurance coverage for these particular compound medications. An entity referred to in the indictment 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, and other insurance plans. The Pharmacy Benefits Administrator would pay prescription drug claims and then bill the State of New Jersey or the other insurance plans for the amounts paid.

Richard Zappala, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, had agreements to receive a percentage of the amount that Compounding Pharmacies 1 and 2 received for prescriptions obtained by Zappala and his associates. Zappala had Monaco and other conspirators find people who would agree to receive prescriptions for compounded medications. Zappala’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 13, 2019.

The conspirators recruited public employees and others covered by the Pharmacy Benefits Administrator to fraudulently obtain compounded medications from Compounding Pharmacies 1 and 2 without any evaluation or determination by a medical professional that the medications were medically necessary. The defendants paid individuals to agree to receive prescription medications from the Compounding Pharmacy. The defendants completed prescriptions for these individuals and selected the most expensive medications with the highest number of refills to obtain the highest possible insurance reimbursement. The conspirators would have prescriptions signed by a doctor or medical professional who did not examine the patients or determine that the medications were medically necessary. Monaco paid kickbacks to Dr. Oswari and another medical professional to reward them for signing prescriptions, and Zappala paid Dr. Goldis for signing prescriptions. Jones, who was a medical assistant in Goldis’ office, also forged Goldis’ signature on other prescriptions.

The completed prescriptions were faxed to the Compounding Pharmacies, which filled the prescriptions and billed the Pharmacy Benefits Administrator. The Pharmacy Benefits Administrator paid Compounding Pharmacies 1 and 2 over $4.5 million for compounded medications obtained by the conspiracy. Compounding Pharmacies 1 and 2 paid Zappala a percentage of that amount, which he used to pay members of the conspiracy.

The indictment charges Monaco and Oswari with a second conspiracy in which Monaco caused Oswari to receive kickbacks for referring laboratory work and signing prescriptions. Monaco, who worked for a blood and urine testing lab, arranged for his employer to hire Oswari’s medical assistant as a phlebotomist, while continuing to do medical assistant work for Oswari. In return for receiving the free services of an employee for over two years, Oswari referred his blood and urine samples to Monaco’s employer for testing, and Monaco received a commission from the insurance payments made for tests run on those samples. It was also part of this conspiracy that Monaco paid kickbacks to Oswari for writing prescriptions for compounded medications and received money from the resulting insurance payments.

The health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy count with which all indicted defendants are charged carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense. Each wire fraud count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense. Each health care fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The kickbacks conspiracy count and the false statement counts each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense

On Oct. 2, Jason Chacker, 36, of Feasterville, Pennsylvania, a physician’s assistant who practiced in Mercer County, pleaded guilty before Judge Kugler to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Chacker admitted that he and his conspirators recruited individuals who had prescription drug benefits administered by the Pharmacy Benefits Administrator that covered compounded medications. At the request of a conspirator, Chacker signed prescriptions for individuals without ever meeting them or evaluating whether they needed the compounded medications. He also paid one individual to receive compounded medications. Chacker received $3,200 and other valuable items from a conspirator for his role. The Pharmacy Benefits Administrator paid $365,454 for prescriptions fraudulently obtained by Chacker and his conspirators.

Chacker faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 5, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited agents of the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark; IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur 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, with the investigation leading to the indictment and guilty plea. 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 Eileen Schlindwein Den Bleyker, 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.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defense counsel: Monaco: Gerard Egan Esq., Exton, Pennsylvania
Daniel Oswari: Scott Krasny Esq., West Trenton, New Jersey
Michael Goldis: Ralph Kramer Esq., Haddon Heights, New Jersey
Aaron Jones: Christopher O’Malley Esq., Camden, New Jersey
Jason Chacker: Teri Lodge Esq., Marlton, New Jersey

CAMDEN, N.J. - A Burlington County, New Jersey, man has been charged in connection with his role in a GoFundMe scheme that collected money from donors on the Internet, purportedly to benefit a homeless man, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

Mark D’Amico, 40, formerly of Bordentown, New Jersey, is charged by criminal complaint with one count each of conspiring to commit wire fraud and conspiring to commit money laundering.  He is expected to appear later this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen M. Williams in Camden federal court.

On March 6, 2019, two conspirators – Katelyn McClure and Johnny Bobbitt Jr. – pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, respectively, in connection with the same scheme.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In November of 2017, D’Amico and McClure created a crowd source funding page on GoFundMe’s website entitled “Paying It Forward.” The campaign solicited donations from the public purportedly for the benefit of homeless veteran Bobbitt. On the website, D’Amico and McClure posted a story that McClure was driving home from Philadelphia on Interstate 95 and ran out of gas. Bobbitt acted as a Good Samaritan and rescued McClure by using his last $20 to buy gasoline for her. The website stated that funds were being solicited, with a goal of $10,000, to get Bobbitt off the streets and provide living expenses for him. 

The story told by D’Amico and McClure was not true. McClure never ran out of gas and Bobbitt never spent his last $20 for her. D’Amico and McClure conspired to create the false story to obtain money from donors based on false information. The false story was quickly picked up by local and national news outlets and went viral. Approximately $400,000 from more than 14,000 donors throughout the country was raised in less than one month. 

The donated funds were transferred by D’Amico and McClure from GoFundMe into accounts that they controlled. The majority of the money was quickly spent by D’Amico and McClure on personal expenses over the next three months, including significant amounts on D’Amico’s gambling addiction, vacations, a BMW automobile, clothing, handbags and other personal items and expenses.

In mid-November of 2017, when the donations had reached approximately $1,700, D’Amico and McClure told Bobbitt about the campaign and the false story. In December of 2017, after D’Amico helped open a bank account for Bobbitt, D’Amico and McClure deposited $25,000 of proceeds of the scheme into Bobbitt’s account.

The charge of wire fraud conspiracy carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.  

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur, and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s charges. He also thanked the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Scott Coffina; and officers of the Florence Township, New Jersey, Police Department for their work on the case.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason M. Richardson and Jeffrey B. Bender of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division in Camden.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

CAMDEN, N.J. – The mayor of Atlantic City today admitted to defrauding contributors to a youth basketball team of more than $87,000, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Frank Gilliam, 49, of Atlantic City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud.

“Mayor Gilliam took advantage of his victims’ desire to assist underprivileged children by falsely representing that the money contributed to the AC Starz Basketball Club would go to pay for school supplies or to support youth basketball,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said. “Instead, he spent the money on himself. When a public official like Gilliam abuses either a public or a private trust to commit a fraud, this Office and our agency partners will investigate and prosecute that official. The people of New Jersey are entitled to better.”

“When a scheme depletes charity for children, it's unconscionable,” Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie said. “But when the fraud is perpetrated by someone the public trusts, it damages the community's confidence in their public servants. This defendant betrayed the trust of his community and of people who wanted to improve the lives of children. The FBI is committed to uncovering fraud and corruption. If you break the law, no matter who you are, you will face the consequences.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Gilliam was the co-founder of AC Starz Basketball Club (AC Starz), a non-profit that he incorporated to operate a youth basketball team. While serving as a member of the Atlantic City Council and later, as mayor of Atlantic City, Gilliam solicited donations for AC Starz from various individuals and entities under the false pretense that the contributions were for a youth basketball team and/or school supplies for underprivileged children. In reality, Gilliam used most of the money for personal expenses – including luxury clothing, expensive meals, and trips – that were completely unrelated to the operation of a youth basketball team. Gilliam defrauded the contributors of $87,215.

The charge to which Gilliam pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a potential fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI-Newark Atlantic City Resident Agency’s Atlantic City Public Corruption Task Force, which includes the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and the Atlantic City Police Department, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ehrie; and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Farrell of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division.

Defense counsel: Harry H. Rimm Esq., New York

NEWARK, N.J. - A Nigerian national extradited from Canada will appear in court today for his alleged role in a scheme that defrauded vendors of office products valued at nearly $1 million by “phishing” e-mail login information from government employees, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Olumide Ogunremi, a/k/a “Tony Williams,” was charged by indictment on Sept. 28, 2018, with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He was extradited to the District of New Jersey on Sept. 26, 2019, and appeared today before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court, where he pleaded not guilty and was detained without bail.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From July 2013 through December 2013, Ogunremi and other conspirators perpetrated a computer hacking and theft scheme targeting United States government agencies’ email systems and Government Services Administration (GSA) vendors. The ring employed “phishing” attacks, which used fraudulent e-mails and websites that mimicked the legitimate e-mails and web pages of U.S. government agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Unwitting employees of those agencies visited the fake web pages and provided their e-mail account usernames and passwords.

Ogunremi and his conspirators used these stolen credentials to access the employees’ e-mail accounts in order to place fraudulent orders for office products, typically printer toner cartridges, from vendors who were authorized to do business with U.S. government agencies. Ogunremi and his conspirators directed the vendors to ship the fraudulent orders to individuals in New Jersey and elsewhere to be repackaged and ultimately shipped to other locations overseas, which were controlled by Ogunremi and his conspirators. Once the orders were received in Nigeria, Ogunremi and his conspirators sold the toner cartridges to another individual on the black market for profit.

On June 10, 2014, Abiodun Adejohn, a/k/a “James Williams,” 30, of Nigeria, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy, and was later sentenced to three years in prison.

The wire fraud conspiracy carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito praised special agents of the EPA-OIG, under the direction of Thomas Muskett; General Services Administration OIG, under the direction of SAC Jamie Willemin; Department of Commerce OIG, under the direction of SAC Duane Townsend; Department of Defense Cyber Field Office, under the direction of SAC Jeffery Thorpe; and the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to Ogunremi’s arrest.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sophie E. Reiter, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Public Protection Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel: John McGovern Esq., Newark

NEWARK, N.J. – One of 17 defendants arrested in connection with a Newark street gang known as the “Famous Boyz” today admitted distributing narcotics as part of a drug trafficking conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Ibn Saadiq, a/k/a “Zero,” 22, of Newark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin. He is the seventh defendant to plead guilty in the case so far.

On Sept. 30, 2019, a grand jury returned a 21-count superseding indictment charging Patricio Hernandez; Jonathan Hernandez; Jonathan Garcia, a/k/a “Bebo;” Javon Holmes, a/k/a “J-Dot;” and John Mosley, a/k/a “Breezy,” a/k/a “Brazy,” as follows:

Count(s)

Charge

Defendant(s)

1

Conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine

Mosley; Holmes; P. Hernandez; J. Hernandez; Garcia

2

Conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin

Mosley; Holmes

3

Distribute and possess with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base

Mosley; Holmes

4

Distribute and possess with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base

Mosley

5-9

Distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin

Mosley

10

Distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin

Holmes

11

Distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine base

Holmes

12

Distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin

Holmes

13

Distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base

Holmes

14

Distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine base

Holmes

15

Distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine base

Holmes

16

Distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin

Mosley; Holmes

17

Distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine base

Mosley; Holmes

18

Distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin

Mosley; Holmes

19

Distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine base

Mosley; Holmes

20

Distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base

J. Hernandez; Garcia

21

Maintaining premises for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing, storing, distributing, and using a controlled substance

J. Hernandez; Garcia

The charges in the superseding indictment and previous criminal complaint remain pending, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In October 2018, Saadiq and 16 other members of a violent drug trafficking conspiracy operating in Newark were charged by criminal complaint after a lengthy wiretap investigation with conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and/or heroin. The defendants are members and associates of the Famous Boyz – a subset of the Brick City Brim set of the Bloods street gang – which dealt significant quantities of heroin and crack-cocaine, primarily in the area of South 18th Street and 15th Avenue, in Newark. The gang often referred to this area as the “8 Block,” “18th,” or simply by reference to the number “8”.

The six defendants who previously pleaded guilty before Judge Arleo are:

Quaheem Bethea, a/k/a “Troub,” 20; Angelo West, a/k/a “Come Up,” 21; David Lamar, a/k/a “Brazy Ru,”27; Malik Minor, a/k/a “YK,” 22; Omar Jones, a/k/a “Torch” 20; and Robert Dorrah, a/k/a “Cash Out,” 21, all of Newark.

The heroin and crack cocaine conspiracy counts carry a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $5 million. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 21, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of ATF, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson in Newark, and members of the Newark Department of Public Safety, under the direction of Director Anthony F. Ambrose, with the investigation leading to the charges and today’s guilty plea.

He also thanked the DEA, under the direction of SAC Susan A. Gibson; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II; the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura; the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; the Belleville Police Department, under the direction of Chief Mark Minichini; and the Livingston Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gary Marshuetz.

This investigation is part of the Violent Crime Initiative (VCI) in Newark. The VCI was formed in August 2017 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the City of Newark’s Department of Public Safety to combat violent crime in and around Newark. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to prosecute violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community.

The government is represented by Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division Mary E. Toscano and Assistant U.S. Attorney Angelica M. Sinopole of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel: Saadiq: James Patton Esq., Livingston, New Jersey
Bethea: Kathleen M. Theurer Esq., Jersey City, New Jersey
West: Michael V. Calabro Esq., Newark
Lamar: Michael P. Koribanics Esq., Newark
Minor: Andrew Olesnycky Esq., Westfield, New Jersey
Jones: David B. Glazer Esq., Livingston, New Jersey
Dorrah: John Whipple Esq., Morristown, New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. – A City of Paterson police officer today admitted conspiring with other officers to violate the civil rights of individuals in Paterson, using unreasonable and excessive force, and filing a false police report to conceal his criminal activity, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Police Officer Daniel Pent, 32, of Paterson, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to violate individuals’ civil rights, using unreasonable and excessive force in violation of individuals’ civil rights, and filing a false police report.

According to documents filed in this and other cases and statements made in court:

Pent, along with Paterson police officers Eudy Ramos, Jonathan Bustios, Matthew Torres, Frank Toledo, and others, stopped and searched motor vehicles, without any justification, and stole cash and other items from the occupants. Pent and the other officers also stopped and searched individuals on the streets of Paterson, and illegally took their money. Pent and other officers arrested individuals in Paterson, seized cash from those individuals during the arrests, and split the cash proceeds among themselves. They covered up their criminal activity by filing false police reports. Pent admitted to the following illegal conduct:

• On Feb. 1, 2017, Pent and Ramos stopped and searched a vehicle in Paterson. They stole approximately $10,000 from the passenger of the vehicle and split it between themselves. Ramos and Pent then submitted an incident report to the Paterson Police Department in which they intentionally omitted any mention of the $10,000 theft.

• On May 27, 2016, Pent and Ramos arrested an individual, stole several hundred dollars in cash from the individual, and filled out a false currency seizure report that under-reported the amount of money the individual actually possessed. Pent and Ramos then applied a forged signature of the individual to the report to make it appear as though the individual had seen and agreed to the amount on the report.

While on official duty, Pent also routinely used unreasonable and excessive force in his encounters with individuals in Paterson, causing them bodily harm, including:

• Pent and other officers routinely delivered a “running tax” to individuals they arrested. If an individual ran from them, Pent and others would “tax” the individual by striking the individual multiple times, causing bodily injury.

• On Jan. 20, 2015, Pent and Ramos received a call regarding loud music coming from a vehicle on Doremus Avenue in Paterson. Pent and Ramos approached the individual in the vehicle, removed him from the vehicle and punched and kicked him. The individual suffered injuries, including eye injuries, as a result of Pent’s and Ramos’ excessive force.

The conspiracy to violate civil rights and the deprivation of civil rights charges each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The false records count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The maximum fine for each count is $250,000. Pent's sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 14, 2020.

Bustios pleaded guilty in December 2018 to conspiring to deprive individuals of their civil rights and to extortion under color of official right. He is awaiting sentencing. Torres pleaded guilty in May 2019 to conspiring to deprive individuals of their civil rights and to filing a false police report. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 20, 2019. Toledo pleaded guilty in July 2019 to conspiring to deprive individuals of their civil rights, to using unreasonable and excessive force against individuals in Paterson, and to filing a false police report. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 22, 2019. Ramos pleaded guilty on Sept. 9, 2019, to conspiring to deprive individuals of their civil rights, to using unreasonable and excessive force against individuals in Paterson, and to filing a false police report. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes, the Paterson Police Department, under the direction of Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale and Police Chief Troy Oswald, and the Paterson Police Department Office of Internal Affairs, for their assistance in the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.

Defense counsel: Michael Calabro Esq., Newark

NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, man has been charged by indictment with kidnapping a 15-year-old girl and transporting her to Ohio, as well as with being in the United States illegally after previously being deported, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Juan Carlos Morales-Pedraza, 33, of Paterson, New Jersey, was charged in a superseding indictment with one count of kidnapping, one count of transportation of a minor, and one count of re-entry of removed aliens. He was arraigned today before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court and pleaded not guilty.

According to the superseding indictment:

From April 14, 2019, through April 16, 2019, the defendant unlawfully abducted “Victim 1” in New Jersey and transported her to Ohio, with the intent that she engage in sexual activity for which a person can be charged with a criminal offense. At the time of these crimes, the defendant was in the country illegally, after having been removed from the United States in 2010.

The count of kidnapping carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, a minimum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Transportation of minors carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and mandatory restitution. Re-entry of removed aliens carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with FBI Newark’s Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie; the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office’s Sexual Investigations Unit, under the direction of Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes; and investigators with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Lake Township Police Department in Lake Township, Ohio with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force in Newark.
The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty

Defense counsel: K. Anthony Thomas Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark

NEWARK, N.J. – A Jersey City woman employed by the Hudson County Office of Aging today admitted accepting bribes for referring patients in need of home health care aides, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Myrtha Nicolas, 61, of Jersey City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katherine Hayden in Newark federal court to an information charging her with one count of extortion under color of official right.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

The Hudson County Office on Aging is an agency of the N.J. Division of Disability Services (DDS) in the Department of Human Services. The DDS works to streamline access to services and information designed to promote and enhance independent living for individuals with disabilities. Included among these services coordinated by DDS were Managed Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS), which provide comprehensive service and support, whether for an individual living at home, in an assisted living facility, or a nursing home.

Nicolas was employed as a referral coordinator at the Hudson County Office on Aging. She exercised control over the coordination and assignment of patients with disabilities in need of home health care services to home health care companies which provide these services through home health care aides.

In June of 2016, Nicolas was approached by a confidential witness (CW), who was a self-employed executive of a home health care company that provided various services, including the training, hiring and assignment of home health care aides to patients with disabilities. Nicolas agreed to help refer patients to the CW and agreed to accept $500 dollars per patient she referred to the CW’s company.

On Aug. 4, 2016, Nicolas accepted a payment of $600 for the referral of a patient. The CW complained that the CW was forced to redirect the patient to another health care company because the patient proved difficult, prompting Nicolas to assure the CW that the CW “will get the easy ones,” in the future. On Jan. 23, 2017, Nicolas accepted another $600 cash payment for a patient referral. Nicolas confirmed that she had previously received gift cards from the CW, but expressed no preference whether future payments from the CW in exchange for patient referrals would be in cash or gift cards. On Oct. 17, 2017, Nicolas accepted a final corrupt payment of $1,000 from the CW for patient referrals, promising the CW that in terms of future patients, “whatever I have, you’ll have.”

The extortion under color of official right charge carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 15, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. McCarren, of the Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man today admitted conspiring to launder the proceeds of narcotics activity, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Bobbie L. Henderson III, 36, of Edgewater, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From 2017 through May 23, 2019, Henderson conspired with others to launder the proceeds of narcotics distribution, with the intent to promote the distribution of narcotics. Henderson further admitted possessing more than $850,000 in furtherance of this conspiracy. These funds were seized by law enforcement during the course of the investigation.

Conspiracy to launder monetary instruments is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, with the investigation. Today’s guilty plea is 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 (OCDETF) and the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

The 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 and Drug Enforcement Task Force.

Defense counsel: Scott E. Leemon Esq., New York

NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, woman has been charged for her role in a conspiracy that involved the creation of false documentation to secure over $4 million dollars in bank loans, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Jennie Frias, a/k/a “Jennie Castillo,” 36, of Englewood, New Jersey, was charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Frias had her initial appearance Sept. 25, 2019, before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III in Newark federal court and was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Between March 2016 and May 2018, 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, Frias and others created false documentation to make customers’ loan applications appear more financially viable than they actually were. Employees in Cash Flow’s “File Building Department” falsified payroll records by including fictitious financial and employment information, such as fake jobs, on template payroll forms and IRS tax forms. Then, employees in Cash Flow’s “Funding Department,” of which Frias became director, took steps to pose as the loan applicants when communicating with the victim banks. For example, Funding Department employees remotely controlled computers located at the homes of the loan applicants to submit documents to the banks. Funding Department employees also took possession of the loan applicants’ cell phones and communicated with the banks posing as the loan applicants. The victim banks sustained losses of over $4 million.

One of Frias’ conspirators, Raymundo Torres, pleaded guilty Sept. 24, 2019, to charges relating to his role in the Cash Flow bank fraud conspiracy.

The conspiracy to commit bank fraud charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

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 Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ari B. Fontecchio of the Economic Crimes Unit and J. Stephen Ferketic of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Opioids Unit in Newark.

The charge and allegations against Frias are merely accusations, and she is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defense counsel: John D. Arseneault Esq. and John J. Roberts Esq., Chatham, New Jersey

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden County, New Jersey, man was sentenced to 252 months in prison for distributing images of child sexual abuse and violating the conditions of his supervised release imposed in connection with a previous child pornography conviction, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

Barnaby Hewsen, 45, formerly of Pennsauken, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman to an information charging him with one count of distributing child pornography as well as a petition charging him with violating the conditions of federal supervised release by committing another crime while under supervision. Judge Hillman imposed the sentence Sept. 26, 2019, in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In May 2017, Hewsen uploaded to a website three images that showed infants being sexually abused. On June 2, 2017, law enforcement officers conducted a search of Hewsen’s residence and discovered seven videos and 373 images on his computer, many of which depicted prepubescent children, some as young as newborns, being sexually abused and in some instances bound and assaulted. During the investigation that followed, officers also discovered stories on Hewsen’s computer that carefully detailed fantasies about kidnapping, molesting, and defiling young babies and infants. Some of the stories appeared to be authored by Hewsen himself. Hewsen took these actions while on federal supervised release for his previous federal conviction for possessing child pornography.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Hillman sentenced Hewsen to lifetime supervised release
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian A. Michael; and the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel J. Vidoni of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.

Defense counsel: Richard Sparaco Esq., Cherry Hill, New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. – A Paterson, New Jersey, man with a prior felony conviction has been arrested for illegally selling 11 firearms for over $8,000, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Floyd Henry, a/k/a “HK,” 34, was arrested Sept. 25, 2019, on a complaint charging him with one count of illegally engaging in the business of dealing in firearms and three counts of possession of firearms by a convicted felon. Henry had his initial appearance Sept. 26, 2019, before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III in Newark federal court and was detained without bail.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From July 15, 2019, through Sept. 20, 2019, Henry engaged in the business of dealing firearms while not being a federally licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer. On at least three occasions, Henry sold a total of two semi-automatic rifles, two revolvers, and seven semi-automatic pistols for over $8,000.

Each of the three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison. The charge of engaging in the business of dealing firearms, while not being a federally licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer carries a maximum potential penalty of up to five years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the ATF under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson; officers with the Passaic County Sherriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik; the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Prosecutor Camelia Valdes; and the N.J. State Police under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation leading to Henry’s arrest.

ATF’s National Tracing Center (NTC) supported this case. The NTC is the country’s only crime gun tracing center, and functions to provide accurate and timely trace information about the purchaser of a recovered firearm. ATF special agents and intelligence research specialists analyze this information to identify individuals engaged in unlicensed dealing of firearms, to include those who straw purchase firearms, which are often later recovered from the hands of convicted felons.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher D. Amore of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.

Defense counsel: Peter Carter Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark

TRENTON, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 156 months in prison for trafficking hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into New Jersey and New York and then laundering over $10.2 million in cash drug proceeds, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Khamraj Lall, 52, of Ringwood, New Jersey, was found guilty previously by a federal jury in Trenton of all eight counts of a superseding indictment, including counts charging him with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, money laundering, structuring monetary instruments, and conspiracy to commit money laundering and structuring. U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.

According to documents filed in the case and the evidence at trial:

From April 2011 through November 2014, Lall, a private pilot, smuggled hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Guyana to New Jersey and New York on his privately owned jet aircraft and then laundered the proceeds.

Lall, who owed a private jet charter business called Exec Jet Club based in Gainesville, Florida, used the proceeds of his cocaine empire to purchase jet planes, houses, and cars. He also paid over $2 million in cash stuffed into suitcases to a Florida contractor to build an airplane hangar in Guyana.

Over a 3-½ year period, Lall also made (or had others make) 1,287 cash deposits totaling approximately $7.5 million into more than 20 different bank accounts in New Jersey and New York, much of it in $20 bills. In order to avoid detection and circumvent bank reporting laws, all 1,287 deposits were for amounts less than $10,000.

In November 2014, Lall was flying one of his jets from the U.S. to Guyana and stopped in Puerto Rico to refuel. An outbound search of the plane uncovered $470,000 in cash stuffed into a suitcase hidden in the tail of the plane, and another $150,000 in cash hidden under a seat.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Thompson sentenced Lall to five years of supervised release. The Court previously ordered Lall to forfeit his interest in two jet airplanes, two airplane hangars, multiple properties, a Lexus SUV, among other property traceable to his crimes. The Court also entered a money judgment against Lall for $9.3 million.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents and task force officers of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur; the Morristown, New Jersey, police department, under the direction of Chief Peter Demnitz; special agents and staff of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael; the Drug Enforcement Administration-Rochester, New York, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt; the Federal Aviation Administration, Law Enforcement Assistance Program; and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations Center under the direction of Richard T. Booth, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan M. Peck and Thomas S. Kearney of the Criminal Division in Newark.

Defense counsel: Jason J. Leboeuf Esq., Livingston, New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. – The former administrative manager of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (Carpenters Union) New Jersey/New York benefit funds was indicted today by a federal grand jury for defrauding the funds of more than $1.5 million, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

George R. Laufenberg, 69, of Harvey Cedars, New Jersey, is charged in a five-count indictment with embezzlement of pension funds, embezzlement of deferred compensation payments, embezzlement of excess annuity fund contributions, conspiracy to embezzle with a “low-show” employee, and making a false statement in an annual financial report. He will be arraigned before a U.S. District Court Judge at a later date.

According to the indictment:

Laufenberg is the former administrative manager of the New Jersey Carpenter’s Pension, Annuity, Health and Training/Apprenticeship Funds. He allegedly stole from the benefit plans by using his authority to self-deal and benefit himself with unapproved and improper distributions from pension and annuity funds. He also filed a false U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 in which he denied he was improperly diverting annuity contributions into his paycheck.

Laufenberg, who earned an annual salary of approximately $300,000, is charged with using his authority to unilaterally grant himself a $120,000 pension and $180,000 in annual deferred compensation, without retiring, or without giving notice or receiving approval from the funds’ board of trustees. He is also charged with diverting into his paycheck monthly annuity contributions, contrary to IRS regulations. Laufenberg also used his authority to grant a personal friend, who was a low-show employee at the funds, a full salary with a pension, annuity contributions and full health care coverage.

The maximum penalty for each count is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited the investigators of the Department of Labor (DOL), Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA), under the supervision of Darren Cohen, Regional Director; special agents of the DOL Office of the Inspector General (OIG) under the supervision of Special Agent in Charge Michael Mikulka; and the agents of the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey, under the supervision of Inspector General Michael Nestor, with the investigation leading to today’s indictment.

The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel V. Grady O’Malley of the U.S. Attorney’s Offices’ Organized Crime/Gangs Unit.

The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defense counsel: Peter W. Till Esq., Springfield Township, New Jersey

Twenty-eight Arrests Made in Coordinated Takedown by Federal and State Law Enforcement

TRENTON, N.J. – Federal criminal charges have been filed against 31 individuals for their roles as members, associates, and suppliers of multiple drug-trafficking conspiracies that distributed cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin in the Burlington County, New Jersey, area, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

Twenty-eight defendants were arrested today, one was already in state custody, and two remain at large. Those arrested today are scheduled to have their initial appearances this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Arpert in Trenton federal court. (See chart below.)

The first complaint charges 20 defendants in two overlapping drug conspiracies involving the distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine in the Burlington County area. This organization is allegedly operated by Herbert Mays of Willingboro, New Jersey.

The second complaint charges 12 defendants with three interrelated drug conspiracies involving the distribution of cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin. Talib Conway of Philadelphia is described in the complaint as a leading member of this organization. One defendant, Teron Huggins, is charged in both complaints.

“The defendants charged in this case were responsible for moving large quantities of dangerous drugs through the streets of Burlington County and elsewhere,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said. “Taking this number of people off the street required a massive and coordinated effort by our office and other federal and state law enforcement organizations. These arrests should go a long way toward making our streets safer.”

“The success of today’s operation is largely attributed to the close working relationship between federal, state, and local law enforcement,” FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Gregory W. Ehrie, Newark, said. “This collaborative effort to address violent, drug traffickers within our local communities is just one example of how highly the FBI values its partners. To them, I would like to say ‘thank you’ for trusting us, lending their support, and playing a critical role making our community safer. To the criminal element that escaped arrest this time around – know that we aren't finished.”

“Today's arrests are a testament to ATF's commitment to stand with our local, state, and federal partners to expend every resource available to make our communities safer,” ATF Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson said. “Arresting criminals that contribute to the violence in our communities will continue to be ATF's top priority.”   

According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Between July 2019 and September 2019, the defendants and others engaged in multiple and overlapping narcotics conspiracies that operated primarily throughout Burlington County – including Willingboro, Burlington City, Burlington Township, Bordentown Township, Edgewater Park, Pemberton and Mount Laurel – and which sought to profit from the distribution of cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin. Through the interception of telephone calls and text messages pursuant to court-authorized wiretap orders, and other investigative techniques, law enforcement learned that defendants obtained regular supplies of cocaine from conspirators in the Philadelphia area, then redistributed that cocaine, portions of which defendants converted into crack cocaine, to distributors, sub-dealers, and end-users throughout Burlington County and elsewhere. During the wiretap portion of the investigation, law enforcement intercepted numerous communications among the conspirators discussing cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin quality and availability, pricing, packaging, quantity, and customer satisfaction.

The counts of conspiracy to distribute at least five kilos of cocaine carry a maximum penalty of life in prison and a fine of $1 million. The counts of conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine carry a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a maximum fine of $10 million. The counts of conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin carry a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a fine of $5 million. The counts of conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine carry a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison and a fine of $5 million.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, Newark Division, Trenton Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie; special agents of ATF, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson; detectives of the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina; officers of the Burlington Township Police Department, under the direction of Director of Public Safety Bruce Painter; officers of the Willingboro Police Department, under the direction of Director of Public Safety Kinamo Lomon; officers of the Burlington City Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police John Fine; officers of the Florence Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Brian Boldizar; officers of the Bordentown Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Brian Pesche; officers of the Edgewater Park Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Robert Hess; officers of the Mount Laurel Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Stephen Reidener; officers of the Ewing Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police John Stemler; officers of the Westampton Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Stephen Ent; officers of the Trenton Police Department, under the direction of Director Sheilah Coley, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Martha K. Nye and Ray Mateo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

*denotes at large

 

NAME

AGE

RESIDENCE

CHARGE

Herbert Mays

62

Willingboro, NJ

Count one:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

Count two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine

Andre Morton

37

Lower Makefield Township, PA

Count one:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

Count two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine

Ronnie Dawson

34

Edgewater Park, NJ

Count one:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

Count two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine

Teron Huggins

42

Mount Laurel, NJ

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

Rufus Williams

44

Eastampton, NJ

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

Gurnsey Flagg

61

Burlington, NJ

Count one:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

Count two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine

Roniffe Gaines

36

Willingboro, NJ

Count one:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

Count two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine

John Petrovich

55

Burlington, NJ

Count one:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

Count two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine

Linford Johnson

42

Willingboro, NJ

Count one:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

Count two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine

Nathaniel McCoy

52

Darby, PA

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

Anthony Pruitt

46

Edgewater Park, NJ

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

Shameke Fowler

30

Willingboro, NJ

Count one:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

Count two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine

Julius Thigpen

57

Philadelphia, PA

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

Andre Perkins

(already in state custody)

37

Edgewater Park, NJ

Count one:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

Count two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine

Brandon Watts

32

Burlington City, NJ

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms grams of cocaine

*Craig Moore

46

Wilmington, NC

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine

Tracy Williams

57

Mount Holly, NJ

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine

Samatha Bohlert

48

Mount Holly, NJ

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine

Mecca Grant

33

Burlington, NJ

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine

April Branson

26

Willingboro, NJ

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talib Conway

39

Philadelphia, PA

Count One:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 100 grams of heroin

Count Two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute a detectable amount of cocaine

Count Three:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 28 grams of crack cocaine

Teron Huggins

42

Mount Laurel, NJ

Count Two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute a detectable amount of cocaine

Jerrod Epps

35

Medford, NJ

Count Two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute a detectable amount of cocaine

Count Three:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 28 grams of crack cocaine

Michael Linares

35

Mansfield, NJ

Count One:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 100 grams of heroin

Count Two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute a detectable amount of cocaine

Count Three:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 28 grams of crack cocaine

Allan Simeon

39

Browns Mills, NJ

Count Three:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 28 grams of crack cocaine

Joaquin Simeron

36

 

Westampton, NJ

Count Two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute a detectable amount of cocaine

Count Three:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 28 grams of crack cocaine

Jamarl Simeron

39

Delanco, NJ

Count Two:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute a detectable amount of cocaine

Jawan Paxton

23

Burlington City, NJ

Count One:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 100 grams of heroin

Andre Williams

20

Browns Mills, NJ

Count One:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 100 grams of heroin

Count Three:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 28 grams of crack cocaine

*Rasheed Pollard

33

Pemberton, NJ

Count One:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 100 grams of heroin

Count Three:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 28 grams of crack cocaine

Cemal Wood

31

Pemberton, NJ

Count Three:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 28 grams of crack cocaine

Donte Snow

31

Pemberton, NJ

Count One:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 100 grams of heroin

Count Three:

Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute more than 28 grams of crack cocaine

 

NEWARK, N.J. – A Pennsylvania man employed as a regional manager for a contractor involved with construction projects at Picatinny Arsenal (PICA) and at Joint Base McGuire-Dix- Lakehurst (Ft. Dix) was sentenced today to 28 months in prison for his role in a fraud scheme that caused losses of $1.4 million, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

James Conway, 48, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud and one count of accepting unlawful kickbacks. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From September 2009 to August 2015, Conway secretly owned a company called Walsh Construction Services, LLC (Walsh Construction), which purported to provide construction services. Using his position as regional manager for a construction contractor, Conway steered subcontracts to Walsh Construction for jobs at PICA and Ft. Dix. To conceal his ownership of Walsh Construction, Conway signed the subcontracts as Keith Walsh, the purported owner or vice president of Walsh Construction. There was, in fact, no person by that name who owned or was the vice president of Walsh Construction.

Conway used Walsh Construction to obtain payments from the construction contractor by submitting invoices and bills on behalf of Walsh Construction for work purportedly performed at PICA and Ft. Dix. Many of the invoices and bills included charges for work that Walsh Construction only partially did, or for work that was not performed at all by Walsh Construction, causing losses of $1.4 million.

Conway also accepted kickbacks totaling $180,345, from four subcontractors who served as subcontractors to the contractor on various construction projects at PICA and Ft. Dix knowing that the subcontractors expected, in return, to obtain favorable treatment from Conway.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Conway to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $1.4 million in restitution.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie; the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leigh-Alistair Barzey; and the U.S. Army, Major Procurement Fraud Unit, Criminal Investigation Command, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Larry Scott Moreland, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty sentencing.   

The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Leslie Faye Schwartz and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark McCarren of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.

NEWARK, N.J. – The Justice Department today announced a coordinated health care fraud enforcement action across seven federal districts in the Northeastern United States, involving more than $800 million in losses and the distribution of over 3.25 million pills of opioids in “pill mill” clinics and doctors’ offices. The takedown includes new charges and convictions by guilty plea against 54 defendants for their roles in submitting nearly $800 million in fraudulent claims made to federal payers, including 15 doctors or medical professionals, and 24 defendants are charged for their roles in diverting opioids.

The cases prosecuted by this Office in connection with the takedown reflect all of the different facets of our health care and opioids work. Doctors, marketing executives, pharmacists, and the owners and operators of a genetic testing laboratory have been charged with, or have plead guilty to a range of criminal conduct, including: the criminal prescription of highly-addictive opioid pills to patients with no medical need, the paying of kickbacks and other fraud related to unnecessary genetic testing, fraud and abuse in the compounded medicines business, and other crimes that victimize federal health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid, as well as patients across New Jersey who need medical care.

Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by the Health Care Fraud Unit of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section in conjunction with its Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF), as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of New Jersey, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania, Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, District of Connecticut, and District of Columbia. The MFSF is a partnership among the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI and HHS-OIG. In addition, IRS-Criminal Investigation, DOD-DCIS, FDA-OIG, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and other federal and state law enforcement agencies participated in the operation.

The charges involve individuals contributing to the opioid epidemic, including medical professionals involved in the unlawful distribution of opioids and other prescription narcotics, a particular focus for the Department. According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 115 Americans die every day of an opioid-related overdose.

Today’s arrests and guilty pleas come one-year after the Department of Justice announced the formation of the Newark/Philadelphia Regional MFSF, a joint law enforcement effort that brings together the resources and expertise of the Health Care Fraud Unit in the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of New Jersey and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as well as law enforcement partners. The Strike Force focuses its efforts on aggressively investigating and prosecuting complex cases involving patient harm, large financial loss, and the illegal prescribing and distribution of opioids and other dangerous narcotics.

“Rooting out and prosecuting abuses within our health care system is a top priority for my office,” Craig Carpenito, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, said. “In New Jersey, these illegal activities run the gamut from over-prescribing dangerous opioids, to running pharmacies improperly, to mis-prescribing unnecessary medications, to tricking patients – often the elderly or vulnerable – into seeking expensive genetic testing or compounded prescriptions they don’t need. Today’s message should be clear: We are dedicated to combatting all forms of illegal activity in the health care arena. If you put patients’ health at risk with criminal intent, you will be dealt with as a criminal.”

“Physicians and other medical professionals who fraudulently bill our federal health care programs are stealing from taxpayers and robbing vulnerable patients of necessary medical care. The medical professionals and others engaging in criminal behavior by peddling opioids for profit continue to fuel our nation’s drug crisis,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to use every tool at our disposal, including data analytics and traditional law enforcement techniques, to investigate, prosecute, and punish this reprehensible behavior and protect federal programs from abuse.”

“The FBI does not care about your status in life, your professional standing, your level of income, or your personal connections when you break the law,” Assistant Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs of the FBI’s Newark Field Office said. “If you try to scam the system, if you exploit your professional license just to pad your pockets, if you mortgage your morals just to inflate your bank account, you will only find yourself in deeper debt. We are committed to protecting the public; we are intent on rooting out fraud and corruption; we are duty-bound to track down and arrest anyone who is breaking our federal laws. Don’t be next.”

*********

Among those charged in the District of New Jersey are the following:

Two Doctors Mis-Prescribing Opioids

• Evangelos Megariotis, 66, of Clifton, New Jersey, an orthopedic surgeon who owns and operates Clifton Orthopedic Associates in Clifton, New Jersey. Megariotis was charged by complaint with prescribed large amounts of controlled substances, such as oxycodone, Percocet, Xanax, and promethazine with codeine outside the usual course of medical practice and without a legitimate purpose. He wrote these allegedly illegal prescriptions to patients he knew were abusing opioids. In two years, Megariotis allegedly prescribed more than 1.4 million tablets of oxycodone and over 450 gallons of promethazine with codeine cough syrup to his patients. The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Liu, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.

• Joseph Santiamo, 64, of Staten Island, New York, a doctor who specialized in geriatric care, was charged by complaint with prescribing powerful opioids to patients he knew were addicted. According to the complaint, Santiamo also solicited sexual favors from some patients in return for writing them an opioid prescription. In a recorded statement to agents, Santiamo admitted he knew his prescriptions were being abused, but kept writing them anyway. Just twenty of Santiamo’s patients allegedly received more than 100,000 oxycodone pills for no legitimate medical purpose. The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Urbano of the Criminal Division.

Ex-Sales Rep. Committing Compounding Fraud:

• Kent Courtheyn, of Kent, Ohio, a former medical device sales representative, indicted for his alleged role in marketing compounded (i.e. customized) medicines to patients who didn’t need them. Courtheyn allegedly steered prescriptions for these expensive compounded medications to his conspirators, and took a cut for his role. The indictment alleges that the scheme caused at least $10 million in losses to participating health care plans, at least $3.5 million of which was paid by TRICARE, the federal program that pays for health care services for veterans. The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Liu, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.

PrimeAid Pharmacy Indictment:

• Yana Shtindler, 44, and Samuel “Sam” Khaimov, 47, both of Glen Head, New York; Alex Fleyshmakher, 33, of Morganville, New Jersey; and Ruben Sevumyants, 36, of Marlboro, New Jersey, charged by indictment. From 2009 through August 2017, Prime Aid Pharmacies (located in Union City, New Jersey and Bronx, New York) engaged in a slew of fraudulent activities including: (a) paying illegal bribes and kickbacks to doctors and doctors’ employees in exchange for prescription referrals to Prime Aid; (b) billing health insurance providers for medications that were never actually provided to patients; and (c) opening new pharmacies and concealing the true ownership of those pharmacies to obtain lucrative contracts they otherwise would not have obtained. The scheme of billing for medications that were never dispensed to patients was so egregious that Prime Aid received reimbursement payments of over $65 million for prescription medications that it never even ordered from distributors or had in stock. In total, Prime Aid’s multiple schemes defrauded Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers out of at least $99 million. The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua L. Haber and Jason Gould of the Criminal Division.

Empire Pharmacy Criminal Complaint:

• Eduard “Eddy” Shtindler, 36, of Paramus, New Jersey, charged by complaint with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to pay illegal kickbacks to a doctor. From 2012 through at least 2017, Shtindler owned and operated Empire Pharmacy in West New York, New Jersey. For most of that time, Shtindler allegedly paid bribes to a psychiatrist in Hudson County, New Jersey, to induce the doctor to send prescriptions to Empire. On occasion, Shtindler secreted cash bribes in pill bottles that were delivered to the doctor. In exchange for these bribes, the doctor steered patients to Empire pharmacy. In addition, starting in 2015, Empire – at Shtindler’s direction – perpetrated a fraudulent scheme to induce doctors to send expensive specialty medication prescriptions to Empire. Specialty medications often required “prior authorization” before being approved for reimbursement by Medicare, Medicaid, and some private insurance providers. To receive prior authorization approval more quickly and successfully than any other pharmacies, Empire employees, including two pharmacists, repeatedly falsified prior authorization forms for medications for various conditions, including psoriasis and Hepatitis C. In total, Empire defrauded Medicare and Medicaid out of at least $2 million. The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua L. Haber of the Criminal Division.

Ark Labs Genetic Testing Indictment:

• Dr. Matthew S. Ellis, 53, of Gainesville, Florida; Edward B. Kostishion, 59, of Lakeland, Florida; Kyle D. Mclean, 36, of Arlington Heights, Illinois; Kacey C. Plaisance, 38, of Altamonte Springs, Florida; Jeremy Richey, 39, of Mars, Pennsylvania; and Jeffrey Tamulski, 46, of Tampa, Florida. Kostishion, Plaisance, and Richey operated Ark Laboratory Network LLC (Ark), a company that purported to operate a network of laboratories that facilitated genetic testing. Ark partnered with Privy Health, Inc., a company that McLean operated, and another company to acquire DNA samples and Medicare information from hundreds of patients through various methods, including offering $75 gift cards to patients, all without the involvement of a treating health care professional. Ellis, a physician based in Gainesville, served as the ordering physician who authorized genetic testing for hundreds of patients across the country that he never saw, examined, or treated. These included patients from New Jersey and various other states where Ellis was not licensed to practice medicine. Through this process, Ellis, Kostishion, Plaisance, and McLean submitted and caused to be submitted fraudulent orders for genetic tests to numerous clinical laboratories. These orders falsely certified that Ellis was the patients’ treating physician and, in many cases, contained false information indicating that a patient had a personal or family history of cancer, when, in fact, the patient had no cancer history whatsoever. In 2018 alone, Medicare paid clinical laboratories at least approximately $4.6 million for genetic tests that Ellis ordered in this manner. In addition, Kostishion, Plaisance, Richey, and Tamulski entered into kickback agreements with certain clinical laboratories under which the laboratories would pay Ark a bribe in exchange for delivering DNA samples and orders for genetic tests. The bribe payments were based on the percentage of Medicare revenue that the laboratories received in connection with the tests. Among other things, Kostishion, Plaisance, Richey, and Tamulski concealed these kickback arrangements through issuing sham invoices to laboratories that purportedly reflected services provided at an hourly rate even though the parties had already agreed upon the bribe amount, which was based on the revenue the laboratories received. In 2018, the clinical laboratories paid Ark at least approximately $1.8 million in bribes. The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bernard Cooney of the Criminal Division.

Doctor Pleads Guilty in Compounding Case

• Bernard Ogon M.D., 46, of Burlington, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on September 25, 2019 to one count of health care fraud conspiracy for his participation in a vast compounded medication telemedicine conspiracy. As part of the conspiracy, Ogon admittedly signed prescriptions for compounded medications (that is, medications with ingredients of a drug tailored to the needs of a particular patient) without having established a doctor-patient relationship, spoken to the patient or conducting any medical evaluation. Ogon often signed preprinted prescription forms—with patient information and medication already filled out—where all that was required was his signature. Then, instead of providing the prescription to the patient, Ogon would return the prescriptions to specific compounding pharmacies involved in the conspiracy. Ogon was paid $20 to $30 for each prescription he signed, and his participation in the conspiracy caused losses to health care benefit programs of over $24 million, including losses to government health care programs of over $7 million. The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Gould of the Criminal Division.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito also thanked special investigators from his office for their work on these cases.

A complaint, information or indictment is merely an accusation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until and until proven guilty.

NEWARK, N.J. – The Justice Department today announced a coordinated health care fraud enforcement action across seven federal districts in the Northeastern United States, involving more than $800 million in losses and the distribution of over 3.25 million pills of opioids in “pill mill” clinics and doctors’ offices. The takedown includes new charges and convictions by guilty plea against 54 defendants for their roles in submitting nearly $800 million in fraudulent claims made to federal payers, including 15 doctors or medical professionals, and 24 defendants are charged for their roles in diverting opioids.

Attorney for the United States Rachael A. Honig said the cases prosecuted by this Office in connection with the takedown reflect all of the different facets of the office's health care and opioids work. Doctors, marketing executives, pharmacists, and the owners and operators of a genetic testing laboratory have been charged with, or have plead guilty to a range of criminal conduct, including: the criminal prescription of highly-addictive opioid pills to patients with no medical need, the paying of kickbacks and other fraud related to unnecessary genetic testing, fraud and abuse in the compounded medicines business, and other crimes that victimize federal health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid, as well as patients across New Jersey who need medical care.

Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by the Health Care Fraud Unit of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section in conjunction with its Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF), as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of New Jersey, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania, Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, District of Connecticut, and District of Columbia. The MFSF is a partnership among the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI and HHS-OIG. In addition, IRS-Criminal Investigation, DOD-DCIS, FDA-OIG, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and other federal and state law enforcement agencies participated in the operation.

The charges involve individuals contributing to the opioid epidemic, including medical professionals involved in the unlawful distribution of opioids and other prescription narcotics, a particular focus for the Department. According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 115 Americans die every day of an opioid-related overdose.

Today’s arrests and guilty pleas come one-year after the Department of Justice announced the formation of the Newark/Philadelphia Regional MFSF, a joint law enforcement effort that brings together the resources and expertise of the Health Care Fraud Unit in the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of New Jersey and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as well as law enforcement partners. The Strike Force focuses its efforts on aggressively investigating and prosecuting complex cases involving patient harm, large financial loss, and the illegal prescribing and distribution of opioids and other dangerous narcotics.

“Physicians and other medical professionals who fraudulently bill our federal health care programs are stealing from taxpayers and robbing vulnerable patients of necessary medical care. The medical professionals and others engaging in criminal behavior by peddling opioids for profit continue to fuel our nation’s drug crisis,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to use every tool at our disposal, including data analytics and traditional law enforcement techniques, to investigate, prosecute, and punish this reprehensible behavior and protect federal programs from abuse.”

“The FBI does not care about your status in life, your professional standing, your level of income, or your personal connections when you break the law,” Assistant Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs of the FBI’s Newark Field Office said. “If you try to scam the system, if you exploit your professional license just to pad your pockets, if you mortgage your morals just to inflate your bank account, you will only find yourself in deeper debt. We are committed to protecting the public; we are intent on rooting out fraud and corruption; we are duty-bound to track down and arrest anyone who is breaking our federal laws. Don’t be next.”

Among those charged in the District of New Jersey are the following:

• Aaron Williamsky 59, of Marlboro, New Jersey, and Nadia Levit, 40, of Englishtown, New Jersey, owners of approximately 25 durable medical equipment companies, pleaded guilty on Sept. 18 and Sept. 25, respectively, for their participation in a health care fraud scheme related to their payment of kickbacks in exchange for doctors’ orders for medically unnecessary orthotic braces. Levit’s conduct admittedly caused losses in excess of $120 million and Williamsky’s conduct admittedly caused losses in excess of $170 million. Williamsky also pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy related to his attempt to conceal at least $1.65 million of the proceeds of the fraud. The case was investigated by FBI, HHS-OIG, IRS-CI and special agents of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Stephen Ferketic and Sean Sherman and  of the District of New Jersey.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

A complaint, information or indictment is merely an accusation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until and until proven guilty.

NEWARK, N.J. – A real estate agent recruiter was arrested today on charges stemming from a scheme to inflate sales commissions, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Russell Stinnett, 54, of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 23, 2019, on five counts of wire fraud. He is scheduled to appear later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bristow Marchant in Charlestown, South Carolina, federal court. Stinnett will be arraigned in Newark federal court at a later date.

According to the indictment:

Between January 2017 and April 2019, Stinnett engaged in a scheme to misrepresent the sales value of real estate sold by agents that he recruited to work for the victim real estate company in order to boost his own commission payouts. Stinnett obtained sales data for the agents he recruited, then doctored the data to make it appear as if his recruits sold more real estate than they actually had. Stinnett then submitted the doctored sales data to his employer using his business email or a commission claim portal that was received and processed in New Jersey. Stinnett’s employer paid him commissions on sales that his recruits never actually made, resulting in a loss of approximately $1 million to his employer.

The five counts of wire fraud with which Stinnett is charged each carry a maximum potential punishment of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross loss or gain caused by the offense.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to the indictment.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari B. Fontecchio of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

TRENTON, N.J. – An Ocean County, New Jersey, man was charged today with online enticement to produce, as well as receipt of, images of child sexual abuse, U.S Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. 

Samuel Schwinger, 34, of Lakewood, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count each of sexual exploitation of a minor, online enticement of a minor to produce child pornography and receipt of child pornography. Schwinger is already in custody on state charges; his initial appearance will be scheduled for a later date.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Schwinger met an underage girl through an online social media application while he purported to be an underage girl. Schwinger asked the girl to send him sexually explicit videos through the application and directed her to produce certain images in the videos. During his communications with the victim, Schwinger also sent her sexually explicit videos claiming to be the girl depicted in those videos. 

The charge of online enticement carries a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison, a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum fine of $250,000. The charge of sexual exploitation of a child carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The receipt of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. 

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael in Newark; the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer; and the Lakewood, New Jersey, Police Department under the direction of Chief Gregory Meyer with the investigation leading to the charges. 

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Gasparian of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.  

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 

NEWARK, N.J. – A New York man 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.

Raymundo Torres, 35, of New York City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to an information charging him 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 May 2018, 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, Torres and others created false documentation to make customers’ loan applications appear more financially viable than they actually were. Employees at Cash Flow Partners falsified payroll records by including fictitious financial and employment information, such as fake jobs, on template payroll forms and IRS tax forms. Victim banks sustained losses of over $4 million.

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 Jan. 8, 2020.

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 Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Ferketic of the Opioids Unit and Ari B. Fontecchio of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel: Joshua P. Cohn Esq., Saddle Brook, New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. – An Atlantic City, New Jersey, woman was indicted today on charges including drug distribution that resulted in a death, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Rajeri Curry, 30, is charged by indictment with one count of distribution of heroin and fentanyl that resulted in a death, one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and one count of possession with the intent to distribute heroin. Curry was charged by complaint in March 2019 and has been detained without bail.

According to documents filed in this case:

On June 1, 2018, Curry distributed a substance containing heroin and fentanyl to an individual who died as a result of using the substance. Law enforcement found the deceased victim inside a vehicle in the parking lot of an Atlantic City, New Jersey, restaurant. Inside the victim’s vehicle were multiple wax folds that contained heroin and fentanyl and were stamped with the words “BODY COUNT.” Shortly before the victim’s death, surveillance footage captured Curry distributing narcotics to the 30-year-old victim. 

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the DEA’s Newark Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson, officers from the Atlantic City Police Department, under the direction of Chief Henry M. White Jr., and the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Damon G. Tyner, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The drug distribution resulting in death charge carries a maximum punishment of life in prison and a fine of $1 million. The other counts are each punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison.

The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and Curry is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Catherine R. Murphy and Heather Suchorsky of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man today admitted his role in exchanging $3.49 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for cash, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Juan Perdomo, 60, of Newark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of SNAP fraud, one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from SNAP fraud, and one count of aiding in the preparation of a materially false tax return.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From October 2015 to September 2018, Perdomo ran M&R Supermarket, a business that was authorized to accept benefits provided by SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp program. SNAP is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retail food stores approved for participation may sell food in exchange for SNAP benefits, but may not exchange SNAP benefits for cash.

Every SNAP recipient receives an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card, similar to a debit card, to use to make purchases. Every retailer authorized to accept SNAP benefits has an EBT terminal. Food purchases are made by swiping the card at the terminal. After the customer enters a Personal Identification Number (PIN), the EBT terminal verifies the PIN, determines whether the customer’s account balance is sufficient to cover the proposed transaction, and informs the retailer whether the transaction should be authorized or denied. 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.

Law enforcement agents verified the fraudulent exchange of SNAP benefits for cash through the use of an undercover law enforcement agent who engaged in 11 “purchases” at M&R Supermarket, where Juan Perdomo and his son, Jose Perdomo, exchanged money for SNAP benefits.

The bank account of M&R Supermarket showed numerous cash withdrawals in excess of $10,000 by Juan Perdomo and his wife, Maria Rodriguez, as well as several cashed checks in excess of $10,000 by Jose Perdomo.

In September 2018, Juan Perdomo, Jose Perdomo and Maria Rodriguez were charged by complaint with SNAP benefit fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They were also charged with money laundering conspiracy. Jose previously pleaded guilty to SNAP benefit fraud and money laundering. The charges against Rodriguez remain pending, and they are merely accusations; the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The count of SNAP benefit fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss. The count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction. The count aiding in the preparation of false tax return carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Bethanne M. Dinkins, special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian A. Michael, and IRS - Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Perry Farhat of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

NEWARK, N.J. – Two Hudson County men were charged for their alleged roles in trafficking heroin and fentanyl into a New Jersey state prison, which resulted in an inmate’s overdose, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

Noel Salgado, 39, a/k/a “Kuko,” and Rodgerick Garrett, 38, a/k/a “50,” a/k/a “Fif,” a/k/a “Boo,” both of Jersey City, New Jersey, were each charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl and one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl, which resulted in serious bodily injury to a person. Both men are scheduled to appear Sept. 30, 2019, for arraignment before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti.

According to the indictment, other documents filed in this case, and statements made in court:

Salgado is the leader of the “Loyal Hoody Gang” subset of the Neighborhood Rolling 20 Bloods, a nationwide street gang. While incarcerated as an inmate at Bayside State Prison, Salgado directed other gang members and associates to provide narcotics proceeds to him and his associates and to smuggle narcotics and other contraband into prison.

On Oct. 17, 2015, Salgado called Garrett from prison to arrange for the purchase and smuggling into the prison of heroin and fentanyl. A third conspirator picked up the narcotics from Garrett and smuggled them to Salgado on Oct. 18, 2015. The following day, an inmate to whom Salgado had distributed the narcotics was found unresponsive in his cell suffering from a drug overdose. The inmate only regained consciousness after medical personnel administered an opiate antidote to revive the inmate, who was hospitalized for two days following his overdose.

The charge of distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl, which resulted in serious bodily injury, carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a $1 million fine. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, and investigators with the N.J. Department of Corrections, Special Investigations Division, under the direction of Acting Commissioner Marcus O. Hicks, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher D. Amore and Elaine K. Lou of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.

 

CAMDEN, N.J. – The chief executive officer of a private equity investment firm today admitted he defrauded an investor of $1.35 million dollars, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Karl James, 48, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez in Camden federal court to an information that charged him with one count of wire fraud. 

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

James was the CEO of Gore Capital LLC, which he told others was a private equity investment firm. In February 2016, James and the victim agreed to each invest approximately $1.5 million into a company that specialized in extracting and converting cannabinoids from marijuana. They further agreed to form an LCC as a conduit for their joint investment. In April 2016, James incorporated the LLC in Delaware.

On April 20, 2016, James instructed the victim to wire his investment funds into a bank account. James falsely told the victim that the victim also had access to the account. On April 22, 2016, the victim wired $500,000 into the account. On July 12, 2016, James instructed the victim to wire the remaining $1 million of his investment, which the victim did. To induce the victim’s payment, James told the victim that he would deposit his own money into the account. In reality, James never wired or deposited any of his own funds.

James later spent $1.35 million of the victim’s funds on personal and entertainment expenses for himself. 

The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Feldman Nikic and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dara Govan, Chief of the Office’s Public Protection Unit, in Newark.

NEWARK, N.J. – An Ohio man was arrested today for his role in a large-scale, multi-level marketing scheme to defraud private and federally funded health care benefit programs of at least $10 million through the submission of claims for medically unnecessary prescriptions for compounded medications, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Kent Courtheyn, 35, of Kent, Ohio, owner and operator of two companies involved in the sales and marketing of compounded medications, IntegriMed Solutions LLC (IntegriMed) and KA Compounding LLC (KA Compounding), was charged by a federal grand jury in a two-count indictment with conspiring to commit health care fraud and conspiring to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. He is scheduled to have his initial court appearance today in federal court in Ohio.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From as early as July 2014 through July 2016, Courtheyn, a former medical device sales representative, ran a scheme to defraud federally funded health care benefit programs, such as TRICARE, as well as privately funded health care benefit programs. TRICARE is a health care entitlement program of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Military Health System that provides coverage for DoD beneficiaries worldwide, including active duty service members, National Guard and Reserve members, retirees, their families, and survivors.

Courtheyn recruited individuals to submit false and fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary compounded medications, such as pain creams, scar creams, wound creams, and metabolic vitamins, without regard to medical necessity. Compounding is a practice in which a licensed pharmacist or physician combines, mixes or alters ingredients of a drug to create a medication tailored to the needs of an individual patient. Pharmacies engaging in the practice are referred to as “compounding pharmacies.” Generally, compounded medications are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but can be prescribed by a physician when an FDA-approved drug does not meet the health needs of a particular patient. Compounded medications are supposed to be tailored to a patient’s particular medical need.

Courtheyn and others targeted individuals with health insurance plans that paid for compounded medications and had high reimbursements, and convinced these individuals to obtain compounded medications through their health insurance plan regardless of medical necessity.

Courtheyn was partners with Steven M. Butcher, a New York resident who was the owner and operator of another marketing company, MedMax LLC, involved in the marketing of medically unnecessary compounded medications. Courtheyn and Butcher had relationships with various compounding pharmacies, either directly or indirectly, through billing and distribution companies, which had their own network of compounding pharmacies. Courtheyn and Butcher sent prescriptions directly to a compounding pharmacy or to a billing and distribution company, which referred prescriptions to a particular compounding pharmacy and submitted claims to the appropriate health insurance plan on behalf of that pharmacy. In return for steering prescriptions to certain compounded pharmacies, Courtheyn and Butcher received a percentage of the reimbursement received by the pharmacy for each paid claim. Health insurance plans were reimbursing compounding pharmacies from $3,000 and $43,000 for each compounded prescription.

To maximize profit, Courtheyn operated IntegriMed and KA Compounding as a multi-level marketing company. He recruited several individuals as “sales representatives” who were paid a certain percentage of the reimbursement amount for each medically unnecessary compounded medication the sales rep caused to be filled and billed to a paying health insurance plan. If a sales representative was a beneficiary of a paying health insurance plan, Courtheyn also paid these individuals for obtaining their own or their family members’ medically unnecessary compounded medications.

The compounded medications Courtheyn and Butcher marketed and sold were not individualized to address the specific therapeutic needs of a specific patient. Instead, he chose drugs to be included in a compounded medication in order to maximize reimbursement and profit and not based on medical necessity. To get the medically unnecessary medications prescribed, Courtheyn and Butcher contracted and paid telemedicine companies with the expectation that their telemedicine physicians would prescribe compounded medications regardless of medical need. In total, Courtheyn defrauded health care benefit programs of at least $10 million, including TRICARE, which was defrauded at least $3.5 million.

The count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud carries a maximum potential punishment of 10 years in prison; conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute carries a maximum potential penalty of five years. Both offenses are also punishable by a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

Butcher pleaded guilty on Feb. 14, 2018, before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez in Newark federal court to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. He admitted to defrauding health care benefit programs of $45 million. Butcher is awaiting sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark; and 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 ongoing investigation leading to today’s arrest.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Liu, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division in Newark.

Defense counsel: Michael Elliot Esq. and Mindy Sauter Esq, Dallas, Texas

TRENTON, N.J. – A Mercer County, New Jersey, man was convicted today of being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Rasheed McNair, 40, of Ewing, New Jersey, was convicted following a two-day trial before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court. The jury deliberated for less than one hour before returning the guilty verdict.

According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:

On Feb. 18, 2018, two Trenton Police detectives in the Street Crimes Unit were driving through the area of Oakland Street and Hoffman Avenue in Trenton when one of them observed McNair standing in an open doorway in a public housing complex and holding what was later identified as a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun.

McNair tucked the handgun into his jacket and ran up the stairwell of the building. After giving chase, one of the detectives observed McNair remove the handgun from inside his jacket and attempt to hide it under a doormat in front of an apartment. The other detective retrieved the firearm from under the doormat and rendered it safe. The weapon was later found to be loaded with 11 rounds of ammunition in the magazine and one round in the chamber, and its serial number had been obliterated.

The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited the Trenton Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Sheilah A. Coley; and special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty verdict.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elisa T. Wiygul and Michelle S. Gasparian of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.

Defense counsel: Mark A. Fury Esq., Mt. Holly, New Jersey

TRENTON, N.J. – A Maryland man working as a tax preparer in New Jersey was convicted today on charges of conspiracy to defraud the IRS by preparing false income tax returns for clients in order to boost business at tax preparation companies that he and others ran, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Joseph Kenny Batts, 50, of Elkridge, Maryland, was convicted following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court on 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.

According to documents in this case and the evidence at trial:

Since at least 2009 to April 2015, Batts was co-owner, along with conspirator Damien Askew, of Tax Pro’s, a tax return preparation and payroll business in Essex County, New Jersey, where Batts and others prepared tax returns. In order to boost their business, Batts, Askew, codefendants Tony Russell, Angelo K. Thompson and Rudolph Sanders conspired to falsify their clients’ income tax returns for the purpose of generating refunds in amounts that their clients were not entitled to receive. The fraudulent practices 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. 

As part of their scheme, Batts, Thompson, Askew, Russell and Sanders also used fraudulent IRS Forms 1098-T to support false education credits that they had claimed on their clients’ false federal income tax returns prepared at Tax Pro’s and Tax Solutions and Associates. 

Batts also used the Paid Taxpayer Identification Number (PTIN) – the identification number that paid tax preparers are required to place on tax returns that they have prepared – of his conspirator tax preparers when preparing tax returns to conceal his identity as the actual tax return preparer, due to, among other things, his prior tax fraud conviction.

By inflating the tax refunds through fraudulent means, Batts and his conspirators caused a total tax loss to the United States in excess of $900,000.

Thompson, Askew, Sanders and Russell have previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme and await sentencing.

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison. The maximum sentence for aiding or assisting in the filing of false returns is three years in prison. Both are also punishable by a statutory maximum fine equal to the greatest of $250,000 or twice the gross amount of any pecuniary gain that any persons derived from the offense or twice the gross amount of any pecuniary loss sustained by any victims. Sentencing for Batts is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur, with the investigation leading to today’s conviction.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cari Fais and Jihee G. Suh and of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 42 months in prison for defrauding the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) by providing military equipment parts that were not what he had contracted to provide and illegally accessing technical information as a non-United States citizen, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Oben Cabalceta, 53, of Atco, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act. Judge Hillman imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Cabalceta was the owner of two companies: Owen’s Fasteners Inc. (Owen’s) and United Manufacturer LLC (United), two manufacturing companies in West Berlin, New Jersey.

Cabalceta admitted that between August 2004 and March 2016, Owen’s and United obtained contracts with the DoD by falsely claiming that the military parts it contracted to provide would be the exact product provided by authorized manufacturers. The DoD contracts specified that the military parts were critical application items for military equipment, including aircraft. Contrary to the contract, Cabalceta either used his companies to contract with local manufacturers to supply non-conforming parts or made the parts himself at a significantly reduced cost. The non-conforming parts were shipped from New Jersey to various DoD locations around the country. DoD paid Owen’s and United $1,890,939 for those parts.

Cabalceta also admitted that he was a native and citizen of the Republic of Costa Rica who overstayed his tourist visa in 2000 and was not a United States citizen or lawfully in the United States. To further his fraud on the DoD, in August 2005 and November 2010, Cabalceta caused his brother-in-law, Roger Sobrado, to submit to the DoD a fraudulent application for access to export controlled drawings and technical data on behalf of Owen’s. In 2015, Cabalceta caused an accomplice to submit to the DoD a fraudulent application for access to export controlled drawings and technical data on behalf of Owen’s.

Cabalceta acknowledged that access to the controlled drawings and technical data was limited to citizens of the United States and those lawfully in the United States. He admitted that on July 28, 2011, and at various times between January 2013 and November 2015, while unlawfully in the United States, he accessed or downloaded drawings that were sensitive in nature that required special access.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Hillman sentenced Cabalceta to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution. He will also be deported to Costa Rica upon completion of his sentence.

On Oct. 11, 2018, Sobrado pleaded guilty before Judge Hillman to a three-count information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act, and income tax evasion. He was sentenced Sept. 4, 2019, to three years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leigh-Alistair Barzey; special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office; special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael; special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur; and special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John F. Grasso for the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney=s Office Criminal Division in Camden.

NEWARK, N.J. – A tax preparer from Bergen County, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for filing false federal income tax returns, stealing client refunds, and committing identity theft in connection with refunds stolen from a deceased taxpayer, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Wayne Dunich-Kolb, 54, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to four counts of a second superseding indictment: aiding and assisting preparation of false tax returns; subscribing to false tax returns; mail fraud while on pretrial release; and aggravated identity theft. Judge McNulty imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Dunich-Kolb operated a tax preparation business through which he prepared and filed tax returns through various tax preparation entities, including Dunich-Kolb LLC, Jadran Services Corp., Adriatica Payroll Corp., Adriatica Tax Planning LLC, and Adriatic Tax Planning LLC (collectively, the “tax preparation entities”), which he ran from his former residences in Saddle River and Montvale, New Jersey. Dunich-Kolb also maintained a U.S. Post Office box in Las Vegas, Nevada, that he used in connection with his tax preparation business.

Dunich-Kolb caused many of his clients to form fictitious partnerships or corporations that existed in name only and had no business purpose other than to falsely reduce the clients’ tax liability. He prepared fraudulent business returns for clients’ fictitious businesses by fabricating and inflating business expenses, such as advertising, travel and other miscellaneous expenses, in order to generate fraudulent business and partnership losses, which he then used to substantially reduce taxpayers’ taxable income on their individual federal income tax returns.

Dunich-Kolb falsified clients’ individual federal income tax returns, partnership returns, and corporation returns by fabricating and inflating: (1) business and partnership Schedule K-1 losses; (2) deductions for unreimbursed employee business expenses, including home office, vehicle mileage and fuel expenses; and (3) expenses and cost basis of rental properties, including vehicle mileage and travel expenses for rentals located within or a short distance from the primary residence.

Dunich-Kolb also falsified his own personal federal income tax returns by substantially underreporting income from his tax preparation and accounting business. For tax year 2008, Dunich-Kolb received gross income totaling approximately $638,000 while claiming income of only $489.

Dunich-Kolb also stole certain clients’ federal tax refunds, including the refunds of a deceased client, by causing the IRS to mail the refund checks to Dunich-Kolb’s Las Vegas Post Office box, from where they were forwarded to Dunich-Kolb’s residence in Montvale. Dunich-Kolb, without authorization, used the Social Security numbers of the deceased client and another client on IRS forms claiming that the latter client was entitled to the deceased client’s refunds for tax years 2013 and 2014 and causing the IRS to mail the deceased client’s refunds to his Las Vegas Post Office box. Once in receipt of the clients’ tax refund checks, Dunich-Kolb deposited the checks into accounts that he controlled and converted the funds to his own personal use.

In addition to the prison term, Judge McNulty sentenced Dunich-Kolb to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $2.2 million to the IRS.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan R. Tafur, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Devlin, Chief of the Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit.

Defense counsel: Jeffrey G. Garrigan Esq., Summit, New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 288 months in prison for conspiring to distribute at least one kilogram of heroin, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Yasmil Minaya, a/k/a “Animal,” 33, was previously convicted on both counts of the indictment against him: one count of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. Minaya was convicted following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty, who imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:

Law enforcement officials learned that Minaya and his co-defendants were serving as New Jersey and New York area distributors for a drug trafficking organization operating in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and elsewhere. The organization’s narcotics were usually transported to this area via truck and were paid for by the defendants before being sold on the street. The drug organization has been linked to several multiple-kilogram seizures of heroin, including a seizure of approximately two kilograms of heroin in March 2015, four kilograms in November 2015, and 10 kilograms in January 2017.

In addition to the prison term, Judge McNulty sentenced Minaya to five years of supervised release.

This case is being conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson, and officers with the N.J. State Police, Trafficking North Unit, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Wangenheim, Chief of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark, and U.S. Attorney Carpenito.

Defense Counsel: Howard B. Brownstein Esq., Union City, New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. – A New York man was sentenced today to 108 months in prison for assaulting and kidnapping an individual with whom he had a romantic relationship, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Rudolf Szoradi, 51, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jose J. Linares in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of kidnapping and interstate domestic violence. U.S. District Judge Esther Salas imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Szoradi and the victim previously had a romantic relationship. On Dec. 15, 2017, Szoradi assaulted the victim with a knife in the basement of a Newark residence. The victim suffered serious injuries. Szoradi then confined her in a vehicle against her will and drove her across state lines, eventually reaching North Carolina, where the victim was able to receive medical attention for her injuries.   

In addition to the prison term, Judge Salas sentenced Szoradi to five years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked the Newark Police Division and Clayton, North Carolina, police department for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Feldman Nikic of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Newark.

TRENTON, N.J. – Four people have been charged for their roles in conspiracies to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and to pay kickbacks to doctors and doctors’ employees, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

Alex Fleyshmakher, 33, of Morganville, New Jersey, was arrested this morning and will have his initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Arpert in Trenton federal court. Also charged in the superseding indictment are: Ruben Sevumyants, 36, of Marlboro, New Jersey; and Samuel “Sam” Khaimov, 47, and Yana Shtindler, 44, both of Glen Head, New York. Sevumyants was previously charged by indictment, and Khaimov and Shtindler were each previously charged by complaint.

According to documents filed in this case:

Prime Aid Pharmacies – now closed – operated as “specialty pharmacies” out of locations in Union City, New Jersey, and Bronx, New York. They processed expensive medications used to treat various conditions, including Hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Fleyshmakher worked at Prime Aid Union City and was an owner of Prime Aid Bronx. Khaimov was an owner of Prime Aid Union City and the lead pharmacist of Prime Aid Bronx. Shtindler was Prime Aid Union City’s administrator, and Sevumyants was its operations manager.

Initially, Prime Aid Pharmacies obtained retail network agreements with several pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which allowed them to receive reimbursement payments for prescription medications, including specialty medications. PBMs acted as intermediaries on behalf of Medicare, Medicaid, and private healthcare insurance providers, so that when a pharmacy received a prescription, the pharmacy then submitted a claim for reimbursement to the PBM that represented the beneficiary’s drug plan.

Starting in 2009, in order to obtain a higher volume of prescriptions, Khaimov, Sevumyants, Fleyshmakher, and other Prime Aid employees paid bribes and kickbacks to doctors and doctors’ employees to induce them to steer prescriptions to Prime Aid Pharmacies. The kickbacks included expensive meals and payments by cash, check, and wire transfers. Another method of bribery also involved paying an employee to work inside a doctor’s office for the doctor’s benefit.

Prime Aid Union City – at the direction of Shtindler, Khaimov, and Sevumyants – also engaged in the pervasive fraudulent practice of billing health insurance providers for medications that were never provided to patients. While Prime Aid generally provided medications for initial prescriptions it received, it systematically billed for refills for those same medications without ever dispensing them to patients. From 2013 through 2017, Prime Aid Union City received over $65 million in reimbursement payments from Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers for medications the pharmacy not only failed to give patients, but never even ordered or had in stock.

PBMs conducted routine audits of Prime Aid Union City and discovered its practice of billing but not dispensing medications. In response to these audits, Shtindler instructed Prime Aid employees to falsify records submitted to the PBMs. Sevumyants forged shipping records of a private commercial shipping company to make it appear as if medications were shipped to the patients when, in fact, they were not.

Despite these concealment efforts, some PBMs terminated the Prime Aid Pharmacies from their PBM networks. In order to continue profiting from these same PBMs, Khaimov and Shtindler opened new pharmacies, including Your Care Pharmacy in Bronx, New York, and transferred patients from the terminated Prime Aid Pharmacies to Your Care. To facilitate this scheme, Shtindler and Khaimov lied to the PBMs about the true ownership of those pharmacies, including Your Care, in order to ensure that in approving such pharmacies, the PBMs did not know the affiliation between the terminated pharmacies and the new pharmacies. This scheme resulted in one PBM being defrauded into paying Your Care over $34 million in reimbursement payments.

The superseding indictment charges each defendant as follows:

Counts

Defendants

Charge

One

Khaimov

Shtindler

Sevumyants

Health Care Fraud Conspiracy

Two – Five

Khaimov

Shtindler

Sevumyants

Health Care Fraud

Six

Khaimov

Shtindler

Wire Fraud Conspiracy

Seven – Nine

Khaimov

Shtindler

Wire Fraud

Ten

Khaimov

Sevumyants

Fleyshmakher

Kickback Conspiracy

The healthcare fraud counts charged in Counts One through Five are each punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison. The wire fraud counts charged in Count Six through Nine are each punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison. The conspiracy to pay illegal kickbacks charged in Count 10 in punishable by a maximum of five years in prison. All 10 counts are also punishable by 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 Gregory W. Ehrie, in Newark; special agents of the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Scott J. Lampert; and the N.J. Office of the State Comptroller, Medicaid Fraud Division, under the direction of Director Josh Lichtblau, with the ongoing investigation leading to today’s arrest.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua L. Haber of the Health Care & Government Fraud Unit, and Senior Trial Counsel Jason S. Gould of Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the superseding indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defense counsel: Fleyshmakher: TBD
Khaimov: Anthony Iacullo Esq., Nutley, New Jersey
Shtindler: Lawrence S. Lustberg Esq., Newark
Sevumyants: Amy Luria Esq. & Michael Critchley Sr. Esq., Roseland

NEWARK, N.J. – A civilian employee of Picatinny Arsenal (PICA) and an employee of a defense contractor today admitted their roles in conspiring with others to receive bribes and other gratuities in return for assistance with the awarding of government contracts, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Robert Dombroski, 64, of Branchville, New Jersey, a high ranking civilian employee at PICA, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Vazquez in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiring to commit wire fraud in order to accept or receive things of value in return for favorable assistance with government contracts and with making false claims against the United States.

Indra Nayee, 53, of Metuchen, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before Judge Vazquez to an information charging him with conspiring to give, offer or promise anything of value to a public official and to make false claims against the United States.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Dombroksi worked at PICA, a U.S. Army installation in Morris County, New Jersey, for more than 30 years. PICA conducts research, development, acquisition and lifecycle management of advanced conventional weapons systems and advanced ammunitions and provides products and services to all branches of the U.S. military. Dombroski admitted that from at least January 2010 through December 2017, he conspired with other employees at PICA, with Subsystems Technology (STI) – a defense contracting firm that works with PICA and specializes in advanced engineering, advanced analytics, management consulting and IT services, including cyber-security – and employees of STI. He conspired to seek and accept gifts and other items of value, such as Apple products, luxury handbags, Beats headphones, and tickets to a luxury sky box at professional sporting events, valued at least $150,000 to $250,000, from STI in exchange for assistance in obtaining and retaining government contracts and other favorable assistance at PICA. He also admitted that in order to cover up his crimes, he filed false statements to the Department of Defense by failing to list the items of value he received from STI on his annual confidential financial disclosure form known as an OGE Form 450.    

Nayee, an employee of STI, admitted that from January 2012 through December 2016, he conspired with STI and other employees of STI to offer gifts and other items of value to numerous individuals employed at PICA in order to obtain and retain contracts and other favorable assistance at PICA. He also admitted that he and other employees at STI, and the company, submitted false bills to the United States writing off the cost of the bribes as “materials” needed on United States government contracts, when in fact the gifts and other items of value were for the personal use and enjoyment of the employees at PICA and not for any legitimate government purpose.

The conspiracy charge to which Dombroski and Nayee pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss associated with the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing for Dombroski is scheduled for Nov. 19, 2019, and sentencing for Nayee is scheduled for Dec. 16, 2019.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark; the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Special Agent in Charge, DCIS Northeast Field Office; and the U.S. Army, Major Procurement Fraud Unit, Criminal Investigation Command, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge L. Scott Moreland, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty pleas.  

The government is represented by Senior Trial Counsel Margaret Ann Mahoney of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s National Security Unit in Newark.

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Pennsylvania man today admitted robbing a bank in Carneys Point, New Jersey, in July 2018 while brandishing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Kareem Moore, 29, of North Wales, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez in Camden federal court to an indictment charging him with armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a bank robbery.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Moore admitted that on July 30, 2018, he and a conspirator walked into the Fulton Bank in Carneys Point and that he demanded cash while displaying a loaded handgun. Moore and the conspirator took the cash and fled. Responding officers arrived at the bank within minutes of the robbery, and, after a brief foot pursuit, tackled and arrested Moore.

The armed bank robbery charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The count of brandishing a firearm carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, which must be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 16, 2019.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark; the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor John T. Lenahan; officers of the Carneys Point Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Gerald A. Krivda; and officers of the Penns Grove Police Department, under the direction of Chief John T. Stranahan Sr., with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen M. Harberg of the United States Attorney’s Office in Camden.

Defense counsel: Richard Coughlin Esq., Federal Public Defender, Camden

A Toms River, New Jersey physician pleaded guilty today for his role in a $13 million health care fraud scheme, which previously resulted in charges in April 2019 against 23 other defendants in one of the largest health care fraud cases investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and prosecuted by the Department of Justice.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito of the District of New Jersey, Assistant Director Robert Johnson of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Gary Cantrell of HHS-OIG and Deputy Administrator and Director Alec Alexander of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Center for Program Integrity (CMS/CPI) made the announcement.

Joseph DeCorso, 62, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan of the District of New Jersey.  DeCorso’s sentencing is set for Jan. 8, 2020, before Judge Sheridan.

In pleading guilty, DeCorso admitted that he worked for two purported telemedicine companies for which he wrote medically unnecessary orders for orthotic braces for Medicare beneficiaries between July 2017 and March 2019.  He admitted that his conduct resulted in a $13 million intended loss to Medicare.  In connection with his plea agreement, DeCorso agreed to pay over $7 million in restitution to the United States, as well as forfeit assets and property traceable to proceeds of the conspiracy.  

DeCorso admitted that in the course of the scheme, an international telemarketing network lured hundreds of thousands of elderly or disabled Medicare beneficiaries into the scheme, which involved call centers throughout the world, which then sent the beneficiaries’ information to several telemedicine companies.  DeCorso further admitted that he wrote brace orders for the telemedicine companies without speaking to the beneficiaries and that he concealed the fraud with falsified orders that stated, among other things, that he had “discussions” or “conversations” with beneficiaries or had conducted diagnostic testing for benficiaries, when, in fact, DeCorso had not spoken to beneficiaries and had not conducted diagnostic testing on beneficiaries in connection with the ordering of orthotic braces.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Newark Field Office and HHS-OIG.  Acting Assistant Chief Jacob Foster and Trial Attorney Darren Halverson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Any doctors or medical professionals who have been involved with alleged fraudulent telemedicine and DME marketing schemes should call to report this conduct to the FBI hotline at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Additional documents related to the investigation and prior indictments are available here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/documents-and-resources-april-9-2019-press-release-health-care-fraud

NEWARK, N.J. – Five Paterson, New Jersey, men have admitted their roles in a scheme to steal checks worth more than $300,000 from U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail collection boxes throughout New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Jerry Lake-Rodriguez, 26, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Co-defendants Ismael Alicea Jr., 26, Yerrisson Garcia-Rodriguez, 24, Brayan Ulloa-Ulloa, 24, and Johan Lake-Rodriguez, 27, previously pleaded guilty to separate informations charging each with conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Jerry Lake-Rodriguez and his conspirators stole checks from USPS mail collection boxes in Passaic, Bergen, Morris, Essex, and Middlesex counties, and elsewhere, and fraudulently deposited them into various bank accounts, often within a day of being stolen. The stolen checks had a total value of over $300,000.

The charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a penalty of a mandatory two-year term of imprisonment, to be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed. Sentencing for Jerry Lake-Rodriguez is scheduled for Feb. 6, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Newark Division, under the direction of Inspector in Charge James Buthorn, with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Macurdy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

Defense counsel: Jerry Lake-Rodriguez: Curtis LaForge Esq., Saddle Brook, New Jersey
Johan Lake-Rodriguez: Tim Donohue Esq., West Orange, New Jersey
Garcia-Rodriguez: Kevin Buchan Esq., Roseland, New Jersey
Ulloa-Ulloa: Frank Galluccio Esq., Paterson
Alicea: Bruce Rosen Esq., Florham Park, New Jersey

TRENTON, N.J. – A Trenton man today admitted his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that allegedly distributed more than one kilogram of heroin in Trenton and the surrounding area, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Omar Council, a/k/a “Stacks,” a/k/a “O,” a/k/a “Y-O,” a/k/a “Snow,” 40, pleaded guilty today before Chief U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton federal court to a superseding information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.

According to documents filed in this and other cases and statements made in court:

In October 2018, Council and 25 other members of a drug trafficking conspiracy operating in Trenton were charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute heroin. Council is the 18th defendant to plead guilty. On Aug. 8, 2019, a grand jury returned a 15-count second superseding indictment charging Council and eight other defendants – Jerome Roberts, a/k/a “Righteous,” a/k/a “Lee”; David Antonio, a/k/a “Papi,” a/k/a “Pop,” a/k/a “Victor Arias,” a/k/a “Santiago Ramirez”; Brian Phelps, a/k/a “B-Money,” a/k/a “B”; Timothy Wimbush, a/k/a “Young Money”; Taquan Williams, a/k/a “Trip”; Jubri West; Dennis Cheston, Jr., a/k/a “Beans”; and Wayne K. Bush – with various crimes relating to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, including firearms charges against Phelps, Wimbush, Williams, West, and Cheston.

From as early as October 2017 to October 2018, the defendants and others engaged in a narcotics distribution conspiracy that operated in the areas of Martin Luther King Boulevard, Sanford Street, Middle Rose Street, Southard Street, Hoffman Avenue, and Coolidge Avenue in Trenton. Through the interception of telephone calls and text messages pursuant to court-authorized wiretap orders – including over a cellular telephone used by Council – controlled purchases of heroin from Council and others, the use of confidential sources of information, and other investigative techniques, law enforcement learned that Council was a significant drug distributor in and around Trenton and the surrounding area. The investigation also revealed that Council maintained close relationships with other conspirators, including Jakir Taylor, who obtained regular supplies of hundreds of “bricks” of heroin from David Antonio, whom they referred to as “Papi.” Council obtained supplies of heroin directly from Taylor and others (including supplies of heroin originating from Antonio), and regularly redistributed that heroin to others in and around Trenton.

The drug conspiracy count to which Council pleaded guilty carries a statutory mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years, a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $5 million. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, Newark Division, Trenton Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie; special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Newark Division, Trenton Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson; officers of the Trenton Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Sheila A. Coley; officers of the Princeton Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Nicholas Sutter; officers of the Ewing Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police John P. Stemler III; officers of the Burlington Township Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Bruce Painter; and detectives of the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Scott A. Coffina, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked officers of the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan; detectives of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri; officers of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff John A. Kemler; and members of the N.J. State Board of Parole for their assistance in the case..

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Brendan Day and Alexander Ramey of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.

This case was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the FBI’s Greater Trenton Safe Streets Task Force, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to enhance the identification, apprehension, and prosecution of individuals involved in gang-related activities, violent crime, and drug distribution in and around the greater Trenton area. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

The charges and allegations against the remaining defendants are merely accusations and those defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defense Counsel: Mark W. Catanzaro Esq., Mount Holly, New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. – Six individuals have pleaded guilty to participation in a multimillion-dollar conspiracy that used stolen credit card account information to make fraudulent retail purchases, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Hamilton Eromosele, 29, of the Bronx, New York, the leader of the scheme, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge William Martini in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. George Edandison, 27, and Youssouf Traore, 21, both of the Bronx; Deja Handsford, 25, of New York City; Quincy Wielingen, 28, of Queens Village, New York; and Kaishce English, 32, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, all pleaded guilty before Judge Martini on previous dates to the same charge.

A seventh conspirator, Edward Dorsey, 28, of Mount Vernon, New York, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Mannion in Newark federal court on July 8, 2019, for an initial appearance on a criminal complaint charging him with participating in the same offense.

According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From at least 2015 through 2018, Eromosele led a network of individuals, based in the New Jersey/New York area, who made trips around the United States in order to use stolen credit card information to purchase gift cards, flights, hotels, rental cars, and other goods and services. Eromosele obtained stolen credit card information through the “dark web” and other sources, which he then provided to conspirators. Eromosele often recruited women via social media, with promises of easy profits, to fly to various locations to make fraudulent purchases. Eromosele collected his conspirators’ fraudulently purchased gift cards or luxury goods, sold them for cash, and dispersed a percentage of the proceeds to the conspirators. The conspirators made over $3.5 million in fraudulent purchases using over 4,000 stolen credit card accounts.

The conspiracy to commit bank fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1 million. Sentencing for Eromosele is scheduled for Jan 16, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Mark McKevitt, Newark Field Office, with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Macurdy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

The charge and allegations against Dorsey are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defense counsel:

Eromosele: Pasquale Giannetta Esq., Newark
Edandison: Daniel Welch Esq., Jersey City, New Jersey
Handsford: Linwood Allen Jones Esq., East Orange, New Jersey
Traore: Angelo Servidio Esq., Nutley, New Jersey
English: Frank Arleo Esq., West Orange, New Jersey
Wielingen: Jason Orlando Esq., Jersey City
Dorsey: Elizabeth Smith Esq., Mendham, New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. – A City of Paterson police officer today admitted conspiring with other officers to violate the civil rights of individuals in Paterson, using unreasonable and excessive force against individuals in Paterson, and filing a false police report to conceal his criminal activity, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Eudy Ramos, 32, of Paterson, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court to Counts 1 and 7 of an indictment against him, charging him with conspiracy to violate individuals’ civil rights and filing a false police report. Ramos also pleaded guilty to an information charging him with using unreasonable and excessive force in violation of individuals’ civil rights.

According to documents filed in this and other cases and statements made in court:

Ramos, along with other Paterson police officers, including Jonathan Bustios, Daniel Pent, Matthew Torres, Frank Toledo, and others, stopped and searched motor vehicles, without justification, and stole cash and other items from the occupants. Ramos and the other officers also stopped and searched individuals on the streets of Paterson, and illegally took their money. He and other officers also arrested individuals in Paterson, seized cash from them during the arrests, and split the cash proceeds among themselves. To cover up their criminal activity, Ramos and his fellow officers then filed false police reports. Ramos admitted to the following instances of illegal conduct:

• On Feb. 1, 2017, Ramos and Pent stopped and searched a vehicle in Paterson. They stole approximately $10,000 from the passenger of the vehicle and split it between themselves. Ramos and Pent then submitted an incident report to the Paterson Police Department in which they intentionally omitted any mention of the $10,000 theft.

• On Dec. 1, 2017, Ramos and Bustios stopped and searched an individual on a street corner in Paterson and stole approximately $1,000 from the individual. After the theft, a video of a portion of the encounter was posted to Twitter by a third party.

• On Dec. 2, 2017, Ramos and Toledo arrested an individual. During the arrest, they stole $1,000 from the individual and split the proceeds.

• On Dec. 7, 2017, Torres and Ramos conducted a vehicle stop in Paterson. They searched the vehicle, the driver, and the passenger, who had approximately $3,100 and marijuana. Ramos told the passenger that instead of charging the passenger with distribution of marijuana they could take $500 from the passenger and have the passenger sign a piece of paper. Ramos then purportedly placed a call to his superior and told the passenger that the superior officer said it had to be $800. Ramos took out a piece of white paper, wrote something on it, and told the passenger to sign it. Ramos and Torres released the driver and passenger and shared the stolen cash proceeds. They did not report the stop and search of the vehicle and its occupants, or the cash seizure, to the Paterson Police Department.

• On Feb. 20, 2018, Ramos and Bustios stopped and searched a vehicle and detained the driver and passenger of the vehicle. They stole a bag containing approximately $1,800 from the car. They then agreed to meet at Peach and Plum streets in Paterson, a location with no camera, where Bustios passed a portion of the illegally seized cash to Ramos through the window of Bustios’ police car. Bustios and Ramos did not report to the Paterson Police Department the fact that they had stopped and searched the vehicle, detained and searched its occupants, and taken cash, all without legal justification.

• On March 5, 2018, Ramos and Torres stopped and searched a vehicle, without legal basis. The occupants of the encounter filmed the encounter and posted the video to Instagram. They asked Ramos his basis for conducting the vehicle stop, and Ramos responded, “Random stop.” Ramos did not locate any cash inside the vehicle and departed the scene without taking anything.

While on official duty, Ramos also routinely used unreasonable and excessive force in his encounters with individuals in Paterson, causing them bodily harm:

• Ramos and other officers routinely delivered a “running tax” to individuals they arrested. If an individual ran from them, Ramos and others would “tax” the individual by striking the individual multiple times, causing bodily injury.

• On Jan. 20, 2015, Ramos and Pent received a call regarding loud music coming from a vehicle on Doremus Avenue in Paterson. They approached an individual in the vehicle, removed him, and began punching and kicking him. The individual suffered bodily injury, including eye injuries, as a result of Ramos’ and Pent’s excessive force.

• On Sept. 7, 2016, Ramos placed a handcuffed individual in the backseat of his police car, without a seatbelt, to transport the individual to Paterson Police Department headquarters. Ramos then depressed the brakes on his police car and forced the individual to slam his head against the divider in the backseat of the police car, a tactic known as “brake-checking.” After the individual slammed his head on divider, Ramos jokingly said, “What happened, man? You gotta put your seatbelt on.” Ramos recorded a video of this incident.

• On March 2, 2017, Ramos and Bustios were dispatched to a call regarding stolen property located in a vehicle in a parking garage. The individual who had stolen the property (Individual 1) was sitting in the vehicle. The individual whose property had been stolen (Individual 2) was angry and told Ramos and Bustios that he wanted to take a swing at Individual 1. Ramos and Bustios allowed him to do so. While Ramos and Bustios watched, Individual 2 punched Individual 1, who fell to the ground and hit his head, causing bodily injury. Bustios filmed the encounter.

The conspiracy to violate civil rights and the deprivation of civil rights charges each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The false records count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The maximum fine for each count is $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2020.

Bustios pleaded guilty in December 2018 to conspiring to deprive individuals of their civil rights and to extortion under color of official right. Torres pleaded guilty in May 2019 to conspiring to deprive individuals of their civil rights and to filing a false police report. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 18, 2019. Toledo pleaded guilty in July 2019 to conspiring to deprive individuals of their civil rights, to using unreasonable and excessive force against individuals in Paterson, and to filing a false police report. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 22, 2019. On March 26, 2019, Pent was charged by complaint with conspiring to deprive individuals of their civil rights. The charge and allegations against him are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest. He also thanked the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes, the Paterson Police Department, under the direction of Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale and Police Chief Troy Oswald, and the Paterson Police Department Office of Internal Affairs, for their assistance in the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Defense counsel: Miles Feinstein Esq., Clifton, New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. – A Bronx, New York, man today admitted participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl to customers in New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

Dilson Vasquez Genao, 23, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl. Francisco Mercedes Gil, 31, also of the Bronx, New York, pleaded guilty before Judge Salas to the same charges last week.

Four other individuals – Jhan Carlos Capellan Maldonado, 30, Jose Antonio Vasquez Pena a/k/a “Tono,” 46, Daury Contreras Ulerio, 34, and Reimon Genao Rosario, 22 – were indicted on the same charge in August 2019 and were arraigned on Sep. 4, 2019, before Judge Salas. One individual – Eddy Urena Rodriguez, 34 – remains charged by complaint.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In early February 2019, law enforcement officers learned that Maldonado used an apartment in the Bronx to store, mix, and package heroin and fentanyl in distribution quantities. Maldonado employed Genao, Gil, Rodriguez, Ulerio, and Rosario, to assist in preparing the heroin and fentanyl for distribution to customers in New Jersey. Pena lived at the apartment in order to safeguard the narcotics and narcotics supplies.

On Feb. 25, 2019, law enforcement officers saw Maldonado drive to a retail store and emerge with several full shopping bags and then drive to the apartment. Genoa came out of the building and met with Maldonado, who got out of his vehicle and gave Genoa the plastic shopping bags. Through its investigation, law enforcement later learned that the plastic shopping bags contained materials to package heroin and fentanyl.

Genoa went back inside the building and was followed by law enforcement officers, who watched as Genoa entered Maldonado’s apartment with a key, still carrying the shopping bags. On Feb. 27, 2019, law enforcement searched Maldonado’s apartment and found seven individuals inside: including Genao, Gil, Rodriguez, Ulerio, Rosario, Maldonado, and Pena. All seven defendants attempted to escape out a window in the bedroom. All but one—Rosario—were apprehended and arrested by law enforcement officers waiting outside. Rosario was arrested at a later date.

Each defendant faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a $10 million fine. Sentencing for Genao is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2020, and sentencing for Gil is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)’s New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Senior Trial Counsel Jason S. Gould of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.

The charge and allegations contained in the indictment against Maldonado, Pena, Ulerio and Rosario and complaint against Rodriguez are merely accusations, and those defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defense counsel: Genao: Edward Kratt Esq., New York
Gil: Keith Oliver Esq., Middletown, New Jersey
Maldonado: Blair Zwillman Esq., Millburn, New Jersey
Ulerio: Perry Primavera Esq., Hackensack, New Jersey
Rosario: James Moriarty Esq., New York
Pena: Peter Carter Esq., Assistant Public Defender, New Jersey
Rodriguez: Ramon Pagan Esq., New York

NEWARK, N.J. – A former broker and investment adviser was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for stealing millions of dollars from his clients in order to pay for personal expenses, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. 

Gary Basralian, 72, of Springfield, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud and one count of investment adviser fraud. Judge Arleo imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

Basralian was a registered broker who provided investment advisory services to clients and received compensation for advising them about investing in, purchasing, or selling securities. From 1989 until December 2017, he was registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), or its predecessors, as working at “Securities Firm A,” a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer with its principal place of business in Jersey City, New Jersey. Securities Firm A provided a broker-dealer platform for more than 2,000 independent financial advisers across the United States.

From July 2007 through November 2017, Basralian defrauded his clients by falsely telling them that he would invest their money in securities and other investments when, in fact, he misappropriated those funds and used them for his own personal expenditures – including payments on a BMW automobile and tens of thousands of dollars in credit card bills.

In one instance Basralian wired money from at least one victim client’s investment account at Securities Firm A to various accounts that he controlled and used the proceeds for his own benefit. When the victim asked why the account had diminished in value, Basralian sent the victim a phony spreadsheet showing that the money was being invested as loans to various companies and would be paid back with interest. Basralian admitted stealing at least $2 million.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Arleo sentenced Basralian to three years of supervised release.

On May 22, 2018, the N.J. Bureau of Securities in the Office of the N.J. Attorney General issued a summary revocation order against Basralian that revoked his agent and investment adviser representative registrations.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge James Buthorn, and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked the N.J. Bureau of Securities, under the direction of Bureau Chief Christopher Gerold, for its assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney A. Howard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Economic Crimes Unit.