District of New Jersey
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Husband and Wife Sentenced for Roles in Conspiracy to Import and Traffic Counterfeit Electronic ProductsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A husband and wife were sentenced today for their roles in a scheme to smuggle counterfeit electronics, including Apple iPhones, iPads and iPods, from China for sale in the United States, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Roberto Volpe, 36, an Italian national, was sentenced to 22 months in prison, and his wife, Andreina Becerra, 33, a Venezuelan national, was sentenced to three years of probation, including six months of house arrest. A third co-defendant, Rosario La Marca, 55, an Italian national and resident of Naples, Italy, was sentenced July 21, 2017, to 37 months in prison.
The three defendants previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Kevin McNulty to Count One of an indictment, charging conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, to smuggle goods into the United States, and to structure financial transactions, and Count Two, charging trafficking in counterfeit goods. Judge McNulty imposed the sentences on Volpe and Becerra today in Newark federal court.
The three defendants were originally charged in an eight-count indictment returned in April 2015 with importing and trafficking fake iPhones, iPads and iPods bearing counterfeit Apple trademarks, and fake camcorders bearing counterfeit Sony trademarks, as well as smuggling, structuring and international money laundering.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From July 2009 through February 2014, the defendants conspired to smuggle into the United States from China more than 40,000 electronic devices and accessories. The estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail prices for an equivalent number of genuine items would have exceeded $15 million. The devices were shipped separately from the labels bearing counterfeit trademarks in order to avoid detection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The devices were then labeled and packaged after they passed through customs.
The defendants then re-shipped the devices to conspirators all over the United States. Proceeds from the sales of the devices were funneled back to the defendants’ accounts in Florida and New Jersey via structured cash deposits – broken into multiple deposits of less than $10,000 each to avoid bank reporting requirements – and a portion of the proceeds was then transferred to conspirators in Italy, further disguising the source of the funds.
The defendants made more than 100 illegal wire transfers totaling more than $1.1 million to Hong Kong to facilitate their criminal activity.
In addition to the prison terms, Judge McNulty sentenced the defendants to Volpe to two years of supervised release and fined him $25,000. Becerra was fined $20,000. As part of their plea agreements, Volpe and Becerra agreed to forfeit their interest in 10 bank accounts, three Florida condominiums, and approximately $167,000 in cash.
Jianhua Li, a Chinese national currently residing in California, pleaded guilty in Feb. 2, 2018, and is awaiting sentencing.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark Seaport Investigations Group, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael; and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencings. He also thanked Europol and Italy’s Guardia di Finanza for their assistance.
The government is represented by Senior Trial Counsel Leslie Schwartz and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Devlin of the District of New Jersey, and Trial Attorney Kebharu Smith of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
Grape Street Crips Member Indicted for Murder of Bystander at 2010 Summer CookoutRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A member of the Grape Street Crips gang was indicted today on additional charges in connection with the murder of a bystander at a summer cookout in 2010, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Khalil Stafford, a/k/a “Stod,” 34, of Newark, was indicted today on additional charges in a seventh superseding indictment, including RICO conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, and using a firearm during a crime of violence, in connection with a June 19, 2010, shooting that left a woman dead and two other people wounded. Stafford was previously acquitted of the murder following a trial in Essex County Superior Court.
Stafford – along with Hanee Cureton, a/k/a “City,” a/k/a “Fat Boy,” 33, of Newark, and 12 other defendants – was previously charged with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, and possession with intent to distribute one kilogram of more of heroin. Twelve of the 14 defendants charged in the indictment have been convicted. Stafford and Cureton are awaiting trial.
Another 66 members and associates of the Grape Street Crips who were arrested along in a coordinated takedown in May 2015 were separately charged with drug-trafficking, physical assaults, and witness intimidation, and all have been convicted.
According to the indictment and statements made in court:
On June 19, 2010, during a family cookout on Garside Street in Newark, Stafford confronted an individual about money he claimed the individual owed him. Stafford and several other gang-members left the cookout to retrieve firearms and later returned. They fired numerous shots at the person Stafford had originally confronted. Three people were struck – including a woman who was not involved in the confrontation, but was merely standing on a nearby porch, and was killed – and two other people who were wounded and survived.
Stafford and Cureton were involved in the distribution of heroin from 2003 through 2015. Cureton was a major supplier of heroin to members of the Grape Street Crips at the James Baxter Terrace housing complex from 2003 until Baxter Terrace was demolished in 2009. Stafford distributed both heroin and cocaine at Baxter Terrace.
After Baxter Terrace was torn down, Cureton and Stafford continued to distribute heroin. On Nov. 12, 2013, agents with the DEA searched one of Cureton’s heroin mills, seizing more than a kilogram of heroin, cutting agents, and packaging material. In 2014, Cureton and Stafford sold to DEA confidential informants nearly $20,000 worth of heroin in separate transactions.
Stafford faces a mandatory life sentence in connection with the murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to distribute one kilogram of more of heroin. For using a firearm during a crime of violence, he faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. For the RICO conspiracy, Stafford faces a maximum term of life in prison.
Cureton faces a mandatory minimum term of 20 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison for the charge of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. For the RICO conspiracy, Cureton faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
U.S. Attorney 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 DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Valerie A. Nickerson, and investigators from the U.S. Attorney’s Office with the investigation leading to today’s indictment. He also thanked the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II, police officers and detectives of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose, and the Essex County Sherriff’s Office, under the direction of Armando B. Fontoura, for their assistance with the investigation.
The government is represented by Osmar J. Benvenuto, Chief of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard J. Ramsay of the Appeals Division in Newark.
This case was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
South Jersey Woman Admits Health Care Fraud Conspiracy Targeting State Health Benefits ProgramsRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – An Ocean County, New Jersey, woman today admitted defrauding New Jersey state health benefits programs and other insurers by submitting fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary prescriptions, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Kristie Masucci, 36, of Cedar Run, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler in Camden federal court to an information charging her with conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Compounded medications are supposed to be 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 2015 through February 2016, Masucci served as a recruiter in the conspiracy and persuaded individuals in New Jersey to obtain very expensive and medically unnecessary compounded medications from an out-of-state pharmacy, identified in the information as the “Compounding Pharmacy.” 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 information as the “Pharmacy Benefits Administrator” provided pharmacy benefit management services for the State Health Benefits Program, which covers qualified state and local government employees, retirees, and eligible dependents, and the School Employees’ Health Benefits Program, which covers qualified local education employees, retirees, and eligible dependents. The Pharmacy Benefits Administrator would pay prescription drug claims and then bill the State of New Jersey for the amounts paid.
Masucci and conspirators working under her recruited public employees and other individuals covered by the Pharmacy Benefits Administrator to fraudulently obtain compounded medications from the Compounding Pharmacy without any evaluation by a medical professional that they were medically necessary. In return, the pharmacy paid one of Masucci’s conspirators a percentage of each prescription filled and paid by the Pharmacy Benefits Administrator, which was then distributed to Masucci and other members of the conspiracy.
Masucci’s conspirators would then cause the prescriptions to be signed by a doctor who never evaluated whether the patients had a medical necessity for the compounded medication. The prescriptions were then faxed to the Compounding Pharmacy, which filled the prescriptions and billed the Pharmacy Benefits Administrator.
According to the information, the Pharmacy Benefits Administrator paid the Compounding Pharmacy more than $50 million for compounded medications mailed to individuals in New Jersey, including $1.88 million for prescriptions submitted by Masucci and her cohorts. Masucci received $388,608 for her role in the scheme.
Masucci 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, 2019. As part of her plea agreement, Masucci must forfeit her criminal proceeds and pay restitution in an amount to be determined at sentencing.
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 today’s 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 Jacqueline M. Carle and R. David Walk, Jr. of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
Defense counsel: Amy Luria Esq., Roseland, New Jersey
Indal Technologies Agrees to Pay $3.5 Million to Settle False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – The Department of Justice announced today that Indal Technologies Inc. (Indal) has agreed to pay $3.5 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly sold defective helicopter landing systems designed for U.S. Navy destroyers. Indal, of Ontario, Canada, is a division within Curtiss-Wright Corporation of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Since the 1970s, Indal has produced the Recovery, Assist, Secure, and Traverse (RAST) system attached to U.S. Navy’s Arleigh-Burke class destroyers. RAST systems allow helicopters to land on destroyers.
The RAST system includes a device that locks a hovering helicopter onto a trolley. Once locked in place, the helicopter moves along a series of steel track plates into a shipboard hangar. The trolley must remain securely connected to the track plates, because the helicopter may be required to land during rough seas and high winds. The Navy’s contracts for RAST systems expressly required track plates made of HY100 steel due to the material’s increased strength, combat ruggedness, and protection from corrosion.
The settlement announced today resolves allegations that Indal, without informing the Navy, knowingly substituted a different, less expensive type of steel in numerous RAST system track plates delivered to the Navy.
“When government contractors supply equipment to our armed forces that fail to meet performance standards, they not only cheat taxpayers, but can put service member lives at risk,” said Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Division Joseph H. Hunt. “Today’s settlement demonstrates our commitment to ensuring our military receives products that meet its requirements and for which it has paid.”
“American taxpayers are entitled to get what they pay for under government contracts, and that is especially true when the health and safety of U.S. armed forces are at stake,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said. “This office will continue to pursue and hold accountable those who, like Indal, defraud the government by providing substandard goods and services in order to enrich themselves.”
“Fraud is never a victimless crime. This case of using inferior materials damaged the readiness of U.S. forces. The victims are not just our men and women in uniform, but all American taxpayers. NCIS will continue to tirelessly pursue all those who seek to take advantage of the Department of the Navy and its interests while keeping the procurement system fair and honest,” said Special Agent in Charge Leo S. Lamont of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
This settlement was the result of a coordinated effort among the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. In the District of New Jersey, the government was represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Anthony J. LaBruna and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Orlowski of the Civil Division, Newark.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
Indal Technologies Agrees to Pay $3.5 Million to Settle False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that Indal Technologies Inc. (Indal) has agreed to pay $3.5 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly sold defective helicopter landing systems designed for U.S. Navy destroyers. Indal, of Ontario, Canada, is a division within Curtiss-Wright Corporation of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Since the 1970s, Indal has produced the Recovery, Assist, Secure, and Traverse (RAST) system attached to U.S. Navy’s Arleigh-Burke class destroyers. RAST systems allow helicopters to land on destroyers.
The RAST system includes a device that locks a hovering helicopter onto a trolley. Once locked in place, the helicopter moves along a series of steel track plates into a shipboard hangar. The trolley must remain securely connected to the track plates, because the helicopter may be required to land during rough seas and high winds. The Navy’s contracts for RAST systems expressly required track plates made of HY100 steel due to the material’s increased strength, combat ruggedness, and protection from corrosion.
The settlement announced today resolves allegations that Indal, without informing the Navy, knowingly substituted a different, less expensive type of steel in numerous RAST system track plates delivered to the Navy.
“When government contractors supply our armed forces with equipment that fails to meet performance standards, they not only cheat taxpayers, but they put at risk the safety of our service members,” said Assistant Attorney General Joseph H. Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that the military receives products that meet its requirements and for which it has paid.”
“American taxpayers are entitled to get what they pay for under government contracts, and that is especially true when the health and safety of U.S. armed forces are at stake,” said U.S. Attorney Carpentino for the District of New Jersey.” This Office will continue to pursue and hold accountable those who, like Indal, defraud the government by providing substandard goods and services in order to enrich themselves.”
“Fraud is never a victimless crime. This case of using inferior materials damaged the readiness of U.S. forces. The victims are not just our men and women in uniform, but all American taxpayers. NCIS will continue to tirelessly pursue all those who seek to take advantage of the Department of the Navy and its interests while keeping the procurement system fair and honest,” said Special Agent in Charge Leo S. Lamont of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
This settlement was the result of a coordinated effort among the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. The investigation was conducted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Defense Contract Audit Agency.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
Ambler, Pennsylvania, Man Admits Defrauding FEMA Relating to Major DisasterRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – An Ambler, Pennsylvania, man today admitted defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of thousands of dollars after Hurricane Sandy, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Nicholas Ochs, 54, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle in Camden federal court to Counts One (disaster benefit fraud) and Four (mail fraud) of the indictment against him.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
When a natural disaster or federal emergency occurs in the United States, federal agencies, such as FEMA, provide relief and assistance to affected individuals and entities. FEMA provides financial assistance by, among other things, helping affected individuals repair their property.
In October 2012, Cape May County suffered severe damage from wind, rain and flooding generated by Hurricane Sandy when it struck New Jersey. On Oct. 30, 2012, then-President Obama signed a Presidential Disaster Declaration for the State of New Jersey, enabling eligible individuals who were displaced by the storms to seek financial assistance from FEMA.
At the time of Hurricane Sandy, Ochs’s mother lived in a house in Ocean City, New Jersey. In January 2013, Ochs filed an application with FEMA on her behalf, seeking federal rental assistance and assistance for personal property damage under FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program. He claimed the property was damaged as a result of Hurricane Sandy and was unfit for occupancy. An inspector working on behalf of FEMA inspected the property and determined that the property was uninhabitable, that repairs were required, and that the homeowner had moved. During the inspection, Ochs, acting with power of attorney, signed the application on behalf of his mother attesting that all the information on the application was true and correct. By signing the application, Ochs also acknowledged that any disaster relief money awarded would be returned if his mother received insurance benefits for the same loss.
FEMA initially denied Ochs’s claim, citing the fact that the property was covered by insurance. Ochs submitted documents to FEMA indicating that the insurance provider denied his mother’s claim. Based on that, in February 2013, FEMA awarded Ochs’s mother funds for rental assistance and home repair.
In applying to FEMA for home repair and rental assistance claiming that his mother was displaced by Hurricane Sandy, Ochs submitted fraudulent leases claiming that his mother was renting another property on the same block in Ocean City. Ochs also provided fictitious rental receipts. Ochs failed to disclose that the property his mother was renting was owned by his family and that no rent was ever paid. To support his mother’s continued need for rental assistance, Ochs was required to complete FEMA forms, and he faxed fraudulent lease agreements and rental receipts to FEMA.
In February 2013 Ochs contacted FEMA and made a false claim for transportation assistance, claiming that his mother’s 1985 Mercedes Benz was damaged by Hurricane Sandy and submitting fraudulent documentation to that effect.
Between February 2013 and December 2013, FEMA paid Ochs’ mother $17,229 for rental assistance and $4,345 for home repairs, through the issuance of direct deposits into bank accounts that Ochs controlled. Ochs then used the money to pay his personal expenses.
FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program indemnifies flood insurance providers when a claim is paid out. At the time of the storm, Wells Fargo Bank held the mortgage on Ochs’s mother’s property. After Ochs made a claim to the insurance provider, the insurance provider sent the insurance proceeds to Wells Fargo. To entice Wells Fargo to release the funds, Ochs presented fraudulent invoices and forms from a builder that over inflated the value of the work that the builders performed. Wells Fargo mailed numerous checks totaling $169,518 to the house in Ocean City. Ochs deposited the checks into bank accounts that he controlled and spent the money on personal expenses. The flood insurance claims were indemnified by FEMA.
The count of disaster benefits fraud to which Ochs pleaded guilty to carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The count of mail fraud to which he pleaded guilty carries a potential penalty of 30 years in prison and $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 25, 2019.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Mark Tasky, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division in Camden.
Defense counsel: William J. Hughes Jr., Atlantic City, New Jersey
New Jersey Teacher Charged with Health Care Fraud Conspiracy Targeting New Jersey School Employees Health Benefits ProgramRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A federal grand jury has indicted a New Jersey public school teacher for conspiring to defraud the N.J. School Employees’ Health Benefits Program (SEHBP) with phony claims for medically unnecessary prescriptions, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Jason Nardachone, 45, of Nutley, New Jersey, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. He made his initial appearance Oct. 11, 2018, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Hammer in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Nardachone participated in a scheme to defraud the SEHBP by knowingly causing the billing of medically unnecessary compounded medications, such as metabolic vitamins, pain creams, and scar creams, for himself and three other teachers. From September 2015 through February 2016, Nardachone and others received medically unnecessary compounded medications that cost the SEHBP from $3,300 to $22,800 per medication. Nardachone bribed the three other teachers with monthly payments of $500 in exchange for their agreement to obtain compounded medications they did not need. Nardachone defrauded the SEHBP of more than $550,000.The count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the ongoing investigation leading to the indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Liu, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.
The charge and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense counsel: Christopher A. Errante Esq., Lyndhurst, New Jersey
Former Executive of New York Hotel Company Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Stealing $13.8 Million from EmployerRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, man was sentenced to 46 months in prison for embezzling millions of dollars from a New York-based hospitality company where he was the chief operating officer, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
George Dfouni, 47, of Wayne, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion. Judge Hayden imposed the sentence Oct. 11, 2018, in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
From 1996 through 2015, Dfouni worked as the chief operating officer for a company identified in the information as “Company A,” which owns and operates hotels in New York and New Jersey.
From 2007 through September 2015, Dfouni negotiated multiple contracts on behalf of Company A, whereby two other companies – identified as “Company B” and “Company C” in court documents – leased New York hotel properties from Company A. As consideration for the leases, Company B and Company C agreed to pay millions of dollars to Company A. Each contract included a signing bonus for Dfouni, who arranged for Company B and Company C to transmit their payments directly to him in New Jersey.
Dfouni was expected to keep his signing bonus and pay the remaining balances to Company A. Instead, Dfouni skimmed a portion of the payments due to Company A to support his lavish lifestyle and gambling expenses. In total, Dfouni embezzled $13.8 million from Company A.
Dfouni willfully failed to report $27,739,114 in income to the IRS between 2007 and 2014, including the funds that he embezzled from Company A.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Hayden sentenced Dfouni to two years of supervised release.
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 the sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Navarro.
Defense counsel: Peter Carter Esq., Newark
Bergen County, New Jersey, Man Charged with Embezzlement and Failure to File Annual Report Related to Employee Benefit PlanRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man who served as a trustee of a pension fund was charged with embezzling more than $180,000 from an employee benefit fund, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Howard Preschel, 62, of Teaneck, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of embezzlement from an employee benefit plan and one count of failure to file an annual report. He made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Preschel served as a trustee for the CMG Vending Inc. Pension Trust Fund. CMG Vending operated, leased, and rented vending machines throughout New Jersey and New York. Preschel, by law, was a fiduciary and therefore required to act solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of the fund. From at least October 2013, Preschel embezzled $186,123 from the pension trust fund.
Preschel was also required to publish and file annual reports with the Secretary of Labor. To conceal the ongoing embezzlement, Preschel failed to inform the participants and beneficiaries that insufficient funds were being forwarded to the pension trust and failed to file a required annual report for the plan.
The embezzlement charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The failure to file an annual report charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Mikulka, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, under the direction of Thomas Licetti, Acting Regional Director of the New York Regional Office, with the investigation.The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Kearney of the Criminal Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense counsel: Howard Miller Esq., Hackensack, New Jersey
Seventeen Defendants Charged in Takedown of Newark’s ‘Famous Boyz’ Street GangRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Criminal charges against 17 members, associates, and drug suppliers of a Newark street gang that distributed heroin and crack cocaine and possessed and used firearms in furtherance of the gang’s drug trafficking activities were announced today by U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.
The charges are the result of a long-running wiretap investigation led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Newark Police Department and numerous state and local partners. The charges include conspiracies to distribute one kilogram of heroin and/or 280 grams of crack cocaine, possession of multiple firearms in connection with drug trafficking crimes, and unlawful possession of firearms by convicted felons. (See attached chart for detailed information on defendants.)
The 14 defendants arrested today are scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer this afternoon in Newark federal court. Three defendants were already in custody on state charges.
“The criminal complaint unsealed today describes an active marketplace where heroin and crack cocaine are sold openly on the streets of Newark and surrounding areas and illegal firearms and threats of violence are used to protect that trade,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said. “The wiretaps and surveillance provide a glimpse into the dangerous world these defendants have created in one neighborhood. Our office, working together with our federal and local law enforcement partners, is focusing on ridding neighborhoods of this type of activity, one gang at a time. Today’s arrests signal an important step in our continuing fight to retake our streets from violent gangs and drug dealers.”
“In conjunction with Attorney General Session’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative and ATF’s Violent Crime Reduction and Prevention strategy, today’s events mark the culmination of over a year of collaborative effort between ATF and our federal, state and local law enforcement partners,” ATF Special Agent in Charge John B. Devito, Newark Field Division, said. “Through the comprehensive use of Crime Gun Intelligence, law enforcement has removed a component of the criminal element that was driving violent crime in the community.”
“This joint investigation was vital in removing guns from the streets of Newark,” Valerie A. Nickerson, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s New Jersey Division, said. “Every gun seized has the potential to save a life. The DEA will continue to work with our other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to have the biggest impact throughout the region.”
“A significant portion of the work of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is fueled by easy access to illegal guns,” Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II said. “Whether we are dealing with homicides or street level drug deals, the availability of guns often turn relatively minor disputes into deadly clashes. Anything that we can do to trace these weapons once they have been used in a crime or stem the flow of illicit guns into the hands of criminals makes our job easier and the streets safer.”
“I applaud the outstanding work of U.S. Attorney Carpenito, Special Agent in Charge Devito of ATF, Special Agent in Charge Nickerson of the DEA, Essex County Prosecutor Stephens, Essex County Sheriff Fontoura and N.J. State Police Superintendent Callahan and their invaluable partnership in bringing these suspects into custody,” Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose said. “We are pleased that today’s advanced gun-tracing technology affords us the ability to link shootings occurring in the City of Newark back to those individuals suspected of using the weapons involved in committing crimes on our streets.”
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The defendants are members and associates of the Famous Boyz – a subset of the Brick City Brims set of the Bloods street gang – which dealt significant quantities of heroin and crack cocaine, primarily in and around the area of South 18th Street and 15th Avenue in Newark, which often was referred to by the gang as the “8 Block,” “18th,” or simply by reference to the number “8.”
John Mosley was a primary source of narcotics for the Famous Boyz and often directed the gang’s drug operations. Mosley and others shared narcotics, customers, and firearms with one another in furtherance of their narcotics trafficking activities, and used juveniles to distribute narcotics and stash firearms. Patricio Hernandez and Jonathan Hernandez were among the main suppliers of crack cocaine to Mosley. Jahid Vauters supplied Mosley with heroin. During the investigation, law enforcement recovered a Smith & Wesson 9mm and a Ruger .357 firearm from Vauters’ residence, along with bricks of heroin and more than 100 grams of crack cocaine. Law enforcement continues to investigate more than a dozen shootings that are linked to a rivalry between the Famous Boyz and another Newark gang.
Heroin sold by Famous Boyz members contained a fentanyl analogue, an extremely dangerous and highly addictive substance. One of Mosley’s heroin customers actually complained about the fentanyl, telling Mosley: “I’ll be honest – cause it’s fentanyl bro, I don’t want to kill myself, you know what I’m trying to say like ….” After Mosley acknowledged, the customer then added, “I’m just trying to fucking like have a good time not kill myself.”
Members of the Famous Boyz used social media to promote the gang’s criminal activities, advertising their narcotics trafficking activities and proceeds and threatening both rival gang members and any individuals who consider cooperating with law enforcement. For example, gang members have used the mantra, “No Face No Case,” and spread the word that if individuals are “ratting,” there’s “gone be a murder.”
Members of the Famous Boyz who sold narcotics also enriched themselves by committing other crimes, including robberies. Law enforcement officers, acting on information obtained from a wiretap, arrested Angelo West while he was attempting to commit a robbery. After they seized a .40 caliber firearm from the scene, Mosley was overheard complaining to Javon Holmes “so all the rachets gone” and “damn we just lost all the straps,” referring to the Famous Boyz losing their firearms.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of ATF, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Devito in Newark, and members of the Newark Department of Public Safety, under the direction of Director Ambrose, with the investigation leading to the charges.
He also thanked the DEA, under the direction of SAC Nickerson, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Stephens, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of 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 VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the DEA New Jersey Division, the U.S. Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, N.J. State Board of Parole, Union County Jail, N.J. State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, N.J. Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department, and the Irvington Police Department.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Graves of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Operator of North Jersey Tax Preparation Business Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Kissimmee, Florida, man was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for tax fraud, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Sixto Rodriguez was previously found guilty of all 17 counts of an indictment charging him with three counts of filing false tax returns on behalf of himself and fourteen counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false tax returns on behalf of his tax preparation clients. He was convicted following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2004 through 2012, Rodriguez operated a tax preparation business in Teaneck, New Jersey, by the name of 1-2-3 Taxes. Rodriguez personally met with clients, prepared their individual income tax returns and filed the returns with the IRS.
Rodriguez inflated education credits, charitable donations, unreimbursed business expenses and rental losses that he knew his clients had not actually incurred. On average, for the clients charged in the indictment, this resulted in his clients receiving more than $4,000 in refunds per return, to which they were not entitled. Rodriguez also failed to report more than $230,000 in net profits he made from his business from 2007 through 2009 and personally avoided paying more than $89,000 in taxes as a result.
In addition to the prison term, Judge McNulty sentenced Rodriguez to one year of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in John R. Tafur, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Senior Trial Counsel Daniel V. Shapiro of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark and Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Eskew, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit.
New Brunswick CPA Arrested for Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New Brunswick certified public accountant (CPA) was arrested today for allegedly underreporting more than $650,000 of income on his personal tax returns, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Amit Govil, 58, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, is charged by indictment with two counts of making and subscribing false tax returns. Govil was arrested earlier today at his home and is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court.According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
Govil is licensed in New York and New Jersey as a CPA. He operated a sole proprietorship referred to in the indictment as “Company A,” a business providing risk management and audit services to community banks, headquartered in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
For the tax years 2010 and 2011, Govil underreported and failed to report the gross receipts or sales of Company A on Schedule C of his personal tax returns, as he was obligated to do. Govil, through Company A, earned more than $3.9 million in gross receipts or sales for tax year 2010, and more than $4.3 million in gross receipts or sales for tax year 2011. Notwithstanding the actual gross receipts or sales that Govil earned through Company A, he reported gross receipts or sales of only $3,352,848 for tax year 2010, and $4,205,175 for tax year 2011.
Each count of making and subscribing false tax returns carries a maximum potential penalty of three years in prison and $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited Special Agents of the IRS, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney A. Howard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit.
The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense counsel: Jeffrey Alberts Esq., New York
Atlantic City Police Officer Charged with Civil Rights and Other OffensesRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. - A federal grand jury has indicted an Atlantic City police officer for multiple offenses arising from an assault outside the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in June 2013, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
In an indictment returned Oct. 10, 2018, and unsealed today, Sterling Wheaten, 34, of Mays Landing, New Jersey, was charged with one count of violating an individual’s civil rights and one count of falsifying a record for submitting a false police report about the assault. He made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider in Camden federal court and was released on $50,000 unsecured bond.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On June 15, 2013, Wheaten was working in his official capacity as an Atlantic City Police Department (ACPD) officer with his K-9 partner. That day, four ACPD officers encountered the victim in the area of the Tropicana. After the victim was told to leave the area, the victim walked across Morris Avenue and began yelling threats and obscenities at the police officers. After several minutes, ACPD Officer #1 ran across the street toward him to arrest him.
While ACPD Officer #1 and other officers attempted to grab the victim, the victim pulled away and grabbed ACPD Officer #1 around the waist as the victim was taken to the ground. ACPD Officer #1 fell to the ground with the victim on top of him. Three ACPD Officers, Officers #2 through #4, pulled the victim from on top of ACPD Officer #1. The four officers then delivered knee strikes to the victim’s shoulder and back, punches to the victim’s back, and baton strikes to the victim’s back and legs. Eventually, ACPD Officer #5 arrived and delivered two knee strikes to the victim before successfully handcuffing the victim’s left hand.
During the struggle, which lasted less than two minutes, ACPD Officers radioed for the assistance of a K-9 Officer. Wheaten responded to the call. When he arrived, the victim was laying on his stomach with ACPD Officer #1 kneeling on the victim’s head/neck area and several ACPD Officers were pressing on the victim’s back and legs.
Wheaten immediately took his dog out of the vehicle and ran directly at the victim and the five ACPD Officers. ACPD Officer #5 got off of the victim while still holding the handcuff, which caused the victim’s chest to be exposed to the dog. Without issuing a warning that he would deploy the dog, or allowing the victim a chance to surrender, Wheaten released the dog, and the dog bit the victim in the chest.
The victim pushed the dog off of his chest and rolled to his side. The dog bit the victim on the back of his neck. Wheaten did not immediately remove the dog from the back of the victim’s neck, but instead told the dog to “hold” on the victim’s neck. During his training at the K-9 Academy, Wheaten was trained that the only type of K-9 apprehension that has resulted in the death of a suspect occurred when a K-9 bit a suspect on his neck, and that even though the K-9 was immediately recalled and medical care given, the suspect died.
While the dog was biting the back of the victim’s neck, Wheaten punched the victim twice in the shoulder/neck area. Eventually, the victim was handcuffed and the dog was placed into the police vehicle. ACPD Officer #6 administered first aid to the victim’s head and neck until paramedics arrived. The victim was taken to AtlanticCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City in police custody, where he was treated for dog bites to his head, neck and chest.
After the victim was transported to the hospital, Wheaten and ACPD Officers #1 through #5, returned to the police station to prepare their reports. Prior to writing the reports, ACPD Officer #1 obtained Tropicana’s surveillance video of the assault. Wheaten met with ACPD Officers #1 through #4 and they watched the security video from the Tropicana before preparing their police reports.
To justify his actions against the victim, Wheaten prepared and submitted false and fraudulent police reports. He wrote that the victim was “fighting my K9 partner,” “[struck] my partner with his right hand,” “a further violent struggle ensued,” and, in an effort to falsely justify the utilization of the K-9, that the “suspect violently assaulted uniformed law enforcement officer[s] with hands and fists . . . .” As part of the report, Wheaten, in an effort to falsely justify the closed fist punches to the victim, falsely stated that he feared that the victim “was going to get up and retrieve his weapon to injure us or flee the area endangering the public.” As part of the report, Wheaten falsely stated that he provided first aid to the victim’s wound until the ambulance/EMT arrived.
The violation of civil rights count carries 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 of the charges is $250,000.
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 arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division in Camden in the criminal case.
The charges and accusations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
New Jersey Resident Convicted of Threatening to Murder Congressman, StaffRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A New Jersey resident was convicted by a federal jury today of two counts of threatening to murder U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo and members of the congressman’s staff, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Joseph Brodie, 39, of Millville, New Jersey, was convicted in Camden federal court following a seven-day trial on two counts of making threats to officials, officers and employees of the United States – specifically, for threatening to murder LoBiondo’s chief of staff and threatening to murder LoBiondo, his chief of staff, his veterans affairs liaison, and all of the staff of the Mays Landing office. The jury deliberated for approximately six hours before returning the verdict.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence presented at trial:
In the spring of 2017, Brodie reached out to LoBiondo seeking assistance with the medical care and treatment that Brodie was receiving from the Veterans Administration. Over the course of the next few months, Brodie spoke and corresponded with the congressman’s Veterans Affairs Liaison and a caseworker, both of whom assisted him with appointments and meetings regarding his medical care. On Sept. 19, 2017, Brodie contacted the congressman’s office and spoke to the chief of staff on the phone. Brodie wanted the chief of staff to arrange a meeting with the congressman, but the chief of staff refused. During this phone call, Brodie became angry and ultimately threatened the life of the chief of staff – calling him “a dead man.”
Approximately an hour and a half later, Brodie sent an email to the congressman’s veterans’ affairs liaison as well as the caseworker, threatening their lives as well as the lives of the congressman and his staff in the Mays Landing Office. In this email, Brodie stated that he wanted to meet the congressman “face to face” and he pointed out “how easy” it was to find the congressman’s Mays Landing Office. Brodie also attached a terrain map of the area, with the area around the congressman’s office enlarged for detail and a red pinpoint location marker on the office. Writing about the map, Brodie stated, “[i]t even shows the environment and surrounding terrain, parking lots, wooded areas, etc., (like the kind a highly trained Combat Infantryman would use)…”
On the same day as the threats, Brodie sent text messages to his fiancée stating: “I threaten the life of a Congressman’s Chief of Staff. I’m pretty sure the Secret Service are going to investigate.” He also wrote that he was “prepared” for any law enforcement officers who might respond to his home. He wrote, “I’ll give them a chance to leave. If not, it’ll be First Blood Part II Type Shit (if you never saw that Rambo movie.” Brodie also wrote, “I won’t surrender. It’s not in me.” The same day, Brodie spoke to his fiancée on the phone and told her that he was going to an address in New Jersey, that he had GPS coordinates in his car, and that he was going to kill LoBiondo’s chief of staff, and that there was going to be a “blood bath.”
One week later, in a statement recorded by the FBI, Brodie confessed to having made the phone threat to the chief of staff on Sept. 19, 2017, and to having sent the email threat on Sept. 19, 2017.
The evidence showed that at the time Brodie made these threats, Brodie owned several firearms and a large amount of ammunition at his home.
U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark; special agents of the U.S. Capitol Police, under the direction of Chief Matthew R. Verderosa; officers from the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; and the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae, with the investigation leading to today’s conviction.
The counts on which Brodie has been convicted are punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara A. Aliabadi and Jason Richardson, of the Camden office.
Former New York Law Firm Partner Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Conspiring to Defraud Two New York Law Firms out of More Than $7 MillionRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, woman was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for using bogus litigation support companies to obtain millions of dollars from two law firms where she was a partner, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Keila Ravelo, 52, of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to two counts of an indictment charging her with conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Count One) and tax evasion (Count Nine). Judge McNulty imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
Ravelo worked as a partner for a company identified in the indictment as “Law Firm 1” from July 1, 2005, through October 2010. She then became partner in another law firm, identified in the indictment as “Law Firm 2,” and worked there from October 2010 through November 2014.
From 2008 through July 2014, Ravelo and her husband, Melvin Feliz, 52, conspired to defraud Law Firm 1 and Law Firm 2, forming two limited liability companies, “Vendor 1” and “Vendor 2,” which purported to provide litigation support to the firms, but in fact provided no actual services to the firms. Ravelo and Feliz controlled Vendor 1 and Vendor 2 bank accounts and submitted invoices to Law Firm 1 and Law Firm 2 for work that was never performed for the law firms or their clients. Ravelo, in her capacity as a partner at the law firms, approved payments to Vendor 1 and Vendor 2, which Ravelo and Feliz later used for personal expenses. The law firms paid Vendor 1 and Vendor 2 approximately $7.8 million. Ravelo and Feliz willfully failed to report the fraudulent earnings on their tax returns.
On Aug. 25, 2015, Feliz pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of tax evasion. Feliz admitted that from 2008 through July 2014, he and Ravelo controlled the Vendor 1 and Vendor 2 bank accounts and submitted invoices to Law Firm 1and Law Firm 2 for work that was never performed for the law firms or their clients. He admitted that Ravelo, in her capacity as a partner at the law firms, approved payments to Vendor 1 and Vendor 2 that Ravelo and Feliz later used for personal expenses. Before pleading guilty for the role he played in this wire fraud and tax evasion conspiracy, Feliz pleaded guilty to an indictment which charged him and two other men with conspiring to distribute approximately 20 kilograms of cocaine.
In addition to the prison term, Judge McNulty sentenced Ravelo to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited law enforcement officers of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur, and law enforcement officers of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Valerie A. Nickerson, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
This case was 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. Attorneys Andrew Kogan, Brian Urbano of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division, Ronnell Wilson, Chief of the OCDETF Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Ward, Senior Trial Counsel of the Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit.
Former Employee of New Jersey University Admits Distributing Images of Child Pornography over InternetRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man today admitted distributing images of child sexual abuse over the internet, U.S. Craig Carpenito announced.
Samuel LaSala, 47, of Cedar Grove, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of distributing child pornography.
According to documents filed in this case and statements in court:
LaSala, who was employed as a computer programmer at a New Jersey university, admitted that between May 2017 and January 2018 he possessed videos of child sexual abuse on his laptop computer and made those videos available for others to download via an online peer-to-peer file sharing network. He admitted possessing approximately 100 videos, which included images of prepubescent children.
The count of distribution of child pornography to which LaSala pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years, and a maximum fine of $250,000. As part of his guilty plea, LaSala agreed to forfeit the computer he used to commit the offense. He will also be required to register as a sex offender. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2018.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Child Exploitation Group, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael in Newark, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather Suchorsky and Vera Varshavsky of the Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: Joseph D. Rotella Esq., Newark
Federal Inmate Sentenced to Additional 160 Months for Possessing Hundreds of Images and Videos of Child Sexual Abuse While in PrisonRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Plain City, Ohio, man was sentenced today to an additional 160 months in prison for possessing hundreds of images and videos of child sexual abuse while incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix for a previous offense involving the receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Jordan T. Allen, 31, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to an information charging him with one count of possession of child pornography. Judge Rodriguez imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Allen admitted that he possessed a micro SD Card containing 577 images and 340 videos of children being sexually abused, including videos of sadistic and masochistic sexual conduct involving infants and toddlers. In connection with his plea, Allen also admitted that he distributed child pornography to another inmate.
Allen and seven other inmates were arrested in April 2017 and February 2018 following an FBI investigation involving multiple covert recordings and several cooperating inmates. The investigation revealed that Allen and other inmates utilized contraband cellphones, micro SD cards, and access to the internet to obtain, view, and distribute child pornography within the prison. A co-defendant organized and helped facilitate this criminal activity by maintaining cloud accounts that were used as repositories for child pornography.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Rodriguez sentenced Allen to 10 years of supervised release. Restitution will be determined at a later date.
Six other inmates – all of whom were serving sentences for prior child pornography offenses while committing the alleged crimes in this case – have pleaded guilty: Erik M. Smith, 36, of Iron Mountain, Michigan; Anthony C. Jeffries, 32, of Orange, Virginia; Brian J. McKay, 47, of Brookhaven, Pennsylvania; Christopher D. Roffler, 30, of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Jacob S. Good, 26, of Fredericksburg, Virginia; and Charles Wesley Bush, 38, of Knoxville, Tennessee. Smith was sentenced to 151 months in prison, Good was sentenced to 10 years in prison; McKay was sentenced to 160 months in prison, and the other three defendants are 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, with the investigation. He also thanked officials of the Bureau of Prisons at Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gabriel J. Vidoni and Alyson M. Oswald of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.
William H. Noble, 52, of Lowell, Massachusetts, was indicted on May 23, 2018, and is scheduled for trial next year. The charges and allegations against Noble are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense counsel: Justin T. Loughry Esq., Camden
South Jersey Man Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Stealing Car, Robbing Three BanksRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Vineland, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 78 months in prison for stealing a car and using it as part of a South Jersey bank robbery spree in September and October 2016, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Nathan L. Wallace, 29, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb to an information charging him with three counts of bank robbery. Judge Bumb imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Wallace admitted stealing a 2003 Chrysler Sebring on Sept. 22, 2016, by threatening the victim with a toy revolver resembling an actual firearm. Wallace also admitted taking the Sebring on Sept. 24, 2016, to a BB&T Bank in Buena Vista Township, New Jersey, where he used the toy revolver to threaten bank employees and demand money. After taking cash from the employees, Wallace fled in the Sebring.
Wallace also admitted traveling in the same stolen Sebring with Quintin L. Jones, 36, of Vineland, to rob a Newfield National Bank in Newfield, New Jersey, on Oct. 7, 2016, and a Cape Bank in Upper Deerfield Township, New Jersey, on Oct. 11, 2016. During both robberies, one of the defendants used a toy revolver to threaten bank employees and steal money before they both fled in the stolen Searing. Wallace admitted that he and Jones set fire to the Sebring on Oct. 15, 2016, in order to destroy evidence of the robberies.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Bumb sentenced Wallace to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $33,206.
Jones pleaded guilty on Nov. 8, 2017, and was sentenced by Judge Bumb on Sept. 12, 2018, to 100 months in prison.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, the FBI’s South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Harpster in Philadelphia, the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Acting Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan, as well as the Vineland Police Department, the Hamilton Township Police Department, the Newfield Police Department, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office, 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 Criminal Division in Camden.
Defense counsel: Maggie F. Moy Esq., Camden
Jersey City Police Officer Sentenced to One Year in Prison for Conspiracy to Commit FraudRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Jersey City police officer was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for participating in a conspiracy to defraud Jersey City by obtaining compensation for off-duty work that they did not perform, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
James Cardinali, 38, of Jersey City, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud. Judge Vazquez imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Cardinali’s duties included serving as the “pick coordinator” for Jersey City’s South District, responsible for assigning police officers to off-duty details. On multiple occasions, Cardinali asked representatives of certain vendors who were performing work in the South District to sign Jersey City off-duty vouchers indicating that a police officer had completed an off-duty assignment for that vendor, even though no officer had in fact completed any assignment. Cardinali then falsely represented on these vouchers that a particular police officer had completed an off-duty assignment. These officers were paid for work they did not perform. Cardinali personally obtained from the officers some of the money that they were paid as a result of the fraudulent conduct.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Vazquez sentenced Cardinali to three years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $166,255 and forfeiture of $39,587.
U.S. Attorney Cardinali 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. The Jersey City Police Department is cooperating with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: Matthew E. Beck Esq., West Orange, New Jersey
Atlantic County, New Jersey, Man Admits Three Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – An Atlantic County, New Jersey, man today admitted his role in robbing the PNC Bank branch in Marlton, New Jersey, on Dec. 8, 2017, as well as two other bank robberies, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Matthew Burney, 44, of Brigantine, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph Rodriguez in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of bank robbery. During the plea hearing, Burney also admitted committing two additional bank robberies.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Burney entered the PNC Bank branch in Marlton while wearing a mask that covered the lower part of his face. He threatened to shoot the occupants if the alarm was activated. He pointed what appeared to be semi-automatic handgun at one of the tellers, threatened to shoot her, and demanded all the money from her cash drawer. After she gave him cash, he approached a second teller and demanded money from her. She complied, and Burney then fled the bank.
Burney also admitted robbing the Chase Bank in North Brunswick, New Jersey, on Feb. 28, 2017, and the Bank of America in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 2017.
The bank robbery charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of either $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, Newark Division, Trenton Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie; the Evesham Police Department, under the direction of Chief Christopher Chew; the Bristol Township, Pennsylvania, Police Department, under the direction of Robert Coulton, and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Burlington County Prosecutor Scott A. Coffina, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Gross of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Camden Branch.
Defense counsel: Christopher O’Malley Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Camden
Passaic County, New Jersey, Private Pilot Convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine, Money Laundering, and StructuringRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, man has been convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, money laundering, structuring monetary instruments, and conspiracy to commit money laundering and structuring, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Khamraj Lall, 51, of Ringwood, New Jersey, was convicted Oct. 4, 2018, on all eight counts of a superseding indictment following an eight-day trial before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson 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 in Gainesville, Florida, used the proceeds of his cocaine empire to purchase jet planes, houses, and cars. He also paid more than $2 million in cash stuffed in 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 United States to Guyana and stopped in Puerto Rico to refuel. An outbound search of the plane discovered $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.
The conspiracy to distribute cocaine carries a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life in prison, and a $10 million fine. The counts for money laundering and conspiracy to launder money each carry a potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The counts of structuring and conspiracy to structure cash carry a potential penalty of 10 years in prison.
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 the conviction.The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan M. Peck and Thomas S. Kearney of the Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense Counsel: Michael D’Alessio Jr. Esq. West Orange, New Jersey, and Tama Beth Kudman Esq., West Palm Beach, Florida
Michael ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino, Marc Sorrentino Sentenced to Federal Prison on Tax ChargesRead the Press Release
Television personality Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino was sentenced to eight months in prison, and his brother, Marc Sorrentino, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for violating federal tax laws. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito for District of New Jersey, and IRS Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur made the announcement.
Tax evasion charges were originally brought against Michael Sorrentino, 37, and his brother, Marc Sorrentino, 39, in September 2014, and a superseding indictment returned in April 2017 added additional charges. Michael previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to Count 13 of a superseding indictment, which charged him with tax evasion. Marc pleaded guilty to Count 5, which charged him with aiding in the preparation of a false and fraudulent tax return. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentences today in Newark federal court.
“Lying to and defrauding the federal government is a very serious crime, regardless of a defendant’s celebrity status,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman. “The Sorrentino brothers chose to use Michael’s fame to benefit themselves at the expense of the American taxpayer, and with the help of our federal partners, they were held accountable.”
“The law requires all Americans to pay our fair share of taxes. These defendants deliberately flouted this requirement, acting as though fame and celebrity status placed them above the law. They are not," said U.S. Attorney Carpenito. Tax fraud is as serious as any other form of theft from the government, and the sentences imposed today should make that abundantly clear.”
“Tax crimes, plain and simple, are an outright theft from the hardworking American public,” stated John R. Tafur, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office. “The courts recognize the severity of these crimes and now Michael and Marc Sorrentino are convicted felons with prison sentences to serve for intentionally disregarding their tax obligations to our country.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Michael Sorrentino was a reality television personality who gained fame on “The Jersey Shore,” which first appeared on the MTV network. He and his brother, Marc, created businesses, such as MPS Entertainment LLC and Situation Nation Inc., to take advantage of Michael’s celebrity status.
Michael Sorrentino admitted that in tax year 2011, he earned taxable income, including some that was paid in cash, and that he took certain actions to conceal some of his income to avoid paying the full amount of taxes he owed. He made cash deposits into bank accounts in amounts less than $10,000 each so that these deposits would not come to the attention of the IRS.
Marc Sorrentino admitted that during tax years 2010, 2011 and 2012, he earned taxable income and that he assisted his accountants in preparing his personal tax return for those years, willfully providing them with false information. His personal tax returns under-reported his total income and taxable income.
In addition to the terms of imprisonment, Judge Wigenton ordered Michael Sorrentino to serve two years of supervised release and pay $123,913 in restitution and a criminal fine of $10,000. Marc Sorrentino was ordered to serve one year of supervised release and pay a criminal fine of $7,500.
Principal Deputy Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the IRS, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tafur, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencings.
The government is represented by Trial Attorneys Yael T. Epstein and Jeffrey B. Bender of the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan W. Romankow of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Michael ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino and His Brother, Marc Sorrentino, Sentenced to Federal Prison on Tax ChargesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Television personality Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino was sentenced today to eight months in prison and his brother, Marc Sorrentino, to 24 months in prison for violating federal tax laws, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito, District of New Jersey; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division; and IRS Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur announced.
Michael Sorrentino, 37, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to Count 13 of a superseding indictment, which charged him with tax evasion. Marc Sorrentino, 39, pleaded guilty to Count 5, which charged him with aiding in the preparation of a false and fraudulent tax return. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentences today in Newark federal court.
“The law requires all Americans to pay our fair share of taxes,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said. “These defendants deliberately flouted this requirement, acting as though fame and celebrity status placed them above the law. They are not. Tax fraud is as serious as any other form of theft from the government, and the sentences imposed today should make that abundantly clear.”
“Lying to and defrauding the federal government is a very serious crime, regardless of a defendant’s celebrity status,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman. “The Sorrentino brothers chose to use Michael’s fame to benefit themselves at the expense of the American taxpayer, and with the help of our federal partners, they were held accountable.”
“Tax crimes, plain and simple, are an outright theft from the hardworking American public,” Special Agent in Charge Tafur, IRS Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, said. “The courts recognize the severity of these crimes and now Michael and Marc Sorrentino are convicted felons with prison sentences to serve for intentionally disregarding their tax obligations to our country.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Michael Sorrentino was a reality television personality who gained fame on “The Jersey Shore,” which first appeared on the MTV network. He and his brother, Marc, created businesses, such as MPS Entertainment LLC and Situation Nation Inc., to take advantage of Michael’s celebrity status.
Michael Sorrentino admitted that in tax year 2011, he earned taxable income, including some that was paid in cash, and that he took certain actions to conceal some of his income to avoid paying the full amount of taxes he owed. He made cash deposits into bank accounts in amounts less than $10,000 each so that these deposits would not come to the attention of the IRS.
Marc Sorrentino admitted that during tax years 2010, 2011 and 2012, he earned taxable income and that he assisted his accountants in preparing his personal tax return for those years, willfully providing them with false information. His personal tax returns under-reported his total income and taxable income.
In addition to the prison terms, Judge Wigenton sentenced Michael Sorrentino to two years of supervised release, 500 hours of community service, $123,000 in restitution (which has already been paid) and fined him $10,000. Marc Sorrentino was sentenced to one year of supervised release, and fined $7,500, with restitution to be determined at a later date.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito and Principal Deputy Attorney General Zuckerman credited special agents of the IRS, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tafur, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencings.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan W. Romankow of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark; Trial Attorneys Yael T. Epstein and Jeffrey B. Bender of the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Defense counsel:
Michael Sorrentino: Henry E. Klingeman Esq. and Kristen Santillo Esq., Newark
Marc Sorrentino: Michael D’Alessio Jr. Esq., West Orange, New JerseyFormer Senior VP of Demolition Company Admits Taking $340,000 in Bribes to Steer Contracts to Cinelli Iron & Metal Co.Read the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A former senior vice president of a national demolition company today admitted accepting $341,052 from the chief executive officer and from the president of a scrap metal company to steer business to them, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Frank Aiello, 53, of Wyckoff, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Aiello worked as a senior vice president at Corporate Victim 1, a demolition and remediation services company with offices throughout the United States, including New Jersey.
Cinelli Iron & Metal Co. Inc. purchased scrap metal for resale. Cinelli was headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey, and operated three scrap metal recycling facilities in New Jersey. Co-Conspirator 1 (CC-1) was a co-owner of Cinelli. Co-Conspirator 2 (CC-2) was the President and co-owner of Cinelli.
From 2013 through 2016 Aiello participated in a conspiracy with CC-1 and CC-2 to defraud Corporate Victim 1 of its right to his honest services in the performance of his duties. The principal goal of the conspiracy was for Aiello to use his position to enrich himself by soliciting and accepting gifts, payments, and other things of value from the two Cinelli conspirators in exchange for actions favorable to their business, and for the Cinelli officials to enrich themselves by secretly obtaining favorable action through corrupt means.
The wire fraud conspiracy count carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 15, 2019.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Mikulka in New York; special agents with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Douglas Shoemaker 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.
The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Daniel Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: John Azzarello Esq., Morristown, New Jersey
Three New Jersey Men Arraigned on Mortgage Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – Three New Jersey men – a real estate investor, a builder, and a real estate settlement attorney – were arraigned today on multiple charges in connection with their alleged roles in a mortgage fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Victor Santos, a/k/a “Vitor Santos,” 58, of Watchung, New Jersey; Arsenio Santos, a/k/a “Gaspar Santos,” 51, of Warren, New Jersey; and Fausto Simoes, 65, of Millington, New Jersey, were charged on Sept. 24, 2018, in a 19-count indictment. They were each charged with one count of conspiring to commit bank fraud. Victor Santos was charged with nine counts of bank fraud and nine counts of making false statements in an application for credit. Arsenio Santos was charged with four counts of bank fraud and four counts of making false statements in an application for credit. Simoes was charged with seven counts of bank fraud and seven counts of making false statements in an application for credit.
All three were arraigned today before U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case:
From September 2007 through November 2008, Victor Santos, a real estate investor; Arsenio Santos, a builder; and Simoes, a real estate settlement attorney, and others allegedly conspired to fraudulently obtain mortgage loans with a total value of more than $4 million.
Victor Santos, Arsenio Santos, and their conspirators allegedly recruited “straw buyers” –individuals who purchase a property for another in order to conceal the identity of the actual purchaser, usually in exchange for a fee – to purchase properties in Newark.
In exchange for the use of the straw buyers’ identity and credit history, Victor Santos, Arsenio Santos, and others allegedly agreed to pay each of the straw buyers a fee of at least $5,000, provide the straw buyer’s down payment and cash required for closing, secure tenants to lease the purchased property, and make the mortgage payments on each of the fraudulently obtained mortgages. These secret agreements were not disclosed to the bank. Shortly after the properties were acquired the mortgages went into default.
For the three representative schemes highlighted in the indictment, Victor Santos, Arsenio Santos, and their conspirators prepared and submitted mortgage applications containing false information to the bank and obtained loans totaling more than $1.3 million. The conspirators allegedly arranged transactions for the Newark properties whereby the straw buyers would nominally purchase the properties for far more than the sellers had agreed to sell them, and the conspirators diverted excess loan proceeds for their own benefit and to further the conspiracy.
Simoes was the closing attorney on approximately 10 of the fraudulent transactions and signed and certified the final settlement statements. These statements falsely stated that the cash required for closing for each transaction came from the straw buyer. In fact, Victor Santos and his conspirators provided those funds to Simoes and the funds were deposited into Simoes’ attorney trust account. For certain transactions, a shell company – whose bank account was controlled by Victor Santos and a conspirator – and to which funds from fraudulently obtained mortgage loans were disbursed – was the source of the cashier’s checks given to Simoes to fund the straw buyer’s cash required at closing. For other transactions, down payments came from an account owned and controlled by Arsenio Santos or from the proceeds of a previously obtained fraudulent loan.
The conspiracy to commit bank fraud count, the bank fraud counts, and the false statement counts, each carry a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1 million or twice the gross gain to the defendants or twice the gross loss to others whichever is greater.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Manchak, and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie of the Newark office, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charlie Divine and Kevin DiGregory of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Economic Crimes Unit in Newark and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General.
Previously Convicted Felon from Essex County, New Jersey, Sentenced to 94 Months in Prison for Illegally Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark man who was arrested following a domestic disturbance in which he discharged his weapon was sentenced today to 94 months in prison for possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Dequan Farlow, 38, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to an indictment charging him with one count of possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon. Judge Chesler imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Farlow was arrested by Newark police officers on June 30, 2017 after he allegedly shot a speaker next to his ex-girlfriend’s mother and struck the mother with the gun at her residence in Newark.
Farlow admitted that he knowingly possessed a loaded Hi-Point JCP semi-automatic handgun, despite having at least one prior felony conviction in Essex County Superior Court. As part of his plea agreement, Farlow also acknowledged that he knowingly fired the gun on June 30, 2017.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Farlow to three 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 officers of the Newark Police Division, under the direction of Department of Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose, for their assistance.The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason S. Gould of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: Patrick McMahon Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
Children’s Singer/Songwriter Sentenced to 82 Months in Prison for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A music teacher and singer/songwriter who performed for children at synagogues, Jewish community centers, camps and conventions nationwide was sentenced today to 82 months in prison for receiving images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Eric S. Komar, 47, of Hillsborough, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini to an information charging him with one count of receiving child pornography. Judge Martini imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between April 2017 and September 2017, Komar used an Internet based peer-to-peer file-sharing program to obtain images and videos that included images of prepubescent children being sexually abused as well as sadistic and masochistic images. Komar also admitted to law enforcement that he had become sexually aroused by a child in his presence on more than one occasion.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Martini sentenced Komar to 10 years of supervised release and ordered that he register as a sex offender.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie; members of the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson and County Chief of Detectives John W. Fodor; the Hillsborough Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Darren Powell, and the N.J. Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Danielle Alfonzo Walsman and Leticia Vandehaar of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: John H. Yauch Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
District of New Jersey Announces Progress in Making Communities Safer Through ‘Project Safe Neighborhoods’Read the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – One year ago, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made the centerpiece of the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and re-entry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
In line with the Justice Department’s priority to combat violent crime, the District of New Jersey designated three cities – Newark, Camden and Jersey City – as its Project Safe Neighborhoods target areas. In the one year since the Department announced its relaunching of the PSN program it has already shown measurable progress in the prosecution and deterrence of violent criminals in these communities.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Sessions said. “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs. I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face. Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives, and restore safety to our communities.”
To implement the goals of PSN and combat violent crime in Newark, the Violent Crime Initiative (VCI) was formed in August 2017 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the City of Newark’s Department of Public Safety and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to investigate and prosecute violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI includes the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshal’s Office, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, the N.J. State Parole Board, the Union County Jail, the N.J. State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, the N.J. Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department and the Irvington Police Department.
“The cases described below illustrate just how effective law enforcement can be when federal, state, and local partners all work together and focus their resources on the most serious violent offenders,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. “Our joint efforts are reducing violent crime in the communities most affected by it. Street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood, we are making those areas safer.”
“Our valued partnership with each member of the Violent Crime Initiative strengthens our unwavering commitment to rid our streets of illegal weapons and narcotics throughout the City of Newark,” Newark Department of Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said. “We are pleased that the U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions has spearheaded the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, along with U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Craig Carpenito, to ensure that the people of Newark, Jersey City and Camden enjoy safety and the improved quality of life they deserve through this ongoing, targeted reduction of violent crime on our streets.”
According to documents filed in court over the past year, the investigations implemented as part of Newark’s VCI have yielded the following results:
Between March and September 2018, 28 alleged members of a drug trafficking organization that dealt kilogram-quantities of heroin in and around Newark, specifically the area near Hayes Street and 14th Avenue, were charged federally with narcotics and firearms offenses. The organization is composed of members of the Brick City Brims set of the Bloods street gang, many of whom have perpetrated violence against, and been the targets of violence by, rivals in connection with their narcotics trafficking and gang activities. As part of this ongoing investigation, at least six firearms have been seized.
In September 2018, six alleged members of a drug trafficking organization led by Andre Mims were prosecuted federally for distributing heroin throughout Newark, including to customers who traveled from all over New Jersey and even as far as Florida. Two defendants are also charged with firearms offenses. At least an additional 15 defendants tied to the organization are being prosecuted by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. As part of the collaborative efforts by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, two firearms were seized in connection with the investigation.
During the past year, at least 15 additional violent offenders and gang members have been prosecuted as part of Newark’s Violent Crime Initiative, and additional arrests are anticipated. Overall, crime is down 12 percent in Newark since last year, but there has been a far greater decrease in violent crime, with 74 fewer shooting victims and 45 fewer shooting incidents during that time.
Meanwhile, PSN efforts to combat violent crime in Camden have been underway for years through the Camden Collaborative Crime Commission (C4), a federal, state, and local partnership of law enforcement officers, analysts, and prosecutors. C4 partners meet every morning to share intelligence and collaborate to effectively target and reduce violence by focusing prosecutorial efforts on violent and/or substantial drug trafficking organizations. As part of these efforts, there has been a continued emphasis on firearms prosecutions and enforcement actions targeting open-air drug markets in the city. In March 2018, six defendants were charged federally with drug charges and one defendant with firearms charges for their role in the distribution of furanyl fentanyl, heroin, and crack cocaine in the City of Camden. In addition to the six charged defendants, five additional defendants have pled guilty to their roles in this drug trafficking organization. The dismantling of this drug distribution network is just one example of how the partnerships forged at C4 are yielding tangible results combatting violent crime and drug trafficking in Camden. These efforts have resulted in a significant decrease in violent crime in Camden, with 21 fewer shooting victims and 25 fewer shooting incidents than last year.
Although a Violent Crime Initiative is in its infancy in Jersey City, over the course of the past year, the USAO has prosecuted 19 firearms cases and numerous narcotics trafficking cases in an effort to thwart violence and gang activity in Jersey City. During that time, Jersey City has experienced a 30 percent reduction in shooting victims and 24 percent reduction in shooting incidents over the past year.
Federal efforts to combat violent crime are not just limited to the three designated PSN target areas. Throughout the District of New Jersey, the prosecution of firearms offenses has increased by over 130 percent this year alone. Over the past year, the State of New Jersey has experienced a 23 percent reduction in shooting victims and a 27 percent reduction in shooting incidents.
Pennsylvania Man Admits Defrauding Lending Company Out of More Than $400,000Read the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – The president of a staffing company today admitted defrauding a commercial finance lending company out of more than $400,000, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Jeremy Hare, 47, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb in Camden federal court to an information charging him with wire fraud.According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
Hare was the president and managing member of Apollo Search Partners LLC, a staffing agency with an office in New Jersey. On June 16, 2017, Hare had Apollo enter into a financing agreement with a commercial finance lender that offered funding to companies so that they could meet payroll and other obligations. The lender agreed to provide funding to Apollo. In order to get funding, Apollo would provide the Victim Company invoices and supporting time cards for each person Apollo staffed with a client.
Between June 20, 2017 and Aug. 15, 2017, Hare submitted more than 15 invoices to the lender even though Apollo never staffed most of the individuals listed on the invoices and the time sheets submitted with the invoices included hours that were never worked. Based on those invoices, the lender provided more than $400,000 to Apollo between June and August 2017. To date, the lending company has not received reimbursement for that funding.
The charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 4, 2019.U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited 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 Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrime Prevention and Enforcement Unit and Sarah Devlin of the Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel: Ronald L. Greenblatt Esq., Philadelphia
New Jersey Attorney Admits Role in Multimillion-Dollar Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A New Jersey attorney today admitted running a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme that involved properties in Jersey City, Clifton, Union, and elsewhere in New Jersey and caused losses of millions of dollars, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Christopher Goodson, 45, of Newark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From January 2011 through August 2017, Goodson, his co-defendant, Anthony Garvin, and others engaged in a short sale mortgage fraud conspiracy targeting various New Jersey properties with mortgages that were in default.
The conspirators arranged simultaneous fraudulent transactions on the same target property. In the first transaction, which involved the sale by the current owner, the conspirators convinced the financial institution holding the mortgage to accept the sale of the target property at a loss, usually to a buyer who was secretly a conspirator or an entity controlled by the conspiracy.
In the second transaction, the conspirators flipped the same target property from the first buyer to a second buyer, who typically obtained a mortgage from another financial institution using false loan applications, pay stubs, bank account statements and title reports provided by members of the conspiracy. As a result, the second transaction frequently closed for significantly more or even double the price of the first transaction.
Goodson admitted that he, Garvin, and others rigged the short sale process at each step in order to maximize the difference in price between the two transactions and keep the victim financial institutions from detecting the fraud.
For instance, Goodson concealed the fact that he played multiple roles in the short sale transactions, including allegedly generating false pre-approval letters from a New Jersey corporation he owned that purported to be a short-term lending company operating out of California. These letters were used to deceive banks into believing that the purchaser – typically a conspirator or entity controlled by Goodson – had the credit necessary for the transaction. Goodson also negotiated the fraudulent short sales with the banks, generated phony deeds that backdated the closing date of the first transactions, and even served as the closing attorney during some of the short sales.
Garvin was a real estate agent and investor who allegedly coordinated fraudulent transactions as part of the scheme. The charge against him remains pending; he is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The conspirators disbursed the funds into various accounts they controlled to conceal their illegal activities and split the profits. In total, the conspiracy defrauded financial institutions out of millions of dollars.
The conspiracy to commit bank fraud count is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 29, 2019.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory Ehrie in Newark, postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge James V. Buthorn, and special agents of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) – Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Steven Perez in Newark, with the investigation
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Feder and Zach Intrater, Executive Assistant to the U.S. Attorney, in Newark.
Defense counsel: John C. Whipple Esq., Morristown, New Jersey
Justice Department Reaches Settlement with New Jersey Military Housing Provider for Charging Unlawful Lease Termination Fees to U.S. ServicemembersRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – The Justice Department today announced that United Communities, LLC, a private company that manages military housing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB-MDL), has agreed to pay $62,501.78 to resolve allegations that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by imposing early termination charges on 13 servicemembers who had exercised their right to terminate their residential leases upon receipt of qualifying military orders. The early termination charges ranged from $138 to $3,100. This case and the settlement with another company in United States v. Twin Creek, announced on Sept. 11, 2018, are the first two SCRA cases the Department has brought involving lease incentives.
The Department launched an investigation into United Communities’ leasing practices after receiving a referral from Air Force Community Legal Services. U.S. Army Capt. Gregory Funk had sought to terminate his lease with United Communities after he received military orders to deploy to Qatar for up to 365 days as a part of Operation Inherent Resolve. United Communities agreed to release Captain Funk from the remainder of his lease term, but required him to pay back the $899.20 lease incentive that he had received when he signed the lease because he had not completed the 24-month term of the lease. The investigation revealed 12 other instances where SCRA-protected servicemembers were required to pay back their lease incentives.
Under the terms of the settlement, United Communities must pay a total of $45,001.78 in damages to 13 servicemembers. United Communities will also pay a civil penalty of $17,500 to the United States. In addition, United Communities must develop policies to ensure it complies with the SCRA, train its employees on the protections afforded by the SCRA, and report future SCRA-related complaints to the government.
“Members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, and servicemembers nationwide, have the right to terminate their leases without penalty when their military orders send them elsewhere,” Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore said. “We appreciate United Communities’ cooperation with the Department to compensate affected servicemembers. We are resolute in our commitment to vigorously enforce the SCRA on behalf of our men and women in uniform.”
“When the brave men and women of our armed services answer the call of duty, they should be confident that they and their families will receive every protection the SCRA offers,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. “With this settlement agreement, I am proud to continue our robust enforcement of the SCRA in New Jersey.”
The SCRA extends various protections to servicemembers to allow them to devote their entire energy to the national defense. The SCRA provides protections for servicemembers in areas such as evictions, security deposits, pre-paid rent, civil judicial proceedings, installment contracts, credit card interest rates, mortgage interest rates, mortgage foreclosures, automobile leases, life insurance, health insurance and income tax payments. The SCRA also allows servicemembers to terminate their residential leases after entering military service or receiving military orders for a permanent change of station, deployment, or retirement. Landlords are prohibited from imposing an early termination charge on servicemembers who terminate their leases under the SCRA.
The agreement resolves a suit filed by the United States in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
The Department’s enforcement of the SCRA is conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section and U.S. Attorney’s Offices throughout the country. Since 2011, the Department has obtained over $468 million in monetary relief for servicemembers through its enforcement of the SCRA. For more information about the Department’s SCRA enforcement, please visit www.servicemembers.gov.
Servicemembers and their dependents who believe that their rights under the SCRA have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program Office. Office locations may be found at http://legalassistance.law.af.mil/content/locator.php.
Individuals who believe their civil rights have been violated in the District of New Jersey may also file a complaint with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey at: http://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement/complaint or may call the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Civil Rights Complaint Hotline at (855) 281-3339.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Campion, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Civil Rights Unit, Civil Division; Assistant U.S. Attorney David V. Simunovich, Civil Division; and Trial Attorney Alan Martinson, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Housing and Civil Enforcement Section.
California Ceramics Company Agrees to Pay $175,000 to Resolve False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A California ceramic materials company will pay $175,000 to resolve allegations that it committed multiple False Claims Act violations relating to awards by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Army under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
The settlement resolves allegations uncovered by the Office of Inspector General of the National Science Foundation that LoTEC Inc. (d/b/a Vesta Sciences) transferred proceeds of the awards to an undisclosed related company, loaned award funds to other related companies and to LoTEC’s principal, certified that the principal investigator for the awards was primarily employed by LoTEC when she was not, and failed to properly account for hours worked under the awards.
“Companies that contract with the federal government need to clearly and accurately disclose how they are planning to spend public money,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said. “The government relies on small businesses to research and innovate. But the government also relies on SBIR Program recipients to engage in open communications, to make clear disclosures, and to keep accurate records so that awarding agencies can oversee these important research projects.”
“The SBIR Program is a valuable tool in advancing NSF’s mission to promote the progress of science by increasing opportunities for innovative research by small businesses,” Allison Lerner, National Science Foundation Inspector General, said. “The NSF Office of Inspector General is committed to vigorously pursuing fraud, waste and abuse in the SBIR program. I commend the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our investigative partners for their strong support in this effort.”
“This settlement further demonstrates the resolve of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s (USACIDC) Major Procurement Fraud Unit and our law enforcement partners to protect and defend the assets of the United States Army,” Special Agent in Charge L. Scott Moreland, of the USACIDC’s Mid-Atlantic Fraud Field Office, said.
The civil settlement is not an admission of liability or improper conduct by LoTEC.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Meyler of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Division.
Newark Man Charged with Armed RobberyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark man appeared in federal court today on charges that he allegedly attempted to rob a city barbershop in May 2018, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Philip K. Hedgespeth, 43, is charged by complaint with one count of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Hedgespeth made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson in Newark federal court and was detained without bail.
According to the complaint:
On the evening of May 1, 2018, Hedgespeth entered a barbershop in Newark and attempted to rob it, brandishing a firearm at an employee. He tried to shoot the gun in the employee’s direction, but the weapon malfunctioned. The employee and an off-duty Newark police officer then attempted disarm Hedgespeth, but Hedgespeth was able to exit the barbershop. While standing in front of the barbershop, Hedgespeth pointed his weapon at the officer, who shot Hedgespeth in the face. Hedgespeth fled the scene in a Dodge Challenger. He was apprehended by Newark police officers after exiting the vehicle and leading them on a brief chase on foot. At the time of his arrest, Hedgespeth was in possession of a handgun. Video surveillance recorded Hedgespeth entering the barbershop and attempting to conduct the robbery.
The count of Hobbs Act robbery carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense. The count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, which must be imposed consecutive to any other sentence imposed.
The charges and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John B. Devito, Newark Field Division; the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose; and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II, with the investigation leading to today’s charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamel Semper of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Violent Crimes Unit in Newark.
Three People Charged in Newark Heroin Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Three men were charged today in connection with their respective roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy, U.S Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Ahmad Johnson, a/k/a “OC,” 38, Cory Canzater, a/k/a “Big C,” 45, and Maurice McPhatter a/k/a “Ree,” 45, all of Newark, were charged today in a five-count indictment. All three defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, including heroin, cocaine and fentanyl (Count One). Additionally, Johnson is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin (Count Two); two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin (Counts Three and Four); and one count of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon (Count Five). The indictment follows the arrests of seven members of Johnson’s drug trafficking organization in September 2017.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From September 2016 through June 2017, Johnson and others took part in a heroin distribution conspiracy that operated in and around Newark.
Through the authorized interception of telephone calls and text messages, controlled purchases of heroin, the use of confidential sources of information, and other investigative means, law enforcement learned that Johnson was allegedly a leader of the conspiracy and was responsible for obtaining wholesale amounts of narcotics, including heroin and cocaine, and processing and packaging the narcotics for sale. Johnson sometimes found users to “test” the narcotics to evaluate their quality, potency, and danger for broader distribution. Distributors then sold the narcotics to other distributors and to users.
Count One of the indictment, the conspiracy charge against Johnson, Canzater and McPhatter, carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a $10 million fine. Counts Two and Four are punishable by up to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine, Count Three is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine and Count Five is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Attorney Carpenito credited special agents and officers with DEA’s High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Group 1, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Valerie A. Nickerson, with the investigation leading to todays’ indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari B. Fontecchio of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force / Narcotics Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Third Federal Inmate at Fort Dix Sentenced to Additional 160 Months for Possessing Images and Videos of Child Sexual Abuse While in PrisonRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, man was sentenced today to an additional 160 months in prison for possessing hundreds of images and videos of child sexual abuse while imprisoned at Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix for previous offenses involving the distribution and possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Brian J. McKay, 47, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to an information charging him with one count of possession of child pornography. Judge Rodriguez imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
McKay admitted that he possessed two micro SD Cards which together contained a total of approximately 593 images and 645 videos of child pornography, some of which depicted children being sexually abused and sadistic and masochistic sexual conduct involving infants and toddlers. In connection with his plea, McKay also admitted that he distributed child pornography to another inmate.
McKay and seven other inmates were arrested in April 2017 and February 2018 following an FBI investigation involving multiple covert recordings and several cooperating inmates. The investigation revealed that McKay and other inmates utilized contraband cellphones, micro SD cards, and access to the internet to obtain, view, and distribute child pornography within the prison. A co-defendant organized and helped facilitate this criminal activity by maintaining cloud accounts that were used as repositories for child pornography.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Rodriguez sentenced McKay to 10 years of supervised release. Restitution will be determined at a later date.
Six other inmates – all of whom were serving sentences for prior child pornography offenses while committing the alleged crimes in this case – have pleaded guilty: Erik M. Smith, 36, of Iron Mountain, Michigan; Anthony C. Jeffries, 32, of Orange, Virginia; Jordan T. Allen, 31, of Plain City, Ohio; Christopher D. Roffler, 30, of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Jacob S. Good, 26, of Fredericksburg, Virginia; and Charles Wesley Bush, 38, of Knoxville, Tennessee. Smith was sentenced to 151 months in prison and Good was sentenced to 10 years in prison; the other four defendants are awaiting sentencing.
William H. Noble, 52, of Lowell, Massachusetts, was indicted on May 23, 2018, and is scheduled for trial next year. The charges and allegations against Noble 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 W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation. He also thanked officials of the Bureau of Prisons at Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gabriel J. Vidoni and Alyson M. Oswald of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.
Defense counsel: John B. Brennan Esq., Camden
Six Paterson, New Jersey, Men Charged with Stealing $300,000 in Checks from Dozens of Mail Collection BoxesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Six Paterson, New Jersey, men have been charged with taking part in a scheme to break into U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail collection boxes throughout northern New Jersey and steal the mail—particularly, checks—inside, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Ismael Alicea, Jr., 25, Yerrisson Garcia-Rodriguez, 23, Jerry Lake-Rodriguez, 25, Johan Lake-Rodriguez, 26, Brayan Ulloa-Ulloa, 24, and Jefersson Quezada, 21, are each charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Each defendant, except Alicea, is also charged with one count of bank fraud. Garcia-Rodriguez, Jerry Lake-Rodriguez, Johan Lake-Rodriguez, and Quezada are additionally charged with one count of aggravated identity theft, and Alicea and Johan Lake-Rodriguez are charged with possession of stolen mail.
According to the complaint:
The defendants 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. Some defendants broke into mail collection boxes using pry bars, usually late at night. Law enforcement officers have identified at least $300,000 worth of stolen checks that were deposited into the bank accounts.
Four of the defendants were arrested this morning and made their initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Joseph Dickson in Newark federal court. Johan Lake-Rodriguez is in state custody and will make his initial appearance later this week. Jefersson Quezada remains at large.
The conspiracy and bank fraud charges each carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a penalty of a mandatory term of two years in prison, to be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed.
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 today’s arrests and charges. He also thanked the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Macurdy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
New York Stock Trader Admits Paying Bribes to Broker in Exchange for StockRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. - A New York stock trader today admitted making bribe payments to a broker at an investment banking firm in exchange for stock allocations, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Adam Rentzer, 52, of Roslyn, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of violating the Travel Act by engaging in a commercial bribery scheme.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Rentzer was a trader who purchased and sold securities in initial and secondary public stock offerings, including offerings marketed by two investment banking firms in New York (“Firm A” and “Firm B”). Brian M. Hirsch was an employee of Firm A and later Firm B, and was responsible for allocating initial and secondary public stock offerings to clients.
Between mid-2013 and January 2017, Rentzer and others paid cash kickbacks to Hirsch in exchange for Hirsch providing favorable allocations from public stock offerings marketed by Firms A and B. The kickback payments were based on an agreed-upon percentage of the profits that Rentzer realized from his subsequent sales of stocks that he purchased in the stock offerings. Hirsch did not disclose any of these payments to Firms A and B and took steps to conceal his corrupt arrangement with Rentzer and others. In accepting the payments, Hirsch knowingly violated various policies and procedures of Firms A and B, including policies governing stock allocations and conflicts of interest. Rentzer paid Hirsch a total of $150,000 to $250,000.
Rentzer faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 11, 2019.
On Dec. 19, 2017, Hirsch pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Travel Act in connection with the scheme. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 18, 2018.
In a separate civil action, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today filed a complaint against Rentzer in Trenton federal court.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office under the direction of Regional Director Marc P. Berger for its assistance in the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas P. Grippo of the Economic Crimes Unit.
Defense counsel: John F. Carman Esq., Garden City, New York
Mail Carrier Charged with Accepting Bribes to Deliver Parcels Containing Drugs and Conspiring to Defraud the United StatesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier was indicted today on charges that he accepted cash bribes in return for intercepting and delivering parcels containing illegal narcotics and conspiring to defraud the United States, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Fred Rivers, 46, of Newark, was charged by indictment with receiving bribes as a public official and conspiracy to defraud the United States by interfering with and obstructing the lawful function of the USPS. Rivers will be arraigned at a later date.
According to documents filed in this case:
Rivers was a mail carrier at the USPS Springfield Station in Newark. From October 2016 through September 2017, Rivers accepted cash bribes from Glenn Blackstone, who received parcels containing illegal narcotics through the mail. While on duty, Rivers intercepted these parcels and personally delivered them to Blackstone at locations in Newark, not to the recipient address noted on the parcels. Rivers received cash payments of approximately $100 from Blackstone for each delivery.
Rivers began delivering the intercepted parcels to Blackstone in exchange for cash after another mail carrier, Leonard Gresham, asked Rivers to make the deliveries when Gresham was unavailable to do so.
Gresham pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme on Feb. 13, 2018. Blackstone pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme on April 17, 2018. They are both awaiting sentencing.
The bribery charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison. Both charges carry a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain from the offense.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with the USPS Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, Northeast Area Field Office, and inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge James Buthorn, with the investigation leading to today’s indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jihee G. Suh of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: Paulette Pitt Esq., Woodbridge, New Jersey
Paterson Police Officer Charged with Civil Rights and Other OffensesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A federal grand jury indicted a City of Paterson police officer for multiple offenses arising from the assault of an attempted suicide victim at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Paterson, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Police Officer Roger Then, 29, of Paterson, was charged in a five-count indictment with one count of conspiring to violate an individual’s civil rights; two substantive counts of violating an individual’s civil rights; misprision of felony for concealing the civil rights violation; and falsifying a record for submitting a false police report about the assault. Then was previously charged by criminal complaint in May 2018. He will be arraigned in federal court on a date to be determined.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Then and Ruben McAusland were police officers with the Paterson Police Department. On March 5, 2018, they responded to a call from an attempted suicide victim. The victim called 911 and was taken by the Paterson Fire Department to St. Joseph’s Medical Center. Then and McAusland responded to the victim’s residence and subsequently followed the Fire Department to the hospital to monitor the victim.
Two videos captured some of the events that took place in the hospital that night. A hospital surveillance video shows the victim sitting in a wheelchair and McAusland standing at the hospital admissions desk. The victim appeared to throw an object down the hallway. McAusland, looking angry, pushed the victim’s wheelchair with his hands and punched the victim in the face. As the victim fell towards the ground, still in the wheelchair, Then grabbed the victim by the back of the neck and pushed the victim to the ground.
In the second video, taken by Then using his cellular telephone, the victim was on his back in a hospital bed. The victim said, “right here? See my cheek?” Then turned the camera toward himself and smiled. Then next turned the camera back towards the victim and McAusland. The victim said, “ha, ha, bitch.” McAusland responded, “I’m a what?” The victim said, “do it.” McAusland put on a pair of hospital gloves and proceeded to violently strike the victim twice across the face. McAusland then stood over the victim and said, “I ain’t fucking playing with you.” The victim covered his face with his hands and was silent. McAusland continued, “calm your ass down.” Rather than intervening to stop McAusland’s assault of the victim, Then recorded it.
Then and McAusland submitted a police report in connection with the events of March 5, 2018. The police report did not mention that McAusland punched the victim and that Then grabbed the victim by the neck and pushed the victim towards the ground, as captured in the first video. The police report also did not mention that McAusland violently struck the victim, twice, in a hospital room, as depicted in the second video. Nor did the police report mention that Then had recorded the second assault on his cell phone and failed to intervene to stop it from happening.
The victim suffered multiple injuries to his face, including an eye injury that required surgery, as a result of these assaults.
The conspiracy to violate civil rights count and the two substantive violation of civil rights counts each carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The misprision of felony count carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison. The false records count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The maximum fine for each of the charges is $250,000.
On June 27, 2018, McAusland pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls in Newark federal court to an information charging him with possessing with intent to distribute narcotics and deprivation of civil rights under color of law. He 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, with the investigation leading to today’s indictment. 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. Attorneys Rahul Agarwal, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and Lee M. Cortes Jr., Deputy Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division.
Six People Charged for Roles in Newark Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Federal and local law enforcement authorities have charged six people for their alleged roles in a drug trafficking organization that distributed heroin in Newark, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Andre Mims, 42, Herbert Cheeks, 52, and Anthony Woods, 54, all of Newark; Gregory Mims, 43, of East Orange, New Jersey; and James Thomas, 51, of Bronx, New York; are each charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin. Andre Mims and Cheeks are also charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Freddie Mims, 35, of Irvington, is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin.
Gregory and Freddie Mims are scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Falk in Newark federal court. Andre Mims is in state custody and will appear in Newark federal court on Sept. 25, 2018. The other defendants – Cheeks, Woods and Thomas – remain at large.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Andre Mims and Cheeks are allegedly the leaders of a drug trafficking organization that sold heroin in and around Newark, including to customers from all over New Jersey. The organization also supplied drugs to customers and other distributors elsewhere. Law enforcement officials used physical and video surveillance, undercover officers, dozens of controlled narcotics purchases, record checks, narcotics and weapons seizures, and telephone wiretaps in their investigation.
The drug trafficking organization – known for its particular “stamps” of heroin, including “mastercard,” “ciroc” and “E.T.” – controlled several stash locations in Newark, Irvington and East Orange.
The count of drug trafficking conspiracy carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison, and a $5 million fine. The drug possession count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The felony gun possession counts carry a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II, and special agents of the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Valerie A. Nickerson, New Jersey Division, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, the Newark Police Department, and the Union County Prosecutor’s Office for their assistance with the investigation.
This drug trafficking organization was the focus of the Violent Crime Initiative (VCI) in Newark. The Newark 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 for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around the 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 VCI includes the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the DEA, the ATF, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, N.J. State Parole Board, the Union County Jail, N.J. State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, N.J. Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department, and the Irvington Police Department.
The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Naazneen Khan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Violent Crimes Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary E. Toscano, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division in Newark.
Hudson County, New Jersey, Woman Charged with Using U.S. Mails to Promote Voter Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey woman was arrested and charged today for promoting a voter bribery scheme by use of the U.S. mail, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Lizaida Camis, 55, of Hoboken, is charged by complaint with a violation of the Travel Act for causing the mails to be used to aid voter bribery contrary to New Jersey state law. She is scheduled to have her initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Falk in Newark federal court.
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 application is processed, voters receive a mail-in ballot.
From October 2013 through November 2013, Camis agreed to pay certain Hoboken voters $50 each if those voters applied for and cast mail-in ballots for the November 2013 Hoboken municipal election. Camis provided these voters with VBM Applications and then delivered the completed applications to the Hudson County Clerk’s office. After the mail-in ballots were delivered to the voters, Camis went to their apartments and, in some cases, instructed the voters to vote for the candidates for whom Camis was working. Camis promised the voters that they would be paid $50 for casting their mail-in ballots and told them that they could pick up their checks after the election at an office on Jefferson Street in Hoboken. Bank records show that voters living in Hoboken received $50 checks from entities associated with the campaigns that employed Camis.
Camis faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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 arrest.
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.
The charge and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Dubai Man Indicted for Credit Card Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Dubai man was indicted today for his alleged participation in a long-running credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Olusegun Akinlade, a/k/a “Shadow Walker,” 29, of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is charged by indictment with one count of bank fraud conspiracy and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to the indictment:
From October 2015 to January 2018, Akinlade, Henry Abdul, a conspirator who pleaded guilty in August 2018 to his role in the scheme, and others participated in a conspiracy to obtain control of and use credit card accounts of others through a fraudulent scheme commonly referred to as a “credit card takeover.” As part of the scheme, a person who is not the account owner or authorized user of a credit card account contacts the financial institution and poses as the account owner in order to change the personal information associated with the account to information familiar to the unauthorized user. This may include the residence, email address, or telephone number associated with the account. These changes to the account are designed to give the unauthorized user control of the account without the actual account owners’ knowledge or authorization, and may permit the unauthorized user to receive new credit cards associated with the compromised accounts. Once in control of the account, the unauthorized users make purchases, transfer funds to other accounts under their control, or sell the account information to third parties.
Akinlade and his conspirators allegedly purchased the victim account holders’ personal identifying information from hackers located outside of the United States. They then used the stolen information when contacting victim banks to carry out the account takeovers, or to open new accounts. Akinlade, who was in Dubai during the scheme, received from Abdul and other conspirators merchandise that they had purchased with the compromised credit card accounts, and a percentage of any profits the conspirators made selling such merchandise.
The bank fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, which must run consecutive to any other term of imprisonment imposed by the Court.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited postal inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge James Buthorn, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael in Newark, and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John Tafur, with the investigation leading to today’s charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas P. Grippo and David M. Eskew of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Violent Gang Leader Sentenced to Two Life Terms for Ordering Six Murders and an Attempted Murder as Part of RICO ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – The longtime leader of one of Newark’s largest and most violent street gangs was sentenced today to two concurrent terms of life in prison for his role in six murders, an attempted murder, drug trafficking, and firearms offenses as part of a racketeering conspiracy involving the New Jersey Grape Street Crips, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Corey Hamlet, a/k/a “C-Blaze,” a/k/a “Blaze,” a/k/a “Blizzie,” a/k/a “Castor Troy,” 41, of Belleville, New Jersey, the gang’s leader, was convicted in July 2018 following a two-month trial before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo. Judge Arleo imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
Hamlet was charged in November 2016 in a 22-count indictment charging 14 members and associates with, among other things, seven murders, numerous attempted murders, and numerous other violent and drug trafficking crimes committed as part of the racketeering conspiracy. Twelve of the 14 defendants charged in the indictment have now been convicted. The two remaining defendants, Hanee Cureton and Khalil Stafford, are pending trial.
An additional 68 members and associates of the Grape Street Crips who were arrested in a coordinated takedown in May 2015 were separately charged with drug-trafficking, physical assaults, and witness intimidation. Sixty-six individuals also have been convicted, and charges remain pending against two.
“Today’s sentencing marks the end of Corey Hamlet’s reign of terror on the streets of Newark,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said. “At this point, close to 70 members of the Newark set of the Grape Street Crips, a violent criminal organization that committed murders and other acts of violence in order to maintain control of a large portion of the illegal drug trade in Newark, have been removed from the streets. In the case of the gang’s leader, Hamlet, it’s for the rest of his life. Our office and our law enforcement partners will continue to go after dangerous criminals like this to protect the public.”
“Corey Hamlet, the leader of the Grape Street Crips, chose to order others to kill and now he can serve time for the gang,” Newark FBI Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie said. “This conduct will not be tolerated and today’s sentence should send a message that the FBI, together with our law enforcement partners, will pursue and prosecute members of violent street gangs who seek to inflict violence and fear in our communities. The gang was responsible for four murders, an attempted murder, racketeering conspiracy and drug trafficking. The FBI and our partners will aggressively pursue gangs wherever they surface and are steadfast to making Newark and the surrounding communities, a safe place for our citizens.”
“The sentencing of Corey Hamlet closes the chapter on one of Newark’s most violent offenders,” Special Agent in Charge Valerie A. Nickerson of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division said. “The residents of Newark can be confident that the men and women of DEA and our law enforcement partners will continue to pursue those who choose to violate the rule of law. Every citizen has the right to live without fear, and the conviction and sentencing of Corey Hamlet helps to make that possible.”
According to the documents filed in this case and other cases and the evidence presented at trial:
The Grape Street Crips engaged for years in numerous acts of murder, robbery, extortion, and drug trafficking throughout Newark. As the leader of the New Jersey set of the Grape Street Crips, Hamlet’s orders resulted in six murders committed by members of the gang.
The trial highlighted numerous violent acts committed by Grape Street Crips members as part of the racketeering conspiracy, some of which targeted members of rival gangs and others that targeted Grape Street Crips members whom Hamlet perceived to be a threat to his position as the leader of the gang:
• June 14, 2010: The murder of Leroy Simmons;
• Dec. 23, 2010: The murder of Rodney Kearney;
• Oct. 10, 2011: The attempted murders of eight individuals who were caught in the cross-fire when Hamlet’s second-in-command Kwasi Mack, a/k/a “Welchs,” and another Grape Street Crips member attempted to murder a gang member who they suspected had cooperated with law enforcement;
• May 3, 2013: The murder of Tariq Johnson;
• Oct. 27, 2013: The attempted murders of Almalik Anderson and Saidah Goines.
• Nov. 12, 2013: The murder of Anwar West;
• March 3, 2014: The murders of Wesley Child and Velma Cuttino—an innocent bystander—as well as the attempted murder of Maurice Green;
The trial revealed that Hamlet ordered many of the murders as revenge against Almalik Anderson, a rival with whom he had a long-running dispute. One of Hamlet’s fellow gang-members attempted to broker a truce with Anderson at the Short Hills Mall. After the meeting at Short Hills, Hamlet used his Instagram account to assert that Anderson had cooperated with law enforcement. On Hamlet’s orders, four gang members then hunted Anderson down and sprayed his car with bullets, nearly killing him and passenger Saidah Goines, a relative.
Within two weeks, Hamlet successfully ordered two other gang-members to murder Anwar West, the fellow gang-member who had attempted to broker peace between Hamlet and Anderson. On Hamlet’s orders, co-defendant Rashan Washington left West alone inside a Jeep Cherokee knowing that another gang member intended to walk up and shoot West in the head.
Hamlet then ordered the murder of Maurice Green, Anderson’s brother. On March 3, 2014, Manley and Hamlet, the long-time leader of the New Jersey Grape Street Crips, were riding in Manley’s Jeep Cherokee when they pulled alongside a car being driven by Green. Although Hamlet aimed a firearm at Green and the car’s other occupants, Green pulled off before any shots were fired. A short time later, Ahmad Manley found Green, and a car chase ensued. The chase concluded when Green’s car crashed into other vehicles at the intersection of Irvine Turner Boulevard and Spruce Street in Newark. Numerous shots fired from Manley’s Jeep Cherokee at Green’s vehicle struck Green and killed Wesley Childs, a passenger in Green’s car. In addition, Velma Cuttino – an innocent bystander who was a passenger in one of the vehicles that had crashed at the intersection – was shot through the head and killed.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ehrie in Newark, and special agents of the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Nickerson, with the investigation. He also thanked the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino, and the Essex County Sherriff’s Office, under the direction of Armando B. Fontura, for their long and close collaboration on the case
The government is represented by Osmar J. Benvenuto, Chief of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry A. Kamar of the Criminal Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard J. Ramsay of the Appeals Division in Newark.
This case was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
Defense counsel: Anthony J. Iacullo, Clifton, New Jersey
Pennsylvania Man Admits Committing Three Robberies and Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of ViolenceRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Pennsylvania man today admitted committing three armed robberies in Salem, Ocean, and Cumberland counties in November 2017, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Terrance Robinson, 31, of Havertown, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of Hobbs Act robbery, two counts of bank robbery, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Nov. 1, 2017, Robinson and Jeffery Edmonds, 45, of Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, drove together to a convenience store in Upper Pittsgrove Township, New Jersey, stopping along the way to pick up a handgun and remove the license plates from the car that Edmonds was driving. After arriving at the convenience store, Edmonds remained in the getaway car while Robinson entered the store with the handgun and stole some money.
Edmonds and Robinson robbed an Ocean First Bank in Upper Deerfield Township, New Jersey, on Nov. 6, 2017, and a Fulton Savings Bank in Alloway Township, New Jersey, on Nov. 14, 2017. Prior to robbing the banks, Edmonds and Robinson removed the license plates from the getaway car. Robinson stayed in the getaway car while Edmonds entered the banks and robbed them with a handgun.
Each of the three robbery counts carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence charge carries a consecutive minimum term of five years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment. Each offense also carries a potential $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2019.
Edmonds previously pleaded guilty for his alleged roles in the robberies, and his sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 16, 2018.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI’s South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Harpster in Philadelphia, special agents of the FBI Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie, and officers of the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara A. Aliabadi of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
Paterson, New Jersey, Woman Admits Distributing Fake Percocet Pills Containing HeroinRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, woman today admitted conspiring to distribute thousands of pills containing heroin in New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Karen Rojas, 28, of Paterson, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls in Newark federal court to an information charging her with conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 100 grams of substances containing heroin.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
At their residence in Paterson, Rojas’ boyfriend, Juan Vidal, manufactured pills that were made with heroin and that were made to resemble Percocet pills. Vidal used a press to make the pills and Rojas then sold the pills for approximately $5 dollars per pill. Between February 2018 and April 2018, Rojas sold thousands of pills that were manufactured by Vidal.
On April 18, 2018, for example, in a recorded transaction, Rojas was asked by a cooperating witness for 100-150 heroin pills. Rojas sold the cooperating witness 40 heroin pills, for approximately $200, and Rojas indicated that Vidal needed to “get supplies,” meaning to purchase more heroin, in order to make additional pills.
Rojas and Vidal were previously charged by criminal complaint in April 2018 with conspiracy to distribute these drugs. Vidal entered a guilty plea on Sept. 12, 2018, and he is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18, 2018.
The distribution of narcotics offense carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years imprisonment, a maximum penalty of 40 years’ imprisonment, and a maximum fine of $5 million. Rojas’ sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 19, 2018.
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.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.
Defense counsel: Paul Uhlik Esq., Clifton, New Jersey
Middlesex County, New Jersey, Man Indicted for Using Phony Payments, False Identity Theft Claims to Obtain FundsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Old Bridge, New Jersey, man was indicted today for allegedly using phony payments and false identity theft claims to deceive credit card companies and banks into giving him funds and extending credit, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Sandy John Masselli, 56, was initially arrested in October 2017 and charged by complaint with bank and wire fraud. Today’s indictment similarly charges Masselli with three counts of bank fraud and three counts of wire fraud.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From June 2014 through July 2017, Masselli engaged in three separate but related schemes to fraudulently obtain credit and funds from various credit card companies and two brokerage firms.
In one, Masselli opened accounts with certain credit card companies, made purchases with these accounts until he had almost reached or exceeded the credit limit, and then purported to send payments from bank accounts that he knew did not have sufficient funds to cover the purchases. Before the fraudulent payments were rejected for insufficient funds, the credit card companies temporarily credited Masselli’s accounts based on those payments, providing him access to additional credit and allowing him to continue to make purchases. Masselli failed to pay these balances and the credit card companies sustained substantial losses.
In another scheme, Masselli opened credit accounts with two credit card companies, made thousands of dollars in purchases, and then falsely represented to these credit card companies that the accounts had been opened fraudulently and used without his authorization, causing these companies to close the accounts and sustain losses.
As part of a third scheme, Masselli attempted to deposit more than $600,000 in checks from a closed account into a new brokerage account, which he then tried to use for various personal expenses. Those transfers were unsuccessful because the checks he deposited were ultimately returned as unpaid.
The bank fraud counts each carry a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The wire fraud counts each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Gregory W. Ehrie, with the investigation leading to today’s indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas P. Grippo of the Economic Crimes Unit.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Ocean County Chiropractor Admits Income Tax Evasion and Failure to File Report of Russian Bank AccountRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A former chiropractor with offices in Lakewood, New Jersey, today admitted evading income taxes totaling more than half a million dollars from 2012 through 2015 and failing to report a Russian bank account, to which he wired more than $1.5 million, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Carlo Amato, 57, of Beachwood, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court to one count of tax evasion and one count of failure to file a report of foreign financial account (FBAR) while violating another law of the United States and as part of a pattern of illegal activity involving more than $100,000 in a 12-month period.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2012 through 2015, Amato operated a chiropractic office in Lakewood through two entities: Chiropractic Care Consultants Inc. and Accident Recovery Physical Therapy. He deposited, or caused to be deposited, checks for chiropractic services into accounts held in the names of his minor children. Amato knew that these checks were taxable as income, but he did not disclose the payments to his accountant, nor did he report them on his tax returns. Amato also failed to report as taxable income certain additional funds that were deposited into Chiropractic Care’s and Accident Recovery’s business bank accounts. For example, Amato reported $0 in taxable income and $0 in tax due on his 2014 income tax return. His taxable income for 2014 was, in fact, $561,258, and Amato admitted that the tax due and owing to the IRS for 2014 was $197,036. Amato admitted that he also evaded more than $300,000 in taxes for the tax years 2012, 2013, and 2015.
Amato, a U.S. citizen, admitted that in 2014, he had an account at UniCredit Bank in Russia. He admitted that he wired more than $1.5 million to Russian bank accounts, including the UniCredit Bank account, and that he knew that he was obligated to report any foreign bank account with an aggregate value of more than $10,000. Amato admitted that he nonetheless failed to file a report of foreign account, commonly known as an FBAR, for the year 2014. Amato also admitted that the funds he failed to report were the product of a fraudulent scheme in which Amato overbilled at least six insurance companies by more than $1 million by billing for services that were never rendered. Amato previously pleaded guilty in Ocean County Superior Court to first degree financial facilitation of criminal activity for money laundering of funds from the overbilling scheme.
The tax evasion charge to which Amato pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gain to any person or loss to any victims of the offense. The failure to file a report of foreign account charge to which Amato pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the gain to any person or loss to any victims of the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2019.
Under the terms of his plea agreement, Amato will file amended tax returns and make full restitution for the years 2012 through 2015 and file accurate FBARs for the years 2012 through 2017.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John Tafur, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. U.S. Attorney Carpenito thanked the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato, and the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie, for their roles in the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisa T. Wiygul of the Criminal Division in Trenton.
Former Jersey City Police Officer Sentenced to 23 Months in Prison for Conspiracy to Commit Fraud and Accept Corrupt PaymentsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A former Jersey City police officer was sentenced today to 23 months in prison for accepting approximately $55,000 in corrupt payments in exchange for helping employers operate at worksites without the required presence of an off-duty police officer and for helping a police officer obtain compensation for off-duty work he did not perform, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Anthony Iannicco, 49, of Jersey City, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and accept corrupt payments. Judge Vazquez imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Iannicco was a police officer with the Jersey City Police Department (JCPD) from 1995 to 2016. From 2008 through 2016, his duties included serving as the “assistant pick coordinator” for Jersey City’s West District. As the assistant pick coordinator, Iannicco assigned police officers to off-duty details.
Under Jersey City’s municipal code, off-duty police officers were not permitted to receive cash payments directly from off-duty employers. Rather, the employers were supposed to pay Jersey City, which would then pay the off-duty police officers, minus certain fees, taxes and deductions, including an administrative fee payable to Jersey City per hour that the off-duty police officers worked.
Iannicco conspired with numerous employers to cut Jersey City out of the process of hiring and compensating off-duty police officers. Generally, Iannicco permitted these employers to operate at worksites without the presence of a police officer when such a presence was required. In exchange, Iannicco accepted cash payments directly from these employers in violation of Jersey City rules and regulations.
Altogether, from 2011 to 2016, Iannicco collected payments of approximately $55,000 directly from off-duty employers and a conspirator.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Vazquez sentenced Iannicco to three years of supervised release and ordered forfeiture of $55,000 and restitution of $219,196.
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.
JCPD is cooperating with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna, Deputy Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: John A. Azzarello Esq., Morristown, New Jersey
Employee of Essex County Sheriff’s Office Charged with Attempted ExtortionRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An employee of the Essex County Sheriff’s Office was charged with soliciting payments from a man posing as a land developer for information regarding properties under foreclosure, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Abdush Shahid Ahmad, 51, of Newark, was charged by complaint with attempted extortion under color of official right affecting interstate commerce. He made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
An employee in the civil process division of the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, Ahmad had access to writs of execution on homes to be sold at public auction by the Sherriff’s Office as a result of foreclosure actions. Ahmad allegedly indicated to a cooperating witness that he had access to that information before the information was made public on the Essex County Sheriff’s Office website or announced in local newspapers. Ahmad attempted to sell approximately 20 writs of execution to the cooperating witness who posed as a land developer, and who was operating at the direction of law enforcement agents. Ahmad received $100 for each writ and made clear that he expected an additional $4,900 for each property that the cooperating witness was able to acquire using the non-public information. Ahmad allegedly recorded the terms of the arrangement in a contract that he signed and presented to the cooperating witness in person, to avoid using his e-mail to send the contract to the cooperating witness.
The count of attempted extortion under color of official right affecting interstate commerce carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.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 charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacques S. Pierre of the Special Prosecutions Division.
The allegations and charges in the complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defense counsel: Carol Gillen Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender
Previously Convicted Felon from Essex County, New Jersey, Admits Illegally Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark man admitted today that he possessed a firearm as a previously convicted felon, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Richard D. Williams, 40, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with one count of possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon.
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.
The felon in possession of a firearm charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 29, 2019.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited task force officers of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction Special Agent in Charge John B. Devito, with the investigation. 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.
Defense counsel: Michael Pedicini Esq., Chatham, New Jersey