Northern District of New York

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Donald J. Shappy, Jr., age 57, of Keeseville, New York, pled guilty today to making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, Delano A. Reid, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) New York Field Division, and New York State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II.

Shappy admitted that on March 7, 2016, he falsely certified that he was the true purchaser of a Henry Repeating Arms .22 caliber rifle when he then knew that he was purchasing the firearm for his nephew, Jonathon Shappy, who had been denied the ability to purchase the same rifle two days earlier.

Jonathan Shappy is charged with aiding and abetting his uncle’s false statements.  He is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

As a result of his conviction, Donald Shappy faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to 3 years when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mae D’Agostino on December 1, 2016.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

This case was investigated by the ATF and the New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Collyer.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Kimberly Powell, age 37, of Schenectady, New York, pled guilty today to mail fraud charges arising out of a Jamaica-based lottery scam that mainly targeted elderly victims.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Shelly A. Binkowski, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division.

As part of her plea, Powell admitted to working with her husband Jeragh Powell, a co-defendant, and others, to mail false lottery prize notifications to mostly elderly individuals located throughout the United States.  The fraudulent prize notifications letters congratulated the victims on winning a recent drawing and instructed them to pay tens of thousands of dollars in “fees and taxes,” and “shipping and handling,” in order to receive their purported prize money and cars.  Members of the conspiracy located in Jamaica also communicated with the victims by telephone, directing them to make payments to specific individuals in the United States.

Kimberly Powell and her husband Jeragh, age 25, of Schenectady, received more than $67,000 from victims of the scheme, and forwarded a large portion of the proceeds to Jeragh Powell’s associates in Jamaica.   Jeragh Powell pled guilty to mail fraud charges on August 1.

Jeragh and Kimberly Powell each face up to 20 years in prison, 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release, and a $250,000 fine when they are sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino.  Jeragh Powell’s sentencing is scheduled for November 29, Kimberly Powell’s for December 2.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Coffman.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – John V. Brown, age 45, of New York City, was sentenced yesterday to serve 71 months in prison, to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, for supplying heroin in the Plattsburgh area.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Division, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The sentence followed Brown’s October 21, 2015 guilty plea.  Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr. sentenced Brown, also known as “Football,” for supplying at least half a kilogram of heroin to the Plattsburgh area between July and December of 2014.

This case was investigated by the DEA and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Collyer.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK -- An Ilion, New York man who portrayed himself on social media as a teenage boy to sexually exploit his own daughter, was sentenced today to serve 20 years in prison for his crimes, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian.  

In court papers and as part of his guilty plea, the defendant admitted that in 2013 he assumed the false identity of “Dan Smithson” and used social media to contact, befriend, and sexually exploit his then 14 year old daughter.  As a part of the ruse, “Dan Smithson” became the child’s “boyfriend,” encouraged her to engage with him in sexually explicit chats, and when the child attempted to end the relationship, blackmailed her into taking and sending him sexually explicit images of herself – by threatening to reveal their explicit correspondence to her father, who was in reality sending her the messages himself.

The defendant previously pled guilty to all twelve counts of the federal superseding indictment, including charges of sexual exploitation of a minor; receipt, transportation and distribution of child pornography; and transferring obscene material to a minor younger than sixteen.

Earlier this year, in Herkimer County Court, the defendant was sentenced to imprisonment for six years for his actual physical sexual abuse of the daughter, which occurred after he concocted the fake “suicide” of “Smithson,” the fictitious online boyfriend. 

While he was sexually abusing his daughter, the defendant also continued to harass her with anonymous electronic communications sending the sexually explicit images and graphically describing his sexual desires and intentions for her.

United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian said: “The defendant’s grotesque manipulation of his own daughter is shocking even to those of us who have seen depravity in its rawest form in prior cases.  His incestuous crimes were deviously planned and ruthlessly executed. The outstanding work of local police and the FBI in bringing this predator to justice reflects our resolve to use all the resources of the law to protect our children.”

“The defendant used the anonymity of the internet to target and victimize his own daughter,” said Special Agent in Charge Andrew W. Vale. “He has betrayed every law of human decency. His actions are as appalling as they are unimaginable. Predators like him are on notice, their horrific crimes will not remain hidden.  The FBI, together with our law enforcement partners, will bring them to justice.”

In addition to imprisonment, the sentence imposed by United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes included a lifetime term of supervised release and required registration as a sex offender. 

The case was investigated by the Ilion Police Department, the Herkimer County District Attorney’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa M. Fletcher, as a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Michael G. Isaacson, age 34, of Albany, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for distributing and possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian.

Senior U.S. District Judge Gary L. Sharpe also sentenced Isaacson to 25 years of supervised release, to be served after his release from prison.  Isaacson will also be required to register as a sex offender.

As part of his plea on March 1, Isaacson admitted that he distributed child pornography files over the Internet.  He also admitted to possessing more than 1,000 image files, and more than 30 video files, depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit poses or conduct.

This case was investigated by the Colonie Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albany Division, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.

This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Lorraine Lorini (56), of Nedrow, New York, was sentenced today in federal court in Syracuse to serve 10 months in prison for her theft of government money in connection with her fraudulently obtaining pension benefits in her deceased mother’s name.  In addition to the 10-month prison sentence, Senior United States District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr. ordered Lorini to pay $30,074.80 in restitution to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and directed her to serve a three (3) year term of supervised release following her release from prison. The sentence was announced by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Robert A. Westbrooks, Inspector General of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).

In previously filed court documents, Lorini admitted that she applied for and received pension benefits on behalf of her mother, who was deceased. The funds were paid by PBGC, an independent agency of the United States that acts as a guarantor of pension plans. As part of her guilty plea, Lorini admitted that she collected pension benefits in her deceased mother’s name for several years and retained this money for her own use, knowing it was obtained by fraud.

Following the sentencing hearing, Inspector General Westbrooks stated, “The Office of Inspector General of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation will continue to aggressively investigate those who illegally obtain pension benefits for which they are not entitled. These cases are critical to ensuring the integrity of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s programs that protect the retirement benefits of more than 40 million American workers and retirees.”  U.S. Attorney Hartunian stated, “As was demonstrated here, the safeguarding of taxpayer money is among the first duties of good government and those who steal from federal programs risk prosecution and prison.”

This case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for PBGC, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael F. Perry.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jeragh Powell, age 25, of Schenectady, New York, pled guilty today to mail fraud charges arising out of a Jamaica-based lottery scam that mainly targeted elderly victims.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Shelly A. Binkowski, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division.

As part of his plea, Powell, a citizen of Jamaica, admitted to working with his wife Kimberly Powell, a co-defendant, and others, to mail false lottery prize notifications to mostly elderly individuals located throughout the United States.  The fraudulent prize notifications letters congratulated the victims on winning a recent drawing and instructed them to pay tens of thousands of dollars in “fees and taxes” and “shipping and handling” in order to receive their purported prize money and cars.  Members of the conspiracy located in Jamaica also communicated with the victims by telephone, directing them to make payments to specific individuals in the United States.

Jeragh Powell and his wife Kimberly, age 37, of Schenectady, received more than $67,000 from victims of the scheme, and forwarded a large portion of the proceeds to Jeragh Powell’s associates in Jamaica.   Kimberly Powell is scheduled to plead guilty to mail fraud charges on August 3.

Jeragh Powell faces up to 20 years in prison, 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release, and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on November 29, 2016 by U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Coffman.

To report or learn more about mail-based scams, please contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, at 877-876-2455 or by visiting https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced today that St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center (St. Joseph’s) will pay $3.2 million to resolve allegations that it violated the federal and New York False Claims Acts by presenting false claims for payment to the state Medicaid program for mental health services rendered by unqualified staff.

Medicaid is a jointly funded federal-state program that provides health care to needy individuals.  St. Joseph’s operates a Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) that provides evaluation and treatment to individuals suffering from an acute mental health crisis.  The CPEP’s “mobile crisis outreach” unit provides initial evaluation and assessment and crisis intervention services to individuals in Onondaga and Madison counties who are unable or unwilling to use hospital-based crisis intervention services in the emergency room.  The mobile crisis outreach unit also provides interim crisis services for patients discharged from the emergency room who require follow up care from a mental health professional.

“Today’s settlements reflect my office’s commitment to protecting Central New York’s most vulnerable citizens, including those in crisis,” said U.S. Attorney Hartunian.  “We will continue to use the False Claims Act to protect health care beneficiaries and the federal fisc by ensuring that taxpayers do not pay for services rendered by unlicensed or unqualified individuals.”

New York State has issued regulations governing the staffing of CPEPs.  The regulations provide that at least two CPEP staff members, one of whom must be a member of the professional staff, shall be present whenever crisis intervention services are rendered outside of an emergency room.  Professional staff includes credentialed alcohol counselors, physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, registered professional nurses, rehabilitation counselors and social workers.  The regulations condition payment of claims for CPEP services on compliance with these staffing requirements, making clear that use of qualified staff is a prerequisite to government payment of Medicaid claims for these services.

Today’s settlements resolve allegations that St. Joseph’s knowingly presented false claims for payment to Medicaid for mobile-crisis outreach services rendered from January 1, 2007 through February 29, 2016 by personnel who failed to satisfy the basic CPEP staffing requirements.  By submitting claims for payment to Medicaid without disclosing that its CPEP staff failed to meet the regulatory staffing requirements, and by accepting payment for these claims, the governments allege that St. Joseph’s misrepresented its compliance with mental health staffing requirements that are central to the provision of counseling services and, by doing so, violated the False Claims Act.  As part of today’s settlements, St. Joseph’s admits that it was improper to have conducted mobile crisis outreach visits without a member of its CPEP professional staff present and then bill Medicaid for such services.

“Mental health staffing requirements are intended to protect the public and avoid the waste of public funds by ensuring that services are delivered by qualified personnel in a meaningful way,” said New York State Attorney General Schneiderman.  “We will continue to work with our federal partners to fight to recover misappropriated money on behalf of New York’s taxpayers.”

“Individuals that receive mental health services deserve to be treated by properly qualified providers, something St. Joseph’s failed to ensure,” said Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s New York Region (HHS-OIG).  “HHS-OIG is committed to protecting the taxpayers and the federally funded health care programs intended for the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.”

This investigation was triggered by a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the federal and New York False Claims Acts, which allow private persons, known as “relators,” to file civil actions on behalf of the government and share in any recovery.  The relator in this case will receive $560,000 of the settlement proceeds.  The case is docketed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York under number 5:14-cv-850.

The investigation and settlement were the result of a coordinated effort among the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, the New York State Attorney General’s Office, and HHS-OIG.  The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam J. Katz and New York State was represented by Special Assistant Attorney General Jill D. Brenner.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Michael Dyer, age 32, of Rome, New York, was arraigned today on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Delano A. Reid, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) New York Field Division. 

Dyer is charged with being a felon in possession of a 12 gauge shotgun.  The charges in the indictment are merely accusations.  The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. 

If convicted, Dyer faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to 3 years.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. 

Dyer was arraigned today in Syracuse, before United States Magistrate Judge Andrew T. Baxter, and detained pending a trial scheduled for September 26, 2016 before Chief United States District Court Judge Glenn T. Suddaby. 

This case is being investigated by the Oneida County Drug Enforcement Task Force and the ATF, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Levine.

ALBANY, NEW YORK –William Rochefort, age 21, of Massena, New York, was sentenced on Tuesday to serve 24 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, for his role in a drug trafficking organization that distributed heroin and crack cocaine in Massena.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian; James C. Spero, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Adam Love, Chief of the Massena Police Department.

The sentence followed Rochefort’s February 25, 2016 guilty plea.

U.S. District Judge Mae D’Agostino sentenced Rochefort for participating in the distribution of heroin and crack cocaine that was transported from New York City to Massena.

This case is the result of a year-long investigation led by HSI’s Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) in Massena, which consists of law enforcement officers from the Massena Police Department, the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department and the New York State Police, and which receives assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the District Attorneys of Clinton, Franklin, and St. Lawrence Counties, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department, the Oneida Indian Nation Police, U. S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Potsdam Police Department, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Surete du Quebec, and the New York Attorney General’s Office.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Kopita and Douglas Collyer.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Robert J. Seifert, age 58, of Canandaigua, New York, was indicted today on charges that he threatened to commit a mass shooting at the Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey G. Hughes of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office. 

According to the indictment, Seifert made phone calls on June 15, 2016 in which he threatened to kill a VA Police Officer, “kill everybody at the Albany VA,” and go to the Stratton VA Medical Center “with my Uzi and … start shooting people up.”  The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. 

Seifert has been in custody since July 14, when he was arrested in Buffalo on a criminal complaint. U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr., of the Western District of New York, ordered Seifert detained pending his initial appearance in Albany.  Seifert will appear in Albany at a later date. 

If convicted on all charges, Seifert faces up to 10 years in prison and up to 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. 

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.

PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK – Brad Rushford, age 33, of Ellenburg Depot, New York, pled guilty today to being a member of a drug distribution conspiracy that involved more than 100 kilograms of marijuana, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian. 

As part of his guilty plea, Rushford admitted to coordinating the transportation and delivery of marijuana loads smuggled into the United States from Canada and bound for locations throughout the eastern United States.  Rushford was a Corrections Officer with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. His co-defendant and mother, Freda Rushford, pled guilty on July 6 to making a false statement to federal officers, and to being part of the same marijuana distribution conspiracy. 

As a result of his conviction, Rushford faces at least 5 years and up 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 4 years and up to life.  Sentencing is scheduled for December 1, 2016 before U.S. District Judge David N. Hurd in Utica.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by the judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. 

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); the Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Office of Special Investigations; the New York State Police; and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyrus P.W. Rieck.

UTICA, NEW YORK – Edward J. Purcell, Sr., age 65, of Fayetteville, New York, was sentenced today to serve 18 months in prison for tax evasion. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Shantelle P. Kitchen, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation’s New York Field Office. 

U.S. District Judge David N. Hurd also sentenced Purcell to 3 years of supervised release, to begin after his release from prison, and also ordered him to pay $347,128 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). 

In December 2015, Purcell pled guilty to one count of tax evasion. 

During the years 2008 through 2010, Purcell owned and operated American Roofing Company (“ARC”) in the Syracuse area.  In this time period, he failed to report any of the income he received from ARC by not filing federal income tax returns, despite receiving taxable income in the amount of $655,937. 

For the tax years 2008, 2009, and 2010, Purcell willfully evaded the payment of taxes on his individual income, which totaled $150,980, $333,614, and $171,343, respectively.  The total tax loss for the years 2008 through 2010 was $231,362.  Purcell also agreed to repay the IRS an additional $115,766, representing the tax loss for 2007. 

Purcell concealed his income by depositing checks payable to ARC into nominee bank accounts, which he controlled through powers of attorney.  Purcell set up these bank accounts in the names of his close friends and family members for the purpose of concealing his income from the IRS. 

This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ransom P. Reynolds.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Lawrence Giggetts, age 36, of Schenectady, New York, pled guilty today to illegally possessing a firearm. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Delano A. Reid, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) New York Field Division. 

As part of his plea, Giggetts admitted to possessing a Raven .25 caliber handgun with a serial number that had been defaced in an attempt to remove it.  A prior felony conviction prevented Giggetts from legally possessing a firearm. 

Giggetts faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to 3 years when he is sentenced on November 22, 2016 by Senior United States District Judge Gary L. Sharpe.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. 

This case was investigated by the ATF and the Schenectady Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Coffman.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Brok Chase, age 29, of Fort Drum, New York, was sentenced today to serve a total of 50 years in prison as a result of his guilty plea to four counts of sexually exploiting a young child for the purpose of producing images of the abuse. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Andrew W. Vale, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes also sentenced Chase to lifetime supervised release, to begin after his release from prison.  Chase would also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

As part of his March 2016 guilty plea, Chase admitted that he sexually abused a child in Jefferson County beginning in 2014, when the child was 6 years old, and into 2015.  Chase also admitted that he began exploiting the child even earlier, before moving to New York.  Chase’s abuse of the child, and his visual depictions of the abuse, were discovered following the FBI’s execution of a search warrant at his Jefferson County home in September 2015.  The search warrant was authorized based on evidence gathered by the FBI in Louisville, Kentucky, indicating that Chase had been trading child pornography on the Internet.  Following execution of the search warrant, forensic analysis of Chase’s electronic devices found that, in addition to the images of his abuse of the child in Jefferson County, Chase possessed more than 9,000 images and 98 video files containing child pornography that he obtained from others through the Internet.

Chase was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Syracuse Resident Agency, Albany Division, and the FBI’s Louisville, Kentucky Child Exploitation Task Force, with assistance from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Command and New York State Police.  He was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa Fletcher.

The joint effort is a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jorge Rivas-Rivera, age 47, of Schenectady, New York, was sentenced today to serve 60 months in prison after being convicted of distributing heroin. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Division, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). 

U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also sentenced Rivas-Rivera to serve 6 years of supervised release, to begin upon his release from prison. 

On March 24, Rivas-Rivera pled guilty to selling heroin in Schenectady in May and July 2014. 

This case was investigated by the DEA and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.

BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK – A federal jury today convicted Robert Snyder, 67, of Etna, New York, of receipt, possession, and accessing with intent to view child pornography following a four day long trial, said United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, Inspector in Charge Shelly Binkowski, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Toronto (Canada) Police Service. 

Snyder faces a minimum of 5 years and up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on November 22, 2016, by Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. 

The evidence at trial showed that in 2010 and 2011 Snyder purchased seven (7) DVD disks containing child pornography videos from Azovfilms, a company located in Toronto, Canada. A search warrant executed at the offices of Azovfilms resulted in the seizure of records and documents which showed that Snyder and others purchased child pornography videos.  Additionally, a search of Snyder’s residence in October of 2014 resulted in the seizure of computers and other digital storage media which contained numerous additional images of child pornography. 

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Toronto (Canada) Police Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Miroslav Lovric.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Joshua Stegemann, age 39, of Stephentown, New York, was sentenced today to serve 30 years of imprisonment, to be followed by lifetime supervised release, for (i) possessing cocaine, heroin, and oxycodone with the intent to distribute; (ii) possessing two handguns in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and (iii) unlawfully possessing three firearms and ammunition as a felon. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge, New York Division, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). 

Stegemann was convicted in August 2015 following a jury trial.  The evidence at trial showed that Stegemann, a longtime resident of Stephentown, used his house and surrounding property as a base of operation for his drug trafficking business.  On April 30, 2013, investigators executed a search warrant at Stegemann’s house and surrounding property, and recovered large amounts of cocaine, heroin, and oxycodone pills, along with two loaded handguns, a loaded shotgun, and over $296,000 in U.S. currency.  Most of these items were found hidden either inside of Stegemann’s house or in and around various landscaping features on his property, such as rock gardens, a stump pile and pine trees.

On May 3, 2013, investigators recovered a safe hidden by Stegemann in a Pittsfield, Mass. residence.  The safe was found to contain more than $160,000 in U.S. currency.  Cumulatively, investigators recovered more than 600 grams of cocaine, more than 30 grams of heroin, more than 700 oxycodone pills, three firearms, dozens of rounds of ammunition, and more than $450,000 in U.S. currency. 

The investigation was initiated by the Massachusetts State Police, who were subsequently joined by the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office, the DEA, and the New York State Police.   This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rick Belliss.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Eric Jaquays, age 53, of Little Falls, New York, pled guilty today to distributing child pornography. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and James Spero, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). 

As part of his guilty plea, Jaquays admitted that between December 27, 2014 and December 12, 2015, while in his Little Falls residence, he used the Internet and a peer-to-peer file sharing program to distribute 27 video files containing child pornography. 

As a result of his conviction, Jaquays faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life, and mandatory registration as a sex offender.  Sentencing is scheduled for November 17, 2016 before U.S. District Judge David N. Hurd in Utica.   A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. 

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Saratoga Springs Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Michael VonFricken, age 45, of Troy, New York, was sentenced today to 3 years of probation and 3 months of weekend incarceration at the Rensselaer County Jail for his part in a health care fraud that provided him with $32,732 in cash reimbursements from a local union, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian. 

The sentence was issued by U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino, and followed Michael VonFricken’s guilty plea, on February 24, 2016, to obtaining false receipts for orthodontic services and submitting them to the health care plan for the Plumbers and Steamfitters, Local Union Number 7. 

As part of his sentence, Michael VonFricken must complete 50 hours of community service and pay back the $32,732 that he fraudulently obtained. 

Michael VonFricken’s brother, John VonFricken, also of Troy, was sentenced on July 5 for defrauding the same union health plan.  John VonFricken also pled guilty in February to fraud, and to obtaining $54,600 in reimbursements for orthodontic work that he did not receive. He also received a sentence of 3 years of probation and 3 months of weekend incarceration.  John VonFricken was ordered to repay $54,000 to the union health plan. 

This case was investigated by the United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Solomon B. Shinerock.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Clayton T. Brothers, age 40, of Russell, New York, was sentenced today to 46 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, for illegally possessing a firearm and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian; James Spero, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); New York State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II; and Anthony J. Annucci, Acting Commissioner of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. 

The sentence, issued by U.S. District Judge Brenda K. Sannes, followed Brothers’s March 25, 2016 guilty plea. He pled guilty to possessing, at his home in St. Lawrence County, a Sig Sauer pistol and more than 1,000 rounds of 5.56 mm caliber NATO Lake City XM855 Grain Steel Penetrator ammunition.  Brothers was convicted of robbery in Pennsylvania in 1996. As a felon he could not lawfully possess a firearm or ammunition. 

This case was investigated by HSI, the New York State Police and New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Collyer.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Following a seven-day trial, a jury returned a verdict today against James P. Griffin, 71, of Cazenovia, finding him guilty of all 23 counts of mail and wire fraud and money laundering, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian.

The evidence at trial showed Griffin is the Chief Executive Officer of several companies using variations of the names 54 Freedom and 5 Ledyard, all headquartered at 5 Ledyard Avenue, Cazenovia, New York.  Testimony and documents established that Griffin solicited over $1.6 million in sales from 2009 to 2011 through a scheme involving a financial product called the 54 Freedom Charitable Gift Annuity.  Griffin promised that the product was backed by a highly-rated, major insurance carrier and would provide guaranteed lifetime income to the purchaser.  The trial evidence also showed that Griffin knew the Charitable Gift Annuities were not underwritten by insurance companies, and purchasers received no payments after 2013.  Griffin was convicted of mail and wire fraud related to this scheme, and laundering money through various company bank accounts.

The jury also found Griffin guilty of mail fraud based on a scheme to entice investors to use retirement funds to invest in his companies by falsely promising to protect them from the tax consequences of withdrawing funds from qualified retirement accounts.  Through this scheme, Griffin received at least $370,000.

Over the course of seven days, forty-one witnesses testified in the government’s case, and Griffin testified in his own defense.

Griffin will be sentenced in Syracuse on November 15, 2016, by Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr., who presided over the trial.  Griffin faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years on each of the mail and wire fraud counts and ten years on the money laundering counts.  Each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward R. Broton and Carina H. Schoenberger.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Simona Borissova, 31, of Danville, California, was sentenced on Friday by Chief U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby to a term of 24 months imprisonment,  followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $273,665.00 in a money judgment, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian.  The sentence followed her February 26, 2016 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and one count of  conspiracy to commit money laundering. 

According to her written plea agreement, between January 2011 and August 2015, Simona Borissova, who lived in Las Vegas, caused marijuana to be driven from a marijuana farm in Northern California, owned by her parents, to various stash houses in Las Vegas, where others in the criminal conspiracy would take possession of the marijuana and ship it to Utica, New York and other cities around the United States. It was further part of the conspiracy that to pay for the marijuana shipped to individuals in Utica, New York, marijuana buyers and co-conspirators would deposit money into various bank accounts, some held in the names of third parties including Borissova. The cash was then withdrawn by Borissova from her accounts and used to purchase more marijuana, pay expenses, or otherwise spent at Borissova’s discretion. 

As part of her guilty plea, Borissova admitted she knew the financial transactions involved proceeds from the marijuana distribution conspiracy and were conducted to conceal the true nature, source, and control of the proceeds. Borissova admitted in court that she conspired with others to engage in money laundering involving $273,665, which was the total amount of money orders purchased with proceeds from the sale of marijuana in and around Utica, New York which was used for payment for the marijuana shipped from California to Utica, New York. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police, the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl G. Eurenius and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and Oneida County ADA Grant J. Garramone.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Bruce Fowler, 60, of Watertown, New York, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Norman A. Mordue to a term of imprisonment of 1 year and 1 day to be followed by 3 years of supervised release for illegally possessing three (3) machinegun conversion devices, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian.  The sentence followed his March 9, 2016 guilty plea.

It is illegal to possess fully automatic machine guns in the United States, and cannot legally be offered for sale.  Realizing that, Fowler bought conversion devices from a foreign supplier and used them to convert a Glock handgun and an AR-15 rifle to fire as fully automatic.  He also purchased two high capacity magazines for the Glock handgun.  When confronted by U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agents about these purchases, Fowler initially denied that he had done so, then admitted to only the purchases known by ATF at the time and surrendered those devices to ATF while concealing that he had purchased yet another device.  When confronted by ATF about that final conversion device, Fowler admitted making that purchase as well, but claimed that he had discarded it and other materials in a trash dumpster.

This case was investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives-Syracuse Resident Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ransom P. Reynolds.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Mary Opoka, age 56, of Troy, New York, was sentenced today to 3 years of probation following a jury conviction for marriage fraud. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and James C. Spero, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). 

The sentence was issued by Senior United States District Court Judge Thomas J. McAvoy and followed a one-week trial in November 2015.  As part of the sentence, Opoka must also complete 150 hours of community service. 

The evidence at trial established that in October 2011, Opoka, a U.S. citizen, married Gaurav Mehta, in Troy.  At the time Gaurav Mehta was an alien unlawfully present in the United States.  The fraudulent marriage was designed to enable Gaurav Mehta to stay in the United States as a spouse of a U.S citizen. 

Opoka was tried and found guilty along with Gaurav Mehta, age 36, and Isha Mehta, also known as Isha Kamboj, also known as Isha Johnson, age 33.  The Mehtas are citizens of India.  Yesterday, Judge McAvoy sentenced each of them to 3 years of probation and payment of a $2,000 fine, following their jury convictions for marriage fraud and immigration fraud. 

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward P. Grogan.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Gregory L. Clark, age 26, of Troy, New York, was indicted yesterday for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, Troy Police Chief John F. Tedesco, and Delano A. Reid, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) New York Field Division.

Clark is charged with possessing a loaded Ruger .357 caliber revolver. The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

If convicted, Clark faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to 3 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

Clark has been in custody since April 2, 2016.  On that day, according to a criminal complaint, Troy Police officers responding to a report of a man with a gun found Clark hiding in a closet in an apartment in the Lansingburgh section of Troy.  They also found the loaded Ruger revolver in the closet.

This case is being investigated by the Troy Police Department and ATF, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Scott A. Clapper, Jr., age 31, of Schoharie, New York, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for making false statements and submitting false documents in connection with government benefits he received following Hurricane Irene.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Giovanni Tiano, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, Detroit Field Office.

Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy also ordered Clapper to serve 3 years of supervised release, to begin upon Clapper’s release from prison; to pay $16,426 in restitution to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); and to pay a $1,300 special assessment to the Court.  Clapper will serve the 18-month prison sentence concurrently with state prison sentences he is currently serving for burglary convictions unrelated to his defrauding of FEMA. He becomes eligible for state parole in March 2019.

As part of his guilty plea in January, Clapper admitted to making false statements and submitting false documents to FEMA following Hurricane Irene, which struck New York in August 2011 and made uninhabitable the Schoharie County home in which Clapper was living at the time.

Clapper told FEMA that his monthly rent at his new home, in Westerlo, was $1,200, when it was really $500.   In an effort to document the $1,200 monthly rent, Clapper also submitted to FEMA fake lease agreements and rent receipts containing the forged signature of his landlord.  Clapper received $16,426 from FEMA as a result of these falsehoods.

This case was investigated by the Detroit Field Office of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Barnett.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Gaurav Mehta, age 36, and Isha Mehta, also known as Isha Kamboj, also known as Isha Johnson, age 33, citizens of India, were each sentenced today to 3 years of probation and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine, following jury convictions for marriage fraud and immigration fraud. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and James C. Spero, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).     

The sentence was issued by Senior United States District Court Judge Thomas J. McAvoy and followed a one-week trial in November 2015.  As part of their respective sentences, each defendant must also complete 100 hours of community service.  As citizens of India not lawfully present in the United States, the Mehtas also face removal from the country. 

The third defendant who proceeded to trial, Mary Opoka, age 56, of Troy, is scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow for marriage fraud. 

The evidence at trial established: Gaurav and Isha Mehta were married in India in February 2006. They claimed to be divorced in India in 2009, but then flew together, along with their child, to the United States, eventually settling in Menands, New York, and working together at a Menands gas station. The Mehtas came to the United States on 6-month tourist visas that expired in 2010; neither had authorization to stay in the United States. 

In October 2011, Opoka, a U.S. citizen, and Gaurav Mehta, an alien unlawfully present in the United States as of January 2010, were married in Troy. The fraudulent marriage was designed to enable Gaurav Mehta to stay in the United States as a spouse of a U.S. citizen. 

Isha Mehta, an alien unlawfully present as of January 2010, married a U.S. citizen, in Troy, in January 2013. Gaurav Mehta paid the citizen $2,000 to marry Isha. The fraudulent marriage was designed to enable Isha Mehta to stay in the United States as a spouse of a U.S. citizen. 

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward P. Grogan.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - David L. Frisby, age 65, of Kiln, Mississippi, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for defrauding scrap metal brokerage firms out of more than $144,000. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian; Vernesa Jones-Allen, Special Agent in Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Criminal Investigations Division, and EPA Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Thomas Muskett. 

The sentence was imposed by Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby.  In addition to the term of imprisonment, Frisby was ordered to pay $144,216 in restitution to his victims. 

Frisby, formerly of Fultonville, New York, pled guilty on December 10, 2015 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme in which he and others entered into contracts for the disposal of batteries and other metal waste under false pretenses.  As part of his plea agreement, Frisby admitted that he and his co-conspirators falsely held themselves out to be representatives of a scrap metal recycling firm that was authorized by the EPA to dispose of metal waste by shipping it to Korea, and that they defrauded businesses and individuals by charging them for recycling services that were never provided.  In reality, Frisby and his co-conspirators were not authorized by the EPA to provide scrap metal recycling services and never intended to provide such services. 

To further the scheme, Frisby, who formerly served as the Chief Executive Officer of D & L Heritage Enterprises, Inc., provided his co-conspirators with D & L Heritage incorporation documents that were fraudulently altered and e-mailed to victims.  Victims transferred money to bank accounts maintained by Frisby, who retained a portion of the funds for his personal benefit and transferred the remainder to his co-conspirators overseas. 

The case was investigated by the EPA Criminal Investigations Division and the EPA Office of the Inspector General.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean O’Dowd.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – George R. Hilts, Jr., age 48, of Schenectady, New York, was sentenced today to serve 60 months in prison after being convicted of distributing heroin. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Division, Drug Enforcement Administration. 

Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy also sentenced Hilts to serve 3 years of supervised release, to begin upon his release from prison. 

On March 4, Hilts pled guilty to selling heroin to another person twice in Schenectady in April 2014. 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Schenectady Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Former Rensselaer County Corrections Officer Mark A. Piche, age 47, of Poestenkill, New York, was sentenced today to 1 year of probation and to pay a $5,000 fine for obstructing the administration of the internal revenue laws. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian; Shantelle P. Kitchen, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of IRS-Criminal Investigation; and New York State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II. 

Piche pled guilty on September 9, 2013 to instructing employees of his restaurant, Red Front LLC in Troy, New York, to make false statements to Special Agents from IRS-Criminal Investigation, who were investigating the restaurant’s tax filings and payments. 

Between 2007 and 2011, Piche caused Red Front to file false quarterly returns with the IRS.  Those false returns underreported the payroll and employment taxes owed by Red Front as follows: $4,460.64 in 2007, $4,469.28 in 2008, $5,704.07 in 2009, $7,873.80 in 2010, and $6,777.75 in 2011.  From December 15, 2011 through June 20, 2012, Piche instructed Red Front employees to state falsely to federal agents that Red Front had accurately reported and withheld taxes due on its employees’ wages. 

As part of his sentence, issued by Senior U.S. District Judge Gary L. Sharpe, Piche must pay restitution in the amount of $29,285.54 to the U.S. Department of Treasury.  In 2012, Piche was required to resign his position as a corrections officer with the Rensselaer County Sherriff’s Office, as a precondition to his entering into a plea agreement with the government. 

This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Albany Special Investigations Unit of the New York State Police, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey C. Coffman.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – John VonFricken, age 51, of Troy, New York, was sentenced today to 3 years of probation and 3 months of weekend incarceration at the Rensselaer County Jail for defrauding a union health plan of $54,000, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian. 

The sentence was issued by U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino and followed the defendant’s guilty plea, on February 3, 2016, to obtaining false receipts for orthodontic services and submitting them to his union’s health care plan. 

As part of his sentence, John VonFricken must also complete 50 hours of community service and pay back the $54,600 that he fraudulently obtained from the Health and Welfare Plan of the Plumbers and Steamfitters, Local Union Number 7. 

John VonFricken’s brother, Michael, also of Troy, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 18 for defrauding the same union health plan.  He also pled guilty in February to fraud, and to obtaining $32,732 in reimbursements for orthodontic work that he did not receive. 

This case was investigated by the United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Solomon B. Shinerock.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Otilio Sales-Gomes, 34, of Guatemala, pled guilty yesterday in United States District Court in Syracuse to one felony count of illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported following a felony conviction, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Michael T. Phillips, Field Office Director, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations—Buffalo Field Office. 

Sales-Gomes admitted in federal court that he returned to the United States approximately one year ago and was most recently living and working illegally in Oriskany, New York. Sales-Gomes came to the attention of law enforcement after he was arrested in Oneida County earlier this year for endangering the welfare of a child. As part of his guilty plea in federal court, Sales-Gomes also admitted that he was first removed from the United States in September 2005, and  later returned here illegally. Nearly two years later, in June 2007, Sales-Gomes was convicted in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico of one felony count of reentry after removal, after which he was deported a second time. 

Sales-Gomes will be sentenced on November 2, 2016, by Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby. The felony charge to which Sales-Gomes pled guilty carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Following his completion of any prison sentence, Sales-Gomes will be subject to removal proceedings for the third time. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry.

Binghamton, NEW YORK – A jury on Wednesday voted to convict Nicholas Khan, age 23, of Schenectady, New York, of distribution of crack cocaine. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Division, Drug Enforcement Administration. 

The jury convicted Khan following a three-day trial in Binghamton.  Khan faces up to 20 years in prison, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 3 years and up to life, when he is sentenced on October 26, 2016 by Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy.  Khan is already serving a state term of imprisonment of 25 years to life for an October 2014 murder conviction. 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Colonie Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kofi Sansculotte.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Jesus Alberto Medina-Montes, age 24, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced today to a term of time served after being convicted of illegally re-entering the United States. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent John C. Pfeifer. 

Medina-Montes was arrested on April 8, 2016 after being found in Parish, New York.  He pled guilty on June 17, 2016 to the charge of illegal re-entry of a removed alien.  As part of his plea, he admitted that after being removed from the United States in 2010, he unlawfully came back into the country.  Medina-Montes, who served about 3 months in jail on this conviction, will likely be placed into removal proceedings and returned to Mexico. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Levine.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – A jury today convicted Carol-Lisa Gutman, age 62, of Delmar, New York, of conducting a 15-year fraud scheme in which she received about $429,000 in federal disability benefits. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Eileen Neff, Special Agent in Charge for the Northeast Area of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General. 

Following a 6-day trial, Gutman was convicted of five counts of wire fraud, two counts of federal employees’ compensation fraud, and one count of theft of government money.  

The evidence at trial demonstrated that Gutman began receiving federal workers’ compensation benefits in 1987, after claiming to have injured her back while working for the United States Postal Service.  From that time forward, Gutman claimed to be completely disabled, regularly reporting to her doctors that she was essentially housebound and lacked the ability to do any substantial amount of bending, lifting, carrying, or even sitting.  Gutman also reported that she spent 15 hours each day in a large hot tub in order to obtain relief for her back pain and that she did not perform household-related tasks. 

The evidence at trial included hours of video recordings from 2011, 2012 and 2013, showing Gutman working in her yard, performing activities such as raking leaves, mowing the lawn, carrying large pails of yard waste, and bending over repeatedly. Gutman received more than $429,000 in workers’ compensation benefits between September 2001 and April 2016, the time period covered by the indictment. 

Gutman will be sentenced in Syracuse on October 26, 2016, by Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr., who presided over the trial.  Gutman faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, along with an order that she pay restitution to the government. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. 

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael F. Perry.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian announced that his office reached a $30,000 civil settlement with Dr. Anthony A. Ascioti, a Fayetteville, New York anesthesiologist.  The settlement was in connection with violations of the Controlled Substances Act.  Dr. Ascioti’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) number, which enabled him to prescribe controlled substances, has expired and he has not sought to renew it.

In 2015, the New York State Police (NYSP) and the New York State Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement (BNE) received information that an individual was receiving significant amounts of Adderall[1] using prescriptions signed by Dr. Ascioti on prescription pads from the Anesthesiology Department at St. Joseph’s Hospital.  A subsequent investigation revealed that the individual to whom the prescriptions were given was not a patient of St. Joseph’s Hospital and that Dr. Ascioti was not working at that hospital at the time.  Dr. Ascioti had also previously worked in the Anesthesiology Department at Auburn Memorial Hospital, but he had not worked there for six years.  The individual receiving the prescriptions was also not a patient at Auburn Memorial Hospital.  Moreover, the Adderall prescriptions were not related to anesthesiology services.

The investigation revealed that from January 20, 2012 to October 24, 2014, Dr. Ascioti issued 38 controlled substance prescriptions for the individual which were outside the scope of his usual course of professional practice.  In addition, Dr. Ascioti failed to maintain records or a patient file for the individual in connection with these prescriptions.

Pursuant to federal regulations, a prescription for a controlled substance to be effective must be issued for a legitimate medical purpose by a practitioner acting in the usual course of his or her professional practice.  When Dr. Ascioti issued these prescriptions he did not meet these requirements since he did not prescribe this individual Adderall in connection with his practice as an anesthesiologist at either St. Joseph’s Hospital or Auburn Memorial Hospital.

The Controlled Substances Act was enacted to ensure that controlled substances are properly regulated and to help prevent drug diversion.  Prescription drug abuse is a significant nationwide issue.  According to U.S. Attorney Hartunian, his office will aggressively pursue those who engage in drug diversion, especially if they are healthcare providers.  “It simply is unacceptable for medical professionals to act irresponsibly when handling controlled substances. The potential for these substances to end up in the wrong hands is something we are not willing to risk, and we will use whatever tools are available to prevent this from happening.”

The case was investigated by the NYSP, BNE and the DEA’s Diversion Unit in Syracuse, New York.  The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Spina Jr.

 

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[1] Adderall is commonly prescribed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy.  It is also used to enhance cognitive functions, promote athletic performance, to produce feelings of euphoria and as an aphrodisiac.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Nathan Baum, age 31, of East Greenbush, New York, was sentenced today to serve 82 months in prison after admitting to stealing pain medication intended for hospice patients. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian; Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey G. Hughes of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Russell J. Hermann of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office. 

Senior United States District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn also imposed a three-year term of supervised release, to begin after Baum’s release from prison, and a $2,000 fine. 

Baum pled guilty in February to tampering with a consumer product and obtaining controlled substances by deception and subterfuge. Baum, a licensed practical nurse who worked at the hospice ward of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in Albany, improperly accessed syringes that contained oxycodone hydrochloride.  These syringes were stored in locked containers that Baum was able to access using his individually assigned password.  Between April 8, 2014 and May 16, 2014, Baum removed the oxycodone hydrochloride from at least 25 syringes and replaced it with haloperidol. 

Oxycodone hydrochloride, a Schedule II controlled substance, is a highly addictive narcotic analgesic used to treat moderate to severe pain.  Haloperidol, often marketed as Haldol, is an anti-psychotic medication used to treat certain mental/mood disorders and to treat uncontrolled movements or agitation. 

Family members of some of the hospice patients attended today’s sentencing, and several gave statements detailing the pain and suffering that Baum inflicted on dying hospice patients and their families. 

U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian stated: “The victims in this case were military veterans, including veterans of World War II and the Korean War.  They fought for and served our country, and eventually became hospice patients who trusted Nathan Baum to give them the medication they needed in the final moments of their lives.  Baum violated that trust by stealing their medication and replacing it with anti-psychotic medicine that would not have eased his patients’ pain.  This was a terrible crime, and Baum has received a sentence reflecting his betrayal of the nursing profession and the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

Jeffrey G. Hughes, Special Agent in Charge of the VA Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office, said: “The VA OIG is committed to pursuing those who would do harm to our deserving veterans and bringing those individuals to justice. We will continue to diligently pursue fraud, waste and abuse in every form as it so negatively affects our nation’s heroes.  We would also like to commend the Stratton VA Medical Center for its prompt actions and notification to our office.” 

Russell J. Hermann, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ New York Field Office, said: “Our office will continue to pursue those who prey on our most vulnerable patients, those in hospice, by removing their needed medications. We will continue our efforts to protect the public health and bring to justice those would compromise patients’ health and comfort in this manner.” 

Baum’s tampering was discovered in late May 2014, when his supervisor noticed that he was slurring his speech and his pupils were pinpoint – signs of controlled substance abuse. When federal agents inspected the locked container Baum was allowed to access, they found that three sets of oxycodone hydrochloride syringes had been tampered with.  Baum admitted to agents that he was addicted to painkillers; that he used oxycodone hydrochloride that was intended for veterans; and that he replaced the oxycodone hydrochloride in some syringes with Haldol. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth R. Rabe.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Robert “Poobar” Daniels, age 43, of Schenectady, New York, was sentenced on June 15 to serve 30 months of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing crack cocaine.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Andrew W. Vale, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Daniels, as part of his guilty plea, admitted that he sold crack cocaine directly, and oversaw the distribution of crack cocaine by another individual.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Police, and the Schenectady Police Department, in connection with the FBI-led Capital District Safe Streets Gang Task Force.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Wayne A. Myers.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Three people were sentenced last week for conspiring to defraud the United States and filing fraudulent tax returns.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Shantelle P. Kitchen, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation’s New York Field Office.

Carmen Gentile, age 54, of Amsterdam, New York, was sentenced on June 13 to a five-year term of probation, fined $10,000, and ordered to pay restitution to the United States.  Angela Witzke, age 40, of Amsterdam, New York, and a certified public accountant, was sentenced on June 13 to a three-year term of probation for her role in the scheme.  Michelle Lennon, age 43, of Gloversville, New York, was sentenced on June 16 to a one-year term of probation.  Senior U.S. District Judge Gary L. Sharpe presided over the case.

All three defendants worked at Complete Financial Accounting Services in Gloversville, which Gentile owned and operated.  As part of their guilty pleas, Gentile, Witzke, and Lennon each admitted that they worked together to prepare, and submit to the IRS, dozens of tax returns for clients that omitted income and claimed inflated charitable contributions, expenses, and losses.  They admitted filing these returns despite knowing they contained false statements concerning their clients’ income, expenses and losses.

This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation’s New York Field Office and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Wayne A. Myers.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Richard S. Buffham, 48, of West Monroe, New York, was arrested yesterday on charges of distribution of child pornography following an investigation by Special Agents of the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), the New York State Police-Computer Crime Unit and the New York State Police, Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI-Pulaski), announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian.  

The criminal complaint alleges that from September through November of 2015, Buffham posted files containing child pornography on a social media site. 

The defendant appeared yesterday in federal court in Syracuse, New York, before United States Magistrate Judge David E. Peebles and was ordered detained without bail. 

If convicted of distributing possessing child pornography, Buffham faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five (5) years imprisonment, a maximum term of 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life, and mandatory registration as a sex offender. Sentences are imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. 

The charges in the complaint are merely accusations.  The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey J. L. Brown.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian announced today that the United States has filed a civil lawsuit against Joseph Felix Strevell (Strevell), age 54, and his adult daughter, Nicole Strevell Childrose (Childrose), age 30, alleging that Strevell engaged in a series of transactions that were made with the purpose and effect of rendering Strevell unable to pay restitution to New York State (NYS) following his 2009 fraud conviction.  The lawsuit filed today seeks to recover those funds, together with penalties and interest. 

U.S. Attorney Hartunian said:  “Instead of satisfying his Court ordered restitution obligation, Joseph Strevell decided to financially enrich his grown daughter by fraudulently transferring assets to her.  Restitution is a mandatory obligation and no felon should be allowed to evade that obligation.  Through this civil action, we seek to void the transfers and make the victim of his crime whole.” 

From 1997 to 1999, Strevell served as a Deputy Secretary of State for the State of New York.  He left that position to serve as the head of the Institute for Entrepreneurship, a state sponsored nonprofit agency.  In 2007, Strevell was convicted in federal court of defrauding NYS while leading the Institute.  In March 2009, the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York entered judgment against Strevell on this conviction, ordering him to pay $111,500 in restitution to his victim, NYS.  The judgment required Strevell to pay restitution at a minimum rate of $100 per month or 10 percent of his gross monthly earnings, whichever was greater, and to pay full restitution immediately if at any time he had the resources to do so. 

According to the Complaint that was filed, Strevell still owes NYS $102,337.44 on his restitution  judgment.  In an effort to determine Strevell’s ability to satisfy this judgment, the United States undertook an investigation into Strevell’s assets during which Strevell maintained that he did not have the financial ability to satisfy the judgment.  However, the investigation revealed that from 2012 through 2014, Strevell transferred a total of $157,646.00 to his adult daughter, for her personal benefit, while only paying $6,750.00 in restitution during that same time period.  The Complaint alleges that Strevell is now unable to pay his restitution obligation because of the fraudulent transfers to his daughter, who works full-time as a college professor.  The transfers Strevell made to his daughter were made in incremental amounts and from various business accounts that Strevell hid from the government.  The Complaint also alleges that in order to fund his daughter’s wedding in May 2014, Strevell transferred approximately $28,000 to her personal checking account in the two months before her wedding.  Additionally, he bought her three wedding gowns (ranging in cost from $1,400 – $2,500 each); paid in cash for the wedding tent, tables, linens and place settings ($10,435.25); hired her a professional photographer ($2,246); and funded her  honeymoon at the Four Seasons Hotel, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  These transactions were made in such a way so as to avoid detection by the government.  Additionally, in November 2015, Strevell paid $13,871.80 in cash to the Rensselaer County Bureau of Finance to satisfy his daughter’s unpaid property tax obligations when a property she and her husband owned was scheduled to be sold at an auction.  The Complaint further alleges that Strevell made these transfers with the intent to defraud the United States and, as a result of the transfers to his daughter, he is no longer able to meet his restitution obligation.  In its Complaint, the United States seeks entry of an order that would void these fraudulent transfers that unfairly enriched Childrose at the expense of the taxpayers. 

This case was investigated by the Financial Litigation Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Civil Division.  The lawsuit is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cathleen B. Clark.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Leron T. Ross, 25, of Syracuse, New York pled guilty today to burglarizing a federally licensed gun dealer in Nedrow, New York, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Delano Reid. 

As part of his guilty plea today, Ross admitted that he used a sledgehammer to break through the door of Intimidator Sports, also known as E.C.K. Tree and Outdoor Equipment in Nedrow, New York, in the early morning hours of November 20, 2014. Upon gaining entry to the store, Leron Ross and another man used bolt cutters to sever a steel cable securing pistols in a display case, stealing nine (9) handguns and departing before Onondaga County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to an alarm tripped by the break-in.

On January 5, 2015, Syracuse Police encountered Leron Ross for failing to stop at a stop sign. As Syracuse Police Officers approached his car, Ross sped off. During a short pursuit, Leron Ross threw a .45 caliber Glock Pistol from his car that was stolen in the E.C.K. burglary.  It was later recovered by police. On March 12, 2015, Ross pled guilty in Onondaga County Court to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, and was sentenced to thirty (30) months in state prison. 

During an interview in state prison in January 2016, Ross admitted to an ATF Special Agent and Onondaga County Sheriff’s Detectives that he had committed the burglary of the gun dealer, stealing nine (9) handguns. According to ATF and the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department, four (4) of the stolen firearms have been recovered by law enforcement agencies to date. 

Sentencing for Leron Ross is scheduled for October 19, 2016 in Syracuse, New York. The charge to which Ross pled guilty to today carries a maximum sentence of up to ten (10) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000 and term of supervised release of three (3) years, as well as restitution for the stolen firearms. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. 

A second defendant, Andrew Grady, of Syracuse, is charged by complaint. The charges in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. 

This case is being investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Southwick and Emmet O’Hanlon.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian wrapped up the 2016 LEADership Project this afternoon at a news conference at the Giffen Memorial Elementary School, part of the Albany School District.  The LEADership Project, an anti-gang curriculum for fifth-grade students, was expanded to include the fifth-grade classrooms in the Albany, Schenectady, Troy, and Lansingburgh School Districts this year. 

“We took on the challenges associated with reaching all the fifth-grade classrooms in these four districts this year so every student could learn about good decision making, staying away from gang activity, and focusing on what they want their futures to be.  Each law enforcement officer spent time getting to know the students in their assigned classroom and encouraged them to be the best they can be,” said United States Attorney Hartunian.  “Many thanks to our law enforcement and school district partners who helped steer our young people away from gangs and violence and toward a bright and productive future.” 

To meet the challenge of getting volunteer instructors for the 79 fifth-grade classrooms in the four school districts, U.S. Attorney Hartunian reached out to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and they answered the call.  The chart below lists all the law enforcement agencies that participated:

14 Federal Agencies

United States Attorney’s Office

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives

Drug Enforcement Administration

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations

Transportation Security Administration

U.S. Coast Guard

U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations

U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services

U.S. Customs & Border Protection

U.S. Postal Inspection Service

U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General

U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services OIG

Federal Public Defenders Office

 

 

3 State Agencies

NYS Dept. of Corrections & Community Supervision

NYS Dept. of Homeland Security & Emergency Services

New York State Police

 

12 Local Agencies

Albany Police Department

Schenectady Police Department

Troy Police Department

Schenectady Auxiliary Police Dept.

Albany County Family Court

Schenectady County DA’s Office

Rensselaer County DA’s Office

Schenectady County Probation Dept.

Rensselaer County Probation Dept.

Albany County Sheriff’s Office

Schenectady County Sheriff’s Office

Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office

Through role-playing skits centered on two fifth-grade characters who are lured by an older gang member to make some bad decisions, classroom discussions revolved around making good life decisions, focusing on the future, acknowledging positive personal traits, and becoming the best that students can be.  The sessions introduced the students to the concepts of responsibility and accountability through learning about Victim Impact Panels and Community Accountability Boards. 

In past student questionnaires, 84% of fifth-graders stated it is very important to them to have help to stay away from gangs.  These sessions help students learn how to do that.  While 98% said they were not in a gang, 73% indicated they had friends who are in gangs.  Prevention research tells us that having friends in gangs is a risk factor for future involvement in gangs and delinquent behaviors.  When asked who can help them stay away from gangs, students notably listed their parents, teachers, police officers, and their LEADership instructors. 

The LEADership Project is a small project with big returns.  Even though it is only four sessions in each fifth-grade classroom, it reaches over 1,800 fifth-grade students in Albany, Schenectady, Troy, and Lansingburgh.  The project uses very few resources; it is driven by over 80 volunteer law enforcement instructors.  The LEADership Project is an investment in our future.  “We are committed to working with our communities to break the cycle of violence and other crime; to helping our youth see and find a better way; and to listening and learning from these young voices – who, it is our hope, will become our next community leaders,” said U.S. Attorney Hartunian.

LEADership Project Wrap-Up News Conference
Tuesday, June 14 at 2 p.m.
Giffen Memorial Elementary School
274 South Pearl Street, Albany 

ALBANY, NEW YORK – United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian will host a wrap-up news conference on the LEADership Project tomorrow at the Giffen Memorial Elementary School, part of the Albany City School District.  U.S. Attorney Hartunian will be joined by the superintendents of the four Capital Region public school districts whose classes were visited as part of the project.  The fifth-grade class that U.S. Attorney Hartunian taught will also be present. 

Officials from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, who served as volunteer instructors for the project, will also be in attendance.  This year, 29 agencies contributed volunteers.  They visited nearly every public school fifth-grade class in the school districts of Albany, Schenectady, Troy and Lansingburgh. 

U.S. Attorney Hartunian and others will be available for interviews after the event. 

Please contact Marilyn Morey if you plan to attend.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK –Bruce Kane, 61, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, an accountant and former resident of Ithaca, New York, pled guilty today in Federal Court in Syracuse, New York, to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and FBI Special Agent In Charge Andrew W. Vale.  Kane faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years, a maximum fine of $250,000, an order of restitution in the amount of over $10 million and a forfeiture money judgment of over $10 million. Sentencing is scheduled for October 7, 2016 in Binghamton, New York. 

Kane is a certified public accountant who was the managing partner for Global Financial Fund 8, LLP, a company that solicited and received over $10 million from investors located throughout the United States, including residents of the Northern District of New York.  As part of his guilty plea, Kane admitted that he misappropriated approximately $1.5 million of the investors $10 million for his own personal use and enjoyment.  Kane admitted to using investor funds to buy a $59,000 boat, using more than $280,000 for his own credit card payments, and to using the funds to rent a waterfront condominium in Florida.  In an effort to avoid detection and allow him to continue to divert money for his own use, Kane helped orchestrate the payment of phony “profit” distributions to investors in 2004 and 2005, which were merely a partial return of their principal investment.  Further, from 2004 to 2013 Kane repeatedly assured the investors via e-mail that their investments were secure when he knew that was not the case. 

Kane is the second defendant to plead guilty in this case.  On February 19, 2016, Burton Greenberg, who previously pled guilty to these charges on November 9, 2015, in Federal Court in Fort Lauderdale Florida, was sentenced to 97 months imprisonment, ordered to pay restitution in the amount of over $10 million and ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment of over $10 million. 

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey Brown.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Lakendrick Cobey, 40, of Watertown, New York, was sentenced to serve fifty (50) months in prison followed by a three (3) year term of supervised release in connection with his possession with intent to distribute ethylone, a synthetic drug similar to ecstasy, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero.

Special Agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a federal search warrant at Cobey’s residence in Watertown, New York on April 28, 2015, during which they recovered $978.00 in drug proceeds, an electric money counter, two mobile telephones and drug paraphernalia. Lakendrick Cobey pled guilty on December 14, 2015 to possessing with intent to distribute approximately two (2) pounds of the synthetic drug that he ordered from Chinese suppliers.

As part of his plea of guilty, Lakendrick Cobey admitted that he ordered two shipments of synthetic drugs from China that were seized by U.S. Customs officials when they entered the United States. The seizure of these drugs led to the issuance and execution of a federal court search warrant and the arrest of the defendant. At the time of his arrest, Lakendrick Cobey was serving a sentence of probation in connection with his previous conviction for a New York State felony drug offense.

This case was investigated by the United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard R. Southwick.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - Blair Taylor, 51, of Syracuse, New York, was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court to one year in prison and three years of supervised release, after having previously pled guilty to defrauding the Social Security Administration ("SSA") of more than $87,000 over a period of several years, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Edward J. Ryan, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General.

Taylor was charged in a three-count indictment with theft of government money, making a false statement in an application for Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits ("DIB"), and concealing from the Social Security Administration ("SSA") years of employment income he earned while receiving DIB payments.

Taylor admitted that he applied for DIB in April 2006, claiming that he was totally disabled. Between April 2006 and January 2015, SSA paid Taylor approximately $87,138.90 as a result of his disability claim. While he was receiving these payments on a monthly basis, Taylor also earned income from various jobs using a different Social Security number than the one under which he and his dependent children were receiving Social Security benefits. Taylor concealed from SSA his employment and employment income under the second Social Security number, which would have affected his eligibility for benefits. In September 2010, Taylor attempted to obtain additional Social Security benefits to which he was not entitled by filing a disability claim under the second Social Security number. In his September 2010 application, Taylor falsely reported that he had never previously applied for benefits from SSA.

As part of his sentence, Taylor was ordered to make restitution payments to the Social Security Administration, in addition to serving his one-year term of imprisonment.

This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, and it was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael F. Perry.

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Sharma Sukdeo, age 21, of Schenectady, New York, was sentenced today to serve 15 months in prison for dealing firearms without a license. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Andrew W. Vale, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Albany Division. 

Senior United States District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn also imposed a $3,000 fine and a 2-year term of supervised release, to begin after Sukdeo’s release from prison. 

Sukdeo was indicted on March 18, 2015 on one count of dealing firearms without a license and pled guilty on December 30.  According to the plea agreement, between September 18, 2014 and October 19, 2014, Sukdeo sold three firearms and ammunition to a person working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation: (1) a Glock Model 23 .40-caliber pistol and 13 bullets; (2) a Star Firestar Plus 9mm pistol; and (3) a Cobra Model FS .380-caliber handgun.  Each sale was completed at a convenience store in Schenectady.  As part of his plea agreement, Sukdeo admitted that he sold these firearms for profit and that he made the sales despite not being licensed to do so by the federal government or any state. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Capital District Safe Streets Task Force, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean O’Dowd and Kofi Sansculotte. 

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Matthew P. Charo, age 34, of Saratoga Springs, New York, was indicted today and accused of distributing heroin to a woman who died from taking it. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Andrew W. Vale, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

Charo has been in jail since October 26, 2015, when he was arrested on a criminal complaint.  According to that complaint, on the night of October 2, 2014, Charo provided heroin to a woman identified in the complaint as “K.S.,” who took the heroin and was found dead later that night at her home in Saratoga County; the cause of death was acute heroin intoxication. 

U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian stated: “Any dose of heroin can kill, and we have seen so many heroin overdose deaths in our communities.  Heroin dealers are playing Russian roulette, not only with the lives of their customers, but also with their own fates. Since any dose can kill, any dose could send a heroin dealer to prison for many years.” 

Special Agent in Charge Andrew W. Vale stated: “Heroin is death.  Between 2002 and 2013, the rate of heroin-related deaths nearly quadrupled.  This is an epidemic touching every segment of society, and the FBI remains dedicated to pursuing those who seek to poison our communities with drugs.” 

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

If convicted of the offense of distributing heroin resulting in death, Charo faces at least 20 years and up to life in prison.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Hanlon.