Northern District of Ohio
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Mayfield Village Doctor Forfeits $650,000 After Importing Misbranded DrugsRead the Press Release
A Mayfield Village rheumatologist was sentenced to probation for importing medications that had not been approved by the Federal Drug Administration, said Steven M. Dettelbach,United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Dr. David Mandel, 65, has paid more than $650,000 in restitution. He previously pleaded guilty to causing the shipment of misbranded drugs, a misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
“FDA’s regulatory standards are designed to ensure the safety and quality of the medical devices and drugs distributed to American consumers,” said Antoinette V. Henry, Special Agent in Charge, FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Washington Field Office. “We will continue to work to investigate all persons, including medical professionals, who disregard regulatory requirements and jeopardize the public health by participating in the distribution of misbranded products.”
“Acquiring and prescribing prescription medications that have not met regulatory standards puts the safety and well-being of patients at risk,” said Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General –Chicago Region. “The OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that medical professionals who choose to evade these standards are held accountable.”
Dr. Mandel obtained Boniva, Aclasta, Prolia, Euflexa and Orthovisc, from outside the United States, where the drugs are not approved by the FDA, according to court documents.
A drug may be considered misbranded even if it is identical in composition to an FDA-approved drug (that is, a drug labeled and packaged in compliance with the FDA’s standards) and even if it was made by the same manufacturer in the same facility as the FDA-approved version.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael L. Collyer following investigations by the FDA – Office of Criminal Investigations and the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General.
Anyone suspecting health care fraud, waste or abuse can report it by calling the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General at800-447-8477.To learn more about healthcare fraud prevention and enforcement go towww.stopmedicarefraud.gov
Justice Department Settles Housing-Discrimination Case with Cleveland CompaniesRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that the manager and owner of the Linden House Apartments in Cleveland have agreed to pay $100,000 to resolve allegations that they refused to rent to individuals because the individuals had children. The settlement must still be approved by U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department on September 30, 2013, against the Zaremba Management Company, the Linden Apartment Company and a property manager who worked at the Linden House Apartments. The United States alleged that the defendants violated the Fair Housing Act by maintaining a policy of refusing to rent units at Linden House to families with children. It also alleged that the Linden House Apartments had a policy of evicting tenants or asking tenants to relocate if they had children while living at Linden House. While the Fair Housing Act does allow housing that is reserved for older persons to limit residency to adults under certain circumstances, Linden House did not meet the requirements for this exemption.
The settlement requires the defendants to pay $90,000 to victims of their discriminatory actions, and to pay $10,000 in civil penalties to the United States. The settlement also requires the defendants to remove any restrictions on occupancy by families with children at the Linden House Apartments and to take certain steps such as training employees and reporting to the Department of Justice to make sure that such discriminatory policies are not implemented in the future.
“Finding decent, safe and affordable housing is critical for working families,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Civil Rights Division. “Such families should not be turned away from housing merely because they have children.”
“Families deserve the legal right to live where they can, and the Justice Department will continue to protect them from housing discrimination,” said U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach for the Northern District of Ohio.
Fighting illegal discrimination in housing is a top priority of the Justice Department. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they have been victims of housing discrimination or have information related to this lawsuit can call the Justice Department at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected] or contact the Department of Housing and Urban Development at 1-800-669-9777.
Toledo Man Charged with Theft of Government PropertyRead the Press Release
A Toledo man was charged with one count of theft of government property, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Richard Arens, II, age 38, withdrew approximately $93,373 for his personal benefit from the bank account of his deceased mother between December 2007 through August 2013, according to the information.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The investigating agency in this case is the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General. The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Ava Dustin.
An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Russian Man Charged with Identity Theft and Counterfeiting Social Security CardsRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned an eight-count superseding indictment charging Sergei Davidoff, aka Sergiu Davidov, aka Sammy Davidoff, aka Sergio Da Vido, age 53 and a native of Siberia, Russia, with multiple counts of identity theft, fraudulent use of credit cards and identification documents, counterfeiting Social Security cards, and aggravated identity theft, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The superseding indictment alleges that Davidoff possessed devices and programs used to create false identification documents. Davidoff also acquired and produced numerous false identification documents and counterfeit or unauthorized credit cards, according to the indictment.
Through these unauthorized and counterfeit cards, defendant purchased merchandise and services valued at more than $1,000. It further alleges that the defendant created counterfeit Social Security cards and committed aggravated identity theft against three individuals between 2009 and 2014 as part of his scheme, according to the indictment.
Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Cronin is prosecuting the case following an investigation by the United States Secret Service, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and the Medina Police Department.
If convicted, the Court will determine the defendant’s sentence after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum. In most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Former Head of Cleveland Anti-Poverty Agency Charged with Bribery, ConspiracyRead the Press Release
The former head of a Cleveland-area anti-poverty agency was charged with accepting more than $23,000 in cash, home renovations and other things of value in exchange for steering work to specific contractors, law enforcement officials said.
Jacqueline K. Middleton, 69, of Shaker Heights, was charged in a criminal information with two counts of honest services fraud, one count of bribery in federally funded programs and one count of Hobbs Act Conspiracy.
“We will continue to prosecute cases where the public’s trust is violated with bribes and kickbacks,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
“The FBI has the responsibility of protecting the public by aggressively pursuing and bringing to justice those who place the community at risk,” said Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland office. “Instead of serving the public, she served herself and violated the trust of those she was supposed to serve.”
“As the President and CEO of the CEOGC, Ms. Middleton had the obligation and responsibility to use taxpayer funds to assist low income families of Northern Ohio. Unfortunately she chose to use her position to enrich herself”, said Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General – Chicago Region. “The OIG and its law enforcement partners are committed to identifying, investigating and working with prosecutorial authorities to hold individuals accountable who choose breech the public’s trust and deprive needy citizens of vital taxpayer dollars.”
Middleton served as president and chief executive officer of the Council of Economic Opportunities of Greater Cleveland. The CEOGC was organized with the purpose of serving low-income people of Cuyahoga County and Greater Cleveland. The CEOGC administered several federal, state and local programs designed to address the needs of low-income individuals, including Head Start, the Community Services Block Grant program and the Home Energy Assistance program.
From 2008 through around August 7, 2012, Middleton used her official position to enrich herself by soliciting and accepting gifts, payments and other things of value from contractors who did business with CEOGC. These gifts and payments were made in exchange for favorable action from Middleton for the payors and their companies, according to the information.
Middleton solicited and accepted gifts, payments and other things of value totaling more than $12,017 from a person identified as Contractor No. 1 and totaling approximately $11,200 from a person identified as Contractor No. 2. The things of value included kickbacks from CEOGC payments, home renovation work and payments to vendors for related supplies on her behalf, according to the information.
Middleton provided official favorable action Company No. 1 and Contractor No. 2 as requested and as opportunities arose. That included authorizing CEOGC contracts which retained Contractor No. 2 for consulting services and which retained Company No. 1 for work including parking lot renovations, classroom remodeling and flooring remodeling at various sites and offices administered by CEOGC, according to the information.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Roberts, following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a review of the federal sentencing guidelines and factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.
A charge is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sheffield Lake Man Charged with Embezzling $2.9 MillionRead the Press Release
A Sheffield Lake man was charged with embezzling approximately $2.9 million from Medical Mutual, said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
Joseph F. Satava, III, age 69, was charged in a criminal information with one count of theft of embezzlement in connection with health case.
Satava embezzled approximately $2.9 million from his employer, Medical Mutual, between August 1997 and November 2013, according to the information.
Satava began working for Medical Mutual in 1971, and held the position of Manager of Credit and Collections for the past 20 years. In this capacity, he had the authority and managerial discretion to request and approve checks in amounts up to $5,000. During his tenure, Satava discovered a way to use this managerial authority to create reimbursement checks that he could then embezzle, steal, and convert, undetected, to his own personal use, according to the information.
To accomplish his embezzlement, Satava reviewed weekly printouts of the company’s accounts receivable trial balance statements to identify new companies that had signed contracts for insurance coverage. The weekly printouts included the amounts submitted by each company as the first payment for the insurance coverage. These payments were referred to as “binder payments.” Each binder payment was credited to the finance division’s “Binder Suspense Account.” At the end of each month, each company payment was then credited to the appropriate client-specific revenue account, according to information.
During most weeks, Satava selected between two and four companies from this printout that made binder payments under $5,000 and created a reimbursement check in the exact amount of each respective customer check submitted to the company. He caused the reimbursement check to be created by completing a company check reimbursement form. On the form, Satava listed an employee of the client company as payee, and requested payment in the amount of the company’s binder check. He stated on the form that insurance coverage had been denied as the reason for the requested reimbursement.
To conceal his embezzlement, Satava did not charge each reimbursement to the Binder Suspense Account. Instead, he charged the checks to an account that handled several billions of dollars of revenue each year. As such, the checks created by Satava were immaterial in amount relative to the volume of funds passing through this account, so the checks were not detected. Because the reimbursement checks were not charged against the account into which the binder payments were deposited, the coverage for each client company still went into effect, according to the information.
To negotiate the check, Satava forged the name of the payee appearing on the reimbursement check that he used without authorization. After he forged each check, he countersigned his own name beneath the forged name. Defendant used ATMs to deposit each check into his own personal bank account to avoid scrutiny from bank officials regarding the third party checks, according to the information.
Satava produced at least 1,382 reimbursement checks that he forged, countersigned, and deposited during his tenure as the manager of credit and collections, according to the information.
Satava used the embezzled funds to pay for living expenses that were otherwise beyond his means, such as furniture and other household items, his adult son’s personal expenses, a car loan, travel and personal vacations and a retirement home on Lake Erie, according to the information.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christos N. Georgalis and James Morford following an investigation by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the dourt after a review of factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Youngstown Woman Convicted of Arson for Setting Fire to Rental Property to Collect Insurance MoneyRead the Press Release
A Youngstown woman was convicted of setting fire to a rental property in order to collect insurance money, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Latasha Curtis, 33, is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 13. She was convicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of use of fire during the commission of a felony, and one count of maliciously damaging and destroying, and attempting to damage and destroy, by means of fire, real property used in interstate commerce and in activity affecting interstate commerce following a trial before U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson.
Curtis and others conspired to commit arson of a rental property located at 75 Hilton Avenue in Youngstown, and to commit wire fraud in submitting false claims against State Farm Insurance Corporation for the proceeds of an insurance policy on the property, according to court documents.
The property was burned in a fire occurring on October 19, 2013, which was intentionally set by Curtis and others, according to court documents.
State Farm paid $67,916.10 after the insurance claim on the property was submitted, according court documents.
This case was investigated by the Youngstown Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James V. Moroney and Miranda Dugi.
Youngstown Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Heroin DistributionRead the Press Release
A Youngstown man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy that brought heroin from Chicago and other areas to Youngtown, said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Alexis Perez, 32, was previously found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and related charges.
“This ring brought heroin in from out of state and sold it on the streets on Youngstown,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “We will continue to do these kinds of exhaustive investigations designed at shutting off the stream of illegal drugs.”
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted from March 2009 through March 2012 by the FBI Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force (MVVCTF) and the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force (MVLETF). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Toepfer and M. Kendra Klump.
Detroit Man Indicted for Stealing $16,000 Worth of Merchandise from Stores Throughout OhioRead the Press Release
A Detroit man was indicted on 46 counts in federal court related to a scheme in which he stole at least $16,000 worth of merchanside from Lowe's and Home Depot stores in the Cleveland and Toledo areas and then returned the stolen items for store credit, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Larry Darnell Frazier, 56, was indicted on 45 counts of wire fraud and one count of transporting fraudulently obtained property in interstate commerce.
Frazier placed small, expensive items, including rough plumbing and electrical items, inside large outdoor lighting boxes. He purchased the lighting boxes with the smaller items concealed inside. He went to other stores and returned the lighting, for which he had a receipt, for a refund and the stolen items, for which he did not have a receipt, for store credit, according to the indictment.
Frazier did this at stores in Toledo, Perryburg, Fairlawn, Strongsville, Streetsboro, Elyria, Rocky River, Avon, Lorain, Sandusky, Sylvania, and elsewhere, according to the indictment. He returned stolen merchandise at least 45 times and got more than $16,000 in store credit for the merchandise, according to the information.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, and the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The investigating agency in this case is the United States Secret Service, Toledo, Ohio. The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Noah P. Hood.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Canal Fulton Man Charged for Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A one-count criminal information was filed charging Brent A. Horvath, 25, of Canal Fulton, Ohio, with conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The information alleges that from in or about the winter of 2011 through February 2014, Horvath and others conspired to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than 50 kilograms of marijuana.
If convicted, a defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including a defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, a defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The investigation preceding the information was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Samuel A. Yannucci.
An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Owner of Sandusky Winery Indicted for Actions Related to Government-Backed Farm LoansRead the Press Release
A five-count indictment was filed in federal court charging the owner of a Sandusky winery with crimes related to the securing and repayment of loans for the winery, said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Anthony Mohatt, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General.
David J. Kraus, 52, of New York, New York, was charged with conversion of property pledged as collateral with a farm credit agency, making numerous false statements, including on a loan application to a federally-insured bank.
“This defendant is charged with defrauding a program designed to help struggling or family farmers by, among other things, unlawfully pocketing millions of dollars from the sale of wine and grapes,” Dettelbach said. “Those who seek federal assistance must follow the rules, whether they are food stamp recipients or want to own a winery. These programs are for the public good, not personal enrichment.”
Kraus was the owner and operator of Kraus Winery, Inc., also known as Kraus Vineyard, Hermes Winery, and Sand Hill Winery, located near Sandusky.
Count 1 of the indictment charges that between January 2006 and November 2012, the defendant knowingly, and with the intent to defraud, disposed of and converted to his own use, or the use of another, property pledged as collateral for loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Farm Service Agency.
Kraus sold and directed the sale of grapes and wine valued at approximately $2 million which had been pledged as collateral for loans totaling $594,870, and failed to remit the proceeds from such sales to the USDA-FSA as required by the terms of the loans, according to the indictment.
Counts 2 through 4 of the indictment charge that Kraus made various materially false statements and representations to officials at the USDA-FSA in connection with the same loans between December 2009 and September 2010.
For example, Kraus falsely reported to a USDA-FSA farm loan officer that the winery had only received a few small checks for grape sales and had no wine sales in 2009, when, in fact, the winery had grape sales totaling approximately $60,000 and wine sales totaling approximately $271,380 in 2009, according to the indictment.
Count 5 also charges Kraus with making false statements on a loan application submitted to Citizens Bank on or about July 22, 2010, for purposes of influencing the bank’s action in connection with said application.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert W. Kern and Angelita C. Bridges following an investigation by the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Warren Man Sentenced to Nearly 13 Years in Prison for Firearms and Narcotics ViolationsRead the Press Release
A Warren man was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for illegally selling firearms, heroin and cocaine, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Lewis Powell, 37, was sentenced to 155 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent. Powell pleaded guilty in April to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine and one count of being an unlicensed dealer willfully engaged in the business of dealing firearms.
"This defendant trafficked in drugs and guns, including some with obliterated serial numbers," Dettelbach said. "This sentence will hopefully make the Mahoning Valley a bit safer."
Powell sold heroin to undercover officers on multiple occassions. He also sold 20 firearms, including three with obliterated serial numbers, according to statements made in court.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel J. Riedl and David M. Toepfer, following investigations by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the TAG Task Force, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification, the Warren Police Department, the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the Youngstown Police Department and the Ravenna Police Department.
Company Owner Sentenced to More Than Two Years in Prison for Dumping Fracking Waste in Mahoning River TributaryRead the Press Release
The owner of a Youngstown-based company was sentenced to more than two years in prison for violating the Clean Water Act by dumping fracking waste into a tributary of the Mahoning River, said Steven M. Dettelbach, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Benedict W. Lupo, 64, of Poland, Ohio, was found guilty earlier this year of one count of making an unpermitted discharge. U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent sentenced Lupo to 28 months in prison and fined him $25,000.
The illegal discharges took place more than 30 times between Nov. 1, 2012 and Jan. 31, 2013, according to court documents.
“Clean air and fresh water is the birthright of every man, woman and child in this state,” Dettelbach said. “Intentionally breaking environmental laws is not the cost of doing business, it's going to cost business owners their freedom.”
“Ben Lupo put his own interests ahead of everyone else’s, and he deserved to face a severe penalty for his actions,” Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said. “The recent water crisis in Toledo is a grave reminder of how important it is to protect our waterways. Those who commit crimes against the environment jeopardize the health and safety of Ohioans, and our natural resources and wildlife. They must be held accountable.”
“Discharging pollution into waterways is illegal and endangers human health, wildlife and the environment,” said Randall Ashe, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Ohio. “Oil and gas production must include safe, legal treatment and disposal of drilling byproducts. Today’s sentence reflects EPA’s commitment to protecting our natural resources and the communities that rely upon them.”
“This case highlighted a gap in Ohio law regarding the State’s ability to take strong legal action in response to intentional, egregious violations of clean-water regulations,” said Ohio EPA Director Craig W. Butler. “We are fortunate the U.S. Department of Justice used its legal authority to pursue felony violations.”
According to the indictment and related court documents:
Hardrock Excavating LLC was owned by Lupo and located at 2761 Salt Springs Road in Youngstown. The company provided services to the oil and gas industry in Ohio and Pennsylvania, including the storage of brine and oil-based drilling mud used in hydrofracturing, or fracking.
There were approximately 58 mobile storage tanks at the facility and each holds approximately 20,000 gallons.
Lupo, who owns Hardrock, directed employees to empty some of the waste liquid stored at the facility into a nearby wastewater drain on or about Nov. 1, 2012. Lupo directed the employees to conduct this activity only after no one else was at the facility and only after dark.
The employees, at Lupo’s direction, emptied some of the waste liquid at the facility into the nearby stormwater drain using a hose on numerous occasions over the next several months. The drain flowed into a tributary of the Mahoning River and ultimately into the Mahoning River.
The last time an employee emptied some of the waste liquid into the drain was on or about Jan. 31, 2013.
The waste liquid that night included brine and drill cuttings. A sample of the discharge taken that night was black in color and a subsequent analysis showed the presence of several hazardous pollutants, including benzene and toluene.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Beeson following an investigation by the Ohio EPA, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, U.S. EPA, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Youngstown Department of Public Works and the Youngstown Fire Department.
Thirty-three People Indicted for Drug Trafficking and Distribution of HeroinRead the Press Release
A 40-count indictment was filed in U.S. District Court charging 15 people for their roles in a conspiracy that brought heroin from Chicago to be sold around Ravenna and Akron, law enforcement officials announced today.
An additional 18 people were indicted in the Portage County Court of Common Pleas on related state charges including trafficking in heroin, trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in marijuana, illegal manufacture of methamphetamine, permitting drug abuse and child endangering.
The arrests and indictments were announced by U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Steven M. Dettelbach, Portage County Prosecutor Vic Vigluicci, FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony, ATF Special Agent in Charge Michael Boxler, Akron Police Chief James Nice, Portage County Sheriff David Doak and Summit County Sheriff Steve Barry.
All 15 people indicted in federal court face a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin. Additional counts include distribution of heroin, maintaining houses as drug premises, possession of firearms during drug trafficking crimes, being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and related charges.
Those indicted in federal court are:
Rashid L. Carter, 29, of Akron; Andre G. White, 36, of Streetsboro; Laverne Eugene Fortson, 40, of Akron; Andre S. Brumley, 29, of Akron; Hershell D. Hill, 31, of Ravenna; Jasmine M.A. Sanders, 22, of Massillon; Chanda E. Wilson, 44, of Chicago; Shem S. White, 31, of Akron; Jessica L. Money, 37, of Akron; Austin Marshall, 31, of Stow; Algyn M. Kerney, 33, of Akron; Walter Collins III, 41, of Ravenna; Michelle L. Spencer, 32, of Akron; Marvin R. Sanders, 26, of Kent, and Keith E. Krause, 32, of Kent.
“Heroin abuse is an epidemic in our community that takes lives and destroys families,” Dettelbach said. “We will continue to target drug traffickers while also working to reduce demand and get treatment for those who need it.”
“These individuals collaborated to deliver poison to our streets and we collaborated to bring them to jail,” Anthony said. “This takedown is another outstanding example of what can be accomplished when local, state and federal agencies work together to protect our community.”
“This is an example of our working relationships with other law enforcement in the community to attack our most serious problem,” Nice said.
“It is important that we coordinate our efforts if we are to make a dent in this flood of heroin which these criminals are bringing into our counties,” Vigluicci said.
“ATF's mission is to identify, pursue, and perfect criminal cases against individuals who illegally possess and use firearms in furtherance of their criminal activities,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Michael Boxler. “We will continue to work with the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Akron Police Department’s Drug Unit, the Portage County Sheriff’s Office Drug Unit and others to ensure that those who foster violence in this region are held to account for their activities.”
“This operation is an example of the proactive/zero-tolerance approach we are taking in response to the heroin epidemic,” Barry said. “It is crucial to shut down the dealers and get the heroin off of our streets.”
According to the federal indictment:
The conspiracy took place from as early as September 2013 and continuing through July 2014. During that time, Andre G. White supplied heroin to Laverne Eugene Fortson and Rashid L. Carter. In turn, Fortson and Carter provided heroin to Andre T. Brumley for distribution in and around Akron and Ravenna.
Carter also purchased heroin from a supplier in the Chicago area for distribution in and around Akron. He and Fortson supplied heroin to several dealers in Akron, some of whom in turn distributed the drug to other dealers.
Carter, Jasmine M.A. Sanders and Chanda E. Wilson transported heroin from Chicago to Akron and drug proceeds back to Chicago from Ohio. Fortson and Algyn M. Kerney provided cash to facilitate these Chicago drug transactions.
Walter Collins, III, and others facilitated heroin transactions for Fortson by, among other things, acting as couriers.
White, Fortson, Carter and Brumley owned and rented properties that they used to store, process, and distribute heroin. Those properties were on Belden Avenue, Greenwood Avenue and Waterloo Road in Akron.
It was further part of the conspiracy that White, Fortson, Carter, Shem S. White and Hershell D. Hill possessed firearms to protect themselves and their drug proceeds.
Carter illegally possessed a Firestar, .45-caliber pistol, a Taurus, model 85, .38 special revolver and ammunition on June 6, 2014, despite previous convictions for possession of cocaine in Portage County and failure to comply with a police officer in Summit County.
Fortson illegally possessed a Harrington and Richardson 16-gauge shotgun and ammunition on June 18, 2014, despite a previous conviction for aggravated trafficking in Portage County.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Summit County Drug Unit, the Akron Police Department and the Portage County Drug Unit, with assistance from the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Portage County Prosecutor’s Office. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Toepfer and M. Kendra Klump.
An indictment in only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Concord Man Charged with Embezzling $215,000 from SchoolRead the Press Release
A criminal information was filed in U.S. District Court charging the former director of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Nursing Anesthesiology School with embezzling $215,760.07 from the school, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Paul Blakeley, age 58, of Concord Township, Ohio, is charged in the one-count information. The information alleges that from approximately January 2007 to approximately April 2013, the defendant issued approximately 110 checks drawn on accounts maintained by the school without authorization, and made them payable to his spouse, various merchants and credit card issuers.
In addition, with regard to approximately 50 of the unauthorized checks, the defendant forged the payee’s endorsement before depositing the checks into his personal bank account, according to the information.
As a result of the scheme, the school suffered losses totaling $215,760.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after consideration of the federal sentencing guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert W. Kern and Miranda Dugi following an investigation by the Cleveland Clinic Protective Operations and the United States Secret Service.
Atlanta-Area Woman Charged for Operating $4.8 Million Fraud That Involved Nearly 1,000 People from Northeast OhioRead the Press Release
An Atlanta-area woman was charged in a two-count criminal information for operating a $4.8 million fraud conspiracy involving nearly 1,000 people who resided in Northeast Ohio, said Steven M. Dettelbach and Kathy Enstrom, IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge.
Zinara M. Highsmith, 35, of Fayetteville, Georgia, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of wire fraud. She is accused of filing approximately 2,750 false tax returns containing false refund claims of more than $4.8 million.
Approximately 964 false claims were made on behalf of people living in Northeast Ohio, resulting in false claims of nearly $1.7 million, according to the information.
“This defendant took advantage of programs designed to give people a hand up and instead used them to make herself rich,” Dettelbach said.
“The American tax system is designed to provide vital government services to our people. It is not a slush fund for thieves and fraudsters,” Enstrom said. “IRS will vigorously pursue those who illegally target our nation’s tax dollars for personal financial gain.”
Highsmith formed the Atlanta-based tax-preparation business WE XL LLC in 2010. From March 2011 through July 2011, Highsmith partnered with a minister in Arkansas – identified in the charges only as Minister ADM – in a scheme to file false tax returns.
Minister ADM’s role in the scheme was to recruit and obtain personal identification information from claimants and to provide that information to Highsmith, who was responsible for the preparation of the false returns. Minister ADM did this in large part by inducing other ministers and church leaders in various states, including Ohio, to solicit members of their congregations to apply for benefits under the so-called government stimulus program, according to the information.
Some of the claimants were residents of Northeast Ohio who provided their personal identification information to a pastor in Canton, Ohio, and to a relative of the Canton pastor. They, in turn, forwarded the information to Minister ADM, according to the information.
As instructed by Minister ADM, the claimants were told they could receive their “stimulus” payment by direct deposit or on a debit card. ADM told pastors to request a $50 “donation” from each claimant, according to the information.
ADM, in turn, forwarded the claimants’ personal identification information to Highsmith to use in preparing false tax returns. Highsmith never had any contact with a claimant or any of the other pastors used by ADM to recruit or enlist claimants, according to the information.
Highsmith instructed associates how to prepare false income tax returns using Turbo Tax software, which they did by reporting false occupations and wage income, and by falsely claiming a variety of tax credits, including the AOC Education Credit, the Making Work Pay Credit and the Earned Income Credit, according to the information.
All of the returns requested that $125 be deposited into a bank account controlled by ADM and $275 be deposited into a bank account controlled by Highsmith, according to the information.
Based on the false claims, the IRS issued refunds totaling more than $3.9 million, with more than $500,000 from those refunds going to bank accounts controlled by Highsmith, according to the information.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Roberts following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after a review of the federal sentencing guidelines and factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Justice Department Files Statement of Interest in Ohio Voting Rights CaseRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Justice Department has submitted filings in voting rights cases in Wisconsin and Ohio. The department’s involvement in these two cases represents its latest steps to enforce the remaining parts of the Voting Rights Act against restrictive state laws, following up on the department’s lawsuits last year against similar measures in Texas and North Carolina.
In the Wisconsin case, the department filed an amicus brief in Frank v. Walker and LULAC v. Deininger, supporting an earlier ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin that struck down Wisconsin’s strict photo voter identification requirement due to its effects on minority voters under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act , and because it unduly burdens a substantial number of voters in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. In the Ohio case, the department filed a statement of interest in NAACP v. Husted, a challenge by a civil rights group to a state law curtailing early voting and same day registration. The department’s brief contests the state of Ohio’s incorrect interpretation of the standards set forth by Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
“These filings are necessary to confront the pernicious measures in Wisconsin and Ohio that would impose significant barriers to the most basic right of our democracy,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “These two states’ voting laws represent the latest, misguided attempts to fix a system that isn’t broken. These restrictive state laws threaten access to the ballot box. The Justice Department will never shrink from our responsibility to protect the voting rights of every eligible American. And we will keep using every available tool at our disposal to guard against all forms of discrimination, to prevent voter disenfranchisement, and to secure the rights of every citizen.”
In the amicus brief filed today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the department argues that the district court reached the correct decision by finding that Wisconsin’s voter ID law, known as Act 23, violated the Fourteenth Amendment, because it imposes unjustified burdens on a significant number of voters, and violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, because it has a discriminatory result on African-American and Hispanic voters. In addition to finding that Act 23 would result in minority voters having less opportunity to participate in the political process relative to other members of the electorate, the court found that the state’s claimed interests in combating voter fraud and promoting electoral confidence did not justify the significant burdens Act 23 imposes on substantial numbers of voters who lack a qualifying ID.In the statement of interest filed today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the department makes clear that Section 2 prohibits the state of Ohio from imposing any voting qualification, prerequisite to voting, or any standard, practice or procedure that would result in the denial or abridgement of the right to vote on account of a person’s race, color or membership in a language minority group. The filing also makes clear that in its own filings in the case the state of Ohio has incorrectly interpreted its requirements under Section 2. The department did not take a position on any of the other claims in the case.
“The United States Department of Justice today affirms its clear position that, under Wisconsin’s Act 23, minority voters have less opportunity to participate in the political process,” said James L. Santelle, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. “The amicus brief that we are filing not only supports the trial court’s findings but also reflects the department’s continuing focus on ensuring that the franchise remains fully available to all qualified voters.”
“Wisconsin's proud history is one of expanding the opportunity to vote,” said John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin. “I'm honored to file this brief with the United States Department of Justice seeking to ensure that this great Wisconsin tradition is reaffirmed, and that every Wisconsin citizen has an equal opportunity to participate in democracy.”
“This office remains committed to preserving the rights of every Ohio voter,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “Making sure that courts continue to carefully examine voting restrictions, such as the ones recently imposed in this state, is an important part of that effort.”
In the year since the Supreme Court struck down the coverage formula that determined which jurisdictions were subject to preclearance underthe Voting Rights Act in Shelby v. Holder, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act remains one of the department’s most powerful tools to protect voting rights. Last year the department used Section 2 to file two lawsuits against the state of Texas to stop the newly enacted discriminatory voter ID law and and to obtain a ruling that the state engaged in intentional discrimination in adopting its 2011 redistricting plans. In North Carolina, the department used Section 2 to sue to stop a number of provisions in an election law that imposes strict voter ID requirements, restricts early voting, eliminates same-day registration and refuses to count otherwise valid provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct. The suit alleges that the challenged law was motivated by a racially discriminatory purpose and will result in African-American voters having less opportunity than other citizens to participate in the political process. All three cases are ongoing.
Mentor Man Indicted for Selling Drugs Not Approved by the FDARead the Press Release
A Mentor man was indicted for marketing and selling at least $220,000 worth of suntan and/or erectile dysfunction drugs that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District.
Timothy J. Parr, 31, was indicted in federal court on one count to distributing misbranded drugs.
“These regulations are mandated to ensure drugs made available to the public are safe and have been properly tested,” Dettelbach said. “This defendant ignored those regulations in an effort to make money.”
“Today’s announcement demonstrates the continued commitment of FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations to aggressively pursue those who distribute unapproved and misbranded drugs,” said Special Agent in Charge Antoinette V. Henry of FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. “We will remain vigilant in our efforts to protect consumers from these potentially dangerous products.”
Parr formed U.S. Lab Research, Inc., and later, U.S. Lab Exports, Inc., which he operated from his home. The businesses existed to market and sell drugs over the Internet which had not been approved by the FDA, according to the indictment.
Parr, through U.S. Lab Research, Inc., and later, U.S. Lab Exports, Inc., sold injectable peptide drug products and injection aids to consumers over various web sites. These products included Melanotan I, Melanotan II and Bremalanotide, which were unapproved injectable drugs. Melanotan I and Melanotan II were marketed as producing the equivalent of a sun tan while Bremalanotide was known to cause erections in male subjects, according to the indictment.
From 2008 through December 2010, Parr sold approximately $220,000 in misbranded drugs, according to the indictment.
Parr, through his companies, marketed the drugs as “for research only” and “not for human use,” which he did to avoid FDA scrutiny.” He also labeled containers as “sun screen” to avoid scrutiny, according to the indictment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James V. Moroney following an investigation by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a review of the federal sentencing guidelines and factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Cleveland Man Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison for Robbing Euclid BankRead the Press Release
A Cleveland man was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison for robbing a bank in Euclid, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland FBI.
Shawn Caldwell, 22, was found guilty of one count of armed bank robbery and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison today.
Germain D. Davis, Jr., 20, Julian Anderson, 23, and Dejuan Brown, 24, all of Cleveland, have each been found guilty of crimes related to the robbery and are scheduled to be sentenced in August.
The four men aided and abetted one another in robbing a PNC Bank in Euclid, Ohio, on January 24, 2014. The robbers stole approximately $39,900 from the bank and carried and brandished firearms during the robbery.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys M. Kendra Klump and Michelle M. Baeppler following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Euclid Police Department.
Cleveland Man Indicted on Firearms ChargeRead the Press Release
A Cleveland man was indicted in federal court today for illegally having a firearm, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Malcolm L. Hoyle, 27, faces one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Hoyle possessed a .40-caliber pistol and ammunition on July 8, 2014, despite convictions in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas for involuntary manslaughter (2003), felonious assault (2005), two convictions for trafficking (both 2008) and attempted failure to comply (2009), according to the indictment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly L. Galvin following an investigation by the Cleveland Division of Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a review of the federal sentencing guidelines and factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Akron Pair Face Fentanyl, Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
A six-count indictment was filed in federal court today charging two people from Akron for their roles in distributing fentanyl, as well as firearms charges, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Willie Brantley, 28, and Kelsey Zastudil, 21, were both indicted on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of fentanyl, maintaining a drug premises, and prohibited persons being in possession of a firearm.
Brantley obtained fentanyl in May 2014 and distributed it with Zastudil’s permission from a location on Sweitzer Avenue in Akron, according to the indictment.
On May 28, Brantley and Zastudil were found to have a Cobra .38 special Derringer and ammunition, despite Brantley having been previously convicted of trafficking in cocaine and marijuana in Summit County Common Pleas Court, and Zastudil being under indictment in Summit County on charges of theft of drugs.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Teresa L. Riley following an investigation by the Akron Police Department Narcotics and Street Narcotics Uniformed Detail and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sheffield Village Man Sentence to Five Years in Prison for Child Pornography ConvictionRead the Press Release
William D. Emery, 28, of Sheffield Village, Ohio, was sentenced to five years in prison for , said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Cleveland office.
Emery pleaded guilty this year to one count of receiving, distributing and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Emery in 2012 knowingly received and distributed in interstate and foreign commerce, by computer, numerous computer files, which files contained visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael A. Sullivan. The case was investigated by the Elyria Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Ashland Woman Sentenced to 32 Years in Prison for Labor Trafficking and Relate Crimes Involving Disabled WomanRead the Press Release
An Ashland, Ohio, woman was sentenced to 32 years in prison for holding a woman with cognitive disabilities and her child against their will and forcing the woman to perform manual labor for them, said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cleveland office.
Jessica L. Hunt, 32, was sentenced to 32 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson. Jordie L. Callahan, 28, was sentenced to 30 years in prison by Judge Pearson earlier this week.
Hunt and Callahan convicted in March following a three-week trial on one count each of conspiracy to violate laws; forced labor and acquiring a controlled substance by deception.
“Labor trafficking cases are significant, and in this case the conduct was reprehensible," Dettelbach said. "People need to understand that exploiting vulnerable people for their own greed is going to lead them to a jail cell. We remain humbled by the strength and dignity of the victims in this case.”
“Today’s sentence is another individual served a dose of justice for subjecting two others to years of inhumane treatment,” Special Agent in Charge Anthony said.
Daniel J. Brown, 35, and Dezerah L. McGuire (formerly Silsby), 33, also of Ashland, both previously pleaded guilty to related crimes are serving sentences in federal prison. Brown was sentenced to five years in prison and McGuire was sentenced to nearly four years in prison.
Callahan and Hunt used a combination of violence, threats, sexual assaults, humiliation, deprivation and monitoring to establish and continue a pattern of domination and control over their victims, identified only as S.E. and B.E., according to the court documents and trial testimony.
Their tactics included beating S.E., threating to beat to S.E. and B.E., taunting and threatening the victims with pit bulls and snakes, causing the victims to sleep in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, restricting B.E. and S.E.’s access to the bathroom, preventing them from eating regular and suitable meals and forcing S.E. to eat dog food and crawl on the floor while wearing a dog collar, according to the court documents and trial testimony.
According to court documents and trail testimony:
Callahan pointed a firearm at S.E.’s head and threatened to kill her if she did not perform the labor and services he and other conspirators commanded. Callahan also forced S.E. on multiple occasions to engage in sex acts with him and threatened that he and Hunt would kill S.E. if she told anyone about the forced sexual acts.
The conspiracy between Callahan, Hunt, McGuire and Brown took place between August 2010 and October 2012. The object of the conspiracy included holding S.E. in a condition of forced labor and involuntary servitude and intentionally causing painful injuries to S.E. so they could use the narcotic pain medications she was prescribed to satisfy their personal drug cravings.
Callahan and Hunt recruited S.E. and B.E. to live with them in their two-bedroom apartment in Ashland, knowing that S.E. suffered a traumatic brain injury that left her with a cognitive disability and that S.E. and B.E. received monthly public assistance payments.
In August 2011, McGuire, at the direction of Callahan and Hunt, smashed S.E.’s hand with a rock with such force that S.E. needed to go to the hospital emergency room. Callahan, Hunt and McGuire then forced S.E. to give them the narcotic pain pills and prescription for narcotic pain pills she obtained after being treated at the emergency room.
In December 2011, Callahan and Hunt injured S.E.’s back with such force that she needed medical treatment. Again, Callahan and Hunt forced S.E. to give them the narcotic pain pills and prescription for narcotic pain pills she obtained after being treated.
In March 2012, Callahan kicked S.E. in the hip with such force that she needed medical treatment. Callahan and Hunt forced S.E. to give them the narcotic pain pills and prescription for narcotic pain pills she obtained after being treated.
On multiple occasions between August 2010 and October 2012, Callahan and Hunt threatened S.E. and B.E. with serious physical harm, including death, if S.E. did not clean up the apartment, care for their numerous pit bull dogs, snakes and other reptiles, purchase items at the store and perform other labor and services ordered by the conspirators.
Callahan and Hunt used a video camera to monitor S.E. and B.E.’s activities and conversations in the apartment. They often forced S.E. to walk to the store to buy groceries, cigarettes, dog food and other items for Callahan, Hunt and Hunt’s four sons and to pay for these purchases with her public assistance card. They allotted S.E. only a brief time period to complete the shopping and warned her she was not allowed to speak with anyone while she was out. They frequently required B.E. to remain with them at the apartment while S.E. was out and threatened physical harm to B.E. and S.E. if S.E. broke any of their rules.
Callahan and Hunt also threatened to contact Ashland County Job and Family Services and have B.E. taken away if S.E. purchased any items at the store other than those they ordered or if she told anyone about their unlawful conduct.
In June 2011, after S.E. and B.E. had attempted to flee the apartment, Callahan and Hunt ordered Brown and McGuire to find S.E. and B.E. and bring them back to the apartment. Brown and McGuire lured S.E. and B.E. into their vehicle by promising to take them to Dairy Queen, only to deposit them afterwards back at the apartment.
On multiple occasions, Callahan and Brown locked S.E. and B.E. in a room with a window that was nailed shut and a door that had been locked from the outside.
In October 2011, Callahan and Hunt forced S.E. to hit her child while they recorded a video, and threatened to inflict much greater physical harm on both S.E. and B.E. if S.E. did not comply.
One month later, Callahan and Hunt again forced S.E. to strike B.E. while they captured a video recording of the staged incident on Callahan’s cell phone. Callahan and Hunt repeatedly threatened have B.E. taken away by showing the videos to authorities in order to secure S.E.’s compliance to the conspirators’ commands.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chelsea Rice and Thomas E. Getz following an investigation by the FBI and Ashland Police Department, with assistance from the Ashland County Prosecutor’s Office.
Columbus Man Charged with Tax ViolationRead the Press Release
Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, today announced that a federal information has been filed charging David S. Owens aka D. Scott Owens, age 62, of Columbus, Ohio, with one count of failure to account for an pay over employment tax.
Between 2008 and 2009, Owens, through his Canfield, Ohio-based company, Advetech, Inc., made payroll tax withholdings from his employees’ paychecks, but failed to pay over those withholdings to the IRS in the approximate amount of $570,000, according to the information.
Rather, during this period, Owens transferred hundreds of thousands of Advetech, Inc. dollars to at least two other Canfield companies owned and operated by Owens, including Brixton Development Corporation and Preferred Communities, Inc., from where he took hundreds of thousands of dollars in income for himself, according to the information.
The information was filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christos N. Georgalis after an investigation by agents of the the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a review of factors unique to the case, including defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Ashland Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Labor Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
An Ashland, Ohio, man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for holding a woman with cognitive disabilities and her child against their will and forcing the woman to perform manual labor for them, said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cleveland office.
Jordie L. Callahan, 28, and Jessica L. Hunt, 33, were convicted in March following a three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Benita Y. Pearson. Callahan and Hunt were both convicted on one count each of conspiracy to violate laws; forced labor and acquiring a controlled substance by deception.
“Mr. Callahan, through his cruelty, sought to deprive the victims in this case of their dignity and their freedom,” U.S. Attorney Dettelbach said. “He failed in the former, and the victim’s strength ended up trumping his. As for the freedom part – now it is the defendant whose freedom will be taken, for a long time.”
“Hopefully this well-deserved lengthy sentence will provide a sense of justice that will assist the victims in their ongoing healing process,” Special Agent in Charge Anthony said.
Hunt is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Pearson on July 24.
Daniel J. Brown, 35, and Dezerah L. McGuire (formerly Silsby), 33, also of Ashland, both previously pleaded guilty to related crimes are serving sentences in federal prison. Brown was sentenced to five years in prison and McGuire was sentenced to nearly four years in prison.
Callahan and Hunt used a combination of violence, threats, sexual assaults, humiliation, deprivation and monitoring to establish and continue a pattern of domination and control over their victims, identified only as S.E. and B.E., according to the court documents and trial testimony.
Their tactics included beating S.E., threating to beat to S.E. and B.E., taunting and threatening the victims with pit bulls and snakes, causing the victims to sleep in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, restricting B.E. and S.E.’s access to the bathroom, preventing them from eating regular and suitable meals and forcing S.E. to eat dog food and crawl on the floor while wearing a dog collar, according to the court documents and trial testimony.
According to court documents and trail testimony:
Callahan pointed a firearm at S.E.’s head and threatened to kill her if she did not perform the labor and services he and other conspirators commanded. Callahan also forced S.E. on multiple occasions to engage in sex acts with him and threatened that he and Hunt would kill S.E. if she told anyone about the forced sexual acts.
The conspiracy between Callahan, Hunt, McGuire and Brown took place between August 2010 and October 2012. The object of the conspiracy included holding S.E. in a condition of forced labor and involuntary servitude and intentionally causing painful injuries to S.E. so they could use the narcotic pain medications she was prescribed to satisfy their personal drug cravings.
Callahan and Hunt recruited S.E. and B.E. to live with them in their two-bedroom apartment in Ashland, knowing that S.E. suffered a traumatic brain injury that left her with a cognitive disability and that S.E. and B.E. received monthly public assistance payments.
In August 2011, McGuire, at the direction of Callahan and Hunt, smashed S.E.’s hand with a rock with such force that S.E. needed to go to the hospital emergency room. Callahan, Hunt and McGuire then forced S.E. to give them the narcotic pain pills and prescription for narcotic pain pills she obtained after being treated at the emergency room.
In December 2011, Callahan and Hunt injured S.E.’s back with such force that she needed medical treatment. Again, Callahan and Hunt forced S.E. to give them the narcotic pain pills and prescription for narcotic pain pills she obtained after being treated.
In March 2012, Callahan kicked S.E. in the hip with such force that she needed medical treatment. Callahan and Hunt forced S.E. to give them the narcotic pain pills and prescription for narcotic pain pills she obtained after being treated.
On multiple occasions between August 2010 and October 2012, Callahan and Hunt threatened S.E. and B.E. with serious physical harm, including death, if S.E. did not clean up the apartment, care for their numerous pit bull dogs, snakes and other reptiles, purchase items at the store and perform other labor and services ordered by the conspirators.
Callahan and Hunt used a video camera to monitor S.E. and B.E.’s activities and conversations in the apartment. They often forced S.E. to walk to the store to buy groceries, cigarettes, dog food and other items for Callahan, Hunt and Hunt’s four sons and to pay for these purchases with her public assistance card. They allotted S.E. only a brief time period to complete the shopping and warned her she was not allowed to speak with anyone while she was out. They frequently required B.E. to remain with them at the apartment while S.E. was out and threatened physical harm to B.E. and S.E. if S.E. broke any of their rules.
Callahan and Hunt also threatened to contact Ashland County Job and Family Services and have B.E. taken away if S.E. purchased any items at the store other than those they ordered or if she told anyone about their unlawful conduct.
In June 2011, after S.E. and B.E. had attempted to flee the apartment, Callahan and Hunt ordered Brown and McGuire to find S.E. and B.E. and bring them back to the apartment. Brown and McGuire lured S.E. and B.E. into their vehicle by promising to take them to Dairy Queen, only to deposit them afterwards back at the apartment.
On multiple occasions, Callahan and Brown locked S.E. and B.E. in a room with a window that was nailed shut and a door that had been locked from the outside.
In October 2011, Callahan and Hunt forced S.E. to hit her child while they recorded a video, and threatened to inflict much greater physical harm on both S.E. and B.E. if S.E. did not comply.
One month later, Callahan and Hunt again forced S.E. to strike B.E. while they captured a video recording of the staged incident on Callahan’s cell phone. Callahan and Hunt repeatedly threatened have B.E. taken away by showing the videos to authorities in order to secure S.E.’s compliance to the conspirators’ commands.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chelsea Rice and Thomas E. Getz following an investigation by the FBI and Ashland Police Department, with assistance from the Ashland County Prosecutor’s Office.
Lorain Man Charged with Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Edward A. Dembiec, 53, of Lorain, Ohio, was charged with possession of child pornography, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The criminal information charges that from on or about October 1, 2008, through on or about May 5, 2013, in the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, and elsewhere, Dembiec, did knowingly possess an Apple iMac Desktop computer, an Acer Aspire Laptop computer, and numerous DVD/CD discs that contained child pornography, which had been shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce by any means, including by computer, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252A(a)(5)(B).
If convicted, the sentence in this case will be determined by the court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carol M. Skutnik. The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service.
An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Willoughby Hills Man Faces Tax ChargesRead the Press Release
A three-count criminal information was filed charging a Willoughby Hills man with filing false tax returns, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Alexander J. Cucu filed false tax returns in 2008, 2009 and 2010, underreporting his income by approximately $139,434, according to the information.
This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Roberts following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a review of the federal sentencing guidelines and factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record , the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.
An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Kentucky Man Indicted on Multiple Counts Related to Sexual Exploitation of A ChildRead the Press Release
A Kentucky man was indicted on multiple counts for activity related to taking a 13-year-old across state lines to engage in illicit sexual activity, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Cleveland office.
Shawn J. Bivens, 33, of Vanceburg, Kentucky, was charged with sexual exploitation of a child, transporting visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
The indictment charges that from on or about January 21, 2014, through on or about February 28, 2014, and again from on or about February 28, 2014, through on or about March 2, 2014, Bivens, used, persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced a minor -- that is, a 13 year-old girl -- to engage in sexually explicit conduct, for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct, and knowing and having reason to know that such visual depiction would be transported, using any means or facility of interstate and foreign commerce, and in and affecting interstate and foreign commerce.
The indictment also charges that from on or about February 28, 2014, through on or about March 2, 2014, Bivens knowingly traveled in interstate commerce, from Kentucky to Ohio, for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a 13-year-old girl.
From on or about February 28, 2014, through on or about March 2, 2014, Bivens knowingly transported, using any means of interstate and foreign commerce and in and affecting interstate and foreign commerce, numerous computer files, which files contained visual depictions of a real minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to the indictment.
From on or about May 3, 2014, through on or about May 8, 2014, Bivens knowingly transported an individual who had not attained the age of 18 years, that is a 13-year-old girl, in interstate commerce from the Ohio to Kentucky, with the intent that such 13-year-old girl engage in sexual activity for which Bivens could be charged with a criminal offense.
If convicted, the sentence in this case will be determined by the court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael A. Sullivan. The case was investigated by the Elyria Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lewis County, Kentucky, Sheriff’s Department.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Garfield Heights Man Faces Heroin and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
An eight-count indictment was filed today charging a Garfield Heights man with distributing heroin and illegally possessing a firearm, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Deion Thompson, 27, also known as Sino Grams, was indicted on six counts of distribution of heroin, one count of possession of heroin with intent to distribute and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
“This defendant sold heroin on our streets and had a gun despite being prohibited from having one,” Dettelbach said. “We will continue to work to reduce the supply of drugs in our neighborhoods while working with other partners to reduce demand.”
Thompson made multiple sales of heroin in June and July. On July 7, he possessed 66 grams of heroin and a 9 mm Browning pistol, despite prior convictions in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, including drug trafficking offenses with a schoolyard specification, having weapons under disability and failure to comply with a police order, according to the indictment.
This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry F. DeBaggis following an investigation by the Southeast Law Enforcement Task Force, a collaboration of police departments including Bedford, Bedford Heights, Garfield Heights, Maple Heights, Solon, Oakwood and Walton Hills.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a review of the federal sentencing guidelines and factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record , the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
Mayfield Heights Man Faces Additional Charges of Tax Violations at Daycare Centers He OperatedRead the Press Release
New tax charges were filed against a Mayfield Heights man who earlier this year pleaded guilty to his role in defrauding a Cleveland Heights charter school out of more than $400,000, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Kathy Enstrom Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.
Joel B. Friedman, 66, is accused of withholding more than $293,000 in payroll taxes from employees at four daycare centers Friedman operated. But he kept the money for himself instead of paying it over to the IRS, according to a supplemental criminal information.
Friedman operated four daycare centers – A Child’s View, Bass Lake Child Care of Kirtland, Bass Lake Child Care of Chardon (also known as Barney Enterprises) and Bass Lake Child Care of Mentor (also known as Bryce Road Enterprises).
In that position, he was responsible for the daycare centers’ business and financial operations, including payroll and employment tax operations.
Between 2008 and 2011, Friedman deliberately failed to pay over to the IRS approximately $293,248 in taxes that were withheld from employees, according to the criminal information.
Friedman pleaded guilty earlier this year to five counts of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering for activities that took place at Greater Heights Academy, a charter school in Cleveland Heights.
Friedman served as chairman of the school and was part of a group that conspired to submit and approve more than $400,000 worth of fraudulent invoices, with a portion of the payments then being returned to Friedman, according to court documents.
“Not only did Friedman violate the trust of taxpayers and the students of Greater Heights Academy, he violated the trust of his employees by failing to pay over their withheld payroll taxes,” Enstrom said. “The failure to pay over withheld taxes is a serious offense. IRS Criminal Investigation vigorously pursues anyone who collects taxes and fails to timely remit those taxes.”
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. Patton. The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Toledo Man Charged with Possession of A Firearm Despite A Felony ConvictionRead the Press Release
An indictment was filed charging Travis Devon Nettles, age 25, of Toledo, with with possessing a firearm despite a previous felony conviction, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, and the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The investigating agencies in this case are the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Toledo, Ohio, and the Toledo Police Department. The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Noah P. Hood.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Strongsville Real Estate Agent Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Mortgage Fraud Involving Medina PropertiesRead the Press Release
A Strongsville real estate agent was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for his role in a $3.3 million mortgage fraud scheme involving six properties in Medina, Ohio, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Thomas G. France, 44, was sentenced to 125 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $3 million in restitution. He was previously found guilty of conspiracy and bank fraud.
Joseph Beccia, age 63, of Richfield, was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay more than $3 million in restitution.
Alex Blackmore, age 50, of Bronx, New York, was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay $1.1 million in restitution.
Beccia and his company, Horizon Construction, built six luxury properties in Medina in 2006 and 2007. Although some of the properties were not fully completed, Beccia listed five of the six properties for sale at purchase prices that were equal to the true market value of each property.
Beccia incurred the cost of the construction of these homes without having known purchasers for these properties. Beccia was not able to sell these properties for an extended period of time and began to experience financial difficulties. Joseph Jones, an individual previously convicted in another mortgage fraud scheme, met Beccia through France, a real estate agent working in the area. France advised Beccia that Jones had a system by which Jones could sell these properties so that Beccia could pay off his debts on the properties, according to court documents.
Jones and France explained to Beccia that Jones had individuals willing to have properties purchased in their names. Jones and France also advised Beccia that in order to make Jones’ system work, the properties would need to be removed from the market and re-listed at significantly higher purchase prices. Finally, Jones and France advised Beccia that they would handle the interactions with the loan officers and securing the mortgage loans. All Beccia had to do was participate in the sale of the properties at the significantly inflated purchase prices and sign off on the loan documents as the seller, which Beccia agreed to do, according to the court documents.
Beccia advised Jones and France the amount of money he required from the sale of each the properties in order for him to repay the amounts he had borrowed to construct the homes. Then, Jones determined the additional amount of money he wanted to receive over and above the amount of money required to be distributed to Beccia after the sale of each property. Beccia and France prepared new purchase agreements for each of the six properties with the inflated purchase price necessary to satisfy the amounts of money required, according to the indictment.
France re-listed five of the six Medina properties for sale at the inflated purchase prices determined by Beccia as follows: 2940 Sutton Lane from $599,000 to $950,000; 4281 Fox Glen Drive from $395,000 to $647,000; 4320 Perian Court from $399,000 to $650,000; 3006 Sutton Lane from $529,500 to $920,000; and 4740 Lake Forest Trial from $925,000 to $1.4 million, according to court documents.
Each of the properties for which defendants secured a mortgage loan went into foreclosure, resulting in a total loss of approximately $3.3 million, according to court documents.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark S. Bennett, following an investigation by the Cleveland Offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the United States Secret Service.
Brothers from Brook Park Each Sentenced to 4 1/2 Years in Prison for Food Stamp FraudRead the Press Release
Two Brook Park men were sentenced to more than four years in prison for defrauding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the Food Stamp Program) from four Cleveland stores where they accepted food stamps for ineligible items such as beer and cigarettes, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Brothers Saed (Sam) Wahdan, 42, and Maher (Mario) Wahdan, 43, were each sentenced to 54 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution. They pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud, one count of food stamp fraud and two counts of unlawful redemption of food stamps. Maher Wahdan also pleaded guilty to an additional count of theft of public funds.
“These defendants used a program designed to help hungry people to instead line their pockets,” Dettelbach said. “We will continue to work eradicate waste, fraud and abuse of government programs.”
Nidal Jaber, 46, also of Brook Park, was sentenced to 10 months of home confinement for his role in the conspiracy.
Between January 2008 and March 2012, the Wahdans and others conspired to commit food-stamp fraud through four of their businesses: One Stop Beverage, 5105 Franklin Blvd.; Bridge Deli and Beverage, 4700 Bridge Ave.; Franklin Beverage and Deli, 4719 Franklin Blvd., and Scott Food Mart, 951 Linn Drive, according to court documents.
The Wahdans owned and operated all four stores but put them in the names of other people to conceal the fact that Saed Wahdan had a prior conviction for food stamp trafficking and Maher Wahdan had a prior conviction for impersonating an officer – both of which precluded their participation in the food stamp program, according to court documents.
The defendants used their businesses to exchange customer food stamps for cash and other unauthorized items, including beer and cigarettes. They also purchased food stamp cards from customers and used them at other grocery locations to purchase inventory for their stores and for their personal use, according to court documents.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christos N. Georgalis, Vasile Katsaros and James Morford following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General-Investigations and Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.
Youngstown Man Indicted for Having Firearm Despite Felony ConvictionsRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging Marvin T. Howard, age 28, of Youngstown, Ohio, with being a felon in possession of a firearm, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment alleges that on or about May 17, 2014, Howard possessed a Glock, model 19, 9mm pistol, after having been convicted of robbery, in the Circuit Court of Lee County, Alabama, and of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Youngstown Police Department. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David M. Toepfer.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
South Euclid Woman Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Identitiy Theft and FraudRead the Press Release
A South Euclid woman was sentenced to 14 years in prison for her role in a variety of schemes that resulted in a loss of more than $73,000, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Angelique Bankston, 42, was also ordered to pay $73,554 in restitution. She was convicted last year on 23 counts, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering, aggravated identity theft and related charges.
Jocelyn Hale, 32, of Cleveland, previously pleaded guilty to her role in the conspiracies and is currently serving a 45-month prison sentence.
Bankston and Hale, using identities of several individuals without their authority, defrauded Citizens Bank, Lending Club Corporation, and Wells Fargo Bank.
Bankston and Hale funded a Wells Fargo Bank account with counterfeit funds totaling $13,027.22. They also funded a second Wells Fargo Bank account with illegally obtained funds, according to court documents.
Bankston also defrauded the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) and Dollar Bank. She funded a Dollar Bank account with illegally obtained funds totaling $27,460. Bankston defrauded ODJFS by causing the United States Postal Service to hold mail for several individuals, without their authority. Bankston then stole U.S. Bank ReliaCards issued by ODFJS in the amount of $2,800 in the names of those individuals, according to court documents.
“This defendant stole from banks, private citizens and the government,” Dettelbach said.
“Investigating identity theft and money laundering is a priority for Criminal Investigation,” said Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Cincinnati Field Office. “Stealing identities is a serious crime that hurts innocent taxpayers. Be assured that IRS Criminal Investigation, together with our partners and the U.S. Attorney's Office, will hold those who engage in similar behavior fully accountable."
Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland office, said: “This individual lined her greedy pockets by taking advantage of others via numerous schemes and is being held accountable for her illegal actions.”
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark S. Bennett, following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and United States Postal Service, Cleveland.
Mentor Business Owner Indicted for Defrauding Investors Out of More Than $1 MillionRead the Press Release
A 17-count indictment was filed charging a Mentor man who owned and operated several granite businesses with defrauding investors out of more than $1 million, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Cincinnati Field Office.
Carmen Occhipinti, 66, was arrested today. He was indicted on four counts of wire fraud, seven counts of bank fraud, one count of witness tampering, three counts of tax evasion and two counts of money laundering.
“This defendant purported to sell granite, but he really built a financial house of cards by stealing more than $1 million from others,” Dettelbach said. "His victims were real people, some of whom were forced into bankruptcy. We're committed to pursuing justice on their behalf."
“The IRS enforces the nation’s tax laws, but also takes particular interest in cases where someone, for their own personal benefit, has taken what belonged to others,” Enstrom said. “Individuals who create elaborate schemes that have no purpose other than to deceive friends, church parishioners, business associates and defraud the IRS run the very high risk of prosecution.”
Occhipinti maintained offices in Mentor and Woodmere. He operated several companies, including Marble Tiles of Italy, Marble and Tile Company of Italy, Brunello Marble & Granite, Carrara Bricks & Blocks Company, Granite and Tile Imports, Bella Cucina Granite and Portofino Marble Tile, according to the indictment.
From 2006 through April 2014, Occhipinti defrauded investors by inducing them to invest in his granite businesses through false and fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions of material facts about the nature and dispositions of the investments. Occhipinti misled investors to believe that their funds would be used to purchase materials for jobs, when, in fact, he used the investments to enrich himself, to pay off certain earlier investors at his discretion and to pay his personal expenses such as those incurred and Peak and Peak Resort, Mountaineer Casino and Lee Jewelers, according to the indictment.
During the course of the scheme, Occhipinti misused investor money, while continuing to solicit new investors and to lead the investors to believe a return on their investments was forthcoming. Although some investors received a fractional return of their investments, the defrauded investors incurred a combined out-of-pocket loss of more than $1 million, according to the indictment.
Because of Occhipinti’s fraudulent scheme, several investors were required to declare bankruptcy, according to the indictment.
Occhipinti used religious organizations, business relationships, social organizations and other means to establish trust and find prospective investors. He claimed his companies imported materials from Italy, Brazil and Canada when in truth his companies did not import materials, according to the indictment.
The indictment was presented by AUSA Christos N. Georgalis after an investigation by agents of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations and inspectors with the United States Postal Service.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
South Euclid Woman Indicted for Fraud, Identity TheftRead the Press Release
A 33-count indictment was filed today charging a South Euclid woman with aggravated identity theft, wire fraud and bank fraud related to a $70,000 scheme, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Cincinnati Field Office.
Keauna Smith, 28, is accused of stealing the identities of 16 people between 2012 and 2104. She used these stolen identities to file 18 false tax claims of approximately $44,306. She had the money loaded onto prepaid debit cards and then withdrew the money at various ATMs, according to the indictment.
Smith also illegally obtained approximately $26,300 this year by taking checks from her employer, made them payable to herself and then forged the owner’s signature on the checks, according to the indictment.
“This defendant is accused of stealing from private citizens, the federal government and her employer,” Dettelbach said. “Her free ride of theft ends now.”“Investigating refund fraud and identity theft is a priority for Criminal Investigation,” Enstrom said. “Stealing identities and filing false returns is a serious crime that hurts innocent taxpayers. IRS Criminal Investigation is serious about investigating these crimes and holding accountable those who would defraud the government.”
Smith faces 16 counts of wire fraud, 16 counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of bank fraud.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James V. Moroney following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations.If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after a review of the federal sentencing guidelines and factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Niles Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Having Firearms, Ammunition and Body Armor Despite FelonyRead the Press Release
A Niles man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of firearms, ammuntion and body armor, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Michael L. Green, Jr., age 34, pleaded guilty to a two-count indictment earlier this year.
On October 28, 2013, Green possessed a MAADI, model RML, 7.62” x 39” rifle; a Ruger, model SR40, .40 caliber pistol; 97 rounds of 7.62” x 39” ammunition; and 16 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition, after he had previously been convicted of failure to comply with order or signal of a police officer, burglary and assault on a peace officer, in the Trumbull County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas.
Additionally, Green was in possession of body armor on October 28, 2013, despite having previously been convicted of a violent felony.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Warren Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David M. Toepfer.
Cleveland Man Indicted for Robbing Streetsboro BankRead the Press Release
A grand jury returned an indictment charging Ronnell A. Allen, of Cleveland, age 32, with one count of bank robbery, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment alleges that Allen, along with his accomplice, Eddie Fletcher, robbed the First Merit Bank of Streetsboro, Ohio, on January 10, 2013. It further alleges that the two men used force, violence, and intimidation to steal approximately $2,083.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Kendra Klump following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Streetsboro Police Department.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Bank to Pay $200 Million to Resolve Alleged FHA Mortgage Lending ViolationsRead the Press Release
U.S. Bank has agreed to pay the United States $200 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that did not meet applicable requirements, the Justice Department announced today.
“By misusing government programs designed to maintain and expand homeownership, U.S. Bank not only wasted taxpayer funds, but inflicted harm on homeowners and the housing market that lasts to this day,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery. “As this settlement shows, we will continue to hold accountable financial institutions that violate the law by pursuing their own financial interests at the expense of hardworking Americans.”
“U.S. Bank ignored certain lending requirements causing substantial losses to taxpayers,” said United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Steven M. Dettelbach. “This settlement demonstrates that the Department of Justice will not permit lenders to play fast and loose with the rules and stick the American people with their significant tab.”
“U.S. Bank’s lax mortgage underwriting practices contributed to home foreclosures across the country,” said United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade. “This settlement recovers funds for taxpayers and demonstrates that lenders will be held accountable for engaging in irresponsible lending practices.”
During the time period covered by the settlement, U.S. Bank participated as a direct endorsement lender (DEL) in the FHA insurance program. A DEL has the authority to originate, underwrite, and certify mortgages for FHA insurance. If a loan certified for FHA insurance later defaults, the holder of the loan may submit an insurance claim to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), FHA’s parent agency, for the losses resulting from the defaulted loan. Because FHA does not review a loan before it is endorsed for FHA insurance, FHA requires a DEL to follow program rules designed to ensure that the DEL is properly underwriting and submitting mortgages for FHA insurance.
As part of the settlement, U.S. Bank admitted that, from 2006 through 2011, it repeatedly certified for FHA insurance mortgage loans that did not meet HUD underwriting requirements. U.S. Bank also admitted that its quality control program did not meet FHA requirements, and as a result, it failed to identify deficiencies in many of the loans it had certified for FHA insurance, failed to self-report many deficient loans to HUD, and failed to take the corrective action required under the program. U.S. Bank further acknowledged that its conduct caused FHA to insure thousands of loans that were not eligible for insurance and that the FHA suffered substantial losses when it later paid insurance claims on those loans.
“This substantial recovery on behalf of the Federal Housing Administration should serve as a vivid reminder of the potential consequences of not following HUD program rules, and the diligence with which we will pursue those that violate them, particularly where lenders such as U.S. Bank take actions to compromise the insurance fund,” said David A. Montoya, Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“We are gratified that U.S. Bank has agreed to put this matter behind it, and we want to thank the Department of Justice and HUD’s Office of Inspector General for all of their efforts in helping us make this settlement a reality,” said Damon Smith, Acting General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “This settlement underscores our consistent message that following Federal Housing Administration rules for underwriting FHA-insured loans is a requirement, not an option.”
The agreement resolves potential violations of federal law based on U.S. Bank’s deficient origination of FHA insured mortgages. The agreement does not prevent state and federal authorities from pursuing enforcement actions for other origination conduct by U.S. Bank, or for any servicing or foreclosure conduct, including civil enforcement actions against U.S. Bank for violations of the CFPB’s new mortgage servicing rules that took effect on Jan. 10, 2014.
U.S. Bank is a banking services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, a bank holding company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.The settlement was the result of a joint investigation conducted by HUD, its Office of Inspector General, the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, and the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Ohio and the Eastern District of Michigan.
The settlement is part of enforcement efforts by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information about the task force, visit: www.stopfraud.gov.
Calcutta Man Indicted for Robbing East Liverpool BankRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging Brian Keith Johnston, age 41, of Calcutta, Ohio, with bank robbery, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment charges that on or about May 29, 2014, Johnston robbed the Home Savings and Loan Company in East Liverpool, Ohio, of approximately $1,756.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the East Liverpool Police Department, and the St. Clair Township Police Department. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David M. Toepfer.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Thirty-One People Indicted for Role in Conspiracy That Brought Heroin to Northeast OhioRead the Press Release
Thirty-one people were indicted in federal court for their roles in a conspiracy that brought heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine to Northeast Ohio from Chicago and south Texas and then distributed the drugs from homes on the east side of Cleveland, law enforcement officials announced.
Filing of the 107-count indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Steven M. Dettelbach, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony, Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams, Cuyahoga County Sheriff Frank Bova, Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.
According to the indictment:
The ring operated from at least 2010 through this month. The group obtained multiple-kilogram shipments of drugs from suppliers in Chicago and McAllen, Texas, as well as Cleveland and Toledo.
The ring utilized several homes and locations in Cleveland to store and distribute the heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine, including 3991 Superior Ave., 1481 East 71st Street, 1162 East 58th Street and 7610 Linwood Ave.
Leaders of the conspiracy, including Mark Makupson, Harry R. Hubbard and Harvest White, then used the proceeds of their drug dealing to purchase buildings or residences in Cleveland, including 1687 East 70th Street, 1075 East 74th Street and 3800 Lakeside Ave., Suite 201.
Investigators seized more than seven kilograms of heroin, one kilogram of cocaine and 10 firearms.
“Northeast Ohio, like many parts of the country, has been hit hard by the heroin epidemic,” U.S. Attorney Dettelbach said. “We continue to work together on a comprehensive solution that includes prevention, treatment and enforcement. Today’s indictment demonstrates that law enforcement in this region continues to stand united in going after the organizations that profit from this poison that ruins lives and destroys families.”
Special Agent in Charge Anthony said: “Enforcement is a key strategy in reducing both the supply and demand of heroin in Northeast Ohio. The law enforcement community is committed to working together to prosecute those responsible for fueling Ohio’s heroin epidemic.”
“The Cleveland Division of Police, along with its local and federal law enforcement partners, pledges to continue its ongoing battle against the heroin epidemic and drug trafficking in this area,” Chief Williams said.
“All our law enforcement partners will continue to bring the fight to the heroin epidemic from all angles,” Sheriff Bova said.
“The laundering of illegal drug profits is as important and essential to drug traffickers as the very distribution of their illegal drugs,” said Special Agent in Charge Enstrom. “IRS Criminal Investigation is committed with taking the profit away from drug traffickers and together with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, we will hold those who engage in drug trafficking accountable.”
“Drug dealers peddle death and addiction, and we can’t afford their destruction in Northeast Ohio or anywhere else in our state,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. “The heroin epidemic is complex and will take continued law enforcement coordination at every level, as well as community education and treatment efforts.”
Makupson, Hubbard, White, and Reuben Bell pooled their money travelled to Chicago to obtain large amounts of heroin from Gardner Witt. Other times they obtained heroin from Dammarkro Nolan, who got it from Witt. Then Makupson, Hubbard, White and Bell distributed the heroin to nearly 20 other dealers in Cleveland, according to the indictment
Prosecutors are also seeking to forfeit nearly $750,000 in cash and three automobiles seized in this investigation, including a 2003 Hummer H2, a 2007 Mercedes Benz G500 and a 1967 Pontiac Bonneville customized convertible.
The indictment lists scores of narcotics transactions that took place.
Indicted in Count 1, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, are: Mark A. Makupson, 33, of Cleveland; Darvinna Shaver, 35, of Cleveland; Harry R. Hubbard, 29, of Cleveland; Harvest White, 29, of Euclid; James Terrell McClain, 32, of Cleveland; Jermaine Moorer, 36, of Cleveland; Michael Shephard, 35, of Cleveland; Brian Singleton, 34, of Cleveland; Dammarkro Sherron Nolan, Sr., 39, of Cleveland; Melissa White, 26, of Cleveland Heights; Monique Tisdel, 35, of South Euclid; Anthony Hodges, 31, of Cleveland; Rueben Tyrone Bell, 27, of Cleveland; Tatiana Squair, 25, of Tinley Park, IL; Dionna Smith, 31, of Maple Grove, MN; Lonnie Gwin, 37, of Defiance; Donique Williams, 23, of Cleveland; Gardner Witt, 43, of Chicago, IL; Angel Manuel Fuentes Delgado, 32, of Cleveland; Rudius A. Brown, 30, of Euclid; Gerardo Rodriguez, 27, of Cleveland; Ishmael Wahid, 41, of Akron; James M. Griffin, 34, of Chicago, IL; Ricole Braxton, 32, of Cleveland; Carmelita Seay, 31, of Cleveland; Michelle Williams, 53, of Cleveland; Tony Goodwin, 26, of East Cleveland; Ariyen Flakes, 28, of Cleveland, and Milton Bridges, 26, of Cleveland.
Nicole Lewis, 37, of Cleveland, and Latoya Johnson, 30, of Cleveland, are indicted for conspiracy to launder money, as are Makupson, Shaver, White, Bell, Squair, and Witt. These defendants hid the profits from the drug conspiracy through a series of financial transactions, such as using cash from drug deals to purchase real estate and automobiles, according to the indictment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Vasile Katsaros and Christian M. Stickan and Margaret Tomaro, a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney who works for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.The case was investigated by the Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force. The task force is a longstanding multi-agency group comprised of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cleveland Division of Police, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority Police, Cleveland Heights Police, Drug Enforcement Administration, Euclid Police, Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Regional Transit Authority Police, Shaker Heights Police and Westlake Police. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office also assisted with the case.
The NOLETF is also one of the initial Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiatives. HIDTA supports and helps coordinate numerous Ohio drug task forces in their efforts to eliminate or reduce drug trafficking in Ohio.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Justice Department Settles with Omnicare, Inc. for $124 Million to Resolve False Claims AllegationsRead the Press Release
Omnicare, Inc., the nation’s largest provider of pharmaceuticals and pharmacy services to nursing homes, has agreed to pay $124.24 million for allegedly offering improper financial incentives to skilled nursing facilities in return for their continued selection of Omnicare to supply drugs to elderly Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, the Justice Department announced today. Omnicare is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“We will not tolerate health care providers who use illegal discounts to get business from nursing homes,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery. “Schemes such as this one undermine the health care system and take advantage of elderly nursing home residents.”
“Omnicare provided improper discounts in return for the opportunity to provide medication to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “Nursing homes should select their pharmacy provider based on the best quality, service and cost to the residents, not based on improper discounts to the nursing facility.”
The settlement resolves allegations that Omnicare submitted false claims by entering into below-cost contracts to supply prescription medication and other pharmaceutical drugs to skilled nursing facilities and their resident patients to induce the facilities to select Omnicare as their pharmacy provider. The facilities were participating providers under agreements with Medicare and Medicaid. In addition to the facilities’ own claims for reimbursement from Medicare for short-term rehabilitation treatment rendered to patients, Omnicare submitted additional claims for reimbursement to Medicare and Medicaid for drugs Omnicare supplied. Of the $124.24 million to be paid by Omnicare, $8.24 million will go to various states which jointly funded the Medicaid programs impacted by Omnicare’s conduct.
The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid and other federally funded programs. The Anti-Kickback Statute is intended to ensure that the selection of health care providers and suppliers is not compromised by improper financial incentives and is instead based on the best interests of the patient.
The settlement resolves allegations brought in two lawsuits filed by whistleblowers under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to bring suit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. The first whistleblower, Donald Gale, a former Omnicare employee, will receive $17.24 million.
The settlement with Omnicare was the result of a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
The government’s settlement of these allegations illustrates its emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $19.9 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $13.9 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Youngstown Men Face Federal Firearms ChargeRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging Clifford Cross, age 23, and Khaleb Bonner, age 24, both of Youngstown, Ohio, with being felons in possession of a firearm and ammunition, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment charges that on or about May 4, 2014, Cross and Bonner were in possession of a Sig Sauer, model P228, 9mm pistol and ammunition. Cross had been previously convicted of possession of cocaine in the Mahoning County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas. Bonner had been previously convicted of trafficking cocaine in the Trumbull County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Youngstown Police Department. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David M. Toepfer.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
South Euclid Attorney Ordered to Pay $523,000 in Restitution, Placed on Home ConfinementRead the Press Release
A South Euclid attorney was ordered to pay $523,253 in restitution and was sentenced to six months of home confinement for failing to report and pay employment taxes, said United States Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach and Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS' Cincinnati Field Office.
Ronald L. Rosenfield, 70, pleaded guity to a criminal information earlier this year.
“The IRS Criminal Investigation Division takes these violations of law very seriously,” Enstrom said. "Employment tax fraud can also impact employees, who may see future benefits such as social security, Medicare and Unemployment Compensation reduced or eliminated because of their employers not complying with the law.”
The unpaid taxes consisted of income taxes and FICA taxes withheld from the wages paid by his law firm, Ronald Rosenfield Co., L.P.A., including his own wages, for the eighteen consecutive calendar quarters from December 2006 through March 2011, according to the information. The information also alleged that Rosenfield failed to report and pay an unspecified amount of additional employment taxes for all of the prior quarters dating back to June 2001.
At all relevant times, Rosenfield retained a national payroll firm, which prepared the law firm’s required employment tax returns for him to file with the Internal Revenue Service. Rosenfield, however, did not file any of those returns and made no payments of the taxes reported on those returns, according to the information. Moreover, the information alleged that Rosenfield claimed credits on his personal income tax returns for his unpaid income tax withholdings.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin J. Roberts, following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Independence, Ohio.
Fairview Park Man and Cleveland Company Indicted for Making Illegal Discharges into Sewer SystemRead the Press Release
An indictment was filed in federal court charging Thomas E. White, 49, of Fairview Park, and Kelly Plating Company with making illegal discharges with high concentrations of metals such as chrome and zinc into the sewer system, which in turn, after treatment, discharges to Lake Erie, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The Kelly Plating Company is a metal plating operation located in Cleveland. White was an employee at Kelly Plating and responsible for operating the equipment which reduced the amount of pollutants discharged into the sewer system to an acceptable level, according to the indictment.
Starting around January 28, 2012, White changed the way wastewater at the Kelly Plating facility was processed. During the weekdays, White ensured that the pollution control equipment was operated properly, according to the indictment.
However, on the weekends White bypassed the pollution control equipment and discharged partially treated wastewater and sludge directly into the sewer system. These discharges contained high concentrations of chrome and zinc. This practice ended on May 19, 2012, according to the indictment.
“Our greatest resource in Ohio is our clean water,” Dettelbach said. “We will aggressively investigate and prosecute cases in which people pollute Ohio’s streams, rivers and lakes.”
“Ohio EPA will not tolerate those who blatantly disregard the law, and don’t show consideration for the health of others or the environment,” Ohio EPA Director Craig W. Butler said. “We will continue to work with our partners at the local, state and federal level to be sure responsible parties are held accountable for their actions. Ohio EPA’s Office of Special Investigations worked hard to put an end to these illegal sewer system discharges, and I commend their efforts.”
“Our nation’s environmental laws are designed to protect human health and safety from those trying to cut costs illegally,” said Randall K. Ashe, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Ohio. "The metals used in this case were especially harmful, requiring proper handling and disposal. Today’s indictment by a federal grand jury demonstrates how serious these offenses are and shows that EPA will take action to protect communities from pollution.”
“Whether it’s into sewers or directly into waterways, illegal dumping is always a threat to Ohioans,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. “My office is committed to investigating and prosecuting the intentional dumping of chemicals and the attempts to cover up those actions.”
“It was through the continuous water quality monitoring of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District that it identified rising levels of pollution at its Westerly Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Sewer District then took action and identified the source,” said Julius Ciaccia, NEORSD Executive Director. “The Sewer District worked with the US EPA, the Ohio EPA and the Ohio BCI to determine the extent of the wrongdoing by Kelly Plating. The Sewer District has made significant investments to improve water quality in our region, and will not tolerate actions that jeopardize that investment.”
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Beeson following an investigation by the Ohio EPA, U.S. EPA, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.
The statutory maximum for violating the Clean Water Act for individuals is three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $50,000 per day of violation or $250,000, whichever is larger. For corporations the maximum penalty for violating the Clean Water Act is five years of probation and a fine of $50,000 per day of violation or $500,000, whichever is larger.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offenses and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentences will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases they will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Antun Lewis Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Setting Cleveland's Deadliest House FireRead the Press Release
A Cleveland man was sentenced to 35 years in prison for setting the May 2005 fire that killed nine people, said United States Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach.
Antun Lewis, 30, of Cleveland, was convicted by a jury in December on one count of arson in U.S. District Court in Cleveland.
“This defendant is responsible for taking nine innocent lives. A coward in the night, he also stole the hopes and dreams of these families, who will never get to experience high school graduations, weddings, or the other things they had a right to enjoy. Nothing can ever erase the pain this defendant caused, and our hearts go to them all. Their grace and dignity in the face of this tragedy is humbling.”
“This sentence brings some closure to a horrific and senseless crime,” said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Michael Boxler. “It is my hope that this sentencing will bring some comfort to the families of the victims. I also want to compliment the United States Attorney’s Office for their leadership in the prosecution of this difficult case, and I want to thank the Cleveland Fire Department, the Cleveland Division of Police, the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the ATF personnel who worked jointly to perfect this investigation.”
The arson at 1220 East 87th Street on May 21, 2005, killed eight children and one adult, making it the deadliest intentionally set fire in Cleveland’s history. It occurred during a children’s sleepover birthday party, according to trial testimony.
Killed were: Fakih Jones, age 7; Malee’ya Williams, age 12; Shauntavia Mitchell, age 12; Earnest Tate, Jr., age 13; Miles Golden Cockfield, age 13; Antwon Jackson, Jr., age 14; Moses Williams Jr., age 14; Devonte Carter, age 15, and Medeia Carter, 33.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Sierleja, Robert F. Corts and Michael L. Collyer following an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Cleveland Police Department and Cleveland Fire Department.
U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach Addressed the Akron Roundtable About Heroin and OpioidsRead the Press Release
Remarks as prepared by U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach to the Akron Roundtable about our community's response to Ohio's heroin and opioid epidemic:
It happens every day in the United States, and every day right here in Akron.
You go in for a minor operation, or medical procedure, or to have a tooth pulled, and everything goes smoothly.
When you’re about to leave, the doctor pulls out his or her prescription pad to give you something for the pain.
Maybe you’re in a lot of pain. Maybe you’re in a little discomfort. Maybe you feel pretty close to fine, but the doctor gives you a script just in case.
Maybe it’s for 20 pills of Percocet. Maybe it’s 40. Maybe it’s 60.
When you get home, you take two pills on the first day. And the next day, you’re feeling better but still have some pain, and you take two more. And the next day, you take one pill, and then it’s time to go back to work and you are pretty much back to normal.
But you still have 55 Percocet sitting in your medicine cabinet. There they sit for a week, a month, a year, without you giving them much thought at all.
Even though you’re not thinking about them, they are sitting in your medicine cabinet like ticking time bombs. Because on July 4th, or at Thanksgiving, or on New Year’s Day, your nephew, or your kid or your kid’s friend is over visiting or home from college, and he goes into your medicine cabinet, grabs the bottle and puts it in his pocket.
Now that nephew or niece, son or daughter is on their way to opioid addiction. An addiction that, more and more frequently, morphs from pills to heroin. And with startling frequency, that battle with addiction ends on a slab at the coroner’s office, a life taken, another family destroyed.
I’m here today to talk about the heroin and opioid problem we all face here in Northern Ohio, and to provide some stark and startling facts about what we’re seeing in the law enforcement community, and to let you know about some of the efforts going on around the state, and in Akron, that provide us with the slightest glimmer of hope.
Some of those efforts involve law enforcement, but many of them involve a broad cross section of the community, including doctors and hospitals, treatment professionals, police officers, parents and PTAs.
The message for you: we can’t do this alone. We need your help, which is why I am happy that so many of you are here today. Thank you to the Akron Roundtable and your president, Jacqueline Silas-Butler, for focusing your attention on heroin and our community’s response.
When I joined the Justice Department in the early ‘90s, the vast majority of our federal drug trafficking cases dealt with cocaine – either powder or crack cocaine. Remember “Miami Vice” and “Scarface” with the piles of cocaine? Those were the cases we did.
But about five years ago, the drug trafficking cases in our office shifted from cocaine to heroin.
What had happened? Well, the drug traffickers saw a shift in demand and adjusted their product to fill that demand.
And why was there a shift in demand? There was an explosion in painkillers being prescribed.
In 1997, there were 7 pain pills prescribed for every man, woman and child in Ohio. Fast forward to 2010 and that figure jumped.
For every man, woman and child in Ohio, there were 67 pills per person. That’s an increase of more than 900 percent! And I don’t think the level of pain in Ohio increased 900 percent during that time.
Ohio has been flooded with pills. Some of these pills were coming from what we call “pill mills,” which hand out pills for anyone with a pulse, in exchange for a fee, of course.
But far more common are the good doctors who prescribe pills for a variety of reasons. Those reasons include patient satisfaction scores or large pharmaceutical companies that incentivize doctors to write with what I call a heavy pen.
Some people become hooked on the pills following surgery or an injury. Others take painkillers recreationally. Others divert the pills to third parties. Either way, the pills are expensive and eventually, people either run out of pills or run out of money.
So what do they do? They turn to heroin, which is also an opioid, which they can get for a fraction of the cost of Percocet or Vicodin.
And we’ve seen that here in Akron.
Chris Jacquemain was a star quarterback at Mentor High School, near Cleveland who came to the University of Akron on a football scholarship. The head of the criminal division in our office was one of his coaches in pee-wee football. Like all the kids who get a Division I football scholarship, Chris was stronger and faster than everyone. But the one opponent he couldn’t beat was heroin.
Chris got hooked on painkillers after a shoulder injury. The need to feed his addiction led to stealing from teammates and eventually Chris was kicked off that Akron football team. He turned to heroin and, after stints in and out of court, in and out of rehab, he on died on Thanksgiving weekend in 2011.
I’d like to tell you that story outlier, but it is not.
In Cuyahoga County, heroin deaths have increased 400 percent over the past five years. Last year alone, nearly 200 people died from heroin overdose in Cuyahoga County.
Summit County has its own problems. In the past two years, there have been 86 heroin deaths here. That’s 86 people, 86 families, 86 mothers and fathers, countless brothers and sisters.
Just this week, five people have died from heroin in Akron, Ohio.
These fatalities cut across all demographics. Black and white. Young and old. City, suburb and rural. Rich and poor, you name it.
Fatal overdoses are just one way to measure the crushing impact of the epidemic. A staggering amount of crime is related to heroin, whether it’s people actually dealing drugs, or stealing copper to get their fix, or worse. We saw that a couple weeks ago, when your county prosecutor Sherry Bevan Walsh procured a conviction in the quadruple murder that was related to heroin.
The problem is real. And it is – and has been – at crisis levels.
But it’s not just one kind of problem. We have a law enforcement problem, a health care problem and a treatment problem.
And we have to focus more effort on stopping this problem before it starts. Because when it comes to heroin, a gram of prevention is worth 10 kilos of cure, because the grip of this drug is so strong once it takes hold, it rarely lets go, even if people do get help and go into recovery.
I hear about it all the time.
This spring we were at a law enforcement office talking about an opioid arrest and afterward, the secretary there pulled aside someone from our office, and with tears in her eyes and a little bit of shame, she thanked them for our efforts to curb the problem.
This police department secretary explained how her own daughter – who was herself a mother – got hooked on painkillers, which led to heroin. The secretary confided that she didn’t know how it was going to end for her daughter, who had been through rehab. She worried that her daughter was just one mistake, one bad day, away from the morgue. The pain and the anguish that this mother felt were evident.
Because we can cite numbers all we want when you know somebody who deals with this issue, one is one too many.
So we have a multifaceted problem, a problem that affects real people. I submit to you that what we need is a multifaceted solution. And that’s something that we’ve been working on.
First, we turned to traditional partners, like the DEA, FBI and Ohio Attorney General, to try to come up with a plan.
Next, we turned to non-traditional partners, like the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, MetroHealth and the County Medical Examiner, to try to expand the plan.
And now, we’re gathering people who run recovery centers, outreach workers who handle needle exchanges, people in recovery and who lost children to heroin.
Our goal has been to invite as many committed people as we could to try to create an overall plan that would tie together the many efforts already underway to combat the problem and look to fill in any gaps.
We started by meeting in our office but we soon realized that if we wanted to make any progress on this issue, we needed to get out of the courthouse and into the community.
That’s why we put together a daylong summit at the Cleveland Clinic which attracted nearly 700 people, 700 experts, to share ideas.
Let me tell you, when you get 700 people to come to something in the middle of the week, you know you’re touching a chord in the community.
We talked about enforcement. We talked about treatment. We talked about education and we talked about policy.
The result of that summit was what we call the Heroin and Opioid Community Action Plan. You can find a copy on our web site and I have some copies here today.
That day wasn’t the end of our efforts. The group that put together the summit stayed together as the U.S. Attorney’s Task Force on Heroin and Opioids. Both the Task Force and the Action Plan are broken into four sections: (1) Education and Prevention; (2) Law Enforcement; (3) Treatment and (4) Healthcare Policy.
Each group developed a set of goals, both long- and short-term, to help move us forward on fighting heroin. Then have tried to make those goals happen.
So, for example, on prevention we continued and expanded a program started by a Cuyahoga County Judge who had been going out and giving talks at schools and community meetings. These talks were drawing hundreds of concerned parents and students but even a judge can’t do everything alone.
The group also worked to expand the number of prescription drop boxes where people could talk those old pills. Now there is one in nearly every community in Cuyahoga County.
Healthcare Policy was driven by the doctors in the group. They successfully pushed for was the passage of House Bill 170, which allowed first responders and family members to have access to Naloxone, which is basically an antidote for someone who is overdosing on heroin. It literally saves lives.
Lorain was a pilot site for giving Naloxone to first responders. Last November, when a deadly batch of fentanyl-laced heroin hit the streets of Lorain, two people died, but more than a dozen were saved by police officers using Naloxone. Compare that with Pittsburgh, where more than 20 people tragically died from fentanyl-laced heroin in a two weeks.
In Law Enforcement, we’ve also made strides. The first one relates to how police respond to a fatal overdose.
All too often, the old practice was that if there’s a call for a dead body and the police get there and see a needle sticking in the dead person’s arm, they often would just get back in the car and move on to the next call. After all, it wasn’t a murder, right?
Now, working with Cleveland Police, the County Sheriff and County Prosecutor, we have developed written investigative protocols for how to handle and investigate fatal overdoses. And they start the moment the police arrive.
Detectives now treat those sites as crime scenes, looking to gather DNA, check cell phones and texts, talk to people on the scene and try to determine who supplied the fatal dose of heroin. And a prosecutor responds to every heroin death in Cuyahoga County. That’s because, when it’s appropriate, we bring either manslaughter charges in the state system or federal charges with what we call a “death resulting enhancement” which carries a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence.
We have brought a few of those cases already, including one here, in which an Akron man sold heroin that resulted in the death of a man on Christmas Day in a motel in Green. That case is pending.
We could not have done that case without the fine work of the Akron Police Department and the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office.
In fact, your chief -- Chief Nice -- created a dedicated heroin unit looking to track the source of the drugs and bring manslaughter charges when the facts allow it.
I’m proud to say that some of the costs of the project are being paid for by a Justice Department grant.
I hope you’re also seeing the billboards and hearing the public service announcements in Summit County. They are also conducting a public awareness campaign as part of the effort.
Akron is doing something they are not yet doing in Cleveland. Akron Police have partnered with the Summit County Alcohol, Mental Health and Drug Board, and the ADMs Board will now send intervention specialists to emergency rooms when there is a non-fatal overdose.
Such a simple idea, but so powerful. The research shows – and it makes sense – that when somebody overdoses and survives, there is a window then the addict will consider going into treatment. This immediate response simply seeks to capitalize on that window.
The goal will be to engage the user – and the user’s family – and get them to agree to go directly to rehab. It’s a great idea that came from here and I plan to tell everyone I can about it in the hope that they’ll copy it.
We will continue to enforce the law. My branch chief Bob Bulford and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Yanucci are here today, taking a quick break from the dozens of large-scale drug trafficking investigations they handle on a daily basis.
The efforts of these career Assistant U.S. Attorneys and the agents they work with has resulted in indicting nearly 200 people on heroin charges since just last year.
But as all of us will tell you, we cannot simply arrest our way out of this problem.
The solution cannot be justto arrest drug dealers – although that is part of the solution.
The solution cannot be justto make more treatment beds available – although that is part of the solution.
The solution cannot be just to require doctors to check to see if a patient has been doctor shopping – although that is part of the solution.
The solution cannot be justto get in front of every parent and teacher and child and warn them that making the mistake of trying heroin just might be the last mistake they ever make – although that is part of the solution.
We need is what I call an “all of the above” approach.
We need vigorous law enforcement.
We need more treatment options.
We need to get control of the stream of prescription pills being diverted to addicts.
And we need to come together as a community to stop people from experimenting with these drugs in the first place.
It is shocking to me to understand how heroin of all drugs could become the “popular” drug.
We all remember heroin was a dead-end drug for the hopeless. It was the last stop on a trail of misery. And it still is.
But as we have begun our work on this epidemic, I am struck but how often good people come up to me or someone in the U.S. Attorney’s office with a tragic story of their own.
We had a news conference last month and one of the TV cameramen approached afterward and confided that he was in recovery from heroin.
A nursing student who graduated from the same suburban school my children attend who fatally overdosed. People from all backgrounds, all races, all socioeconomic classes, will tell us about a niece, a son, a daughter.
These are our kids. They are our neighbors who are dying. And they are dying in record numbers. This is truly everyone’s problem.
The Action Plan we’ve come up with is just a model, a good start.
Words like “crisis” and “epidemic” get thrown around a lot. But in my five years as U.S. Attorney, I can’t think of a problem we’ve encountered that comes close to the death and destruction that has been visited upon us like heroin.
Highland Heights Man Indicted for Sending Letter to IRS Containing White PowderRead the Press Release
A Highland Heights man was indicted after sending a letter containing white powder to the Internal Revenue Service, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland Office.
John T. Buchak, 27, was charged with one count of threatening use of a weapon of mass destruction. Buchak sent a letter via the U.S. Mail to the Internal Revenue Service on March 31, 2014, that contained white powder, according to the indictment.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Rice following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Canton Man Faces Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
Richard B. Elbert, 50, of Canton, Ohio, was charged with receiving, distributing and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment charges that from on or about April 24, 2014, through on or about May 21, 2014, Elbert knowingly received and distributed, by computer, numerous computer files, which contained visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. On May 22, 2014, images of child pornography were also found on his HP Compaq Presario laptop computer.
If convicted, the sentence in this case will be determined by the Court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carol M. Skutnik. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Canton Office.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.