Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
City Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Setting Fire to West Philadelphia Building in May 2020Read the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Tyrone Wise, 34, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Timothy J. Savage to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release for setting fire to a West Philadelphia building.
In September, Wise pleaded guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with malicious damage by means of fire of a building used in interstate commerce.
He admitted that, on May 31, 2020, at about 8:49 p.m., amid both lawful protests and unlawful civil disturbances occurring in Philadelphia, he intentionally set fire to the SunRay Drugs Pharmacy located on the first floor of 25 South 60th Street in West Philadelphia.
The blaze caused extensive fire, water, and smoke damage to the pharmacy on the first floor and throughout the remainder of the building, which included a basement, and apartments on the second and third floors. The fire resulted in $1.2 million in damage and caused the SunRay Drugs at that location to close.
“Tyrone Wise’s actions were incredibly dangerous,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “He set this fire with no regard for the two apartments upstairs and any people who might be in them, the potential for the flames to spread to adjacent buildings, or the risks to first responders who would have to fight the blaze. Arson threatens lives and communities, and my office will continue to work with our investigative partners to prosecute these offenders and hold them fully accountable.”
“Tyrone Wise took advantage of the lawlessness of the moment to torch this drug store and extensively damage people’s apartments for no reason,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “Arson not only hurts our communities with property damage, but also wrecks opportunity and puts people in danger of injury and death. In cooperation with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to track down and prosecute arsonists in Philadelphia for the safety and prosperity of our city.”
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Jayne.
Philadelphia Men Sentenced to Prison for 2022 Armed Robbery, Shooting of Victim in West PhiladelphiaRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Naim Newsome-Bostick, 27, and Nadir Gray, 22, both of Philadelphia, Pa., have been sentenced to prison by United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney, for one count of attempted Hobbs Act robbery.
Judge Kearney sentenced Newsome-Bostick today to 160 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment, and, in December, sentenced Gray to 92 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Newsome-Bostick and Gray were charged by superseding indictment in September 2023. In July of last year, both pleaded guilty to robbing a man they believed to be a marijuana dealer on September 14, 2022, in West Philadelphia. As part of their plea, the defendants admitted that the robbery was carried out at gunpoint.
Newsome-Bostick and Gray forced the victim into their vehicle at gunpoint, then robbed him of his Rolex watch, wallet, and $3,000. As the defendants drove around, the victim began resisting and fighting with one of the men in the back. Amid the commotion, the defendants’ vehicle crashed into a parked car. Newsome-Bostick shot the victim three times, then he and Gray fled the scene. Philadelphia police officers responded and transported the victim to hospital, where he was treated, eventually recovering from his wounds.
Newsome-Bostick was arrested later that day by the Philadelphia Police Department and Gray was arrested in September 2023 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“Anyone who thinks they can carry out an armed robbery in this city and get off scot-free should take a good look at this case,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “My office, the ATF, and the Philadelphia Police Department will continue to prioritize and prosecute these violent crimes — no matter who the victim may be — and we’ll see to it that the perpetrators are held accountable.”
“For the sake of some cash and a watch, these criminals kidnapped their victim at gun point, threatened his life, and shot him three times!" said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF's Philadelphia Field Division. “The victim is lucky to be alive, and the defendants are lucky to not be facing murder charges. Working with our law enforcement partners, ATF will continue to bring justice for the victims of violent crime and help make our communities safer for all.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the ATF and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert E. Eckert and Jason D. Grenell.
Camden Man Pleads Guilty to Two South Philadelphia CarjackingsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Zamer Williams, 19, of Camden, N.J., entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Court Chief Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg to two counts of carjacking and one count of carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to the commission of a crime of violence.
Williams was charged with these offenses by superseding indictment in April of this year, in connection with two November 2023 carjackings in South Philadelphia.
As described in the superseding indictment and other publicly filed documents in this case, on November 11, 2023, at approximately 9 p.m., the first victim, an Uber driver, was picking up a passenger at the Ikea on Columbus Boulevard in South Philadelphia. The driver had briefly stepped out of his vehicle, a 2016 Mazda CX-5, when the defendant and another person approached him, demanding his car keys at gunpoint. The victim handed over his keys and the defendant and his accomplice fled the scene in the victim’s vehicle. The victim borrowed an Ikea worker’s phone and called 911.
Two days later, on November 13, 2023, the second victim entered the Wawa on Columbus Boulevard in South Philadelphia, leaving her car running. When she observed the defendant getting into the driver seat of her vehicle, a 2016 Ford Fusion SE, she went outside to confront him. The defendant drove the victim’s car away from the Wawa, with the victim holding onto the driver’s side door. After hanging on for about nine to 10 feet, the victim let go and the defendant fled in her car.
Williams is set to be sentenced on March 25, 2025, and faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum of seven years’ imprisonment.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kwambina I. Coker and Robert E. Eckert.
Pawn Shop Owners Charged with Purchasing, Trafficking Millions of Dollars of Stolen GoodsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Larry Leonard, 60, and Nathaniel “Nat” Leonard, 68, both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were charged by indictment with conspiracy to transport and sell stolen goods in interstate commerce and interstate transportation of stolen property. Larry Leonard was also charged with money laundering.
The defendants, who are cousins, jointly ran three pawn shops: Society Hill Loan and K&A Money Loan Pawnbrokers (“K&A”), both in Philadelphia, and Lou’s Jewelry and Pawnshop (“Lou’s Jewelry”) in Wilmington, Delaware.
Larry Leonard controlled the day-to-day operations of K&A and oversaw the day-to-day operations of Lou’s Jewelry, and Nat Leonard controlled the day-to-day operations of Society Hill Loan.
The indictment alleges that the defendants were using their businesses to buy and sell large volumes of new, stolen, in-box merchandise supplied by two main groups of people.
The first group, known colloquially as “boosters,” collectively stole millions of dollars of new retail merchandise from retailers in the Philadelphia and Delaware region, and elsewhere, including from The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, CVS, Rite Aid, Safeway, and others, which the boosters then sold to the Leonards’ pawn shops for cash.
The other group, referred to by the defendants as “mooks,” collectively stole millions of dollars of new retail merchandise from across the United States, which the “mooks” then resold in bulk quantities to the defendants and other pawn shop employees for cash on a recurring basis.
The defendants are alleged to have transferred the stolen goods from Lou’s Jewelry in Delaware and K&A in the Kensington section of Philadelphia to Society Hill Loan in South Philadelphia, where the defendants listed the stolen merchandise for sale via the Society Hill Loan eBay site, which they controlled.
From November 2019 through December 2023, the Leonards are alleged to have sold more than $19 million in stolen merchandise via their eBay site. The defendants are alleged to have shipped the stolen merchandise from Society Hill Loan in Philadelphia to customers across the country.
Larry Leonard is also charged with three counts of money laundering for using the proceeds of the illegal sale of stolen merchandise to pay off more than $120,000 in credit card bills from December 2022 through April 2023.
If convicted, Larry Leonard faces a maximum possible sentence of 45 years’ imprisonment and Nathaniel Leonard faces a maximum possible sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the IRS, Delaware State Police, and the Philadelphia Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew T. Newcomer and S. Chandler Harris.
An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Philadelphia Man Convicted of Solicitation to Commit Murder Sentenced to 20 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Darnell Jackson, aka “Major Change,” 52, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro to 240 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for murder-for-hire solicitation and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.
On February 28, 2023, after a five-day trial, a jury found the defendant guilty of use of interstate commerce facilities in the solicitation of a murder-for-hire and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.
The murder-for-hire plot the defendant orchestrated stemmed from an ongoing state drug trafficking investigation. On July 19, 2021, and in the days immediately following, Jackson communicated with an individual via cell phone calls and text messages, in an effort to arrange the killing of another person, sending a photo of the intended victim and indicating that he was willing to pay $5,000 to have someone commit the murder. When the individual reported to Jackson that he had located the intended victim, they allegedly agreed that the killing would occur on the evening of July 21, 2021.
That same evening, the individual called Jackson to report that the intended victim had been killed, which was false. In response, Jackson replied that he was on his way to meet the individual to pay him for carrying out the murder.
A few minutes later, Jackson was stopped by law enforcement while driving a vehicle in the vicinity of 65th Street & Guyer Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia. Jackson was found in possession of a Glock-style “ghost gun” loaded with 16 live rounds of ammunition. He was immediately arrested and charged by federal complaint.
“If you’re willing to casually order a hit — if you have so little respect for human life — you forfeit your right to walk around free with everyone else,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Darnell Jackson has proven he’s a dangerous man and this sentence holds him accountable. My office, the FBI, and the Philadelphia Police Department will continue to identify, arrest, and prosecute our city’s most violent offenders.”
“By orchestrating this egregious plot, Jackson underestimated both the capability of law enforcement to uncover his actions and our unwavering commitment to protecting citizens from violence,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Philadelphia. “The FBI, in close partnership with the Philadelphia Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, remains steadfast in our mission to keep our communities safe.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Ashenfelter.
Delaware County Woman Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Armed Carjacking in South PhiladelphiaRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Nateirah Ortiz, 25, of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 96 months in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $300 special assessment by United States District Court Judge Chad F. Kenney, for one count of carjacking; one count of carrying and using a firearm during, and in relation to, the commission of a crime of violence; and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
Ortiz was indicted on those violations in April of this year. She pleaded guilty in August, admitting to carjacking a man at approximately 7 p.m. on January 31, 2024, in South Philadelphia. As part of her plea, the defendant also admitted to carrying and using a firearm to commit this offense.
According to the publicly filed documents in this case, the victim reported being carjacked on the 1100 block of Washington Avenue. He relayed that, while walking to his vehicle, a silver 2018 Toyota RAV4, the defendant demanded his car keys and pointed a gun at him. The victim complied, giving the defendant his key, and ran to a nearby business for assistance calling 911. The defendant entered the victim’s vehicle and fled the scene.
Information about the incident was soon broadcast via police radio citywide. At approximately 9:17 p.m., 24th District police officers on patrol observed the carjacked vehicle traveling on the 3100 block of Kensington Avenue and attempted to conduct a vehicle investigation. The officers stopped their vehicle in front of the RAV4 and another police unit stopped behind it. After waiting for the officers to get out of their car and approach her, Ortiz fled at a high rate of speed, nearly striking their police vehicle in the process. The officers immediately went over the air requesting assistance, and units in the area began searching for the carjacked vehicle.
As police officers drove down Richmond Street, they observed that a RAV4 fitting that description had crashed into several cars parked on the 3700 block of Richmond. The officers saw the defendant walking away from the scene and apprehended her, with police recovering a loaded handgun from underneath a parked van a few feet away.
“Gunpoint carjackings are terrifying for victims and unsettling for the entire community,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “That’s why this office will continue to work hand-in-hand with the Philadelphia Police Department and ATF to prosecute these violent offenders. As Nateirah Ortiz’s sentence shows, committing a carjacking in our city is a life-changing decision. A crime that took just moments will land you in prison for years.”
“Nateirah Ortiz is going back to prison for a senseless and dangerous crime — carjacking a man at gunpoint, endangering the neighborhood and police as she sped away, and wrecking multiple cars,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Philadelphia Field Division. “Working together with the Philadelphia Police Department in the Carjacking Task Force, we will continue to hold carjackers accountable and help keep Philadelphia’s streets safe.”
“Today’s sentencing is a powerful reminder of the impact we can have when law enforcement agencies stand shoulder-to-shoulder,” said Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel. “Through constant collaboration with our federal partners — particularly the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the ATF — we’ve sent a clear message that violent crime will be met with swift, decisive action. By working together, we ensure that those who endanger our communities are held fully accountable, and we reinforce our shared commitment to keeping every Philadelphian safe.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony J. Carissimi and Robert E. Eckert.
Two Members of Reading-Based Violent Drug Gang Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder, Kidnapping, Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Dewayne Quinones, 30, and Mayco Alvarez-Jackson, 27, both of Reading, Pennsylvania, were sentenced by United States District Court Judge Juan R. Sánchez to life in prison for murder, kidnapping, drug distribution, and firearms offenses, crimes committed as members of a violent Reading-area drug trafficking organization (DTO).
The Trinidad DTO was responsible for multiple homicides, kidnapping, and conspiracies to kidnap in 2017 and 2018, including a quadruple homicide on January 28, 2018. In October 2022, Quinones, Alvarez-Jackson, and DTO leader Jesus Feliciano-Trinidad were convicted at trial of federal murder and weapons charges relating to the quadruple homicide, with Feliciano-Trinidad sentenced to life in prison last December.
More than 15 defendants were charged in a series of indictments resulting from a years-long investigation into the Trinidad DTO’s receipt, processing, and distribution of methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine.
The indictments detailed the defendants using a number of buildings, residences, firearms, and acts of violence to further their drug dealing efforts in and around Reading, including kidnapping and/or shooting multiple individuals in 2017 and 2018; conspiring to shoot and kill Miguel Reyes on December 13, 2017; kidnapping, shooting, and killing Hector Gonzalez-Rivera on January 24, 2018; and shooting and killing Jarlyn Lantigua-Tejada, Juan Rodriguez, Nelson Onofre, and Joshua Santos on January 28, 2018.
“The Trinidad organization thoroughly terrorized the Reading area for years,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Through remorseless violence they controlled their turf, to keep pushing their poison and making their money. As this case shows, my office, the FBI, and our local law enforcement partners will never cede control of our communities to violent drug gangs. We’ll continue to work on the public’s behalf to lock up these dangerous offenders who shatter folks’ sense of security and quality of life.”
“From murder and kidnapping to drug distribution and firearms offenses, gangs like these inflict fear and harm on our communities,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “These sentences serve as a testament to the unwavering dedication of our Allentown Resident Agency and our law enforcement partners in investigating, dismantling, and holding these violent offenders accountable for their actions.”
“The life sentences imposed by the Federal District Court after the successful prosecution of this violent Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) by the U.S. Attorney’s Office ensure that these defendants will never again be a threat to our community,” said Berks County District Attorney John Adams. “These sentences should send a message that we will not tolerate violence or drug trafficking and we’ll work with our state and federal partners to combat this type of activity in our community. We appreciate our partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in the prosecution of this violent DTO.”
The case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Allentown Resident Agency, the Berks County District Attorney’s Office, the Berks County Detectives, and the Reading Police Department, with assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police and the Montgomery County Detectives, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly A. Lewis Fallenstein, Assistant United States Attorney Rosalynda M. Michetti, and Assistant United States Attorney Vineet Gauri.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Mail Theft Scheme, Altering Stolen Checks and Money OrdersRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Zachkey James, 29, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge R. Barclay Surrick to 48 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and forfeiture of $345,681.68 for impersonation of a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier, unlawful possession of three USPS Arrow Keys, mail theft, and possession of stolen mail.
James was charged by complaint and arrested in November 2022, and in April of this year, pleaded guilty to all charges in a 12-count superseding information.
From 2020 through his arrest, the defendant perpetrated an elaborate scheme to steal more than $300,000 from hundreds of victims. He dressed as a United States Postal Service letter carrier and traveled through Philadelphia using stolen Arrow Keys to steal the mail from blue USPS collection boxes in broad daylight.
He rifled through the stolen mail, pulling out checks and money orders, altered the payee name on these checks and money orders to be payable to himself and co-conspirators, and then either cashed the forged checks and money orders or deposited the forged checks and money orders into accounts controlled by himself and co-conspirators.
When Postal Inspectors executed a federal warrant to search his apartment and vehicle, they found piles of undelivered mail, hundreds of checks and money orders waiting to be forged, approximately 15 undelivered mail-in ballots (all of which were delivered to the appropriate county board of election in time to be counted), solvent and toothbrushes used to wash checks and money orders, multiple stolen Arrow Keys, and a USPS letter carrier uniform.
“These weren’t just pieces of paper that Zachkey James stole,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “These were people’s mortgage and utility payments, their loan payoffs, their child support checks — and for numerous victims, the repercussions of his thefts were devastating. My office and the USPIS will continue to investigate and prosecute these mail theft cases to hold the perpetrators fully accountable.”
“Protecting the mail from theft is a core mission of the Postal Inspection Service,” said Christopher Nielsen, Inspector in Charge of the Philadelphia Division for the Postal Inspection Service. “When someone steals mail, Postal Inspectors will work relentlessly to hold those individuals to account. Today, accountability came for Zachkey James, who was sentenced for stealing checks out of the U.S. Mail and fraudulently passing those checks through the financial system. I want to thank the United States Attorney’s Office for their continued support in prosecuting these cases.”
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Brown.
Society Hill Businessman Sentenced to a Year and a Day in Prison for Tax CrimesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Murat Aslansan, 55, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Joshua D. Wolson to 12 months and one day in prison, two years of supervised release, and a $10,000 fine, and was ordered to pay $327,723 to the Internal Revenue Service for committing tax evasion.
Aslansan was the sole owner and operator of MA-SA Construction LLC, a general contracting construction and maintenance company that provided home remodeling and maintenance services. Aslansan operated the business from his home in the Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia.
From 2016 to 2018, Aslansan cashed his business checks at a check cashing business and failed to report all of his gross receipts from his business on his tax returns. Specifically, Aslansan failed to report over $600,000 of gross receipts for this business on his 2016 to 2018 tax returns.
In 2019 and 2020, Aslansan continued to use the check cashing business instead of his business bank accounts to cash business checks and failed to file tax returns in 2019 and 2020. As a result, Aslansan attempted to evade the assessment of his taxes and owed $327,723 to the IRS.
Aslansan pleaded guilty to tax evasion in July of this year.
“By evading his tax responsibilities of more than $300,000, Murat Aslansan cheated not just the government, but all taxpayers who dutifully, if ruefully, pay their fair share to the IRS,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Tax evasion may seem tempting, but be forewarned, it will wind up costing you dearly when you’re arrested, prosecuted, and even imprisoned for these crimes.”
“Individuals like Mr. Aslansan, who intentionally violate the law to evade paying their fair share of taxes undermine public confidence in our tax system,” said Acting IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Amy MacNeely. “Anyone contemplating cheating on their taxes should know that our largest enforcement program is directed at the portion of American taxpayers who willfully and intentionally violate their known legal duty of filing and paying their taxes.”
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tiwana Wright.
Mississippi Man Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Cyberstalking and Antisemitic Harassment of Synagogues, Jewish-Owned BusinessesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Donavon Parish, 29, of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Cynthia M. Rufe to 24 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for cyberstalking and the antisemitic harassment of synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses.
According to a June 2023 indictment and superseding information filed this May, the defendant used a Voice Over Internet Protocol service to make a series of phone calls in April and May 2022 to synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
In these calls, the defendant spoke to individuals answering the telephone calls on behalf of their respective institutions, at which time he repeatedly referenced the genocide of approximately six million Jewish people during the Holocaust, stating, among other things, “Heil Hitler,” “all Jews must die,” “we will put you in work camps,” “gas the Jews,” and “Hitler should have finished the job.”
In June of this year, Parish pleaded guilty to one count of cyberstalking and five counts of abuse and harassment using a telecommunications device. He also admitted to a special finding that he targeted his victims based on their actual and perceived religion.
“Donavon Parish’s harassment and hateful antisemitic threats terrorized those he targeted — their sense of security abruptly shaken by fears of escalation and physical harm,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “People of all faiths and backgrounds deserve to feel safe in their communities. That’s why my office and the FBI are committed to working these cases and bringing offenders like Parish to justice.”
“No member of our community should live in fear, regardless of where they work, live, or worship,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “This sentence demonstrates the FBI and our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office will not tolerate such repeated and vile threats that seek to disrupt our community’s sense of safety and security, and we will bring the perpetrator to justice, no matter where they are.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Jeanette Kang of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Justin Sher with the Department of Justice’s National Security Division (Counterterrorism Section), with assistance from DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi.
Delaware County Man Pleads Guilty to Migrant Smuggling ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Cesar David Martinez-Gonzalez, 39, of Chester, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Court Judge Gerald A. McHugh in connection with a conspiracy to help smuggle and encourage and induce dozens of migrants from South America to enter the United States illegally so that he could profit from their labor.
The object of the conspiracy, for the personal financial gain of Martinez-Gonzalez and others, was to illegally smuggle citizens of South American countries into the United States across the U.S.-Mexico border, and to encourage and induce them to enter the United States.
Martinez-Gonzalez fronted money to “coyotes” in Mexico who guided migrants across the Rio Grande and through holes in the U.S.-Mexico border wall, and provided them with information to give to Customs and Border Protection so that they could be released—on parole—to his residences. Martinez-Gonzalez then paid for airplane flights to bring the migrants to Philadelphia, and, once they arrived, transported them to houses in and around Chester, Pa.
At this point, Martinez-Gonzalez and his associates would impose upon the migrants thousands of dollars in “debts” owed to him, which the migrants would have to pay off through working long hours at low-paying jobs and forfeiting half of their wages to the defendant. Martinez-Gonzalez also helped the migrants obtain false identification and low paying jobs. The debts imposed by the defendant were well in excess of what it cost to get the individuals to Chester and house them there.
Martinez-Gonzalez is scheduled to be sentenced on March 18, 2025. He faces a maximum possible sentence of 120 years in prison.
“Martinez-Gonzalez took advantage of vulnerable migrants for his own financial benefit,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “He induced them to come to the United States, then imposed thousands of dollars of so-called ‘debts,’ which they had to repay through weeks or months of labor. My office and our partners will continue to target these human smugglers, who both prey on disadvantaged populations and flout our country’s immigration laws.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, HSI, and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sara A. Solow, Louis D. Lappen, Eileen Castilla Geiger, and J. Andrew Jenemann.
Two City Men Convicted in Pizza Shop Arson That Resulted in the Death of Philadelphia Firefighter Lt. Sean WilliamsonRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Al-Ashraf Khalil, 31, and Isaam Jaghama, 31, both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were convicted today at trial in the June 18, 2022, arson fire at a Fairhill pizza shop, which resulted in the death of Philadelphia Fire Department Lieutenant Sean Williamson and injuries to five other first responders inside the building when it collapsed.
A federal jury convicted the defendants on one count each of conspiracy to commit malicious damage by means of fire of a building used in interstate commerce, and one count each of malicious damage by means of fire of a building used in interstate commerce. Khalil was also found guilty of one count of wire fraud, and one count of using fire in furtherance of the commission of that wire fraud.
Khalil was the owner of the property at 300 West Indiana Avenue, which housed both apartments and the pizza shop. As proven at trial, in the early hours of June 18, 2022, he and Jaghama set a fire inside the building so that Khalil could profit by filing an insurance claim related to the fire. The day of the fire, Khalil signed paperwork authorizing an insurance adjuster to file a more than $400,000 insurance claim on his behalf.
At sentencing, Khalil faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 17 years in prison and a maximum possible sentence of life in prison. Jaghama faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison and a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.
“This fire wasn’t an accident or act of God,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “But for these defendants, it never would have started, the building would still stand, and Lt. Williamson would still be with his family — a wholly preventable tragedy, sparked by greed. While today’s convictions can never make up for such an immeasurable loss, they ensure a measure of justice for Lt. Williamson, the Williamson family, and the dedicated first responders of the Philadelphia Fire Department. They also reinforce that anyone reckless enough to commit arson will be held to account for their actions.”
“Arson is a dangerous deadly crime,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Philadelphia Field Office. “In this case two families with children had to run for their lives, four responders were buried alive, and a firefighter was killed. Bringing together the resources of the ATF Philadelphia Arson & Explosives Task Force and the ATF National Response Team, the Philadelphia Fire Department, the Philadelphia Fire Marshal’s Office, the Philadelphia Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, we brought these arsonists to justice, and they now face up to life in federal prison. ATF is committed to protecting our communities from dangerous criminals and will continue to partner to prevent and prosecute crimes like this.”
“The Philadelphia Fire Department will forever mourn the loss of Lieutenant Sean Williamson. We thank the United States Attorney and Justice Department for their diligence in bringing these men to justice. Our fervent hope is that this verdict will bring even a small amount of closure to Lt. Williamson’s family, both at home and in the PFD,” said Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson.
This case was investigated by ATF Philadelphia and the ATF’s National Response Team, the Philadelphia Fire Department, the Philadelphia Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Philadelphia Police Department, with significant assistance provided by the Philadelphia Department of Licenses & Inspections. Special thanks are given to the United States Marshals Service for their assistance in the international apprehension of Al-Ashraf Khalil.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amanda R. Reinitz and Michael Miller.
Four Philadelphia-Area Men Sentenced to Prison for Schemes to Wash and Alter Checks Stolen from USPS Collection BoxesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Naod Tsegay, 25, of Collingdale, Pennsylvania; Fode Bangoura, 23, of Philadelphia; and Zyier Williams, 21, also of Philadelphia, were sentenced to prison by United States District Judge Paul S. Diamond in connection with their scheme to fraudulently alter and deposit personal and business checks that they had stolen from the U.S. mail. Najae Thomas, 24, of Philadelphia, was also sentenced to prison by United States District Judge Wendy Beetlestone for related crimes.
Tsegay was sentenced yesterday to 42 months’ incarceration, five years of supervised release, and $11,811 in restitution. On January 11 of this year, he pleaded guilty to three counts of bank fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of possession of stolen United States Postal Service (USPS) keys, and two counts of possession of stolen mail.
On October 5, 2023, Bangoura pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud, and on October 23, 2023, Williams pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. They were each sentenced this March to six months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release, with Bangoura ordered to pay $7,711 and Williams $4,100 in restitution.
Between March and June 2021, Tsegay, Bangoura, and Williams recruited individuals to provide their bank account and debit card information, and then used those recruits’ bank accounts to deposit checks that had been stolen from blue USPS collection boxes located throughout the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. After altering the stolen checks by changing the designated payees and increasing the dollar amount — often from a nominal sum to a payment of several thousand dollars — Tsegay deposited the stolen checks into the recruits’ bank accounts and later withdrew or attempted to withdraw the fraudulently deposited funds.
Tsegay was ultimately found in unlawful possession of dozens of checks and money orders stolen from USPS collection boxes, as well as three USPS Arrow Keys, which Postal employees use to access blue collection boxes throughout the District. The total amount stolen or attempted stolen as a result of the scheme exceeded $150,000.
Najae Thomas, who was charged separately, had communicated with Tsegay about Thomas’s own check-washing scheme, which involved an intended loss of over $200,000. Thomas was found in unlawful possession of hundreds of checks stolen from USPS collection boxes located throughout the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Delaware, as well as four USPS Arrow Keys.
Like Tsegay, Thomas pleaded guilty to bank fraud (five counts), aggravated identity theft (three counts), and possession of stolen mail (one count). Last month, Thomas was sentenced to 61 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $61,688.
“When Naod Tsegay, the ringleader of this scheme, was arrested, police recovered multiple stolen keys capable of unlocking every blue USPS box across four local zip codes,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “The amount of mail stolen and the number of checks these defendants sought to alter and cash is significant. My office, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and our partners won’t allow criminals who target the U.S. Postal Service to disrupt the nation’s mail system and commit identity theft with impunity. As these cases prove, we will prosecute, and you will be held accountable.”
The cases were investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Rice. The Yeadon Borough Police Department assisted with the Tsegay investigation.
Delco Man Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in Prison for Armed Robbery of Metro by T-Mobile Store in 2022Read the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Jason Donte Hayes, 26, of Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond to 135 months in prison and five years of supervised release for the armed robbery of a Delaware County cellular phone store. At the time of the crime, Hayes was on state probation for burglary and a previous robbery.
In August 2022, Hayes was charged by indictment with one count of robbery interfering with interstate commerce (Hobbs Act robbery) and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, pleading guilty to those charges in May of this year.
On the afternoon of June 9, 2022, Hayes entered a Metro by T-Mobile store in Clifton Heights, Pa. He initially posed as a customer, asking the store employee about the price of a wireless headset. Shortly thereafter, Hayes pointed a gun at the employee and stated that he “wanted the stuff.” In response, the employee placed the headset into the defendant’s open backpack. “No, the money,” Hayes replied. The employee opened the cash register and put $452 into the defendant’s backpack.
Hayes, removing a roll of duct tape from the backpack, ordered the employee to a rear office. He tied the employee to a chair and left the office, then walked out of the store with the headset and cash. The employee was eventually able to free himself and call 911.
As part of their investigation, Clifton Heights police obtained numerous video surveillance clips from residences and businesses in the area. They determined that the robber left the store on foot and walked to a Clifton Heights home, which proved to be the defendant’s residence.
Details of the robbery and the surveillance footage were disseminated within the Clifton Heights Police Department. Two weeks after the robbery, police officers spotted Hayes in front of his residence and took him into custody. At the time of his arrest, the defendant was wearing the stolen wireless headset and carrying a loaded .45 caliber pistol and ammunition in his backpack.
“Terrorizing an employee who’s just trying to earn a living so that you can steal money and merchandise is outrageous,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “My office, the FBI, and our partners are working every day to hold armed repeat offenders like Mr. Hayes accountable, with the public’s safety our number one priority.”
“Armed robberies threaten the safety and security of our communities, undermining the hard work the FBI and its partners put in every day to protect the public," said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “Today's sentencing sends a clear message: the FBI is steadfast in its commitment to removing violent offenders from our streets and ensuring they face justice."
The case was investigated by the Clifton Heights Police Department and FBI Philadelphia’s Newtown Square Resident Agency and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Sandra M. Urban.
Easton Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that John R. Young, 47, of Easton, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl to 360 months of imprisonment and lifetime supervised release, with victim restitution to be determined at a later date, for production of child pornography. Young was also ordered to forfeit various electronic devices.
According to court documents, the FBI had been investigating a site on the dark web dedicated to child pornography. The investigation identified Young as a user of the website who had posted child pornography there.
On October 17, 2023, FBI and other law enforcement agents executed a federal search warrant at Young’s residence and seized various electronic devices. Young’s devices were found to contain thousands of images of child pornography, including one that Young had produced and posted to the website. Young admitted to law enforcement that he was a user of the dark web site and that he produced the image of child pornography found on the website, which involved a child under 10 years old. Young also admitted that he possessed other images of child pornography on his devices. Finally, Young admitted using a secret video recording device disguised to look like a pen to attempt to produce additional child pornography.
On October 17, 2023, the FBI arrested Young, and in June of this year, he pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography.
“Not only was John Young a prolific collector of child pornography, he sexually exploited a child to produce such an image and shared it with other predators,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “His actions are unconscionable. My office and the FBI are working every day to find and bring to justice anyone victimizing children by creating or trading these horrible images of sexual abuse.”
“Children are among the most vulnerable members of our community, and sexual exploitation of them is one of the most devious crimes the FBI investigates,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “This sentence is testament to the dedication of the Allentown Resident Agency and our partners at the U.S. Attorney's Office in the pursuit of justice for these victims.”
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia's Allentown Resident Agency and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John J. Boscia and Kyle Reynolds of the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
Bristol Man Sentenced to 54 Months in Prison for Assaulting Officer with a Knife Outside Federal Courthouse in PhiladelphiaRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Anthony Lombardo, 46, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro to 54 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for assault on a federal officer.
On the morning of January 17, 2023, Lombardo drove to the James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse at 7th & Market Streets in Philadelphia, where he brandished a large kitchen knife and approached a court security officer who was patrolling the exterior of the building. After Lombardo ignored the officer’s request to drop the knife, the officer discharged his firearm, striking Lombardo.
While first responders administered aid to Lombardo, they discovered another kitchen knife hidden in his shirtsleeve and makeshift body armor attached to his chest and midsection.
Lombardo was thereafter charged by federal complaint and remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals once he was released from the hospital in February 2023. At the time of his arrest, Lombardo was on state supervision following a conviction for aggravated assault on a police officer in 2006.
On April 9, 2024, Lombardo was charged by information with assault on a federal officer. On May 6, Lombardo waived prosecution by indictment and entered a plea of guilty.
“Twice now, Anthony Lombardo has targeted police and security officers with violence,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Whatever your goals or grievances, if you try to harm someone working to protect a federal courthouse or facility, rest assured that my office and our partners will work to hold you fully accountable.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and the United States Marshals Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Ashenfelter.
Montgomery County Man, N.J. Woman Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Visa Fraud, Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice, RespectivelyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that two defendants charged for their roles in the alleged Savani Group racketeering conspiracy have been sentenced by United States District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl.
Vivek Savani, 37, of North Wales, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 10 days' imprisonment, three years of supervised release, the first 60 days of which are served in home detention, a $1,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment for conspiracy to commit visa fraud. He pleaded guilty to that offense in July, admitting involvement in a scheme to unlawfully obtain H1-B nonimmigrant work visas, which allow an employer to temporarily employ a foreign worker in the United States on a non-immigrant basis in a “specialty occupation.”
Susan Malpartida, 29, of Passaic, New Jersey, was sentenced on Friday to one year of probation, a $500 fine, and a $100 special assessment for conspiracy to obstruct justice. In May, Malpartida pleaded guilty to lying to a federal grand jury in an effort to thwart a government investigation into serious visa fraud crimes allegedly committed at her employer, American Unity Dental.
Vivek Savani and Malpartida were among 12 defendants charged in a sweeping 42-count indictment unsealed in January 2023, which alleged that, for more than a decade, brothers Bhaskar Savani, Arun Savani, and Niranjan Savani, and others operated a criminal enterprise through a multi-state network of dental practices and related dental businesses. (Note: Vivek Savani is not related to the Savani brothers.) The case is scheduled to go to trial in April 2025.
This case was investigated by the FBI; the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General; IRS Criminal Investigation; Homeland Security Investigations; the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service; the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations; the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General; the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office; and the State of Iowa Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lesley Bonney, Kevin Jayne, and Anthony Scicchitano, and Department of Justice Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section Attorney Darrin McCollough, Senior Policy Advisor. The asset seizure and forfeiture is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah Grieb and Andrew Jenemann.
Convicted Drug Felon Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Loaded Firearm and Trafficking Fentanyl, Heroin, Crack Cocaine, and Cocaine at a North Philadelphia ResidenceRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Euddy Izquierdo, 42, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Juan R. Sánchez to 240 months in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl, para-flourofentanyl, heroin, crack cocaine, and cocaine, and unlawfully possessing a firearm.
On January 10, 2022, Izquierdo was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration, after agents seized a large cache of drugs from a residence on the 2000 block of Sanger Street in Philadelphia. The defendant admitted to the agents that he rented the place to store and package his drugs, which he sold in the city’s Kensington neighborhood.
Inside the basement apartment, DEA agents recovered 237.8 grams of para-flourofentanyl (a fentanyl analogue), 93.1 grams of fentanyl, 132.1 grams of heroin, 29.7 grams of crack cocaine, 153.8 grams of cocaine, and 26 grams of xylazine (also known as “tranq”), a veterinary sedative commonly used as a cheap cutting agent to dilute controlled substances on the street and increase profits for drug traffickers. Agents also recovered a loaded 9mm pistol on a table in the apartment.
At the time of his arrest, Izquierdo was on federal supervised release following a previous drug trafficking conviction in 2015. Because of his prior conviction, Izquierdo was not permitted to possess a firearm under federal law.
On June 18, 2024, after a two-day trial, a federal jury found Izquierdo guilty of possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of para-fluorofentanyl, 40 grams or more of fentanyl, 100 grams or more of heroin, 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, and cocaine; maintaining a drug-involved premises; possession of a firearm by a felon; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
“Euddy Izquierdo was like a one-stop shop for narcotics,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Heroin, crack, fentanyl, powder cocaine — he pushed all of it into Kensington, profiting from other people’s pain and addiction. Getting illegal drugs off the street and illegal guns out of criminals’ hands makes our city immeasurably safer. My office and the DEA will continue to put these traffickers out of business and behind bars.”
“Izquierdo received a severe sentence in federal prison for the distribution of dangerous drugs such as fentanyl, heroin, crack cocaine, and cocaine, which was further aggravated by the fact that he was on supervised release for a prior federal drug conviction at the time of his arrest,” said Thomas Hodnett, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division. “Izquierdo was convicted at trial for distributing these drugs in Kensington, an area that has been disproportionately affected by the ravages of the opioid crisis. For that he will spend the next 20 years in a federal prison.”
This case was investigated by the DEA as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Ashenfelter.
West Chester Man Sentenced for Abusive Sexual Contact on an AircraftRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Edward Decker, 46, of West Chester, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro to six months’ imprisonment, one year of supervised release, and $4,000 in restitution for abusive sexual contact on an aircraft.
The defendant pleaded guilty to that offense in May of this year.
On July 29, 2022, while on board an American Airlines flight from San Diego, California, to Philadelphia, Decker intentionally touched the thigh and breast of a minor while she was sleeping. The victim woke up from her sleep on this overnight flight to find Decker, who was seated in her row, with his hands and face under her clothes and on her body.
“Edward Decker’s actions on that plane are profoundly disturbing,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “There’s no excuse for touching anyone in a sexual manner without their consent — let alone a sleeping underage stranger. The victim in this case has shown remarkable courage throughout this entire process. My office and the FBI will continue to seek justice for victims of crimes within our jurisdiction, whether committed on the street or on a flight thousands of feet above.”
“Every person has an expectation of and, indeed, the right to fly on a U.S. aircraft without being abusively sexually contacted,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “Our office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to ensure both that victims of such crimes are supported and that those who commit such crimes are held accountable. We also thank our partners at the Philadelphia International Airport for their assistance in this case.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Josh A. Davison.
Montgomery County Man Charged with Insider Trading Linked to CVS’s 2023 Acquisition of Oak Street HealthRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Carlos Sacanell, 58, of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged by indictment with insider trading and making a false statement to a federal agency.
The indictment alleges that the defendant obtained material nonpublic information from his domestic partner, who was an executive at Oak Street Health, about CVS Health Corporation’s acquisition of Oak Street Health in 2023. At all times relevant to the indictment, both CVS and Oak Street Health were publicly traded companies on the New York Stock Exchange, with ticker symbols CVS and OSH, respectively.
The defendant allegedly used the material nonpublic information obtained from his domestic partner to trade stock and options in Oak Street Health before the transaction was publicly announced by CVS and Oak Street Health on February 8, 2023, resulting in him obtaining profits of approximately $617,000.
The indictment further alleges that on April 3, 2024, when the defendant was interviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, he falsely told the FBI that he did not obtain from his domestic partner information regarding CVS’s planned acquisition of Oak Street Health before the acquisition was publicly announced on February 8, 2023.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Francis A. Weber. In a parallel matter, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against Sacanell today.
An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Camden County Man Convicted at Trial of Conspiring to Commit Arson of a Bucks County WarehouseRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Ramiz Duka, 61, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, was convicted today at trial of conspiracy to commit arson.
The facts at trial established that Duka recruited two men into a conspiracy to set fire to a warehouse located at 1388 Bridgewater Road in Bensalem, Pa., paying them $15,000 to do so. Over the course of several weeks, the three co-conspirators met and planned the arson.
On December 10, 2022, one of the men recruited to the conspiracy by Duka set fire to the building. During fire suppression operations, one firefighter was seriously injured when a ladder collapsed. Damages from the fire totaled nearly $6 million.
At sentencing, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum of five years of imprisonment, and a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison.
The case was investigated by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Bensalem Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda R. Reinitz. Special thanks to the Bensalem Township Fire Rescue and the volunteer firefighter companies in and around Bensalem who responded to the fire.
Last of Four Defendants Sentenced in 2018 Attempted Armed Robbery of Lancaster City PharmacyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Andrew Garrett, 30, of Steelton, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Juan R. Sánchez to 84 months in prison and three years of supervised release for attempted robbery which interferes with interstate commerce (“Hobbs Act robbery”), for his role in the October 2018 attempted armed robbery of Smithgall’s Pharmacy in Lancaster, Pa.
Garrett is the last of four defendants in the case to be sentenced. Garrett, Brandon Galette, Johnny Straining, and Lamar Black were charged in 2019 in connection with the attempted robbery, in which they sought to steal prescription opioids. Straining and Black were also charged in connection with another armed pharmacy robbery they committed in York, Pa., the day before they attempted to rob Smithgall’s. All eventually admitted participation and entered guilty pleas.
Galette, 30, of Harrisburg, Pa., was sentenced this February to 148 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and $12,650 in restitution for attempted Hobbs Act robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Straining, 28, also of Harrisburg, was sentenced in August 2023 to 168 months in prison and two years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and attempted Hobbs Act robbery.
Black, 35, also of Harrisburg, was sentenced in August 2023 to 180 months in prison and two years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, attempted Hobbs Act robbery, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
On the afternoon of October 23, 2018, Galette entered Smithgall’s with a loaded firearm, given to him by Black, and demanded prescription opioid pills at gunpoint. He assaulted a customer, then tried to corral pharmacy employees into a back room.
As he did, the owner of the pharmacy pulled a gun from his desk drawer and shot Galette three times. Galette lunged at the owner, and they wrestled on the ground for several seconds. Galette then tried to flee but collapsed from his injuries on the sidewalk outside the pharmacy.
Upon hearing shots, Straining, who had entered the pharmacy to help take the pills, ran out of the store and fled with Black and Garrett in a getaway car.
“This attempted armed robbery was a terrifying experience for the employees and customers of Smithgall’s,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “My office and our law enforcement partners won’t stand for these armed robbery crews targeting our stores, businesses, and the people in them. We’ll continue to take violent offenders off the street and hold them accountable for their actions, making our communities safer for one and all.”
“This sentencing makes clear, even the attempt to commit an armed robbery carries serious consequences,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “Alongside our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Lancaster City Bureau of Police, we will continue our efforts toward safer communities.”
The case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Capital Area Resident Agency and the Lancaster City Bureau of Police and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy M. Stengel.
Berks County Businessman Indicted on Tax Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Alan C. Redmond, 42, of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment with six counts of failure to pay over employment taxes between 2019 and 2021 for Bene Market LLC, a call center in Reading, Pa., that purported to act as a broker of insurance, selling health insurance and related products over the telephone. The defendant made his initial appearance in federal court on these charges this afternoon.
The indictment alleges that, as the 96% general partner of Bene Market, and as the individual with ultimate and final decision-making authority for the corporation, Redmond was legally obligated to withhold Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from wages paid to employees (known as “trust fund taxes”) and to pay over these taxes to the IRS each quarter, along with matching contributions from the employer for Social Security and Medicare taxes.
The indictment further alleges that between 2019 and 2021, Redmond caused Bene Market to withhold over $1 million in trust fund taxes from the wages and paychecks of its employees, but Redmond did not pay over these withheld amounts to the IRS on behalf of the employees, as required. Instead of paying over the trust fund taxes withheld from employee paychecks, Redmond caused Bene Market to make thousands of dollars of expenditures for his own personal benefit, including property purchases, airline tickets, limousine services, vehicle purchases, event tickets, mortgage payments, and partnership distributions.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, a three-year period of supervised release, and a $1,500,000 fine.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mary Crawley and Samuel Dalke.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced to over 24 Years in Prison and Dominican Citizen Sentenced to 25 Years for Possession with Intent to Distribute 36 Kilograms of Fentanyl, Maintaining Two Drug HousesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Gabriel Rivera-Otero, aka “Carlos Vasquez,” aka “Gustavo,” 42, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Angel Reyes-Valdez, aka “Abel Anton Alberto Nunez,” 47, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, were sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Harvey Bartle III to 293 months in prison plus 10 years of supervised release, and 300 months in prison plus five years of supervised release, respectively, for drug offenses.
In July of this year, after a four-day trial, the jury found the defendants guilty of possession with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and maintaining a drug-involved premises. Reyes-Valdez was also convicted of illegal reentry after deportation; upon completion of his sentence, he will be deported.
As proven at trial, on October 28, 2020, Rivera-Otero and Reyes-Valdez met in a parking lot in Philadelphia to transfer six kilograms of fentanyl between them. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrested both men, after recovering the fentanyl from a diaper box on the front passenger seat of Rivera-Otero’s vehicle.
The same day, DEA agents searched two separate Philadelphia residences where Rivera-Otero and Reyes-Valdez stored and packaged large quantities of controlled substances. At the residence used by Rivera-Otero, agents seized approximately 700 grams of fentanyl, drug packaging material, and drug manufacturing equipment. At the residence used by Reyes-Valdez, agents seized approximately 30 kilograms of fentanyl, including numerous brick-shaped packages of the drug and over 110,000 fentanyl pills, as well as drug packaging material, drug manufacturing equipment, a loaded firearm, and over $90,000 in U.S. currency.
Both defendants have prior felony drug convictions in the United States and Reyes-Valdez had been previously deported from the U.S. to the Dominican Republic three times between 2007 and 2014.
“Four years ago today, in a Philly parking lot, Rivera-Otero and Reyes-Valdez met to exchange multiple kilos of fentanyl and wound up in handcuffs instead,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “In all that day, the DEA seized 36 kilos of fentanyl from the defendants, which otherwise would have ended up on the street, with potentially deadly consequences. The lengthy sentences imposed on these repeat offenders ensure that they won’t soon push more poison in our city — or anywhere else, for that matter.”
“Together Rivera-Otero and Reyes-Valdez possessed over 36 kilograms of fentanyl, which is a staggering amount of a potentially lethal drug that has had catastrophic effects on our region and across the nation at large,” said Thomas Hodnett, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division. “That Reyes-Valdez was deported from the United States on three prior occasions and returned to the Philadelphia area where he was found in possession of the kilograms of fentanyl noted above, over 110,000 fake pills containing fentanyl, and a loaded firearm shows the threat he posed to our community. Both he and Rivera-Otero have earned these severe federal prison sentences.”
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Department of Homeland Security and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin Ashenfelter and Timothy Lanni.
Delaware Man Sentenced to a Year and a Day in Prison for Defrauding City of Philadelphia in the Purchase, Sale of Three Point Breeze PropertiesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Felton Hayman, 54, of Wilmington, Delaware, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney to 12 months and a day in prison and three years of supervised release for defrauding the City of Philadelphia of almost $150,000. Hayman was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, $149,000 in restitution to the City, forfeiture of $100,000, and a $300 special assessment.
In July 2023, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against the defendant, charging him with three counts of wire fraud. Hayman pleaded guilty to all charges in April of this year.
From approximately July 2014 through approximately September 2018, Hayman devised and willfully participated in a scheme to obtain money and property from the City of Philadelphia – specifically, real estate located in and owned by the City – by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.
The defendant used his longtime friendship with a Philadelphia city councilmember to obtain three vacant city properties at below-market prices, based on a promise that Hayman would build affordable housing on the lots. Hayman, however, never intended to develop affordable housing on any of the three sites. Instead, he planned to sell the properties as quickly as he obtained them, in order to make a profit.
Hayman’s scheme largely succeeded. In late August 2018, his construction company, Hayman Construction, purchased the vacant properties located at 1200 South Bucknell Street, 2040 Titan Street, and 2046 Titan Streets for a total of $101,000.
Less than a month later, Hayman sold the Titan Street properties for approximately $115,000 apiece. Hayman also entered into a separate agreement to sell the South Bucknell Street property for $150,000, but that deal fell apart, despite Hayman’s efforts to further defraud city officials about the nature of that sale.
In total, Hayman profited by at least $165,000 from his fraud, with the loss to the City of Philadelphia estimated to be $149,000.
“Felton Hayman got a steal of a deal on these lots because he promised to build affordable housing,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “But his plan all along was to flip the properties for a quick and tidy profit — he advertised them for sale before even holding title! Hayman defrauded the City and people of Philadelphia, purely out of greed, and my office and the FBI will continue to work to hold fraudsters like him accountable.”
“Under false pretenses, this defendant sought and succeeded in buying properties from the City of Philadelphia and used the proceeds to line his own pockets,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “Today’s sentencing shows, we at the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office will pursue crimes of corruption that impact our city.”
This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Dubnoff.
Driver Sentenced to Almost 16 Years in Prison for His Role in Two Violent Delco CarjackingsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Jamar Miller, 24, of Claymont, Delaware, was sentenced today by United States District Court Chief Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg to 190 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, $1,919 in restitution, and a $500 special assessment for his role in two armed carjackings in Delaware County in January of 2023.
In April of 2023, Miller and codefendant Keenan Righter were each indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit carjacking, two counts of carjacking, and two counts of using or carrying a firearm during a crime of violence in connection with these carjackings.
Miller pleaded guilty to all the charges in March of this year.
In May, a federal jury convicted Righter on all counts; he was sentenced last week to 280 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
On January 14, 2023, at approximately 9 p.m., Miller drove Righter and another male to a Wawa on Route 322 in Upper Chichester Township, Delaware County. Righter and the other male then ambushed a 23-year-old college student who was walking to his car after leaving the store. The men, each brandishing firearms and wearing masks to disguise their identities, demanded the victim’s vehicle at gunpoint. They pistol-whipped the victim in the back of the head and fled the scene in the victim’s vehicle, with Miller following in his own car.
On January 24, 2023, at approximately 1:30 a.m., Miller drove Righter and another male to a Wawa on Edgmont Avenue in Brookhaven, Delaware County. Again, Righter and the other male wore masks and carried firearms as they carjacked a 33-year-old victim at gunpoint in the parking lot of the Wawa. The two men pistol-whipped the victim multiple times in the head with a firearm as they stole his belongings and fled the scene in his car, with Miller again trailing behind them in his vehicle.
“Jamar Miller drove his co-conspirators to the crime scenes, watched as they violently carjacked two innocent people, and followed as they fled in the stolen vehicles,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “As his almost 16-year prison sentence shows, even a supporting role in a carjacking can lead to federal charges — and utterly life-changing consequences.”
“Today’s sentencing demonstrates how strong partnerships in law enforcement contribute to safer communities,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “Our office, alongside the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our local law enforcement partners, will not relent in our efforts toward safer neighborhoods for all of us.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Newtown Square Resident Agency, the Brookhaven Police Department, and Upper Chichester Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorneys Brian Doherty and Branwen McNabb O’Donnell.
City Man Sentenced to 12½ Years in Prison for 2022 Armed Robbery of Northeast Philadelphia StoreRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Nafec Pressley, 28, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Kai N. Scott to 150 months in prison and five years of supervised release for the armed robbery of a store in the city’s Northeast in late 2022.
Pressley was indicted in March 2023 on one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He pleaded guilty to those charges this July.
On November 20, 2022, at approximately 4:15 p.m., a male employee was waiting on several customers inside a dollar store on the 6900 block of Bustleton Avenue. After the last customer left, Pressley approached the counter and engaged in small talk with the employee. The defendant suddenly walked around the counter, brandished a black semiautomatic pistol, and demanded money from him. The victim opened the cash register and invited Pressley to take the money inside, which amounted to over $300. Pressley pocketed the cash, then demanded that the victim take him upstairs to get more money.
The victim pleaded with Pressley to leave, finding some more cash by the counter, which he gave to Pressley. When the victim’s wife began to come down the steps from the second floor, Pressley aimed his gun at her, and then back at the male victim. Pressley told the man that he had five seconds to go upstairs and get more money and began to count backwards from five.
The victim then grabbed his own firearm from behind the counter and he and Pressley exchanged gunfire. Pressley was shot numerous times throughout his body, knocking him backwards and onto the floor. The defendant discharged his pistol multiple times as he fell but did not strike the victim. Pressley ran to the back of the store, then made a dash for the front door. As he fled, he turned and fired at the victim, again missing him.
A short time later, Pressley was dropped off at an area hospital where he was treated for gunshot wounds. Philadelphia police officers who responded to the hospital seized Pressley’s clothing, finding approximately $371 in cash in his pants pocket.
“Nafec Pressley nearly got himself killed because he’d rather steal money than work for it,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “He’s extremely fortunate he didn’t kill anyone else when he opened fire in that store. My office and our partners at ATF and the Philadelphia Police Department are committed to protecting the public from these violent criminals who prey on others. With Mr. Pressley behind bars for the next decade-plus, our stores, streets, and city are safer.”
“We will not let violent criminals like Nafec Pressley terrorize Philadelphia’s businesses and communities,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Philadelphia Field Division. “In this robbery turned shootout it was only by good fortune no one was killed. ATF Philadelphia Field Division has a long history of partnership with the Philadelphia Police Department and U.S. Attorney’s Office, and we will continue to work tirelessly together to ensure justice for the victims and to make our communities safer.”
The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department and the ATF and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. Zaleski.
Member of Large-Scale Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Distributing Meth, PCP, Fentanyl, and Other NarcoticsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Diane Gillard, 41, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge John M. Gallagher to 192 months in prison, 10 years of supervised release, and $2,100 in restitution for drug trafficking and gun offenses.
On July 18, 2023, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania returned a 54-count superseding indictment charging Gillard, brother Phillip Gillard, and seven other codefendants with their participation in a large-scale drug trafficking organization operating in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, in the immediate vicinity of the Memphis Street Academy, a charter school located at 2950 Memphis Street.
In November 2023, Diane Gillard pleaded guilty to all charges in the superseding indictment.
Those charges arose from the FBI’s two-year investigation into the Gillard drug trafficking organization, which supplied other drug traffickers with wholesale quantities of methamphetamine, phencyclidine (“PCP”), fentanyl, and other narcotics.
Throughout the course of the investigation, law enforcement agents conducted surveillance and undercover sting operations, during which drugs were purchased from the defendants. The group maintained three separate properties in connection with their drug trafficking organization, all of which were less than 1,000 feet away from the Memphis Street Academy.
In total, the FBI confiscated over 20 pounds of pure methamphetamine, three gallons of PCP, one and a half kilograms of cocaine, 900 grams of crack cocaine, 400 grams of fentanyl, and 11 firearms.
Codefendants Sharif Jackson, Amin Whitehead, Cesar Maldonado, Terrence Maxwell, Raphael Sanchez, Melvin Dreher, and Arron Preno previously pleaded guilty and received prison sentences in this case. Jackson was sentenced to 180 months in prison, Whitehead to 138 months, Maldonado to 96 months, Maxwell to 93 months, Sanchez to 90 months, Dreher to 60 months, and Preno to six months. Phillip Gillard, who was convicted at trial in February, is scheduled to be sentenced in December.
“Diane Gillard was a central participant in the Gillard Street Gang’s trafficking, caught red-handed selling large amounts of drugs on multiple occasions,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “This is a group that helped flood Philly’s streets with meth, PCP, fentanyl, and more. My office and our partners will continue to target those fueling our city’s drug epidemic and callously profiting from people’s pain and addiction.”
“Drugs like fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine devastate communities across our nation and have no place in our city,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “Today’s sentence is a culmination of a years-long investigation, and the tireless dedication of the FBI and our law enforcement partners in pursuit of those who bring these harmful drugs into our communities.”
“The interagency cooperation on this case has been truly outstanding,” said Edward V. Owens, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia. “I commend the special agents and prosecutors who worked to ensure that these criminals and the dangerous drugs that they were trafficking will no longer threaten the American public.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, Philadelphia Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations, with extraordinary cooperation from the Memphis Street Academy, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Everett Witherell and Robert W. Schopf.
Vermont Man Sentenced to More Than 22 Years in Prison for Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Patrick Knauss, 35, of Essex Junction, Vermont, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney to 265 months’ imprisonment, 15 years of supervised release, $3,000 in restitution, and a $300 special assessment for child pornography offenses.
Knauss was charged by indictment in February of this year with one count each of conspiracy to manufacture child pornography, conspiracy to receive and distribute child pornography, and receipt of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to all three charges in June.
Over a period of more than two years, the defendant and his co-conspirators, Andrew Wolf and Kray Strange, operated an elaborate online child exploitation catfishing scheme to entice minor boys to self-produce sexually explicit images and send them to the defendants over the internet. At the time, Wolf was in his 18th year as a middle school teacher at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia and Strange was a young adult living in Carthage, New York.
Together, the three targeted boys with large social media followings, as well as dozens of Wolf’s own middle school students. Throughout their years of near-daily communications, which amount to nearly 2,000 pages, the defendant and his co-conspirators also discussed their shared sexual interest in children and traded images and videos of child sexual abuse material (“CSAM”).
Wolf and Strange both pleaded guilty to the catfishing scheme in June of 2022. On February 16, 2023, Wolf was sentenced to 466 months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release. On March 31, 2023, Strange was sentenced to 396 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by lifetime supervised release. They were ordered to pay a total of $324,320 in restitution to six minor victims who sought restitution.
“For more than two years, Patrick Knauss took part in a scheme that victimized dozens of children,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Knauss not only encouraged his co-conspirator, teacher Andrew Wolf, to catfish his own students, he even suggested some strategies for doing so. Know that my office and the FBI will never stop working to hold predators like this accountable and protect our children from sexual exploitation.”
“The online exploitation of children is one of the most egregious crimes the FBI investigates,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “This sentencing underscores that FBI and our partners are committed to safeguarding children and ensuring that those who harm them will face consequences.”
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly Harrell.
Two Philadelphia Men Sentenced to Almost a Decade in Prison for Separate Gunpoint Carjackings in the CityRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that two Philadelphia men have each been sentenced to almost 10 years in prison for carrying out separate carjackings in the city.
Asiem Brooking, 21, was sentenced on October 17, 2024, by United States District Court Judge R. Barclay Surrick to 117 months in prison and three years of supervised release for committing an armed carjacking in the city’s Olney section in January 2023.
At around 8:15 p.m. on January 28, 2023, as a 54-year-old man was about to get out of his Nissan Altima on the 5400 block of North 6th Street, Brooking opened the passenger side front door, pointed a gun at the victim, and threatened to kill him. After the victim complied with Brooking’s demand to hand over his wallet and keys, the defendant fled the scene in the Altima.
In May of 2023, Brooking was charged by indictment with one count of carjacking and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He pleaded guilty to both counts in July of this year.
Marc Anthony, also known as Nasir Johnson, 22, was sentenced on October 18, 2024, by United States District Court Judge Karen S. Marston to 115 months in prison and five years of supervised release for carjacking a woman at gunpoint in the city’s Fairmount section in January 2022.
At about 1:15 p.m. on January 6, 2022, Anthony and an unknown accomplice, both masked and armed with handguns, approached a 40-year-old woman who had just parked her Hyundai Sonata on the 800 block of North 28th Street. As they ordered the victim out of the car at gunpoint, she asked to retrieve her dog from the back seat, struggling to do so as they yelled for her phone and passcode. Once the victim and her dog were clear, the carjackers fled the scene in the Sonata.
Anthony was charged by indictment in May 2022 with one count of carjacking and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He pleaded guilty to both charges in May of this year.
“These criminals who think nothing of terrorizing our community at gunpoint are a true priority for my office, the FBI, and our partners on Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “By ensuring that people like Brookings and Anthony are prosecuted and held accountable for their violent and disturbing crimes, we’re making the city safer — one offender, one block, one neighborhood at a time.”
These cases were investigated by the FBI Philadelphia Violent Crimes Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department and are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. Zaleski.
Press Release by the United States Attorney Relating to the November 2024 General ElectionRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced today that two District Election Officers will lead the efforts of her Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 5, 2024, general election. The District Election Officers (DEOs) for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election,” U.S. Attorney Romero said. “Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).
“The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy,” U.S. Attorney Romero said. “We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, the DEOs will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. The public can reach them by calling 215-861-8200 and asking for the District Election Officers.”
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public by calling 215-418-4000.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can also be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C., by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ or by phone at 1-800-253-3931.
“Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate,” U.S. Attorney Romero said. “It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”
Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, call 911 immediately before then contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
Philadelphia Man Who Made Antisemitic and Islamophobic Threats Sentenced to 16 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Yaniv Gola, 51, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Kai N. Scott to 16 months’ incarceration followed by three years of supervised release for interstate communication of threats.
In February of this year, Gola was charged by information with using a Voice Over Internet Protocol service to mask his phone number and make telephone calls threatening to injure, rape, and kill eight different victims between August 2, 2022, and November 5, 2023. He pleaded guilty to the eight counts against him on February 14.
On one of these calls, Gola threatened, “You f***ing Jew, now I know where you are. I’m going to kill all you Jews … You all should be shoved back into ovens. I’m going down to [victim’s business location] to kill you.” On another call, Gola said to a victim, “I want to put a bullet in your head … You f***ing Muslims.” In the most recent call, Gola threatened a victim, “You’re Jewish, I’m from Hamas. You’re animals and pigs … If you don’t leave that place, we’re going to blow you up.”
“Yaniv Gola made hundreds of these calls and texts, terrorizing his victims with incredibly vile, violent threats,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “He learned where they lived and worked, deploying those details just to heighten their fear. My office and the FBI will continue to hold accountable anyone making such cruel and criminal threats.”
“The details of this case serve as an alarming reminder of threats members of our community face because of their beliefs,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office. “We thank our law enforcement partners who work alongside us every day as we work to ensure the safety and security of our communities. Let today’s sentence serve as a reminder that the FBI will continue to diligently pursue those who make violent threats against those we are charged to protect.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Jeanette Kang. The FBI was assisted by the Philadelphia Police Department, the Media Borough Police Department, the Cinnaminson Township (N.J.) Police Department, the Newtown Township (Delaware County) Police Department, and the Haddonfield (N.J.) Police Department.
Penn State Agrees to Pay $1.25 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Non-Compliance with Contractual Cybersecurity RequirementsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) has agreed to pay $1,250,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements in 15 contracts or subcontracts involving the Department of Defense (DoD) or National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The settlement resolves allegations that, between 2018 and 2023, Penn State failed to implement cybersecurity controls that were contractually required by DoD and NASA and did not adequately develop and implement plans of action to correct deficiencies it identified. DoD requires contractors to submit summary level scores reflecting the status of their compliance with applicable cybersecurity requirements on covered contracting systems used to store or access covered defense information. The United States alleged that Penn State submitted cybersecurity assessment scores to DoD that reflected it had not implemented certain controls, but misrepresented the dates by which it would implement them and did not pursue plans of action to do so. The United States also alleged that in performing certain of the contracts and subcontracts Penn State did not use an external cloud service provider that met DoD’s security requirements for covered defense information.
“Federal contractors who store or access covered defense information must take required steps to protect that sensitive information from bad actors,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “When they fail to meet their cybersecurity obligations, we and our law enforcement partners will use every available tool to remedy the situation.”
“As our cyber adversaries become increasingly sophisticated, the importance of cybersecurity in safeguarding Department of Defense research, development and acquisitions information cannot be overstated,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross, Naval Criminal Investigative Service Economic Crimes Field Office. “NCIS, along with our federal partners, are committed to investigating entities who fail to implement contractual requirements designed to protect Department of the Navy critical information.”
“Protecting the integrity of Department of Defense (DoD) procurement activities is a top priority for the DoD Office of Inspector General's Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS),” stated Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty, DCIS Northeast Field Office. “Failing to comply with DoD contract specifications and cybersecurity requirements puts DoD information and programs at risk. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and the Department of Justice to investigate allegations of false claims on DoD contracts.”
“Safeguarding sensitive NASA and DoD data is crucial to ensuring that it does not fall into the hands of our adversaries or bad actors,” said Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Robert Steinau of NASA. “The University’s inability to adequately address known deficiencies not only put sensitive information at risk but also undermined the integrity of our government’s cybersecurity efforts. We remain committed to holding entities accountable when they fail to meet critical security standards, as demonstrated by this case.”
On October 6, 2021, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the department’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, which aims to hold accountable entities or individuals that put sensitive information at risk by knowingly providing deficient cybersecurity products or services, knowingly misrepresenting their cybersecurity practices or protocols, or knowingly violating obligations to monitor and report cybersecurity incidents. Information on how to report cyberfraud can be found here.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to sue on behalf of the government when they believe that a defendant has submitted false claims for government funds and receive a share of any recovery. The settlement in this case provides for the whistleblower, Matthew Decker, former Chief Information Officer for Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory, to receive a $250,000 share of the settlement amount. The qui tam case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Decker v. Pennsylvania State University., No. 2:22-cv-03895 (E.D Pa.).
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, with assistance from NCIS, NASA-OIG, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Army Criminal Investigation Division, Naval Audit Service, the Defense Contract Management Agency’s Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Assessment Center, and the Air Force Material Command.
The matter was handled in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebecca S. Melley and Peter Carr and Auditor Dawn Wiggins.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Former Montgomery County Restaurant Owner Sentenced to 21 Months’ Imprisonment for PPP and RRF Loan FraudRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Giuseppina “Josephine” Leone, 62, of North Wales, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Gerald A. McHugh to 21 months in prison, one year of supervised release, a $50,000 fine and $300 special assessment for pandemic program fraud. The Court denied the defendant’s request for a non-custodial sentence. The defendant has also paid full restitution in the amount of $972,861.75.
Leone was charged by indictment on May 16, 2024, with three counts of wire fraud for making false representations in documents relating to the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and Restaurant Revitalization Fund (“RRF”) program, which provided emergency financial assistance to business owners suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. She pleaded guilty to those charges on May 23.
Leone and her husband were owners of Ristorante San Marco (“RSM”), an Italian restaurant located in Ambler, Pa. Leone and her husband executed an Agreement for Sale of Real Property dated October 20, 2019, listing themselves as the “Sellers” of the RSM property and a third party as the “Buyer” for a purchase price of $1,575,000. Subsequently, on or about March 18, 2020, Leone posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page informing the public that RSM would be temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. RSM remained closed and never reopened.
Despite the restaurant not being in operation in April 2020, Leone submitted a fraudulent application for a PPP loan in the amount of $138,000. This application misrepresented that RSM, which had been closed for approximately a month, had 17 employees, and would use the loan for payroll and other operating expenses. The fraudulent application was approved, and the loan funds were deposited into RSM’s bank account later that month. The loan was subsequently forgiven based on further misrepresentations by Leone.
In January 2021, while the restaurant was still not in operation, Leone submitted another fraudulent application for a PPP loan, this time seeking $120,000. The application made similar misrepresentations and was approved, resulting in the requested funds being deposited into RSM’s bank account in February 2021. Again, the PPP loan was forgiven due to misrepresentations by Leone.
Finally, Leone defrauded another COVID-19 relief program. While RSM was still not in operation in May 2021, Leone submitted a fraudulent application for a grant under the RRF program, requesting $699,196 for restaurant operations. This RRF application mispresented that RSM, which had not been operating since March 2020, was in operation and that the money would be used to pay employee wages. As a result of this deception, the request was approved, and the funds were deposited into RSM’s bank account later in May 2021. One month later, in June 2021, Leone closed on the sale of RSM. Nonetheless, over a year later, Leone misrepresented to the federal government that the RRF funds had been used for eligible purposes, even though RSM was never reopened by Leone.
“PPP and the other covid relief programs were meant to provide emergency aid to businesses and employees financially flattened by the pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “My office and our partners won’t stand for opportunists like Mrs. Leone thinking they can defraud the federal government, pocket taxpayers’ money, and get away with it. We’ll continue to aggressively pursue and prosecute anyone foolish enough to do so.”
The case was investigated by the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, the FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Angella Middleton.
Virginia Man Sentenced to 66 Months in Prison for Stealing from Elderly Incapacitated VictimsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Carlton Rembert, 70, of Hampton, Virginia, was sentenced on October 11, 2024, by United States District Judge Joel H. Slomsky to 66 months’ imprisonment, five years of supervised release, $534,335 in restitution to the victims, and a $400 special assessment for his role in a scheme to defraud elderly incapacitated people of over $1 million.
Rembert’s late co-conspirator and sister, Gloria Byars, was a court-appointed guardian for over 100 incapacitated wards in Pennsylvania. Between 2012 and 2018, Byars, Rembert, and other co-conspirators stole the life savings from dozens of wards while Byars served as their court-appointed guardian. Byars pleaded guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, and tax fraud for her role in the fraud scheme. Rembert proceeded to trial in November 2023 and after a four-day trial, a jury found Rembert guilty of conspiracy, bank fraud, and wire fraud.
As guardian, Byars had unfettered access to wards’ property including bank accounts, pensions, real estate, retirement accounts, and other assets. Byars stole money from the wards’ bank accounts by writing unauthorized checks to companies she controlled, or to shell companies controlled by her co-conspirators, Rembert and Alesha Mitchell. Rembert and Mitchell assisted Byars in the theft by opening bank accounts in their home state of Virginia in the names of shell companies purporting to be medical services companies. Byars made the checks payable to her co-conspirators’ fake medical services companies, to make it appear that the elderly incapacitated ward incurred a legitimate medical expense.
After receiving dozens of checks from his sister, Rembert deposited over $695,000 in stolen ward checks into five separate shell business bank accounts he had opened. Rembert then withdrew over $388,000 in cash through 94 structured withdrawals. Rembert also obtained $217,082 in certified checks, sending the certified checks to Byars and keeping a share of the stolen ward money for himself. When confronted by law enforcement, Rembert lied to investigators, pretending that he provided services to the elderly and sick victims. Some of the victims’ families testified at Rembert’s trial, telling the court that they had never heard of Rembert’s sham medical companies, and that neither Rembert nor his companies provided any services for their loved ones.
Rembert and Byars spent the stolen ward money on personal expenses, including vacations, clothing and other retail purchases, restaurants, vehicles, gifts, and parties. In all, Byers, Rembert, and Mitchell stole well over $1 million from at least 120 incapacitated people in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Alesha Mitchell is scheduled to be sentenced on October 24.
“Rembert and his co-conspirators had no qualms about ripping off these incapacitated victims and living it up on their stolen money,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “The greed and callousness here are off the charts. It’s vile that criminals target the elderly and infirm specifically to take advantage of their vulnerability. My office and our partners will continue to do all we can to hold these crooks responsible and protect our elders from such greed, fraud, and abuse.”
“Elder fraud leaves a damaging impact on victims and our communities, and our office remains steadfast in pursuit of those who exploit this vulnerable population,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “We encourage those who believe that they or a loved one are a victim of elder fraud to report it. Reporting elder fraud is not only a step towards justice, but it helps protect others from victimization.”
“Carlton Rembert, together with his co-conspirator Gloria Byars, abused the trust of the most vulnerable among us – individuals who have been incapacitated by age, illness, or both. What they did was truly heinous – and truly criminal. I applaud United States Attorney Romero for prosecuting these individuals, in one of the first guardianship fraud cases to be prosecuted. Unfortunately, this type of fraud is increasing, and it is important for law enforcement to send a clear signal that it will not be tolerated,” said Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.
“As a law enforcement community, it is our duty to hold individuals accountable who abuse their position of trust and steal from the people that are under their care,” said Amy MacNeely, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. “We, along with our law enforcement partners and the Department of Justice, will continue to hold accountable those who exploit the most vulnerable among us.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigation Division, and IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tiwana Wright and Samuel Dalke.
Par Funding Principal and Former CFO Pleads Guilty to Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Joseph Cole Barleta (aka “Joe Cole”), 41, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney on one count of racketeering conspiracy, in connection with his role in the operation of a fraudulent investment vehicle known as Complete Business Solutions Group Inc. d/b/a Par Funding (“Par Funding”), which is alleged to have generated over $100 million in illegal proceeds for Barleta and its other principals, to the detriment of Par Funding’s numerous investors, many who live in the Philadelphia region.
According to a second superseding indictment filed in February, Barleta and codefendants Joseph LaForte, James LaForte, and others, were part of an association-in-fact RICO enterprise that conspired to commit a number of predicate crimes, including crimes related to the fleecing of Par Funding’s many investors. Barleta’s admitted role in the conspiracy related to the securities and wire fraud components of the enterprise.
Joe LaForte and James LaForte pleaded guilty last month to racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, and related crimes.
Joe LaForte is scheduled to be sentenced on January 13, 2025.
James LaForte and Joseph Cole Barleta are both scheduled to be sentenced on February 20, 2025.
Per the terms of Barleta’s plea agreement, the government is seeking a sentence of imprisonment of up to eight years, although the Court has discretion to impose a higher or lower sentence.
This case was investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, and Pennsylvania State Police and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew T. Newcomer, Samuel S. Dalke, Eric D. Gill, and Patrick J. Murray, as well as former Assistant United States Attorney Alexandra M. Lastowski. The SEC in Florida investigated and litigated the civil securities fraud charges, which formed the basis of a portion of the criminal prosecution.
Delaware Man Sentenced to More Than 23 Years in Prison for Two Violent Delco CarjackingsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Keenan Righter, 21, of New Castle, Delaware, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Court Chief Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg to 280 months in prison, five years of supervised release, restitution of $1,919, and a $500 assessment, in connection with two armed carjackings in Delaware County in January of 2023.
Righter was convicted by a jury in May of conspiracy, two counts of carjacking, and two counts of using or carrying a firearm during a crime of violence arising from his role in the two carjacking incidents. Codefendant Jamar Miller pleaded guilty to these offenses in March of 2023 and is awaiting sentencing.
On January 14, 2023, at approximately 9 p.m., Righter and others drove in Miller’s car to a Wawa on Route 322 in Upper Chichester Township, Delaware County. Righter and another male then ambushed a 23-year-old college student who was walking to his car after leaving the store. The men, each brandishing firearms and wearing masks to disguise their identities, demanded the victim’s vehicle at gunpoint. They pistol-whipped the victim in the back of the head and fled the scene in the victim’s car.
On January 24, 2023, at approximately 1:30 a.m., Righter and another male drove in Miller’s car to a Wawa on Edgmont Avenue in Brookhaven, Delaware County. Again, they wore masks and carried firearms as they carjacked a 33-year-old victim at gunpoint in the parking lot of the Wawa. The men pistol-whipped the victim multiple times in the head with a firearm as they stole his belongings and fled the scene in his car.
The defendant was apprehended after an intensive investigation by FBI Philadelphia’s Newtown Square Resident Agency, in conjunction with the Brookhaven and Upper Chichester Police Departments. Digital forensic evidence and more linked the defendant to both carjackings.
“Imagine the shock of being violently ambushed on a Wawa run, of all things,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Keenan Righter targeted and terrorized total strangers, just to steal their cars. Armed criminals who think they can victimize innocent people with impunity should take a good hard look at 21-year-old Mr. Righter’s 23-year prison sentence. Keep doing what you’re doing, and you’ll earn your own long stay in one of our federal facilities.”
“Such brazen and senseless acts, like the ones in this case, not only devastate the victims but our community at large,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “This sentencing exemplifies the value of partnerships in combatting violent crime. Our office will continue to work alongside our local law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to keep violent offenders off the streets and ensure our neighborhoods are a safer place to live.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Brookhaven Police Department, and Upper Chichester Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorneys Brian Doherty and Branwen McNabb O’Donnell.
Camden County Man Pleads Guilty to Violent Armed Robberies of Three Corner Stores in Philadelphia’s Kensington SectionRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Jared Stanley, 32, of Lindenwold, New Jersey, entered a plea of guilty on Friday, October 11, 2024, before United States District Court Judge John F. Murphy to three counts of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in connection with the armed robberies of three corner stores in Philadelphia’s Kensington section.
Stanley committed all three robberies during a two-week span in late January and early February of this year.
On January 21, 2024, the defendant entered the Birch Mini-Market, located at 2001 East Birch Street. He approached the counter, pointed a gun at the cashier, and demanded money. When the cashier didn’t understand him, Stanley started screaming at them. He repeatedly hit the cashier in the head with the gun, stole approximately $550 from the register, and fled.
On January 28, 2024, Stanley and an unidentified co-conspirator entered the Capricorno Grocery, located at 2000 East Orleans Street. Stanley walked to the employee area of the store, displayed a firearm, grabbed the employee by the shirt and forcibly pulled him away, pistol whipped him repeatedly, and stood guard over him while his accomplice went back to the register and stole approximately $500.
On February 2, 2024, Stanley and an unidentified co-conspirator entered Bonifacios Grocery, located at 3052 Frankford Avenue. They pushed an employee to the cash register, told him to get on the ground and then pistol whipped him in the head. Stanley and his accomplice then stole approximately $500 from the cash register and fled the store on foot.
Stanley is scheduled to be sentenced on January 29, 2025. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison and a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment, five years of supervised release, a $1,250,000 fine, and a $500 special assessment.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Eckert.
Former Correctional Officer Sentenced for Smuggling Mobile Phones into Federal Detention CenterRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Lee E. Moore, Jr., 36, of Sicklerville, New Jersey, was sentenced yesterday to three years of probation with six months of home detention and a $5,000 fine by United States Magistrate Judge Scott W. Reid, all arising from Moore smuggling mobile phones into the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia (“FDC”) while he was employed as a correctional officer at the FDC.
From August 2016 to June 2023, Moore was a correctional officer at the FDC. During May-June 2020, Moore smuggled mobile phones into the FDC in exchange for payments from an inmate’s wife. In June 2020, Moore also approached a second inmate about smuggling in contraband or other special favors in exchange for payment.
“Correctional officers have a tough enough job without having to deal with inmates who have access to smuggled contraband,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Lee Moore put his fellow COs and the public at risk by smuggling cell phones into the FDC for a price. But the price for breaking his law enforcement oath is much higher: he’s lost his job and now has a federal conviction on his record.”
"When a corrections officer chooses greed over integrity, it undermines the hard work and dedication their colleagues put forward every day to ensure a safe environment inside our detention centers," said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. "The FBI and our partners reaffirm our commitment to holding accountable those in the corrections system who abuse their positions of trust."
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Detention Center and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Vineet Gauri.
Justice Department Secures over $6.5M from Citadel Federal Credit Union to Address Redlining of Black and Hispanic CommunitiesRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that Citadel Federal Credit Union (Citadel) has agreed to pay over $6.5 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of lending discrimination by redlining predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia. This landmark agreement is the Justice Department’s first redlining settlement with a credit union, making this a historic achievement for the Combating Redlining Initiative.
Redlining is an illegal practice in which lenders avoid providing credit services to individuals living in communities of color because of the race, color or national origin of residents in those communities.
“This redlining settlement marks the Justice Department’s very first resolution involving a credit union, making clear our intent to hold all types of lenders accountable for their role in modern-day redlining,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “There are well over 4,600 credit unions across America, all subject to federal laws that prohibit redlining and lending discrimination. Redlining and other forms of lending discrimination harm communities of color and families by denying them an equal opportunity to access credit, attain the dream of homeownership and build generational wealth. This settlement will expand investment in Black and Hispanic communities, particularly in Philadelphia, and increase opportunities for homeownership and financial stability. Residents of communities harmed by unlawful redlining will finally be able to access credit services from Citadel in their own neighborhoods, including at the new branches required by the settlement.”
“For generations, Philadelphia’s communities of color have lacked equal access to the credit needed for homeownership. We know that redlining has a devastating impact on a family’s finances and future, and results in economic and other inequalities that plague our communities for decades,” said U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “We also know the transformational change that can occur when credit is made available to underserved residents, and particularly when lenders, like Citadel, establish branch locations in these neighborhoods.”
The Justice Department’s complaint, which was filed today in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleges that, from at least 2017 through 2021, Citadel failed to provide mortgage lending services to majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia and discouraged people seeking credit in those communities from obtaining home loans. Citadel’s home mortgage lending was focused disproportionately on white areas around Greater Philadelphia. Peer lenders generated mortgage applications in predominately Black and Hispanic neighborhoods at nearly three times the rate of Citadel and originated mortgage loans in these areas at more than three times the rate of Citadel.
The complaint further alleges that Citadel’s branches are located almost exclusively in majority-White neighborhoods, with no branches in Philadelphia, which contains more than 75% of the majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods and 34% of the total population in Citadel’s market area.
Under the proposed consent order, which is subject to court approval, Citadel has agreed to invest $6.52 million to increase credit opportunities for communities of color in and around Philadelphia. Specifically, Citadel will:
- Invest at least $6 million in a loan subsidy fund to increase access to home mortgage, home improvement and home refinance loans for residents of majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Philadelphia;
- Spend at least $250,000 on community partnerships to provide services related to credit, consumer financial education, homeownership and foreclosure prevention for residents of predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Citadel’s market area;
- Spend at least $270,000 for advertising, outreach, consumer financial education and credit counseling focused on predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Philadelphia;
- Open three new branches in predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Philadelphia; and
- Hire a community lending officer who will oversee the continued development of lending in communities of color.
Citadel also agreed to retain independent consultants to enhance its fair lending program and better meet the communities’ needs for mortgage credit. The credit union will conduct a community credit needs assessment, evaluate its fair lending compliance management systems, and conduct staff trainings.
With assets of approximately $6 billion, Citadel is headquartered in Pennsylvania and operates 24 branches in its market area of Greater Philadelphia, which includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties. Citadel is the second largest credit union in the region and has over 263,000 members. Citadel cooperated with the Justice Department’s investigation.
In October 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Assistant Attorney General Clarke launched the Justice Department’s Combating Redlining Initiative, a coordinated enforcement effort to address this persistent form of discrimination against communities of color. Since 2021, the department has announced 14 redlining resolutions and secured over $144 million in relief for communities of color that have been the victims of lending discrimination across the country. In March, Assistant Attorney General Clarke presented remarks to America’s Credit Unions’ Governmental Affairs Conference regarding the unique issues raised by redlining in the credit union industry.
A copy of the complaint and information about the Justice Department’s fair lending enforcement work can be found at www.justice.gov/fairhousing. Individuals may report lending discrimination by calling the Justice Department’s housing discrimination tip line at 1-833-591-0291 or submitting a report online.
Justice Department Reaches Agreement with Citadel Federal Credit Union to Resolve First-Ever Redlining Action Against a Credit UnionRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA, PA – The United States Department of Justice announced today that Citadel Federal Credit Union (Citadel) has agreed to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern and practice of lending discrimination by “redlining” predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia. If approved by the court, this redlining resolution would be the Justice Department’s first involving a credit union.
“Redlining” is an illegal practice in which lenders avoid providing credit services to individuals living in certain communities or zip codes because of the race, color, or national origin of persons residing there. Under a proposed consent order filed today in federal court in conjunction with a complaint, Citadel has agreed to invest over $6.5 million to increase credit opportunities in neighborhoods of color in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The proposed consent order also requires Citadel to establish three new branches in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Philadelphia over the course of five years.
In its complaint, the United States alleges that from at least 2017 through 2021, Citadel provided mortgage lending services to majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia at rates far below that of comparable lenders. During the same time frame, peer lenders generated mortgage applications in predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods at nearly three times the rate of Citadel and originated mortgage loans in those neighborhoods over three times as often.
The United States alleges that Citadel disproportionately focused its outreach, marketing, and home mortgage lending on the predominately White suburbs in the Greater Philadelphia region. All but one of Citadel’s full-service branches are in majority-White neighborhoods, and no branches are in Philadelphia, which contains over 75% of the majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods and 34% of the total population in Citadel’s market area.
Under the proposed consent order, Citadel agrees to invest at least $6 million in a loan subsidy fund to increase access to home mortgage, home improvement, and home refinance loans for residents of majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Citadel will spend an additional $250,000 on community partnerships to provide credit, consumer finance, homeownership, and foreclosure prevention services to the residents of these areas, and at least $270,000 on advertising, consumer financial education, and credit counseling. Citadel will also open three new branches in predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Philadelphia and will hire a community lending officer to oversee the continued development of lending in communities of color.
According to United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero, the proposed resolution presents a tremendous opportunity for long-underserved Philadelphia residents. “For generations, Philadelphia’s communities of color have lacked equal access to the credit needed for homeownership. We know that redlining has a devastating impact on a family’s finances and future, and results in economic and other inequalities that plague our communities for decades,” said Romero. “We also know the transformational change that can occur when credit is made available to underserved residents, and particularly when lenders, like Citadel, establish branch locations in these neighborhoods.”
“This redlining settlement marks the Justice Department’s very first resolution involving a credit union, making clear our intent to hold all types of lenders accountable for their role in modern-day redlining,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “There are well over 4,600 credit unions across America, all subject to federal laws that prohibit redlining and lending discrimination. Redlining and other forms of lending discrimination harm communities of color and families by denying them an equal opportunity to access credit, attain the dream of homeownership and build generational wealth. This settlement will expand investment in Black and Hispanic communities, particularly in Philadelphia, and increase opportunities for homeownership and financial stability. Residents of communities harmed by unlawful redlining will finally be able to access credit services from Citadel in their own neighborhoods, including at the new branches required by the settlement.”
The settlement is part of the U.S. Attorney General’s Combating Redlining Initiative, announced in October 2021 and aimed at coordinating agencies’ enforcement efforts to address this persistent form of discrimination. The Initiative expands the Justice Department’s reach by strengthening partnerships with U.S. Attorney’s Offices and other federal and state agencies across the country. Since 2021, the department has announced 14 redlining resolutions and secured over $144 million in relief for communities of color that have been the victims of lending discrimination across the country.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan C. Hughes, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Kaufman (now with the District of New Jersey), Deputy Civil Chief for Civil Rights Lauren DeBruicker, and former Investigator Jeffrey Braun handled this matter for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in collaboration with attorneys from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Citadel cooperated with the Justice Department’s investigation and worked with the department to resolve the redlining allegations.
Information about the Justice Department’s fair lending enforcement work can be found here. Individuals may report lending discrimination by calling the Justice Department’s housing discrimination tip line at 1-833-591-0291 or submitting a report online.
Generic Pharmaceutical Company Pays $25 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Liability for Price-Fixing of Generic DrugsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., a generic pharmaceutical manufacturer located in Parsippany, New Jersey, has agreed to pay $25 million to resolve its alleged liability under the False Claims Act for conspiring to fix prices and allocate markets for two generic drugs. This settlement is one part of an overall resolution, for a total payment of $450 million, based on Teva’s ability to pay, of allegations of this and another kickback arrangement.
The government alleged that, between May 1, 2013 and December 31, 2015, Teva paid and received compensation prohibited by the Anti-Kickback Statute through arrangements on price, supply, and allocation of customers with other pharmaceutical manufacturers for two generic drugs manufactured by Teva, pravastatin and tobramycin. Pravastatin is widely used to treat high cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and tobramycin is an antibiotic.
“Kickback arrangements by pharmaceutical companies escalate the costs for critical drugs used by our citizens and federal health care programs,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “My office is proud to work with the rest of the Department of Justice and our investigative partners to enforce federal laws prohibiting kickback arrangements. We will continue to take action to lower the drug costs for our country and its health care programs supporting senior citizens, our military service members, and others.”
“Kickbacks designed to induce referrals or purchases of healthcare goods or services distort physician and patient decision-making, thwart competition, and bypass controls put in place to protect federal health care programs,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The Department is committed to pursuing all those who engage in kickback violations, including drug manufacturers, to ensure that these federal health care programs continue to serve the interests of taxpayers and program beneficiaries.”
“Conspiring to raise prices on generic medications is illegal and could prevent patients from being able to afford their needed prescription drugs. Americans have the right to purchase generic drugs set by fair and open competition, not collusion,” said Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia Regional Office of the Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations of health care fraud that put the public and the Medicare program at risk.”
“The Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the law enforcement arm of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, seeks to protect the integrity of TRICARE, the healthcare system for U.S. military members and their dependents,” said Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty, DCIS Northeast Field Office. “When pharmaceutical corporations artificially inflate prices, they place an unnecessary financial burden on the TRICARE program. The settlement agreement announced today demonstrates our commitment to partner with investigative agencies and the Department of Justice, including the Civil Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, to combat healthcare fraud.”
The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits companies from receiving or making payments in return for arranging the sale or purchase of items such as drugs for which payment may be made by a federal health care program. These provisions are designed to ensure that the supply and price of health care items are not compromised by improper financial incentives. This settlement reflects the important role of the False Claims Act to ensure that the United States is fully compensated when it is the victim of kickbacks paid to further anticompetitive conduct.
Teva previously entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department’s Antitrust Division to resolve related criminal charges. Teva agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $225 million based on its ability to pay and admitted to agreeing with competitors to refrain from submitting bids and offers to sell drugs to certain customers. The civil settlement payment announced today is in addition to the criminal penalty paid by the company.
This civil settlement is the seventh resolution arising from the Department’s investigation of price fixing by generic drug manufacturers and was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Commercial Litigation Branch (Fraud Section) of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, with support from HHS-OIG, the Defense Health Agency Program Integrity Office, DCIS, and the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrate the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Landon Y. Jones III, Rebecca S. Melley, and Anthony D. Scicchitano of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with Senior Trial Counsel Jennifer L. Cihon and Senior Litigation Counsel Laurie A. Oberembt of the Civil Division.
Except for those facts admitted to by Teva in the deferred prosecution agreement, the claims resolved by the civil settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
El Departamento de Justicia obtiene más de $6.5 millones de la cooperativa de crédito Citadel Federal Credit Union para abordar la exclusión financiera de las comunidades negras e hispanasRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que Citadel Federal Credit Union (Citadel) ha acordado pagar más de $6.5 millones para resolver las acusaciones de haber incurrido en un patrón o una práctica de discriminación crediticia al practicar la exclusión financiera en barrios de mayoría negra e hispana en Philadelphia y sus alrededores. Este acuerdo histórico es el primer acuerdo sobre la exclusión financiera que el Departamento de Justicia ha conseguido con una cooperativa de crédito, lo que lo convierte en un logro histórico para la Iniciativa para Combatir la Exclusión Financiera.
La exclusión financiera es una práctica ilícita en la que los prestamistas evitan la provisión de servicios crediticios a individuos que viven en comunidades de color por motivos de la raza, el color o el origen nacional de los residentes de esas comunidades.
“Este acuerdo sobre la exclusión financiera marca la primera resolución del Departamento de Justicia que involucra una cooperativa de crédito, lo que deja claro nuestra intención de hacer responsables a todos los tipos de prestamistas por su papel en la exclusión financiera moderna,” comentó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. “Hay más de 4,600 cooperativas de crédito en los Estados Unidos, cada una de las cuales está sujeta a leyes federales que prohíben la discriminación crediticia y la exclusión financiera. La exclusión financiera y otras formas de discriminación crediticia causan daño a las comunidades de color y a las familias al negarles la igualdad de oportunidades para acceder al crédito, lograr el sueño de ser propietarios de una casa y generar riqueza generacional. Este acuerdo ampliará la inversión en comunidades negras e hispanas, especialmente en Philadelphia, y mejorará las oportunidades de ser propietario de una casa y de alcanzar la estabilidad financiera. Los residentes de comunidades perjudicadas por la exclusión financiera ilegal finalmente podrán acceder a los servicios crediticios de Citadel en sus propios barrios, incluso en las nuevas sucursales requeridas por el acuerdo.”
“Durante generaciones, las comunidades de color de Philadelphia han carecido de acceso igualitario al crédito necesario para ser propietarios de casa. Sabemos que la exclusión financiera tiene un impacto devastador en las finanzas y el futuro de una familia, y resulta en desigualdades económicas y de otro tipo que atormentan a nuestras comunidades durante décadas,” afirmó Jacqueline C. Romero, la Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Este de Pennsylvania. “También somos conscientes del cambio transformador que puede ocurrir cuando el crédito se pone a disposición de los residentes desfavorecidos, y particularmente cuando los prestamistas, como Citadel, establecen sucursales en estos barrios.”
La demanda del Departamento de Justicia, que se presentó hoy en el Distrito Este de Pennsylvania, alega que, desde al menos el 2017 hasta el 2021, Citadel no proporcionó servicios de préstamos hipotecarios a barrios de mayoría negra e hispana en Philadelphia y sus alrededores, y desalentó a las personas que buscaban crédito en esas comunidades de obtener préstamos hipotecarios. Los préstamos hipotecarios de Citadel se centraron desproporcionadamente en áreas blancas de la zona metropolitana de Philadelphia. Otros prestamistas generaron solicitudes de hipoteca en barrios de mayoría negra e hispana a casi el triple de la tasa de Citadel y originaron préstamos hipotecarios en estas áreas a más del triple de la tasa de Citadel.
Más aún, la demanda alega que las sucursales de Citadel se encuentran casi exclusivamente en barrios de mayoría blanca, sin sucursales en la Ciudad de Philadelphia, que contiene más del 75% de los barrios de mayoría negra e hispana y el 34% de la población total en el área de mercado de Citadel.
En virtud de la orden de consentimiento propuesta, que queda sujeta a la aprobación del tribunal, Citadel ha acordado invertir $6.52 millones para aumentar las oportunidades crediticias para las comunidades de color en Philadelphia. En concreto, Citadel:
- Invertirá al menos $6 millones en un fondo de subsidios para préstamos para aumentar el acceso a préstamos hipotecarios, mejoras en la vivienda y préstamos de refinanciamiento residencial para residentes de barrios de mayoría negra e hispana en Philadelphia y sus alrededores;
- Gastará al menos $250,000 en el desarrollo de asociaciones comunitarias para la prestación de servicios relacionados con el crédito, la educación financiera del consumidor, la adquisición de viviendas y la prevención de ejecuciones hipotecarias para residentes de barrios de mayoría negra e hispana en el área de mercado de Citadel;
- Gastará al menos $270,000 en publicidad, proyección comunitaria, educación financiera al consumidor y asesoramiento de crédito centrado en barrios de mayoría negra e hispana en Philadelphia;
- Abrirá tres sucursales nuevas en barrios de mayoría negra e hispana en Philadelphia; y
- Contratará a un director de préstamos comunitarios que supervisará el desarrollo continuo de préstamos en comunidades de color.
Asimismo, Citadel ha acordado contratar a consultores independientes para mejorar su programa de préstamos justos y satisfacer mejor las necesidades de crédito hipotecario de las comunidades. La cooperativa de crédito llevará a cabo una evaluación de las necesidades crediticias comunitarias, evaluará sus sistemas de gestión de cumplimiento con las leyes de préstamos justos y llevará a cabo capacitaciones del personal.
Con activos de aproximadamente $6 mil millones, Citadel tiene su sede en Pennsylvania y opera 24 sucursales en su área de mercado por la zona metropolitana de Philadelphia, que incluye los condados de Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery y Philadelphia. Citadel es la segunda cooperativa de crédito más grande de la región y cuenta con más de 263,000 miembros. Citadel cooperó con la investigación del Departamento de Justicia.
En octubre del 2021, el Fiscal General Garland y la Fiscal General Auxiliar Clarke lanzaron la Iniciativa contra la Exclusión Financiera del Departamento de Justicia, un esfuerzo coordinado de aplicación de la ley para abordar esta forma persistente de discriminación contra las comunidades de color. Desde el año 2021, el Departamento ha anunciado 14 casos de exclusión financiera y ha obtenido más de $144 millones por concepto de compensación para comunidades de color que han sido víctimas de discriminación crediticia por todo el país. En marzo, la Fiscal General Auxiliar Clarke presentó comentarios en la Conferencia de Asuntos Gubernamentales de las Cooperativas de Crédito de los Estados Unidos sobre los problemas únicos planteados por la exclusión financiera en la industria de las cooperativas de crédito.
Puede encontrar una copia de la demanda e información sobre la aplicación de las leyes de préstamos justos del Departamento de Justicia en www.justice.gov/fairhousing. Para informarnos de incidentes de discriminación en el ámbito crediticio, llame a la línea informativa del Departamento de Justicia para discriminación en la vivienda al 1-833-591-0291 o entregue un informe en línea.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Meth Distribution, Drug and Gun PossessionRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Malik Lewis, 33, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge John F. Murphy to 11 years in prison, 5 years’ probation, 2,500 fine and 400 special assessment for drug and firearm offenses.
Lewis was charged by information in April 2023 with two counts of distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, cocaine base, and marijuana, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. He pleaded guilty to the charges against him in May 2023.
In April of 2021, the FBI had developed information that showed Lewis was selling pound quantities of methamphetamine and illegal firearms throughout the Mayfair section of Philadelphia.
From April to June of that year, the FBI purchased multiple pounds of methamphetamine directly from Lewis. Ultimately, members of the FBI conducted a search warrant on Lewis’ residence and recovered approximately six pounds of methamphetamine, crack cocaine, bulk marijuana, and a Glock firearm with a 30-round extended magazine.
“Malik Lewis and others profiting from the drug trade here have no regard for the harm they do to our community,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Getting illicit drugs and illegal guns off the street makes the city of Philadelphia safer. That’s why my office and the FBI work together every day to build and prosecute these cases.”
“Today’s sentencing sends a strong message to those who would sell drugs and illegal firearms in our communities – you will be held accountable for your crimes,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “The FBI and our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office will not cease in our efforts to stop such individuals from endangering our communities.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Everett Witherell.
Former Naval Engineer Sentenced to Prison for Unlawful DisclosureRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Nicole K. Schuster, 32, of Naples, Florida was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and ordered to pay a $4,000 fine by United States District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond for unlawfully disclosing to one company the confidential contractor bid, proposal, and source information of another company.
Schuster was a mechanical engineer and “project lead” employed by the United States Department of the Navy (“the Navy”) at the Naval Foundry and Propeller Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (the “NFPC”). The NFPC’s primary mission was to design, manufacture, and repair submarine propellers. In her role with the Navy, Schuster served as a project lead for several multi-million-dollar projects at the NFPC supporting both Columbia Class and Virginia Class naval submarines.
On January 22, 2024, Schuster pleaded guilty to the unlawful disclosure charge in a criminal information that was filed on September 25, 2023. According to that charge, in 2019, Schuster began working as the project lead on a solicitation for a procurement contract for a submarine propeller-making machine known as a VTC. During the contracting and bidding process, Schuster favored one company, identified in the information as “Company 1,” over other competing companies. Schuster urged her superiors to make the contract for this VTC a “sole source” contract for Company 1. That is, she requested that the contracting process should be established in a manner that would ensure that Company 1 would be awarded the procurement contract. The NFPC and DLA agreed to favor Company 1 in this process but did not agree to prevent other companies from pursuing the contract. Rather, they established a process that allowed other contractors to submit information and compete for the contract.
Schuster demonstrated her favoritism for Company 1 in September 2019 when she sent a WhatsApp message to a representative of Company 1 expressing her “loyalty” to Company 1 and attaching to the message Company 2’s confidential and proprietary contractor bid, proposal, and source selection information for its VTC. In a text message to her associate, Schuster expressed that she would be extremely upset if Company 2 obtained the contract for the VTC because she said “it’s not for them,” and that she would “ruin” Company 2 if they interfered with her efforts to help Company 1 obtain the contract. The documents that Schuster provided to this representative of Company 1 were marked “SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION,” “OFFICIAL USE ONLY,” and “[Company 2] Proprietary information.” The documents included cost and pricing data and proprietary information about manufacturing processes and techniques. This disclosure gave Company 1 a competitive advantage over Company 2 and other companies seeking to obtain the VTC contract.
In April 2020, the procurement contract for the VTC was awarded to Company 1 for a total price of $15,254,608.
Schuster's sentence is evidence that we will hold accountable those who enrich themselves at the expense of our armed forces; this kind of corruption impacts us all: the military, taxpayers, and legitimate businesses," said U.S. Attorney Romero. We continue to ask for assistance in identifying and reporting those engaged in this type of activity, as it bolsters the ability to maintain integrity in the procurement process."
“Investigating individuals who corrupt the integrity of Department of Defense (DoD) procurement is a top priority for the DoD Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). We must help to ensure that the DoD contracting process remains fair and competitive," said Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty, DCIS Northeast Field Office. “Today’s announcement demonstrates our commitment to work with the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who misuse their official positions.”
“It is essential that government procurements are unbiased and devoid of unlawful influence and corruptive practices,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of the NCIS Economic Crimes Field Office. “NCIS and our investigative partners are committed to thoroughly investigating any person or entity that would disrupt the fair and open competition necessary to ensure our warfighters are fully equipped for superiority on the battlefield.”
The case was investigated by the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Economic Crimes Field Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Settles Americans with Disabilities Act Investigation of Water Utility Company, Ensuring Access to Customer Service LineRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – The United States has reached a settlement with Aqua Services, Inc. (“Aqua”), a company providing water and wastewater utility services to more than 3 million people in eight states, including Pennsylvania, announced Jacqueline C. Romero, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The settlement ensures equal access to Aqua’s customer service telephone line for individuals with disabilities pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities by businesses that serve the public.
The agreement resolves an ADA complaint filed with the Department of Justice by an Aqua customer alleging that Aqua failed to effectively communicate with him when he called its customer service telephone line. The complainant, who is nonspeaking due to a disability, uses a relay calling service to communicate by telephone. The complainant alleged that on several occasions when he called Aqua’s customer service line to address a billing issue, the customer service representatives who answered the phone hung up on him rather than accept the relay call. As a result, he alleged, he was unable to promptly resolve his billing issue.
The ADA requires that businesses communicate with people with disabilities — including people who have vision, hearing, or speech disabilities — as effectively as they communicate with people without disabilities. This can include communicating through auxiliary aids and services such as telephone relay services.
Under the agreement, Aqua will designate an ADA Coordinator, implement a telephone number and email address to receive comments and complaints relating to access to Aqua’s customer service line, and adopt and publish an Effective Communications Policy for effectively communicating with people with disabilities. Aqua will also pay a monetary sum to the complainant.
“Many individuals who have hearing or speaking disabilities use relay services to communicate by phone,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Businesses must ensure that their employees are prepared to communicate effectively with customers who use such services. My office appreciates Aqua’s cooperation during this investigation and its commitment to effective communication with its customers who have disabilities.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is committed to investigating alleged violations of the ADA. Those interested in learning more about obligations under the ADA may access https://www.ada.gov/ or call the Department of Justice’s toll-free information line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TDD). Information about filing a complaint, including instructions for filing a complaint online, can be found at https://civilrights.justice.gov/. This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin E. Lindgren.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
U.S. Attorney Announces an Additional Civil Settlement with Chiropractor and His Practice as Part of National Effort to Combat Electronic Stimulation Fraudulent Billing SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Gregory Thomas White Jr, DC and Healing Place Medical, P.C. (collectively, “Healing Place”) agreed to pay $170,000 to resolve liability under the False Claims Act for the alleged improper billing of “Sanexas” devices. This settlement is the latest action in the national investigation into the improper billing involving the RST Sanexas neoGEN-Series device (“Sanexas”).
Healing Place is a chiropractic clinic that principally used Sanexas treatment for patients diagnosed with edema and other forms of acute and chronic pain. Sanexas is an electric stimulation device marketed by RST Sanexas, Inc. (“RST”) to treat various forms of pain and other medical conditions. It consists of a large central unit and electrical leads that are temporarily affixed to the area being treated.
Patients typically received treatment on an outpatient basis and received two treatments per week for 12 weeks, for a total of approximately 24 treatments. Treatment times generally lasted approximately 30 to 40 minutes. In conjunction with Sanexas treatment, the clinics injected patients with a vitamin blend.
White is a chiropractor and owner of the Healing Place, which operated at 1600 Horizon Drive #123, Chalfont, Pa. The United States contends that Healing Place submitted approximately 27,121 claims to Medicare for payment under various codes for Sanexas treatment and vitamin injections, TM Flow testing, and ENFD testing, during the relevant time period, all of which were non-reimbursable.
The United States contends that Medicare did not permit reimbursement of Sanexas or vitamin injections used in conjunction with Sanexas in the way in which Healing Place administered them. In particular, National Coverage Determination 160.7.1 states: “Electrical nerve stimulation treatments furnished by a physician in his/her office, by a physical therapist or outpatient clinic are excluded from coverage by § 1862(a)(1) of the Act.”
Similarly, Local Coverage Determination (“LCD”) 35222 reinforces that “[t]he use of electrostimulation alone for the treatment of multiple neuropathies or peripheral neuropathies caused by underlying systemic diseases is not medically reasonable and necessary.” Other LCDs contain the same or similar statements, such as L35456, L35457, L37642, and L36850.
The United States Food and Drug Administration cleared Sanexas as substantially equivalent to a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator (“TENS”) on or around January 24, 2003. Sanexas treatment was not FDA-cleared for use in combination with vitamin injections, the vitamin blend was not FDA-approved, and the vitamin blend was produced in bulk, rather than prescribed for individual patients.
The United States contends that vitamin injections used in conjunction with Sanexas treatment as Healing Place administered them do not fall under the limited coverage available for prescription drugs under Medicare Part B. The LCDs noted above reinforce that vitamin injections that act as nerve blocks are not medically reasonable and necessary.
Healing Place also submitted Medicare claims for testing used in conjunction with electric stimulation treatment – ENFD testing and/or TM Flow testing. ENFD testing involves performing a punch biopsy on patients to purportedly evaluate nerve damage that could be treated with the Sanexas device. ENFD testing was also conducted after Sanexas treatment, purportedly to evaluate whether there has been an improvement to nerve health. The Sanexas device, however, is not FDA-cleared for healing or regrowing nerves. In addition, the United States alleges that it was not medically reasonable or necessary to conduct additional testing related to electrical stimulation treatment, which was not covered by Medicare in the way in which Healing Place administered it.
Healing Place also offered “TM Flow” testing to screen new patients for various diseases, which, if identified, could purportedly support the need for electric stimulation treatment using the Sanexas device. The TM Flow device conducts various autonomic nervous system (“ANS”) and vascular function assessments. The applicable LCD includes 10 limitations, which the United States contends render ANS testing not medically reasonable and necessary and not covered, including “patient screenings without signs or symptoms of autonomic dysfunction,” testing where “results are not used in clinical decision-making and patient management,” and testing without the competence in the Autonomic Disorders medical subspecialty. See L35395. LCDs L23236, L33609, and L35124 contain similar limitations. Contrary to these limitations, however, Healing Place used it to screen patients during an initial visit, offered treatment with the Sanexas device regardless of the results of TM flow testing, and lacked the necessary training to perform and interpret ANS testing.
“Our office continues to lead the national charge to hold alleged fraudsters accountable for improper Sanexas billing,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “We will continue working closely with our partners at CMS’s Center for Program Integrity, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and sister U.S. Attorney’s Offices around the country to hold accountable any other providers who inappropriately billed for these devices and caused false claims to be submitted.”
“Accurately billing for services provided to Medicare enrollees is required of all health care providers participating in the program,” said Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG, CMS’s Center for Program Integrity, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to evaluate and pursue allegedly inaccurate billings of Sanexas and similar devices.”
Prior DOJ press releases related to the Sanexas national initiative include:
- https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/two-doctors-and-their-medical-practice-pay-more-181000-resolve-false-claims-act
- https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/us-attorney-announces-two-additional-civil-settlements-part-national-effort-combat
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General. The investigation and settlement were handled by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric S. Wolfish, Civil Division Chief Gregory B. David, and Auditors Dawn Wiggins and Andrew Schobert.
The settled civil claims are allegations only. There has been no determination of civil liability.
Longtime Department of Veterans Affairs Supervising Engineer Convicted at Trial of Defrauding the Agency of Nearly $1 MillionRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Ahmed Hassan, 70, of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, was convicted today by a federal jury on 22 counts of wire fraud arising from Hassan’s misuse of his position as a federal employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs (“the VA”) to defraud the agency of nearly $1 million over a seven-year period.
As proven at trial, Hassan was a trusted supervisory engineer at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (“VAMC”) in Philadelphia. In that position, Hassan was responsible for all mechanical and large HVAC systems at VAMC and was further charged with overseeing and implementing contracts in his area of responsibility.
From approximately 2013 through October 2017, Hassan schemed to defraud the VA by drafting and submitting for payment, false invoices of a company called HT Mechanical. Unbeknownst to VAMC management, and in violation of Hassan’s duties to the VA, HT Mechanical was nothing but a shell that Hassan had secretly set up with his paramour, Lynn Hanrahan[1] — a social worker with no knowledge of, or expertise in, HVAC or mechanical systems — in order to carry out the scheme.
For years, the defendant made up fake work, drafted false invoices on HT Mechanical letterhead, submitted them for payment to the VA under the VA purchase card program and lied to the VA, claiming that the work had been done, when the so-called jobs did not exist. and no work was done. After the VA made payment to HT Mechanical on the defendant’s say so, Hanrahan returned money to the defendant, either by check or by giving the defendant envelopes of cash.
Hassan is scheduled to be sentenced on January 15, 2025. He faces a maximum possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison for each count on which he was convicted.
“For the better part of a decade, for his own benefit, Ahmed Hassan siphoned almost a million dollars from Philadelphia’s VA Medical Center,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “In misusing his position to do so, he betrayed his colleagues, U.S. taxpayers, and, most egregiously, the veterans the VA serves. My office and our partners will bring to justice anyone padding their pockets like this at the federal government’s expense.”
The case was investigated by Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and the FBI and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Megan Curran and Assistant United States Attorney Mary Crawley.
[1] Hanrahan was charged in a related scheme, pleaded guilty, and is awaiting sentencing.
City Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing a Northeast Philadelphia Business, Carjacking a Mother and Daughter Outside Their Home in September 2022Read the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Amir Harvey, 24, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond to Hobbs Act robbery, carjacking, and felon in possession of ammunition, in connection with the robbery of a commercial business and a carjacking, both in Northeast Philadelphia.
Harvey was arrested and charged by complaint in September of 2022 and then indicted on these charges in October of that year.
On September 9, 2022, at approximately 11 p.m., the defendant and three others approached the Hook and Reel restaurant, located at 9763 Roosevelt Boulevard. Upon encountering an employee of the restaurant outside, Harvey and the others forced him inside, ransacked the office, stole about $400 from the cash drawers, and fled.
In the early morning hours of September 19, 2022, Philadelphia police officers responded to a report of a robbery in progress on the 8900 block of Maxwell Place, where the victim reported that her car had just been stolen by an armed individual as she and her teenage daughter were about to leave for school.
The victim stated that around 6:15 a.m., she started her vehicle using an application on her cell phone. A short time later, she and her daughter exited their house and walked to the car parked in the front driveway, when they were approached by an armed individual, later identified as the defendant, who pointed a firearm, later found to be a replica, at their heads.
The defendant grabbed the victim’s keys and purse and sped away in her vehicle. The victim then used its location tracking feature on her cell phone app and informed police, who responded to that location on the 2000 block of Griffith Street, about 2½ miles from the victim’s home. Using neighborhood video surveillance footage, investigators traced the movement of the victim’s vehicle and the defendant to a nearby apartment complex.
“Amir Harvey ambushed a worker just trying to wrap up his shift, and a mom and daughter looking to start their day,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Robbing innocent people at gunpoint, even if the gun’s not real, is no game. It’s a serious crime — and an excellent way to earn an extended stay in federal prison. My office and our partners on the Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force will continue to make Philly safer, as we lock up violent criminals with regard for neither the law nor other people.”
“Violence against innocent Philadelphia victims — in this case a business employee, mother, and daughter — will not stand,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Philadelphia Field Office. “ATF is on the frontline in the fight against violent crime, particularly carjackings and robberies. We hope this case deters those willing to use violence in our community. We will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners to prevent and prosecute violent crime when it occurs.”
The swift action to investigate and federally charge this defendant is the work of the Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force, which comprises members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Violent Crime Unit; the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Philadelphia Police Department. The goal of the Task Force is to stem the wave of armed carjackings and violent crimes through investigative and enforcement techniques meant to identify, and refer for federal prosecution, all who terrorize innocent victims through commission of these offenses within Philadelphia and surrounding areas.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert E. Eckert and Lauren E. Stram.
Youth Mentor with Philadelphia Anti-Gun Violence Organization Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Participating in Interstate Gun Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Kyle McLemore, 47, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Harvey Bartle III to 120 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $300 special assessment for selling illegal firearms from South Carolina on the streets of Philadelphia.
McLemore was one of seven defendants convicted for participating in a scheme to straw purchase nearly 60 firearms in South Carolina and traffic them up the “Iron Pipeline” to Philadelphia. Between approximately November 2020 and February 2021, McLemore worked closely with co-conspirator Terrance Darby in Philadelphia to place orders for firearms with co-conspirator Ontavious Plumer, who was incarcerated in a South Carolina prison. Plumer would then direct other co-conspirators to straw purchase firearms at gun stores in South Carolina and transport them to Philadelphia, where Darby, McLemore, and co-conspirator Cory Brookins would resell them.
McLemore started trafficking firearms with Darby just a few months after he was released on parole from a Pennsylvania state prison after serving 21 years for a 1999 murder conviction. While he was reselling illegal guns in Philadelphia, McLemore worked as a “youth advocate” at the NoMo (New Options More Opportunities) Foundation, an organization that provides children and teens with education, tutoring, mentoring, career readiness training, behavioral health counseling, and other services to reduce the factors that lead to gun violence.
McLemore was charged in a superseding indictment on March 6 of this year with conspiracy, dealing in firearms without a license, and possession of a firearm by a felon. He pleaded guilty to all three counts on May 8. Darby, Plumer, Brookins, and three other co-conspirators have also been convicted and sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy.
“Kyle McLemore sold dozens of guns from South Carolina on the streets of Philadelphia, while pretending to work to reduce gun violence on those same streets,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “My office and the ATF will continue to target gun traffickers for federal prosecution – and federal prison time. Every illegal gun and unlawful seller we put out of commission makes our city that much safer.”
“McLemore knew all too well from his criminal history and community work that illegally trafficked firearms fuel the deadly violence in his community,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Eric DeGree. “Stopping gun trafficking, which puts firearms in the hands of violent criminals and other prohibited people, is a top priority at ATF. We work tirelessly with our local, state and federal partners to dismantle trafficking operations and federally prosecute the criminals that endanger our communities.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys J. Jeanette Kang and Matthew T. Newcomer and Special Assistant United States Attorney Alexander B. Bowerman.