Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Avondale Woman Charged with Wire FraudRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Lisa Stratton, 55, of Avondale, Pennsylvania was charged today by Information with wire fraud announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, a three-year period of supervised release, fine in the amount of $ 250,000, and a $100 special assessment.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Melanie Babb Wilmoth.
An Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
New Jersey Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Identity Theft Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Damian Gasdaska, 38, of Phillipsburg, NJ, was sentenced today to 144 months in prison for an identity fraud scheme that involved stealing personal information, including from old court records. Gasdaska pleaded guilty in November 2014 to conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and bank fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Edward G. Smith also ordered restitution in the amount of $257,029, $381,070 in forfeiture, five years of supervised release, and a $400 special assessment.
Gasdaska and his co-conspirators, Randall McMahon, of Easton, PA, John Cordero, of Breinigsville, PA, Brandon Jones, of Reading, PA, and Johnnie Rhines, of Lindenwold, NJ, used the stolen information to create false identities which they then used to apply for credit cards and for purchasing or renting vehicles. Gasdaska provided some of the fraudulent credit cards he acquired to his co-conspirators and kept some for himself. He also showed his co-conspirators how to commit the fraud. Gasdaska took steps to create favorable credit profiles for these false identities, and to improve the individuals’ credit profiles. These steps included: obtaining reports on the individuals, requesting the modification of information in the reports, and engaging in transactions in the names of the false identities to improve their credit profiles. Gasdaska and his associates applied for loans in the name of the false identities for which Gasdaska had improved their credit profiles. The defendants secured fraudulent loans exceeding $200,000 to buy cars under false pretenses. They purchased or attempted to purchase five different vehicles.
Gasdaska used Post Offices boxes in the name of the false identities to receive mail for various purposes, such as in connection with credit card applications. He used computers at public libraries to further the conspiracy. After co-conspirators made their purchases, they often provided the purchased items to Gasdaska who then sold them and paid the co-conspirators for their illegal services. When Gasdaska was arrested in January 2013, he was driving a car he had purchased through his fraud scheme that was filled with fraudulent documentation Gasdaska had generated and received during his scheme.
Gasdaska’s co-conspirators all pleaded guilty. Rhines was sentenced in March to 30 months in prison; Jones pleaded guilty today. McMahon and Cordero are awaiting a sentencing hearing scheduled for June 9, 2015.
The case was investigated by United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Lehigh County Auto Theft and Insurance Fraud Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Murray.
Indictment Charges Fake Cops, Real Robbers in Robbery ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – An indictment was unsealed today, charging a Philadelphia-based group with conspiracy to commit violent robberies, including an attempted robbery of a Center City jewelry store in which the defendants impersonated police officers. Additionally, the indictment alleges that the robbers tracked their target victims with GPS devices to rob them in their homes. The indictment charges 16 defendants with conspiring to commit Hobbs Act Robbery and various other charges. Various defendants are charged in violent home invasion robberies or attempted robberies that included shooting one victim, water boarding and pouring boiling water on another, and, in one incident, assisting the scheme by playing the role of a robbery victim.
The charges were announced today by First Assistant United States Attorney Louis Lappen and Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Kelly D. Brady with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Charged are: Khalil Smith, Mark Woods, Marcus Bowens, Michael Queen, Terrace Munden, Robert Hartley, Hasan Chaney, Levern Jackson, Braheim Ballard, William Jefferson, Daniel Hayes, Jeffrey Bellamy, Romel Anthony, Eric Scott, Brandon Segers, all of Philadelphia, PA, and Jamal Doggett, of Willingboro, NJ.
According to the indictment, between September 2012 and April 29, 2014, in Philadelphia, Ambler, Hatfield, and elsewhere, the defendants conspired to commit robbery to obtain drugs, the proceeds from drug sales, jewelry and money from their victims by means of actual and threatened force, violence, and fear of injury. On July 15, 2013, the indictment alleges that Daniel Hayes and Brandon Segers entered the Platinum Jewelers, at 1136 Market Street, Philadelphia, wearing disguises and posing as customers. Smith and Marcus Bowens, it is alleged, entered the store posing as police officers. Smith allegedly pointed a gun at the store clerk and yelled “police,” while defendants Mark Woods, Michael Queen and Jeffrey Bellamy kept watch outside and/or monitored a police scanner. The defendants fled the scene after police were notified by a store clerk who pushed an alarm button.
In a previous alleged incident, on September 3, 2012, Eric Scott was among the guests in the victim’s Ambler home when he notified Smith and William Jefferson that they could rob the home. The indictment alleges that Smith and Jefferson entered the home wearing masks and armed with guns, which they pointed at the homeowner and guests, including Scott who pretended to be a victim. They tied up the victims, stole jewelry, cash, and a small amount of cocaine.
The indictment charges that between November 2013 and April 2014, Smith, Bowens, and a combination of other defendants committed four other home invasion robberies or robbery attempts. In November of 2013, Smith and Queen allegedly placed a GPS tracking device on vehicles driven by their target victim to find his home in Hatfield, PA. When the victim arrived home, he was met by the defendants who forced him inside at gunpoint where he was restrained, threatened, and assaulted. It is further alleged that Smith, Bowens, Queen, Doggett, and Ballard stole guns, electronics, and the victim’s BMW.
In January 2014, Smith, Bowens, Woods, Jackson, and Bellamy robbed a residence in Philadelphia of half a kilogram of cocaine, $10,000, and other items, while restraining, threatening, and assaulting the occupant.
In April 2014, defendants Smith, Bowens, Woods, Jackson, Bellamy, Munden, Hartley, and Chaney allegedly forced two victims to strip naked while robbing their Philadelphia home, and threatened to sodomize and kill them. They water boarded one victim and poured boiling water on him before stealing jewelry, an iPad and a 2009 Toyota Camry.
Later that month, defendants Smith, Bowens, Woods, Munden, Bellamy and Hartley tracked a Philadelphia resident they believed to be a drug dealer. They burglarized the home, stealing jewelry and electronics. Believing they missed the drugs and drug money, they returned a few days later and held two victims at gunpoint, shooting one of them before fleeing empty handed.
“These defendants are charged with engaging in a brazen crime spree of robbery and violence,” said Lappen. “They terrorized their victims, stole their money and property, and had the audacity to impersonate police officers in an effort to perpetrate their crimes. If convicted, the defendants face mandatory prison terms and lengthy guideline sentences which will ensure that they are off the street for a very long time.”
“These 16 defendants allegedly committed serious acts of violence that included armed home invasions, a shooting, and brutal physical torture,” said Brady. “They were well-organized, well-planned and well-armed. Now, this violent pattern of robberies has ended and these defendants face serious prison terms if convicted. ATF is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to reduce violent crime and increase public safety.”
The investigation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Philadelphia Police Department, the Hatfield Township Police Department and the Whitpain Township Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Salvatore Astolfi and Jeanine Linehan.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
IRS Employee Charged with Theft of Government FundsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Robin Wood, 45 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was charged today by Indictment with wire fraud and theft of approximately $45,312 in government funds, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
According to the indictment, for approximately 100 weeks between November 10, 2007, and July 3, 2010, the defendant received unemployment compensation, for which she fraudulently claimed each week she was eligible when, in fact, she was employed by the Internal Revenue Service and receiving a salary.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible statutory sentence of 20 years in prison, restitution, up to three years of supervised release, and a $300 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrea G. Foulkes.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Collegeville, Pennsylvania, Man Gets Life Sentence for Preying on ChildrenRead the Press Release
Matthew Krapf, 45, of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to life in prison for 10 counts, each, of using or inducing a child to pose for child pornography, use of an interstate commerce facility to entice a minor to engage in sexual contact, three counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He was also sentenced to 10 years supervised release. Krapf pleaded guilty on Oct. 28, 2014, to all 24 counts.
Krapf met his victims online and directed the conversation to sexually explicit chats. As early as December 2012, the defendant recorded Skype video chats, later recovered by police, that depicted the defendant directing one victim to masturbate for him. In the months that followed, the defendant met the victim at his parent’s home and engaged in sexual conduct from their very first encounter. A 13-year old victim met the defendant online and engaged in sexually explicit chats from the beginning of their communication, even after informing the defendant that he was just 13-years old. The defendant videotaped his encounters and later distributed the videos over the Internet.
In October 2013, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, detectives received consent to take over one victim’s identity and corresponded with the defendant on-line and via text messaging. The defendant, believing that he was speaking with the 14-year old victim, made arrangements to meet him at his parents’ home on Nov. 2, 2013 to have sex again. Krapf was arrested by Montgomery County detectives after he entered the victim’s house.
When agents seized his computers, cell phones and collection of DVDs and CDs, a forensic exam uncovered more than two million images of child pornography, including more than 100 videos that the defendant manufactured of the victim teenage boys. Krapf’s collection is believed to be the largest ever seized in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Krapf admitted to meeting one victim on at least eight occasions during the summer of 2013 and engaging in oral sex, anal sex and digital penetration. He also admitted that he knew the victim was just 14-years old before he had any sex with him. Krapf told police that during the time he was engaging in the sexual abuse of this boy, he directed him to have sex with other juvenile boys, record the sex and then send the recording to him and to take nude and sexually explicit photographs of himself. Defendant Krapf also confirmed the July 2013 sexual abuse of the two minor boys, admitting that he engaged in oral and anal sex with these boys, knowing that they were minors and videotaped the encounter. In his confession the defendant also admitted to sexually abusing at least four other underage boys. His abuse of these boys was over a nine year period, dating back to 2005.
“This predator used the internet to identify and begin the process of sexually exploiting his numerous victims,” said U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “He then took full advantage of his vulnerable victims through a series of horrific sexual assaults over several years. His post-arrest admissions provide disturbing insight into the methods he used to entice his young victims for his criminal gratification. The sentence handed down today is the only way to guarantee that he will never again victimize an innocent child.”
“The heinous crimes this pedophile committed are something his victims will have to deal with for the rest of their lives, but the community will now be safe from this menace,” said Special Agent in Charge John P. Kelleghan of Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) of Philadelphia. “He will be spending his life in prison as a result of the excellent cooperative efforts of the Limerick, Pennsylvania Police Department, HSI, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.”
The case was investigated by HSI, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and the Limerick Township Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rotella of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Collegeville Man Gets Life Sentence for Preying on ChildrenRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Matthew Krapf, 45, of Collegeville, PA, was sentenced today to life in prison for 10 counts, each, of using or inducing a child to pose for child pornography, use of an interstate commerce facility to entice a minor to engage in sexual contact, three counts of distribution of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography. He was also sentenced to 10 years supervised release. Krapf pleaded guilty on October 28, 2014 to all 24 counts.
Krapf met his victims online and directed the conversation to sexually explicit chats. As early as December 2012, the defendant recorded Skype video chats (later recovered by police) that depicted the defendant directing one victim to masturbate for him. In the months that followed, the defendant met the victim at his parent’s home and engaged in sexual conduct from their very first encounter. A 13-year old victim met the defendant online and engaged in sexually explicit chats from the beginning of their communication, even after informing the defendant that he was just 13-years old. The defendant videotaped his encounters and later distributed the videos over the Internet.
In October 2013, Montgomery County detectives received consent to take over one victim’s identity and corresponded with the defendant on-line and via text messaging. The defendant, believing that he was speaking with the 14 year old victim, made arrangements to meet him at his parents’ home on November 2, 2013 to again have sex. Krapf was arrested by Montgomery County detectives after he entered the victim’s house.
When agents seized his computers, cell phones, and collection of DVDs and CDs, a forensic exam uncovered more than 2 million images of child pornography, including more than 100 videos that the defendant manufactured of the victim teenage boys. Krapf’s collection is believed to be the largest ever seized in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Krapf admitted to meeting one victim on at least eight occasions during the summer of 2013 and engaging in oral sex, anal sex, and digital penetration. He also admitted that he knew the victim was just 14 years of age before he had any sex with him. Krapf told police that during the time he was engaging in the sexual abuse of this boy, he directed him to have sex with other juvenile boys, record the sex, and then send the recording to him, and to take nude and sexually explicit photographs of himself. Defendant Krapf also confirmed the July 2013 sexual abuse of the two minor boys, admitting that he engaged in oral and anal sex with these boys, knowing that they were minors, and videotaped the encounter. In his confession the defendant also admitted to sexually abusing at least four other underage boys. His abuse of these boys was over a nine year period, dating back to 2005.
“This predator used the internet to identify and begin the process of sexually exploiting his numerous victims,” said U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger. “He then took full advantage of his vulnerable victims through a series of horrific sexual assaults over several years. His post-arrest admissions provide disturbing insight into the methods he used to entice his young victims for his criminal gratification. The sentence handed down today is the only way to guarantee that he will never again victimize an innocent child.”
“The heinous crimes this pedophile committed are something his victims will have to deal with for the rest of their lives, but the community will now be safe from this menace,” said John P. Kelleghan, HSI Philadelphia special agent in charge. “He will be spending his life in prison as a result of the excellent cooperative efforts of the Limerick Police Department, HSI, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, and the Limerick Township Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.
Charges Filed in Robberies of Pizza Delivery PeopleRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Titus Kellam, 20, and Kimberly Monfort, 24, both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were charged today by indictment in a scheme involving six armed robberies of pizza delivery employees in Philadelphia, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Kellam is charged with committing all six robberies, between November 26, 2014 and December 21, 2014, and with brandishing a firearm in two of those robberies. Monfort is charged in one robbery. The charges include Hobbs Act robbery and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
The indictment alleges that on November 26, 2014, Kellam and Monfort robbed a pizza delivery employee of Key Pizza, located at 1846 S. 12th Street, of cash, food, and a cell phone belonging to that employee, by means of actual and threatened violence. Kellam is further charged in the armed robberies of pizza delivery employees of: Wolf Street Pizza, located at 2135 Wolf Street; City Pizza, located at 100 Snyder Avenue; Uncle Oogie’s Pizzeria, located at 2010 Gerritt Street; Not Just Pizza, located at 2240 S. 11th Street; and Isabella Pizza, located at 1824 East Passyunk Avenue, all in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
If convicted, Kellum faces a maximum possible statutory sentence of life in prison, with a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 32 years imprisonment; Monfort faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yvonne Osirim.
Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., to Pay $5.9 Million to Resolve Civil False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Healthcare technology company Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. (“SMS”) has agreed to pay $5.9 million to resolve an investigation into the overcharging of the federal government for purchases of medical imaging equipment. The civil resolution was announced today by United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
On behalf of the United State Department of Defense (“DoD”), the Defense Supply Center of Philadelphia (“DSCP”) negotiated and entered into an agreement with SMS for the purchase of medical imaging equipment and support products between 2002 and 2008 (the “DSCP Contract”). The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) also purchased medical imaging equipment through the DSCP Contract.
The United States alleged that SMS failed to provide the best price for certain DoD purchases made pursuant to the DSCP Contract. Specifically, SMS did not give the DoD the largest discount that a private or commercial customer had received for a “like system,” and, in doing so, overcharged the government. SMS also withheld information about this overcharging and kept money that it was not entitled to retain. After SMS uncovered evidence of the overcharging, SMS issued mass discounts on multiple occasions to address the misbilling on a prospective basis. SMS did not correct the overcharging that had occurred and further concealed it from the United States.
The United States also alleged that SMS overcharged the VA for certain imaging equipment orders – purchases made under the DSCP Contract – that had been converted to a newer model. Specifically, certain VA orders did not receive the larger discount that applied to the newer model which was delivered.
The allegations arose from an investigation led by the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General's Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Eric D. Gill and Viveca D. Parker.
Drexel Hill Man Charged with Massive Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - David Fili, Jr., 45 of Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, was charged today by information with 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of bank fraud in a $9.7 million scheme, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
From 2005 to March 2013, Fili was co-owner of Capital Financial Mortgage Corporation (“CFMC”), based in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. According to the information, during that time, Fili defrauded numerous lenders into purchasing mortgages issued by CFMC that were represented as first mortgages but that were, in reality, worthless second mortgages. He also allegedly defrauded other lenders who loaned money to CFMC on a warehouse line of credit. The information alleges that Fili helped defraud lenders out of approximately $9.7 million, some of which Fili used to pay his own mortgage on a vacation home and for extensive casino and sports gambling.
If convicted, Fili faces a potential advisory sentencing guideline range of 78 months to 135 months in prison, a five-year period of supervised release, full restitution, a fine of up to $10.5 million, and a $1,200 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe.
An Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
United States Sues Supply Company and Delaware County Couple for Healthcare FraudRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - The United States filed a civil healthcare fraud lawsuit today against John M. Hastings and Sarah Cintron Hastings, of Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, and their medical supply company, Diabetic Care Solutions, Inc. The complaint, announced by United States Attorney Zane David Memeger, alleges that the couple operated the company in an attempt to bypass Hastings’ exclusion from the Medicare program.
Hastings was convicted of healthcare-related criminal charges in 1999, resulting in his exclusion from Medicare. During his exclusion, the complaint alleges that Hastings operated the company from store locations in Drexel Hill and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and billed claims to Medicare. Although Hastings concealed his role, he controlled the company’s finances, managed its operations, and fitted and sold specialty medical shoes to nursing home residents. The company deposited Medicare payments into bank accounts that Hastings accessed. Sarah Cintron Hastings served as the company’s nominal president, allegedly to avoid detection.
The lawsuit is captioned United States of America v. John M. Hastings, Sarah Cintron Hastings, and Diabetic Care Solutions, Inc. (E.D. Pa.). To resolve the matter, the parties are asking the court to enter a consent judgment that will require defendants to pay $200,000, adhere to the rules of exclusion, and accept additional periods of exclusion.
The public can search the government’s database of excluded providers on a website, http://exclusions.oig.hhs.gov/.
The allegations arose from an investigation led by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Macko.
The United States filed the lawsuit under the False Claims Act. Under the False Claims Act, a person who causes false or fraudulent claims to be submitted to the government for payment is liable for three times the government’s damages, plus civil penalties for each false claim. The allegations against Hastings, Cintron Hastings, and the company are allegations only and not findings of liability.
New York Resident Charged with Illegal Reentry After DeportationRead the Press Release
Ronald Pacheco Vasquez, a/k/a “Ricardo Hernandez,” a/k/a “Samuel Batista,” 29, of Queens, NY, was charged today by Indictment with illegal reentry after deportation, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that on or about April 7, 2015, Pacheco Vasquez, an alien, and native and citizen of Colombia, was found in the United States after having been deported from the United States on or about September 30, 2013.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years.
The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations (“ERO”), and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James A. Petkun.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Medicare Beneficiary Pleads Guilty in Ambulance Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Keisha Regusters, 38, of Philadelphia, PA, pleaded guilty today to a fraud scheme involving kickbacks from an ambulance company. U.S. District Court Judge William H. Yohn, Jr. scheduled a sentencing hearing for August 11, 2015. Regusters faces a possible advisory sentencing guideline range of six to 12 months in prison, up to three years of supervised release, restitution, a fine of up to $500,000, and a $200 special assessment.
In July 2010, Feda Kuran, charged elsewhere, began operating Brotherly Love Ambulance, Inc. with a co-schemer. In approximately October 2010, Keisha Regusters began being transported to dialysis by Brotherly Love, even though she could walk and could have been transported safely by means other than ambulance and was, therefore, not eligible for ambulance service under Medicare requirements. Kuran billed Medicare for those ambulance services as if they were medically necessary when she knew that they were not. Regusters accepted monthly kickback payments to induce her to continue to ride with Brotherly Love, and she solicited payments to induce her to continue to ride with Brotherly Love.
As a result of the defendant’s actions and those of Brotherly Love, the Medicare program paid more than $52,000 in inappropriate bills. As a result of the overall scheme at Brotherly Love, the Medicare program was billed for more than $4.9 million and paid more than $2 million in inappropriate bills. In November 2014, Feda Kuran was sentenced to 64 months in prison.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mary E. Crawley and Paul W. Kaufman.
Norristown Bookmaker Pleads to Tax ChargesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Jacob Corropolese, Sr., 65, of Norristown, PA, pleaded guilty today to tax charges in connection with his sports bookmaking operation. Corropolese admitted to filing false tax returns when he ran a sports bookmaking operation. Corropolese received more than $500,000 in proceeds from bettors but did not report any income from his bookmaking activities on his federal income tax returns for 2010 and 2011. As a result he substantially underreported his income in each year.
U.S. District Court Judge Jan E. DuBois scheduled a sentencing hearing for DATE. Corropolese faces a maximum possible sentence of six years in prison, one year of supervised release, a $200,000 fine, and restitution to the IRS.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nancy E. Potts.
Alleged Kidnapper IndictedRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Khayree Gay, 31, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged by indictment, on April 30, 2015, with attempted Hobbs Act Robbery and kidnapping, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
If convicted the defendant faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeanine Linehan.
An Indictment or Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Guatemalan Native Charged with Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
Cesar Augusto Perez, a/k/a “Erick Alberto Perez,” 41, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged on April 30th by indictment with illegal reentry after deportation, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that on or about March 26, 2015, Perez, an alien, and native and citizen of Guatemala, was found in the United States after having been deported from the United States on or about July 9, 1999 and April 6, 2006.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of ten years.
The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations (“ERO”), and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Strauss.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Norristown Resident Charged with Illegal Reentry After DeportationRead the Press Release
Lamberto Lorenzo-Santos, a/k/a “Jose Hernandez-Santos,” a/k/a “Alfredo Perez,” 35, of Norristown, PA, was charged today by Indictment with illegal reentry after deportation, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that on or about March 8, 2015, Lamberto-Santos, an alien, and native and citizen of Mexico, was found in the United States after having been deported from the United States on or about January 13, 2005 and September 19, 2006.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible penalty of twenty years imprisonment, a three year period of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and a $100 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Linwood C. Wright, Jr.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
New Jersey Woman Charged with Stealing Government FundsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Maria Houck, 59, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, was charged by indictment, unsealed yesterday, with 12 counts of mail fraud, two counts of theft of government funds, and one count of Social Security fraud, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. According to the indictment, the defendant received retirement and pension benefits from the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs that were intended for her deceased mother, after her mother’s death in June 2005. The defendant’s alleged actions resulted in a loss to the Social Security Administration of approximately $54,399 and a loss to the Department of Veterans Affairs of approximately $110,354, for a total loss to the government of approximately $164,753.
If convicted, the defendant faces a substantial period of incarceration, restitution of $164,753 to the government, three years of supervised release, and possible fines.
The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Amanda R. Reinitz.
Chester Man Indicted on Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
Kenneth Daniels, 38, of Chester, Pennsylvania was charged today by Indictment with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment, a 15 year mandatory minimum term of imprisonment, 5 years supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Task Force, and the Chester Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeffery W. Whitt.
Philadelphia Woman Admits to Concealing Child's Death in Order to Receive Government BenefitsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Nakia Calicat, 38, of Philadelphia, PA, pleaded guilty today to concealing the death of her child in order to continue receiving Supplemental Security Income payments for her deceased daughter. Calicat pleaded guilty to 10 counts of wire fraud, one count of theft of government money, two counts of false statements, and one count of Social Security representative payee fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Petrese B. Tucker scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 30, 2015.
Calicat gave birth to a child in December 2006 and filed for SSI benefits in March 2007. The child died in July of 2010 but the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) did not learn of the death until August of 2013. SSA sent notice to Calicat that the benefits for her child would be terminated. In October 2013, Calicat told an SSA employee that her child was still alive. In August 2014, Calicat spoke to a Special Agent with the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and, again, lied about her daughter’s death. Between July 2010 and August 2013, Calicat illegally received Social Security benefits on behalf of her deceased child defrauding the government of approximately $26,224.
Calicat faces a possible advisory sentencing guideline range of at least six to 12 months in prison, up to three years of supervised release, restitution of $26,224 and a $1,400 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Amanda R. Reinitz.
Non-Profit's Executive Director Charged in Alleged Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Rodnell Griffin, 67, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment, unsealed today, with wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the non-profit organization where she worked, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Griffin was the executive director of a non-profit organization in Philadelphia.
According to the indictment, Griffin withdrew more than $85,000 from the organization's bank accounts, between January 2007 and October 2013, and used the cash for personal expenses. Griffin allegedly obtained automated teller machine cards for some of the non-profit organization’s bank accounts. Her alleged use of the cards also caused the non-profit organization to incur more than $5,300 in bank fees and charges.
If convicted, Griffin faces a possible advisory guideline sentencing range of 30 to 37 months in prison, a three-year period of supervised release, restitution to the organization, and a $1,000 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the City of Philadelphia's Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Abrams.
Delaware Port Employee Indicted on Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Ronald Mays, 63, of Wilmington, Delaware was charged by indictment, unsealed today, with three counts of attempted possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Mays, who works for the Port of Wilmington, in Delaware, was arrested today by special agents with Homeland Security Investigations.
The indictment alleges that on or about January 6, 2014, February 12, 2014, and May 6, 2014, in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Mays attempted to possess cocaine.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 60 years in prison, a maximum fine of $3 million, at least four years of supervised release, and a special assessment of $300.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sozi Pedro Tulante.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Philadelphia Woman Indicted on Charges She Tried to Assist and Join ISILRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Keonna Thomas, a/k/a “Fatayat Al Khilafah,” a/k/a “YoungLioness,” 30, of Philadelphia, was charged today by indictment with knowingly and intentionally attempting to provide material support and resources, including herself as personnel, to a foreign terrorist organization, to wit: the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger and FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Edward Hanko. Thomas was arrested on April 3, 2015 on a criminal complaint.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams and Trial Attorney Paul Casey of the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
North Carolina Man Charged in Child Exploitation CaseRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Ivan Zubiaga, 51, of Waxhaw, NC, was charged today by indictment with one count of transporting images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct and one count of possession of images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 40 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, a mandatory minimum term of five years of supervised release up to a lifetime of supervised release, a $500,000 dollar fine, and a $200 special assessment.
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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from Customs and Border Protection, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael L. Levy.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Ironworkers Business Agent Gets Eight Year SentenceRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA- Edward Sweeney, 56, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for his role in the RICO conspiracy involving members of Ironworkers Local 401. Sweeney pleaded guilty on September 30, 2014 to RICO conspiracy, maliciously damaging property by means of fire, use of fire to commit a felony, maliciously damaging property by means of fire, conspiracy to maliciously damage property by means of fire, and attempted maliciously damaging property by means of fire. U.S. District Court Judge Michael Baylson also ordered restitution of $217,000, three years of supervised release, and a $600 special assessment.
Sweeney was a business agent for the Ironworkers Local 401 when he participated in a series of incidents as part of a plan to force non-union contractors to hire union labor. He participated in 10 incidents of extortion or attempted extortion and was involved in the Quaker Meetinghouse arson, an arson on Grays Avenue in Philadelphia, and an attempted arson in Malvern, all of which were in retaliation for contractors’ failure to hire union ironworkers. Sweeney is the 9th defendant to be sentenced in the case.
The case was investigated jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, with assistance provided by the Philadelphia Police Department Corruption Task Force, East Whiteland Township Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Employee Benefit Security Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Livermore with legal assistance provided by Gerald Toner, Acting Deputy Chief for Labor-Management Racketeering, Organized Crime and Gang Section at the Department of Justice.
Florida Man Admits to Extorting Philadelphia NightclubRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Mario Fresta, 37, of Cape Coral, Florida pleaded guilty today to one count of Hobbs Act extortion, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. U.S. District Court Judge Berle M. Schiller scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 15, 2015.
Fresta was an associate of Dominic Verdi, a-then high ranking official in Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections and Public Nuisance Task Force. Verdi had an ownership interest in a beer distributor named “Chappy’s Beer, Butts, and Bets.” Fresta, with or without Verdi’s knowledge, instructed O.N.E. Rittenhouse (“ONE”), a bar and nightclub, that if ONE bought its beer from Chappy’s and hired Fresta as a manager at a weekly rate of $400 in cash, Verdi would use his official position to benefit ONE. Even after Fresta ceased his employment at ONE, Fresta instructed the operators at ONE that ONE needed to continue paying the $400 weekly rate plus an additional $300 in cash kickbacks for Verdi and other L&I officials. Fresta informed the owners of ONE that the kickbacks were to protect ONE from suffering economic harm as a result of enforcement actions from L&I and the PTNF. At Fresta’s direction, one of the operators of ONE made approximately 39 cash deposits, totaling more than $19,900, as a result of Fresta’s claim that these payments were allegedly necessary in order to protect ONE from Verdi “shutting down” the establishment.
Fresta faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, three years supervised release and a $100 special assessment. The case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joe Khan.
Armed Robbery Spree Gets Wayne County Man Long Prison TermRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Dale Mentzer, 37, of Waymart, PA, was sentenced today to 264 months in prison for a string of armed robberies that he committed, between July 11, 2013 and July 19, 2013 with a co-defendant, in Berks, Chester, Lebanon, and Northampton Counties. Mentzer and Heath DeRizzo, 38, of Manheim, PA, were charged with two counts of interference with interstate commerce by robbery, four counts of bank robbery, two counts of use and carrying of a firearm during a crime of violence, and two counts of convicted felon in possession of a firearm. A third defendant, Samantha Henderson, 24, of Fredericksburg, PA, was charged with accessory to robbery after the fact. Mentzer pleaded guilty on December 11, 2014. DeRizzo and Henderson also pleaded guilty and will be sentenced next month. U.S. District Court Judge Edward G. Smith ordered the federal prison term to run consecutive to a 15-year sentence Mentzer is currently serving in Maryland for other robberies. He also ordered restitution in the amount of $8,926, a special assessment of $800, and five years of supervised release.
Mentzer and DeRizzo committed armed robberies at a Sovereign Bank branch in Kutztown, on July 11, 2013; a Northwest Savings Bank branch in Myerstown, on July 16, 2013; a First Cornerstone Bank branch in Phoenixville and The Rodeway Inn motel in Muhlenberg, on July 18, 2013; a National Penn Bank branch, on July 19, 2013; and, that same day, Cihylik Farms in Allen Township. Henderson assisted Mentzer and DeRizzo in their efforts to avoid apprehension.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Allentown Resident Agency, Pennsylvania State Police, East Pikeland Township Police Department, Northampton Police Department, the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office, Kutztown Police Department, Muhlenberg Township Police Department, Worcester County Bureau of Investigation, and FBI Baltimore-Salisbury Resident Agency. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Gallagher and Special AUSA Kelly Lewis Fallenstein.
Jury Convicts Blind Defendant of RobberyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – A federal jury today convicted Mark Sanders, 23, of Philadelphia, PA, in a motorcycle robbery that rendered the defendant blind. On June 26, 2011, Sanders and two other men responded to a Craigslist ad for a dirt bike for sale. Sanders and a co-conspirator met the seller at an agreed-upon location on Green Street in Philadelphia. The co-conspirator purported to inspect the dirt bike, asking the seller to start the bike and rev the engine. He then told Sanders to pay for the motorcycle but Sanders, instead, pulled a firearm from his waistband, pointed it at the seller and his companions and ordered them to get on the ground. Sanders’ conspirator commandeered the dirt bike and took off. A relative of the seller’s was at home, across the street, saw the robbery happening, and took his own, legally-owned, handgun to the scene. When Sanders would not respond to the relative’s order to stop and, instead, turned to point his gun at the seller’s relative, the seller’s relative fired his weapon, shooting Sanders in the temple rendering him blind.
The jury deliberated for two hours before finding Sanders guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery of a motor vehicle, robbery of a motor vehicle, using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
U.S. District Court Judge Juan R. Sanchez has not yet scheduled a sentencing hearing. Sanders faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison with a mandatory sentence of five years.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Arlene Fisk and Eric Boden.
Indictment Charges Trio in Counterfeit Credit Card OperationRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Rahim Henderson, 38, Tian Larode, 34, and Waliyda Henderson, 33, all of Philadelphia, PA, were charged by indictment, unsealed today, with running a counterfeit credit card manufacturing operation, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. All three defendants were charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, and access device fraud. Rahim Henderson was also charged with multiple counts of aggravated identity theft.
According to the indictment, Rahim Henderson manufactured counterfeit credit cards and he and his co-conspirators used them at commercial establishments in the Philadelphia region.
If convicted of all charges, Rahim Henderson faces a mandatory minimum term of two years in prison with a maximum statutory sentence of 74 years in prison, a fine of up to $3 million, a special assessment of $1,200, and three years of supervised release; Tian Larode faces a maximum statutory sentence of 35 years in prison, a fine of up to $750,000, a special assessment of $300, and three years of supervised release; and Waliyda Henderson faces a maximum statutory sentence of 35 years in prison, a fine of up to $750,000, a special assessment of $300, and three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James A. Petkun.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Prison Doctor Gets Prison Term for Schemes to Defraud the IRS and the Financial Aid SystemRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Dennis Erik Fluck Von Kiel, 58, of New Tripoli, PA, was sentenced today to 41 months in prison for schemes to: defraud the IRS and the Department of Health and Human Services out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, get financial aid grants for his four eldest children, file false claims for social security disability insurance, and lie at a bankruptcy proceeding. Von Kiel is the former medical director of Lehigh County Prison. He pleaded guilty on January 12, 2015 to conspiracy to defraud the United States, five counts of attempting to defeat or evade a federal tax, one count of attempting to obstruct the due administration of the internal revenue code, five counts of failure to file tax returns, one count of wire fraud and aiding and abetting wire fraud, one count of perjury in a bankruptcy proceeding, one count of financial aid fraud and aiding and abetting financial aid fraud, and two counts of mail fraud and attempted mail fraud. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl ordered three years of supervised release, restitution to the IRS in the amount of $256,920, to the Department of Health and Human Services in the amount of $262,303.11 to the Department of Education in the amount of $36,314, forfeiture of $165,988.29, and a $1,325 special assessment.
Since 2001, Von Kiel has engaged in a series of illegal schemes which were designed to help him evade creditors, including the Department of Health and Human Services to whom Von Kiel owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in outstanding medical school loans. He tried to defraud the IRS in order to avoid paying more than $200,000 in duly-owed personal income taxes. Von Kiel also lied on applications to the Department of Education for financial student aid for four of his children, which enabled them to receive more than $36,000 in federal Pell Grants for their college educations. Von Kiel tried to file a fraudulent claim for social security disability benefits by falsely claiming that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. He also intentional made a false statement under oath in a bankruptcy proceeding.
Von Kiel is a doctor of osteopathy whose medical practice included treating inmates at LCP from approximately March 1989 until approximately August 2013. Most of Von Kiel’s schemes involved him pretending to become a minister of a “church” called the International Academy of Lymphology (which later changed its name to the International Academy of Life and then the Christian Forum Assembly), purporting to take a “vow of poverty,” and then claiming that he had no taxable income because his earnings belonged to “church.” Von Kiel convinced his employer that he was exempt from federal tax withholdings and directed his employer to deposit his bi-weekly paychecks into bank accounts for his “church.” Once the money arrived in those accounts, co-conspirators would transfer nearly the same amount of money into Pennsylvania bank accounts controlled by Von Kiel. Von Kiel then used the money to pay for all of his family’s day-to-day living expenses and to buy some luxury items.
Von Kiel has been held without bail at the Federal Detention Center since his arrest on February 28, 2014.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the FBI, and the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark B. Dubnoff.
Prolific Fraudster Ordered to PrisonRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Tamira Fonville, 34, of New York City, who lied on loan applications, helped to run a check kiting scheme, and filed for public assistance benefits while living in a luxury apartment, was sentenced today to 15 months in prison. Fonville pleaded guilty on September 10, 2014 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and three counts of bank fraud. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Jan E. DuBois ordered restitution in the amount of $202,634, and three years of supervised release, with the first 9 months to be served on home confinement with electronic monitoring.
Fonville, with her co-conspirator and leader of the scheme, Ricardo Falana, and others used the ruse of a fictitious hair show to persuade young women to provide them with their bank account numbers, debit card information, including PINs, and checks. Fonville and Falana told these young women that the information was needed in order to pay them, and also told these women that they could earn money by allowing Fonville and Falana and their co-conspirators to use their accounts for deposits and withdrawals of funds. Fonville was the main contact with the young women recruited for the scheme. Falana deposited the fraudulent checks and used the debit card information to withdraw money from the accounts and purchase money orders at Walmart stores. Fonville personally benefitted from this scheme to the tune of more than $230,000 between 2008 and 2013. She used some of the proceeds to pay for plastic surgery, to pay for the car loan on her 2011 Camaro and to pay the $2100 per month rent on her New York City apartment. Fonville has stated that she viewed this scheme as a “career.”
In addition to the check kiting scheme, Fonville fraudulently obtained benefits from the SNAP (food stamps) program, Medicaid program and a New York child care program between 2010 and 2014, and received deferments on almost $100,000 of student loans, claiming that she had no income and was unemployed, and that, in some cases, that her father or grandmother paid her rent and other expenses. In 2013 and 2014, she submitted letters to the New York child care program, allegedly from her father, falsely stating that her father paid her monthly apartment rent payments directly to her landlord.
In 2012, Ms. Fonville purchased a $30,000 Chevrolet Camaro through a car loan. In her loan application, she stated that she was a six year employee of Mesa Airlines and had a salary of $65,000 per year, providing fraudulent contact information for her alleged employer. To obtain the lease on her luxury apartment in New York City in 2009, Ms. Fonville had claimed that she had worked for Mesa Airlines for three years and that her salary was $70,000 per year. She also submitted false reference letters from an alleged landlord and Mesa Airlines, a fraudulent W-2 form, and a fraudulent bank statement showing that she had a balance of $11,000 in a Bank of America account. Her bank account at that time was, in fact, overdrawn.
The case was investigated by the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney K.T. Newton.
Indictment Alleges Illegal Reentry After DeportationRead the Press Release
Doodnath Ramnath, a/k/a “Robert Kramer,” 46, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged today by Indictment with illegal reentry after deportation, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that on or about October 20, 2014, Ramnath, an alien, and native and citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, was found in the United States after having been deported from the United States on or about March 10, 2010.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of twenty years.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth F. Abrams.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
New York Man Charged with Possession of A Fraudulent Passport CardRead the Press Release
Jed Bernard Connally, 55, of St. Albans, New York, was charged today by indictment with possession of a fraudulent U.S. passport card. The indictment charges that the defendant committed this offense on or about June 17, 2014.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum of ten years in prison. The defendant also faces three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.
This case was investigated by the Diplomatic Security Service, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney V. Paige Pratter.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Meat Market Owner Charged with Defrauding Assistance ProgramRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Saud Saleh, 30, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged by indictment, unsealed today, with wire fraud against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the federal Food Stamp program, and associated charges, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The defendant owned and operated Twinz Meat Market, located at 3083 Kensington Avenue in Philadelphia, PA.
According to the indictment, Saleh engaged in the illegal trafficking in of SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps) by purchasing those benefits from customers of Twinz Meat Market in exchange for cash. The indictment charges that from approximately July 2010 through approximately December 2012, as a result of his trafficking activities, Saud Saleh sought and received from USDA redemption of approximately $1.125 million in SNAP benefits.
If convicted, Saleh faces a substantial period of incarceration in addition to an additional three years of supervised release, a fine of approximately $1.8 million and restitution.
The case was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Floyd J. Miller.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Mask-Wearing Robber ConvictedRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Blair Thomas, Jr., 29, of East Lansdowne, PA, was convicted today of a bank robbery in Springfield, PA, the attempted armed robberies of postal employees in Yeadon and Darby, PA, and with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
In each robbery and robbery attempt, Thomas wore a special effects, movie quality mask as a disguise, and in each robbery attempt, he armed himself with a .45-caliber Ruger semi-automatic handgun. On January 22, 2014, Thomas attempted to rob a United States Postal Service employee at the Yeadon Post Office, located at 709 Church Lane, of money orders. That same day, Thomas brandished a firearm and tried to rob a United States Postal Service employee at the Darby Post Office, located at 801 Main Street, of money orders. On January 23, 2014, Thomas robbed the Wells Fargo Bank, at 888 Baltimore Pike in Springfield, of approximately $1,890.
U.S. District Court Judge L. Felipe Restrepo scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 14, 2015. Thomas faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison with a maximum sentence of life, up to five years of supervised release, a fine of up to $1.5 million, and a $600 special assessment.
Thomas is also awaiting trial on separate charges in the District of Delaware.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Springfield, Yeadon, and Darby Police Departments. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Natali.
Citizen of Dominican Republic Charged with Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Flavio Guzman, a/k/a ADanny Torres,” of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged today by indictment with one count of illegal reentry after deportation, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that on or about March 27, 2015, Guzman, an alien, and a citizen of the Dominican Republic, was found in the United States after having been deported from the United States on or about May 5, 2011, and November 19, 2014.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, a three-year period of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.
The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Enforcement and Removal Operations (“ERO”) and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sozi Pedro Tulante.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Drug Dealer Sentenced to 20 Years Behind BarsRead the Press Release
Jamil Murray, a/k/a "Smooth," a/k/a "Mills," 33, of Philadelphia was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine base ("crack"), and possessing with intent to distribute crack cocaine. Murray was a large-scale drug dealer and a pimp. He pleaded guilty on May 2, 2014 and also stipulated to a factual basis involving forcing a woman to engage in commercial sex acts for his sole financial benefit. Murray has an extensive criminal history. Since his adolescence, he has engaged in continuous criminal behavior interrupted only by periods of incarceration.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg ordered ten years of supervised release and a $200 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Bensalem Township Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sherri A. Stephan and Trial Attorney Anita Channapati with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
Former Chester County Man Admits to Selling Illegal ExplosivesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Ryan Joseph Hribick, 34, of Minersville, formerly of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today to all four counts in the pending indictment charging him with one count of possession of unregistered firearms, one count of manufacturing and dealing explosive materials, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, and one count of witness tampering. United States District Judge Robert F. Kelly scheduled sentencing for Hribick on July 17, 2015.
From about March 2009 to about February 2013, Hribick possessed, manufactured, and sold improvised explosive devices (“IEDs”), including PVC pipes (some containing nails, screws, and/or rocks) and cardboard tubes, all center primed with flash powder. After federal agents searched his home, Hribick instructed and conspired with others to destroy and conceal cardboard tubes and flash powder – which Hribick was using to manufacture IEDs – so as to keep that evidence from federal agents and the federal grand jury.
In addition, Hribick attempted to influence the testimony of a federal grand jury witness regarding the destruction and concealment of evidence. Specifically, Hribick advised the witness to lie and conceal from the federal grand jury the fact that the witness had destroyed and concealed evidence according to Hribick’s instructions. At this time, Hribick knew that the federal grand jury was actively investigating his conduct.
Hribick faces a maximum possible sentence of 60 years in prison, a $1 million fine, 3 years of supervised release and a $400 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Philadelphia Police Bomb Disposal Unit, the Montgomery County Bomb Squad, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the East Whiteland Police Department, the East Whiteland Fire Department, the Malvern Fire Department, the Chester County District Attorney’s Office, the Maryland State Police, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Vineet Gauri.
Delaware County Man Charged Federally in Child Exploitation CaseRead the Press Release
John Corcoran IV, of Glenolden, PA, is charged by Indictment with numerous counts of child exploitation, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Corcoran is charged with 20 counts of using or inducing a child to pose for child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography. He is currently in custody awaiting trial.
Corcoran is charged in this federal indictment with abusing 11 children at his home in Glenolden, at the children’s homes throughout Delaware County, and at the Ridley YMCA in Ridley, Pennsylvania. He faces additional charges – involving additional victims – in Delaware County.
If convicted of all charges in federal court, Corcoran faces a maximum possible sentence of 610 years in prison, and a mandatory minimum of 15 years.
The case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, the Glenolden Police Department, the Darby Police Department, and the Folcroft Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.
An Indictment, Information or Criminal Complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Another Member of Local 401 Sentenced to Prison TermRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA- Greg Sullivan, 50, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for conspiracy to maliciously damage property by means of fire, and Hobbs Act Extortion. Sullivan pleaded guilty on September 23, 2014. He participated in the Grays Avenue arson and the attempted arson in Malvern. In addition to the prison term, United States District Court Michael Baylson ordered restitution of $10,306.80 – half of which must be paid within 30 days – three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. He has 30 days to report to prison.
The case was investigated jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, with assistance provided by the Philadelphia Police Department Corruption Task Force, East Whiteland Township Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Employee Benefit Security Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Livermore with legal assistance provided by Gerald Toner, Acting Deputy Chief for Labor-Management Racketeering, Organized Crime and Gang Section at the Department of Justice.
Bucks County Man Sentenced for Child ExploitationRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Thomas Silber, 51, of Yardley, PA, was sentenced yesterday to 14 years in prison for knowingly receiving, and attempting to receive, visual depictions, that is, DVD movies, depicting child pornography. Between February 2007 and October 2010, Silber received 10 DVD movies, using the internet, which were shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce and contained materials that had been shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce. The producing of these visual depictions involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and such visual depictions were of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. He pleaded guilty on December 18, 2014.
The DVDs that Silber purchased were produced by a company in Canada. After ordering the DVDs, Silber contacted the videos’ producer and arranged to meet with at least one of the children depicted, who lived in Ukraine. Silber then traveled to Ukraine on multiple occasions to engage in sexual activity with that child. Locally, Silber was employed as a school bus driver, Little League baseball umpire, and youth wrestling referee.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Stengel ordered five years of supervised release, a $5,000 fine, and a $1,000 special assessment.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, and the Lower Makefield Township Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Morgan.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced for Sex Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Adrian Palmer, 49, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced today to 80 months in prison for conspiring in the sex trafficking of girls under the age of 18. Palmer pleaded guilty on October 18, 2013 to one count of conspiracy, one count of sex trafficking of minors, and one count of attempted sex trafficking of a minor. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge C. Darnell Jones, II, ordered Palmer to pay restitution of $1,400, a $300 special assessment, and to complete five years of supervised release. Palmer will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.
Between June 1, 2012 and June 14, 2012, Palmer, who worked as a security guard at a Days Inn motel on Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia, provided protection and assistance to sex traffickers operating at the motel in exchange for a daily fee. Craig Johnson, the operator of the sex trafficking venture, recruited female juveniles to work as prostitutes. Johnson paid Palmer between $60 and $100 a day in exchange for advice about Johnson’s sex trafficking organization, including Johnson’s Backpage.com advertisements. Palmer also provided protection for Johnson so that law enforcement authorities would not be alerted to the sex trafficking operation. In August 2013, Palmer accepted $100 from a confidential witness in exchange for protecting him from law enforcement so he could engage in the sex trafficking of a (fictitious) 16-year-old minor.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the First Judicial Court Warrant Unit. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle L. Morgan.
New Jersey Man Sentenced to 28 Years for Child ExploitationRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Christopher Steibing, 34, of Ewing, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 28 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual conduct. Between September 2009 and August 2012, the defendant used the Internet to persuade, induce, entice and coerce a child to engage in illegal sexual activity. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Harvey Bartle, III, ordered 20 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. The defendant must also register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and shall be subject to any applicable state sex offender registration requirements.
When she was approximately 13 years old, the victim began receiving messages on AOL from a user claiming to be a 15 year old girl named “Amanda” who would be moving near the victim. The victim had numerous online conversations which “Amanda,” in which “Amanda” repeatedly brought up the topic of sexual intercourse, pressed the victim for information about her sexual history, and claimed to have dated the defendant. “Amanda” also introduced the victim to “Cory,” whom “Amanda” claimed was a 14 year-old male friend whom the victim should talk to. In truth, “Amanda” and “Cory” were actually the defendant, who was using the AOL screen names “AMANDAFOX93” and “NEWJERSEYSTONER” for these fictional personas. Eventually, the victim believed that she was dating “Cory” in an online relationship. The defendant sent the victim several images that purported to be pictures of “Cory’s” naked body and asked the victim to send him nude pictures of her. The victim ultimately agreed, taking photographs of herself in poses suggested by the defendant, including images of child pornography.
Ultimately, the defendant threatened to send nude photographs of the victim to others, including her family, if she did not send him more images. The defendant then made good on this threat and sent degrading and humiliating images of the victim to her family. After the victim decided to stop communicating with “Cory,” she received contacts from other AOL screen names whose language resembled “Cory’s.” In fact, the defendant was the one sending these messages as well. The defendant stored some of his images of the victim on a laptop computer, which, in March 2012, he kept at a girlfriend’s home in Bucks County. He later transported the laptop to his mother’s house in Ewing, New Jersey where, on May 1, 2012, police executed a search warrant and seized the laptop, along with an iPod Touch, which collectively contained hundreds of image files depicting the victim. During their searches, the police and FBI also discovered that the defendant had kept and distributed numerous images of child pornography in which the face of his own daughter, who was no older than 11 years old at the time, had been digitally “morphed” onto the bodies of other minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The case was investigated by the Falls Township Police Department, the Ewing, New Jersey Police Department, Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joe Khan.
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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Tax Preparer Convicted of Preparing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – A federal jury, yesterday, convicted tax preparer David Nixon, 50, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of 63 counts of fraud related to the preparation of federal income tax returns. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 7, 2015.
Nixon, as the owner of Economy Tax Services at 3731 Stanton Street in Philadelphia, prepared materially false federal income tax returns for his clients for tax years 2007 through 2009. The fraudulent returns included credits for children, earned income credit, tuition and fees, residential energy efficiency credits, incorrect filing status, and false or falsely inflated Form 1040 Schedule A deductions for charitable contributions and employee business expenses. More than 25 of the taxpayers testified during at trial that Nixon changed their filing status from married to head of household, inflated their charitable contributions, and/or created employee business expenses. The jury also heard a recorded meeting between Nixon and an undercover IRS agent during which Nixon said, “I cheated to get them [other taxpayers] two, three thousand,” “I had a 99.9% record of people who’ve got refunds,” and “my rule of thumb, let me get you some money before I get mine.” The tax returns that Nixon prepared and filed increased the amount of the refunds his clients received. As a result of the false and fraudulent income tax returns prepared by Nixon, the IRS was defrauded of more than $200,000 in fraudulently obtained refunds.
Nixon faces a possible advisory sentencing guideline range of 33 to 41 months in prison, a fine of up to $21 million, up to one year of supervised release, and a special assessment of $6,300.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anita Eve.
Philadelphia Man Charged with Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Tony Myers, 29, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged by Indictment, unsealed yesterday, with two counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that on or about August 7, 2013, February 16, 2014 and April 2, 2014, Myers received and possessed images of child pornography.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of fifty years in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.
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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Josh A. Davison.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Chester Springs Couple Get Prison Time for Operating Tax Refund Scam Involving Stolen Hospital Patient InformationRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Yanira Lopez, 29, was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for a tax fraud and identity theft scheme in which she and her husband, Rafael Henriquez Polanco, sought more than $1.7 million in fraudulent tax refunds. Polanco, 32, was sentenced on February 17, 2015 to 51 months in prison for numerous fraud and narcotics offenses. In addition to the prison terms, U.S. District Court Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg ordered three years of supervised release for each defendant, restitution totaling $447,299 for Lopez and $409,779 for Polanco, and special assessments of $500 and $600, respectively.
Lopez and Polanco both pleaded guilty to tax fraud, passport fraud, aggravated identity theft, and presentation of an immigration application containing a false statement. Additionally, Polanco pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base, and Lopez pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Polanco is an illegal alien from the Dominican Republic, and, prior to his arrest in 2012, he and Lopez resided together in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania.
“These individuals demonstrated a blatant disregard of the integrity of the United States tax system and caused immeasurable hardship to innocent victims,” said Special Agent-In-Charge Akeia Conner, IRS Criminal Investigation, Philadelphia Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation, along with our law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney's Office, remain committed to the pursuit of identity theft. We will hold those who engage in similar conduct accountable.”
Between January 2008 and September 2011, Polanco and Lopez obtained the names, dates of birth, and social security numbers of patients of Community Hospital in Chester, Pennsylvania and Crozer‑Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pennsylvania, by paying employees of the hospitals to steal confidential medical forms. Polanco and Lopez then utilized the stolen identities to file fraudulent individual income tax returns with the IRS claiming fraudulent refunds. In support of the false returns, the defendants submitted phony Forms W-2 (Wage and Tax Statement) and listed one of several return addresses in Chester, Pennsylvania, or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which addresses the defendants controlled. Polanco and Lopez opened several bank accounts, and paid others to open bank accounts, using false identities for the purpose of depositing the fraudulently procured tax refund checks. Lopez, a former bank teller, utilized her knowledge of bank procedures to further this aspect of the scheme. Between February 23, 2009 and September 16, 2011, the defendants caused the United States Department of the Treasury to issue federal tax refund checks totaling $257,710.79.
Between October 26, 2008 and May 18, 2010, Lopez devised a scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment benefits from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In furtherance of this scheme, Lopez represented to the Commonwealth that she was unemployed, when in fact she was employed full-time at Brandywine Maintenance, Inc., in Spring City, Pennsylvania, where she worked under the alias "Leslie Serrano."
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, the Department of Labor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin Brenner and Maureen McCartney.
Two Philadelphia Men Charged with Defrauding Assistance ProgramRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Abdoulaye Diallo, 50, and Lassana Nianghane, 51, both of Philadelphia, PA, were charged by indictment, unsealed today, with conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Both defendants were arrested today.
According to the indictment, Diallo, the owner and operator of Brothers Food Market, located in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, trafficked in SNAP benefits with SNAP program beneficiaries by purchasing benefits for cash, which is illegal. It is further alleged that Nianghane, also known as the “purse man,” aided Diallo by acting as the initial contact person for beneficiaries who wanted to sell their SNAP benefits for cash. According to the indictment, instead of accompanying SNAP beneficiaries to Brothers Food Market, defendant Nianghane telephoned defendant Diallo and relayed to Diallo the particulars of the proposed illegal sales over the phone.
Between June of 2011 and May of 2014, according to the indictment, Diallo submitted to USDA, on behalf of Brothers, total SNAP reimbursements of approximately $1.1 million.
If convicted, Diallo and Nianghane face a substantial period of incarceration, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $1.8 million, and restitution.
The case was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Floyd J. Miller.
Philadelphia Woman Arrested on Suspicions of Trying to Join ISILRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Keonna Thomas, a/k/a “Fatayat Al Khilafah,” a/k/a “YoungLioness,” 30, of Philadelphia, was charged today by Criminal Complaint with knowingly attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. According to the complaint, Thomas knowingly attempted to travel overseas in order to join, fight with, and martyr herself on behalf of ISIL.
The Complaint alleges that Thomas posted on Twitter the following statement: “If we truly knew the realities . . . we all would be rushing to join our brothers in the front lines pray ALLAH accept us as shuhada [martyrs].” The Complaint further alleges that Thomas applied for a U.S. Passport, and advised an associate that she had deactivated her Twitter “till i leave for sham [greater Syria]. . . . don’t want to draw attention of the kuffar [non-believers]. Thomas then allegedly engaged in electronic communications with an ISIL fighter in Syria, who asked Thomas if she wanted to be a part of a martyrdom operation. Thomas responded by stating, “that would be amazing….a girl can only wish.” Thomas also allegedly conducted online research into various indirect travel routes to Turkey, and allegedly purchased an electronic visa to Turkey. The Complaint alleges that Turkey is known to be the most common and most direct transit point for individuals traveling from locations in Europe who are seeking to enter Syria and join ISIL. And on or about March 26, 2015, Thomas allegedly purchased airline tickets to fly to Spain three days later, on March 29, 2015.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams and Trial Attorney Paul Casey of the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
A Criminal Complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Store Owner Sentenced to Prison for Food Stamp FraudRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Dewey McNair, 54 of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced yesterday to 21 months in prison for illegally exchanging food stamp benefits for cash at his West Philadelphia fish store, Bottom of the Sea. Dewey McNair is the owner of Lancaster Avenue Seafood Inc., which operated a seafood store called Bottom of the Sea. McNair has admitted that, over the fourteen month period from October 2011 through November 2012, he paid cash to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits ("SNAP") recipients in exchange for benefits, knowing that to do so was illegal..
In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Berle M. Schiller ordered McNair to pay restitution of $120,000 to the United States Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Services.
The case was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Abrams.
Delaware County Nightclub Owners Plead Guilty to Tax and Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Romeo Callueng, 45, and Susan Callueng, 43, of Woodlyn, PA, pleaded guilty on March 26, 2015 to tax evasion and fraud in connection to a health care benefit program. The Calluengs, who owned the “Club 27” nightclub at 27 Bank Street in Philadelphia, were receiving assistance from Medicaid and LIHEAP (Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program) despite making substantially more than the maximum income eligibility. Each defendant pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and four counts of tax evasion for evading income taxes in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.
The Calluengs listed Club 27 for sale through a realtor in 2009. Undercover IRS agents met with the realtor in 2009, posing as buyers. They were provided income statements that had been prepared by defendant Susan Callueng, in which the defendant asserted that the club had profits of about $400,000 per year in 2007 and 2008, and almost $300,000 for the first eight months of 2009 (an annualized rate of about $450,000). The undercover agents then met with both the defendant and her husband. Both Romeo Callueng and Susan Callueng explained to the agents, in consensually recorded conversations, that they did not report all their income to “Uncle Sam” and that they preferred cash registers to the POS system because of the lack of records. Romeo Callueng explained to the undercovers that “it’s book number one and book number two.” He told the agents that they kept track of their income, but they did not record it, because “you want to hide as much as you can.”
During a meeting with both of the Calluengs, Romeo Callueng explained to the undercover agents that his wife could teach them how to run the business so that they would not be “throwing red flags” to “Uncle Sam.” Defendant Susan Callueng was asked about the income statements that she had prepared, and asked what portion is “off the books.” She replied, “Everything is off.” She then opined that “everybody in this business is off the books.” She stated that they report a “bare minimum” of income to the Department of Labor in order to avoid putting a “red flag up there.” She also told them that she destroys the records related to receipts because she does not want records to be available. The defendants paid their employees and their expenses out of cash, in order to avoid making excessive deposits and to avoid generating records of their expenses which could trigger government attention.
The defendants had also applied for and received both LIHEAP and Medicaid. On the applications for these benefits, defendants claimed income varying from $100 each per week to $700 per week, significantly below the actual profit they earned from Club 27. The income that they were actually earning from Club 27 greatly exceeded the maximum income for eligibility for either of these federally funded programs. In order to apply for these benefits, the defendants were required to submit proof of their income. They attached letters on Club 27 letterhead, purportedly signed by the manager of the Club. However, the manager never signed those letters.
U.S. District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 26, 2015. Each defendant faces a maximum possible statutory sentence of 25 years in prison with an estimated advisory sentencing guideline range of 18 to 24 months, plus restitution to the IRS, a possible fine of up to $1.25 million, a $500 special assessment, and three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nancy Rue.
Download indictment_-_rossid.pdf
Bucks County Real Estate Investor Arrested on Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Dean Rossi, 49, of Warrington, PA, was arrested today in connection with an alleged mortgage fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Rossi, a real estate investor who owned numerous low-income properties throughout the Philadelphia area, was charged by indictment, unsealed today, with conspiracy, mail fraud affecting a financial institution, and bank fraud.
The indictment alleges that Rossi misappropriated in excess of $643,000 from real estate closings. After obtaining bank loans to purchase or refinance residential properties, Rossi allegedly teamed up with title/closing agents to divert a substantial portion of the loan proceeds. According to the indictment, Rossi received cash from the settlements that otherwise should have been used to pay off prior mortgages and tax liens on certain properties. To prevent the scheme from being detected, Rossi allegedly continued to cause payments to be made on the prior existing mortgages years after those loans were supposed to have been paid in full.
If convicted, the defendant faces a possible advisory sentencing guideline range of 46 to 57 months in prison, up to five years of supervised release, a fine of up to $4 million, and a $400 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen M. Klotz.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.