Eastern District of Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA - David Brister, 56, of Philadelphia, was charged by indictment, unsealed today, in a counterfeit check scheme that victimized dozens of people across the United States, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Brister is charged with one count of conspiracy, five counts of mail fraud, 12 counts of wire fraud, two counts of presenting and transmitting counterfeit money orders, and four counts of passing and uttering counterfeit checks. He was arrested this morning.

According to the indictment, Brister teamed up with at least one person located outside the United States to defraud Americans in a series of Internet-based schemes. He allegedly duped the recipients of counterfeit checks and money orders into depositing the items into their bank accounts and wiring money to him. In one alleged scheme, Brister and his co-conspirators posted advertisements on the website, Craigslist.com, for fake jobs, which included phony positions such as “secret shoppers” and “administrative assistants.” Whenever a person answered the advertisement and was “hired” for the fake job, Brister or a co-conspirator would allegedly send counterfeit money to the “new employee” along with a set of instructions on how to complete their new “employment” obligations. The instructions generally involved depositing the checks or money orders into their own bank accounts, keeping a portion as their “salary,” performing some simple task, and sending the rest of the money to Brister via Western Union or MoneyGram. Only after wiring the funds to Brister did the would-be employees learn that the checks and money orders they had deposited into their bank accounts were counterfeit.

In a different scheme, an alleged co-conspirator of Brister’s would respond to advertisements on Craigslist.com for the sale of merchandise, agree to buy the advertised item, send counterfeit checks or money orders to the seller in excess of the sales price, and indicate that the difference was to be spent on a third-party delivery company. Brister’s co-conspirator would identify Brister as the representative of the third-party delivery company and ask the seller to deposit the check or money order into his account, keep enough to cover both the sales price and a little bonus, and then wire the rest to Brister. As with the fake job-offer scheme, the sellers followed the instructions and wired thousands of dollars to Brister, only to learn that the monetary instruments they had received were counterfeit, and their bank accounts had been debited.

In total, Brister allegedly received more than $98,000 in fraudulent proceeds from the various Internet-based schemes between January 2008 and August 2012. It is further alleged that Brister and at least one co-conspirator planned to send more than $5.8 million worth of additional counterfeit checks and money orders to unsuspecting victims in the United States as part of their schemes

Each mail fraud count and each count of wire fraud count carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison; each counterfeit check count carries a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison; each conspiracy and each money order transmittal count carries a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison. Brister also faces a fine of up to $6 million, a $2,500 special assessment, and three years of supervised release, if convicted.

If convicted of all charges, Brister faces a maximum possible sentence of 395 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $6 million, and a $2,500 special assessment.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark B. Dubnoff.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – Robert Ranieri, 37, of Glendora, N.J., pleaded guilty today to committing loan sharking activities on behalf of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra (LCN) Family.  U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno scheduled a sentencing hearing for September 25, 2013.  Ranieri faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.

Through court documents and statements made in court, Ranieri admitted that he conspired with Philadelphia LCN Family capo Anthony Staino and others to make a usurious loan to an undercover FBI agent and used threats of violence to collect payments on the loan. 

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the Pennsylvania State Police, the New Jersey State Police, the Philadelphia Police Department, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.  Additional assistance was provided by the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank A. Labor III, Suzanne Ercole, and Trial Attorney John S. Han of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.  Valuable prosecutorial assistance was provided by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - The federal jury that voted in favor of death for drug kingpin Kaboni Savage, today voted in favor of life for Savage co-defendant Steven Northington, 41.  Savage was formally sentenced to death last week by U.S. District Court Judge R. Barclay Surrick.  He is the first defendant in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to receive the death penalty in federal court.  He was convicted on May 13, 2013 of 12 counts of murder in aid of racketeering, one count of retaliating against a witness by murder, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, and one count of conspiracy to participate in a Racketeering Enterprise.  Savage ordered the October 9, 2004 firebombing of the home of Eugene Coleman’s family.  Coleman was a federal witness at the time.  Six people were killed in the arson murder, including four children.  The jury had found Northington guilty of the murders of Barry Parker in 2003 and of Tybius Flowers in 2004, in addition to Racketeering (RICO) conspiracy.  Northington will be formally sentenced on June 19, 2013. 

Co-defendants Kidada Savage, Kaboni Savage’s sister, and Robert Merritt face mandatory life sentences.  They were convicted at trial of the RICO conspiracy and Kidada Savage was also convicted of the Coleman family murders.  

Today’s penalty verdict was announced by United States Attorney Zane David Memeger, Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent-in-Charge Edward J. Hanko of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division.

“Achieving justice sometimes requires us to ask the citizens on a jury to make the most difficult sentencing decision imaginable,” said Memeger.  “In this case, after convicting the defendants of crimes involving murder, the jurors chose death for Kaboni Savage and life for Stephen Northington.  The defendants’ horrific conduct struck at the very heart of our criminal justice system which depends on witnesses testifying without fearing for their lives or the lives of their family members.  We appreciate the time and effort that the jury committed to reaching a fair verdict as to each defendant.  While the verdicts cannot restore the loss of life taken by members of the Kaboni Savage drug organization, we hope that the jury verdicts bring some sense of closure to the victims’ families and friends.  I want to thank the phenomenal investigative and trial team that worked so hard over many years to bring the defendants to justice for their despicable crimes.” 

“For more than a decade, Kaboni Savage and members of his organization used murder and violence to intimidate and retaliate against anyone who threatened their drug trade, and along the way mercilessly killed a cooperating witness’s family members, including innocent children,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman. “We are hopeful that the jury’s verdict brings some measure of justice to the victims of Savage’s heinous crimes.”

“Kaboni Savage and his crew murdered men, women, and children – for money, power, and, ultimately, just for revenge,” said Edward J. Hanko, FBI Special Agent in Charge. “They thought no more of taking lives than of taking a phone call. After more than a decade of brutality, Northington’s life sentence and Savage’s death sentences are justly deserved.”

Savage’s drug enterprise operated primarily in the North Philadelphia area from at least late 1997 to 2010.  After Savage was indicted on drug charges in 2004, he ordered the murders of the family of government witness Eugene Coleman.  Lamont Lewis, who has pleaded guilty, firebombed the Coleman family home on Savage’s orders which Kidada Savage relayed to Lewis.

In addition to the murders of the six people inside the Coleman home, Savage was convicted of:

- the March 19, 1998, murder of Kenneth Lassiter, age 44, of Lansdale, PA, near the corner of 8th and Butler Streets in Philadelphia;

- the September 6, 2000 murder of Mansur “Shafiq”Abdullah, age 22, of Philadelphia.  Abdullah was shot and his burned body was later recovered in the 4200 block of North Park Avenue, in Philadelphia;   

- the September 13, 2001 murder of Carlton “Mohammed” Brown, age 27, of  Philadelphia;

- the February 26, 2003 murder of Barry Parker, age 32, of Philadelphia, in the 3900 block of North Franklin Street, in Philadelphia;

- the March 14, 2003 murder of Tyrone Toliver, age 26, of Cherry Hill, NJ, in the 3500 block of North Palmetto Street in Philadelphia; and

- the March 1, 2004 murder of Tybius Flowers, age 32, in the 3700 block of N. 8th Street in Philadelphia;

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, and the Maple Shade, New Jersey Police Department.  The United States Bureau of Prisons, the United States Marshals Service, and HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) also assisted in the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David E. Troyer and John M. Gallagher and Trial Attorney Steve Mellin, of the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Unit at the U.S. Department of Justice.           

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Former Internal Revenue Service employee Patricia Fountain, 36, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 19 years in prison for a series of tax refund schemes that defrauded the U.S. Government. Fountain was convicted on March 13, 2013, along with co-defendants Larry Ishmael, and Calvin Johnson, Jr., also of Philadelphia, who are awaiting sentencing. A federal jury found each of the three defendants guilty of multiple counts of both conspiracy and filing false claims/tax returns to the IRS. For abusing her public office, Fountain was also found guilty of extortion under color of official right. Collectively, the defendants’ schemes cost the IRS well over $3 million. U.S. District Court Judge Stewart Dalzell also ordered Fountain to pay restitution in the amount of $1.7 million, a $1,300 special assessment, and ordered three years of supervised release.

“Our system of government is based upon a tax system which requires truthful disclosure by taxpayers of the amounts due to the IRS,” said Memeger. “When individuals defraud the system to avoid their obligation to pay taxes or steal money from the United States Treasury, the rest of the tax paying public bears the cost. Today’s sentence sends a strong message to deter this type of criminal behavior. We will continue to prosecute tax cheats to the fullest extent of the law, particularly those government employees who abuse the public trust and tarnish the reputation of honest and hard-working federal employees.”

“Federal employees must not use their positions of public trust for private gain, especially those employees who are entrusted with the fair and honest administration of our Nation’s tax laws,” said J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. “In safeguarding the integrity of the Federal system of tax administration, TIGTA will vigorously investigate allegations of corruption and ensure that those responsible for misconduct are held accountable.”

“At the IRS, protecting taxpayer money is a matter we take extremely seriously,” said Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Special Agent-in-Charge Akeia Conner. “The defendants who perpetrated this scheme systematically defrauded the government and the taxpaying public. Today's sentencing of Patricia Fountain and prior sentencings of her co-defendants Calvin Johnson Sr., William S. Martin, and Andre Bruce demonstrates our unwavering commitment to protecting the interests of law-abiding taxpayers.”

Each of the defendants solicited claimants whose personal information the defendants used to file false tax returns claiming the Telephone Excise Tax Refund (TETR) in 2007 and the First Time Homebuyer Credit in 2009. Fountain also claimed the TETR by filing false tax returns for herself and for Ishmael, and used one of the claimant’s information to file a false tax return in 2008. Fountain also filed false claims claiming the American Opportunity Tax Credit between 2010 and 2012. Johnson, Jr. also used claimants’ information to file false tax returns in 2012, including while he was being supervised on pretrial release in this case.

For each of the schemes, the defendants charged claimants a cash fee. With respect to her TETR scheme, which Fountain engineered using inside information from the IRS, Fountain warned that she would “red flag” those claimants who received a refund without paying her $400 fee. She then filed amended returns for certain claimants whom she believed had not paid the fee, causing the IRS to demand repayment from them. Fountain and Ishmael pooled their cash fees for their mutual use, including an $11,299 down payment on a Mercedes Benz R350, which Fountain structured by paying $9,900 in cash and charging the rest to a credit card.

Johnson’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 18, 2013 and Ishmael’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 26, 2013. Pending sentencing, Ishmael and Johnson Jr. are being detained in federal custody. Judge Dalzell previously sentenced co-defendants Andre Bruce, Howard Chilsom, William Martin, and Calvin Johnson, Sr. in April 2013.

The case was investigated by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and IRS Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joe Khan and Department of Justice, Tax Division Trial Attorney Tiwana L. Wright.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – A federal jury, today, found Dr. Norman Werther, 74, of Ft. Washington, PA, guilty of more than 300 counts, including distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death.  In addition to the charge of distribution resulting in death, the jury found Werther guilty of 184 counts of illegally distributing oxycodone, 116 counts of money laundering, six counts of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises. Werther faces a mandatory 20 years and maximum sentence of life in prison.  A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled. Werther remains free on bail until Friday, June 14, 2013.

Werther was part of a multi-million dollar drug conspiracy involving illegal prescriptions, phony patients, and multiple drug trafficking organizations.  At the time, Werther was a Montgomery County physician, running a physical therapy and rehabilitation practice in Willow Grove.  He conspired with six separate groups of drug dealers. 

“Dr. Werther turned his back on his professional code of ethics, becoming nothing more than a common drug pusher,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis Lappen. “He is the antithesis of a physician.  The sentence mandated for his crimes should ensure that he will never again be free to harm another human being.”

“Drug diversion is a growing epidemic in our society made worse by the professional people who turn their backs on their ethics to line their pockets at great risk to others,” said DEA Special Agent-in-Charge David G. Dongilli.  “We will continue our diligent efforts to crackdown on this growing problem.”

“The diversion of dangerous prescription drugs is a public health epidemic and a serious  problem,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Nick DiGiulio with Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General in Philadelphia. “We work with our partners to dismantle these lethal drug trafficking organizations and to bring physicians like Dr. Werther to justice.”

Werther worked with drug traffickers who recruited large numbers of pseudo-patients.  Werther set aside a specific block of time each business day to see the pseudo-patients recruited by Ronald Campbell, Anthony DiPasquale, Angel DuPrey, Kyle Jones, and William Stukes. With the help of Werther’s office staff, those “patients” were transported to Werther’s medical office, at 301 Davisville Road in Willow Grove, PA, for cursory examinations.  The “patients” paid an office visit fee, usually $150, by cash, check, or money order, and Werther wrote prescriptions for them to obtain oxycodone-based drugs without there being a legitimate medical purpose for the prescription and outside the usual course of professional practice.  The “patients” were then driven to various pharmacies, including Northeast Pharmacy, to have their prescriptions filled.  The drugs were then turned over to the drug dealers so their organizations could sell the narcotics to numerous drug dealers who resold the drugs on the street. 

In September 2010, Werther knowingly dispensed approximately 150 pills containing 30 milligrams each of oxycodone, and 30 pills containing 15 milligrams each of oxycodone, to Nathaniel Backes for no legitimate medical purpose and Nathaniel Backes’ death resulted from the use of that substance.

The drug conspiracy involving Dr. Werther operated between February 2009 and August 2011 and resulted in the illegal distribution of more than 700,000 pills containing oxycodone. At least one of the drug trafficking organizations working with Werther trafficked pills valued at more than $5 million that Werther illegally prescribed.

The crimes of conspiracy, distribution of controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute, and money laundering each carry a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Philadelphia Police Department, the North Coventry Police Department, the Upper Moreland Police Department, and the Montgomery Township Police.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nancy Beam Winter and Jason Bologna. 

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - David Husmann, 53, of Elizabethtown, PA, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for possessing and distributing child pornography while on supervised release for possession of child pornography.  On March 13, 2013, a federal jury found Husmann guilty of the latest charges – his fourth conviction for charges involving crimes against children with a fifth, unrelated, conviction.

Husmann was on supervised release from a 2005 conviction when, on January 26, 2011, his probation officer made an unannounced visit to the home of Husmann’s mother, where he was living at the time.  As part of the conditions of his release, after serving his sentence for the 2005 conviction, computer monitoring software was installed on the computer Husmann used.  The probation officer had received an alert from the monitoring software that indicated that Husmann had accessed pornographic websites and images, and which also provided the probation officer with static screen shots of the images.  Upon entering Husmann’s basement bedroom, the probation officer found Husmann in the act of viewing child erotica.

Among the thousands of images in the defendant’s collection were those of children who were sexually abused and who had already been identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).  Their images have been distributed around the world through the Internet. 

Husmann’s record shows he was first convicted of three counts of cruelty to animals in 1995.  During the same time period that he committed that crime, he was also engaging in a pattern of sexual exploitation and abuse of young girls who were under his care as a house parent at the Hershey School in Dauphin County.  Between September 1995 and March 1996, the defendant downloaded pornography onto a school computer and showed it to eight young girls who resided at that school and were under his care.  He was also convicted of indecent assault on two of the girls.  Husmann was sentenced and moved to Florida to serve out his probationary term on his second conviction, which required him to register as a sex offender.  However, once he moved back to Lancaster County into his mother’s home in 2002, he failed to register.  That resulted in a conviction for failure to register as a sex offender.  He had been living with his mother, unregistered, for more than two years, again, failing to register as a sex offender and becoming actively engaged in trading child pornography and purchasing memberships in child pornography websites.  As a result, a search warrant was issued and the defendant was ultimately convicted in federal court of possession of child pornography.  In August 2005 he was sentenced to 51 months incarceration, followed by three years supervised release.  That was his fourth conviction.  After his release from federal prison, and while still on supervised release, Husmann continued his crimes against children by trading and collecting the images and videos of children being sexually exploited that led to his conviction in this case. 

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence F. Stengel ordered Husmann to pay a fine in the amount of $2,000 and a $400 special assessment.  Upon completion of his prison term, Husmann will be supervised by the United States Probation Department for the rest of his life.   

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rotella.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Doris Rotondi, 86, and her daughter Joy Taylor 55, both of Colwyn, Pennsylvania, were charged today by Indictment with conspiracy to commit passport fraud and making, uttering and possessing counterfeit checks, false statements in United States passport applications, passport mutilation, theft of government property, and failure to disclose income to the Social Security Administration, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

The indictment charges that the defendants have provided false information to obtain passports and then used the passports to open bank accounts in false names and for other purposes.

If convicted, Rotondi faces a maximum possible sentence of 60 years’ imprisonment, a $1.75 million fine, 5 years supervised release and a $400 special assessment.

If convicted, Joy Taylor faces a maximum possible sentence of 95 years’ imprisonment, a $2.5 million fine, 5 years supervised release and a $700 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Department of State Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, and the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Pamela Foa.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Carnell Ragan, 47, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged today by Indictment with conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 12 years imprisonment, including a mandatory minimum of 2 years imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Virgil B. Walker.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - David Nixon, 48, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged today by Indictment with 81 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of materially false income tax returns, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

According to the indictment, Nixon, the owner of Economy Tax Services, prepared materially false federal income tax returns for tax years 2007 through 2009 which included fraudulent credits for children, earned income, tuition and fees, and residential energy efficiency property; incorrect filing status; and false or falsely inflated Form 1040 Schedule A deductions for charitable contributions and employee business expenses. The prepared and filed returns reduced the amount of tax owed by Nixon’s clients and increased the amount of the refunds to the clients. The indictment alleges that as the result of the false and fraudulent income tax returns, Nixon’s clients received more than $200,000 in fraudulently inflated refunds.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible statutory sentence of 243 years in prison, a fine of up to $20,250,000, and one year of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anita Eve.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - A second superseding indictment was unsealed today against former Philadelphia Police Officers Jonathan Garcia, 23, and Sydemy Joanis, 27, both of Philadelphia, charging them with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, Hobbs Act robbery, attempted Hobbs Act robbery,  and carrying firearms during and in relation to crimes of violence.  Garcia is also charged with distribution of heroin.  The charges against Joanis were added to a superseding indictment against Garcia.  Joanis was arrested this morning.  Garcia was arrested on June 20, 2012, and remains in federal custody. The charges were announced today by United States Attorney Zane David Memeger, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Edward Hanko, and Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.

            According to the second superseding indictment, between December 2009 and June 19, 2012, while working as Philadelphia Police Officers assigned to the 17th Police District, Garcia and Joanis conspired to rob suspected drug dealers of the cash proceeds of their narcotics trafficking.  It is alleged that they engaged in this scheme while on active duty, using their Philadelphia Police patrol car, uniform, loaded service pistol, and handcuffs to commit the robberies.

            The indictment alleges that Garcia and Joanis utilized a confidential source (“Person #1”) to participate in the robbery of suspected drug dealers by purchasing narcotics from the suspected drug dealers.  Garcia and Joanis allegedly provided Person #1 with money, instructed Person #1 to meet with suspected drug dealers inside their cars, and further instructed Person #1 to leave inside the cars a small amount of the drugs, usually cocaine base (“crack cocaine”), that Person #1 purchased.  After Person #1 exited the suspected drug dealers’ cars, it is alleged that defendants Garcia and Joanis initiated bogus traffic stops on the individual and, upon finding the drugs purposefully left behind by Person #1, conducted searches of the individuals and their cars, arrested the individuals, and stole some or all of the money that they recovered.  Garcia and Joanis allegedly compensated Person #1 with money or narcotics.

            “The defendants’ alleged conduct in this case strikes at the very heart of the public trust that our citizens should have for our police officers,” said U.S. Attorney Memeger.  “It is a priority of my office to investigate and prosecute corrupt officers who taint their badges by using their power and authority to victimize others rather than to serve and protect the community.”

            “We will continue to aggressively pursue any officer that commits criminal acts to rid the Department of individuals who don't belong,” said Commissioner Ramsey.  “Our Internal Affairs Investigators have been working independently and cohesively with our Federal Partners to accomplish this task. Corrupt Cops don't represent the honor or integrity that our Department or Law Enforcement stands for and therefore they will be held accountable at the highest level.”

“Illegal conduct by police officers undermines the public trust, harming law enforcement at every level,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Hanko. “These charges underscore the FBI’s commitment to investigating allegations of criminal activity, no matter who is involved.”

            If convicted of all charges, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison with a maximum sentence of life.

            The case was investigated by the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin R. Brenner.

Click here to view the indictment

An Indictment or Information is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Christopher Mailloux, 22, of Reading, Pennsylvania was charged by Indictment, filed today, with two counts of production of child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 80 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, lifetime supervised release and a $400 special assessment.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Berks County Detectives, and the Berks County District Attorney's Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Morgan.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE Contact: PATTY HARTMAN
EASTERN DISTRICT, PENNSYLVANIA Media Contact
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street 215-861-8525
Philadelphia, PA 19106

COPIES OF NEWS MEMOS AND RELATED DOCUMENTS CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT HTTP://www.justice.gov/usao/pae

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – A federal jury, today, returned guilty verdicts on all counts against Aarti Gupte, 31, of Houston, TX, for her involvement in scheme to defraud the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office (“PSO”). The jury found Gupte guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.  The scheme stole funds from the PSO’s bank accounts. 

Sheriff’s Sales of real estate generate millions of dollars annually. The sales require the PSO to write checks to different entities with regard to the properties sold.  Co-conspirator Richard Bell, who was charged separately and pleaded guilty, was a PSO employee in the Accounting Department who took advantage of loose controls and wrote checks drawn on the PSO’s bank accounts made payable to individuals and companies. Bell gave some of the checks to Robert Rogers, who has also pleaded guilty.  Rogers recruited Aarti Gupte, who had two companies, to participate in the scheme.  Bell wrote four checks, totaling $242,186.73, to The Processing Link and Yellow Rose Enterprises, LLC during the period from 2009 to 2010.  Gupte deposited the checks into her company bank accounts, withdrew the proceeds and shared them with Rogers who shared with Bell.  When approached by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, the defendant admitted that she had participated in this scheme to defraud the PSO.

            U.S. District Court Judge Legrome D. Davis scheduled sentencing for September 16, 2013. Gupte faces a statutory maximum sentence of 60 years in prison.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – A federal jury has returned guilty verdicts against Eugene Goldman, M.D., 55, of Philadelphia, on one count of conspiring to violate the anti-kickback statute and four counts of violating the anti-kickback statute in relation to his role in a kickback scheme arising from his employment as the Medical Director at Home Care Hospice Inc. (HCH). U.S. District Court Judge Eduardo Robreno scheduled a sentencing hearing for September 9, 2013.           

The evidence at trial proved that from approximately December 2000 until approximately July 2011, Dr. Goldman served as the medical director for HCH and regularly referred Medicare or Medicaid patient beneficiaries to HCH.  HCH was a for-profit business in Philadelphia that provided hospice services for patients at nursing homes, hospitals and private residences. 

In December 2000 the defendant and one of the co-owners of HCH entered into a written contract to create the false appearance that all payments to Goldman from HCH were for services rendered in Goldman’s capacity as medical director for HCH, when in fact the large majority of payments from HCH to Goldman were illegal payments for the referral of Medicare and/or Medicaid patients to HCH.  From January 2003 to October 2008, Goldman received approximately $263,000 in illegal payments for patient referrals.  In January, February and March 2009, Goldman was captured on tape receiving kickbacks for patient referrals.

The maximum penalty for each count is five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, a three year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.  The conviction will result in the mandatory exclusion of Dr. Goldman from participation in any federal health care program. 

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne B. Ercole and Trial Attorney Margaret Vierbuchen of the Organized Crime and Gang Section in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Brandon Jewell-Wright, 25, of Philadelphia, PA was charged today by information with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, bank fraud and aiding and abetting bank fraud announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. According to the information, between January and September 2007, Jewell-Wright, working as a teller for Wachovia Bank, made computer inquiries into the accounts of Wachovia customers for the purpose of determining the balances in their accounts and the account holder’s date of birth and social security number.

The information further alleges that Jewell-Wright obtained the addresses, social security numbers and account bank balances for some of Wachovia’s customers which he then sold for cash to another conspirator. The information charges further that the conspirator, and others unknown to the United States Attorney, prepared counterfeit corporate checks payable to the victimized bank customers. The checks were presented to tellers at various Wachovia Bank Branches in Philadelphia for either deposit, followed by a withdrawal, or for cashing. The checks were honored based on bogus identification presented by the check presenter and the balances in the accounts of the Wachovia customers for whom the checks had been made payable. The fraud loss resulting from Jewell-Wright’s alleged scheme is estimated at $255,087.04.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of 155 years in prison, restitution, a fine of up to $5.250 million dollars, a special assessment of $600 and three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Floyd J. Miller.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Tiffany Roberson, 29, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged today by Indictment with embezzlement of bank funds by a bank employee, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. According to the Indictment, Roberson, an assistant manager at Hyperion Bank, embezzled and misappropriated approximately $20,000 in moneys, funds and assets intrusted to the custody and care of Hyperion Bank and its employees.

If convicted, Roberson faces a total maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, 5 years supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Philadelphia and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anita Eve.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Gary Kent, of Dresher, Pennsylvania, was charged today by Indictment, with two counts of distribution of child pornography, and two counts of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that on or about September 13, 2012 and on or about January 27, 2013, Kent distributed images of child pornography, and on or about November 30, 2012 and on or about February 5, 2013, Kent possessed images of child pornography.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 60 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 Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Karen A. Fox.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Gary Kent, of Dresher, Pennsylvania, was charged today by Indictment, with two counts of distribution of child pornography, and two counts of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that on or about September 13, 2012 and on or about January 27, 2013, Kent distributed images of child pornography, and on or about November 30, 2012 and on or about February 5, 2013, Kent possessed images of child pornography.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 60 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 Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Karen A. Fox.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The United States filed a lawsuit today in federal district court to stop Philadelphia food warehouse New Rich City Trading Corporation, as well as president and owner, Ms. Xiaoping Sun, and manager, Mr. Si Yan Chuen, from selling food that is held in filthy conditions, in violation of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act.  United States Attorney Zane David Memeger announced the filing of the civil complaint.

  The Food Drug and Cosmetic Act prohibits companies and individuals from causing articles of food to become “adulterated” while held for sale after shipment of one or more of their components in interstate commerce.  The Complaint alleges that United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) inspections of the facility establish that food stored by the defendants is adulterated because the food has been held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth.  The insanitary conditions and filth include the widespread presence of animals such as rodents, birds, cats, and dogs, as well as the animals’ feces and urine, throughout the facility, including on and around articles of food.

 “It is unacceptable for any distributor to expose the food we eat to animals, animal waste, and other filth,” said United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  “The Department of Justice is committed to taking action against those who do not maintain and handle food in a clean environment.”     

The United States seeks a permanent injunction to prevent defendants from further adulterating food, and to prevent defendants from further receiving, holding, and distributing food unless and until defendants bring their operations into compliance.

This case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration.  It is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Stacey L. B. Smith, together with David Sullivan, Trial Attorney from the United States Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Branch.  Assistance is being provided by Scott Kaplan, FDA Associate Chief Counsel.    

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Shukri Temirov, 37, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged today by Information with four counts of bank fraud, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

The indictment alleges that between December 2009 and March 2011, Temirov defrauded four separate banks: Citizens Bank, TD Bank, PNC Bank, and M&T Bank, out of approximately $120,000 by knowingly depositing checks he knew would not clear either because they had been stolen, fraudulently endorsed, or written without sufficient funds, and then quickly withdrawing the money from his accounts before the banks realized that the checks were no good. Temirov faces a maximum sentence of 120 years imprisonment, with a likely sentencing range of approximately two to two and one-half years’ imprisonment. Temirov also faces a maximum $4 million fine and a $400 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - A federal jury, yesterday, returned guilty verdicts against Adekunle Adetayo Adeolu, a/k/a "Archie," 48, of Maryland, in a tax fraud conspiracy that involved phony claims for tax credits.  Co-defendant Olugboyega Fisher, a/k/a "Remi Fisher, 47, a Nigerian national, pleaded guilty June 5, 2012.  U.S. District Court Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg scheduled a sentencing hearing for September 10, 2013.  Fisher will be sentenced on July 10, 2013.  Adeolu faces an advisory sentencing guideline range of at least 27 to 33 months in prison; Fisher faces an advisory sentencing range of at least 15 to 21 months.  Both defendants may also be ordered to make restitution to the IRS.

Adeolu partly owned, managed, and operated Adeolu & Okojie, Inc., a tax service business located at 124 S. 52nd Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He employed approximately 14 people, including Fisher who worked as a tax preparer.  In addition to the conspiracy count, the defendant was found guilty of two counts of aiding and abetting the preparation of materially false tax returns.

The evidence presented at trial showed that between 2005 and 2008, when a client owed federal taxes, Adeolu and Fisher would sell that person the name and social security number of an individual in order to claim that person as a dependent and/or falsely claiming on their clients’ behalf an earned income tax credit, a child tax credit, and an additional tax credit.  The jury also found that Adeolu willfully aided and assisted in the preparation of U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns that were fraudulent in that they represented that the taxpayers were entitled to claim dependents and tax credits that the defendant knew the taxpayers were not entitled to claim.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jose Arteaga.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Colin Williams, 32, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty today to his role in a tax fraud scheme that fraudulently sought refunds in the amount of approximately $868,907.  Williams was charged with conspiracy and fraud in connection with the same tax refund scheme that is alleged in an indictment against Benjamin Johnson, 48, of Philadelphia. Williams and Johnson operated Marshall Street Financial Services (“MSFS”), a tax preparation services business located at 974 N. Marshall Street in Philadelphia.   Johnson will be arraigned Friday.  

The Indictment alleges that between December 2008 and April 2009, Johnson and Williams conspired to obtain identification and dependent information to MSFS customers which would enable the customers to obtain what was said to be government refunds or “stimulus payments.”   Along with Williams, Johnson allegedly solicited customers who were typically unemployed or low-income earners, sometimes supported primarily by public assistance, to provide their personal identification information, including their dates of birth, Social Security number information, and such information belonging to the customers’ dependents.  After obtaining the customer’s personal identification and income information, Williams allegedly sought tax refunds by preparing false federal income tax returns and schedules which contained inflated and false income and Earned Income Tax Credit information. 

After early February 2009, Johnson allegedly arranged for the IRS tax refunds to be electronically transferred into his and Williams’ own bank accounts instead of the accounts of MSFS customer/taxpayers, thereby enabling Johnson and Williams to receive the customers’ refunds themselves.  The defendants allegedly distributed only a portion of the remittance to the customer.   It is further alleged that Johnson caused the filing of tax returns for himself and in the name of an individual, known to the grand jury, unlawfully identifying children who were the dependents of another MSFS employee and of MSFS customers.   Between January 2009 and April 2009, Johnson and Williams allegedly sought refunds, by falsifying returns, in the amount of approximately $868,907.

At sentencing on September 11, 2013, Williams faces a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $500,000, and a $200 special assessment.   If convicted of all charges, Johnson faces a maximum possible sentence of 50 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $2.25 million, and a $900 special assessment.  Upon conviction, both defendants may be ordered to pay restitution to the IRS. 

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James R. Pavlock.

An Indictment, Information or Criminal Complaint is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – A federal jury returned guilty verdicts late yesterday against five defendants charged in a conspiracy to commit an armed home invasion robbery against another drug dealer in Philadelphia.  Robert Lamar Whitfield, 33, Marlon Graham, 22, Kenneth Parnell, 27, Kareem Long, 23, and Frank Thompson, 35, all of Philadelphia, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, attempted Hobbs Act robbery, conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, attempted possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and a drug trafficking crime.  The case was presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Juan R. Sanchez who has not yet scheduled sentencing hearings for the defendants.  Four of the five face a 15 year mandatory minimum sentence, up to life in prison; defendant Frank Thompson faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison. 
Beginning in June 2012, the defendants put in motion a plan to steal, by force, cocaine and drug proceeds from the home of an individual they believed to be another drug dealer and attempted to carry out their plan on July 18, 2012.  The plan was thwarted when agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Violent Crime Task Force moved in to arrest the armed defendants during preparations.   
In addition to the prison term, each defendant also faces five years of supervised release, fines of up to $20 million, and a $500 special assessment. 
This 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 Attorneys V. Paige Pratter and Jeanine Linehan.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

            Timothy D. Burns, 33, of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania was charged today by Information in a $20 million fraud scheme that involved mail fraud, wire fraud and loan fraud announced, United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  Defendant Burns was the sole owner of ESG Family Services, among other businesses.  ESG Family Services provided billing paying and other personal services to clients.  To facilitate his work and, as it developed, his alleged fraud, defendant Burns induced many of his Family Services clients to add him as a signatory to their bank accounts.  He also allegedly represented to clients and others that he could acquire shares of Facebook and other social media stock before their public offerings at favorable prices. 

            According to the information, between at least May 2007 and September 2012, Burns converted money entrusted to him by more than 50 clients and would be investors for his personal gain.  In 2011, without their knowledge or consent, Burns allegedly used his clients’ and investors’ money to buy a shore home in Avalon, New Jersey for more than $4 million and to make a down payment on a commercial office building in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.  In 2012, he allegedly misrepresented to a bank that he had acquired stock, when he had not, to obtain a $6 million mortgage loan on the commercial office building.  It is further alleged that he used the fraudulently acquired shore home as collateral on a second loan of $1.5 million issued to him by the same bank to buy the office building.

            If convicted of all charges, Burns faces an advisory sentencing guideline range of between 151 and 188 months in prison, a $2.5 million fine, a five-year term of supervised release, a $400 special assessment and restitution of just under $20 million.  In addition, the defendant is liable in forfeiture in the same amount.  

            The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Pamela Foa.

Click here to view the indictment

An Indictment or Information is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Andrea Lawton, 47, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for one count of interstate transportation of stolen property in connection with the August 2012 theft of a rare bust of Benjamin Franklin.  The bust, which was damaged during Lawton’s travels, was sculpted during Benjamin Franklin’s lifetime, 224 years ago.  Lawton was familiar with the victim’s home because she had worked for a housecleaning company that serviced the house.  She exploited that knowledge so that she and an accomplice could steal the homeowner’s valuables, including one of his most prized possessions.  Lawton ran off to Alabama where she hid for weeks while trying to solicit a buyer for the bust.  She was arrested after a bus trip to Elkton, Maryland, where IRS and FBI agents recovered the bust in her possession. 

            In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge C. Darnell Jones, II, ordered three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.  Restitution will be ordered pending completion of repairs by a conservator to restore the bust.

            The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Lower Merion Police Department, and the United States Marshals Service.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Khan.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Robert Coyle, Sr., 68, of Glassboro, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for a loan fraud scheme that attempted to swindle more than $10 million from three banks.  He pleaded guilty to two counts of loan fraud on October 1, 2012. 

Coyle owned and/or rented more than 300 properties in Philadelphia and operated a real estate business out of 2332 E. Allegheny Avenue.  Among his business entities were Landvest, LLP, Alivest, LLP, and Otay, LLC, to name a few. Through those business entities, Coyle borrowed more than $3 million from East River Bank (“ERB”) and more than $6.6 million from Republic First Bank (“RFB”).  Polonia Bank was a 49% participant in the ERB loans after settlement.  The purpose of the loans was purportedly to refinance existing loans, make improvements on some of the properties Coyle owned, and/or to allow Coyle to pursue other real estate opportunities.  Coyle pledged approximately 71 properties to secure the ERB loans and approximately 117 other properties to secure the RFB loan.  The banks anticipated that the loans would be repaid through rental income that Coyle was collecting and, if necessary, through the sale of the collateral properties.  But Coyle had entered into various ownership agreements, including rent-to-own, with the occupants of several of the properties and he, therefore, did not hold good title for all of the properties he pledged.  The loans that were submitted totaled more than $10 million.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Stewart Dalzell ordered restitution in the amount of $6,480,302.65, five years of supervised release, a $200 special assessment, and a forfeiture money judgment of $10,106,200.  The restitution amount includes individuals who had entered into rent-to-own, house swap, or similar ownership agreements with the defendant, or any entity controlled by the defendant, for properties that were pledged as collateral.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Economic and Cyber Crimes Unit of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mary Kay Costello.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Katherine M. Harrell, 31, of Fernwood, PA, who lied to a U.S. District Court Judge during a previous sentencing hearing on her embezzlement conviction, was sentenced today to 70 months in prison.  Harrell was being sentenced in February 2012 for stealing more than $500,000 from United Savings Bank where she was employed as a branch manager.  In asking for leniency, Harrell told the court that her brother had been in a car accident, was in a hospital bed in her living room and would have to go to a nursing home if Harrell could not care for him.  The statement was a complete fabrication.  Harrell further falsely stated that she did not have any parents and that her young child would be placed in foster care if she could not care for him.  Harrell’s parents were alive and Harrell’s mother had agreed, prior to sentencing, that Harrell’s child could continue living with Harrell’s parents if Harrell were sent to jail.  Based on the fabrications, U.S. District Court Judge Anita Brody sentenced Harrell to one day in prison, followed by supervised release.  It was subsequently discovered that the pleas that Harrell made for leniency were lies. 

Harrell pleaded guilty, on December 17, 2012, to corruptly influencing the due administration of justice. In fashioning today’s sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Eduardo Robreno considered the punishment Harrell would have faced had the court known that the defendant was being untruthful at her first sentencing.  He also ordered Harrell to undergo substance abuse treatment, pay a $500 fine, and ordered three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen L. Grigsby.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Darwin D. Dieter, 53, of Kempton, PA, was sentenced late yesterday to 18 months in prison and was ordered to pay $532,333.51 restitution in connection with his thefts from a health care benefit program, the dialysis treatment center where his wife was receiving dialysis treatments. Dieter, a former employee of a direct mail company located in Hamburg, PA, stole checks that his insurance company issued between December 2010 and March 2011, for payment of his wife's dialysis treatments. Instead of paying for the dialysis treatments, Dieter kept and laundered the proceeds of the checks. Dieter pleaded guilty on January 28, 2013 to nine counts of theft from health care benefit programs, and three counts of money laundering.

In addition to the prison term and restitution, U.S. District Court Judge James Knoll Gardner ordered three years of supervised release, the first six months of which must be served on home confinement. Dieter must also pay a $1,200 special assessment and must forfeit his interest in two properties.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mary E. Crawley.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – William Hlushmanuk, a/k/a “Bill Le,” 35, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 92 months in prison for his participation in a health care fraud conspiracy involving ambulance services that were not medically necessary.  Hlushmanuk pleaded guilty on February 5, 2013 to health care fraud and conspiring to commit health care fraud.  Hlushmanuk admitted that from May 2006 through April 2011, he and his co-conspirators defrauded Medicare and Medicaid by billing for the unnecessary ambulance services.  Hlushmanuk recruited and transported patients who were capable of walking, knowing that Medicare does not reimburse for patients who are ambulatory.  Hlushmanuk also falsely registered the business in another person’s name because the Pennsylvania Department of Health had previously barred him from owning an ambulance company.  As part of his plea agreement, Hlushmanuk admitted to acting as a leader of the conspiracy.  In total, the conspiracy defrauded Medicare and Medicaid of approximately $5.4 million. 

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Senior Judge John R. Padova ordered Hlushmanuk to pay restitution in the amount of $5.4 million and ordered three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General.  Invaluable assistance was provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Foulkes and Trial Attorney Adam L. Small of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Former Philadelphia city employee John D. McDaniel, 39, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison for a wire fraud charge connected to the theft of $100,000 from a campaign/political committee. McDaniel, the former Treasurer of the campaign/political committee for a Philadelphia City Councilperson, was fired from his city-paid airport job after the city Board of Ethics identified numerous reporting irregularities by McDaniel in the campaign’s required city filings.

Between 2009 and 2011, McDaniel used several methods to routinely and, at times, without authorization, withdraw funds from the committee account, which funds he then used for his own purposes and other purposes. At times, McDaniel wrote and cashed checks to himself, and wrote checks to Progressive Agenda, a political action committee which he controlled, from which he then took stolen funds. McDaniel concealed the theft by filing false and incomplete campaign finance reports.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul L. Gray.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Thomas C. Phelan, 34, of Wayne, PA, is charged by Indictment, unsealed today, with participating in a mortgage fraud conspiracy involving more than five properties and more than $1 million in fraudulent loan proceeds, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Phelan is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit loan and wire fraud, and three counts of loan fraud and one count of wire fraud.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 115 years imprisonment, a five year period of supervised release, $4,250,000 fine and a $500 mandatory special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joan E. Burnes.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – Joel Tillett, 36, of Whitehall, PA, pleaded guilty yesterday to charges in connection with a mortgage fraud conspiracy.  Tillett, the former general manager of Madison Funding, Inc., a now-defunct Allentown mortgage loan origination company, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to forging or counterfeiting loan documents.  The fraud conspiracy caused mortgage lending businesses to issue millions of dollars’ worth of loans that were based on false information. 

Tillett was indicted along with five former employees: Jason Boggs, Claribel Gonzalez,  Florentina Peralta, Ghovanna Gonzalez, all of Allentown, and Angela Diaz, of Bethlehem.  Denise Peralta, also of Allentown, was charged by information.

Tillett admitted in court that between October 2006 and at least June 2008, he conspired to defraud mortgage lenders by submitting loan applications that contained false information about the borrowers which was often supported by falsified, forged, and altered documents.  The mortgage lenders, which included Washington Mutual Inc., Countrywide Home Loans, Mortgage IT, International Mortgage Corporation, and Security Atlantic Mortgage Company, relied on the fraudulent representations and provided Madison Funding’s clients with millions of dollars in loans to purchase real estate.  Each funded loan generated thousands of dollars’ worth of commissions to Madison Funding and its employees.  Many of those loans have since defaulted and some of them were insured by the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”), which was an agency within the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”).

A sentencing hearing for Tillett is scheduled for August 14, 2013.  He faces a maximum possible sentence of seven years in prison,three years of supervised release, a $500,000 fine, and a $200 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark B. Dubnoff.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - A federal jury today found drug kingpin Kaboni Savage, 38, and his sister Kidada, 30, guilty of orchestrating the murders of a federal witness’ family and of conspiring to participate in a long-term, large-scale violent drug trafficking enterprise (RICO conspiracy). The Savages’ co-defendants, Robert Merritt, 32, and Steven Northington, 41, were also convicted of the Racketeering (RICO) conspiracy. Savage was convicted of 12 counts of murder in-aid-of racketeering. Kidada Savage was convicted of six counts of murder in-aid-of racketeering, all related to the firebombing murders of the Coleman family home on October 9, 2004. Kaboni and Kidada Savage were also convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, retaliating against a witness by murder, and of using fire to commit a felony (the Coleman murders).

Steven Northington was convicted of two counts of murder in-aid-of racketeering. Both he and Kaboni Savage are eligible for the death penalty. The penalty phase is scheduled to begin May 20, 2013.

Savage’s drug enterprise operated primarily in the North Philadelphia area from at least late 1997 to 2010. After Savage was indicted on drug charges in 2004, he ordered the murders of the family of government witness Eugene Coleman. Lamont Lewis, who has pleaded guilty, firebombed the Coleman family home on Savage’s orders which Kidada Savage relayed to Lewis.

In addition to the murders of the six people inside the Coleman home, Savage was convicted of:

▸ the March 19, 1998, murder of Kenneth Lassiter, age 44, of Lansdale, PA, near the corner of 8th and Butler Streets in Philadelphia;

▸ the September 6, 2000 murder of Mansur “Shafiq”Abdullah, age 22, of 11th Street, Philadelphia. Abdullah was shot and his burned body was later recovered in the 4200 block of North Park Avenue, in Philadelphia;

▸ the September 13, 2001 murder of Carlton “Mohammed” Brown, age 27, of Darien Street, Philadelphia;

▸ the February 26, 2003 murder of Barry Parker, age 32, of Susquehanna Avenue, Philadelphia, by Kaboni Savage and Steven Northington, in the 3900 block of North Franklin Street, in Philadelphia;

▸ the March 14, 2003 murder of Tyrone Toliver, age 26, of Cherry Hill, NJ in the 3500 block of North Palmetto Street in Philadelphia; and

▸ the March 1, 2004 murder of Tybius Flowers, age 32, of K Street, by Kaboni Savage and Steven Northington, in the 3700 block of N. 8th Street in Philadelphia;

The RICO conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Kidada Savage faces a mandatory life term for the murder charges.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Maple Shade, New Jersey Police Department. The United States Bureau of Prisons, the United States Marshals Service, and HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) also assisted in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David E. Troyer and John M. Gallagher and Trial Attorney Steve Mellin of the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Unit at the U.S. Department of Justice.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Troy Czukoski, 42, of Exton, PA, pleaded guilty today to possessing more than 150, but less than 300, images of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. At the time of the investigation, Czukoski was serving as Principal of the Springton Lake Middle School in the Rose Tree Media School District in Delaware County. U.S. District Court Judge Legrome D. Davis scheduled a sentencing hearing for August 12, 2013.

Czukoski was identified through a website that sells child porn. Records from that website showed the Czukoski had made purchases from 2008 through 2011. A warrant was then executed on the defendant’s home, during which the defendant confessed that he had purchased the pornographic content over the internet. Agents with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service found numerous CDs and DVDs, as well as two flash drives that contained images and video of child porn.

Czukoski faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison, a mandatory five years of supervised release up to a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and a $100 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Anthony Robinson, 39, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged today by indictment with two counts of robbery which interferes with interstate commerce and two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment, a mandatory minimum sentence of 32 years imprisonment, up to 5 years supervised release, a $1,000,000 fine, a $400 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeanine Linehan.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - William Kevin Kelly, 59, of Ocean City, NJ, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for a real estate scam that victimized clients and investors in the Lancaster area. Kelly pleaded guilty on January 22, 2013 to wire fraud and money laundering charges. Through businesses such as Homelynx, Bantry Property Solutions, Multi County Properties, and For Sale by Seller Plus, which he owned and operated, Kelly - who had his real estate license revoked - promised clients and investors quick returns or results on their funds. After the victims turned over their funds, Kelly would take their money, spend it for personal purposes, and string them along with various excuses, and provide them with checks that bounced. As a result of his scheme, Kelly has victimized at least 40 clients of over $718,700.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge John R. Padova ordered Kelly to pay restitution in the amount of $718,700 and ordered three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Elizabethtown Borough Police Department It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anita Eve.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Cosme Adalid Torres-Flores, a/k/a “Cosme Adalid Torres,” 22, of Telford, 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 April 19, 2013, Torres-Flores, an alien, and native and citizen of Honduras, was found in the United States after having departed the United States on or about August 29, 2009, while an order of removal was outstanding, and having been deported from the United States on or about December 28, 2010.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years.

The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Mark T. Sendek.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Philippe Jeannard, 61, of La Rochelle, France, pleaded guilty today to one count of fraud in connection with an identification document.  U.S. District Court Judge Gene E.K. Pratter has not yet scheduled a sentencing hearing.  Jeannard faces an advisory sentencing guideline range of 0 to 6 months in prison plus deportation proceedings.

Jeannard boarded a commercial airplane on March 20, 2013 at Philadelphia International Airport.  He possessed an Air France identification card of a former employee that he had altered with his name and photograph, and, with that fraudulent identification card, gained access to the plane’s cockpit. 

            The case was investigated by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and the Philadelphia Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney K.T. Newton.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – Paul Bauer, 55, of Dallas, TX, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for a fraud conspiracy involving a scheme to steal approximately $4 million from a Venezuelan fishing company.  Bauer pleaded guilty on March 8, 2012 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.  In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Petrese Tucker ordered Bauer to pay restitution in the amount of $936,081, and ordered three years of supervised release.

The Venezuelan fishing company, Pinto-Spinelli Group (“PSG”), had arranged for funds to be deposited in a PSG bank account in Miami, Florida in order to pay a business debt.  PSG believed that Bauer and other co-conspirators would conduct a currency exchange and then deposit American dollars in PSG’s Miami bank account but, instead, the defendants transferred $4,000,000 of PSG’s funds to a bank account at Citizens Bank in Reading, Pennsylvania, controlled by a Bauer associate.  The multi-million dollar financial fraud had devastating consequences for the unsuspecting victim.  Using international wire transfers, Bauer and his conspirators were able to take the funds from the lawful owner almost instantaneously.  Bauer diverted the funds from Venezuela, through Panama and New York, to an innocuous appearing domestic bank account in Reading, Pennsylvania.  When Citizens Bank became suspicious, Bauer directed his associates to fabricate a letter to mislead Citizens Bank into releasing the funds.  Again, within hours of duping Citizens Bank into releasing the funds, Bauer had successfully diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen PSG funds to Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, Germany and Spain. 

            When Bauer realized that law enforcement agents were investigating the case, he attempted to cover up his crime and mislead investigators with Homeland Security Investigations.  Bauer provided false exculpatory statements when interviewed and instructed his co-conspirators to provide false exculpatory information if questioned by the agents.  Fortunately, the investigating agents were not deterred by Bauer’s attempts to mislead them and ultimately were able to return more than $3 million of the stolen funds to the victim.

Bauer’s co-conspirators pleaded guilty and were each sentenced last year to five years of probation and restitution of $936,081.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Labor.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

James Kennedy, 37, of Willow Grove, PA, was charged today by Indictment with mail fraud, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that from 2007 to 2011, the defendant took money from his employer's accounts, without his employer's knowledge or consent, and kept the proceeds for his own use.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 40 years imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, and 3 years supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Frank R. Costello, Jr.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA – Christian Dior Womack, a/k/a “Gucci Prada,” 28, of Chester, PA, and Rashidah Brice, a/k/a “Camille,” a/k/a “Milly,” 23, of Chester, PA, are charged by indictment , unsealed today, with sex trafficking females for prostitution, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  According to the indictment, the defendants operated a prostitution venture in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere and, as part of the operation of that business, recruited young females, one of whom was a minor, to work as prostitutes for them between May 25 2012 and June 11, 2012.  The indictment further alleges that the defendants engaged in acts of physical violence and threats of physical harm to maintain the participation of females in their prostitution business.  They are charged with sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking by force.

As part of their venture, Womack and Brice allegedly created internet advertisements in which they advertised these females as available for purchase for purposes of prostitution.  The advertisements featured pictures of the females scantily clad, and provided a phone number to call to arrange a meeting with the females.

If convicted of all charges, the defendants each face a mandatory minimum sentenced of 15 years in prison with a maximum possible sentence of life in prison, five years of supervised release, and possible fines.

The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Morgan.

Click here to view the indictment

An Indictment, Information or Criminal Complaint is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - The former general manager and five former employees of Madison Funding, Inc., a now-defunct Allentown mortgage loan origination company, are charged by indictment, unsealed today, in a mortgage fraud conspiracy that caused mortgage lending businesses to issue millions of dollars worth of loans that were based on false information. All six defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and related crimes. A seventh former employee is charged in an information with one count of making a false report to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The indictment was announced by United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

Charged are: Joel Tillett, 36, of Whitehall, PA, who was the general manager; loan officers Jason Boggs, 35, who was also a branch manager, and Claribel Gonzalez, 42; loan processors Florentina Peralta, 33, Ghovanna Gonzalez, 34, all of Allentown, and Angela Diaz, 35, of Bethlehem. Denise Peralta, 32, of Allentown, is charged by information.

According to the indictment, between October 2006 and at least June 2008, the defendants conspired to defraud mortgage lenders by submitting loan applications that contained false information about the borrowers which was often supported by falsified, forged, and altered documents. The mortgage lenders, which included Washington Mutual Inc., Countrywide Home Loans, Mortgage IT, International Mortgage Corporation, and Security Atlantic Mortgage Company, relied on the defendants’ fraudulent representations and provided Madison Funding’s clients with millions of dollars in loans to purchase real estate. Each funded loan generated thousands of dollars worth of commissions to Madison Funding and its employees. Many of those loans have since defaulted and some of them were insured by the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”), which was an agency within the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”).

The indictment further alleges that Boggs and Claribel Gonzalez helped clients apply for loans to purchase multiple properties while indicating on each loan application that these would be the primary residence of the loan applicant when, in fact, the defendants knew that was false.

The indictment alleges that in April 2007, Claribel Gonzalez and Florentina Peralta left the Madison Funding branch run by Tillett and opened a new branch of Madison Funding, where they engaged in similar crimes. Gonzalez and Peralta are also charged with committing bank fraud in connection with a personal mortgage loan for Gonzalez.

If convicted of all charges, in addition to possible restitution, the defendants face the following possible sentences: Joel Tillett and Angela Diaz: a maximum of seven years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $500,000 fine, and a $200 special assessment; Jason Boggs: a maximum of 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $1 million fine, and a $400 special assessment; Claribel Gonzalez: a maximum of 40 years in prison, five years of supervised release, a $1.5 million fine, and a $300 special assessment; Florentina Peralta: a maximum of 52 years in prison, five years of supervised release, a $3 million fine, and a $900 special assessment; Ghovanna Gonzalez: a maximum of nine years in prison, a three year period of supervised release, a $750,000 fine, and a $400 special assessment; Denise Peralta: a maximum of one year in prison, one year of supervised release, a $1,000 fine, and a $25 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark B. Dubnoff.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Beverly Brooker, 65, of Philadelphia, PA was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison for a scheme to collect Retirement Insurance Benefits intended for her deceased great aunt. Brooker pleaded guilty on November 7, 2012 to theft of government funds and Social Security representative payee fraud. Brooker concealed her great aunt’s death from the Social Security Administration by becoming representative payee for her aunt and submitting yearly false declarations to the Social Security Administration to account for how she “spent” the money on her great aunt. For each month of her fraud, which spanned from her aunt’s death in January 1992 until her fraud was discovered in the summer of 2012, Brooker received a check by mail that she then cashed and used to her own benefit. Her fraud resulted in a loss to the government of approximately $261,653.00.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Legrome Davis ordered restitution in the amount of $261,653, a $200 special assessment, and three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Amanda R. Reinitz.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Ramy Ahmed, 30, of Allentown, PA, was charged today by indictment with transportation of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography, coercion and enticement of a minor, and traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that between February 2013 and April 2013, Ahmed engaged in online conversations with an undercover agent posing as the father of an 8-year old girl whom Ahmed expressed an interest in having sex with. It is further alleged that Ahmed sent images of child porn to the agent and, on April 2, 2013, drove from Allentown the New Jersey to meet with the agent thinking he is setting up a sexual encounter with the child. He was arrested and charged by criminal complaint and remains in custody pending an arraignment.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of life 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 and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Karen A. Fox.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

Irving Cruz-Sermeno, a/k/a “Irving Cruz,” a/k/a “Irving Miuricio Cruz,” a/k/a “Irving Mauricio Cerden Cruz,” a/k/a “Irvining Miuricio Cruz,” 22, of Souderton, 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 April 9, 2013, Cruz-Sermeno, 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 February 24, 2011.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of twenty 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 Mark T. Sendek.

Click here to view the indictment

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Mark Olkowski, 62, of North Wildwood, NJ, a business partner in K & O Sporting Goods, pleaded guilty today to tax charges for filing false personal income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service from 2006 through 2009. K & O, on Moyamensing Avenue in South Philadelphia, is a distributor of t-shirts and other clothing items to labor unions, municipalities, and political candidates. During 2006 through 2009, Olkowski failed to report a total of approximately $148,000 of income to the IRS. The unreported income included significant sums of cash received by K & O but which Olkowski pocketed and did not deposit to K & O business accounts, and income he received from making personal expenditures using corporate credit cards. The tax loss on this unreported income is approximately $25,000. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 24, 2013.

In addition to filing false income tax returns, Olkowski also pleaded guilty to 15 counts of wire fraud concerning a fraud he committed upon the Pennsylvania State Unemployment Compensation system. Olkowski made two false applications for unemployment compensation benefits. In his applications, Olkowski falsely claimed to have been laid off from K & O, and did not tell unemployment compensation authorities that he was an owner of K & O Sporting Goods and that he was receiving income from K & O while he was applying for unemployment benefits. The loss to the unemployment compensation system is approximately $16,000.

The maximum sentence for each of the four counts of filing false income tax returns is three years incarceration. The maximum sentence on each of the 15 counts of wire fraud is 20 years in prison. Olkowski also faces restitution to the IRS, a possible fine, and a $1,900 special assessment.

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 Attorneys Paul L. Gray and John M. Gallagher.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Lorraine Dispaldo, 58, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty today to 30 counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, four counts of filing false personal income tax returns, and one count of bankruptcy fraud. Dispaldo was charged in September 2012, along with then-Philadelphia Traffic Court Judge Robert Mulgrew, in an indictment alleging a scheme to defraud the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (“DCED”). U.S. District Court Judge C. Darnell Jones, II, scheduled a sentencing hearing for September 16, 2013.

Dispaldo, who was an administrative aide to an unnamed Pennsylvania State Representative at the time, helped orchestrate a scheme to fraudulently receive and misuse Pennsylvania state grant funds awarded to non-profit groups. Between 1996 and 2008, the DCED awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to two community groups with which Mulgrew and Dispaldo were associated. DCED awarded approximately $397,000 in grants to the Community to Police Communications (“CPC”) to be used to purchase communications equipment for the police and to purchase materials to secure vacant lots and buildings for the protection of the police. Dispaldo signed the CPC grant contracts with DCED. Between 1997 and 2007 DCED also awarded approximately $460,000 in grants to the Friends of Dickinson Square (FDS”) to be used for the maintenance of Dickinson Square, at 4th and Tasker Streets, and the surrounding neighborhood. Dispaldo’s codefendant, Mulgrew, signed the FDS grant contracts with DCED.

Dispaldo admitted that the grant contracts she submitted misrepresented how the funds would be used. She admitted that, instead of using grant funds exclusively for materials and equipment, as agreed, she instead paid tens of thousands of dollars in CPC and FDS grant funds to Mulgrew’s relatives and associates, including the teenage sons of his friends, and to the State Representative’s life-long friends. Dispaldo wrote over $104,000 of the almost $180,000 in impermissible payments made to persons for neighborhood revitalization “work.” While there were several decent gardens built, some trees planted and much landscaping material purchased, for the most part the activities undertaken primarily served as a “constituent service” clean-up-the-neighborhood-arm for the Representative’s benefit, easy money for favored friends and relatives, a summer make-work program to benefit the teenage sons of Mulgrew’s neighborhood and childhood friends, and some work on private property.

To mask the fact that grant funds were being used improperly, Dispaldo falsified her five
CPC “close out” reports sent to DCED by concealing most of the $104,000 in payments she made to persons from CPC funds and FDS funds during 2005 through September 2010. At times, Dispaldo submitted to DCED inaccurate IRS forms 1099, which document payments to persons, and at other times failed to prepare the forms, as required by law. Dispaldo also improperly paid almost $13,000 in CPC funds to the Representative’s office cleaner and improperly used $4,600 in CPC grant funds over the years to pay for her personal cell phone.

To conceal the improper payments Dispaldo made to persons, she also submitted to DCED staggering numbers of duplicate phone invoices. For example, she sent in $91,500 worth of receipts in the close-out report for the third grant in the amount of $90,000, but $41,640 of those receipts were already sent in with either the first or second grant close-out reports. In the fourth close-out report, Dispaldo sent in $87,394 in receipts to satisfy the $50,000 grant, but $46,156 of those were previously sent to the state.

Dispaldo also pled guilty to filing false personal income tax returns for tax years 2006 through 2009, and pled guilty to one count of bankruptcy fraud for concealing her true income for 2008 and 2009 in her 2010 bankruptcy filing.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul L. Gray.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Leslie Mosby, 21, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 170 months in prison for an armed carjacking on November 21, 2010 in West Philadelphia in which he stole a Cadillac Deville and led Philadelphia police on a chase that ended at 40th and Locust Streets, where Mosby crashed the stolen car.  Mosby and his accomplice then fled from the vehicle.  While fleeing from police, Mosby’s accomplice fired a handgun at police officers, who returned fire and shot the accomplice to death.  Mosby was arrested nearby after pursuing officers saw him toss a loaded .38-caliber revolver on the ground.  Mosby pleaded guilty to the two charges - carjacking and using a firearm during a crime of violence - on January 4, 2013.

            In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Legrome D. Davis ordered five years of supervised release, a $2,500 fine, and a $200 special assessment.

            The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the University of Pennsylvania Police Department.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. Zaleski.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

            Daniel Prodelick a/k/a “Wederson Roberto,” 38, of Elizabeth, NJ, was charged today by Indictment1 with one count of misuse of a social security number and making false statements to agents with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  In particular, the indictment charges the defendant with using a social security number that did not belong to him, and falsely claiming United States citizenship on an I-9 Form in order to obtain employment.

            If convicted, Prodelick faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment, a three-year term of supervised release, a $500,000 fine, and a $200 special assessment.

            The case was investigated by the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigations Division, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul G. Shapiro.

Click here to view the indictment

            1An Indictment or Information is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Philippe Jeannard, 61, of La Rochelle, France, is charged by information1, filed today, with one count of fraud in connection with an identification document, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  According to the information, when Jeannard boarded a commercial airplane, on March 20, 2013, at Philadelphia International Airport, he possessed a fraudulent Air France identification card of a former Air France employee and used that fraudulent identification card to gain access to the plane’s cockpit.

            If convicted, Jeannard faces a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment, a three year term of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.

            The case was investigated by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, and the Philadelphia Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney K.T. Newton.

            1An Indictment or Information is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525

PHILADELPHIA - Kenneth W. Smith, Jr., 26, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced today, in federal court, to 15 months in prison for calling in a hoax regarding explosives on a commercial aircraft on September 6, 2012.  Smith was targeting a male passenger on a flight from Philadelphia to Dallas, Texas when called police to falsely report that the individual had carried liquid explosives on to the plane.  Smith’s motive, according to his statement to authorities after his arrest, was to “avenge” a female that both men knew.  As a result of Smith’s actions, the airplane was turned around mid-air and law enforcement agents stormed the plane.

Smith pleaded guilty on January 14, 2013 to malicious false information about an explosive, and false information and hoaxes.  In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Gene E.K. Pratter ordered Smith to: write a letter of apology to each of the passengers on board the plane, pay restitution of more than $17,000 to USAir, law enforcement and the victims on the plane for costs associated with his crime, pay $200 in special assessments, and complete three years of supervised release to include 100 hours of community service per year.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Transportation Security Administration, and the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICTof PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PATTY HARTMAN, Media Contact, 215-861-8525