Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Ron Credle, 48, of East Orange, New Jersey, was charged today by Information with one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

Credle faces a maximum sentence of 32 years imprisonment and a mandatory minimum of at least two years in prison. He also faces a $1.25 million fine and a $200 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 court jury today returned guilty verdicts against Joseph Massimino, Damion Canalichio, and Gary Battaglini for conspiring to participate in the affairs of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra (LCN) Family through a pattern of racketeering activity and through the collection of unlawful debts. The jury also returned guilty verdicts against co-defendant Anthony Staino, Jr. for conspiracy to make extortionate extensions of credit and conspiracy to collect extensions of credit by extortionate means. Trial lasted 43 days. Five co-defendants charged in the case pleaded guilty prior to trial while three additional co-defendants are still awaiting trial. U.S. District Court Judge Eduardo C. Robreno scheduled sentencing hearings for May 21, 2013 and scheduled bail hearings for February 6, 2013. Each charge of racketeering conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The jury was undecided ("hung") on several counts pertaining to defendants Joseph Ligambi, George Borgesi, and Joseph Massimino. Judge Robreno declared a mistrial on those counts. The jury found defendants Ligambi, Staino, Brogesi, Canalichio, and Battaglini not guilty of several substantive counts; Joseph Licata was found not guilty.

In addition to prison terms, the defendants each face possible fines of up to $250,000 for each count.

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

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney John S. Han of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank A. Labor III and Suzanne B. Ercole.

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

PHILADELPHIA - Willie G. Manley, Jr., 62, of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, was charged yesterday, by Information, with one count of conspiracy to commit loan and wire fraud, three counts of loan fraud, one count of making a false statement in connection with a Federal Housing Administration Loan, two counts of wire fraud, and aiding and abetting, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

The information alleges a massive mortgage fraud conspiracy the operated between May 2004 and February 2009, primarily in the West Philadelphia section of the city of Philadelphia. Manley, an accountant, is alleged to have created false income documents, such as W-2 forms, paystubs, and Form 1040 income tax returns that were submitted to lenders to help induce the lenders into issuing mortgages for the properties. The information alleges that other co-conspirators included an appraiser who issued grossly inflated appraisals, a title agent who created false title insurance policies, contractors who submitted false receipts to show home repairs that had never been done, and numerous straw buyers whose names and identities were used to purchase the properties. The information alleges that a Philadelphia-based property settlement company - “KREW Settlement Services” - was at the center of the conspiracy. The information alleges that all told, the mortgage fraud scheme involved more than 100 properties and over $20 million in loan proceeds, with most of the mortgages being unpaid and the properties falling into foreclosure.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence 137 years in prison, five years supervised release, restitution of up to $13.7 million, a fine of up to $4 million and a $700 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General. It 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 - Philippe Jeannard, 61, of La Rochelle, France, was sentenced today to time served for one count of fraud in connection with an identification document.  Jeannard has been in federal custody since March 21, 2013.  He was arrested after he boarded a commercial airplane, on March 20, 2013, at Philadelphia International Airport, using a fraudulent Air France identification card of a former Air France employee and gained access to the plane’s cockpit.

            U.S. District Court Judge Gene E.K. Pratter also ordered Jeannard to pay $4,875 in reimbursement for counsel’s fees that she found he had the ability to pay.  He was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment.  Jeannard will be deported and will not be permitted back into the United States without written permission from the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

            The case was investigated by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and the Philadelphia Police Department.  It was 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 – Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Janssen), a subsidiary of health care giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J), pleaded guilty today to a one count information charging Janssen with introducing a misbranded drug, Risperdal, into interstate commerce. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Savage sentenced the company, ordering payment of a $344 million fine and forfeiture of $66 million.

Risperdal, an atypical anti-psychotic drug, was originally approved only to treat the management of the manifestations of psychotic disorders.  On March 3, 2002, the approved use was narrowed to treatment of schizophrenia only.  Janssen introduced Risperdal for a new, unapproved use, rendering the product misbranded. In a plea agreement resolving these charges, Janssen admits that between March 3, 2002, and December 31, 2003, it promoted Risperdal to health care providers for treatment of psychotic symptoms and associated disturbances exhibited by elderly, non-schizophrenic dementia patients, uses not approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) requires a pharmaceutical company to specify the intended uses of a product in its new drug application to the FDA. Once approved, a drug may not be introduced into interstate commerce for unapproved or “off-label” uses. A manufacturer’s promotional activities of a drug for a use not approved by the FDA are evidence of its intent to distribute the drug for a new, unapproved use, also known as “misbranding.”

The case was investigated by the Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service of the Department of Defense.

The criminal case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Albert Glenn and Scott Cullen.

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

Kevin Neal, 36, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged today by indictment with four counts of bank robbery, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. According to the indictment, Neal robbed the First Niagara Bank, located at 9869 Bustleton Avenue, Philadelphia, on January 10, 2013; the First Niagara Bank, located at 11730 Bustleton Avenue, Philadelphia, on January 16, 2013; the PNC Bank, located at 123 Old York Road, Jenkintown, on February 16, 2013; and the Trumark Financial Credit Union, located at 7306 Castor Avenue, Philadelphia, on March 13, 2013.

If convicted of all charges, Neal faces a maximum sentence of 80 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 millionod of supervised release of three years, a $1,000,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and restitution.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ewald Zittlau.

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 - Wayne White, 52, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced today to 108 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs, the distribution of controlled substances, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering, arising from the distribution of prescription drugs without valid prescriptions. Co-defendant Anthony Spence, 46, of Miramar, Florida, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. White and Spence were convicted at trial in October 2012.

White was a pharmacist licensed in the State of Florida and the operator of Superior Drugs, which was located in Miami, Florida. White filled orders for prescription drugs – primarily, the controlled diet drug phentermine – for numerous individuals and entities who operated websites that which sold these drugs over the Internet. Many of White’s online customers were located in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. White began filling orders for Internet pharmacies early as 2002. He was charged with illegally distributing prescription drugs up to May 2010.

During the period charged in the indictment, co-defendant Anthony Spence owned and operated the websites PricebusterRX.com and PricebustersUSA.com, which sold prescription drugs – the majority of which were controlled substances – over the Internet. Most of the customers of the websites operated by Spence were only required to complete an online questionnaire, or answer questions over the telephone; none were examined by the physicians who issued their prescriptions. Spence paid physicians to review the customers’ responses to the online or telephone questionnaires and to issue prescriptions based solely upon the customers’ responses. In some instances, customers sent Spence reports of physical examinations allegedly conducted by other healthcare professionals. The doctors who approved the prescriptions never communicated with the customers or the healthcare professionals who allegedly examined the customers. Spence paid Superior Drugs, which was operated by defendant Wayne White, to fill these invalid prescriptions and to ship them to his customers.

Both defendants were also convicted of conspiracy to introduce misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, which applies to the defendants’ distribution of non-controlled prescription drugs, such as carisoprodol, which is commonly sold under the trade name of Soma and is now a controlled substance, and tramadol, which is commonly sold under the trade name of Ultram. Both of these drugs are addictive and frequently abused.

In May 2007, White was sued by the family of a customer who had an online phentermine order filled by Superior Drugs. The customer died of a phentermine overdose; a bottle of phentermine tablets from Superior Drugs was found in her home. The deceased customer resided in Texas; the doctor who wrote the prescription resided in Puerto Rico.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Juan R. Sànchez ordered White to forfeit $10,254,398.49 and pay a fine of $25,000, and ordered Spence to forfeit $4,912,148.10 and pay a fine of $10,000.

Co-defendant Michael Gibson, who pled guilty before trial, was a physician licensed in the State of Georgia who issued invalid prescriptions for prescription drugs for customers whom he neither saw, spoke to, or examined. He began working for Spence in 2008, after the doctor whom Spence had previously hired was investigated, and eventually prosecuted, for writing invalid prescriptions and tax evasion. Gibson began working for co-defendant Carleta Carolina in 2009. The sentencing hearing for Gibson is scheduled for February 8, 2013 before Judge Sànchez.

Co-defendant Carleta Carolina, who is also charged with illegally operating Internet websites to sell controlled and prescription drugs and hiring White to fill and ship her orders, is a fugitive.

The case was investigated by the Diversion and Enforcement Divisions of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Frank R. Costello, Jr. and Vineet Gauri.

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

Wei Qin, 23, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged today by Indictment with one count of transportation of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that on or about October 13, 2012, Qin, an alien, and native and citizen of China, transported images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and that on or about February 7, 2013, Qin possessed more than 600 images of child pornography.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 30 years.

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 Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations 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 – An information was unsealed today charging Bevis Vanterpool, 35, of Philadelphia, with conspiring to distribute oxycodone, a Schedule II narcotic controlled substance, and money laundering, in violation of federal drug and money laundering laws, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  Vanterpool is a pharmacist who owned and operated Tracemark Pharmacy at 4839 North Broad Street in Philadelphia.  According to the charges, from May 2010 until December 19, 2011, Vanterpool accepted and filled nearly 5,000 fraudulent prescriptions for at least 447,761 mg. of oxycodone, when he knew that the prescriptions were forged and fraudulent, as they had not been written by physicians.  It is further alleged that from May 2010 until December 19, 2011, Vanterpool laundered proceeds of this illegal activity totaling at least $1,180,000.

If convicted, Vanterpool faces a maximum possible sentence of 40 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release up to a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of up to $1.25 million, and a $200 special assessment, along with forfeiture of money and property totaling $822,428.58 in drug proceeds and $1,180,000 as the proceeds of money laundering.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Unit, and the Philadelphia Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mary E. Crawley.

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